More Bad News

Well the latest on my Grandad is not good news. It's as I suspected: The reason he's not waking up is due to massive brain damage. There is also severe kidney and liver damage. The hospital has called in a neurologist to talk with mom and her brother and he recommends that they remove the breathing tube. Without it, Grandpa can't survive more than 20 minutes. We all agree that he would not want to go on this way. For me, it has raised a lot of hard questions about the technicalities of life and death. I talked to the nurse and she said that he can only last a week or two tops on life support, but that this would be a more humane way to go than letting all his organ systems fail one by one. I really don't want to be involved in the decision making process, but if it were me, I would choose the quick way out. We should have decided something by the end of today.

Bad Day

I got a call today from my mom that my grandad had a heart attack. My uncle found him in the yard where he had been mowing grass. It is uncertain how long his body was deprived of oxygen- somewhere between 5 and 20 min. At that time information was sketchy, but the doctors at Cartersville thought it was serious enough to send him to Redmond. He has had to be revived several times. Right now, he is in a coma and on a respirator to help keep his breathing steady. He has been a cardio patient for many years, and I'm afraid his hear has worn out. Right now he is still in critical condition, and they will not even reassess for 24 hours. He was not expected to last this long, so things are not nearly as bad as they could be. Please keep our family in your prayers.

Buddies

For those of you who don't know, Brady was our furry baby for 6 1/2 years before Hudson was born. I was very nervous about the transition. I have known a lot of people who had to give away pets when they had a baby. I would be heartbroken! For the most part it has been a smooth transition.... and then there are days like today. I brought home a toothbrush for Hudson to chew on and hopefully keep his little teeth clean. Guess who also wanted a little Oral Hygiene? We haven't had many problems with Brady but his two downfalls are eating things he shouldn't and being yappy (not necessarily in that order.) He totally demolished the toothbrush and looked very satisfied with his work. When Hudson was taking a pacifier, I was buying a pack every 2 weeks just to stay ahead of Brady. He is a sneaky little thing! He and Hudson in general like to lick one another- gross, I know, and we do discourage that. Hudson likes to grab and pull Brady's fur, especially around his mouth. It's hard to explain to a dog that the baby is just pulling him in for a kiss! Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

7 months

I am feeling nostalgic today, which is unlike me. Hudson is 7 months old! How did time pass so quickly? I can't even remember his first month clearly. Maybe it's the fact that I'm struggling this week with the work/ baby ratio. maybe it's that he crawled for the first time today....at his grandparents' house. I heard a song yesterday about kids getting older- something about "This won't last forever," and I just welled up. Time is so fleeting! I usually enjoy each day for it's own value. Most days I am happy that it was more fun than the previous one. Some days I'm just happy that it's over and we get a fresh start tomorrow. Right now I want to be greedy, clutching at each expression and stage and holding it close because I realize it will be gone soon.

Here's a picture of Hudson in his car seat today.

This is him in his seat on the way home from the hospital. We've come a long way in the last 7 months, and I can honestly say this has been the best part of my life so far.

Hand- Me- Downs and a New Shirt

Isn't this shirt the cutest? A local gal made this for him to wear on the 4th. She does great work and I can't wait to order more stuff. I love anything with his name on it! He is one tired baby!

We have been so blessed by getting hand- me-downs. My neighbor brought another load of clothes and toys today. Look at this stash! This is just stuff that is not his current size. There is even more in the closet .

Hudson was unimpressed by the clothes, but loves the toys. I should have saved them and introduced them one by one, but we just couldn't wait to start playing.

He's a prodigy- already playing the piano! As a matter of fact, he rolled on his tummy and hit a few keys with his toes- now that's talent!

New Faces

Hudson is very expressive and has a lot of new faces he's making. This one is when he's so excited about a bite of food coming his way. What a porker!
This didn't show up very well. It's so hard to capture a fleeting expression, especially with the digital delay. This was a pursed- lip squinty look that says "I don't want my diaper changed!"

This is just one of the sweet faces I am blessed to see every day. Hands in mouth as always!

Crawling Soon

It won't be long! Hudson is up on all fours rocking back and forth. Sometimes he'll get his hand lifted, but doesn't seem to know what to do next. He is able to get where he wants by rolling and wiggling. Usually he goes backwards. I hope that when he does start crawling, it's on a day when I'm home with him. I don't want to miss it!