Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We have been very busy celebrating Catherine's 1st Christmas and Christopher's 4th Christmas. Catherine has enjoyed getting many new toys and plenty of pretty new clothes. She really likes being independent while she sits in her new seat that GiGi and Pop gave her. Christopher was so excited about everything this year which made this year even more fun for me and Dave.

On Tuesday at Christopher's preschool, Mt. Carmel, we enjoyed seeing his class perform "Away in a Manger." Each student was dressed as a person or animal that was at the original manger. Christopher was Joseph! He did a great job, I could actually hear him singing, and we did the best we could with his Joseph clothing.

On Monday we visited Catherine's cardiologist at Hopkins. She was happy with how Catherine looks and with the amount of food that she is drinking now. The echo showed a couple of things to keep an eye on. Catherine still has some blockage in one side of her pulmonary artery, which the doctor said isn't necessarily a bad thing just something to keep tabs on. Also, there is still a small hole where Catherine's heart was repaired. Again, the doctor is not concerned about this and she said that Catherine could live with this hole if it does not close on its own. Overall, the repair was a huge success considering that Catherine would not have been able to live if her heart was not repaired. The cardiologist also told us to keep an eye on Catherine's formula intake and her breathing because if her intake drops dramatically and her breathing becomes rapid then that could be a sign that the sutures in her heart have busted open. She assured us that this is very, very rare. Just when I thought we were out of the woods, that's something that will stay in the back of my mind.

Catherine continues to amaze us everyday. She has taken in over 1000cc several times this week. During the week after she was discharged she gained almost a pound! She has not had any pain meds (oxycodone or Tylenol) since Sunday night. Catherine seems quite comfortable, she has been busy playing, rolling over, sitting up (with some assistance), and watching her brother. She still likes to smile at everyone that smiles at her!