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Pictures from Canyon Creek Meadows/3 Fingered Jack

On August 16-17 I hiked into Canyon Creek Meadows for one night, at the east foot of Three Fingered Jack.  I lucked out and hit the wildflowers in the upper meadow at their peak — lush carpet of lupine with indian paint brush sprinkled in.  Bugs were pretty bad, but a good breeze kept them away most of the time.  I can’t believe that I live less than 3 hours from a place like this (1 hour drive+1-2 hour walk).  Pictures at http://www.samcos.com/rick/2010galleries/canyonCrkMdws .

Marcus Joe is 19 months old!

From Courtaney:

Hi!

Our sweet little boy is officially 19 months old.  Holy COW!  Not sure why this benchmark is hitting me harder than 18 months, but it seems nearly impossible that he can be that old already.  I know I’ll blink and be writing you all about Marcus turning 2!

If it is possible, Marcus is busier now than he’s ever has been before.  I mentioned last month that his walking has turned in to running… well, over the past month, that running has turned into falling.  We’ve survived two face plants over the past month — both produced a fat upper lip and, the second, a bruised and scraped nose.  OUCH!  Guess they call it “toddler” for a reason, huh?

Now that our family is healthy again (summer colds, be gone!) we’ve been enjoying every second of the summer — trips to the zoo, playing at the park, family swimming adventures and yardwork.  Yeah, that last one is less about enjoying summer and more about summer responsibilities, I guess.  Marcus is quite the foreman – see attached photo.  He is slowly but surely getting over his loathing of grass — but would still rather not hang out in it, if he had the choice.  Marcus had his first taste of summer this month: his first Popsicle and his first ice cream cone!  He loved them both!  Yummy!  With the bright summer sun we have been trying to introduce Marcus to his sunglasses with modest success – he likes his Mommy’s glasses better than his, but he has put his own glasses on a few times… sideways & crooked.  We’re making progress!  Also this month, Marcus got a new play kitchen.  He loves it!  And Matt & I love tasting his creative soup recipes: banana/onion/cauliflower or pea/peach/pineapple/corn are two of our favorites.  Mmmmmm!

You can view photos on my July Facebook photo album at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025147&id=64900894&l=8506a27b07

Here are some cute videos to share:

> Marcus & his first Popsicle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4D5fcU68is
> Marcus rocking in his rocking chair:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0NVnBs4FWE
> And, from our May trip to Nashville, Marcus learns how to bark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZkVGvAaaZw

Marcus’ language has exponentially grown over the past month.  He went from 10-12 words last month to almost 45 today!  WHOA!  No wonder he’s taking 2-3 hour naps every day, that is some hard work!  Here are some of his new words: kitty cat (key-ga), book, cracker (ca-ga), water (wa-wa), clock, flower (wa-wa), out, that, this, banana (nana), help (epp), uh-oh (uh-ooooh), close, hat, snack, car, hot, yuck, truck & eat.  He can also make sounds like a dog, a monkey, a sheep, a car, a cow and a train.  What a smarty-pants we have!

** Heart Update ** Marcus saw his new cardiologist, Dr. Kelly @ Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, on July 8th.  It was the best experience we’ve had with Marcus getting an echocardiogram — he didn’t cry at all and stayed very calm throughout the whole process.  We really like Dr. Kelly and Marcus liked him too; he didn’t squirm or jump when the Dr. used the stethoscope to listen to his heart, he actually tried to hold on to Dr. Kelly’s fingers!  Cute!  The appointment gave us good news, but not great news unfortunately.  Darn it!  The two echocardiogram markers the Dr. looks at with Marcus’ heart condition are: the velocity of the blood through his constricted aortic valve (as a indicator of his aortic stenosis) and the size of the left ventricle (as an indicator of the leakage or regurgitation of his aortic valve).  In February we got the wonderful news that the velocity of the blood through his aortic valve had decreased pretty significantly.  At this appointment, we learned that the velocity is back up to where it was prior to the February appointment.  But that level has been consistent (except for the February data) since Marcus was born, so we’re still not at a critical point, which is good.  The other marker, the size of the left ventricle, gave us better news.  Marcus’ left ventricle is smaller now than it was a year ago which indicates that the valve is leaking less.  Yay!  All in all, Dr. Kelly said what all the other cardiologists have told us: with Marcus’ condition, currently there are really no wonderful options for surgery or other interventions to repair his valve.  That means that we need to wait as long as we can before we intervene and keep close tabs on his heart.  Luckily, our little guy is active, thriving, healthy and happy.  Every month or year that we can stave off a surgical intervention is one more month or year that we are closer to a break-through and a option that will repair Marcus’ heart.  Vive la technologie!

