Merry Christmas!!

We feel very blessed this year to be able to spend this Christmas at home but realize that there are many families that are not able to do that this year. We specifically would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all of the families that will be spending Christmas at the ICN at Duke. Our hearts and prayers go out to each of you and please know that you are thought of during this Holiday Season! You gain a whole new family when you spend time in the ICN. We would like to ask each of you to say a little prayer for these families as well.

Bodee had his doctors appointment yesterday and all continues to go well. He is back up (and past) his birth weight so despite all the complaints every 3 hours from him...he is getting fed plenty! He weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz last week and then on Monday, he weighed 8 lbs 15 oz. The newborn diapers I had look like they should only fit on one of his legs!! :) We also have a consult in for Bodee to have another surgery but this time of a much smaller nature. When we left Duke, we knew that Bodee had inguinal hernia that would need to be repaired someday. This is the typical hernia (unlike the diaphragmatic hernia) that many newborn males have in their groin area. Soooo, Bodee is not quite done with his scar getting days. Doc says they will probably wait until he is 20 pounds which should be when he is about 1 years old. They don't want to put him under anesthesia any more than they have to and while we agree that another surgery doesn't sound fun for him, we would like to have it corrected as soon as possible. One less thing to worry about. Anyway, for now, they do not seem concerned with it but will monitor it closely. We continue to be amazed by his amazing recovery!

Dakota and She-Sha have been busy making lots of treats. Chocolate Chip cookies yesterday and Sugar Cookies today. I will post pictures of how those turn out after they are decorated! We have fudge and caramels, cheesecake and a pecan pie in the oven. It definitely smells like Christmas around here! Tomorrow will be all the goodies that we didn't get to make for Thanksgiving...I am kind of going overboard in order to combine Thanksgiving and Christmas this year :). In closing, here is a picture of our little Dakota during her first Christmas. Does she look familiar...minus the dress there is a slight resemblence to her baby brother! Hard to believe she turned out blonde and curly!