I'm Back...

Finally - back to my morning runs with Whitney and the dogs. Back in April, it seemed like an eternity before I would be able to run again and, yet, this morning it seemed like we hardly missed a beat. 4 miles - no walking. I feel great.

Returned home to a sleeping baby (and toddler and husband). I love the quiet stillness in the house. It has already been a good morning - and it is only 6 am.

SWAGGER WAGON

The minivan...the new cool? This is hilarious.

Rainbow

Emma Claire saw her first "real life" rainbow yesterday. It appeared after a sunny rain/hailstorm.

Little Gym

Rowie has been taking Emma Claire to Little Gym for the past month, since Arnold arrived. Yesterday, Arnold and I tagged along for the last summer session.

It is fun to think about how much she has grown and progressed over the summer in many ways - her Little Gym skills just being one of them. Emma Claire is so confident now. She is the first in line to demonstrate a new skill and walks across the balance beam like it is nobody's business! New to me yesterday, was her theatrical dismount from the end of the high beam. She is all over the gym, bouncing from station to station, giggling and squealing. I am endlessly amazed at how quickly she is growing and am so proud of her.

4 Weeks Old

Hard to believe one month has passed. Arnold is a month old now and is really growing. He is more alert and is awake more every day. He looks at things now. He likes to watch the mobile in his swing and his crib and seemed to be watching Elmo this morning and was looking at Rudy yesterday. He loves sink baths. He is starting to develop a little routine and I am starting to understand his cues. He smiles every now and then and likes music. I am not sure how much he weight, but has nearly outgrown the newborn size papmpers (which makes me a little teary).

I Get to Keep It

Went in again on Monday for the next (and LAST) procedure to have the filter removed - at last. The interventional radiologist was confident that it would not be a problem to get it out, so I, too, felt pretty good about it.

In the meantime, still bleeding from the puncture site one week later. Everyone tells me "it's a vein - it should not bleed". However - clearly it is still bleeding. They decided to do an ultrasound to check it out and, turns out, they "nicked" a little artery when they punctured the vein behind my knee. This was the source of the bleeding. So, after my procedure, the doctor injected some Thrombin (coagulant) to stop the bleeding. So far, so good two days later. I am pretty confident that issue has resolved.

As for the IVC filter removal - ended up being a no go. Two interventional radiologists working on it decided that it could just not be done safely. The filter, apparently, was placed higher that typical (because of the location of the initial clot). Removing it would be a risk to my heart. As all of this is going on, I am only semi- conscious - nicely sedated. Brad was the "decision maker" on this one, after much discussion with the doctors. So, after all this the filter stays - I get to keep it. Maybe there is a reason it is supposed to stay. I am perfectly OK with that.

I now breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe we can move on now. I feel great - counting the days until I can run again. Happy to be able to now enjoy my maternity leave and put my energy into Emma Claire, baby Arnold and Brad.

I am grateful for all the support and prayers I have received from family and friends. We are quite blessed.

Piggy Bank

Emma Claire: "Mommy, can you buy me some money to feed my piggy?"