18 Sep Update
We had Keegan’s first birthday party last Saturday, even though it was rainy and windy as Hurricane Ike passed by. He had a bug-themed party at his Mamie and Big Daddy’s house. It was such an awesome party, and he was very blessed that his Mamie put together such a great time. Many family and friends came to celebrate. Instead of gifts, we asked everyone to bring a book to be donated to Children’s in Keegan’s honor. As of today, we have collected 152 books! Some were still coming by mail today, so we’ll update with the final count when we bring them to CMC. Most will probably go to Legacy since its library is so new. Keegan was a real trooper through the party and didn’t crash until everyone had trickled out. Thank you so much to Mamie & Big Daddy for hosting and to all who came to help us celebrate such a huge milestone in K’s life.
Keegan also received some fun gifts from family. We gave him a climber/slide that’s probably a little beyond him right now, but he’ll enjoy it as he grows. He got a great wagon from Chum & Poppy, a really cool, Kettler trike from Mamie & Big Daddy (it will grow with him from us pushing it to him riding completely on his own), and a rocker from Pops & Oma that has belonged to four generations of Harrison boys now. You can see pictures from the party here.
Monday Keegan went to Dr. Lestz for his one-year well-child (still makes me chuckle to think of him at a well-child visit). He had lost a little weight again (just a bit) despite still taking formula and 8oz of pediasure a day. We will continue the pediasure but stop formula when we run out at the end of the week. Keegan will likely go into the pediatrician’s office once a month for weigh-ins until everyone is a little more comfortable that he’s growing properly. It’s kind of like a skewed version of Weight Watchers! Developmentally, he got the thumbs-up, even though he’s not really walking or talking yet. No words other than mama/dada, and even those aren’t discriminate. I swear he said “yeah” and “hi” the other day, but it must have been a fluke. He’s taking a few steps behind his new walker now, but he’s very timid still. His only other new trick is that he finally started drinking from his straw sippy cup. Although, it was only at one sitting today, so maybe that was a fluke too.
Friday will be Keegan’s one-year anniversary of his heart transplant. Saturday, he will take his one-year portraits at the Arboretum. Sunday, we will go to the annual ICU reunion at Childrens. Next Tuesday, Keegan has his annual heart clinic with biopsy, and Thursday, he will be one of the official ribbon-cutters in the grand-opening of Children’s at Legacy. Gray and I will also tape our annual interview for the Children’s Miracle Network radiothon on Thursday. We also will meet with an author to draft the direct mailer for Childrens next week (this is one of those “please donate” things you get in the mail). Busy, busy, busy bees around here!
We will post again this weekend, so stay tuned. Don’t forget to check out the recent pictures (our camera had a mishap, and we only recovered part of the pics from the party; we lost all our video), and we’ll post more in the coming week of all Keegan’s social engagements. =) Thank you as always for your prayers and encouragement. The happy, one-year old Keegan we have today wouldn’t be without the love and support of our friends and family.