So Much for Which to be Thankful!

We've had a great couple of months since Cailin's first birthday. She started crawling in October. For the first few weeks it was technically a "commando" crawl, which I referred to as the injured soldier crawl since she pulled herself along as if retreating from the enemy with a wounded right leg which she dragged behind. It was adorable. That has since morphed into a full-fledged crawl, and of course she's now pulling herself up to a stand on everything that can provide a good hold. She'll be walking in no time! Lauren also has her on a daily stair climbing regimen to build strength. Cailin can apparently climb our 15 stairs in under 3 minutes! Gates will be installed momentarily!

She enjoyed her first celebration of Halloween (she was still in her isolette and not yet able to wear clothes last Halloween), dressing up first as a pumpkin (very briefly--the costume was too small, but very cute!) and then as a bunny. A parade was held on Halloween to celebrate the Phillies world series win, so we took her to the parade in her bunny costume--she was extremely patient (missing her morning nap and getting a very brief afternoon nap in the car on the way home), and of course she was a big hit! Pictures can be seen at right or here.

Not long after the parade she caught her first cold. It wasn't much fun for any of us, causing a number of sleepless nights and one trip to the ER, but thankfully she weathered it extremely well. The experience revealed two advantages of her still being on oxygen (normally only while sleeping); by keeping her on it during the day and turning her flow up it made it much easier for her to breath during the worst of the cold, and it so happens that when you bring a child to the ER on oxygen you get bumped to the front of the line. Less waiting is always a good thing!

Also last month, Lauren found a home for the contents of Cailin's deep freezer:

We're thrilled that not only did Cailin benefit from lauren's breastmilk, but children all around the United States are also benefiting, as Lauren donated 6 full coolers of breastmilk to a non-profit milk bank that she found in Austin, Texas.

As you all know, we've had quite a year. Last Thanksgiving began with Cailin on a vent after her ROP surgery the day before--and back off the vent just before we were allowed in to visit her at 10 AM on Thanksgiving day. How far we've come--from fragile baby in an isolette that we could visit only from 10 AM to 10 PM to a peacefully resting and thriving toddler sleeping in the room next door. We're packing up Cailin and Ellie and heading to my sister's for Thanksgiving, relishing the ability to spend the holidays with family rather than in the NICU.

May you all have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!