Change is coming...

The Chunk-A-Monk is now officially crawling. He's not yet fast and he hasn't gone too far, but he has the mechanics down and certainly is getting where he wants to go. I'm so proud of the little guy! It has been a long haul, but he's doing it! And I suspect walking is not too far out. As you can see by the picture, he is now standing. With just a little help, he's pulling himself up on anything and everything. And while Holden has always required a lot of attention and supervision, I suspect that Daddy or I will constantly be following behind him with an oxygen tank. We are currently checking into a new 2 lb tank. If our home health company is able to get them for us, Holden can hopefully sometimes carry his own mini tank - in situations that will give him more autonomy. I pray we'll be able to continue to wean him off the oxygen. We recently weaned down to 1/4 liter flow. So Holden continues to fight for his health - and has been amazing all of us, including his doctors!

I have been enjoying watching his little personality blossom. The little guy already has so many layers to him and he's only 15-months old. He is definitely strong-willed - we knew that. He is also happy, caring, feisty, smart, observant and wise beyond his years!!

Our next challenge to tackle is eating. He had been doing well, but is currently refusing his bottles and won't take any solids by spoon (but he will eat just about anything we dip his woobie/pacifier in). So we have had to rely completing on feeding him via feeding pump. His therapist says it is sometimes common for premature babies with developmental delays, to only be able to concentrate on one milestone at a time. Plus, he's been teething for over a month now - still waiting on the one-year molars. So it is possible, he will soon be ready to focus on food. But in the meantime, I am checking into a great program that would provide us with some intensive support. Hopefully we won't need it, but it is good to know we have additional support available to us if he continues to struggle.

We enjoyed Memorial Day with the Viti family. As you can see, Holden loved having play mates.

And he certainly wasn't shy when getting a kiss from an older (and adorable) girl!!

He does so well with other kids and we're looking forward to lots of socializing this summer and fall.

We have several trips planned for the coming months: Hilton Head to visit the Witmers, Orlando (Nick Hotel) and Satellite Beach for the Schmitt's 4th of July Party, Jeanine and Joey's wedding in Destin, a trip to Granma Deda's in Brevard and then Disney with the Kramers this Fall.

As difficult as we've had things, I can only say it is awesome to live in each moment and appreciate it in a way I never really did before. I am not only seeing the world through my son's eyes, I am thanking God for all he's blessed us with and looking forward to every day!