Journal of Michael Pincus

August 20, 2008

2008-08-20T07:32:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,

I got a lot of complaints from friends and family that they were having difficulties signing up for the private blog. We lost many readers who were important to us. We therefore decided to make the blog public again. We apologize for the inconvenience!!!

So, we have moved into our new home on Monday!!

The movers (Robert Williams) came early Monday morning and packed up the moving van in about 2 hours. They worked very fast!! On our way to Coral Springs we got stuck in a major traffic jam. They closed the entire Turnpike off, both ways. When we got to the new house, most of our items had to be carried upstairs (the main reason we hired movers!!) and the movers weren't very happy. In the meantime it was still pouring. The movers were done at 2.30PM. I would recommend them if anyone in Miami has to move.
After the movers left, the rain stopped and it become a relatively sunny day.
The storm (Fay) wasn't bad for us on Tuesday either. If I had not known that there was a storm, it could have been a regular Florida Summer day :) Just some rain and wind gusts every now and then. Monday afternoon I tried to unpack boxes and clean up the house a little more, but every time I left the room, Michael started crying. He must have noticed something was different.
So yesterday, I asked our nieces Jessie and Anna to babysit Michael again. That way I got some work done at home, and our nephew Josh helped me clean and empty boxes. Thank you all for your help!!!

Robert and I are exhausted, but it's done and now we can take our time to unpack everything...

August 17, 2008

2008-08-17T07:21:00.003-05:00

We are in the middle of our big move, so I don't have much time for an update.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new house!!! We are all so excited.
We got our new sofa yesterday and it's absolutely perfect.

When we looked at the house the first time, I asked the previous owner if they ever saw a snake, since the neighborhood is called an "Urban Wilderness". (I had seen a huge Banana spider already) She said that in the 16 years she had lived there that she only saw 1 snake.
So yesterday, my nephew Josh and I are on our my way to Loews to get some filters for the air conditioning, because they froze up and started leaking liking crazy!!! We got in the car and when I turned around I saw my FIRST snake in the 4 years I lived in Florida at our neighbors driveway. Ugghhhh!!! There go all my plans for Mikey playing in the backyard, putting a little blow up pool in the backyard, etc. If there is anything I absolutely HATE, it's snakes!!!

Anyway, our movers are coming tomorrow morning, so I have to finish packing today. My initial plan was to come back here on Tuesday to clean, but Tropical Storm Fay, which may possibly be a hurricane by Monday, is interfering a little bit. There better be no damage to our condo before our closing on Wednesday!!!! Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Mikey is doing fine. I will update about the Dan Marino Center in my next post...

August 13, 2008

2008-08-13T20:01:00.010-05:00

Within a week time, Michael crawls. He crawls all over the place and he is fast too!!! You cannot leave him out of sight for a second anymore. Where did my baby go?!

He changes his position from laying down, to sitting, to sitting up on his knees, etc.
It's amazing!!!
This weekend we spent time with Mimi and Poppy and they taught him how to clap his hands.

Look how I found him in his crib, standing up!!! He managed to pull himself to a standing position and was so proud of it too!! He just makes me laugh all the time!!!

He can almost pull himself up in his play pen too. He is so close!! I think it's amazing, because he hasn't had any therapy in weeks. Last time he had OT was on June 11 and the last time he had PT was July 17 (after he didn't have PT for a month!)

He loves to play with his music table that Mimi and Poppy got for him

He still likes to arch his back. This is how he used to 'crawl' :) (when he was still a baby ;))

Mikey was hanging out with Poppy

Saturday we went to Patrick's first birthday party. He is such a cutie!! We took a picture with all the mommies and babies. Patrick always seems to be waving at the camera :)

With Veronica, Patrick and Diego at the birthday party

We couldn't stay too long at the birthday party, because we had to go home and Celebrate Mimi's 76th birthday!! We went out for a nice dinner and then had cake at home.

Sunday we continued packing for our big move!!!

Yesterday (Tuesday, August 12, 2008) we received the key to our beautiful new home in Coral Springs. We are so excited!!! Once we are settled in I will post some pictures of our new house.

August 7, 2008

2008-08-07T15:51:00.003-05:00

This week was pretty amazing.
Michael crawled for the first time!! Not continuously, but he really tries and manages to crawl a few inches.
He now knows how to put one foot in front of the other when you hold his hands.
He pulled himself up to a standing position, using the pillow and side of his playpen yesterday.
It's like things all of a sudden were put in full gear. I am so proud of him!!!

