Monday, September 07, 2009

Samuel James Hooks


Thomas is a BIG brother!!

Samuel James was born on 26th August at 2.03pm weighing 7lb 1oz. He came 5 days early - obviously doesn't take after his Mum - but it all went really well and we are totally made up with our boys :-) Thomas is the doting big brother and seemed to instantly accept Samuel, he couldn't wait to get to the hospital and meet him. He keeps kissing him and wanting to cuddle him which is really lovely. He's been a bit of a handful for us at times, which is obviously a reaction and only to be accepted, but he's besotted with his little bro which is the main thing.

Here's a slideshow of a few pics



Tuesday, July 28, 2009

28th July 2009

Hello again

Thomas' heart outpatients appointment went well on 25th June. His sats were 82 (that's fine for Thomas) and after a thorough heart scan the registrar said his heart was 'working well'. We didn't ask any questions this time, we basically just scarpered out of there when he said he'd see us again in 6 months. We didn't want to prompt any discussion about the next stage. Thomas is reaching the age where they could start talking about the next operation and start the ball rolling i.e put him on the cardiac catheter list and we really don't to face this over the next 6 months with the new baby coming along. It would be different if Thomas was struggling in anyway but he's doing very well and having such a lovely time so leave us be for the time being please.

The next day I had another scan to check on the baby's heart and that all went very well too so it was a really good couple of days for us :-) Also 26th June was my Mum's 65th birthday and we'd arranged a surprise BBQ for her at my brothers. This all went off really well (despite a monsoon like downpour in the afternoon) and we even managed to keep it a surprise from her - for anybody who knows my Mum will realise this is no mean feat :-)

Thomas has finished his first term at 'big boy pre-school' for the summer holidays. He's back there for 2 sessions a week in September. He seems to really enjoy it, he's made some new friends and is always coming home with some crafty thing he's made.

I've now finished work - I've taken some holiday before my maternity leave which officially starts on my due date 31st August. So today we've been playing cricket & golf in the garden and playing in the sandpit - this beats work any day!!

Last Friday we went to West Midlands Safari park and met up with Thomas' heart friend Charlie and his mum. We had a brilliant day and despite the hideous weather forecast it was actually really pleasant and sunny for the most of the day. The boys had a ball and the next morning Thomas said ' Mummy I really like Charlie and he's got a special heart like me' awwwwww.....

We've been very busy at home decorating and reorganising the bedrooms in readiness for our new baby. I'm pleased to say the nursery is now ready and the new office/spare room is nearly there. Thomas has been helping (in his own way) he likes to be involved in everything, we've found the best approach is to let him have a go and then he often gets bored and goes off to play.

Daddy's fathers day present was a book called 'Daddy's little boy' in it there is a boy called Tom who does lots of great stuff with his Daddy. One of things they get up to is making a castle so Thomas wanted to do the same. I've added some photo's of it for you - it's been a bit of a project but it's all finished now and the boys are very proud of their creation (especially Daddy ;-).

We've not that much planned over the next few weeks, the baby is due in 5 weeks time so I want to spend as much quality time with my little man before his new sibling arrives. I still cannot quite believe we will have a newborn arriving soon. Thomas is still excited about it - he's been coming to my antenatal appointments and listening to the baby's heart beat. We'll see if he still feels the same when it arrives!

I've added a slide show below of some photo's taken over the last few weeks.



Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A mega update!!

It's a ridiculous amount of time since I last updated you about what Thomas has been up to - we've been really busy and having lots of fun.

The first major news (well, it's old news now) is that Thomas is having a new baby brother/sister due at the end of August :-) So far he is very much into the idea of his new sibling, he keeps kissing my tummy and asking 'when's it coming out Mummy?'. Lets hope he shows the same enthusiasm when it arrives and realises it's here to stay! We've had some extra scans and another one due on 26th June but so far this baby is looking like it has a heathly heart, which you can probably imagine is a HUGE relief for us.

Thomas started pre-school for two sessions a week after Easter. It's the one attached to the school that he will hopefully go to. We call it 'Big boy pre-school' and he's settled in really well and seems to enjoy it. It's another milestone for our little boy who is really growing up - he suddenly decided a few weeks back that he didn't want to wear his night time nappy anymore and so that was it, he hasn't since and done really well with it!

He's more into Tom & Jerry and Power Rangers at the minute with Lazy Town and Sportacus taking more of a back seat. He's still very much into cars and balls and loves playing bat and ball.

We went on holiday to Wales at the beginning of May - the weather was OK and we managed to get to the beach every other day. Thomas loves the beach. He loves looking in rock pools, demolishing sand castles and playing football on the beach. We also went on a steam railway and to an Animalarium where Thomas held a snake!!!

