Day +35......DYLAN IS 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY DYLAN!! I cannot believe that he is already 6 months old! He has grown up so fast and has spent 2/3 of his short life in the hospital. Soon this will all be over, and he can live a normal life-a life that he deserves more than I can ever express. A life that we long for so much. Oh it will be amazing!! I am so excited!! Whenever I start to feel completely overwhelmed or frustrated, I am reminded that this is temporary, and it is not forever. We will soon be home with our pumpkin, in our house, with our dog, Lily, in our own beds.....ahhhh I can feel the comfort now..... :)

Today, Erik and I had the pleasure of talking about Dylan's story at an inspirational brunch for Keller Williams Realty. It was a great experience. We were able to hear the stories of two other amazing families and got to meet a lot of really wonderful people. One of the realtors is a friend of Erik's and she asked us speak at the brunch. Erik does not think of himself as a great public speaker, but I feel that he did really well. He stayed up late last night writing his "script" while I passed out in our bed after driving from Tucson and arriving at midnight. He had four pages typed out and just read from them when we were talking to the group. He read it beautifully. It is hard to talk about Dylan without crying, so the script helped him stay on track (with a lot of crying too :). After he was done talking, I talked a little bit about how Dylan is doing now and the next steps. Then we had a video of Dylan photos with music....it was awesome! Daddy and Ben,a friend from Northwest Valley Church, did an amazing job!! We will be uploading it to youtube soon, and will post a link on the blog.....but I am warning you....it's a tear jerker! We feel blessed that we were asked to speak today and are so very thankful to each person who was there and heard our story! Thank you for the donations, the prayers, and the support!! The Keller Williams Real Estate group really does feel like a big family!!

Now, back to the main man, Mr. Dylan! Well, he decided to start eating again today!! He ate about an ounce last night, and then another this morning, then another this afternoon, and another this evening....sounds like a pattern to me!! PLUS, he has not thrown up once!! YAY D!!! We are so proud of him!! God is answering prayers everyday and we are blessed to be able to see them! He is still on TPN, and as his eating continues, his TPN will taper off and then soon he will be OFF!! YAY! One less med to give and no more carrying around a fanny pack with TPN! YAY YAY YAY!! Oh, and did I mention, YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! D's WBC was 2.0 today. This is disappointing to me, but the docs say it's normal...and I suppose they know what they are talking about :) The Doc is happy as long as it is over 1.5, so I guess we can be happy too! He is in great spirits today!! He is even opening his eyes! He has been so cranky and uncomfortable lately that he has not been opening his eyes much. Maybe that phase is over--I sure hope it is. He has been smiling more often and seems more alert. His voice is a little muted. He always seems to have voice problems after getting anesthesia because they have to put the tube down his throat. Hopefully it is very temporary. Other than that, things are going ok. He has not been sleeping very well at night. He definitely has his days and nights mixed up, but it's normal for babies who spend so much time in the hospital. So for now, I just have to adjust and try as hard as possible to sleep when I can. I am thankful that I have help from family, because the past few days I was a walking zombie and the nights that I can sleep are VERY MUCH NEEDED!! Thank you family!! Erik's mom and dad just left a couple of hours ago and my mom and her husband,Lee, are coming tomorrow-- we are excited to see them!! (and excited for another break!) Erik is also down here with me now for the next few days!! He had not seen Dylan for almost 3 weeks because of him being sick, so he was excited to see the little guy!! And when Dylan heard his voice, he opened his eyes really wide and gave his Daddy a long awaited smile....so cute!!

Well, I better get going and try to get my little one to sleep and tuck in my big baby who has fallen asleep with the TV on.....oh how I love my boys!!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!

Walking by Faith,

Michelle, Erik, and Baby Dylan