It's been a busy week, so there hasn't been a lot of time to update. There hasn't really been much new to report anyway - just continuing to figure out what is normal. Josh worked quite a bit down at the Fall Festival, and then again this morning at the YMCA half marathon. He ran it the first year they had it, and when I saw him immediately after he crossed the finish line he emphatically gasped out "...Never again!". He may change his mind and run it again, but for now I think he is content to direct traffic and cheer on the runners!

What's new for Gabe? Well, when we first started the cereal and purees, he seemed to object at first and then reconsider - His face said "ok, this is not too bad, I'm open to it". Now he seems to be enjoying "eating" a little better. He likes to "help" get the cereal in his mouth by sticking his fist in his mouth after he gets a bite. I am not sure just how much is actually making it into his tummy, but at least eating is becoming something positive for him. We are still really "practising", but hopefully this will get him ready for when he is old enough to truly get his nutrition orally. He is also starting to laugh a little bit, which has us willing to do just about anything to hear it! We heard his first little giggle in the preop area, just before he got the Gtube - we figured it would be a little while before we heard it again, but last Sunday I was in the checkout line at the grocery store when my phone rang. Josh and Justin had elicited quite a chuckle from Gabe by placing a "vibrating monkey" toy on his belly. I got to hear it over the phone - a couple times, probably to the irritation of the checkout clerk. She didn't seem too aggravated at me and fortunately there wasn't anybody else in line behind me. Kendrick and I threw the groceries in the car and raced home to hopefully catch a live performance (amazingly, the eggs were all still intact).

Yesterday I was at the store again and ran into a Riley Dad. His son, Colin, was in module 2 for approximately 3 weeks in June. He told me that one of their neighbors from those days passed away this week. Apparently the baby was about 5 months old and had been through 4 or 5 pacemakers. I vaguely remembered the family - I talked to Colin's family quite a bit because they are from Evansville and actually live just a couple of miles away, and we have the same pediatrician. We stood in the parking lot and just talked for about 15 minutes. Standing there reminded me of those days in the NICU, after we knew Gabe would be ok even if he still had quite a bit of work left to do but we were still reminded that others did not yet have that certainty of their own babies. Even more poignant were the times you walked down the hall to the module and began to realize someone had lost their battle. It was difficult to reconcile the myriad of emotions that hit. My heart broke a little for them - we'd had a glimpse of what that kind of pain could be like that, but were fortunate enough to get only a glimpse. At the same time there was pain and compassion for them, there was relief, and then a little guilt. Why some are blessed with life and some are not, I can't answer and know I am not meant to. If you have a minute, say prayer for this family and the others going through unbearable grief. If you have kids, maybe hug them a little tighter or just a minute longer today - I did last night.