"You, did NOT buzz his head!"

"It's okay, I still look cool Mom!"

Where did Dane go???
"Here I am!"
"YOU DID NOT BUZZ HIS HEAD!!!"

The reply from my dear husband was "yes". I came home from work to see a toddling Dane come around the corner with a silhouette of an egg head that I was so desperately trying to hide with his hair. Yes, Dane did need a trim as the dreaded mullet was starting to appear. I have been ever so slightly trimming his baby hairs for the past six months, and Chad has been teasing me that he was going to buzz him, which I kept saying "you had better not TOUCH his hair". Due to his prematurity he does have a skinny head, the NICU nurses call it a "toaster head" and say that they can spot a grown preemie by the shape of their head! I was trying to grow it out a bit to off set the shape of his head...which I must add is not that bad, the nurses did a great job of turning Dane every couple hours while he was in the hospital to keep the "toaster head" to a minimum. So okay Mom's, I know you can sympathize with me here...yes, he is still adorable and yes, it will grow back...but girls...I was soooo mad at my husband!!! Needless to say I am quite sure that Chad will not go near Dane's head again with anything sharp!

Otherwise, Dane is doing good. We are working on trying to strengthen his core to help him with balance, he is still falling a little more than he should. We are basically doing a Pilate's move on him, his stomach and neck muscles are a little weak and he has compensated with VERY strong shoulder muscles. We are also working on behavior, as he thinks that if we tell him "no", he should try to bite or pinch me. I know that it is out of frustration as he can't communicate with us they way that he wants to. The funny thing is that he only does this to Katie and me...never once does he try to bite Chad or Gage. It also doesn't matter who tells him "no", if Chad tells him know...he tries to pinch me, if I tell him "no" he tries to pinch me. Let me tell you, he has some strong pincher's!!! So, for now we are just removing him from the situation when he starts to do this...time will tell what we try next. He is very strong willed and stubborn, which was a necessity in the NICU...but a bit of a challenge as he gains Independence! We love him though, and we try to remember that it was his rebellious nature that helped him get him where he is today!

Happy 4th of July (on the 3rd!!!)

This is what Dane does when you ask him "who's so cute?" or "who's so smart?" Too cute, he always proudly raises his hand!

I know that I won't have time to post tomorrow, so I thought that I would do it today! I hope that everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow full of lots of family, friends, food, and fireworks.

Beware, hot topic ahead...and it doesn't have one thing to do with Dane or prematurity!

We will be going to a church party/baptism at an unbelievably generous persons home that has offered their gorgeous home to our church family for the evening. This house is awesome, the pool has a lazy river and a buried treasure ship in the shallow end! Gage, Katie and myself have made the decision to be baptised also. Baptism itself has raised a lot of questions for me, since I became a follower of Christ I am very skeptical and aware of trying to stay clear of any legalism in my relationship with God. When I read the gospel what resonates in my heart is that we are to be baptised in the Holy Spirit and if you are not careful, water baptism can feel like another notch on your Christian belt. It is something that I have decided to do as an outward symbol of the internal change that I have had in my life, not as a legalistic, religious thing that somehow makes me more Christ like. There has been an odd stigma that I have found is attached to not being baptised in the church, there are brothers and sisters in Christ that have acted shocked and said "YOU have not been baptised!" and I think that it is for that reason that I haven't done it yet, when people act like that it changes the experience for the person being baptised it makes it about everything that Christ preached against. It's like when you see people take communion, and they really have no idea why they are doing, just another "to do" thing on their God check list, and like taking communion, baptism needs to come from the heart, a decision that is between you and God alone, and I might add a decision that is for God alone to judge. Anyone can get dunked by their Pastor, but it takes a secure relationship with Jesus to search yourself for the real reason you are doing it. I am glad that I have had the opportunity to really pray about it the past couple of weeks, and thankful that I have had the chance to share my heart with people about why I hesitated to do it. I am proud of my kids for making the decision to be baptised tomorrow and I pray that it is truly is a life changing experience for them. I pray that they are not doing it because it is what man expects them to do, but what God wants them to do to show and share with others their faith in Jesus... and that they know it doesn't make them any less or more loved by God...He sees and knows our hearts, whether we have been submerged in water or not. Google "different thoughts about baptism in Christianity" and you be amazed at the discussions out there on this topic. I am glad that I have decided to share this experience with my kids, heart and eyes wide open knowing that there is not any legalistic reason attached to this public symbol of my new identity in Christ. Just as a side note, my Mom baptised me when I was a baby and I think that is awesome, you know why? There is not ANY legalism attached to a Mother baptising her baby with no one else around but the Lord...so thank you MOM!

Oh yeah, make sure in the midst of your 4th of July celebration that you pray for our country, and it's leaders, our soldiers, and their families!!!

Okay, back to Dane, he is doing great! Getting more and more stable on his feet and though he may not be hitting every milestone on time, he shows improvement everyday. We have been taking him swimming, which he loves a little too much...he has ZERO fear of the water! He is my happy guy and our family is blessed by his big brown eyes!