The feedings are still an issue. I just fed him beef and he really likes it and he did really well. He didn't even gag. And then all of a sudden, no warning, he just vomits everything, including his previous feeding. And it's the projectile vomiting, like in Shrek 3!! I feel so bad for him, but it doesn't really bother him. 2 minutes later (I had to give him a bath and he found out that he can splash :) ) he is already happy again.

Next week we have our evaluation at the Dan Marino Center (which is part of Miami Children's hospital). I am curious what they'll tell me.

August 4, 2008

2008-08-04T10:03:00.006-05:00

Thanks everybody for making the switch to this private blog!! We really appreciate it, since it is a little bit of an inconvenience.

Michael is doing great. He is such a happy little boy. Since we are moving in 2 weeks, I am packing and putting Michael in his play pen. He is really good at entertaining himself. He is also very interested in what I am doing and loves to peek through his play pen. So cute!!

Here is an update on what he is doing now at 13 months, 3 weeks (adjusted) age:

* He sits really well by himself.

* He can turn around while sitting.

* He can move from a sitting position to an (almost) crawling position and back.

* He is so close to crawling!!!

* He can hold himself on the site of the playpen and stand and even take a few steps (as long as you are with him to make sure he doesn't fall). I bought him pre-walker strid rite shoes and he really likes them!

* He can put everything in his mouth, but when it has some kind of food he knows right away and doesn't want it anymore.

* He can hold his own bottle, but he is a little lazy (and I admit, I let him be lazy!)

* He cannot get himself from a laying down position to a sitting position yet. I am trying to get him into the Dan Marino center, for all his therapy sessions.

* He laughs at everything. He thinks it is funny to put the bottom of his bottle in his mouth and when I tell him that that's the wrong side, he starts cracking up!! Or when I kiss Robert on the cheek with a big kissing sound, Michael starts laughing out loud.

He is just so funny!!!

July 31, 2008

2008-07-31T21:13:00.004-05:00

Do you all remember Natalia? She used to take care of Michael during his first year at home. Well, she came by tonight and he was so happy to see her. We should say dr. Natalia now, as she passed all her exams (and I think all of them with a 99% score!!!)

Okay, I don't want to become one of those moms that picks up the camera for every little thing, but tonight was really funny. Robert was playing with Michael in the playpen. Michael was so happy, he was talking, standing, even taking a few steps while he was holding on to the sides of the playpen and he was sooo proud of himself. All of a sudden Robert told me: look at this, we are playing ball. And I didn't believe it of course. It must have been a coincidence, but then I saw it too and I had to take a video of it. It's a little dark because it was taken late at night. You can hear him squeal, that's how much he loved it!!! At the end of the video, Robert pushed his learning puppy and even though the sound was muffled, Michael started dancing. That shows us that he really doesn't have that much hearing loss. Whenever he hears music, he starts shaking his little butt. It's so cute!!

So here it is, Michael and Robert playing ball :)

Michael playing ball 7/31/08

Also, this is a friendly reminder that we are going private tomorrow. Please send me an e-mail (ladynap@gmail.com) if you haven't received an invitation by tomorrow night. THANKS!!

Going Private

2008-07-28T20:14:00.001-05:00

Hi,

After 18 months of sharing Michael’s blog with everyone, we have decided to make the blog Private as of August 1, 2008. We hope that Michael’s story has been helpful to other parents with (micro)preemies. However, now that he is growing up, things become more personal and less focused on his rocky start in the NICU.

On August 1, 2008 I will be sending out invitations to enable everyone to continue to follow Michael’s progress. If you want to be invited to read our blog and you have not received an e-mail by August 2nd, please provide me with your e-mail address at: ladynap@gmail.com

Once again, thank you all for your continued support!!

The Pincus’

July 27, 2008

2008-07-27T21:04:00.014-05:00

We spent the last few days in New Orleans and we had a great time!!! Our uncle and aunt, Ron and Anne hosted us in their beautiful home. They live right on the levee and they were so lucky that their home was not flooded during Hurricane Katrina. And even though uncle Ron is the general manager of the most beautiful hotel in the French Quarter, the Monteleone (www.hotelmonteleone.com), we enjoy staying at their house.

Anne had arranged for a crib, a jumper, a high chair and a stroller for us during our stay and it made things so much easier!! Michael and I flew out there on Wednesday morning and Robert joined us that same night on his way home from his business trip.

Anne has a background as an interior decorator and she helped us with great ideas for our new home and even found us some beautiful furniture.
Anne is also the person who helped us prepare for our wedding day four years ago. We could not have done it without her help!!! She is amazing!!

