Visit to UPRR

Will and I made a visit to Union Pacific today. I figured we would stop by and see some of my coworkers and then stop to see Aunt Jordan. William fit in well at Headquarters. I think I see railroading in his future:)

Bugga!

Ratcliff Family Christmas

Our Christmas celebration was postponed with Scott's side of the family due to weather so we celebrated on Sunday. Red Oak got thirteen inches of snow over the Holiday and Scott's family was nice enough to drive up to Council Bluffs and celebrate on Skyline Drive. We had a wonderful time. Will's first Christmas was great with both our families and we are so thankful for them!

Merry Christmas from the Ratcliffs!

Christmas 2009

We celebrated Christams with the Oders on Christmas Eve. Our Christmas celebration with the Ratcliffs was postponed due to the blizzard we will be celebrating on Sunday. William had a wonderful first Christmas and got tons of goodies. We were able to brave the storm and head to Jordan and Steve's for an Italian feast yesterday. I am glad we could make it the 5 mile to their house or Christmas day would not of been the same. We had a great couple days and we are so grateful for our wonderful family. We love you!

Woot Woot!

Today we visited Dr. Delaney. He gave us the best news we could of possibly gotten. Will is not a one ventricle heart baby. The outcome looks like he will either be a one and half or two. This is wonderful news. We are hoping he will be a two ventricle with a full functioning heart. This would be a true miracle. So in the meantime we wait. We head back in Feburary for a echo and we should have the answer of one and half or two. This is the best Christmas gift we could of asked for.

Sweet Potatoes

We have started Will on veggies. This week he is trying sweet potatoes. He loves them. Next week we are trying carrots:)

All Smiles

Four Month Checkup

We had Will's four month check up yesterday even though he will be five months next week. We were a little behind because of his heart cath and the appointments with his cardiologists. Dr. Shawn was very thrilled at how well Will is doing. His weight is 14pounds 3 oz which puts him in the 30th percentile. Dr. Jones said he is very happy with his progress. He is 25 inches long which puts him the 75th percentile and his head his 16 1/2 which is the 50th percentile. These numbers are great and we are so happy with his progress.

We get to start him on veggies and fruits too. We are so happy at Will's progress and we are looking forward to spending the holidays at home!

Telecommunication

Well I have some exciting news! My Director at work approached me about working from home and I took them up on their offer. I will be working full time again and working from home. I will only have to head into the office for meetings when I can and on Thursday afternoons. I am really looking forward to the oppurtunity and so blessed that my employer is willing to work with me because of William being sick. I am excited to set the trend maybe for other moms at Union Pacific. I start on Monday and I am looking forward to it!

Waiting for Dr. Hammel

William made his monthly visit to Dr. Hammel's office yesterday. They like to make sure he is keeping up on his weight and his Oxygen levels are where they are suppose to be. They are very pleased. Dr. Hammel said he could not be happier as too what Dr. Delaney found during Will's heart cath and we are heading in the right direction. Wahoo!

Milestone

William has been upgraded to a carseat. A major milestone for a heart baby. He was getting too long for his car bed so Nurse Carmen told us that William was ready for his carseat. His head control is still not all there but he is doing great. He falls asleep as soon as we get in the car so I am assuming he likes it.

Happy Birthday Grandma Kathy!

Power Of Prayer

William had his heart catherization on Friday and we can breathe a sigh of relief for now. William is not out of the woods but according to Dr. Delaney they did find the best case scenario when looking over William. Pressure in the right ventricle has lowered therefore allowing more blood flow to pass through. Since this is happening we just wait because they have hope the right ventricle will continue to grow. Right now we do nothing different and wait about 5 months and we will have a complete game plan. Most babies with Will's heart defect would already be planning their second open heart surgery. Will has defied all the odds so far. I really do believe in the power of Prayer. The thoughts, prayers and support have truly helped William get through this.

I've been working on the Railroad

William and Jeter

Jeter has been having some issues with Will. He really wants nothing to do with him but he still wants the same attention from us that he was getting before. Today I thought I would try and get a picture of the two. Jeter is not having any of it but Will is smiling. In about 3 months I have a feeling Jeter will love William:)

Will and Sam

Will and Samuel met "offically" for the first time today. When Sam was here for Will's baptism he was a little under the weather so he was avoiding Will . Since they are only a year and half apart we cannot wait until they will play together. Now we just need Jer and Rachel move to CB and they will hangout all the time! :)

Our Little Pumpkin!

