The Adventures of the Atwood Family

January 2009 at the Atwood's

2009-01-14T19:32:00.000-08:00

Fall 2008

2008-12-07T15:58:00.001-08:00

Cushman Lake Vacation

2008-07-21T20:14:00.001-07:00

The Smiledon's Come for a Visit!

2008-04-12T20:54:00.001-07:00

Morgen's sister Erin and her husband, Harold came for a visit last weekend. It was also thier son, Christian's 3rd birthday. We all had a wonderful weekend together. The had a party for Christian on Saturday. The girls took the kids to the Childrens Museum on Sunday morning and the guys took the boys to Cabelas in the afternoon.

The Three Amigos

Trouble 1 & Trouble 2 :)

What are they going to do now?

Of course!

Christian blowing out his candles. Jackson positioned himself on top of the table and proceeded to give Christian directions through out the party.

The boys doing hard labor at the museum.

Christian in the current pool.

Christian coming through the port hole of the tug boat at the museum.

The boys driving the delivery van.

Progress and Success!

2008-03-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

Lilly is growing and changing daily.

Lilly is so silly and happy. She has a wonderful belly laugh.

We get lost in her eyes!

Lilly is spending much more time on the floor. Tummy time was not so fun for her for the last couple of month. We found out that she has acid reflux, so her pediatrician put her on medication that has really helped. Now she loves to roll over and move about on her tummy.

Lilly at Pikes Place Market. Lilly was intrigued with the pig's nose.

Lilly eating sweet potato. She enjoys applesause, pears, peas, carrots, bananas, & prunes.

Lilly is standing! She has always been strong, but this feat even amazed her doctor, considering she just turn 5-month old.

Jackson at Children's Hospital having his first prostetic fitting. Adjustments are made right on-site. The final prostetic is made after the successful fitting of this leg.

Jackson is learning to balance with his new leg. The window on the front of the socket (femur section of leg) is there to allow the bottom of Jackson's residual limb to pass through.

Jackson's Physical Therapist sent him home with this little tiny walker. He was able to wear the temporary prostetic for one week to help stretch the muscles in his little leg. Jeff and I had to quickly enact a policy of "the walker can only be used if your leg is on". Needless to say, Jackson was able to move around effectivley.

February 9th was Chinese New Year. We attended the Families with Children from China celebration in Seattle. Both of the kids had a fun time.

Jackson had fun with his new friends in the rice pond.

We later visited the International District in Seattle, and were lucky enough to see Dragon Dancers visiting business throughout the area. Jackson was so excitied...dancing, clapping, and singing! The fire crackers (pow pow) were a big hit. Jackson enjoyed wearing his traditional Chinese outfit and Dragon hat we purchased in Guangzhou.

Jackson gets his new leg! He even picked out the fabric for the socket. He will have this socket for about 1-year. The botton section will be adjusted regularly as Jackson grows and masters his gate training.

After the hospital, we visited Pikes Place Market. Jackson wanted to take his leg off, so he could ride in the wagon with his sister.

Lilly, Jackson and Baba Jeff in front of the Fish Counter.

Happy 2008...It's Already a Great Year!!

2008-01-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay of new photo's. As you can imagine...we have been very busy. Here are the latest photo's of our two little darlings.

This is Jackson's most current photo. Jackson's Mohawk is the result of a home haircut gone totally wrong. Thankfully, he is really stoked about his new look. In the furure, Morgen will NOT be cutting anyones hair!!!! :)

While Jackson was in his body cast, we used Lilly's changing table pad on the kitchen counter while giving Jackson sponge baths. It worked great. After Jackson got all clean, he would turn over and play in the water with his toys.

Lilly after a bottle. We call her Slobber Baby!

Jackson loves his fire truck. It works great for getting around the house. He holds onto the back and hops with his right leg, then he brakes with his cast. His PJ's all have holes in the left knees from the friction, but it kept him happy while in the cast.

Jackson and lilly goofing around. Lilly is not too sure about all this.

Mommy and Jackson playing with eye stickers.

Jackson at Children's Hospital getting his cast off. Thanks to everyone who decorated his cast.

Getting the cast off was very fast. Jackson was a trooper. It took him a few minutes to get used to the look and feel of his new leg, but all in all, he handles it with courage.

Next, he was placed in the shrinking sock. The end of his leg is tender, so putting the sock on is a little challenging.

When we were finished, Jackson and Baba got to go swimming in the hospital pool. This is good for Jackson's leg and great for Jackson's attitude.

After the swim, we went to dinner before driving home. We let Jackson pick what he wanted to eat...Noodles of course!