On Friday we met up with Robert's colleague, Alain and his wife Sherrie, and their two beautiful children, Chance and Madison. They are originally from New Orleans and it turned out that they visited their family during the same time we were there. They have been very supportive during the NICU time!! In fact, they got us Michael's first micro-preemie outfit, the one he wore when he was 2 months old.
Their daughter Madison was also born at 24 weeks at 1 pound, 4 ounces. She is 3 years old now and she is amazing!! She is like any other 3 year old, talking like a grown up :) Both their children were so adorable!! We all went out to lunch and had a great time.

The last time we visited New Orleans, was 2 years ago and this time we saw some improvements. Last time, it was a year after the storm hit and it looked as if it had hit the day before. Now, there are still a lot of houses empty, but there are also some home owners that are fixing up their homes as we speak. So, it progress is made, even though it's slow.

Like I said, we had a great time, we even had some drive-through daiquiris :)
Here are some pictures of our stay:

Michael in his jumper. He was soooo happy!!!

Some very cute pictures of Michael and Anne

This is his 'old man' laugh :)

Uncle Ron and Michael

At lunch

Michael was really interested in Madison and Chance

Madison doesn't look like a 24-weeker, she is amazing!

Like I said, we had an amazing time in New Orleans!!

We flew home last night and today we had some time to start packing for our big move :)

July 22, 2008

2008-07-22T22:25:00.004-05:00

I just had to post this video. Michael has a funny sense of humor. He can really crack himself up. He thinks it's the funniest thing to suck on the bottom of his bottle, instead of on the nipple. When I ask him what he's doing, he starts laughing (he still has no voice when he laughs out loud, so it's still the 'old man laugh'). He just couldn't stop laughing tonight, but when I got the video out, he was distracted...

My Montage 7/22/08

Michael and I are going to New Orleans tomorrow. We will meet up with Robert there, who is on a business trip now. We are so excited to see Anne and Ron!!!

July 21, 2008

2008-07-21T17:35:00.002-05:00

Michael ate really well today. I am so proud of him!!

Here is a video I just took of him playing in his playpen. He was just so happy and 'talking', but he notices right away when I take the video out...

Michael playing 7/21/08

July 19, 2008

2008-07-19T08:15:00.004-05:00

We had a nice week. We got to spend some time with Robert's niece and nephew, Elisa and Joseph. They live in Missouri, so we don't get to see them that often. They stayed with Mimi and Poppy and it happened to be that we were going to stay with Mimi and Poppy as well during the same period because we stay with them when we have our hearing tests in Boca. So that turned out really well.

Yesterday, I spent all day with my friends Sarah and Philip from Israel. They were like my adopted family while I lived in the Kibbutz for 3 years. I am so thankful that they were so open and welcoming. I practically lived there :)

So, I had not seen them for about 6 years and they have not changed a bit!! It was so much fun. They got to meet Michael and they LOVED him. They have 2 beautiful grand children themselves, and you could tell that they were experienced with strollers and diaper changing breaks :)

We went to Vizcaya. Which is a beautiful mansion (now a museum) built between 1914 and 1916. It has beautiful gardens and wonderful views of the bay. http://www.vizcayamuseum.com/

After that we went and walked around at Coconut Grove. We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Sarah used to bake cheesecakes every Friday and everybody would have coffee and cake at her house after dinner. Such fun times. Sarah loved the cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

The rest of the afternoon we got some shopping done :) and at night we walked around Lincoln Road and had dinner at Nexxt Cafe. They met Robert too and we all had a great time!! I am so glad that I was able to spend some time with them!!!

When we got home late that night, our realtor Melanie came over. She had the contract for the sale of our current condo. We are excited!! We sold both condos. Melanie told us she aimed for selling both places within 60 to 90 days and she came through!!

So, now with both places sold, we have bought a new house in Coral Springs. We are so excited and can't wait to move in (hopefully sometime in August)!!!

Michael has been doing great. He has a few new things:

* He LOVES mirrors, or his reflection in the window

* He can stand (almost) unassisted next to the coffee table at Mimi and Poppy

* He tried to pull himself up at the coffee table

* He was standing up in his play pen, holding the sides and actually took a few side way steps!!

* Yesterday he was in his jumper and I was in the restroom. Michael started crying. When I called him out of the restroom, he was quiet. Then he started crying again. When I came out of the restroom, he smiled at me. As if he wondered where I was...

