On July 19th we blessed baby Eli. It was a very sweet blessing. We were going to wait until August but Blake's brother and wife were going to be out of town. So since my mom and Brooke were still here we decided at the last minute to do it. We had a dinner over here after. Thanks to all that helped celebrate this wonderful day with us.
This man, in the picture, is the best husband and father in the world. He left today so that he could go to Boise and take the Idaho Bar. He has been studying for a while (not as long as others) and has had many obstacles put in his path, but he has persevered and will take the test tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I am asking all that read this if they will say a prayer for him to be able to do well on the test and pass the Bar the first time around. Thank you all that have supported us. It means a lot and would mean a lot if you would keep him in your prayers for the few days. Thanks, Thanks, Thanks.
On Monday Eli and I took my mom and sister to the airport in Boise and then went over to meet my friend Stacey's baby. They are going to Law school in Kansas and we went through our pregnancies together. She was due 11 days after me and had Hadley 12 days after Eli was born! It was so fun to see the end product of our big bellies!
Before we left Topeka we got to go to the kids Art Museum and see Arthur! They read an Arthur story that was really cute.
They had some really fun activities for the kids to do.
We are finally back in Idaho. We got here last Sunday after a very long drive. We drove through 3 storms, it was crazy. But Eli was an amazing traveler.
Daddy finally got to hold his son after not having held him since the night he was born. It was a long 10 days for Blake to wait. 
Paige finally got to hold Eli. Every time I would talk to Paige on the phone she would ask me how Eli was doing that day and what new happened. She was so anxious to hold him.
Eli is a really good baby. He only wakes up once or twice a night. He loves to be held. He is awake more and more each day. He also gets a lot of love from his sisters. Whenever Rylee is around him she wants to rub his head. When he was in the incubator that was all she was allowed to do so now she comes up and asks if she can rub his head. It is so cute.
On Wednesday Rylee finally got to hold her baby brother. She was so excited. She just wanted to kiss on him. It is so sweet to see them together.
Grandma Sue got to feed him a bottle. She was so excited and loved it.
Rylee also wanted to feed him. Now everytime she comes up she wants to hold the bottle.
This is one of my favorite pictures of him.
Today he got one of his chest tube dressings off. He is breastfeeding almost all of his feedings. He only has his leads on except for his PIC line, but that will come out in the morning. So now we are waiting on him eating a little better, and his circumcision tomorrow. They said that he most likely will get to come home on Saturday morning!!!!! Since I am so paranoid, my mom and I are going to sleep in one of the family suites here with him on Friday night.
So that means we are going to leave here on Sunday afternoon and get to Idaho on Monday! We are so excited to be getting him out of here and to be together as a family.
Today Eli had a big day. His x-ray looked good so he got his right chest tube out. When we got to the hospital we were in for a shocking day. First of all I was just standing by his isolette talking to him and Nurse Trisha wheeled in a crib for him to go into. Yay. So we took him out of the isolette and she started to get things ready for a bath. So we got to wash up his hair and sponge off his body. After his hair dryed it went puffy, just like I knew it would. Then she asked me if I wanted to do Kangaroo (skin to skin) care. Let me think about that one YES. So we got to sit there and hold him next to me and she came over and handed me a bottle to feed him. He promptly dribbled a bunch down my chest. And Grandma, who has been so patient, finally got to hold him. Then when we went up for the next feeding we got to feed him another bottle which, after a while, he sucked down. So the next plan of action is to get him to 30ml so that he can breastfeed and then up to a total of 60ml so that we can take him home. Eating is the only thing keeping him here now. So lets all pray that he will eat well and quickly. 
Today was such a good day. We got to the hospital and they said that they had clamped his right tube!!! Yay. So I changed his diaper and took his temperature. The nurse then looked at me and said "I know I will have to twist your arm but do you want to hold him" Um YA. So I got to hold him for about 10 minutes and then she came in and handed me a bottle so that I could feed him. I was so shocked. They told us that until the tube came out we couldn't hold him. So it was such a nice surprise. I have pictures but i am on the library computer so I will add them later. He now weighs 6 lbs 13 oz. He is awake more and more. I never thought that I would fall in love with another man but I have. He is the sweetest baby ever. I am just sad that Blake left yesterday and missed it. But he is in Idaho now. Oh and Paige has her first loose tooth. She is exstatic. She has been wanting one for a long time now and so now she has one.
We don't have internet now so these might be a little sporatic. Eli is doing lots better. He got his left chest tube out yesterday but still has his right one. They had turned off the suction yesterday but found some free flowing air in his lung today so they turned it back on. Hopefully tomorrow we can turn it back off. His breathing has slowed down a little bit. He is now getting to eat through a tube in his nose. He was getting 8cc's last night but is now up to 16cc's. He is also off all his oxygen and is able to keep his saturation levels up. All in all he is doing well. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. We really appreciate it.
Blake left today for Idaho with the moving truck. We are sad that he has left but we shall see him soon with our beautiful little boy.
Last night when we came back to the room Rylee wanted to see what was on my TV. So while I was showering mom and Rylee hopped up in my bed and watched some cartoons. They looked so cute that I had to take this picture and share it with you. Rylee thinks that this whole process is interesting. I don't think she quite gets it but she is doing really well. Paige has gone to Idaho with Blake's mom and I miss her like crazy but she is so excited to go see and play with her friends.
They took another X-ray this morning and it showed that Eli's left lung was all but cleared up so they clamped it. They will take another X-ray tomorrow morning and if he is keeping the lung inflated they will take the tube out. Also they will look at the right lung and hopefully they will clamp it off and then remove the tube on Sunday.
His oxygen levels are pretty low and so he will hopefully come off of that soon and then it will just be a matter of him eating and getting out of here. I am hopeful that he will be able to get out of the Hospital on Wednesday or Thursday.
Speaking of him eating, Eli got his first taste of food today. He got a whole teaspoon of mommies milk through a NG tube in his nose. He tolerated it well and is digesting more and more with every feed. As soon as he isn't breathing so hard then he can have a bottle. Once he does well with a couple bottles then he can breastfeed.
It is nice to go in now and get good news. We were starting to get really frustrated ( and I a little teary) of getting either no new news or discouraging news.
Now everytime we go in there he has improved and things are going well. He also opened his eyes yesterday for us. It is fun to see him like a little baby. He seems more like a person now with a little personality.
