some stuff

Wow. This week went by fast!! Let's see...what's new:

First. I finished my book last week; last wednesday, to be exact. A book that I started only 13 days earlier. And it was a real, small-print, regular, adult-sized book! I honestly believe that this is a life-time record for me...to have read a 264 pg. book in 13 days. Not to be boastful, but I am really proud of myself. And I'm excited to keep reading! Little Britches by Ralph Moody will mark the beginning of many good books to come! The best part about it was that my kids know all about Little Britches now too. Every morning at breakfast time they couldn't wait to hear all about Ralph in the chapters I had read the night before. It made me pay good attention to the details they would love to hear about too. Great storytelling-breakfast fun for all!

Second. Claire is really starting to eat. And drink! She also made a life-time record yesterday when she at nearly HALF of a hamburger bun. That's a lot of food for this one! I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but we have started feeding her 2/3 of her total milk during the night instead of during the day. So during the day, she only gets 1 can of milk instead of 3...and then we supplement with water (if she'll drink it by herself) or pedialyte (if she isn't interested in the water). So she's not so much hungry at breakfast time anymore, after getting the the high-calorie, tummy-filling milk through her tube all night long, but she IS hungry by lunch and dinner! And she's also starting to drink a lot more water during the day too....sometimes 320 cc! She is really making some great progress and we are excited!

Third. We met with Claire's kidney doctor last week for a 6-month post-transplant check up and things all around look great!! Strange as it is, her liver numbers are STILL not within the normal range, but they are not too far out of whack....and have been stable...so they're just calling it good, since we can't find anything wrong otherwise. WORST news is that we have to / get to do the 12 hr. urine collection again!!! Ugh. Not the funnest thing on my priority list! The first one we did two weeks ago was great; HOWEVER, the lab forgot to run of the tests that the doctor had ordered. It's a test that the doctor wants/needs to have the result. And so we do it again. At least we don't have to have her catheterized to get the collection...always could be worse, right?!

Fourth. We've leaving on vacation this friday! So excited to spend some time with our families and switch-up the daily routine.

Fifth. Mabel is going to be crawling before we know it. She's been up on her hands and knees today, rocking back and forth, trying to figure out how to coordinate the movements! I love that baby. Her hair is also growing at an unprecedented rate! It's still short...but she's a fuzz ball!

Summer is such a fun time for parades! Benson loves the candy, and isn't shy at all about loading up his bag. Claire hasn't been a big fan of parades as of yet. She's doesn't like being so close to noisy things (band/fire trucks/tractors) or the animals. She was glued to my lap for the fist half of the parade, but finally stared to enjoy things a bit by the end. She even started to gather her own pile of candy and piled it on Mabel's stroller!