Home Early

One of M's co-workers and friends was killed Thursday while on the job, so M took the weekend off and we came home early just to be a family for a few days. Please pray for M as he is reminded again of the risks involved with his job. The down side? I will then be on my own again for at minimum seven days straight. Oh well.




So all that meant Friday turned out to be quite a little crazy day! My mom and I took the girls and went to the SF Zoo in the morning. I have to say that it is an awesome place! First we took K to watch them feed the penguins and then we went to watch them feed the grizzly bears...they put fish in the pond and you watch. I don't have pics cause we were taking videos and they are with my mom in SF.

Anyway, at one point, K is standing next to the glass and my mom is standing behind her and the grizzly caught a fish right in front of them! All I saw was my mom scream and jump back and K leaning into the glass as close as she could. My mom said all she saw was a huge claw and a bunch of teeth. For the next five minutes, K just kept pointing at the glass and saying, "Roar! Roar!".



She also really liked the lemurs but we only have video of her saying "Hi" to them. :) Yep, that's how Em and I spent the day...you wouldn't believe how many people ask me if the glasses are for vanity or for real. :)



When we got home about four in the afternoon, M called to let me know about his friend and to ask me to come home. So I pack the girls up and managed to get out of there about 8pm. Can you believe that the girls slept the entire way home? 500 miles later, I pulled in and Em woke up screaming cause she was so hungry...perfect timing. Thanks for those praying for our safety!

6-11-10

M here.

Yesterday, as I was just waking up out of a groggy stupor, after working overtime the night before, I heard my phone ringing. I got out of bed and realized I had just missed a call from my partner. I checked my messages and found that I had missed three calls, all from colleagues. Whenever I get calls like this, I know to expect the worse. I try to steel myself to hearing the worse kind of news. I start wondering which one of my colleagues was just killed, or worse yet, someone in my family.

With trepidation I first called my partner back. He informed me that one of my colleagues had been in a high speed pursuit, while riding his department motorcycle. My colleague was unable to swerve in time and avoid broad siding a big rig, at a high rate of speed. Tom Coleman, #17338 was a seven year veteran of our department. He epitomized class and integrity. He was a great officer, father, husband, and friend. He cared for those around him and did the right thing, even to the point that he gave his life doing his sworn duty.

Losing someone like Tom hit me real hard. We have had two deaths in our office in the last year and this was the third. Tom had a daughter that was born a little before Emily. He would often come up to me asking me how Emily was doing and then we would trade war stories of the challenges of fatherhood. As I sat in on the debrief with my friends and colleagues, I kept thinking over and over about what it would be like to be so cruelly and quickly removed from this world, leaving behind my wife and two young girls to cope on their own. I am reassured to know that we have a great, caring and loving family and network of friends that would step up to help them out, but I still can't get over the hole that would be left behind.

It is times like this that make me appreciate the family that God has given me. I have learned to appreciate each day that he gives me. I try not to ever miss an opportunity to hug and kiss my 3 girls. To those who are reading this, I admonish you to never take any day for granted. Always remember to tell your wife and kids that you love them and hug and kiss them often.

Drama

For someone who hates drama, my life is full of it...I'm am totally over it and yet I fear t'will be my life for a long time to come. Now Emily's heart monitor has gone off four times in the last two nights. Her dr thinks she is just falling into a much deeper sleep than before but is trying to get her in to a have a new sleep study done. We aren't sure if it is related to her most recent eating woes.

The whole eating drama seems to be getting better...she has been eating about 13 or 14 ounces a day for over a week now (a normal baby at her size would eat about 17 but she should be eating 20). It looks like we will get back into the high teens today but it is a first for a while and I hope the start of a new trend.

So some pics for the road...since everyone here says the pics don't do her justice, I am going to assume she is less photogenic than I thought. :) I think that is why I take so many of her sleeping...no bug eyes or glasses to contend with. She is really such a sweetheart that I could care less if any picture comes out.





This is one of those head bands that fell over her eyes while she was playing with her hands...



In Grandma's shoes...

Eating Again

Well we are attacking Emily's lack of eating by attacking what we assume is some constipation...with juice. You should have seen her face when she tasted that for the first time! She got huge bug eyes and couldn't suck fast enough. She even held her own bottle. I have the cutest picture but it is on my small camera and I didn't bring the cord with me so it will have to be posted later.


Anyway, three total ounces over two days was all it took and she has blown out of her diaper twice, so I am happy to report she is unplugged and should start eating soon. Sadly for her, no more juice.



This is just funny. K wants to be outside so bad that she will play in the coldest weather...even if mom dresses her in two coats and a hat. :)

SEVEN months!

Well, it has been seven months since Emily made her splash into this world. We decided to weigh her and she is somewhere just under ten pounds right now. She gains weight slowly for a lot of reasons but mostly because of her chronic lung disease...she just uses more calories than the rest of us to breathe and function.

Other than all of her eating problems, she is a very good baby. She is very content to be on her own on the ground, playing with her toys. The eating is still a cause for concern as she is very inconsistent. For example, we are in the midst of a three day stretch where she just won't eat. We force an ounce or two down her while she cries about it and I worry too much about her not gaining weight and heading back to the hospital. We are trying to get her back to eating by feeding her breast milk only but we can't do it for long as she needs the extra calories from the additives (including formula) that we normally add to her milk.


Visually, we know she sees light...and even tracks it, but we still have not seen her focus in on an object or follow one. She LOVES to be interacted with and coos and smiles and gurgles whenever you stick your face in her space. She grabs anything in arms reach and brings her hands together in front of her (it looks like she is studying them). Oh, and she sucks her thumb every chance she gets.