Dr. Lee Checkup
May 19th, we’re back at Dr. Lee’s for Nina’s heart check-up… kinda breaks your heart seeing her like this doesn’t it? See this image larger.
Video
Click here to see Nina writing in a notebook at the appointment… look at her grip on that pen! Awesome!
Want to know what we found out at the appointment? Pretty much what you’d expect. Nina’s doing really well. She still has a hole in her heart. The next step is another “echo.” From there we decide when we’re going to do this. She’s so happy, and really making some great strides… Keep praying for our little girl, please.
May 16th, the kind of quality we get for images kind of stinks, like I said. 
So don’t worry I’m only using the iPad2 for certain situations. 
Like when there’s a cute shot, but I can’t get to another camera… Like this one on May 19th. 
Nina grabbing a book. Her current favorite is “How Does a Dinosaur Eat All His Food.” She really enjoys it when we do a visual gesture on a page, and when she hands me a book, excitedly begins doing the gesture before we get to the page. I mentioned a duck book where she tilted her head to “sleep.” This is the same thing except she does sign-language for “please.” She’ll rub her belly for that. As of this writing (June 13th!) she added “thank you,” which looks similar to blowing a kiss. 
I can’t believe how quickly Ian has been growing. 
Still and always my little boy though! 
May 8th, Mommy and Ian read through a book in the sunroom. 
Nina happily plays with a toy. 
Sad that I didn’t get a smile with one of these shots… 
… because I love this sweater on lil Nina! 
Maybe next time, huh? 
Woke up on this day (May 10th) to find Ian in Nina’s room, the two of them having a grand ol’ time. It is a good way to wake up. 
Our happy astronaut enjoys a Mars mission in his space pajamas. This video is about average in length. 
This is what it looks like from the back corner… there’s a nice eating area with smooth floors (bad idea there considering the place has a no-shoes policy.) There’s somebody at the front desk making sure kids don’t wander out alone, and wrist bands to help with identification. 
Here little man runs free, jumping, climbing, and has been approved to be a little loud. Ian un-caged! 
Couldn’t get him to hold still for long! 
Connor played a lot of soccer over the weekend, apparently part of the victory celebration involved silly string. These three shots are from May 1. 
Nina gets a better view from on high! 
Kaylee gives Nina a little hug and a smile! 
Wow Connor… you got big, kiddo! Wish I could have gone! 
Melissa was awesome to sign Ian up for a swim class at our local YMCA. 
These are pictures from his first class on April 28th. 
Did he enjoy it? Well, take a look at these pictures. See that smile? For the entire first class, it never left his cheeks. 
Part of his happiness definitely stems from some much-desired one-on-one time with Mommy. (Sadly that won’t last too long… eventually they’ll want him in the water by himself. In fact, at the time of this writing, they’re already pushing that.) 
As you’ll see over the coming entries, he’s doing great. He’s destined to be a better swimmer than his daddy, that much is easy to say! 
There’s that smile I was talking about. 
We know you don’t want your kids to be TOO friendly with strangers, but we were told recently that at daycare Ian’s a bit on the… fearful side, when it comes to new adults. This class quickly taught Ian to trust his teacher, somebody we have told him he can trust — and it was really great to see. 
Yeah I can’t stress enough that one-on-one thing. I was there, but sitting in a chair taking pictures… He was so happy to not have to compete with Nina for our attention for even just a half hour. 
We’ll have to come up with something new, similar to this, that he doesn’t have to share. It is great to teach him to share, and that is a sticking point lately with him, but he shouldn’t have to share everything. So happy! Thank you so much, Sweetie, it is great to see these smiles! 
Fresh home from church, and the hunt is on! 
*Grampa, Gramma! Where’d this stuff COME from?* 
Pretty in pink! 
Thank you, to Grampa Dave, for taking these. Perfect lighting and a happy family. Only thing better would be if spring had been a few weeks early. 
Love Nina’s expression in this one, what a little doll! 
Another good one! 
The beautiful ladies that live in my house! 
Sure way to get smiles, upside-down kids! 