* On Monday I fed him Gerber Beef and it was the first time he opened his mouth!! He really liked it and actually pulled my hand to him, because it wasn't going fast enough. He has never opened his mouth for food before!!! I was so proud of him. We tried again at ST on Wednesday and he did open his mouth, but as you can see in the video, he was pushing Becky away with his hands. He did lick his mouth, so I think he liked it. Just before I started the video he was eating at a very good pace, opening his mouth, not pushing it away. I think the video camera distracted him a little:

Michael at ST 7/17/08

He is becoming a big boy and all of a sudden it happens in a much faster pace.

July 17, 2008

2008-07-17T20:26:00.004-05:00

Today was a very good day. It was our 4 year wedding anniversary. Can't believe it has been 4 years ago we got married in New Orleans. It was such a fun day!!! I will treasure that day forever!!
Here is a picture of that beautiful day:
And we celebrated another anniversary: Michael has been home 1 year exactly today. I remember that day as if it was yesterday. We were so excited to finally bring Michael home after 5 months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, but it was also scary to bring a baby home on oxygen and monitors. He came home at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Today he is 18 pounds. It's amazing what Michael has achieved in the last year!!!
Here are some pictures of the day we brought him home: July 17, 2007

He was still so tiny

I am still nervous about the times he sleeps, I keep checking up on him to see if he breaths. I am slowly transferring back to my own bedroom, because I have been sleeping in the nursery for the last year. Michael has a new thing now. He doesn't like to sleep with anything on top of his body, he keeps kicking the blanket off, but he likes to put it on his face for some reason. I know, he is a weird kid :)

And he likes to sleep on his belly now, so that makes me want to check on him even more. I guess that even though the NICU time seems to be further and further away, the apneas and brady's won't be so easily forgotten...

So, since so many people told me to write a book about our experience with Michael, I took the easy way out and I created the first year of Michael's blog into a book.

Unfortunately I cannot give everyone a copy, but if you are interested you can look at it and buy it online.

The price will be $29.95 for the Softcover;

$41.95 for the Dust Jacket Hardcover;

or $44.95 for the ImageWrap Hardcover.

We don't want to make the book public, so we will be sending out announcements about the book with information on where and how to order it.

If you are interested and have not received an announcement through Blurb.com within the next 2 days, please send an e-mail to LadyNAP@gmail.com with your e-mail address and I will send you the announcement.

We are very excited how the book turned out and it will be a great memory for Michael one day...

Yesterday we went to do the hearing test. As you can imagine it's difficult to test a baby because they cannot tell you when they hear a sound. So the audiologists have to go by a wink of the eye, or a raising of the eyebrow. But they are trained to do so. The results were very similar to the last test. He hears at about 25dBHL, which is speech level!!. This is much better than the first test he did, when he was measured at about 80 to 90dBHL (severe to profound hearing loss). We were very excited about the outcome. But we are not done with testing yet. Next month he will have another ABR test done. They will be measuring his brainwaves with electrodes on his head, while he is asleep. We will keep you updated.

So, once again Happy Anniversary to the two most beautiful men in my life!! You two make me complete! I love you both so much!!

July 13, 2008

2008-07-13T06:38:00.003-05:00

These two pictures were taken at my Uncle's house in Holland.
My cousin Lennart, gave Michael a giraffe (and a few more stuffed animals), but the giraffe goes where Michael goes now. He absolutely LOVES it!! I have never seen him interested in a particular toy before like this (except for his jumper). It's so cute!!

So, after almost a week at home, we are all still trying to adjust to the time difference. I usually don't have a big problem with it, but maybe because we were gone for such a short period of time, the time difference made a bigger impact.

We had a few showings of our condo this week, we are hopeful to get an offer soon!!

Michael has a few new things. He has 4 teeth at the top coming out, all at once.

He can wave bye bye and it's really cute, I will have to video it.

He really moves around now. He can push himself up on his hands and knees and then he doesn't know what to do with himself. He keeps looking down to his knees as if he is amazed that he is not on the floor anymore. He is not really crawling, but he pushes himself backwards on the tiles (it doesn't work as good on the rug). Also when he is in his walker, he only walks backwards. But he managed to get himself from the sliding doors all the way to our bedroom door and he had to pass all kinds of furniture to do that. I was amazed!!

On Wednesday July 9, Michael had is Early Intervention Evaluation. It went about what I expected. He is still behind on most levels and we have to continue to work (hard!) with him.

He is 18 pounds, 4 ounces. 28 inches long.

At the time of the evaluation he was 17 months (13 months adjusted), but they evaluated him as if he was 12 months for some reason.

So this is the summary of the evaluation.

