Hey all, it’s been a while since I posted a blog. Guess i’ve been shy about trying out this new site. I don’t have much to report, just a cute photo that Cecilia sent me.

Claudia and the kids have been spending a lot of time at Cecilia’s house in Ben Lomond, rehearsing and performing for their play. Oliver is as adorable as usual. He’s crawling like crazy now, even into different rooms. He’s experimenting with pulling up too. He’s obsessed with balloons, dogs, cats, and birds. Cecilia’s house is always full of visitors, and they all adore Oliver. I think he’s basking in the constant attention and honing his charming skills!

hey all,

This is Oliver’s uncle Andrew, I thought now that our little man is 1 year old it’s time we gave him a proper website. So reset your bookmarks and RSS feeds to http://oliveryore.com !!!

The old URL still redirects to this site, but i’m not sure if RSS feeds will continue to work.

Happy Birthday from your Uncle Andrew!

I’m waiting to hear how it went this morning with Oliver’s check up echocardiogram. If anyone knows, please email me. They were going to see if that little flap of sub-aortic tissue had grown any (hopefully it has not). We’re in Hollister and there’s no cell phone reception.

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Mom emailed me that there was mixed news from Oliver’s appointment. The flap did not grow, which sounds like fabulous news to me… but I’ll talk to mom on the phone and see what else happened. I think they were expecting to see more growth/development. His next appointment is not until October 1st, which makes me feel like there is nothing in the immediate future to worry about. But I’m just guessing; I’ll report once I know more.

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I talked to Claudia and she confirmed that the membrane has not grown, so that’s good news. Dr.R said Oliver’s heart function is not improving and that the damage he’s sustained is high. He can’t say if or when, but at some point in the future he thinks Oliver will need to have that membrane removed. If that doesn’t help, they would try the aortic valve replacement surgery. He mentioned transplant as a last resort and this is the part that was hard to hear. It feels like we’re so beyond anything like that, with Oliver looking as healthy as he does today. But Dr. R has to prepare parents for all the scenarios, and I think that’s why he brought it up. Oliver can still turn things around. As he continues to grow, his heart will also grow and that itself will improve the function of his heart.

Dr. R is such an expert in his field that you feel like everything he says is concrete, that he is actually able to predict the future. But of course this is not true. He’s the first to admit that he is often wrong. I’m sure he told Claudia and Tom that Oliver could totally prove him wrong (he’s done it already a few times). Just because Dr. R gave Claudia and Tom a possible scenario really does not change anything today. Oliver still looks as wonderful, is still as happy as he was before the appointment. What’s in front of us is much more real and true than any prediction of the future, even if the predictor is as knowledgeable as Dr. R (whom I greatly respect, BTW). It’s very useful to hear Dr. R’s opinion and I know Claudia and Tom will look for more ideas to help Ollie grow. The rest of us can help too by focusing our prayers on Ollie’s growth. May he grow bigger and stronger in every way, so strong that his heart begins to heal itself.

Yesterday Oliver turned one year old and the Yores threw a big bash for him. Oliver was having a bit of an off day- he hadn’t slept well the night before. It seems like maybe another tooth was coming. Anyway he wasn’t as happy as he usually is and we were worried that he wouldn’t enjoy his big day. We worked the whole day to get ready, but I wouldn’t say it was a stressful day. There was so much help. Maureen and Tom and Cecilia spent a lot of time setting up the yard; Claudia and mom and Tana and I tidied up inside. People came by and dropped off batches of homemade cookies for the party. There was tons of behind the scenes help too- thank you everybody!!! Ingrid and I went to the party store and brought back a big bouquet of fiesta colored balloons. I love the look on Oliver’s face when he saw me walking up to the house with them!

