Tuesday PM - For those of you who know me really well, you know that I consider myself an amateur proofreader. Tonight Heidi and I were looking at yesterday's post, and I immediately saw two typos, one that looked like a gross spelling error. It seems to get later each evening as I post, and last night was the latest yet. So tonight, it's an early post with hopefully no typos or errors. And yes, I have gone back and corrected the errors.

Before getting into the day's activities, a word about the photos. I was able to add several more today without getting to my PC at home. (Note: semi-technical explanation follows.) Our digital camera uses a compact flash storage card, which my laptop is unable to read without an adapter. Long story short, adapter purchased, and now I can upload the photos to the Yahoo site more frequently.

As Heidi is telling me over my shoulder, no one really wants to read about all this, so on to the boys. This morning, Grant gave me a first-rate demo on drinking from a bottle. His nurse from yesterday is quite accomplished at getting his drinking engine revved up. She continually encourages him and he responds by slowly but surely drinking. Another premie lesson that we learned is that their suckling reflex is not coordinated with their swallowing and breathing. This is something he has to learn before he leaves the hospital. His doctor says he is doing very well and has increased his intake already. For now he is bottle feeding once a day, but may soon go to twice a day. And just like so many of us after a satisfying lunch, it was time for an afternoon nap. For those keeping score, he now weighs 5lb 13oz.

Our atypical son is maintaining his reputation. The doctors say he wants everyone to remember what a really special person he is. For our money, he can stop anytime he's ready as we are wholly convinced. First, we will know by Monday of next week when his heart surgery will be done. If he can keep his overall act together, it will likely be the middle to latter part of the week. He may be allowed to take small amounts of milk in the meantime. At 3lb 3oz he is growing slowly, but growing just the same. His doctor today said that he's a "very challenging patient" in that his lab tests show different little blips (liver, spleen etc. but none life-threatening). However when they look at him he's active and doesn't seem to be suffering any ill effects. They have to put a stuffed glove on his arm to keep him from ripping off the device in his nose that delivers supplemental oxygen. His eyes seem to get sharper every day, and he will look at whoever is close by as if to ask, "And what is your business here?" He is quick to soften his stance if someone takes him out and gives him to his mom or dad.

Random thoughts:

As we were shopping today, I couldn't help but look at the things the kiddos will be growing into. I guess Heidi was doing the same, because we saw something (can't remember what it was now) and she said, "Oh, this is (x) dollars." I said, "Multiply that by 2. Multiply everything for the next 18 to 22 years by 2." We wouldn't have it any other way.

We're going to need Bekins or Allied to get us out of the apartment as our wonderful family and friends stock us with many of the things we need to get them home safely. And speaking of these things, baby stuff has become extremely sophisticated (and complicated) since Ashlyn and Autumn were born. We chalked this up to 3 things: Marketing, advertising, and lawsuits. The honest truth: The hospital will not release any babies until they inspect and ensure that you have an approved and properly functioning car seat(s).

It's always good to hear from those who left a post and those who have sent emails.

Until tomorrow...