Fergilicious

In case you’ve ever wondered if 30+ people could fit into our humble abode, the answer is an astounding yes! Brian borrowed some chairs from the ambulance, I cleaned up the house, Jeffrey took a two hour nap; we were ready.At two o’clock everyone started showing up and it was a little bit disorganized until everyone settled in. We broke out the wine and started serving drinks and food. Everyone mingled for awhile and I must say we have really fabulous friends. Everyone got along well, the kids played together, and Jeffrey was a spectacular little guy. He was in a wonderful mood, crawling through the crowd, smiling and laughing. We are truly blessed with a pleasant little guy.

After everyone settled in and we finished eating, we decided to open gifts. WOW! Our friends are really generous! Jeffrey received a number of sorting toys, a rocking horse, his first fire truck(!), some beautiful clothing , books, his first xylophone, and … a vibrating rocket ship! It seems that once a child reaches 1, they should definitely be into sorting shapes. Thanks to our guests, he is now very well equipped. He has a new dinosaur to play with and of course some new stuffed animals and handsome clothes. He's even ready to play his first video game... er, Interactive Video Learning System. Everything was a big hit and we’ve been playing with all of our new toys in the days since the party. It was amazing to watch all of the older kids play with toys designed for a one year old.

Once the gifts were opened, it was time for cake. For Jeffrey, instead of a cupcake, I bought a “perfect” cake from Wegmans. It’s a cake designed for one person, and it's about 4" x 6" x 1.5". I figured that Jeffrey would smear some on his face and eat a bit and we would save the rest for later. I completely underestimated my child. He ate the entire cake and did not drop a single crumb. He was all about the sugar! All the other parents in attendance were amazed, to say the least, at Jeffrey’s appetite. Not to mention that he was hungry two hours later and eating stew. As an aside, he did not get sick, did not get fussy, or suffer any ill effects from the cake eating. He simply has a hollow leg.

Thank you everyone that was in attendance for Jeffrey’s one year celebration. As usual the generosity of our friends simply amazes us. We are lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives and we’re proud to have their help and advice as we raise Jeffrey.

Pictures will be forthcoming. Brian is extremely busy with school and knows that you are all anxiously awaiting. For those that couldn't make it, hopefully these pictures will suffice until we get a chance to get together.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

We spent Christmas 2006 at the Sheppard household. It was quite a sight to behold. Brian and I almost drove past my parents house. It had… lights in the windows. Those of you that do not know my parents have no idea how unheard of this is. Normally there is one green light and one red light on either side of the front door. That’s as Christmassy as they get. But this year was different, this year little boy was coming and Mom celebrated by lighting the windows, buying a beautiful new tree and baking cookies.

It was a short holiday, we drove down Friday night and stayed until Tuesday afternoon. Jeffrey is doing better and better in the van. We try to leave at about five in the evening, that way he plays and talks to us for a few hours and then settles down to sleep. As usual with my family, it was a relaxed fare. Dad had to work on Saturday so we just hung around the house and visited with the various relatives that wandered by. Sunday we drove down to visit Uncle Stu. We do our best to stop by and see him whenever we are down. It was Jeffrey’s second meeting and he was quite the sight crawling down the hall of the nursing home. We finished visiting and were off to pick up Aunt Ann from her home and bring her back with us for Christmas. We spent the evening reading to Jeffrey and arguing about when to open gifts. Finally agreeing on opening the gifts to and from my parents on Christmas Eve (after the boy was in bed) and opening the Meehan gifts in the morning. Brian wouldn’t budge about opening his gifts the night before, he didn’t care if it was our tradition or not. The big hit of the night was when my father received his GPS. We’re all hoping he’ll know where he’s going from now on.

Christmas day dawned bright and early the following day and we commenced the opening of Jeffrey’s gifts. He got a ton of books and several CD’s of children’s songs from my parents. Brian and I got Jeffrey a LeapFrog Moove and Groove Table. It plays music and he just loves it! Mom also got him a mat that makes farm animal noises for the back of the seat in the car. When he kicks it, it makes the noise of whatever particular animal. When we drive now, it sounds like we’re being chased by a crazed barnyard. Jeffrey thinks it is hysterical. We like it because it has an off switch. J

Hope everyone else had a fantastic Christmas. Saturday is Jeffrey’s birthday party and I’ll posting news as soon as I can.
Cheers!

Happy Birthday

Jeffrey is one! Yeah!! We all finally made it J Jeffrey's birthday passed with little fanfare. We sang happy birthday to him about fifteen times and I danced like a moron for him, luckily he found it humorous. We gave him his first birthday gift, a Ride to Stride Learning Walker. Jeffrey's physical therapist thinks that it will help him on the road to walking upright. After a relaxing morning at home we went to visit friends Angela and Marc. Brian gave them a demo on the Rainbow and we hung out for a bit. Their kids, Luke and Zoe were a great source of entertainment for Jeffrey. After we visited, Brian and Jeffrey cheered the Red Dog volleyball team to victory as I played my weekly volleyball match. It was a good day, not too much fuss. Lots of friends called to wish our little guy a happy day. The real fun will come next Saturday at his birthday party. We're having people over, cake and Dibella's subs (yum). Kurt and Steph are coming out from Albany (and hopefully Nichole and Tiff too!) Jeffrey will be surrounded by friends and they can help us celebrate our little miracle.

