Anna's first solid food

Anna had her first solids today- rice cereal!

This photo is Bryan's favorite.

Sleep training

Up until a week ago we've been lovingly swaddling Anna and bouncing her to sleep while sitting on an exercise ball. This is something we did at bedtime and several times a day for her naps. As cute as it was to see her fall asleep in our arms, at nearly six months old we decided it was time for her to learn to put herself to sleep. A week ago we began the process known as sleep training. After lots of research I decided the best approach for Anna was the Ferber method. This is a process that involves putting Anna down while she is awake and returning to her after specified periods of time to let her know that we're still here and still love her. The first night we braced ourselves for the worst. She cried for three minutes! Bryan and I had two reactions two this- first, hurray for Anna! Second, why on earth have we been bouncing her for this long? She doesn't always fall asleep in three minutes, but Anna nearly always falls asleep within ten these days and often does not cry at all. We're so proud of our little girl!

On a side note, we've upgraded from a swaddling blanket to a Halo Sleep Sack.

When babies attack

Picking up Daddy

Today Anna went with me to pick up Bryan from the hospital. She had fun playing with Bryan while we were waiting for him to be discharged.

I'm not dead yet.

I was released today from the hospital. The doctors were not able to find the source of the bleeding, but they put me on some medicine that will hopefully stop my intestine from being in such bad shape.

It's a bit scary knowing that I could be in the ER again at any time, but it's sure nice to be home.

An update on Bryan

Bryan met with his surgeon a couple of hours ago. They went over the results of the CT scan that Bryan had this morning. There are several areas in his small intestine that are have been effected by his Crohn's disease. The surgeon is not recommending surgery at this point because they really don't know which area the bleeding is coming from. (He is still bleeding a little, I think.) Tonight he is getting a treatment of Remicade, a medication administered by IV which he has had in the past. The doctors are hopeful that with Remicade and Bryan's current medications the area that is bleeding may heal on it's own. It is possible Bryan may even be discharged tomorrow. We're not sure how we feel about this. Although avoiding surgery is always a plus, it's hard to be convinced that Bryan will not just end up in the ER again.

Another hospital visit

Bryan is back at the hospital again with another bout of bleeding from his small intestine. He will most likely have some type of exploratory surgery tomorrow or Friday.

Jumping baby

Anna recently discovered that she can jump in her Johnny Jump-Up. However, her technique needs some refining. She does not jump with both feet at once. The result is something like a gallop.

Musical baby

Pretty girl