In the beginning of the party, lots of people greeted Oliver but they didn’t get the usual big smile. Sometimes he even pushed hands away (gently). Claudia decided to set up a blanket on the grass, in a shady spot, farther away from the hub of the party. She set Oliver down and he was free to crawl and just do whatever he wanted. Soon after, one of Claudia’s friends gave Oliver an adorable little jungle outfit and we changed him into it. After that Oliver seemed to really brighten up. Maybe he forgot about his tooth pain for a little while. He began to play ball with Ingrid and enjoyed watching some bubbles blow. Claudia left to pump and he seemed OK with just me but a few minutes later he pointed toward the house and I knew he was missing his special one.

We went back inside but on the way there I asked him if he wanted to sit on his bouncy seat (he did), and he stayed in there for a long time. He was still fussing a bit but alternating that with laughter and glee. He really loves that bouncy seat! It’s one of those old school ones, the kind you hang in a doorway. I’m really surprised to see how strong Oliver’s legs are; sometimes he jumps so high that his body comes off the seat completely and he is hanging in the air by about 3-4 inches!!! His legs are still in the openings of the seat so there’s no danger he’ll fall out but still it’s kind of shocking to see at first. Anyway, mommy came downstairs and whisked Oliver away for some dinner. I would say Oliver’s favorite food of the party was a hot dog. Not surprising since we know he favors food with lots of flavor. There was one moment when I saw him looking around the dinner table (the Yores often eat dinner at this table) at all the people sitting there. The look on his face was so funny; it was like: who are all you people and what are you doing at our dinner table?

Soon it was time to sing happy birthday. There were two sheet cakes, one chocolate and one strawberry. Grandpa painstakingly inscribed the white cake with “Celebrating the Joy and Blessing of Having Oliver” and the chocolate cake with “Believe in Miracles” (this one brought tears to my eyes). We sat Ollie in front of the cakes and he immediately stretched his arms out to them and indicated strongly that he wanted to touch. Bella and Nathan sat on either side and everyone sang Happy Birthday. It came out really loud because there were a hundred people singing and I thought he might get scared since he doesn’t like loud noises sometimes…but he began smiling and giggling and just looking from face to face. Everyone was cheering and clapping and calling his name so I think he understood that it was all for him. Claudia held a big sombrero over his head and we took some precious pictures. Ollie got his own slice of strawberry cake and he tried some frosting after giving the cake a good go-over with his fingers. His expression was interesting. It seems like he was disgusted but intrigued. He kept making that face but continued to taste it. After a couple of bites he discovered something even better he could do with cake, and began to smash it with his fork. Bits of cake went flying and he smashed that cake for a good fifteen minutes. Sometimes he would turn to me and his face said: Did you see that one?! That was awesome! People were coming up to say goodbye and kissing him and he didn’t even look up. He was fascinated with destroying that cake! 

It was a memorable celebration and of course we knew that it was so much more than just a regular one year birthday party. There was such a feeling of gratitude and love, I think everyone there was counting their own blessings. Yes miracles really do happen and we have all been given the privilege of witnessing one. Thank you for that, Oliver!

Here are some photos mom sent me this morning. I have some of my own to post, but that’ll have to wait until I download them from my big camera.

A few days ago, our little peanut started crawling!!! This is really good news and it bumps him up to about the 8-9 month range for gross motor skills (before this he was still in the 3-5 month range). He is making progress now in leaps and bounds. He weighs 16 pounds 5 ounces (he gained 5 ounces last week) and at the rate he is gaining weight, when he turns 18 months he will be on the growth chart, in the 20th percentile! That’s very exciting too as he has never caught up enough to register on the chart yet. 

Now that he’s making such good progress with oral eating, Dr. O is trying to get rid of the continuous night feeding, because it’s not natural. The way they’ll do this is by taking out an hour here and there, gradually, until he eats most of his calories during the day and just gets typically-sized bolus feeds at night.

Oliver is turning one year old in just a few days. It’s amazing to look back and see how far he has come in that time, how many giant hurdles he has overcome. He has accomplished and experienced more in twelve months than most of us will ever do in a lifetime! Not to mention he has a constantly cheery disposition and is the happiest baby I have ever known. Oliver is truly a miraculous little peanut!