Waiting in Albuquerque

I flew into Albuquerque on Friday morning and have spent the weekend with Matt and Kathryn. We are all ready for Miss Elisabeth to make her appearance, but she seems to have a mind of her own when it comes to showing up!



Matt and Kathryn are trying out the rocker and Matt is testing out the toys and we keep waiting.






These are a few pictures I took of Gus when he was over spending some time with Nana before she left to be with Kathryn. As you can tell his favorite pass time is still sleeping!

It won't be too long before I can post some pictures of Gus' cousin Elisabeth!!

Puddleduck pups

I thought tonight I would share a few pictures of the "other" babies that we have been spending quite of time with the past few weeks. These are the puppies of Maggie and Levi Puddleduck and they officially belong to Dan and Josanna. Yesterday, Chad and I decided we needed to name them, so we did.

May I present the ladies first:

Big Mama (the Alpha female of the group)

Precious (She's much more reserved than her sister)

Now for the Fella's:

There are two black and white pups: Cow and Curly.

Cow is on the left and Curly on the right. They are both as cute as can be!

Last but not least is Chewy and Fritoe!

You have to admit these are some of the cutest puppies that you've seen in a very long time!

Home sweet home

It has been so great to have Gus home the past several days. He is doing really well at home and seems to be settling in just fine. He is sleeping and eating well for his Mom and Dad.

He got a chance to meet his Great-Granddaddy Golden yesterday. He just snuggled in and seemed quite content on Granddaddy's arm. We were able to take a picture of 4 generations of Golden men. Gus decided he really didn't need to be awake for that.

Uncle Chad got to spend some time with Gus as well. He remarked how much smaller he was without the blanket all around him.

It is so great having this little man part of our family! He is easy to love!

Gus comes home!!

Gus was finally able to break out of the NICU last night and arrived home about 11:15 last night. Tom and I were able to welcome him home.

Gus had a good night and a really good day his first full day at home. His Papa Joe was on hand to help out while Dan was at work. His Mimi is coming tonight and Papa Joe will return home. He got to meet his Aunt Jinnon and cousins Abigail and Amelia. Then Uncle Chad dropped by to meet his nephew.

Uncle Chad had to check out his little fingers. "He's so small!"

Gus enjoyed chillin' with his Dad in the late afternoon.

He still is one cute dude!

He is such a sweet blessing in our lives. God is the giver of all good gifts and Gus is one of the best gifts ever!

Gus 15 Days old

Gus grinin' at Nana! Tom took this on Saturday and I thought it would be fun to post. Notice he has the feeding tube out and seems very happy about it.

Augustus & Nana time

Tom and I were able to drive down to the hospital yesterday afternoon late and have some time with Augustus. When we got there Daniel was already with him and he was sleeping peacefully in his Daddy's arms. Such a sweet picture. Dan left to get home to Josanna and let his Dad come in to spend time with Gus and I. We were able to hold and cuddle this little guy. He feels so small and vulnerable.

I handed him off so Papa Tom could have a little grandson time, but he was beginning to get a little hungry so, Gus was just a tad bit fussy.

But Papa Tom had the magic touch and soon Gus was chillin' quite peacefully in Tom's arms.

Augustus though, smart guy that he is, remembered that he really was getting hungry and just got side tracked enjoying snuggling with Papa Tom. Gus decided he needed to remind everyone that it really WAS dinner time!

So, back to Nana he came! Now, that's more like it!

First things first though...I need to have a diaper change, before I can enjoy my meal! Nana, would you like to change me?

That feels so much better. Now, back to the fact that I'm hungry. Ok bottle, here I come!

Gus decided to show off to Nana and Papa Tom and drank his whole bottle (48 ml.- a little over an ounce) in about 25 minutes! Whoo-hooo! After he finished his meal it was time for the nurses shift change and we had to say goodbye to our incredible little guy. I'll update again in another few days about this blessing that God has blessed our lives with.

If you would like to keep up with Gus and his progress Daniel and Josanna have created a website that you can go to. It is www.caringbridge.org . When you go there you will enter "Augustus" in the box for which website you would like to visit. It will take you to a page where you will need to create a profile and choose a password. That will allow you to log in to Augustus's page. Daniel and Josana have his story posted, a journal update, photo's and an opperturnity to sign a guest book for messages to Gus.

A Tale of 2 Grandchildren

I thought that I would start with a quick update on my grandson Gus. It looks like he will be staying in the NICU for a few more weeks.

He continues to have trouble eating so he will need to stay until he gets this all figured out. As soon as he can eat without being tube fed and maintain that for a few days, he can break out of the NICU.

I would appreciate your continued prayers for Gus, Daniel and Josanna. Since the hospital is an hour and a half drive from home, it has limited the amount of time they have to spend with him. Tom and I were able to see him this afternoon for about 10 minutes each before shift change and took a few pictures. We were not able to wait for the 45 minutes to go back in to see him since Dan had ridden with us to the hospital and needed to get back to Josanna since her Mom had to leave today. A long drive for a short visit, but he is worth it. He's changed alot in a week although his weight has remained about the same. They are allowing Dan & Josanna to bring up his "premie" clothes so it is fun that he is no longer just in a diaper. Today he slept through most of our visit as you can see. All of the work to eat just wears him out!

Getting some love from Daniel which he seems to enjoy.

Augustus did wake up to fuss at Papa Tom for disturbing his nap!

We left him all snuggled in waiting for his afternoon feeding (tube style!)

My granddaughter Elisabeth Joy is counting the days until she can start her exit strategy from her Mom Kathryn. She keeps trying to decide if she wants to arrive in 33 days as scheduled or keep things exciting and arrive at a more unexpected time. She has decided to turn so she is head first in case she really wants to cause some excitement. However, she likes being snuggled right up against her Mom's ribs and is not sure that she really wants to exit this comfy home.

Here is a picture of Kathryn at 35 weeks taken last Friday. You will just have to use your imagination to see Elisabeth.

I am excited that I am going to get to go spend some time with Kathryn & Matt a week before the "official" due date of June 5. That way if Elisabeth decides on a suprise entrance, Nana will be there with Kathryn.