A Bright Spot

Gabe officially laughed for the first time today! There have been a few times where I thought he MAY be laughing, but today, definitely. Apparently I play a hilarious game of peek-a-boo.

Hoping and Praying

We're off to Vermont again this week. Tomorrow the doctors will replace the respirator my father's been on for the last three weeks with a tracheotomy-ventilator. The hope is that the new ventilator will make it easier for him to breathe and enable him to gain enough strength to eventually come off the respirator entirely. It's a bit of a long shot, but my dad's pretty extraordinary, so we're not counting him out yet.

Grandma Visits

We're off to VT again this weekend (fourth weekend in a row, which would normally be my idea of heaven)...but in the meantime, my mom's been visiting in Brooklyn. Here's her and the kids chilling in the backyard.

Double Trouble

I've been trying to get an "aw shucks - aren't they cute" picture of the two kids together. Yeah, it's not working out.

How We Roll

Unfortunately, I don't have any real good news to share about my dad's health. We're still very much in "wait and see" mode. This is one of those times when it physically pains me to live so far away from family. With the hospital 90 minutes away from my dad's house, it means it's almost 6 hours away from us here. So we are driving up every weekend, but still only get to spend Saturday at the hospital. It's exhausting, and I feel so helpless being so far away. I suppose that with two kids to take care of, even if I lived 10 minutes away I wouldn't be able to be there all the time. But still...

As difficult as the last few weeks have been, it's amazing how our friends have stepped up and rallied around us and the kids. Not to get all sappy, but Brian and I are truly blessed to have you all in our life.

Difficult Times

My father is currently in the hospital battling pneumonia, which has meant lots of worry, stress, and unexpected trips to Vermont. Luckily, there is nothing like young kids to keep you thankful and in the moment. Today's moment was 95 degrees and humid. There was really only one thing to do. Bust out the kiddie pool.