With her bodyguard escort, Princess Nina stops to wave at some fans behind the crowd barrier. 
Great Grandma Betty and Nina discuss the virtues of pink. 
Me trying to look tough with bread. It isn’t easy. 😉 
Ian explains his cool new shuttle to Grampa Dave. Ian earned this for good behavior in the previous weeks. 
Great Grandma Betty was not feeling well this day, we were very happy that she toughed it out and made the trip! 
Nina escapes to the living room. 
Nina eats a couple puffs from an egg. 
If she pushes with all of her strength and leans in with all of her weight… nothing happens! She looks cute though, no? 
Yup, two of those toys are the kids! Thanks again for making the trip and the Easter goodies, as well as an excellent dinner! 🙂 
Later that same day – He’s growing up so quick, this one will remind me of his current age. 
April 25th, Nina has a rough morning, and falls asleep in my arms. 
These shots were taken over April 18th and 19th — Michigan got its last laugh before moving on to Spring. 
*Go away, white stuff!* 
A standing ovation for Nina’s balance skills! 
These two play together nicely so much more these days. Ian’s still a little rough with her, but that’s how he’s used to treating his peers, just gotta get a little physical! 
I think Melissa was taking these… 
…and I ran into the room and started making ridiculous faces. 
…and perhaps I even danced around a little. But with results like these, who would dare mock? 
Ian assembled this robot all by himself! Pretty talented dude! 
The kids LOVE the iPad, if you couldn’t already tell. They’re just completely fascinated with it. So I bought another one. 🙂 
Egg coloring time! 
Awesome fun! 
Nina looks up at Grandma Sue with a little sadness. She knows Gramma is going home the next morning. We had fun while you were here, though! Come back soon! 
April 17th continues! We left the butterfly area in search of turtles! 
Ian grins as we make our way onward. 
Nina looking cute in her pink outfit. 
Nina contemplates that dimple in Grandma Sue’s chin! 
*Let’s go, people!* 
Walking with just a little unsteadiness. 
Down the elevator and here we are with the turtles, at last! 
Mommy lets Nina run free, and there she goes! 
Turtle! 
Ian uses the elevator to go back up to the main level. 
Nina presses the button to go down for the next people to get on the elevator. Glad there’s only two floors! 
Crazy how quickly they grow. Just look at this kid! 
Melissa could tell me what these are called. They’re yellow. They aren’t tulips. They’re kinda pretty. Let’s move on. 
Pausing for a quick picture, but you can tell everybody’s running out of juice! 
Another quick shot… 
One more lap around the butterfly exhibit! 
Home at last! Nina needs a drink! So does Daddy! 
Ian wears that goofy basket on his head and pretends he’s a firefighter or something. 
Look at this beautiful boy! 
Grandma Sue reads Nina a tale as we sign off for the 17th! 
From April 10th, Melissa’s phone – Ian is happy with his green sand. 
From April 12th, Melissa’s phone – little Nina in slumberland. 
On April 17th, we took Grandma Sue over to Meijer Gardens to have s’more fun with butterflies! We sent these two on ahead to warm up the benches, but we caught up with them here! 
A couple of mood shots for your viewing pleasure, mixed in with the kids… 
Nina uses her amazing powers of self-regulation to address lack-of-nap concerns. 
Whitish-Yellowish Butterflyicus, this rare and elusive beauty dines only on marbles. Scientists are still baffled by how this species survived before the round glass toys were invented. You know I’m kidding. 
You may be asking yourself which is the butterfly and which is the flower. If so, get your glasses, they’re on the couch next to the table, and try not to hurt yourself on the way there. 
Ah Ian, another no-smiler? I do have to say that somewhere between then and now, he’s gotten a little bit better about this. Maybe this was the instance that I explained it enough times that he “got it,” who knows. 
This is actually one of the coolest butterflies there… it has brown circular patterns on the outside that are intricate but a little boring. When its wings open, you see the really pretty range of blues. (I’m serious on this one.) 
Mommy and daughter prepare to step out of the butterfly part of our day. At least the first time through. More Meijer Gardens adventures with Grandma Sue next entry! 