In blue it's what they noticed. In purple it's what he is evaluated on. In green it's where they want him to be in a few months from now:

Using hands and body (Gross/Fine Motor skills)

- Sits independently and using his thumb and a few other fingers to pick up small objects

- 6 months (50% delayed)
- They want him to start crawling around the house to find his toys

- They want him to start using a pincer grasp to pick up small objects (I think he can already do that, but he didn't do it at the evaluation)

Eating, Dressing and Toileting (Self-Help/Adaptive Skills)

- Drinks milk from a bottle

- 4 months (67% delayed). No surprise here, as feeding is his major issue right now.

- They want him to start to tolerate solid foods without gagging.

Expressing and Responding to Feelings and Interacting with Others (Social/Emotional)

- Attends to social games and starting to wave

- 10 months (within normal limits)

- They want him to wave hi/bye consistently and clapping his hands. He is very close to their target. He loves to wave and he is trying to clap, he just doesn't know how yet.

Playing, Thinking, Exploring (Academic/Cognitive including pre-literacy skills)

- Looks for his toy when it is hidden

- 12 months (within normal limits)

- They want him to start pointing to body parts (eyes, mouth, nose, etc.)

Understanding and Communicating (Receptive and Expressive Communication)

- Responds to his name

- Says baba and makes sounds to get his needs met

- 10 months (within normal limits)

- They want him to respond to stop and no

- They want him to use 3-5 single words in conjunction with gestures (eg. pointing, pulling) to communicate

So, as you can see from the evaluation he is a little behind (way behind with the feeding!). Lynn, from the SHINE program asked me if I was discouraged by the evaluation (and mostly by her evaluation that put Michael in the receptive and expressive communication skills at 6-8 months). I told her that I really try to focus on the things that he is doing and not on the things he cannot do. Because I am truly convinced that Michael will do it all, just a little later than most children. If I look at Michael and I see that he is starting to push himself on hands and knees, I know that he will crawl soon. And he does need that little extra push by giving him therapy and working with him at home, but he will do it. You can see that this little man has the will power to do anything he wants!!!! And I am just sooooo proud of him!!!

The occupational therapist at Early Intervention suggested to feed Michael purees with my fingers. I did that and it worked pretty good. On Friday Michael had speech therapy and Becky was sooo proud of him, because he wasn't gagging. She almost started crying, that's how proud she was!! She is so cute :)

Here is a video of Michael 'eating'. As you can see he is not gagging for a change :)

My Montage 7/13/08

July 8, 2008

2008-07-08T16:14:00.059-05:00

We are home!!!
It was a long flight, but it went very well. Michael slept about 3 hours (of the 10 hour flight) and the rest of the time he pretty much entertained himself. He is such a good baby!! When we got to Miami airport, it was absolute chaos. The lines for passport control were very unclear and then there was only one huge line for customs. They can never seem to figure things out at that airport. Then when we got to the car, we found out the battery had died, that was kind of annoying. We were glad we were home.

Here is a photo journal of our week in Holland:

At the airport, June 30. Michael still had some time to roll around

Michael had a bassinet. He just barely fit in it. He is getting so big!!!

Here he was still playing, but he slept about 6 hours of the 8. He kept trying to turn around, but he didn't have enough space and he kept hitting his head against the sides.

The first thing we did when we got to my father's house, was put Michael on the floor so that he could move around a little

Michael loves spending time with my father

Robert, my father, Michael and I went to a typical old tradition Dutch 'poffertjes' restaurant. Poffertjes are mini pancakes, covered in sugar and butter. I just LOVE them!!! You can see Robert and Michael at the left of the restaurant. In the middle there is a huge stove where they make the poffertjes.

You can't really see the stove behind me, but it's huge!!

My father and Robert at the 'poffertjes kraam'

Before we went to the 'poffertjes kraam', we went to my bank (ABN AMRO) to finally give them my change in address from Holland to the USA (after 4 years!). They needed to make a copy of my passport and it turned out that I forgot it in the bank. That same night, the lady that helped us in the bank personally delivered it at my father's house. That is what you call: customer service!! And believe me, Holland is not known for customer service :)

My daddy and Michael hangin' out :)

I LOVE this picture!! Can you see his 2 teeth? (Michael's, not my father's. he he)

We went to my brother's house, where Robert entertained Michael and my nephew Roy with bubbles. Neta prepared a nice dinner and we had a great time!!

Roy is enjoying the bubblesThis is a GREAT picture of my eldest brother, Uri

I am hugging my nephew. He is almost 3 and a half years old.