Dr. Kelly wants to see us back in October for a sedated echocardiogram (the procedure we had done when we traveled to Boston Children’s last summer) to get a more in-depth look at Marcus’ heart function and a 3D view of his aortic valve.  Until then we won’t have much to share with you guys on the heart front.  Please continue to pray and send loving, healthy thoughts our way — we appreciate them all!

Each stage of Marcus’ life has been a joy, but I gotta say that right now is pretty darn fun!  Dare I say it’s my favorite?  Of course, I do reserve the right to say that the next phase is my favorite, too!  Marcus is a sweet, sweet boy and he has the funniest personality!  Can’t wait for all you to spend time with him… he’s the best!

Love,
C+M+m

Marcus Joe is 18 months old!

From Courtaney:

Hi all,

Well, it’s here!  Our little munchkin was 18 months old yesterday!!  Please forgive the delay in sending out this email… I had a hot date with my sweetheart last night and was busy making strawberry ice cream today.  Yay!  We can hardly believe a year and a half has gone by since Marcus joined our family.  Boy, time really does fly by…

Marcus continues to be a busy, busy little boy.  His walking is quickly turning into running and he tears through the house on his two size 6 feet.  Most of my day is spent just trying to keep up, I think!  He has also started “jumping” — he does a deep knee bend to start off and then stands up quickly.  He’s got the jumping motion down, but if either of his feet leave the ground it’s just accidental at this point. <wink>  In last month’s email, I mentioned his love of buttons and that love affair continues.  In addition to buttons, Marcus has discovered two new loves:  keys and door handles.  Over the past month he has watched intently as I lock the front door behind us as we leave the house.  A few weeks ago I caught him inserting the house keys he was playing with (yes, even after my note from last month, I still let him play with my keys) into a keyhole in a vintage dresser in our entry way.  Amazing!

His language has grown by leaps and bounds over the past month — in addition to “tickle, tickle” he has many other words.  I’ll put his pronunciation in parentheses for your reference/entertainment:

> “Open” (“Opa”) – picture a little Greek god shouting in celebration
> “Up” (“Uppa”) – picture a little Italian stallion demanding to be picked up
> “Again” (“Aga”) – are you seeing the pattern in “-a” endings?
> “Dog” (“Ooooh!”) – this specific dog bark he learned from Rhett in Tennessee and says “Ooooh!  Ooooh!” every time he sees a dog
> “Cracker” (“Cackga”) – again with the “-a” ending
> “Baby” (“Bah-bay”)

Those are some of the most frequently used words… but more are coming out every day.  What fun!

Also this month, Marcus: got his first haircut (in the bathtub, by his mommy); started brushing his own teeth (really, truly brushing, not just chewing on the toothbrush); putting himself to sleep at night without screaming/crying (I can’t tell you how wonderful this is for me & Matt… Hallelujah!); attended his first Lion Heart event (a fundraiser for the Children’s Heart Foundation – Oregon Chapter) and had his first traumatizing clown experience; watched his first parade (the Junior Rose Festival Parade, in which his “cousin” Ava marched) and had his second traumatizing clown experience; played outside in the rain for the first time (it’s true that native Oregonians are born with webbed feet, I guess); got his first soccer ball (in honor of the World Cup, of course); went on his first carousel (with his Daddy on Father’s Day); learned how to climb DOWN stairs (on his tummy, feet first); started feeling more comfortable climbing/playing/sliding at the park (he’s still not a big fan of swinging, though); and, finally, learned how to play the harmonica (he’s still a percussionist at heart, but he’s keeping an open mind when it comes to other musical instruments).  Phew!  I’m telling you what, he is one BUSY boy!

