Update on the Kids

Jack is doing well this morning- they repeated the chest x-ray after another dose of the medication, and they said that his lungs are "all but clear." We are thrilled to hear that, of course. He is eating a little better with each feeding and just has to work his way back up to the way he ate before he got sick. He is looking better with each visit- I will try to take some pictures next time I go to the hospital. We are thankful for each little improvement and we hope he will be back with us soon. Last night when I was leaving South Shore Hospital, I thought of how strange it will be to not go there again. Between everything with Mairead, my many pre-natal visits, and all of this time there with the boys, it has become routine to go there all the time. The doctors and nurses have been great, but I will be happy if I never have to go there again. Dave will miss their cafeteria, though... they have great ice cream.

Ben is also doing great. It took him a while to learn to eat well, but he seems to be making up for lost time. He is eating more than three ounces at each feeding. I don't think Mairead did that when she came home from the hospital, and she was about a pound bigger than he is right now. He is getting bigger each day! A Visiting Nurse comes tomorrow, so I will find out how much he weights now. I did get a couple of pictures of him with his eyes open- he is so damn cute! My grandmother, Judy, and Theresa came to see him yesterday and he was a very well behaved little guy.

Katie and Steve also came to visit yesterday and helped us out a lot with entertaining our guests while handling lunches for both Ben and Mairead. Also, Katie made us some fabulous meals and desserts-- that was such a huge help because the last thing we feel like doing is cooking, so we got to eat 'real food' for dinner last night!

Mairead is officially the cutest she has ever been. Every day, she does something new and even cuter than the day before. She likes for us to hold her up so that she can see into Ben's crib, and she tells us, "Shhhh..." when he is sleeping. She is also learning to blow kisses with a very exaggerated, "mmmmm, mah!" sound. Judy brought her a Cat in the Hat stuffed animal, and yesterday she was carrying it around making it 'talk' and 'dance.' She also took him for a little ride in the doll stroller. She is adjusting very well to all of the changes around here, and we know she is going to be a great (but probably bossy) big sister to our little guys.