Don't Want to Jinx Things...

Drake's vent weaning is going...(gasp)dare I say...amazingly well!!! He is tolerating it even better than we expected! He is now up to 3hrs twice each day off of the vent completely. This allows us to take him easily from room to room...and he even had an adventure outside! I had high hopes that with a little padded support Drake would be able to swing, and it worked! He was patient with us while we did our best to adjust the buckle straps for him. That turned out to be much harder and took a lot longer than I had anticipated. Tightening the straps was easy, but loosening them was quite challenging. 

All of his home therapist this week have commented on his improved job and also on his improved tone. By "tone" I am referring to muscle tone. Every doctor who evaluates him is always checking the degree of muscle tension or resistance he shows while relaxed and in response to stretching. Some kids with special needs have high tone (their limbs remain tight and contracted) and others have low tone (completely limp). Drake's muscle tone varies. Sometimes it is high and other times it is low. I contribute most of his improved tone to the daily exercises that we do with his snowdrop program. Clearly what we are doing is helping, and that is a wonderful feeling! 

Friday night Brian and I were able to have a night out in Dallas with some dear friends. We are very thankful to Aunt Meredith, Uncle Aaron and their two kiddos for coming all the way to Tyler to take care of Drake and Kennedy. Drake's wonderful nurses were here, too. We had a fun night out but were excited to be home again with our little tots! On Saturday we took my sister's family down to experience some lake living. Jacob wasn't sure at first, but quickly decided he was a water baby, too! Our only wish is that they lived closer so that we could do this more often! 

1st time in the swing!

Love, Love, Love when he's in a giggly mood!

Hanging out with cousin Jacob!

Toddler fun in the house!

Mommy & Daddy's night out! We even ran into one of our favorite NICU nurses! It was wonderful seeing her again!!!

Lake fun with Daddy!

Practicing swimming with mommy!

Sitting on the dock with daddy!

Snuggled up with her "yaw-yaw" (Harlee). He secretly loves her!