As Lilly is now four months old. Hher doctor has given us the okay to start solid foods. Lets just say that Lilly isn't crazy about this ideas yet!

She is cooing and blowing bubbles all the time now!

Look at those eyes!

Happy Baby!

Our First Christmas

2007-12-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas is way more fun with kids! Lilly loves all the lights...Jackson loves all the presents.

Thankfully, Santa makes house-calls. (Thank you Robyn and Tom)

Jackson and Lilly in front of our tree.

Jackson got right to "work" playing with his news toys. We actually had to take three breaks during the morning so he could play and re-group. The concept of receiving so many fun things at one time was a bit overwhelming for him...but he did great. He is such a little boy...matchbox cars, Stars Wars Mr. Potato heads and of course, a laser gun! Put them all together, you have big fun.

The Many Faces of Lilly

2007-12-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Lilly is a busy baby eating, sleeping, playing, going potty and growing. She is a very good natured and sweet baby. We are very lucky!!

Christmas was exhausting!

Lilly on her changing table showing off her moves. She is a very wiggly baby :)

Lilly with Grandpa Larsen

Lilly waking up from a nap in her bassinet.

Her first bath at home...she is so little.

Going home from the hospital/1st car ride.

September 26th, 2007-Lillian's birthday. This is about 30-minutes after birth.

Jackson & Lilly's First Christmas

2007-12-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Jackson has been having a blast learning about Christmas. Over the weekend, we celebrated with his cousins and had a great time. Click to view Jackson as an Elf!

Jackson received an awesome Harley from Aunt Liz & Uncle Jason

Opening presents is still a strange concept for Jackson. He seems to think that he has to give the items back!

Jackson singing carols with Lilly, Baba, Alex, Nick and Jake

Jackson playing his new hotwheels game with Circles

Photos from the hospital

2007-12-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Jackson had a very busy day. He had appointments all day. The night before the surgery, Jackson was able to go swimming this his Mom & Dad. This is him playing Gameboy right before bedtime.

Early morning. We report to the hospital at 7:45 am. This is Jackson in the pre-surgery wing. He was very specific about what he wanted to wear to the hospital...Superman shirt, Superman socks, Superman cape & Superman blanket. I bet you can't figure out who his favorite Superhero is?

Surgery took about five-hours. According to Dr. Mosca, everything went according to plan. Jackson was in recovery for about an hour. The photos show Jackson in his hospital room right out of recovery. The first thing he asked for was his toothbrush. He quickly moved on to the operation of the bed. The bedside controls continued to be a source of entertainment throughout his stay at children's :)

The day after surgery, Jackson is still connected to IV, epidural, and cathiter. His spirits are high. Here he is showing off his new look. The Transformer mask was a hit with the hospital staff and other patients, thanks to the voice morphing feature. (Thanks Brandi :)

Jackson's epidural was stopped around noon. By 9 PM he was off the IV and the epidural & cathiter had been removed. The only thing he wanted to do was get out of his bed and lay down with Baba on the "big bed".

Leaving the hospital. We were able to check-out before 1PM on Saturday. Jackson is ready to be home.

Success!

2007-12-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Jackson's...I mean Superman's surgery was a success! He was under for almost five hours. Dr. Mosca was able to amputate the left foot, fuse the knee and insert a metal rod up the entire leg to provide additional support.

Jackson is doing great and has a positive attitude. So far the biggest gripe has been about the IV and oxygen sensor (Jackson could not move all of his fingers on his left hand.) Once the nurse moved the oxygen sensor to his foot, Jackson was able to play his gameboy, which made him a very Happy Camper.

Keep the good energy coming!

Peace,

The Atwoods

Jackson Moves One Step Closer to His Robot Leg

2007-12-02T00:42:00.000-08:00

Jackson on the Giraffe Floor at Children's Hospital

Here is the final update before Jackson Guan Yi Atwood's surgery. As many of you know, Jackson has a birth defect called Proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD). His PFFD was more than likely caused by restriction of necessary nerve and bone development in utero as a result of very mild spinal bifida in his lower two vertebra. As a result, Jackson's left femur is only about 2" long. He also has no head on his left femur, which means that his hip muscle mass is the only thing keeping his left leg in place. Although this all sounds very ominous, Jackson is a very outgoing, happy and energetic kid. He is very excited to get his "Robot Leg". We will be staying at Children's Hospital in Seattle during Jackson's surgery. We have been so impressed with this facility and the care and love that the Doctors and staff show for kids. We really are very lucky to have such an outstanding facility here in the Pacific Northwest.

