Day +142.......living life, and enjoying every minute!!

HAPPY BOY!!

ABOUT PICS: Bath time is his FAVORITE time! He loves, loves, loves to splash around and get as much water out of the sink as he can!! He also loves to stick his feet in his mouth any chance he gets...even in the bathtub! The pirate pic is from a birthday party that we went to of a friend of ours, and he really liked looking at everyone in the silly hats. And my favorite pic is the one of him in his stroller with his "old man" hat on.....sooooo cute!! (Erik thinks he looks like a little Indiana Jones)

Hey guys!! We are doing soooooooo well!! We had a great few days in San Diego! We were able to visit the zoo and also Sea World, and also saw some family and a few friends. Dylan did really well on the drive there and on the way back, we drove at night, and he slept the whole time. He is such a trooper! Although he really did not seem too interested in many things at the zoo or Sea World, he did enjoy seeing all of the seagulls chasing after us, trying to get our food! He thought they were pretty funny! We hope to have a longer trip later, but we were very thankful for this time to get away.

We went to clinic this past Friday and received only good reports! PRAISE GOD!! It's so nice to consistently hear good news. I even talked the doctor into letting us have a whole week off!! We will be going next Monday, and hopefully we might be able to switch to going every other week. That would be AMAZING!! Friday, we also celebrated Abby's 1st birthday in the clinic. I did not get any pics because I was video taping her and Dylan together....but it was so cute!! She was covered in cake and icing, and when we sat Dylan next to her, she kept grabbing his cheeks! They are so much fun to watch when they are together. I love the way babies react when they are around other little ones their age. She is doing really well post-transplant and she is looking more vibrant every week we see her!! God has been so good to us, and its a huge blessing for us to see our good friends doing well too!!

In other news.....we were in the local paper!! A friend from church writes for our city paper and was doing an article on organ donors and blood/marrow donors and she was able to use Dylan's story for the article. We made the front page!! As far as I know, the article was circulated in the Surprise Independent, and also in the Arrowhead area. Just another way that God is using Dylan to reach out to others! AWESOME!! Another thing we are doing is setting up a link on AMAZON.com that will allow Dylan to get 4% of proceeds that come from people shopping on our link. I will try to get it set up this week....so if you are planning on shopping on Amazon.....hold off until we get our link set up!! Every little bit helps!!

We are hoping to get a confirmation this week on whether or not Dylan will get the state insurance.....please keep that issue in your prayers. We will be paying for our first month of COBRA this month....and hopefully it will be the last!!

Last, but not least............DYLAN IS OFFICIALLY ROLLING OVER!!! YAY!!! He has been doing it the past week when he is in his bed, but NEVER when I could see him! But yesterday and today, he has been showing off a lot and gets really excited when he rolls onto his tummy! He is a constant joy in our lives and we are so very excited to wake up with him each and every day!! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support....you are AMAZING!!

With love from our home to yours,

The Praskins

Day +132....what a funny little kid!

Ok, I am probably a tiny bit biased, but isn't he the CUTEST?!! He is full of so much personality!! Must take after his momma! HA!! This was one little photo session where he was proud to show off for the camera! We are doing good here at home and having new adventures everyday! He now has the spitting down pat, and is now working on puckering his lips....it is so funny! I think he like the sound it makes and of course the reaction that he gets from his admirers. I never know if he is going to do a fishy kiss or spit something at me....what fun!! As you can see in the pictures, he is growing A LOT of blond hair, and he is getting some chub on his legs to match his chubby cheeks!! His little arms are now little sausages too! I LOVE IT!! He is finally getting some fat on him that is real fat and not just him being bloated from too many fluids. His cheeks have started to dwindle due to his steroids being cut down, but as of our last Tucson visit on Tuesday, the steroids have been increased to help counteract his throwing up.....and so far it is working!! So I guess we will not be saying farewell to the huge cheeks anytime soon :) He has been doing really well apart from the throwing up. He is happy, playful, and such a good baby!! People always say that if your first baby is a good baby, then your second may be a handful or visa versa. Well....I was having a talk with God and asked if He could classify Dylan in the "handful" category, even though he is REALLY good....so we will see! Ha!! He has not been sleeping as well as before at night, and I think that was due, in part, to his throwing up and dwindled eating. Now that his steroids have been increased, he has been eating more,keeping it down, and sleeping almost through the night! The past two nights he has only woken up once, around 2am, to eat.....opposed to the 8+ times he has been up during the night the past week! I am VERY thankful for that!!

