Some views of Fall.

Life of our special Preemie-Inside the NICU and Beyond

Zachary is progressing nicely. The doctor said he can go off the NeoSure and on to regular formula. He is 35th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for length. He weighs in at 15 1/2 pounds and 27 1/4 inches long. He is sitting on his own, crawling, and starting to pull himself up. Look out, I'm going to have to start chasing him all over the place now. His new favorite thing is the dog's water dish. He either splashes the water or tries to drink it. Oh little boys, Jill says I'll start losing weight just chasing after him. It's probably true, because I'm doing it now. He's babbling a lot more now also. He has said "dadda" several times now, and a few other small words that sound like words. Anyway, here are some new pictures I took while Zach and I were waiting for mommy to wake up. Hope all is well with all the family.

All is well here. Nothing much new, each day is a blessing. The picture above includes "Alex" the dog or AKA Mr. Jealous he will do anything to be in between you and the baby. The picture to the side is my other son, Nick. He was the baby at 15 until Zach came along. :)

Hello Everybody!!!! Zach is doing pretty good. Usually I start with Zach is doing great, however the last few days he has had numerous bouts of crying spells that can't seem to be explained. We think he may be teething, but we can't feel any pokey things sticking up yet. Last night I think dad got one hour sleep, he is looking a little ruff. If I have not said it before shame on me...Terry is the best FATHER EVER !!!!! If I could of choosen certain fathering skills that a man should have in raising a son I would say Terry holds them all. I am posting a picture of a giraffe that Zach's God Mother Denene bought him, Thank You Agian !!. We are so blessed to have Denene and Tim as God parents. They are special people and have raised two beautiful children. Denene used to be my boss at my current job and if you ever heard you can't be best friends with your boss and you believed it, your wrong. Denene and I had a very good working relationship as well as a friendship and I miss working with her very much. I usually don't say mushy stuff much so that will be it for the year..... One more thing Happy Birthday, Denene, You old Fart!!! Zach will be baptized on September 24th, what a special day that will be!!!!

Today August 13, 2006 we went to the Kenisington Metro Parks Farm. These pictures were taken inside the barn. Zack is sitting on a horse saddle, and the other picture Dad is checking Zach's height. It seems he is trying to get in every little inch by standing on his tippey toes !!!!! The weather is starting to break, I so much look forward to Fall. :)

Doctors appointment at 9 months. Wow, I can not believe Zach is now 9 months. To look at him he is very comparable to a 6 month old. He now weighs 14lbs 7.5 ounces. His iron was excellent as well as his white blood count. The best news of all is he has the green light for ice cream :). I asked the doctor and his response was "Chocolate would be best !!!!" So after his shot today we came home and had a little ice cream, he loved it. He pretty much eats anything. We just have to watch it is mushed up real good. I would say the Gerber spaggetti is his MOST favorite, must be the Italian in us Hoffman's :). The picture was taken as he was beating up his dad, he looks like he was having a ball, I know I was :)

These are the dog days of summer. The car read 101 today. I thought it was hot when I lived in Florida, but this has that beat by far. I guess my next move will be Alaska!!!! I enjoy the cooler weather by far. We chilled out in the pool today or should I say dad and Zack. He seemed to enjoy his little boat much more this time around. He is now sleeping, pooped him right out!!!!! Today's accomplishments include the ability to suck on his toes, and being able to handle his own bottle. He seems to be moving right ahead with his development. We could not be more proud. Nick my 16 year old has started driving school, talk about being on two sides of life. One is beginning to crawl and one is beginning to drive. I told Nick I never took any classes or driving school. I went to the school of Mr. Ed Hoffman AKA Dad. That was tougher then any class he will ever go through. But I must say so myself I am a pretty good driver no accidents yet......Knock on wood.

