My "Mommy" perspective is that Holden is doing very well and we are seeing improvements post PDA surgery. His breathing has greatly improved. We are continuing to wean him down on his oxygen. His color is better. And overall, he seems more comfortable - which probably explains why we see more smiles! He does, however, continue to struggle with his reflux. Unfortunately, this means another surgery for the little monkey, but we are hopeful that this will enable him to turn the corner and really start to grow and heal. Holden has an appointment with his cardiologist next week where they will do another echocardiogram. Hopefully it will show improvement on the inside that matches what we are seeing on the outside. If so, Holden will return to Egleston on 10/20 for the reflux and hernia surgeries.

During our last hospital visit, we made the decision to have Holden baptized. Although we were hoping to share this event with family and friends, it was something we felt important to do prior to his surgery. And while we hope to still celebrate it with you in the future, I wanted to at least mention it now. The picture is from that special day with Father Young, Holden and I (Daddy took the picture). We asked my cousin Laura and her husband Chad to be Holden's Godparents. We are thrilled they said yes! Although we are not yet able to take Holden to Church, we look forward to the day we can introduce him to our St. John Neumann family.