When we came home from having dinner at my brother's my daddy wanted to hold Michael for a while. I guess he missed him :)

Saturday, July 5th we went to the town I grew up. To visit my best friend Mariska. Mariska and I grew up together and have been friends since about Michael's age. Mariska will be moving to Amsterdam this year, but her condo is not ready yet. I guess even in Holland construction is never 'on time' :) So until then, she is staying with her parents.

We put Michael on the grass for the first time at Mariska's parents house

He didn't cry, but I also don't think he liked it very much

Mariska's nephew Jesper and nieces Luca, Jasmijn and Noa were very interested in Michael's first time on the grass

Michael is showing off for Daddy

They really enjoyed spending time with Michael

It was good to see Mariska again. She looked great!! She has MS and she started medication. I really felt that she has improved over the last 3 months.

Michael did not like the sun light (even though we were under an umbrella)

I love this picture of Mariska. Today July 8, is her birthday. She is 2 days older than I am and I had to hear that my entire life :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARISKA!!!!

Mariska youngest niece, Noa, really like holding Michael. I gave her the bottle and she started feeding him right away. As if she has fed babies her entire life!!! So cute!!

Mariska's mom is making sure that everything is okay...

After we left Mariska, we went to see my brother Ehud. We had dinner in Enkhuizen and walked around afterwards.

Me and my brother Ehud. This is in front of a cafe in Enkhuizen where he likes to go. Ehud might have Cerebral Palsy, but his social life is much bigger than mine!! I am so proud of my little big brother!!!

On Sunday we went to a restaurant for lunch to celebrate my father's 60th birthday. We sat in the 'lounge' area. The weather was absolutely perfect.

Michael always knows how to entertain himself

This is a great picture of Michael, my sister Anne and brother Ron

I love this picture too!!!

My father and Robert. I am so glad that they get along so well!!!

Michael did the flipping of the tongue again :)

My sister is so cute!!!

Sunday night, Ehud, Uri, Neta and Roy came over to my father's house for a BBQ.

Of course Robert was preparing the meat :)

Our family portrait. This doesn't happen very often, so I am glad we were able to do this!!!!

(From left to right: Michael, my sister Anne, my brother Ron, my father Gera, my brother Ehud, me, Robert, my sister in law Neta, my brother Uri and my nephew Roy)

Anne is still smiling with Michael on her neck

Not smiling that much anymore when he pulls her hair :) ouch!!

Another cute picture of Michael and Ehud

Michael's very proud Aunt Neta

Is this the cutest baby in the whole wide world, or what ? :)

So the birthday celebration was very nice. We had a great time.

Sunday night I met up with my sister and my mom, Joke. We said goodbye in the rain, that sucked!! Hopefully we will be able to spend more time with my mom next time!!!

Monday morning we went to the Amsterdam airport. The computers were down so they were not able to check-in for a while. The line for check-in was absolutely ridiculous!!! For a while I didn't even think we were going to be able to make our flight. Luckily we did!!

Here is my big boy sitting in his plane seat with his seat belt on

Robert and Michael in their plane seats...

So, as you can see from the pictures, we had a great time!!! We drove around in my father's Fiat Cinquecento (tiny car) and it was so funny. We are so big, that we hardly fit in the car. I wish I had taken a picture :)

We are glad to be home. Michael is really tired from his jet lag. He has been sleeping almost all day!!! Michael seems to be very happy to be home. He can't get enough of his jumper!!

Tomorrow he has his annual appointment with Early Intervention. I know he is behind developmentally, so I wonder what they will tell us...

July 6, 2008

2008-07-06T12:54:00.003-05:00

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY TO MY FATHER!!!!

We had a great day today. We went out to lunch and just now we had a nice BBQ with all the kids (5) and grandkids (2)
I can't believe we are flying back home tomorrow already!!

Yesterday we went to see my friend Mariska. She has a new house appointed to her in Amsterdam, but it won't be available until September. Hopefully next time we'll come we can go visit her in her new place. Her nephew and nieces were at her parents house as well yesterday and they loved playing with Michael. He is like a little toy to everyone.

After that we went to see my brother Ehud. Robert had not seen his new house yet and was very impressed. We decided to have dinner in a town nearby, Enkhuizen (where I went to school) and it's almost like a mini Amsterdam. Very cute!!!
After dinner we decided to have coffee at my uncles house. We went to see Martin and Marijke and they have two beautiful sons: Ivo and Lennart. Ivo has (severe) autism and Lennart was born 9 weeks premature 17 years ago and everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. He had no oxygen before, during and after labor. He is now in a wheel chair. When he was 8 months old, he developped West Syndrome, a form of epilepsy. So Martin and Marijke can really relate to what we went through with Michael. It was nice to introduce them to Robert.