Zach has discovered sucking on his fingers awhile ago. However he is not satified unless he sucks them all at once and chokes at least once a day. This is a great shot of his talent, can you fit all your fingers in your mouth. We all have to have a talent :)

Sorry we have not had updates in so long. We have been busy playing with Zach so much and have fallen into a routine. Now is usually quite time for Terry and I. I just said to Terry " We have to put some new pictures out there", so here we go. But first I want everyone to know that Zach is doing Super! He is already scooting, and eating solids, and laughing out loud. Long behind us are the sleep studies, eye surgeries, spinal taps, multiple blood and urine tests, apenea monitors, ventilator, C-Pap, blood transfusions, bilirubin lights, heel pokes, and taking caffeine to help him remember to breath.

Life of our special Preemie-Inside the NICU and Beyond

Hello everybody. Thought we would give a update since it has been awhile. I am now back to work and dad is staying home with Zach. It is hard to leave in the morning because that's when Zach is in the best mood. He wakes up smiling everyday !!!!!!!! Guess he is glad to be here, it is almost like he knows what he has been through and appreciates every new day. We went to his first developmental clinic on June 12th. He is exactly where he should be on most activities. A little slow with following sound from the right side, so we will keep an eye on this, it could be because it was a new environment and he got stimulated by everything going on. When on his stomach he reaches for toys and the physical therapist told us that was great, a little ahead of most and all in all no signs he was a preemie, only by size when you look at his actual age.

He weighed in at 14 pounds 7 ounces at this last appointment, and Terry said he is now up over 15 pounds, right where he should be. He is in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for length, so he might grow up to be tall. At any rate, he's perfect to me and Terry.

We went to see all the nurses in the NICU after his clinic appointment, and we were fortunate to see Amy, Sharon, and Linda. they were the nurses we got closest to during Zachary's stay. He was making all kinds of noises for Amy, which made her and Terry and I very happy, and Linda and Sharon got to hold him which made us happy. Thank-you to all of the wonderful nurses at the NICU. It was a very good visit for Zachary, Terry and I.

Life of our special Preemie-Inside the NICU and Beyond

I took this picture for two reasons, Zachary loves grabbing hold of things now that he has learned how to, and because I love how he holds his toes curled down. I think it is so cute. Zachary is getting so big now, I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it every day. He is up to 13 pounds now. As Jill said earlier, he eats solids 2 times a day now, I introduced him to prunes last week, and again yesterday, and he introduced them back to me, didn't like them, they went all over his bib and me. So now the new thing is berries, not sure about that yet, we'll try it out on him this weekend. He goes in for his physical therapy appointment on June 12th, to see if he is developing on schedule. I already think he is, from what I see every day, but it's nice to be reassured by the docs. Zachary is so fun now. He cries less, and laughs more. He actually laughs or giggles out loud now, only a little bit, but when he does, it's priceless. He smiles like crazy when I do something that he likes, which is almost all the time. I can usually get him to start smiling if he is crying, by acting stupid, which is easy for me to do. He sleeps most of the night now, only waking up for 1 or 2 feedings, but that usually only takes 30 minutes each, so I only lose 1 hour of sleep now instead of 2 hours as before. Although I sometimes make it up during his morning nap, which he gets in the morning, afternoon and early evening. He usually goes to bed around 7:30-8 pm, but lately it's been more like 9 pm. He likes being outside with me when I do take him out to work around the house, he only gets bored once in awhile, so he will enjoy being outside. Jill and I have a blow up pool, it's pretty big, I can lay all the way down in it, and over Memorial day weekend when it was so hot, I took Zach in the pool with me and he absolutely loved it, for about 1/2 an hour, then of course he got bored, but I was so proud that he didn't cry and liked the water, which is a huge plus for Jill and me since we have a boat on the lake, he's going to love it. Well I guess that's it for now, Zach is starting to stir from his nap.

I'm ready for my close-up

Zach loves his new boppy!

Liz in California, THINK WE GOT YOU BEAT WITH THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!!

No new updates, just new pictures...