Owen the Angel

Owen and Daddy

Grandpa and Owen

Nate & Uncle Jeff

A successful first day at home...

Owen's first bath at home...


Nate & Owen on the couch...

Another shot of Nate & Owen...

Owen & Jen come home...

We brought Owen & Jen home late this afternoon and everyone is REALLY HAPPY to be back at home!!!



Thanks for checking in on us!

Trey

Nate & Owen

We took Nate to the hospital today to meet his little brother...

Owen & Mom

NATHAN IS A BIG BROTHER!

Owen Bennett Russell arrived Thursday afternoon at 3:55PM. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 ozs., is 21 inches long and has red hair just like his older brother! Here are a few pictures:

Moments like this make it all worthwhile...

More pictures of Nate & Owen on Friday!

Trey

Nate & the Catoosa Cheerleaders

Greetings from HOT, HOT Tulsa!

Here is a quick update and a few pictures since it has been a while since we posted! Nate is doing well...he has two upper teeth breaking through the gum line so he has been a little fussy off & on over the last week or so. His appointment with Dr. Carey went well and the culture came back with "rare/very few pseudomonas" which means that it is suppressed right now. He will probably always have some of it in his lungs and our best approach is to keep it suppressed.

Jen is hanging in there and in the next 7 to 8 days, Nate will be a big brother! If she does not go into labor before next Thursday, we'll do an inducement on August 23rd at 7:30AM. I really believe that Nate understands what is going on and that he does look forward to a baby around the house.

Earlier this summer, Nate became a sponsor for the Catoosa High School Varsity Cheerleaders. Last week, five members of the squad came over to get their pictures with him and Cassidy, Jenni's grand-daughter, made a poster for his room. Nate's picture will be in the 2007 Football Program and if he is doing well, we'll be able to go to one of the games and he will be introduced as an "Official Sponsor". As you can tell from the following pictures, Nate really enjoyed the having the cheerleaders around...

Group photo for the Program:

Check out his smile...

Nate & Cassidy:

Cassidy shows Nate his Thank You Poster:

Thanks for checkng in on Nate!

B-day Pictures (Cake)

B-day Pics (Opening Presents)

B-Day Pics (Aquarium)

Nathan is 4 YEARS OLD!!!!!!

What a blessing - 4 years with our Nate! He had such a great birthday yesterday. He loved the Aquarium and seemed to enjoy it much more than the previous visits. He seems to be at the perfect age to really take it all in and was much more interested in all the fish and exhibits. He also enjoyed opening presents more this year and tasting his homemade cake. He was so into it! It was the perfect day.

With each birthday Nathan has, we celebrate. We celebrate him beating the odds and we admire his diligent fight against the devastating disorder of SMA. Throughout the year, we enjoy every single day with Nathan. We realize how precious Life is and realize what a special and strong person Nathan is. Nathan is such a happy boy, which makes us happy. Sure, Nathan is different and has a horrible disorder, but we don't focus on that. We enjoy Life & Nathan and the fact that he has SMA is secondary.

The pictures will be coming. We have so many good ones to share!!!

Thanks for checking in on Nate and for all the birthday wishes!

Jen & Trey

The beauty of a hospital bed...

One of the great things about having a hospital bed for Nate is the ability to raise, lower, tilt and adjust it to suit Nate's needs. During his doctor's appointment this afternoon, we talked about putting him in different positions to see if some worked better for him in regards to his breathing. While he is in his stander, he is able to be off the BiPAP for longer periods of time than when he is laying down.

So tonight, we raised the head of the bed way up so we could get him in a reclined sitting position without the BiPAP for a while. He did really well and was off the BiPAP for about 15 minutes...

Nate and Daddy coming in after swinging outside

Nate and Miss Sue

Sue came to visit Nate and, as you can tell from the picture, they were both very happy to see each other again!!!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Not much new around our house, which is a good thing sometimes. Nate has been enjoying the pool a lot, since the rain has finally stopped! He seems to be doing really well medically, and in great spirits, as always. I continue to get bigger and bigger and more uncomfortable. It has been an adjustment and unfortunately, I'm limited on how much I can handle Nate. So, mostly I wait for Trey to get home in the evenings, and then we will get Nate up and about (in the pool, in the swing, getting out of the house, etc.). The weekends are always full since Trey is home and we have nursing. Our nursing situation has improved some, but we still don't have coverage on Saturday nights. Hopefully before the baby comes, we can get that covered. We have tentatively scheduled an induction for Thursday, August 23rd. I originally didn't want to induce, but the more we thought about it, it really makes sense in our situation. We can make sure we have a nurse, Trey can actually be there for the birth (VERY IMPORTANT!!!), and we'll know Nate is taken care of. So, we're just counting the days (actually I'm counting hours and minutes) and looking forward to our new addition! I'm so happy and excited, especially for Nate to have a sibling!

Nate's 4th birthday is coming up very soon!!! We aren't having a big party this year since I'm in really no shape to plan anything right now! But, Nancy and Wayne are coming up and we will be going to the aquarium and opening presents that evening and letting Nate taste some b-day cake. I'm also hoping to get the Nelsons and the Gundys over soon for a swim play date. They are the other families with children with SMA. I can't believe he's going to be 4!!! What a big boy! We are so blessed!

We go see Dr. Carey the first week of August and we'll be sure to update after the appointment. And, of course, we'll update after his birthday with pictures!

Thanks for checking in!!!

Jennifer

Nate With His New "Blanket4SMA"

Nate Having Fun In the Tub

FIREWORKS!!!!

Nate, Gammy & Uncle Jeff watch the show...

Uncle Jeff directs the plane to the jet bridge...

July 4th Update

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

Our neighborhood had a Fourth of July Parade this morning and Nate participated in his decorative Kid Kart. Here are some pictures from the event...

A quick family photo before heading out...


An old time fire truck lead the parade...

Nate, Dad & Miss Ollie rollin' along...

This picture is from Saturday, June 23rd...our 6th Anniversary! Jennie and her daughter, Tracey, came to the house and took care of Nate while we went out to dinner to celebrate. We had a great time and Nate really enjoyed seeing other faces during the evening hours...THANK YOU Jennie & Tracey!!