::praises::

we are praising the Lord tonight for crosby's successful surgery.  he is doing great and getting lots of snuggles as we recover.  thank you all...

we are headed back into the hospital this thursday morning.

our littlest has to have a bilateral hernia repair.  

we would love prayer for crosby's surgeon and anesthesiologists.

thankfully, the procedure itself isn't too complicated.  but preemies are notorious for occasionally being tricky in terms of the anesthesia and being extubated at the end of the case.

i am confident all will go well, but i have to admit that stepping foot back in the hospital and spending the night there gives me a pit in my stomach.  i will be thankful for it to be over and for crosby to feel better.

thank you all SO much for your prayers!

crosby vs. the bear...

crosby wins!

see how far we've come...

generations of love.

it is such a beautiful thing...

thank you so much for visiting, mimi and great-grandma pat!

happy birthday, chief!!!

our finn is turning two today.

i can hardly believe it.

but, then, i look at him and can hardly believe he is only two.

he speaks in huge sentences.  has such an opinion.  has such a big heart and a determined will.  he is spunky and mischievous and adorable (and he knows it!).  he keeps us on our toes and gives the most amazing hugs.

our hearts could not love him more.

finn, happy happy 2nd birthday!  we love you more than words and hope that you always know how deep and wide and huge our love and the love of the Lord is for you.

happy birthday, big man!

15 weeks old and...

out of preemie clothes!!!

::big man::

::clearing out::

today, we took our "oxygen in use" sign out of our window.

the home health man came and took away all of our monitors and tanks of oxygen.  

when they originally brought all of crosby's gear, the man looked at finn and said, "now this tank could kill your son if he knocked it over," in regards to the huge looming tank in our bedroom.  

awesome.

so, you had better believe we are glad to have all of this extra stuff out of our house.

crosby is doing great and is so portable and tangle-free nowadays.  

every day, we thank God for the amazing progress he is making!

whit took this picture while she was visiting.

and something about it just cracks me up.

i can't really put my finger on what it is...

but oh how i adore them.  and how they adore each other.

happy day.

happy father's day to my dad and ryan.

oh how we love you!!

::homecoming::

lily and finn are on the countdown for sammy to return stateside.

and they are wearing their aussie beachwear until he does...

::glow::

our little glow worm no longer has to glow.

we are so excited!  our pediatrician and crosby's neonatologist gave us the green light to get rid of the oxygen and both monitors!

when we were discharged, i remember telling ryan that i would probably never want to get rid of the monitor that keeps track of his oxygen saturation because it was such peace of mind...

how wrong was i???

i could practically throw both monitors out the window.  

while they were fabulous at doing their very important jobs, i am so looking forward to a night of sleeping without hearing incessant beeping every time crosby moves around too much or grunts for a second.  it will be wonderful.

and to have him completely unhooked and looking like a normal baby is heavenly.  you've come so far, little guy!

here's to a good night's sleep tonight...

(that is if crosby doesn't wake up every hour!) 

when we were in the NICU, we were told that some preemies have an aversion to touch after months of being poked and prodded.  it was one of the pieces of information that most broke my heart.  i felt so helpless during our stay there and my touch was one of the only things i could offer crosby.

we are both overjoyed that we can most definitely report that crosby does not have an aversion to touch.

i think we are trying to make up for the weeks of being unable to hold him at any time.  and it is undeniable to say that our little one loves to be snuggled.

thank goodness.

                                                                          

::milestones::

recent resident's party

yesterday, ryan finished his last day of resident's clinic.

it would be safe to say that clinic has not been ryan's favorite part of residency.  no tears were shed as he finished his day.

and today, ryan has his last day of primary call as a resident EVER!  this feels like a huge milestone!

he will become a chief in a few days and it is hard to believe!  his call will be more frequent, but he will be buffered by the other residents taking primary call.

ry, it has been such an honor to walk beside you through medical school and residency.  i cannot believe how close you are to completing this journey.  you have worked so hard and made so many sacrifices without any of the complaining i surely would have done.  you are amazing.  and i am so proud of you.

congrats!

tiny miracles.

great strides have been made by crosby in the last week.

he has been off of oxygen for 3 days.  our pediatrician said that if he can go for a week without us needing to provide him with supplemental oxygen, we can get rid of the monitors!  it will feel absolutely wonderful to have an untethered baby!

when i walk around the house without carrying his monitor, lily always asks why he isn't wearing "cords."  it will be such a great feeling to be "cord-free!"

and he weighs 6-5 now!  our little peanut isn't so little anymore!

he has also made great progress in nursing in the last week.  what was once a big struggle every time, is now feeling much more natural and easy.  he used to fall asleep after a minute or two because he was lacking the energy needed to nurse.  he has gotten so much stronger and more capable!

it is amazing that all of this has happened as he has made it past the 40 week gestational age.

my friend, katy, and i were talking about it this morning.  how it all is just starting to "click" after he has passed his due date.

it makes me even more thankful and in awe of the wonderful 40 weeks lily and finn had inside of me to become ready for the world.

and even though crosby lacked some of those weeks, i am forever thankful for the Lord's providence and care over his life to bring him so successfully to term.

::13 weeks::

::weekend::

we had a really wonderful weekend doing the simple things as a family of five.  

tonight after dinner, lily and finn were enjoying ice cream cones and their happiness was literally palpable.  it made my heart feel so full to be enjoying the start of summer with three healthy kids under one roof.  we are so blessed.  

on saturday morning, we went to a local farm that we are supporting this year.  we picked up our veggies and then spent time picking peas and herbs.  the kids loved it and it was amazing to watch them eating peas out of their bags as if it was candy.  lily was adamant when we got home that she make a cheese, pea and basil sandwich.  i thought she surely would not eat it, but she ate the whole thing and then made another!  it was awesome to see her take pride and ownership in her meal!  

today we went out to a polo match again with our friends, the thomases.  they are getting ready to move to mississippi and we wanted to enjoy the afternoon with them.

 finn loved replacing the divots in between halves.

it was a great weekend...i just wish it didn't have to end so quickly!

::due date::

it is hard to believe that just now have we reached our "due date."  for some reason it brings me a sense of peace to know this sweet babe of ours is finally at term and meant to be here.

it certainly has not been the easiest winter and spring, but it most definitely drew us closer to one another and closer to the Lord.

and i am so thankful that we've been so blessed as to know our sweet crosby for about 13 weeks now.

he is perfect.

Isaiah 40:31

New International Version (NIV)

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

::heartwarming::

as our littlest gets closer to his due date, he is starting to do things that seem very age appropriate (such as confusing his nights with his days!)

while i don't think this was a true smile, i was thrilled to catch it on film!

::baby burrito::

tucking crosby into bed has involved two monitors, oxygen, often two sets of clothes, a swaddle sack, a blanket and a hat.

although seeing him all cozy and snug made my mom and whit feel claustrophobic, we think he looks like the cutest baby burrito ever!