We had a great week and it was nice to end it with my father's birthday. My brother Uri and his wife Neta were very helpful in letting us borrow their car and bringing us to the airport tomorrow. They also prepared a very nice dinner for us this week. And Roy (my nephew) and Michael had some time to bond.

I am glad I got to see my mom, Joke again and she got to spend a little time with Michael and we went to see my grandmother Jannie. She loved playing with Michael. Unfortunately the trip was too short to see everyone in the family. But that just means that we will have to come back an other time :)
After tonight, with all the children being around, my father will have 'empty nest syndrome' again tomorrow :)

July 4, 2008

2008-07-04T07:04:00.002-05:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE!!!

We are in Holland and we are doing very well. The trip was long, but at least it was a nonstop flight this time. And Robert was with me, so that made it easier.
We got a basinnet (unlike US Airways) and Michael slept most of the way.
It took some time for him to adjust to the new time, weather, people, etc. He slept a lot the first few days and wouldn't eat, but I think it's getting better.

The weather was really hot the first few days. In Holland it gets only hot a few days a year and there is no airconditioning. We were all struggling a little with the heat. Today it cooled off and it's absolutely beautiful!! We'll be going to Amsterdam later on today.

Yesterday, my sister tried giving Michael a biscuit. He really like licking it and biting pieces off, but the moment he felt the piece in his mouth he started gagging. After the second piece, he vomitted his dinner all over my sister. I told her!! She didn't believe me, she had to find out the hard way :)

Anyway, it's great to see my family and they love spending time with Michael!!!

June 29, 2008 - updated with pictures

2008-06-29T21:37:00.005-05:00

Michael seems to be doing fine. I don't see any symptoms of an ear infection. So, we are ready for our flight to Holland tomorrow. I still have to finish packing, so I don't have much time for an update.

We had a nice week. Busy!! Exciting!!

Yesterday we had dinner with Rae and Jules, David and Lesley and Lionel and his friend Marilyn. We had a nice time. We went to West Palm Beach to drop the dog off. She will be staying there until we return from Holland.

Michael is getting FOUR teeth at the top!!! All at once. Poor baby!!!
Yesterday he was playing on the floor while I was doing something on the computer. When I looked at him, he had managed to pull his body up and was on hands and knees. Ready to crawl. He was sooo proud of himself!!! I love him so much!!!

No real updates on the feeding issues. We feed him formula and Pediasure. He seems to be gaining weight. Yesterday I let him lick a baby biscuit and that made him gag. I just don't know what to do anymore. I guess just be patient and keep trying...

Here are some more pictures of last weekend when we had lunch with Diego, Veronica and Patrick:

Look at these big boys sitting up in their strollers

I love this family picture!

Proud daddy and Mikey showing off his belly button. His favorite book is the Belly Button Book :)

I love his toothless smile :)

Diego took this picture, unfortunately Michael and Patrick weren't really looking

June 24, 2008

2008-06-24T07:10:00.013-05:00

Last Thursday we went to Auditory Verbal Therapy with Kathy. Michael had a little cold for a few days, but during therapy all of a sudden he started sneezing, coughing, had a runny nose and was picking his left ear. Kathy was able to get an appointment with dr. Balkany (who usually only sees cochlear implant patients, but he is one of the best ENT's in the country) the next day!! I am so glad because we are flying to Holland next week... So we decided to change our plans and drive to Rae and Jules on Thursday instead of Friday night. So that they could take care of the dog while we went to see dr. Balkany (which is closer to their house) on Friday morning.

Dr. Balkany is the nicest doctor I have ever met!!! He examined Michael and he has the signs of a beginning ear infection. It might resolve before our flight, if not, he prescribed some anti biotics. Kathy was with us during the examination. She is so awesome!!! She really cares for her patients, as if they are her own children.

The rest of the day, we spent with Rae and Jules. That night we had some dinner at IHOP. We like to go there at night, because it is so quiet. Michael was sitting in his high chair and he loved it!!

On Saturday afternoon we met up with Veronica and Diego and their cutie pie son Patrick. We had a nice lunch and Michael loved interacting with Patrick!! Veronica was feeding Patrick solids and we hoped that Michael would copy him. No such luck (yet)!

Look at these boys posing for a picture :)

Patrick was saying 'Stop - no more pictures' ha ha!!

