Austin's First Solid Feeding

Austin had his first solid feeding of rice cereal on Sunday, May 25th. It was amazing how well he was able to eat, especially since his cleft palate can make it challenging. He really enjoyed the food and squealed in delight throughout the feeding. And just after two days of solid food, he actually slept through the night for the first time!

New Deck

We decided to have a new deck built this spring. We just love the new composite material and it looks fantastic! We plan to have many cookouts this summer.

Dylan's First Sandbox

Dylan loves his new sandbox. He and his friend Zach had a great time playing together.

Austin's Lip Repair Surgery

Austin had his first surgery today to repair his cleft lip. There were no complications and the total procedure only took about an hour and a half. He was in quite a bit of pain at first and wanted us to hold him most of the time. Mike and I took turns sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital cot and holding him in the even more uncomfortable chair. It was a long day and night, but Austin was released from the hospital the next morning.

Annette's Parents Visit Utah

Mom and Dad enjoyed a lovely visit to Utah to welcome baby Austin. Dylan also enjoyed the visit and just loved receiving the toy radio that plays nursery rhymes. During their visit we also had the pleasure of the most consecutive snowfalls of the season. They were introduced to our wonderful neighbors who were kind enough to help clear up the snow from our driveway and sidewalks a few times that week.

Austin's Birth

Austin Michael Van Horn was born on January 3, 2008 at 12:23 PM. He weighed 8 lbs. 0 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He surprised us all as he was born with a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate. Fortunately, we were referred to a wonderful surgeon and craniofacial treatment team at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are confident that our precious little boy is in very good hands.

Christmas 2007

Here we are celebrating our second Christmas in Utah. Dylan absolutely loved his new rocking horse. As you can see, he also loves putting bows on his head. The Aqua Doodle was a gift from Nana Van Horn. It is a perfect way to introduce him to coloring without the mess! I just need to keep him from sucking the water out of the pen!

Dylan's 2nd Birthday

Dylan turned two December 13, 2007. He loves trains so we bought him a Thomas the train cake. However, he didn't really want to blow out candles once he saw the little wind-up train on the cake. We had to give him the train and then blow out the candles for him. He loved the new train set from Mommy and Daddy and the Radio Flyer fire engine from Nana Van Horn.

Trip to Yellowstone Park

We had a great time touring Yellowstone Park. It was a little scary making sure that Dylan was safe, but as long as he was in the stroller we felt good. The scenery was breathtaking and a truly magnificent place. Our close encounter with the Bison was very exciting, though we didn't see many other wild animals. Things have changed since the park stopped allowing people to feed the animals.