We've just got back from a week in Ibiza - last chance for a holiday abroad before number 2 arrives! We've had a great week, the weather was glorious, beautiful sun all week. Thomas was dipping in and out of the pool, the beach was a 2 minute walk away and there was 2 cartoon characters in the hotel called Dizzy (dolphin) and Shades (shark) - which were a big hit with Thomas. There was a children's disco on every evening and he really enjoyed a good boogie to the Dizzy & Shades Shakedown. He's a bit of a mover our boy! :-)

Other stuff he's been up to over the last few months is a visit to the zoo, having picnics in parks (galore) and going to a couple of children's farms. We also had a day trip to Skeggy over the bank holiday weekend which was a really good day out.

Thomas has had a new 'football' bedroom which he's very pleased about. We're changing all the bedrooms around in anticipation of the new baby coming so Thomas has now got a big boys themed room. It was so funny when he was looking through the different designs for his room, dinosaurs, diggers, space, animals, racing cars etc etc but he just kept going back to the football one. He certainly knows what he wants!

Heartwise Thomas is doing well (touch wood, fingers crossed and all that) we are due back in Birmingham for a check up on 25th June so hopefully that will go well. He certainly seems full of life and energy. He definitely can't walk as far his little friends and does get puffed but he is doing really, really well. Looooooong may it continue!!!



Friday, February 06, 2009

Thomas' 3rd Birthday

It was Thomas' 3rd birthday on Monday - can you believe he is three already??

He's had a great time, he had a party on Sunday afternoon at a local sports centre. There was the biggest bouncy castle you've ever seen plus loads of soft play items and bats and balls. It was really good, and great to see him will all his little friends enjoying himself. There was about 26 kiddies in total but there was no catastrophes or dramas and everyone seemed to have a great time. Thomas' little heart friend Charlie travelled all the way from Cardiff to be there - how lovely is that.

Every birthday is such a milestone for us when you think back to where we were when we first learnt about Thomas' heart. It's easy to forget when you see him carrying on like a typical a 3year old but we never forget how precious he is. He does get breathless and he can't walk as far as his mates without getting tired (esp in the cold weather) but he's done amazingly well in these three years we just hope this is a taster for how the future will be.

Gushing proud Mummy moment over........... :-)


On his birthday itself Thomas woke up to a winter wonderland he went to the window and said 'Mummy, it's snowing because it's my birthday'. It did make his birthday even more magical as after he'd finally opened all of his presents (which took 4 hours!!!) we went outside to build a snowman and play in the snow. It was great!!!

Grandma and Grandad spent the day with us and brought some more presents and then we had our tea out at a local carvery and Uncle Paul joined us there. All in all the little man seemed to have a great day.

The next morning he woke up and said 'who's birthday is it today Mummy'?

Here's a few photo's I'll do a slide show later.......

P.s I must tell you this little story - a couple of weeks ago we had a power cut in the middle of the night which ordinarily you would think would go unnoticed but not in our house as Thomas has a night light and the bathroom light is left on to shine in his room. SO, he woke up in the small hours really upset saying 'Mummy, Daddy my eyes aren't working'....... awwwww

Friday, January 30, 2009

Christmas 2008 & Center Parcs Jan 2009

Well, it's been a while since my last update......time flies when you're having fun!

Thomas had his outpatients appointment in mid Dec
and all went well. They were pleased with his heart function, his growth and sats so we can breathe again for another 6 months. He was such a good boy while they scanned his heart, lying very still and doing just as the registrar wanted.

Then came Christmas - what a great time we had. Thomas was far more aware this year, he knew it was Christmas time and loved all the lights on the houses and all the festivities. On Christmas morning itself he came downstairs oblivious and casually walked into the lounge and on seeing the mountain of presents he said 'WOW look at all my presents, Santa bring all my presents to my home' ..........priceless!




We've just had a mid week break in Center Parcs, it was great. It was nice to have a few days away in the forrest. It's always pretty relaxing eventhough there's loads going on, we did swimming, biking, bowling, soft play and all sorts. Here's some photo's of our waterbaby.......


In other news Thomas has been to the cinema for the first time. He enjoyed Madagascar 2 just after Christmas and for a first time cinema goer he did really well. It was a good film actually I really enjoyed it myself :-)

He's still very much into playing with his cars, he's a big fan of his work bench (that he had for Christmas) and he's seriously into his marbles. Telly wise he's into Lazy Town (he thinks he is Sportacus), Peppa Pig and The Backyardigans or as Thomas calls it The Backcardigans :-)

We've got a full weekend ahead of us with Thomas' birthday party on Sunday and the big day itself on Monday. I can't quite believe my little rascal is going to be three on Monday. I'll post again soon with photo's of the birthday boy!!!