Our munchkins

Yesterday was bitter-sweet because we said goodbye to Mia's birth mom. She has become a special person in our family. She not only provided us with a little girl, but she's fun to be around.

Since moving to Kentucky in August, she has spent many weekends with us, including two multi-state road trips. She helped us can peaches, make applesauce, decorate birthday cakes, and kept Miles happy. I loved having a girlfriend around so often--we spent many evenings talking or watching chick-flicks; something Matt tolerates but doesn't love. She also taught me the ins and out of designer jeans and made me feel ten years younger. Miles adores her right along with us and he was pretty heart-broken to see her go. He was consoled by the fact that she left us a little sister for him. As much as we hate to see her leave, we are excited to see what amazing things she does with her many talents.

Because it was such a special day, the nurses cleared out a room so Miles could be with us for farewell photos. We got some great photos with Mia's birth mom and grandma, and finally got a family photo. We sort of managed to get everyone looking. I love this one because Matt and Miles are so focused on Mia.

Yes, that's tape in Miles' hair. He carefully added this "poofy" after watching Pam put curlers in her hair "to make it poofy." He has a piece on each side. I asked him why he had tape in his hair and he said, "I poofied it, Mom." Pam had to give him a haircut to remove the tape.


Mia is steadily improving. The nurses removed her tubes, except for the feeding tube, which she removed on her own. She is more active each day and is the belle of the NICU. We had a little setback today when her heart rate dropped and they had to stimulate her to get it back up. This happens a lot with preemies but it does mean an extra four days at the hospital. We'll get test results in the next few days and, hopefully, we'll figure out the cause of the problem. I miss Miles and Matt (though Pam is taking excellent care of them). I'd love to have us all home together.

Thanks for all your comments. We love to hear from the outside world.