Joy to the world. All the boys and girls...

This photo still takes my breath away. I could never have imagined the active boy we now enjoy. I think Santa gave him a little extra enthusiasm for life that day as well. He takes such joy in experiencing the world. 

Our trip to Leavenworth was full of wonder for this kid. He could not get enough of the snow. He walked all over the place in the 28 degree weather and only complained when he was hungry. (Which was often, but nothing a bratwurst lunch couldn't solve.) 

Tiernan has loved every day waking up and finding out where his beloved elf Snickerdoodles has landed. He talks to him and even invited him to please visit us in Leavenworth. He was thrilled to see Snickerdoodles took him up on the offer. Especially the second morning when he was legitimately shocked to have seen him one moment in the same spot as the previous morning and then the next he looked, that clever elf had relocated next to the coffee maker where I nearly touched him while fumbling in the dark to make my coffee. Phew!  Close call. 

Even MORE shock when Tiernan noticed Snickerdoodle had suddenly joined us in our car on the way home!  

Grandma and Pops are here for Christmas this year and Kathy was telling me a story that perfectly illustrates how Tiernan's excitement for life impacts others. 

Recently she was on a guided hike in Missoula and the young woman who was leading them was talking about how she worked at the U of M Summer Camp. She said how they get to work with so many great kids and then proceeded to talk about this one kid named Tiernan who basically stole the hearts of the leaders. Kathy overheard this and asked more questions and confirmed it was our Tiernan. (As if there are so many Tiernans out there. Lol)

Kathy asked what it was about him that they loved and the leader said he was just so delighted about EVERYTHING they did. His joy is contagious. 

I hope you all find yourselves delighted with the little joys of life in the coming year. Merry Christmas and Cheers to a wonderful 2017!

Life thanks to Dr. Hanley (and a hundred or so other doctors and nurses)

Conducting a wave symphony at the Dungeness Spit. 

Running in and out of the waves. Not a purple lip in sight. 

Cowabunga!!!!!  Suncadia was the best. 

First kids mile race. ✅

Pulling his cousin in the wagon. 

7th Birthday on roller skates. 

Helicopter pilot. 

Countless hours spent racing around the cul de sac with his gang. 

First day as a "grader". 

The big kid swings at the fair!  

Daredevil!  Tall and brave enough for nearly any ride. 

33 laps at his favorite school event...Apex Fun Run!

Occasionally, if he laughs really hard, he does go a bit purple. But that's a small price to pay for an awesome laughing fit during family game night. 

When I wanted a picture of him at school he decided he needed to pose by his favorite thing...the sticker machine. Lol

Me: Tiernan, you are reading really well!

Tiernan: 🙄 Mom. I AM in first grade now. 

Apparently all first graders magically become excellent readers. (If only...)

Isn't this how everyone plays the piano?

Have a great day. 

2 years out and this kid is living life in the fast lane

Today is the 2nd anniversary of Tiernan's bi-vent repair, i.e. The Surgery That Changed Everything. You can read about that if you like here:

http://tiernanstube.blogspot.com/2014/07/wait-wait-wait-what.html?m=0

Tiernan had his cardiology check up about 4 weeks ago and Dr. Park says he's never seen him look so great. He still can't downgrade his valve leakage from moderate/severe, however, the size and other functions of his heart have improved enough that he felt confident enough to drop his evening Lasix dose!  That may be the best med change in the history of med changes!

I have to remind myself from time to time that those medicines are the key to success. Without them he would find himself in heart failure in a hurry I think. So we won't likely see many more significant changes in meds anymore. As it stands now, his meds include:

Diuretics:

Lasix: 20mg ONCE daily 🤗

Spironolactone: 25mg twice daily

Heart rate and Blood Pressure:

Enalapril: 20mg twice daily 

Atenolol: half a 25mg tab once daily 

Blood thinner:

Aspirin: 81mg once daily

Other stats:

Height: 45 inches (just under 4 feet. He is finally showing some good growth there. It's taken 2 years but he's doing it)

Weight: 45 lbs (which means he has gained 10 lbs since returning from Stanford. It's honestly amazing that he hasn't gained double that amount given how much he eats.)

Sats: 99%. I might never get used to the shock of that. I'm so grateful. 

Dreaded Labs:

We did these a week after dropping the Lasix dose and they did show that his BNP had increased (as it always does when we change his diuretics) but only to 98 and below 100 is considered completely normal. 

The rest of the panel looked to be the picture of perfection and even his nephrologist seems excited (although I'm not sure that is a feeling she ever experiences). She was even happy enough to let us reschedule his June appointment for October so he didn't have to miss a day of art camp that week. 

Speaking of camp and activities:

We are here in Missoula visiting family and friends. Tiernan has been busier than all the rest of us combined. All last week he was at his first All Day Camp experience. He had an amazing week with the Outdoor Adventure Camp through the University of Montana campus Rec youth programs. The week was filled with swimming lessons and games. They went to the planetarium and met Smokey the Bear who taught them how to safely and responsibly build a campfire. 

The highlights of the week were the "white water" rafting on the Clark Fork River. The kids got to do the paddling most of the time and he thought it was amazing. He loved the "Rapids" and getting to spin the raft around in circles. They DID have to stop and wait for "the slow poke boat" a lot which was his least favorite part. Absolutely an excellent summer experience for this action loving kid. 

The last day of camp was all about hiking. The photo below, for those not familiar with Missoula, shows him pointing toward Mt. Sentinel and the white spot up near the sky. That's the "M". It is 3/4 of a mile up with a 650 foot elevation gain and 11 switchbacks. It is a rather grueling hike. I actually hate it, to be perfectly honest. Tiernan hiked it with no problem. He said the going down part was harder than going up part.  He's VERY proud of himself. (But not as proud as I am.)

Tiernan and his cousin Evan are like 2 peas in a pod and they had a great time running around together at the park. They are both daredevils of the first order and so when E climbed up on top of the tunnel, Tiernan wasted no time in following him. Of course, once he was up there, he said, "I'm a bit squeamish about heights!"  (Yeah, right!)

They also share the silly genes for sure. 

However, the boy who is squeamish about heights had zero concern about jumping down. 

Just one of the things I love and miss about Missoula are the community events and opportunities for biking just about anywhere you want to go. Yesterday was the Sunday Streets day where the majority of the downtown was closed off to cars. Community members and business owners filled the streets and played games, did crafts, (Tiernan and Tristan built a rack and got to use power tools, to their great delight) yoga and OULA on the Higgins St. bridge, hula hooping and biking in the middle of the street....pure joy in my opinion. 

Tiernan and Tristan are both enjoying the opportunity to practice their piano on Granda's beautiful baby grand. (I'm just thankful Granda has been patient with their noise.)

Today Tiernan and I went on a lovely bike ride around the U of M campus. He was excited to show me the spots of his favorite camp experiences and lead the way around the university. We easily rode around for an hour and when we got home, he was off to Splash Montana for some water fun with Jason. 

That bruise on his arm is just one of many...they are little badges of honor to commemorate every bit of adventure he has had the past 2 weeks.