Here is a little video of Michael and Patrick:

Michael and Patrick 6/24/08

Sunday Robert and I started looking at houses in the Parkland/Coral Springs area. We saw some nice houses. Some houses were really disappointing, especially since they looked great in the pictures!! Rae and Jules were baby sitting all day. I missed him, but it is easier to look at houses without a baby. Sunday night we went to dinner with Rae and Jules and Michael was keeping himself occupied with a big plastic cup. He looks so cute :)

Yesterday we drove home and had our pulmonologist appointment. Michael's lungs sounded very clear. He wasn't all stuffed up anymore, so I guess we are ready to fly to Hollanda!!! Woohoo!!

June 17, 2008

2008-06-17T19:09:00.023-05:00

We had such a great weekend!!! Thursday I went to West Palm Beach to bring the dog to Mimi and Poppy. Robert had to attend the condo meeting that night and he was going to work the next morning, where I would pick him up on Friday on our way to Cape Coral.
So Mikey and I spent the night with the grandparents. I put him in the big bed (like I usually do) and went into the living room to get his pacifier. It was less than a minute, but when I walked back into the bedroom I saw the back of his butt and he was falling off the bed, face down. During this I was on the phone with Robert and I threw the phone on the floor and picked Michael up right away. Rae and Jules came in the room and even though Michael was crying, we didn't see any 'damage'. I called Natalia and she advised me to keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't vomit or seem lethargic. He was fine, but I felt sooo guilty. I totally forgot about Robert and he was so worried. I am glad it turned out okay. I learned my lesson well...

Friday we went to Sunrise to pick up Robert. We went into his office for a little bit and all his (female) co-workers loved Mikey. We think that Robert could bring Mikey in on Friday and he will have free childcare all day. But his employer probably won't like that very much :)
After about an hour we went on our way to Cape Coral. We were going to spend the weekend with Claudia and our friend Tom. Tom lost his wife Signe on August 27, 2007 after a drunk driver had hit her. She was Claudia's best friend and both Tom and Claudia still have a hard time dealing with their loss. So we went there and tried to have a good time. On our way, we took the slow way up, which was probably a good thing, because when we arrived in Cape Coral, a tornado had just hit the area we drove through. All the streets were flooded and we had a hard time getting to Tom's house. One guy on the side of the road, was up to his knees in flood waters and many cars had stalled. Later on we saw the damage to several houses on the local news.

When we took the slow way, there was a huge turtle in the middle of the road and I told Robert to go and save the turtle. He was like "I am not touching that thing", so I wanted to get out of the car and pick it up. Luckily Robert stopped me and got out of the car. He stood behind the turtle and he ran(!!) back towards the water. I did not know a turtle could run that fast!! We found out later that this was a snapping turtle and if Robert should have picked it up, he probably would have lost a finger!!! Oops!!

Friday night Claudia made dinner and after that we played Marco Polo in the pool.
It was a good thing we brought the jumper with us. It kept Michael occupied and we did not have to keep a constant eye on him.

Michael loves his jumper! He always has this cute smirk

Michael is 'talking' to Claudia (Cici)

This is the view from Tom's deck. Isn't that beautiful?

Saturday we went out on the boat. We had a life jacket for Michael but he didn't really like it. I don't think he liked the entire boat ride, because the sun light bothers him. He slept a little in his car seat, while we took a dip in the water off of Sanibel island. After that Tom took us out for lunch to celebrate Claudia's birthday. It's so much fun to dock somewhere and have a great lunch. Here are some pictures:

Robert and Michael in front of the boat, while Tom and Claudia are preparing things

When Michael wore his life jacket, he would not look up, poor baby!!

Claudia is having fun driving the boat!!!

All the pelicans are hanging out...

This pelican was all alone

Claudia and I are swimming in the Gulf of Mexico

And Robert joined us as well

This was at Claudia's birthday lunch

Claudia and Tom at lunch

On the way home we hit a major rain storm. Michael and I were hiding in the toilet of the boat

Michael finally opened his eyes, because we were hiding in the toilet and there was no sun light. (I took this picture myself)

Saturday night we played another round of Marco Polo in the pool. We had so much fun. Tom didn't play, he looked after Mikey and fed him a bottle.

Sunday morning we played a little with Michael in the pool.

Again he wouldn't open his eyes, because of the sunlight.

Claudia brought a floater with her and Michael loved it!!

Michael did much better once I put my cap on his head

Look at my big boy!!!

He enjoyed splashing water in our faces

I just love his little smirk

So, as you can tell we had such a great time!! Thank you so much Tom for having us!! And Claudia for the great dinners!!!

Sunday afternoon we drove back to West Palm Beach and on the way home, we got a phone call from our realtor that we sold one of our condos!!! We are so excited!! This is a major burden off our shoulders!!