Happy Halloween!

Sunday Funday!

Will and I had a great day today. We stopped by the Fire Station to have dinner with Scott. William loves visiting his daddy at work. :)

Staying Hopefull!

Well we did not get the news we hoped for today while visiting Dr.Delaney on Tuesday. According to Dr. Delaney William's ecco looks the same as it did 2 months ago and there is no change in the growth of the right ventricle. This was very crucial in determining Will's next step. Right now Dr. Delaney knows that surgery lies ahead but we do not know the exact road that will be taken. On Monday, Dr Delaney will meet with the other 7 seven cardiologists and two surgeons to determine the next step for William. William is strong and can handle whatever is thrown his way. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

3 months Old!

Will reached a milestone today. He is 3 months old. He is doing great. We had a little setback on Tuesday at the cardiologists office but Will is strong and can handle whatever is thrown his way. He is working hard on trying to hold his head up. We practice everyday and he is getting stronger and stronger. We do not know what life use to be without him and our loving every minute with him. It brings a smile to face to wake up every morning to such a happy smiley baby. Scott and I want to thank you all for the thoughts and prayers. I cannot say this enough. The positive thoughts have gotten us through this last three months and will continue to help us through the rest!!

Random Fun with William!

Quality Time

William spent the afternoon with Jordan and Steve. He loves spending time with them. I appreciate all there help and I am so lucky to have them so close by. Here are some picture from today. My parents joined us later for some pizza and dessert and to watch some of the Yankee game!

Back to Work!

I return to work tomorrow. I can only work Part Time since Will is not cleared to go to Daycare and we also do not want him in daycare. I will be working on the days Scott is home. Scott has wrapped up his painting business for season and will be Will have some QT with him while I am working. I am anxious to go back but I know I will miss Will so much. We are lucky that he will be at home and I think that will make it easier. It will also take some time to adjust. I will be working different hours 830 to 430. I think the day will seem like forever.!!!!

October Snow

Will is already for Winter:)

Mr. October

Well it is baseball postseason time and the New York Yankees are back! I love Fall and I love baseball. We have already started to train William to love baseball and the Yankees and I know Grandpa Mike cannot wait to throw the ball around with Will. We are all pretty convinced William will be a New York Yankee one day! Go Yankees...see you in the World Series:)

Bumbo!

William is not like a normal baby and cannot enjoy the luxuries of most babies. Until he is about 6 months old, it may even be longer, he will be spending most of his time of his back due to the blood flow of his heart. The doctors have given us exercises to do with William and have told us that he can do tummy time but for a little bit at a time. He cannot be in a swing unless it lies flat and of course most of you have seen the car bed he rides in the car. Well Dr. Jones wants us to work on the strength of Will's head so I decided to try him out in the Bumbo. He loved it. You can tell by the expression in his face:) I think he is very happy to be sitting up instead of lying down. He has to be watched very closely when it and can only sit in it for a minute or so but I think this is a luxury I will be providing him on a daily basis! :)

Jeter is adjusting to life with William around the house. At first he really wanted nothing to do with Will but now he is starting to understand him more. When Will cries you can tell Jeter gets upset and always comes around to make sure he is okay. Jeter does sometime fight for attention when we have company but I think he is starting to realize that William comes first.

William Update

William is doing great. We headed to see his surgeon Dr. Hammel on Thursday and they are really happy with his progress. His weight is up and he gained 23 ounces in 25 days and by looking at his oxygen levels you would not even know he was a heart baby. It also looks like his right ventricle is opening up as it should be. We head back to the cardiologists on October 20th and hopefully we will have some answers and have Will's next surgery all lined up. The anticipation of knowing something is going to happen we just dont know what is killing us. But we could not have a happier baby on our hands. He is just so special and so spolied by everyone in his life.

Scott and I also have been able to make a few football games in Ames. We are enjoying our weekends in Ames and cannot wait to take William to games with us next year:)

William's Baptism

William Arthur was baptized today at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. We had a great day with family and Will got to meet Uncle Jeremy and Cousin Sam for the first time today. It was nice to have both sides of the family together. William did great and did not even make a peep during the whole baptism ceremony. We are also honored to introduce Will's godparents Aunt Jordan and Uncle Steve. Will is one lucky kid!