Speaking of miracles, Jeffrey got another birthday buddy yesterday. Victoria Brugger was welcomed into the world by her proud parents yesterday. Check them out at their blog, and see how their doing. It was a little crazy for them as well, but all three appear to be doing well. We especially want to thank them for having her on Jeffrey's birthday, so that we never forget the date! Congrats guys, can't wait to meet your beautiful girl. Jeffrey's getting his flirty smiles all ready for her.

As a side note, I know I've been slacking but I'll post something about Christmas later this week.

Grateful

Well 2006 is winding down and we have a lot to be grateful for this year. Jeffrey is truly a gift and I feel so blessed to have him. He’s such a pleasant guy, so full of smiles and giggles. I truly can’t image our life without him anymore. He’s just such an amazing creature. It’s a joy to watch him learn and discover the world around him. In a few short weeks he’ll be a year old. It’s amazing how quickly this year has flown by. I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers this year. I don’t know how we would have made it without everyone’s support.

I wanted to do this for Thanksgiving but somehow the time escaped me. I just wanted to make a list of the important people in my life and thank them, albeit belatedly for helping us make it through this tumultuous year, and also to let everyone else know how great you are. To start with our fabulous friends:

• Marc and Heidi helped us make it through the pregnancy and even letting me crash family events when I had bad days and Brian wasn’t home. They also were a great source of support and knowledge for the NICU, helping us understand all the ins and outs of preemie life.
• Kevin and Kimberly not only brought me Pepsi when it’s all I craved through the pregnancy but helped during the hospital and after when brought our little miracle home.
• Kurt and Steph drove all the way out here too many times to count to give us counsel and friendship and the knowledge that you don’t have to be next door to be great friends. They also continue to let us use them and their home as a way station as we travel for parts unknown.
• Liane has been our master babysitter. Letting us sleep at her house before Jeffrey’s MRI, watching him so we can clean our house, get out to dinner, and consistently making Jeffrey laugh like no one else. She also lets me vent on bad days and doesn’t get mad when we don’t de-cat our house very well.
• Jen and Michael have lent their support online and over the phone throughout the pregnancy and beyond. We wish them luck with their (almost here) peanut and can hopefully continue beta testing parenting techniques for them.
• Alicia came out and spent a week creating Jeffrey’s gorgeous mural and visiting the NICU with us. Thanks to her he has the coolest room in the world. We all wish we had this when we were kids. She has incredible talent and a beautiful heart. Support her art and buy some of her stuff, people!
• Mike and Wendy drove to our place at two in the morning to get us clothing and camera when we found out we’d be having a baby that night. It’s tough to find better friends.
• Adam & Joanne and Angela & Mark, the editors-en-absentia of our parenting guidebook, volume 2.
• Sue, the dispatcher from Hilton Fire Department, made preemie-sized clothes for Jeffrey while he was in the hospital and has been a great source of advice along the way.
• Monica (Jeffrey’s Physical Therapist), Jennifer (Jeffrey’s Vision Therapist) and Michelle (Jeffrey’s Early Intervention Coordinator) for being the closest thing to a manual for “Why did my kid do that?” and “When should we … ?”.
• Al Davis, the former president of RIT who setup the Sarah Patterson/Louise Hall scholarship in honor of his late wife’s sister which has greatly helped us to afford Jeffrey’s childcare expenses.
• My coworkers went out of their way to be accommodating to me during this entire year. They let me pump fifty times a day when Jeffrey was still in the hospital and understood why my mind wasn’t completely on the job. It’s a pleasure to go to work every day with such good people.
• The following people, in no particular order: Fred & Maria, Nichole, Tiffany, “Aunt” Cindy, Kitty, Barbara, the entire staff at Premier Abstract & Title/Gates Ambulance (for keeping Jeffrey entertained while Brian fixed computers!), the blog readers from misc.kids.pregnancy and misc.kids.breastfeeding, Mary, the staff of the Golisano Children’s Hospital NICU, amalah.com (there’s a humor-side to this, after all), Ben & Shipley, Rich & Lisa, Margaret’s House (especially Ana, Julie and Roberta)

A special note to our families:

Thank you so much. Thank you for my showers and for driving out to see us, for listening to our rules about the baby and not getting angry or demanding with us. I wish we were able to see you all more often and that I was able to adequately express my profound joy in having such a giving family. Thank you for the hours you’ve spent with us on the phone assuring us that it would all work out. Mom & Dads Meehan & Sheppard, Meme & Poppy, Grandma & Grandpap Sheppard, Bonnie & Roger all spent countless hours with us in person and in spirit – and sometimes just to remind us to update the blog!

Especially thanks to my mom. She drove back and forth with me daily to the NICU, gave up two months to come and stay with Jeffrey and respected our house and our rules without any complaint. She made me proud to be her daughter and I can only hope that I can be half as good to Jeffrey as she is to me.

I am simply so amazed at the love and care that people poured out for us. Thank you everyone for your generosity (of both gifts and spirit) and if I didn’t mention you specifically it is not because you didn’t touch our lives but because there are too many people to mention. Looking back, this was one of the most heart wrenching and yet fulfilling years of my life. We found our Jeffrey and he is life-affirming and spectacular. We discovered that life can be tough with your family far away, but that friends are the family you pick out yourselves. All in all, I’m looking forward to next year and new memories and more time with our precious little boy. Have a wonderful New Year and may all your wishes come true and your lives be full of blessings.

Danielle (and Brian)

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