Seriously, could I be ANY cuter??? I was totally hamming it up for Mom and she was loving every minute of it! Everyone was so impressed how strongly I responded to Mom and her camera!!! I had everyone cheering! And look at me working so hard to hold my head up in my Bumbo seat. I am making progress...slowly but surely! YAY ME! :) Monday, June 12, 2006
SUPER, SUPER, SUPER CUTE ME!!!
Seriously, could I be ANY cuter??? I was totally hamming it up for Mom and she was loving every minute of it! Everyone was so impressed how strongly I responded to Mom and her camera!!! I had everyone cheering! And look at me working so hard to hold my head up in my Bumbo seat. I am making progress...slowly but surely! YAY ME! :) 
PHOTOS FROM WILD AND WONDERFUL WV!
Here are just a few highlights from my trip to WV...more to come!!!
Silly Mommy! But I must admit I do enjoy her funny songs and games! :)
Grandma Mary, you are awesome! :) I so loved our special time together! And I know you are trying very hard to get my attention with that party toy, but I am NOT giving up my new dragon!!! 
I absolutely LOVE Papa and especially his mustache! 
Cuddling with Stephanie (one of my absolute favorite people in the world) is sooo wonderful! She is going to be such a wonderful mommy...Mommy and I are VERY excited for you and Drew! :) Oh and look again who I have in my hands...my new favorite toy courtesy of Aunt Meredith!
Here's my crazy Uncle David making me work! C'mon David, give a kid a break. It takes a lot of energy to hold my head up AND reach for the toys! (But Mommy actually said it is "good therapy" and she always makes me work hard too!!!) Thanks Uncle David for the extra "therapy" and for being my Godparent! AND I soooo love your little boy Davey...he's fun!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
BAPTISM PHOTOS
Maxwell's Godparents are Elizabeth and Jim (my sister and brother in law) and my brother David. Thomas's Godparents are Stephanie, Meredith and Bennett.
Maxwell handled the baptism very calmly. And there were many "oohs and aahs" when he so tenderly reached for the minister's face after he was baptized. So sweet! 
So proud of lil' miracle guy!
HOME SWEET HOME
We arrived back in Bellingham on Friday and are enjoying the comforts of sweet home...especially seeing our dogs, Barney & Shakespeare AND the mild, non humid weather of the Pacific NW! :)
However, we were sad to say goodbye to family and friends, and I will definitely miss Grandma Mary's help with Maxwell! She was great with helping comfort him, prepare his feeds, medications, monitor his oxygen, etc...certainly helps to have an ICU nurse in the family! A special thank you too to Dad "Papa" for all of your help with the hearing. It was so wonderful to have you there with me that day providing that needed encouragement and strength. Thank you for everything.
And Max and I are quite bummed that we had to cancel some of our plans for this weekend with friends in Charleston...I would have loved for you to have spent more time with Mighty Max. I promise we will find a way in the near future!!!
Our original plan was to stay until early next week but over the past week, Max was doing some odd things with his breathing. It was quite labored and despite multiple attempts at suctioning and various inhalers, it continued...periodically during the day and night. So I thought it was best to bring him home and have him close to his doctors in case something were to worsen. Then in the past few days he started to have issues with his feeds (vomiting, diarrhea) so I think we made the right choice.
The little bugger is still on east coast time, which is a little annoying! He was up at 4 am this morning ready to go! So yet another night of mommy only getting about three hours of sleep...he doesn't seem to get this notion of me needing sleep too!!! :)
I will try and post birthday photos today! I have received multiple requests....sorry for the delay! :) We have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of photos!!! :) I will have to choose a few favorites!
*On a different note, I'm not sure what to do about the blog during the remainder of this divorce. I would like to believe my soon to be ex and his attorney visit this blog and other CHARGE sites to truly get to know Maxwell and learn about CHARGE and Max's specific challenges so that we can work together and find a solution best for our baby. However, last week I learned that definitely is not the case. They are doing so for ulterior motives and that is unfortunate...and quite frankly, that really irritates me. Feels like such an intrusion into our personal space.
It's strange to think that I started this blog last year to simply keep a few friends and family members updated...who would have thought so many people around the world would tune in to Max's story and that this blog would become such an "issue" in our hearing! The power of the internet is unbelievable.
And to the CHARGE families, I posted on the list serv what the attorney said to me...I think you will be just as offended as I was/am and understand what we are up against in this hearing. His ignorant words will not be forgotten anytime soon.
But we'll see. If I do decide to not post until after the divorce hearing, feel free to contact me directly! I definitely want to keep anyone updated who is interested! :)
However, we were sad to say goodbye to family and friends, and I will definitely miss Grandma Mary's help with Maxwell! She was great with helping comfort him, prepare his feeds, medications, monitor his oxygen, etc...certainly helps to have an ICU nurse in the family! A special thank you too to Dad "Papa" for all of your help with the hearing. It was so wonderful to have you there with me that day providing that needed encouragement and strength. Thank you for everything.
