it's great to be 8!

Somebody turned 8 last week...opening his Nintendo DS...I'm not a fan of video games but gave into this one...
we celebrated a day early with a "backyard camp-out theme" with just family
roasting--scorching marshmallows. These boys loved catching them on fire. Jace wanted to have a "boy-cousins only" sleepover that night so cousins Braydon and Wyatt spent the night here, camping indoors with sleeping bags. They decided that would be more fun...hey, whatever works!
quite proud of themselves after building his new Indiana Jones lego set while watching Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade, of course
On his 'real' birthday, we drove over to the west side for the Covey Run. We ate at Red Robin with friends & family and he LOVED having them sing to him! No embarrassment here...someone likes to be the center of attention.
Earlier in the week, we hit the Grant County Fair. It was the centennial celebration. The kids loved the pigs and got to see some of their Stewart cousin's 4-H animals.
while Maddie snoozed in the shade on Nany's lap, I took the boys to the carnival. Not my favorite part of the fair but they loved it, even in the heat. I love that these two are good buds.

Suncadia Family Vacation

We enjoyed a super fun and relaxing family vacation up at Suncadia with Bryan's family. The cousins had a ball together...riding bikes, playing on this very cool playground, swimming and water sliding, and chasing chipmunks. We had a great house that fit all of our families & fun memories were made!

swimming lessons

These boys turned into fish this summer...Maddie isn't afraid of the water and her green hair proves it!
fun times at the little pools with cousins Kylie & Grady!

cherry harvest

Update & Team Maddie Moomer's!

Summer is flying by! We've been so busy...I just haven't had time to update the blog. We're all doing great and enjoying these last days before school begins. Maddie's doing awesome and had a cardiology check-up last Monday proving just that. Her O2 sats have settled now between 85-88% and she's really grown since surgery, weighing 34.8 lbs and 39.5 inches tall which puts her in the 73rd percentile for weight and 83rd for height! She was such a big girl for her appointment, the hospital hasn't left any "damage" that I can tell...Dr. Chun even got a great big hug when he walked in the room. It's great going back with a healthy little girl and getting such fantastic news on her heart. We won't return to cardiology now until after Thanskgiving and we'll be toting a baby along by then too! We're getting so excited for the arrival of this little one. He/she proves to be a go-getter--my bulging belly feels bruised from all of the kicks and acrobatics done in there. The boys have played so hard this summer...I love listening to brothers play and cherish these days. They're growing up so quickly...Jace turns 8 tomorrow and Cade is pumped to start Kindergarten in a week. I can't believe it.

We're gearing up again for the "Run for Children's Covey Run" this weekend over in Woodinville. Maddie's Aunt Lesa has organized our team, ordered our t-shirts and it looks like Team Maddie Moomer's will be represented well again this year! If you would like to join us, the race begins at 8am Saturday. The entry fee is $40 which benefits Seattle Children's Uncompensated Care Program. Our team is raising funds for CHD research again through the Seattle Children's Heart Guild. All donations are 100% tax deductible and can be made on-line through our first-giving website. Click HERE if you're interested in supporting our cause and sponsoring our team. Thanks and I promise to update soon, I have lots more to share!!!

summertime fun

Life is great...it's normal and routine. We're loving it! Here's a little of what we've been up to...
Seattle Mariner's Game & it was double bobble-head night! Someone was not happy because the playground was at capacity and wouldn't let us go in and play...drama
Enjoying our local community days "Summerfest" at the park & watching the parade
playing with cousins...Grady & Kylie
boating at the river with Allred Cousins...here's Savanna knee boarding for the first time!
tootling outside, playing in the watertable
Pond days...
sunny days outdoors & picking mom's flowers
warm evenings playing catch
rough-housing brothers...they invented the game of swinging on the swings then jumping off into this little plastic pool. Yep, the pool didn't survive this game :)
loving on our new kitty "Cheeto" she's a tough one!

Independence

Today has a new meaning for me...not only are we celebrating our country's freedom but our baby is not a baby anymore. She has found her independence and Maddie's quite quickly turned into a kid. I can honestly say we've seen this transformation happen in the past couple of weeks since her surgery. Maybe it's because I've let down my guard with her, letting her play like a typical 3 year old, or maybe it's because she doesn't feel as lousy and tired from the lack of oxygen her body was so used to getting by on. I assume it's the latter. But watching her par-take in the fireworks we had last night for Nany's birthday party defined independence. She played hard with her brothers and cousins, running and carrying on with her precious half-heart like she has a whole one. She kept up.

I found myself taking big sighs of relief watching her. She's as healthy as she's ever been and it will only be 6 weeks tomorrow since her heart and little body endured surgery. The fontan has done wonders for her and for our family. I'm a fontan fan. Simply put, Maddie is more liberated and it's a joy to witness. I'm so glad we have a baby coming this fall though...I've turned around and this little girl is quickly growing-up. Her heart is happy and so is ours.