Please pray for me as I am always on edge about every little thing. I got scared a couple of times last week, because a few days he started to act different, he was throwing up a lot, and his stools looked strange.......all of these things freaked me out, and I assumed the worst! When we got to the clinic on Tuesday, I anxiously waited for his blood results.........and they were PERFECT. The Dr and Susan (our nurse) told me to stop worrying and that he was fine.......but I get scared. I am constantly looking for any little thing out of the ordinary that may show signs of my worst nightmare. I have to trust that God is in control and that my worrying will not do anything to help anyone. I need to focus on what is real and true at this moment, and not to focus on what could happen....this is a very difficult thing for me, so I would appreciate any prayers for this issue. There is a commercial on TV, I think it's for an insurance company, and it shows a little boy getting out of his minivan and he is going to soccer practice....his mom has him dressed in head to toe gear for protection.......it's a funny commercial, but that's how I feel with Dylan and I do not want to live in fear like that. Does this ever get any easier? :(

Last week Dylan had an evaluation done by the state to see if he qualified for physical therapy and developmental therapy. According to the specialists who "played" with him, he is more than 50% delayed developmentally and physically. This did not come as a surprise to us. I am not too worried about it, because if they would have evaluated him even a month ago, his delays would have been even more severe. He is catching up on his own time and enjoying feeling good in the meantime. Because of these delays, he qualifies for a program called DDD that will provide therapists once a week whether our insurance pays for it or not. Also, because he is qualified for DDD, this may also qualify him for government insurance. He has to get one more evaluation in the next couple of weeks, and then we will know for sure. But according to what we know so far, he is qualified! Praise GOD!! This is a huge praise and answer to prayer....because insurance is a HUGE expense. Please pray that everything goes well and that he will be able to be covered under the government insurance. That way, Erik and I can get our own insurance and not have to worry about having all of Dylan's expenses covered.

We were hoping to be in San Diego today, but God decided that we needed some rain instead :) So our trip is going to be postponed a few days. We are hoping to leave on Saturday and enjoy at least 2 sunny days in San Diego. It is a long overdue vacation and we are looking forward to just getting away for a short trip! Please pray that the roads are safe on our trip and that we do not run into any crazy weather!!

Loving life and thankful for every minute,

The Praskins Family

Day +121.....life is GREAT!

Hello Everyone!! Life is good!! Erik and I have decided that it is best for Dylan, and our family, that I stay home for the time being--so I will not be returning to work. We are excited that we are able to make this move, but also taking a leap of faith. Our insurance was through my work, and now we will be on COBRA, and the insurance premium is going from $400 to $1500. We are still trying to find other avenues of insurance under our business, but we want to make sure that Dylan is 100% covered during his recovery time. We know that God will provide one way or another....and we feel that it is best for all of us that I stay home and take care of Dylan. I am really excited to have this opportunity and am so very thankful that the Lord has provided for us thus far. We are all settled in at home and are beggining to build a daily schedule. Ahhhh....schedules....I LOVE THEM!! Dylan has been sleeping in his crib for the past 10 days!! And he is doing really well!! He is still only eating 2-3 ounces at a time, so he is not sleeping through the night yet, but that will come with time. The sooner the better....becasue I AM TIRED. He is even taking his naps in his crib now and loves to go to bed....AWESOME little guy!!

We are headed to Tucson tomorrow for our weekly visit. We are hoping to go down to two visits a month soon--that will be nice!! We are also hoping to be done with his IV meds by the end of the month, and at that time, we will take out his other line and they will put in a port. The port will go underneath his skin and will act as an access to draw blood for his labs. Then there will no longer be a "fun" line for him to yank on whenever he is undressed....he LOVES to play with his line! Also, we will be able to fully submerge him in the bathtub, and when the weather gets warmer, the pool! I cannot wait to see how much he will like the pool. He LOVES LOVES LOVES his bathtime, so I'm sure he will love a HUGE pool! So many things for him to experience.....and I cannot wait to try them all!

He is getting an evaluation on Wednesday by a developmental specialist, and also a speech therapist. They are doing the evaluation to see if he qualifies for early intervention therapy programs from the state. He may also qualify for state insurance if they feel that his physical development is delayed as per their standards. This could be the way God provides.......and if not, He will another way. (BUT THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!) So please keep us in your prayers on Wednesday morning. Dylan has been growing more and more each day. He is always showing us something new! His new favorite thing to do is to shake his head back and forth as if he is saying NO. Daddy taught him this one afternoon and now he thinks he is hilarious!! It is quite funny!! The other thing that he discovered is that he can make noises with his spit. YES, he puckers his lips together and blows out anything that is in his mouth....mainly his meds!! But he will also do it when he is just laying down and playing....he really likes the sound! His two teeth that are coming in on the bottom are still making their way through. It seems as though they are close to breaking ground, but they are still hiding underneath his gums. Maybe next week! His hair is growing A LOT!! It is really blonde and very soft!! I love it!! I love to just smell his head....yes, I know I am strange!! He is full of personality and smiles, and every day brings us a new adventure! We are enjoying every minute with him and being home as a family. Thank you so much to everyone who is diligently praying for us every single day, you guys are AWESOME!!

Until next time,

Michelle