Cool Air?

Ahh, sweet relief. Today was 83 degrees and rainy. In between the drizzly spells, Walker, Happy and Daddy would head out to the back yard for some fresh air, something we haven't had in months.

Below is a photo of Walker's new sand box!
Walker is trying to figure out how the sprinkler works.

Hosing off our feet after being in the sand box.

Baseball anyone?

Walker sacrifices his body to make the catch!

Charlie missed the whole thing... here's a video of our little guy napping in his swing. What a peaceful sight, eh?

Tuesday at home

Grandma Happy caught these moments today and I thought I'd share. Here's Mr. Charlie in his swing:

Valerie and Mosely stopped by with an amazing Southwest style dinner! Thank you so much friends! When Walker saw them drive up he exclaimed, "They're here to take me to their house!"

Goodnight Charlie! xoxox

Charlie Update:
We saw the Pediatrician again today. Charlie is 8 pounds, 5 ounces! Go, Charlie, Go! He's still looking great and showing all sorts of positive physical signs which will help him to combat any stroke damage that may have occurred. We also got his chromosome labs back and they were all clear, which means the skull fusion and stroke were not due to a genetic disorder or "syndrome". That is fantastic news!

More sleep options:

Swaddled on the couch...

In a baby sling on Mama's chest...

Or in a laundry basket under the kitchen table.

All God's Creatures

Jack heads back to work tomorrow, so we decided to give him a morning on his own for school prep. We headed for the Dallas Arboretum while the temps were still in the 80s. We found all sorts of wonderful flowers, shrubs and water fountains. Walker even found a giant rabbit! Walker wanted to know "why that rabbit is sticking a carrot up his nose?" Why indeed!

Walker's new shirt - made by Grandma Happy!

Happy is back in town! YAY!

The boys crashed out on the way home.

Jack's new favorite sport is squirting squirrels with the hose.
Go get 'em, honey!

Before bed... nighty night everybody!

Can I hold him?

Walker has mastered the fine art of baby holding. Instead of holding Charlie's head up himself, he's made use of a throw pillow for support. Now Walker can focus on the fine art of brothering. After a little jostling and kissing, Charlie fell asleep in Walker's arms. What could be better?




And here's a quick shot of Charlie last night before bed! Charlie has his last feeding aroun 11:30pm and then sleeps until 3:30 or 4am. After a very efficient 10 minutes of nursing he falls back asleep until 8am. I LOVE this schedule. When Walker was a newborn, I was up every hour and a half and nursed for 40 minutes to an hour a pop. I was wasted by the time morning came. But with Charlie, we all get plenty of sleep and Jack can sleep through the night - ready the next morning for 6am Walker duty. So, thank you Charlie!

"To the Family!"

This is what Walker cries out when we toast at dinner. "To the Family!" Its pretty cute. But its also wonderful and comforting and kind of tear inducing for Jack and I at this time. Now that Charlie is home from the NICU, we're finally feeling like a family again. This morning, with the whole day to call our own, we took off in our new car for a family outing. First order of business was to find coffee for Mommy and Daddy. Some things just can't be skipped. Then, off to our favorite park for some play time. The weather was actually nice this morning with a somewhat cool breeze. After our time at the park, we ran a few errands and then had lunch at Dream Cafe in Uptown. Walker was on his best behavior and Charlie slept through the meal. Dream cafe indeed! It's early afternoon now and we're home. Both boys are snoozing in their cool dark rooms, while the rest of Dallas heats up for the evening. Here are some snapshots from the day:







This is the latest email update:

Hello again all,

Charlie has been home from the NICU now for over a week! It has been a quiet week filled mostly with normal family activities and infant care. Charlie is gaining weight at a very fast rate - he's over 8 pounds now, and his doctor appointments have been mercifully few and easy. Since Charlie is thriving so well, our doctors are spreading out his assessments and appointments a bit. So we've had lots of time for napping, nursing and general cooing over Mr. Charlie. Walker is also thrilled to have Charlie home. He tells anyone who will listen that his baby brother is "getting stronger, but is still a baby". So really, there is no new news except to say that Charlie is doing amazingly well. He is active, content, interested in the world around him and shows no strong signs of stroke. His left side, which is supposedly the "impaired" side, shows the same amount of limb movement and range of motion as his right. He makes great eye contact and has a directed, intent gaze that lets us know he sees and hears clearly. The only thing that reminds us of his condition is a once a day cocktail of Phenobarbital, antibiotics and infant vitamins with Iron, which he takes with breast milk in a bottle. He smiles, squeaks and squirms just like every other baby we know - except that he's way cuter.

Thank you to everyone who has sent loving notes, cards, food, bouquets, clothes, toys and books. Your incredible outpouring of support and love has buoyed us through this weird and daunting time. We are filled tip top full with gratitude and love for you. And Charlie is rewarding us all with his swift and solid come-back. Again, thank you and we'll keep you all posted as Charlie navigates the path that lies before him.

Yours
Sarah and Jack

New Car

The VW has been good to us for the last 9 years, but it's time for something new. Last week our mechanic put it to us plainly by saying we were at a crossroads with the VW - the repairs cost more than the car is worth. Our new car has everything we need - it seats six, gets better gas mileage than the VW and we'll pay less for gas at the pump. Goodbye to high octane German snobbery! So, here is the new member of the family - the Mazda 5.