Friday, February 8, 2008

Remembering....

Last night Wayne and I were able to attend the Chocolate Extravaganza, a fund raiser for the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. And yes, the food was as delicious as it sounds. I spent most of my time at the white chocolate fountain.... YUMMY!!! These photos were all taken back in October specifically for the event. They were in the event program as well as a little flip chart style photo book of several different children who stayed in the NICU. The photo of me holding Elli was blown up into a poster that was as tall as me, and Elli was featured in hundreds of invitations that were mailed out.

It was a lot of fun to attend the event and see so many of the nurses and doctors that we have come to love and appreciate. I have really missed them. It was also nice to go out on a date with Wayne. It's been a long time, we both needed it! We are grateful to our good friend Cami, one of Elli's nurses, who was willing to come babysit so that we could go. Bradley was happy too because Cami brought her son over to play. So everyone had a great time.

It seems like forever ago that Elli was this little and on nasal CPAP. (She still weighed in the 2 lb. range when these were taken.) She has come a long way. Elli is now 9 lbs. and ever so close to coming off the oxygen. I am actually okay with it taking a little longer. I don't love carrying around her monitor, but it does bring a lot of extra comfort. So if it takes longer than we anticipate, I will be okay with that.

I am very grateful to have those days behind us. It is wonderful to have her home, to watch her grow and develop. She is starting to smile a little now, and she talks to us. She is especially happy when we change her diaper. She loves the freedom I guess. What a cutie!!