Here is the timeline:

Wednesday, Dec. 5- Back at Children's for limb deficiency clinic, renal ultrasound (to rule out kidney problems as a result of spinal bifida), more x-rays, anesthesia clinic, & prosthetic clinic. Busy day. We will be staying the night in Seattle (in a hotel with an indoor pool, so Jackson can go swimming one last time before the body cast).

Thursday, Dec. 6- 7:30 am surgery. Jackson's left little femur will be fused to his knee and the tibula and fibula will also be fused to the knee creating a new long femur. Then his left foot will be amputated. They will keep his heel pad and that will become the base of his new residual limb (PC term for stump :). The surgery takes 4-hours. He will then be put into a body case, where he will be positioned at a 45 degree angle to stretch the tendons from the knee. We will be in the hospital for 3 or 4 days.

January 16th- Jackson will have his cast removed and he will be placed is a shrinking sock. This will reduce the swelling on the residual limb and allow the prosthetic designers to make a mold of the limb about two weeks later.

Two-Weeks Later- A casting is taken of him limb. We work with the technicians to design a limb with components that will best meet Jackson's super high energy needs.
4-weeks Later- The limb is ready. Jackson will get his new "Robot Leg". We will than made multiply trip back and forth to Children's for additional fitting's and limb alignment.

Then for 3-6 months...Jackson will undergo intensive physical therapy to learn to walk again using his prosthetic. He is a fast learner and has remarkable gross motor skills, so we are optimistic that he will have quick mastery of his new leg.

Well, I hope this answers many of your questions. We have been so surprised and moved by the outpouring of love and support for our family this year. Thank you! Please feel free to drop us a line with questions and words of strength.

We love and appreciate all of you!!!

Jackson & Baby Lilly

2007-12-02T00:06:00.001-08:00

On September 26th, 2007, Jackson became a big brother. Lillian Penelope Atwood was welcomed into the world. Jackson has done a great job adjusting to the new addition.

Jackson at Home

2007-11-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

Our Happy Little Dude!

Jackson always has time to take a call.

Jackson catching his first fish. He was really excited until the fish came out of the water...then thought it was a little icky!

Jackson was fortunate to spend lots of time with his family this summer.

Safety first! Jackson enjoys making sure that he is well protected. This is true for all buckles, zippers, locks, etc.

Jackson ans Dad on Father's Day. Jackson had a great time making his card for Baba.

Jackson on his first boat ride on the Puget Sound. Auntie Robin took Jackson, Dad, Grandpa Atwood and Uncle Matt out on her awesome boat.

Jackson at the Hands-On-Children's Museum of Olympia. This is by far one of his favorite places to go. We spend hours there. He loves "driving" the various automobiles and "steering" the tugboat.

Halloween was a Hit! Jackson and Dad carved pumpkins. Jackson was totally thrilled with Trick-or-Treating. He couldn't believe that neighbors were really handing candy out to kids. He was the cutest Giraffe on the block.

Spider man agrees...Jackson sleeps like an angel!

Jackson is a very creative little boy with a colorful imagination. On this day he wanted to dress up like a bunny! Mom had to improvise.

He loves to swim and takes any opportunity to play in the water.

Last pics before we fly home.

2007-05-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

How much fun can one kid be????

2007-05-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

More New Photos

2007-05-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

We got him..He's wonderful...New pics...More later...Must sleep.

2007-05-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

Just couldn't have hoped or imagined we'd get such a handsome, smart, imaginative little guy. Sooo very easy to love. All is going well. First day over. Only two hours of tears, a few more of silence. Then hours of play and laughing and talking and sharing secrets and telling each other stories. When we can speak the same language it will be just that much better. Love to all of you. I'm a Dad and Morgens a Mom!!! :) Start at the bottom for a timeline of the day through pictures.

Our Beautiful Boy

2007-04-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

The Journey "Fingerprinting"

2006-09-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

My husband, Jeffrey and I are several months into the adoption process. We have been paired with a waiting child, a little boy from China named Yi. We are so eager to begin our journey as parents and can't wait to bring him home...But as we are quickly learning, adoption is a SLOW process.

Today was one we have been waiting for for months. We finally got our appointment with the USCIS for fingerprinting. Although we are not exactly sure why WE need to be fingerprinted by the Department of Homeland Security, especially since out homestudy required a state patrol and DSHS background check, I am sure that the leader of the free world has a reasonable explanation for said fingerprinting. Funny Fact: the fingerprinting we had done today is only valid for 15-months. If our adoption is not complete by then, we will have to be re-fingerprinted...because you know how often fingerprints change :)

All in all, it is a process that we are both overjoyed to endure. The end result will be a son for us to love and adore.