Well, it has certainly been a busy couple of days. I don't even know where to start and I am really tired. Easter was such a nice day. The boys were so handsome and everyone had a nice day together. I will get more pictures posted tomorrow, so check back. Monday was Josh's promotion ceremony. We were so proud of him - and all of us were there to support him, even Gabe. There was a nice crowd there, but nothing that made us uncomfortable about Gabe coming along. Lots of people got to meet him in person for the first time and we enjoyed showing off all three boys for a change. It was still Josh's moment, but Gabe shared the spotlight a little. Gabe even shook hands with the Chief of Police. Since it is spring break week down here, Josh's sister Brooke was even able to come along with their parents. Kaci and Justin were down for Easter, but their spring break isn't until next week, so unfortunately they could not stay for the promotion ceremony, but we had a nice time with them Saturday and Sunday. After the promotion ceremony, we went to lunch downtown at Max and Irma's at around 10:30. At that time we pretty much had the place to ourselves, so we were even able to relax and enjoy a restaurant without worry. It was all so normal and we loved it.

Today was a follow up with Dr. Rouse. He was pleased and surprised to hear Gabe hadn't used his tube for feeding in a month. We updated him on all of Gabe's accomplishments since our last appointment in January and Dr. Rouse told us that seeing Gabe and hearing all that has happened made his day. Gabe smiled and chattered away at Dr. Rouse while he was being examined. He has been a little more leery at medical appointments lately, so I sort of expected him to cry during the exam but he didn't. It's as if he knows this man is particularly special. He also noted the drop in the weight percentile but agreed that we could continue as we are with regular weight checks to monitor his progress closely. He did add that if his weight became more of a concern, we should add a feeding at night to up the calories. We expected that, but are glad he agrees we can continue as we are for now. Gabe has consistently taken over 20 ounces in a 24 hour period for a week now, which is a big improvement for him. During the exam, Dr. Rouse noted that Gabe's sternum is a little inward (I really can't remember the medical term for this, if anyone reading knows, please email us or leave a comment - I meant to google it) which he says can happen with DH kids. It doesn't overly concern him for now, but if it gets worse then surgery may be required to fix it. Fortunately we won't need to address that until Gabe is 8-10 years old, so there is plenty of time to watch, wait and see. Dr. Rouse also ran his fingers over the veins across Gabe's upper torso and neck, which are quite pronounced and have been for months. We have all noticed and the therapists have commented on it, but since multiple doctors examine him, see them and haven't said much, we haven't really asked. Today I did. He told us sometimes it happens after ECMO and is just something else we will have to watch. He recommended a repeat echocardiogram just before our next appointment with him at the end of May. We have talked about repeating this around Gabe's birthday before, so this was not a surprise. Aside from weight checks, April should be pretty quiet medically. May on the other hand will have some sort of appointment every week. We'll enjoy the reprieve and then look forward to more good news (fingers crossed, prayers offered) on Gabe's progress in May.