And Max and I are quite bummed that we had to cancel some of our plans for this weekend with friends in Charleston...I would have loved for you to have spent more time with Mighty Max. I promise we will find a way in the near future!!!
Our original plan was to stay until early next week but over the past week, Max was doing some odd things with his breathing. It was quite labored and despite multiple attempts at suctioning and various inhalers, it continued...periodically during the day and night. So I thought it was best to bring him home and have him close to his doctors in case something were to worsen. Then in the past few days he started to have issues with his feeds (vomiting, diarrhea) so I think we made the right choice.
The little bugger is still on east coast time, which is a little annoying! He was up at 4 am this morning ready to go! So yet another night of mommy only getting about three hours of sleep...he doesn't seem to get this notion of me needing sleep too!!! :)
I will try and post birthday photos today! I have received multiple requests....sorry for the delay! :) We have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of photos!!! :) I will have to choose a few favorites!
*On a different note, I'm not sure what to do about the blog during the remainder of this divorce. I would like to believe my soon to be ex and his attorney visit this blog and other CHARGE sites to truly get to know Maxwell and learn about CHARGE and Max's specific challenges so that we can work together and find a solution best for our baby. However, last week I learned that definitely is not the case. They are doing so for ulterior motives and that is unfortunate...and quite frankly, that really irritates me. Feels like such an intrusion into our personal space.
It's strange to think that I started this blog last year to simply keep a few friends and family members updated...who would have thought so many people around the world would tune in to Max's story and that this blog would become such an "issue" in our hearing! The power of the internet is unbelievable.
And to the CHARGE families, I posted on the list serv what the attorney said to me...I think you will be just as offended as I was/am and understand what we are up against in this hearing. His ignorant words will not be forgotten anytime soon.
But we'll see. If I do decide to not post until after the divorce hearing, feel free to contact me directly! I definitely want to keep anyone updated who is interested! :)
Thursday, June 08, 2006
DIVORCE HEARING UPDATE
Where do I even begin? Yesterday's all day hearing was intense and LONG. And since we are in the midst of the divorce proceedings, I am not permitted to discuss any specifics. However, I did want to provide at least a quick update since I have been flooded with emails, phone calls and blog postings. Thanks everyone for your amazing support and encouragement...great strength in numbers! :) Max's fan club has proven time and time again to provide a much needed boost to us at all the right times!
First, the hearing wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Obviously it wasn't easy, but the truth is absolutely 100% on my side, so I felt very comfortable testifying about everything...what happened in the marriage, the ill health and development of Maxwell, and the financial needs in being his full time caregiver. I thought I would be very emotional but I was able to stay focused on fighting for what Max needs...and that felt wonderful. It is just such a shame that this is what had to happen. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be in this situation. I thought we would be happily married for the rest of our lives with a happy family, good friends, strong businesses, and a great life. But instead here we are in divorce court fighting over the needs of our baby...wow, life really takes you by surprise sometimes, doesn't it???
Second, I cannot give details on the "fault" that was proved. All that matters at this point is that I hope this helps to have my legal fees paid for by the other party. I don't think I should be responsible for these extreme divorce costs when I did nothing wrong. Haven't I been punished enough already?
Third, we are not finished unfortunately...not by a long shot. We will resume our hearing at a later date this summer, and I will be forced to once again travel back to WV.
I am sorry that I cannot offer more details "publicly" because I know you all care tremendously about Maxwell. But rest assured that I will make certain that the father owns up to his responsibilty. Perhaps after yesterday's testimony and some options we provided, he will see the situation more clearly. There is no other choice.
First, the hearing wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Obviously it wasn't easy, but the truth is absolutely 100% on my side, so I felt very comfortable testifying about everything...what happened in the marriage, the ill health and development of Maxwell, and the financial needs in being his full time caregiver. I thought I would be very emotional but I was able to stay focused on fighting for what Max needs...and that felt wonderful. It is just such a shame that this is what had to happen. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be in this situation. I thought we would be happily married for the rest of our lives with a happy family, good friends, strong businesses, and a great life. But instead here we are in divorce court fighting over the needs of our baby...wow, life really takes you by surprise sometimes, doesn't it???
Second, I cannot give details on the "fault" that was proved. All that matters at this point is that I hope this helps to have my legal fees paid for by the other party. I don't think I should be responsible for these extreme divorce costs when I did nothing wrong. Haven't I been punished enough already?
Third, we are not finished unfortunately...not by a long shot. We will resume our hearing at a later date this summer, and I will be forced to once again travel back to WV.
I am sorry that I cannot offer more details "publicly" because I know you all care tremendously about Maxwell. But rest assured that I will make certain that the father owns up to his responsibilty. Perhaps after yesterday's testimony and some options we provided, he will see the situation more clearly. There is no other choice.