Attached are some new photos.  For more photos, you can view my May Facebook photo album at:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025069&id=64900894&l=253b710d3a

** Heart Update: although we don’t have anything new to report this month.  Marcus is seeing his new cardiologist on July 8th so we will have news to report in the next update.  Good news, I’m sure.  For those that are interested, we are changing cardiologists due to a change in insurance coverage (the COBRA coverage from my time at Myhre Group is running out).  We are sad to be leaving our hero, Dr. King, but we are grateful that Marcus is doing as well as he is so that the transition isn’t quite so traumatizing for all of us.

Whew!  This was a long update — but I guess 18 months is a pretty big benchmark, right?  We love you all!  Thank you for your continued love and support and prayers and well-wishes.
Love & hugs,
C + M + m

Pictures from trip to The Palouse, Washington

I spent 6 days in early June on a Photography “safari” to The Palouse area of SE Washington.  This is an incredibly photogenic area of randomly rolling hills of multi-colored and -textured farm fields.  The pictures and more info can be found at www.samcos.com/rick/2010galleries/palouse.

Marcus Joe is 17 months old!

From Courtaney:

Hi all,
Another month has flown by and our sweet Marcus Joe is 17 months old today!

Our little walker is always a busy, busy boy — it’s amazing!  He loves walking and would walk around and around and around all day if he could, I think.  He still loves pretending to talk on the phone, too, and has started incorporating hand gestures into his “phone calls.”  The button on my iPhone is still one of his favorite toys, but his love of buttons extends to any and all things that can be pressed: light switches (if they are reachable), dishwasher buttons, locks, remote controls, printer buttons, keyboards, telephones, cameras, televisions and the list goes on!  In fact, this month he (accidentally) discovered how to take a picture with my phone — his first photo is attached for your enjoyment.  Our sweet little boy is also very tidy (he must get that from his Dad!).  This month he has started putting toys away after he plays with them… unprompted!  I guess in his little mind these things must have one place that they belong.  Now, if I could just be sure he would do that with my house keys… after he was playing with them for a bit, I found them in the Diet Coke 12-pack box the other day.  At least I found them, right? <wink>  His language is coming along slowly, but surely.  Marcus’ favorite phrase has become “tickle, tickle” and he’s becoming quite the tickler!  He’ll tickle you to get your attention, he’ll tickle dogs & cats, his babydoll, a chair… you name, it can be tickled!  And lastly, although it’s an adorable phase, the little munchkin is adverse to grass right now.  Seriously.  If his hands or feet or any exposed skin touches the grass he whines and pouts until he’s out of the grass.  It’s my current mission to give him at least one “grass encounter” a week to help move him through this phase… hopefully in time for summer.  I’ll keep ya’ll posted!  Fingers crossed!

Marcus was a little traveler during the month of May: we went to Nashville to visit family for a long weekend.  He was a trooper!  Very adaptable for a toddler, I think.  It was special for us to spend time with our extended family — we don’t get together often enough, but the time we have together means so much.  I’m grateful that Marcus Joe got to meet his great, great uncle Haden and great, great aunt Ginny.  Haden, at 93 years old, is the patriarch of the family and he got to meet both Marcus & Matt during this visit.  My favorite quote from our trip was from Logan, Marcus’ fifth cousin, as he lifted lil’ m in the air and gave him a hug: “Marcus, I love you. You’re cute. You’re my cutest cousin I’ve ever met. You may not be my favorite, but you’re my cutest!”

Attached are some new photos.  For more photos, you can view my May Facebook photo album at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024294&id=64900894&l=9f630fe4f4

Logan was on to something… we didn’t think it was possible, but Marcus keeps getting cuter and cuter.  Our little guy is a charmer!  We hope that we get to see you soon, so that you get the chance to be charmed by the little guy!  (Hint, hint!)  We love you all and miss those of you who are far away!

Love & hugs,
C + M + m