1 Year Report Card and Birthday Cake!

Edward's 1st Report Card (only a teacher thinks like this.....)

Weight: 17 lbs even!
Height: 26 and 3/8 inches
Clothes Size: 9 months
Diaper Size: 3
Teeth: 2 on the bottom
Daily Medicines: Zantac and BioGaia Probiotics
Formula: Enfacare 22 calories
Bottles: 3-4 a day, about 6 ounces each
Foods: still eating some purees but also eating puffs, crackers, yogurt, and small bites of avocado, cooked carrots, baked pears, ham, cheese..... he will soon try eggs and cheerios!
Farts: still stinky :)
Words: zero, but starting to babble
Laughter: hearty
Naps: can be hit or miss, hit meaning twice a day, miss meaning that he doesn't nap all afternoon
Night Sleep: sleeps through the night most nights, or wakes up for 1 bottle
Car Seat: hates it, driver must use ear plugs
Accomplishments: sitting up, crawling, and pulling up in the crib

* Eddie's 1 year check up went well, except for the fact that he had to get 4 needles! The doctor thinks he is growing well, but would like to keep him on formula for the next few months so we can try to wean him off of his reflux medicine.  That sounds great to us, because we are not sure how much he actually needs the Zantac anymore.  On a preemie growth chart Edward is in the 25 percentile for height and weight, and the 90th percentile for his head! (On a side note, last week while I was taking Eddie for a walk, the weirdo lady in my neighborhood stopped me, peered into the stroller and bluntly stated "Wow, he's got a big ol' head!" I wanted to say, "Wow, you got a big ugly face!" but, alas, I didn't and I kindly replied, "Yes, he is a very, very smart boy! Big brain!" So YES, Eddie has a big head! haha!)   The doctor also pulled up his information on a regular, or shall I say, full term growth chart, and if you correct Eddie's age to be 8 months old, he would be in the 10th percentile for both height and weight.  Pretty good, I think!  Mike and I are not the biggest people, and so the 10th percentile sounds just about right!  Way to go big boy!

Here are some pictures from Edward's birthday celebration!

The Birthday Boy!

We think the video is now working a little better, but the timing is still a little off....enjoy!

Here is a video that Michael and I have been working on for Edward. We can NOT believe that our little, itty, bitty baby is turning 1 tomorrow! Tomorrow will be a joyous yet difficult day of reflecting for me, as I relive all of the hospital memories. A year ago, we were told that Edward had a 50/50 chance of survival, and within his chances of survival there would mostly likely be any number of disabilities. We are so blessed that our 1 lb 12 oz miracle is now a 16 lb 11 oz curious, energetic and funny little boy. We are so grateful for this blessing and thank God for allowing us to become parents to such a special baby. We also know that we could not have survived this crazy and hectic year without our wonderful parents. Both of our parents live about 6 hours away from Charlottesville, yet they drove here countless times to sit with us in the NICU by Edward's bed, to run errands for us, to clean the house for us (Mom you are the best!), to set up Edward's nursery for us because clearly that was NOT ready, to walk the dog for us, and most importantly to cry and pray with us. Thank you so much Grammy and Pop-Pop Schuster and Grammy and Papa Johnson. Edward is one lucky baby to have such wonderful grandparents like each of you.

We would like to thank our brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and grandma, who also really supported us through an incredible year. We appreciated your visits, meals, presents, and most of all, phone calls. Many of you listened to us vent, cry, and talk out our worries and concerns for Edward. Thank you for your listening ears. ( and my Edward necklace :) Also, we would like to thank all of our friends that reached out to us in many ways this past year- phone calls, text messages, emails, cards, presents, flowers, meals, books, etc. Two days after Edward was born, Michael leaned over to show me his Facebook page and all of the people who responded and sent good thoughts, messages, and prayers our way. I remember the tears streaming down my face as I was trying to read every last word. The caring thoughts and messages made us feel so incredibly loved. Last week we reread all of those messages that everyone sent. We were like 2 fools, sitting on the couch, each of us drinking a beer, and crying our eyes out as we looked at an email chain that Michael sent out to all of our ND friends at this time last year. We were so incredibly overwhelmed to hear that candles were lit in the Grotto at Notre Dame for our Edward, we just couldn't believe it! Thank you to each and everyone one of you.

We would especially like to thank the UVA NICU. We had so many wonderful nurses, doctors, and NNPs in charge of Edward's care. Mike and I tried to write down all of the names of anyone who ever took care of Edward and it was over 100 people! He received the BEST care and he has done so well because of this. We think of you all very often and we will come by the NICU again to visit after flu season! We love our UVA family. Even if Edward grows up to cheer for Notre Dame, we will encourage him to also cheer for UVA :) Thank you for giving Edward the best possible start in life.

And lastly we would like to thank Edward. This baby has taught us so many lessons already. He has taught us to trust in our faith. He has taught us to love more than we ever thought we could. And he has taught us to value each and every minute we have. Thank you Edward. I will still ground you when you are 16 and are a smart ass, but thank you. We love you.

Okay, well I have a cake to bake and I need to hold back the tears long enough to get this thing in the oven! HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDWARD!

P.S. Please sleep through the night..... thanks!