Health and Family Update

I (Julie) took Ethan for his 15 month pediatrician checkup yesterday and all is well. He weighed in at 23 lb. 9.6 oz.! He's also grown to 32" long. He got his shots and was pretty brave - only cried for a moment. Then he fell asleep on the 7 minute drive home and slept for a couple of hours afterward.

He slept well last night and is pretty much on schedule today, not really feeling any side effects of the vaccines, although he is pretty clingy and cuddly! He's had a cough for about 2 weeks now so we had the doc check it out while we were there and they said he's fine and didn't really give a reason for the cough but didn't seem concerned so I guess there's no need for me to worry either. It's kind of odd to actually hear him cough because he spent all last year not being able to cough, and thus the reason for the thickened bottle feeds, due to some paralyzation of his nerves in his chest/throat area from his surgeries. Before I realized he didn't know how to really cough, he would just (how do I describe it?) kind of start to cough but turn it into a yell/loud noise/extended cough. Oh, the little things we take for granted! Poor little guy - I always thought coughing was more of an involuntary action that we do in response to choking or having something bother our airway. I guess it's encouraging that we definitely know he's regained the feeling in his throat in order to have the need to cough!

Well there's Ethan's health udate, now for the family update. We had a really nice Thanksgiving and trust you did as well. Dan and I both are fortunate to have our parents and siblings here in town so it's always fun to get to pitch in together for two big Thanksgiving day meals - one with each family! Ethan loves food in general (except any kind of meat/poultry) and found a new favorite food this holiday - cranberry relish! He mainly loves cheese and fruit (same things I craved when I was pregnant with him!) so it's really no surprise that he likes the tangy/sweet taste of the cranberries - he had several helpings at each meal and again for leftovers.

The rest of our family and extended families are doing well. I've got some kind of sinus problem that I've put off going to see the doctor about for the last couple of weeks but otherwise feeling good. I've also finally started going back to the gym to try to get in shape and hope to get in a good routine before the new year when the gym will be crowded with people trying to start their resolutions. My mom (aka Mimi) is also starting to finally feel better from her mono that she's had for nearly a year and a half. That's probably the biggest answer to prayer lately!

Uh-oh, I left the gate open and Ethan's headed for the stairs so I better run (he can crawl all the way up but doesn't know how to get back down without falling)!