Summer Fun!

Hello everyone,

This week was a busy week for Braden....2 big play dates, 2 graduation parties, and a ton of spoilin' from G'ma and G'pa LaCombe this weekend....phew, what a week!

Braden cracks us up as he seems to teach us something new each day. Lately he's been smacking his lips to "kissing" commands. He's also been doing this goofy lil' stance. He gets into a frog-jump position and then he puts his head down on the ground as if he's going to do a somersault. He just looks around smiling, enjoying life upside down :)

Pics: Grandpa relaxes as Braden reads him his favorite book; eatin' good; the famous piggy nose; a look of "I'm spent...no more parties please!"

Keep on sending in those registration forms! We've had some generous hole sponsor donations as well...thank you all for your generosity. We were also pleased to receive a nice e-mail from one of Braden's nurses from CHW. She heard about our charity from another nurse and contacted us :)

Thanks for checking in!

Have a great week,

Steph, Rich, and "B"

http://www.heartofgoldcharity.org/

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all of our wonderful dads and daddy's-to-be :) Today, "B" is 10 months old...wow, time sure does fly! Here are some pics of Braden playing with his buddy Evan yesterday. It looks like Braden has met his match as Even tries the ol' body slam move on him :) Lisa (Evan's mom) and I were pregnant at the same time last year, so it's definitely neat to see the boys play. That's about it from the Petska's this week. We're looking forward to next weekend as G'ma and G'pa LaCombe make the trip down to see us!

Keep sending in those golf and dinner registrations. A lot of people have asked if they can just come to the dinner...absolutely. On the registration form, there is a separate box and price for dinner-only guests. You can get the forms online: www.heartofgoldcharity.org/events Also, if you can't access or print the forms, please get ahold of us via e-mail or phone - we'll be more than happy to send one out to you.

Have a great week!

Thanks for checking in,

Love, The Petska's

Fun, fantastic day!

Hello everyone,

Today we had a fantastic day up at Children's. First of all, Braden was Mr. Comedian in the waiting room using his grizzly bear voice to say/yell "mamamamamamamama." He is the little man of many faces & noises and quite the little character/entertainer. Once we got to see Dr. Cava, it was a pretty quick appointment. I wanted to say, "That's it? No poking, prodding, or anything else you need to look over?" He is very pleased with his growth, development, and heart function. Once we were done in the heart center, we were able to go visit some of our favorite nurses up on the 4th floor. The only bummer was that our "angel" doc, Dr. Ghanayem, was out of town. Bummer #2 was that we found out the Herma Heart Center Picnic, held every year at the Milwaukee Zoo, is the same day as our charity golf outing. We knew that there was a chance this could happen, but we were really hoping it would fall on a different day. We were really looking forward to going. Hopefully next year.....

What also made our day very special is that we were able to meet another "soon-to-be" heart family. I connected with the mom on my heart support group and we were able to meet her and her husband today at CHW. We know first hand how crucial it is to connect with other heart families....we hope to lend Maddison's mom and dad the same kind of support. With permission from her parents, we will keep you posted on the arrival of baby Maddison.

Although we had a lot of positive excitement today, there were definitely some funky flashbacks from our stays at CHW. I think the scent of the skywalk was really what hit me the most. It actually brought me back to the first day Rich wheeled me through there. We were on our way to see Braden in the NICU after they flew him from Lutheran General. The fear and anxiety was so vivid and real. It's amazing how much scent and memory go together all too well.

So far, being off for the summer has been great. It has allowed us to play all day and have so much fun with Braden. He's just cracking us up with all of his noises and funny faces. He plays so well on his own...making motor boat noises as he pretends to read books and talk to his toys. He's not saying "dadda", but we think Grandma Lois taught him how to say "grrrrrramma". We've also been trying some new foods.....pizza is his new favorite....yikes! We did ask his card if there are any food restrictions.....nope! I guess we'll keep trying new things :)

If you didn't catch the latest blog entry, be sure to check out the charity website....registration for the golf outing is all set to go! www.heartofgoldcharity.org/events

Thanks for checking in!

Love, Steph, Rich, and Braden

PS...the pics are of some recent outdoor outings and a classic moment of the "grandmarazzi & possy" hard at work!

Check Back Monday!

Hello everyone,
We thought we'd wait for an update until after tomorrow's card appointment with Dr. Cava. We're traveling to CHW tomorrow morning....routine clinic visit. There's a feeling of excitement since our last visit was in March. There's always that feeling of nervousness though when going back....new questions with hope of positive answers. We also hope to see some CHW staff along with Dr. G. while we're there...we've missed her the last few appointments.

On a side note, the outing information/registration is all set to go on our charity website. Just go to www.heartofgoldcharity.org/events for all of the information you will need for the August 11th event.

Check back tomorrow for more updates,
Steph

Busy Week!

Hello all,

This week was quite busy for the Petska's, so not many new photos taken. We've been working hard on finalizing the charity outing and getting the registration packet all put together. We've put the lodging accommodations on the charity webpage (www.heartofgoldcharity.org/events).

We made a quick CHW run this week to pick up Braden's blood pressure med - long story, but we usually don't have to drive to get them :-) After the med pickup, we were able to stop by the Slagers to see Super Sam and his mom & dad. Sam is as cute as ever and is doing very well. Mr. Braden, however, decided to practice his grizzly bear growl and scared Sam - I hope he lets Braden come over and play again soon. Actually, we're hoping to get a zoo visit in this summer with Sam and his parents. We're quite lucky to have met some wonderful, supportive people along our journey :-)

Braden is on the move, crawling, climbing, and trying to get his hands on anything/everything he's not supposed to. He was at his first Milk Days in Harvard yesterday and hammed it up with everyone. The best is when you go and get him from his naps.....you walk in his room and he sqeals real loud like we just caught him doing something naughty. Sometimes he'll jump or flop down onto his crib mid-squeal trying to hide from us....really cute. He keeps saying "mama" but no "dada" - which is fine with me :-) Grandma's last day is tomorrow as I'm done with school for the summer. Rich is out on Wednesday. I know Grandma is going to miss seeing her lil' buddy everyday.

Here are some pics from playing with Super Sam. The other pic is of Braden trying to bring back the mo-hawk (with the help of daddy and gel).

Thanks for checking in,

Steph, Rich and Braden