I remember a year ago our goal was to be home by Christmas..and then my sweet little girls asked the doctor at the hospital if Benjamin could pleeeaaaase be home by halloween. I remember thinking they were overly optimistic....and when it actually happened our first holiday home was fantastic. A year later we had another fantastic halloween. Benjamin went out to a few houses with the girls tonight, but it was cold and it started to rain, so he went back home with daddy.

Life has been good. We've been busy around the house. There is never a quiet moment with Benjamin around. We spend most of our days playing..Benjamin love his blocks especially breaking anything anyone tries to build for him. He is climbing anything possible, terrorizing our pets, and just being a boy. He loves music. I really would like to get him involved with something like kindermusik, but with germy season approaching that is on hold. I think I'm going to start taking him swimming once a week during the winter. Benjamin also loves going for a walk and kicking his feet through the leaves. Its really neat to watch him stop and look at new things. Today he stopped and carefully examined a sewer cover..I would love to know what he is thinking as he carefully pushes his finger through the holes. He also seemed to thoughtfully pick a perfect leaf out of a pile just for me...I love him. He's growing and changing so much. Its beautiful and amazing. I am so lucky.

Benjamin is great...he is super busy and now running all over the place. He has finally mastered walking with shoes on which is great. It took him a while to realize he needed to lift his feet higher, but now he's a pro. Its nice that I can put him down and he can wander around. I don't have to worry about him crawling on his hands anymore..yay. But in a way its a little said. My baby boy is growing up so fast...He's not a baby anymore. Part of me wishes he could stay this age forever. He is definitely a mama's boy. He says "mama" a lot, but he loves his daddy too. If he's up when daddy gets home from work he runs over to the door with his arms up before Jon can even take his shoes off.. He also sits in the window and watches for the girls to come home after school. When he sees them walking closer he starts to wave so enthusiastically. Its very sweet.

We had another appointment today with the eye doctor. Benjamin was a superstar. He woke up at 5am this morning and was very cranky by the time we had to leave. He fought me to get dressed and then sat patiently while the doctor looked at his eyes for several minutes & put in the drops. What a monkey. The not so great thing is that Benjamin's eyes have not improved since his last appointment 8 months ago. He is fairly farsighted, right on the border of it being a problem, him needing classes. The good news is his eyes are balanced and he is not showing signs of this being a huge issue yet. So we wait again for another 8 months unless we notice one of his eyes turning in. If things haven't improved by June then we have to start talking about our options. So that was kind of disappointing, but obviously its not the end of the world. We're just going to pray that things improve over the next 8 months.

Other then that things are good. Everyone is still healthy here (knock on wood) and we're just busy doing our thing. We're hoping for some great weather in the next few weeks before winter is in full swing.

Just some pictures around the house...

Having fun with daddy

Such a big boy.

Ouch..fell in the bathtub.

We celebrated our first thanksgiving home last week. A year ago we were still in the hospital. It was a great day. Jon was actually off so it was nice to have him there to.

The weather was fabulous and we got to just enjoy some down time with the family. We have a lot to be thankful for.

We had an appointment with the pediatric allergist this week as well. She was very happy that Benjamin didn't need his steroid inhaler all summer, but we are already having some asthma like symptoms so we started it again. He'll be on it all winter which will hopefully keep us from making any ER visits for his breathing difficulties. Unfortunately we don't qualify for the RSV vaccine so we're just a cautious as last winter when it comes to germ exposure. We have our flu shot on board now so I'm happy about that.

Anyways, Thursday marks one year since Benjamin has been home. What a milestone. Its hard to believe, but on the other hand it seems like he's always been home. We'll have another little party for him..why not?

We don't have any appointments coming up any time soon. We're getting out a little still before we're in for the winter....

Apples, apples, apples. We went apple picking this past week..Its something we do every fall and it was Benjamin's first time. We had a blast. The weather has been so amazing and we couldn't have had a better time. The girls picked away and even Benjamin picked a couple apples. There was a big play area that the kids could run around and just spend some time burning off steam. With all the apples we've been snacking, making applesauce and pie. So good. Benjamin loves apples and can't seem to get enough. If anyone is eating one he walks over and helps himself. He is now walking full time and just doing so well. What a good boy. Tomorrow is thanksgiving. This will be Benjamin's first thanksgiving home. We have so much to be thankful for its hard to comprehend..despite life's hardships we are thankful...We are so blessed.

Benjamin is on the move. I think I can say we have a walker. Sunday he really started walking more then crawling and every day he's getting better and better. We are thrilled. He's just doing so great. I'm happy he's on his feet more and hands less. As good of a housekeeper I am I still hate him crawling all over the floors....this will make it easier while we're out and about as well.

I had a conversation with our occupational therapist on Friday and updated her on Benjamin. She hadn't seen him through the summer months. She was very happy with his progress and officially discharged us from CPRI. So crazy. Another group of specialists off the list. We feel so blessed. Next week we go see the allergist..and get a plan of action for the winter.

We've had a few great playdates in the past few weeks as well. I forgot my camera for the last one, but we had a great time. Benjamin has a lot of little friends whom we met in the NICU last year. All of them are doing amazingly well. Its just incredible to watch these kids, who are now a year old, just growing and doing so well. I have found the mothers of these miracle babies such a great support system. Its so nice to just sit and chat about our kids, our experiences, and our anxiety. They are amazing mothers who I believe were strategically put in my life by God...you ladies ROCK...

I am so blessed.