Westfall Web

*to play video left click on it to select it, then right click and select play.

Here is some video we shot on Monday night.  As is usually the case the best of it was before we got the camera and started recording, but we did capture some fun video of Greyson laughing. 

Today he spent the day with mom working on tummy time and playing with a new mirror he got last weekend .  Stacy said he was really looking at it and kept slapping it.  That’s about it for tonight.

Here is a picture of Greyson’s dedication.  I have a really cool video to put on here but will have to save it for tomorrow as the camcorders battery went dead as I was trying to get it on my computer.  I personally think it’s worth the wait.  Although now it takes out one of the things I was going to talk about.

OK let’s talk about Greyson’s dedication.  He did really well and it was so cool to be able to publicly dedicate him back to God.  Basically this is just the process of saying we recognize that he is a gift from God and we are here to help raise him right so he will can know God before God calls him to whatever life he (God) has for him.  It would be cool if this included making lots of money and giving large portions of it to his parents, but we are excited for whatever God has for him.  For now we are just loving the fact that he is a part of our life. 

Today he did a great job with tummy time.  He had three seperate sessions and was pushing himself way up and looking around.  He also did OK with his eating (by mouth, although he still has a long way to go) and was doing better with his legs attempting to hold himself up.  All in all he is really just learning new things each and every day.  I know many of you blog readers have talked about coming by for a visit, and all we can say to that is “we can’t wait”!!

Above is a video we made to show at Greyson’s dedication.  There is a few seconds of black before the video comes on.  As always you need to left click on the video to select, then right click and select play.  You have to have an updated version of flash media player.  The quality is a little poor since I had to really shrink it down so it would fit on the blog, but it’s not to bad.  Unfortunately there was a mess up and the dedication service didn’t get video taped.  We got some pictures though and I’ll try to post some of them tomorrow (not exactly sure where our camera is, probably still at church).  Greyson did really well through the whole service (the dedication was at the end of the sermon) and even talked a little while he was up front.  We were even able to broadcast the service over the internet to some family in Idaho who were unable to make it for the dedication. 

Stacy got to meet a couple blog readers that we have never met before which was a real treat.  Thank to everyone who has prayed and stood by us throughout Greyson’s life.  We appreciate your love and support!!

So I haven’t updated in awhile (although in reality it’s only been a couple days, which really isn’t that bad!) as I’ve been busy with work, Greyson, and preparing for Greyson’s dedication on Sunday.  I made a video for the service that I may try to post on this blog but I’ll have to see if I can get it small enough without it looking really bad.  For best results order a copy (just $19.95 plus shipping and if you order before noon we’ll through in a second disk absolutely free!) sorry got distracted there.  Actually the best way is to get a copy from us or come to the service tomorrow (9:30am Bremerton Nazarene) and watch it live.  

Greyson continues to make us laugh and is now officially over the 20 pound mark.  It has been so much fun to have him off the ventilator so much (basically he is off now when he is awake and only on the vent when he is sleeping).  We love loading him up and taking him various places.  Check back tomorrow night (or by Monday at the latest) for pics and possibly video of his dedication!

Well once again it is after 10pm and Greyson is being a complete ham.  He is talking and kicking and smiling and just generally being so much fun you don’t want to even think about him going to sleep.  Of course this means that mom is not asleep which means one of two things.  1.  Dad stays up later and gives mom a little more sleep time (difficult since I have to go to work in the morning, and we have a therapist coming at 8am so we all have to be up) or 2.  Mom gets a really short night.  Looks like it will be option #2 for tonight.  Stacy’s mom is here with us though so maybe Stacy can catch some catnaps tomorrow to get caught up. 

We are praying for a easier night than last night.  Somewhere around the middle of the night Greyson woke up and looked distressed (for him, nothing terrible).  I knew something was up just by looking at him but there were no alarms and basically everything looked and sounded fine, but Greyson had a look on his face that just told me something wasn’t right.  I watched for a couple minutes and realized that two of his settings on his vent were reading way off, his peep and map.  Basically he didn’t have any of either of them.  This is something we have never faced before and I was unsure how to fix it.  I checked some things out and finally hooked him up to the other ventilator we have for travel and changed out the circuit (the tubing that goes between Greyson and the vent).  Once I did all that and hooked him back up to the main ventilator everything looked OK.  Of course then there was the fact that Greyson was thrashing around basically all night from that point on.  Oh the joys of parenting.  Tonight I talked with Greyson and told him I thought it would make a nice birthday present for me to have him sleep really well tonight.  We’ll have to wait and see if he delivers.

So this is an old picture but I don’t think i’ve posted it before.  IT’s a good one.  Here is a quick run down of the day.  Went to Tacoma to see the pulmonologist.  He thinks Greyson is doing great and gave us the go ahead to work up to being off the vent all day as long as Greyson is awake.  This is good news and basically what we were expecting to hear based on how he has been doing.  We also adjusted his feed schedule so he will not get food at night (the 1am and 4am feeds) so in theory there will be no more milk on Stacy’s head.  Tonight will be the first night so we’ll see how it goes.  He had a big day with the Payne family (old family friends) dropping by to take us out to dinner.  Greyson was wiped out by the end of the day and fell asleep almost immediately after being put to bed.  Well it’s my shift so I better get back there and watch him.

Tonight we had a staff party here at our house and one of our secretary’s son was very concerned about Greyson.   As the night went on he kept going up to Greyson and giving him a kiss on the cheek and kept asking what was wrong with Greyson’s foot (his sat monitor probe is on his foot so their really is nothing wrong).  He was also concerned about his trach and quite inquisitive when we had to bring the ventilator out and hook him up (his 3 hours was over and it was time for him to go back on the vent).  It was sweet to see the way he was watching out for Greyson and the way he kept coming back to Greyson and interacting with him.  I think Greyson liked it a lot as well.

Well nothing really to report on.  Greyson continues to grow, learn, and be a tremendous joy to his parents.  He did have his first speech therapy session today (the other one before this was actually an evaluation) they said he is doing OK and we just have to keep working at giving him food.  He also got to get out and go to the mall and to Famous Dave’s Barbeque.  I think it was a bit much for him as towards the end he was rocking a lot which looks funny but seems to be both his pre sleep activity and his avoidance behavior.  Once we left the restuarant and made it home he was awake and smiling, talking, and very playful.  It was a lot of fun.  Now he’s settling in for hopefully a very good nights sleep.

We have some family coming in for his dedication at church on the 3rd (again you all are invited, it will be during the 9:30am service) so we are very excited for that.  Basically he’s doing great and we are thanking God for the wonderful boy He has blessed us with.