Hannah's Birthday Twin

I knew there was a reason I've been procrastinating the blog update. I've had some great photos to share, and news tidbits that might be of interest to Hannah's friends, but just haven't gotten around to gathering them up into a coherent post.

Well, tonight we hit a milestone, and it's a doozie, more than worthy of an entry here.

You regulars know about Carter, who was born the same day as Hannah, in the same hospital, and shared the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with her for the 105 days she was there. Unfortunately, Carter developed complications with his digestive system that kept him in the NICU much longer, then at various other hospitals for the first 15 months of his life. It culminated in an emergency transplant of his entire digestive system at Children's Hospital in Boston in May of this year. I was traveling in Asia at the time, and it was nerve-wracking to watch for updates on Carter's blog from afar, not knowing how things were going for days at a time. It was like being underwater, holding my breath, and every blog update was a break for the surface and a gulp of fresh air.

Carter has had a rough recovery since the transplant in May, but he's back home in Texas, doing extremely well, and getting down to the business of being a little boy instead of a patient. He's still got some tubes to help with breathing and digestion, but as we learned with Hannah, babies are particularly well-positioned to grow out of those aids, since their bodies are busy getting bigger and stronger.

While I was overseas, Carter's mom Chelle happened to mention on their blog an escape they made to Chili's for an actual sit-down meal, one day after I had eaten dinner in a Chili's in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An odd coincidence.

Well, tonight we sat down for dinner at Chili's in Plano with Carter and his remarkable parents. This was the first time the birthday twins have actually met each other, and the first time we've seen Sean and Chelle since Thanksgiving of last year. After the ordeal that they've lived for the past year and a half, it was inexpressibly gratifying to see them so . . . normal. While most non-NICU parents witnessing our meal might not have described it as relaxed, as we juggled babies and dishes and toys and tubes, wiping down table and highchairs to avoid Respiratory Syncytial Virus, it is a true milestone to just be able to sit down and have dinner like regular folks. I still remember the first visit to a restaurant with Hannah after we left the NICU. After months of nail-biting worry and rushed meals while caring for an infant tethered to machines, an excursion into the real world, even just a meal at a restaurant, was like a dreamy walk through a spring-green park on a cool sunny day.




Sean, Chelle, and Carter all looked so good and so happy, and Hannah had so much fun flirting and smiling and babbling at her new old friends, it was a perfect end to a remarkable year. I hope that next year is a year of recovery for our friends with babies still on the road to good health, because progress for some children comes much more slowly. Our trials with Hannah were nothing compared to what some parents and their children go through, and I think we should all resolve in 2009 to help those little ones who start life with challenges, and the brave parents that stand by their side.




In other news . . .




We spent last week in Bossier and Shreveport for Christmas, and had a great time. Now that we have a walking, talking (OK, babbling), Christmas gift that keeps on giving, every trip into town is a hoot these days. We got a surprise Christmas gift when Hannah's uncle Gabe and cousin Alexander rolled into Rena's (my sister) driveway Christmas morning after a covert 4-day road trip through ice and snow from Utah in their new RV. And, due to the bad economy and Texas Instruments' extended holiday shutdown this year, Aunt Cat (Carla's sister) and Uncle Jon got to spend Christmas with the clan in Bossport, too. All in all, a very merry Christmas and a good start on a happy new year.




Some notes about the previous blog entry:

I noticed after posting that those of you who get blog posts via email ( you can subscribe with the link above) did not see the Elf Dance link, so here it is in case you missed it. And, here's a bonus Elf Dance, if you want more of the same with a retro twist.

Also, for those of you that want to see my sister Melanie's 50th Birthday slideshow but are hesitant or unable to download and run the Windows executable, here's a version out on youtube that should be viewable for anyone with high-speed Internet access.

Dancing Elves, Dress-up, and Funny Wigs

I needed to get an update out here before the 15th, because that would make it a whole month since the last update. There's been a lot going on, all of it good, and I suppose I might have been procrastinating because I know there's a lot of ground to cover.

Hannah is asleep and Carla is out with the chorus group. Last night we all bundled up and went to the mall, where Carla's chorus sang carols to frenzied shoppers. Hannah dressed in her chorus duds, and got more than a few glances while we were out and about.



A few weeks ago we got a chance to go visit Ashley, one of Hannah's NICU friends. Both Hannah and I noticed that Ashley has more cool toys. We'll see what we can do about that.




We went to visit the grandparents for Thanksgiving. One of the highlights of Hannah's days are her baths, and they're even more fun in Grandma's tub.




Mr. and Mrs Claus heard that Hannah was in town and stopped by for a visit. Hannah was either a bit suspicious about the hair, or was thinking of making a grab for the reading glasses.




Aunt Rosemary got Hannah a Russian train conductor's coat and hat.




After I dressed Hannah in a plaid jumpsuit with bright pink socks and shoes, Aunt Rena staged a fashion intervention and cleared out Marshall's stock of coordinated baby outfits.






I had to play with the "Elf Yourself" site this year. Here's an elf dance with Hannah, Carter, and Ashley.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Carter, by the way, is doing very well, and is starting to settle into the groove of semi-normal home life after spending most of his first 15 months in hospitals. This thrills me every time I think of it, considering all he's been though. Be sure to check his web site for the latest cute pictures and updates.

My Mom spent a week at our house on her way out to San Diego to surprise my sister Melanie at her 50th birthday party. I put together a slideshow for Mel; with embarrasing photos from all stages of her life. You can click here to see it (WARNING: it's a 26MB Windows executable, so klaxons, alarm bells, and flashing hazard lights will probably appear when you click on it. But it's safe, I promise).

The party was 70s-themed and Hannah got to try on Mom's 'fro wig.