Warning...

One weeks of blogging done in one sitting!

Sahuaro Ranch Park

For those of you who don't know about this hidden gem of a park in the west valley...you need to go visit and do it soon before it gets too hot! http://www.photography.inkart.net/arizona/sahuaro_ranch/ I have been visiting this park for as long as I can remember, Chad and I used to hang out there when we were in high school, we enjoyed countless visits there with Gage and Katie when they were younger...and it was so awesome...yet surprising to me that here I was taking another kiddo to go visit the peacocks at Saguaro Ranch Park!
We were greeted by dozens of squawking roosters and the most beautiful aroma of orange blossoms when we pulled in the parking lot. The rose garden is in full bloom and we enjoyed looking at the huge variety of roses...they had every kind you could dream of, the roses alone are worth the visit! We meandered through the grounds to find all the peacocks hiding in the orange groves as well as a couple of very well fed bunnies! We were armed with a loaf of bread and had a ton of fun feeding all of the birds and rabbits.
The back side of the park is a more traditional park with playgrounds, soccer fields, and the "usual" stuff...just on a huge scale. This was the first time that Dane got to be on a swing...and he had a blast! He smiled and giggled the entire time, the higher we pushed him the better! Our little dare devil!

He took a three hour nap when we got home!

Getting so brave!

We have had a couple kitties visiting our back yard and Dane gets very excited when they show up.

Dane is doing a great job standing and is mostly standing on his own...though if he figures out that he is doing it by himself he gets freaked out and falls. He is confidently cruising between couch and coffee table, he is even walking along the walls! It will not be long before he takes off! He really is a miracle!

New pictures!

We took Dane to church on Easter, he did great and fell fast asleep in Tracy's arms! (thanks Tracy!)
In case you haven't seen the way our boy sucks his fingers...Gage and Katie think its cool that he does the "rock on" sign!
It was nice to see our three kiddos huddled together on Easter night! Dane LOVES his big brother and sister!

Yes, we are still alive!

Bad, bad, bad blogger...I know! When I have had a couple of moments to be on the computer I have been working on a video montage for Dane to celebrate his first "adjusted" birthday. It really looks great, but still needs some work...but I will post it as soon as it is done.

Dane is doing great, he is working with a new speech therapist to help with his choking and his communication. She seems great and really knows her stuff. She wants us to have a swallow study done on Dane as well as another hearing test, so those are on my to do list. She was very impressed with his ability to feed himself and was glad to see that he doesn't have any feeding issues. When she did the speech eval, she said that Dane was all over the board...some things he was at a 3-6 month level and some things he was at a 12 month level. He showed off his very impressive pointing skills, which I guess is a pretty big deal developmental milestone. She was happy to hear him making noises but would really like him to be doing more mimicking. So we will continue to sing, talk, sign and read books to him to encourage his abilitly to communicate.

His new thing is shaking his fingure at us after we tell him "no" or "don't touch", we try not to laugh too hard...because he is very seriously scolding us for scolding him and this is no laughing matter to him! We think that he has a small touch of a stomach bug, resulting in what we have termed "man gas"! I am NOT kidding you either, we have all been shocked at the rumblings coming from his tiny bottom! We hope that he is on the mend because if we are in public and he starts in with the "man gas" there is no way that anyone would believe that is was him and they would be totally grossed out at the thought of Danes parents letting it rip in public...okay, I have gone too far...enough about the man gas.
I will be sure to take lots of pictures tomorrow, we are going to church then to my Mom's...we are thankful that the weather is so warm so we can soon say "bub bye" to RSV season!

I need a new look!

For my blog that is...and I am not fancy enough to figure out how to make it more orginal...so I need someone to help me do a "extreme blog makeover"! And when I say "someone" I mean you, Tracy!!! (Cuz, I know that's how you roll)

Enjoying spring...in the desert!

Yes, I know Spring is not officially here...but for those of us that live in the desert, Spring arrives in late February and leaves us in late March! We have been taking advantage of the great weather with numerous trips to the park. Dane loves getting outside and sinking his bare feet in the grass, and Mom loves it too! It dawned on us that we missed Spring entirely last year, we spent all of our time the NICU and when Dane came home April 30th it was already in the high 90's...so this year we are extra thankful that we can put Dane in the stroller and just go! No oxygen or wires to slow us down!

Dane continues to do great during his therapy sessions. We have cut down on early intervention to twice a month, we will continue physical therapy once a week until he is walking well, and we have just added a speech therapist. The speech therapist is going to do an evaluation next Monday, to see how often she needs to see him. Though I must say that his babbling has gotten a lot better in the past two weeks. He is saying "mama", though he only says it when he is whining or crying. She is also concerned that he is still choking on water and juice, so we will explore that as well. Over all he is doing great, and progressing at rate that is quite unheard of for a 26 weeker with massive brain bleeds! THANK YOU JESUS!!!

Schult Manufactered Homes (Chad's main dealer) has expressed some interest in matching our donations for the March for Babies. There has been talk about them sponsoring us with hats too! We are so excited about this, though it's not a for sure thing yet...but they did call us today to get more information, so we are encouraged that it's going to happen!

A special thanks to all who have donated so far on my page:Uncle Dick & Aunt Judy,Mom and Dad,John and Julie,Scott and Margo,Lori and Pat and Aunt Terry. Thanks to Angela, Sandra, and Kelly for signing up as walkers and doing your own fundraising!