Owen's Christening at US Naval Academy

We had our little guy christened at the Naval Academy this past Sunday. It was such a beautiful day and we were so blessed that all of our family was able to be there for it. The chapel is such a special place to us since we were married there and we had Violet christened there as well.





The Ross Family


The Kaiser family


Evans Family


Brown Family

Ocean City with Family

Brandon's mom and John took us all to the beach(Ocean City, MD) for a fun family vacation! Our family, John & Ada, and John's two daughters and their families all went. It was so great to spend time together and for all the cousins to get to know each other better!


The whole clan!


view from the balcony!



putt putt


Buried Kids:)

Smiley boy!

Surf's Up!

Violet & Grandma

Icecream at the boardwalk

First ride at the boardwalk

storytime with Aunt Lisa

Murmur Update

We took Owen to the doctor this week and they said he did not have a heart murmur! Yeah!! He does have a murmur though. It's called a Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and here is a little description I found about it from the American Heart Association:

Every baby is born with a ductus arteriosus. This is an open passageway between the two major blood vessels (the pulmonary artery and the aorta). The pulmonary artery carries venous blood from the heart's right side to the lungs. Then it picks up a fresh supply of oxygen. The aorta carries the oxygen-rich blood from the heart's left side to the rest of the body. Normally, the passageway (ductus arteriosus) between these two arteries closes within a few hours after birth. If it doesn't, some blood that should have gone through the aorta and on to nourish the body goes back to the lungs. Failure of the ductus to close is quite common in premature infants but fairly rare in full-term babies. If the ductus arteriosus is large, a child may tire quickly, grow slowly, catch pneumonia easily and breathe rapidly. In some children, symptoms may not occur until after the first weeks or months of life. If the ductus arteriosus is small, the child seems well.
If surgery is needed, the surgeon doesn't have to open the heart to correct this abnormal circulation. The ductus arteriosus can be closed by tying it. If there's no other defect, this restores the circulation to normal.

So, it's kinda weird that he has it since he wasn't a premie, and the doctor said that it is a medium sized hole. And, the doctor said that it will probably have to have help to close it up. So as long as he doesn't start showing symptoms before he is 6 months then the procedure is a lot less evasive, but if they have to do anything before 6 months then that will mean surgery :(

Here's a picture of a heart with PDA (its circled):

So, please keep praying for our little guy over these next few months and we will keep you updated. We are also taking him next week to another cardiologist for a second opinion.

Murmur

Just wanted to ask you all to pray for our little Owen. Today I took him in for his 2 month check-up and the doctor found a heart murmur. Since he is so young, they want us to take him to a cardiologist to have it checked out. Our appointment is for Aug 18th so we'll have more information then, but the doctor was encouraged that he is growing and devoloing normally and showing no symptoms so is "guessing" that it is an innocent murmur. He's in the 90th% for weight and 95th% for height and he's already rolling over at 2 months old! He is weighing in at 14 lbs 10 oz and was measuring 25 1/4" long!! So, he is growing super BIG!!

It's pretty scary since he's so little, but I'm trying to stay positive and not do too much research on the internet. The internet is a great tool, but it can also be a very scary thing.

We appreciate all your prayers for Owen and will keep you all updated.