yackety yack

Calder is, decidedly, super fun (most of the time - I don't want you thinking that just because I don't post videos of him wailing that he does not wail!) He is starting to make sounds other than crying and cooing – he enjoys shouting (fantastic) and growling. He now buzzes his lips and his tongue, like he's going for a "b" sound or a "th" sound. Corinne said this is a positive development, and Calder seems to think so, too. He is usually quite pleased with himself when he does this.

He was also quite pleased with his visitor this week! Nurse Laura came by to say hello and to help me out by picking up a couple things we put together as thank yous for our primary nurses at the NICU. He was a much chunkier Lovey than the last time they'd hung out! Doing as the Inova Fairfax NICU had taught me, I asked her to only come if she weren't sick, hadn't been sick, hadn't been around sick people, yada, yada, yada. Of course, I knew it was unnecessary to tell her this, but the crazy NICU-mommy in me couldn't help it. She kindly replied something along the lines of, she would not dream of getting within 500 ft of Calder if she had even the teensiest sniffle. In fact, she'd already warned me against coming to the hospital to drop off the bags since they'd had a pretty nasty flu season. At any rate, Calder was SO happy to see his old friend.

In other, more mundane, yet cause-for-celebration, news, I learned we were approved for Medicaid through the Katie Beckett waiver program, which, most importantly, should mean we will now be able to get Calder an in-home nurse through this program. Thank heavens. It’s a long story that I don’t care to document here or bore you with, but after calling some recommended nursing outfits previously, I’d learned that a) Calder required a “skilled nurse” and b) no one was interested in talking to me until Medicaid cleared, even when I asked them for quotes in the event we were paying privately. Or at least that’s what I gathered from the lack of callbacks. There are still a couple other hiccups with Medicaid we’re working on fixing, and I won’t really be able to celebrate until the nurse is on our doorstep, but overall, this is progress. I am ecstatic to be able to check this off my list and move onto more fun things. Like hanging out with Calder. 

Cincinnati: Where Everyone
Enjoys a Juicy 3-Way!

Ahem.
Who picked this shirt??

i break for photo shoots!

These last couple weeks have already been easier on me than most because last time my parents were in town several weeks ago, my mom brought us so many frozen meals that we’re still eating them. (They've all been scrumptious, Mom, I’ll eat your cooking anytime!) Emily also went out of her way while visiting her sister to bring us some delicious dairy-free meatballs, complete with LaRosa’s sauce and hoagies; as a Cincinnatian, I grinned proudly when Kraemer devoured them. Our friends from Social Impact brought us a big care package of delicious pre-made meals several weeks back that simplified my life and tasted yummy, and a sweet friend we met while living in Mozambique (small world --- or international travelers tend to live in DC) brought us some fantastic chili and cornbread (yum, I haven’t had cornbread in forever, given my dairy situation.) Over the months we have been blessed with so many kind words, meals, cards, etc. I know I've mentioned it before here but I just cannot say it enough, how grateful we are to have such caring friends and family in our lives.