out for a drive

Today was Logan's first car ride since we've been home. We had an appointment this afternoon and after some careful planning, decided Daddy should drive! I sat in the back seat with him, just because we were encroaching on eating time and wanted to be ready with a bottle just in case. Logan didn't feel the best today (I think I need to pull out the "Everyone Poops" book again, just to remind him). He got all dressed up in his handsome firetruck outfit and when we got home we went for a walk around the parking lot. We also enjoyed a stop at Dairy Queen and our reddish haired son waited patiently while we downed blizzards -- YUM!

I've had several people respond to the blog by telling me I should write a book--perhaps its already been written!! I recieved a book from a very dear friend and it is wonderful! It addresses the emotions associated with parenting a nicu baby/child and I am loving every page of it so far (we'll see if I hang in there--there are 900 of them!) It has validated a lot of my feelings and emotions and has stirred up a few, too (warning: sappy blog post coming soon). I look forward to it serving as a great resource for both Dale and I as we make our way through it. I'm sure we'll also be sharing various excerpts with friends and family as well as reflecting on them here on the blog. Here are a few pics of our outing today, and a bonus photo from Logan's first bath at home.

day one at home

Sorry to keep you waiting; we've just been basking in our family-ness today. Logan is adjusting well to being home. He was up for a while last night, but I suppose our apartment is darker and quieter than the NICU. Thus, I invested ten bucks in a CD of ocean wave sounds. Hope we don't all wake up in a wet bed in the morning : ) Our biggest issue right now is that the formula he gets twice a day (because he's a preemie) is apparently difficult for him to digest as he brings it back up even hours after eating. Thankfully, the monitor has been quiet which is a huge answer to prayer. We hope it continues as things would be much more stressful and anxiety provoking if it was alarming.
I've been trying to upload pictures to a couple of different places today with no success, so if you're waiting on me, you'll have to keep waiting. I got to do a little bit of cooking today, which relaxes me. I have an incredible live-in dishwasher, which makes it more enjoyable too. (I just have to make sure I have the mess made by the time Logan's ready to eat because that's when Dale steps in to clean up for me : )
Thanks again for calling before stopping over. We've had a number of requests about ways to be helpful, even from miles away. Of course, we most appreciate your continued prayers and well wishes. We appreciate the efforts you've made to keep us updated on life "out there" with things going on with your families, etc. In trying to protect Logan from some of the illnesses running around while his immune system matures, our apartment walls could start to close in a bit over the next few weeks. I anticipate a great deal of computer and telephone time : ) If you're wanting to do something (and please do not feel obliged) gift cards for groceries are awesome. We have a dear friend who's been doing our grocery shopping when we can't get out and its nice to hand off preloaded cards.
We hope you're having a wonderful weekend because we are! Both of my boys are sleeping soundly in the living room, so I suppose I should start shuffling them off to bed. Much love to each of you!
Dale, Michelle, & Logan

the ride home

It took three of us to figure out how to buckle Logan into the darned seat (hence the reason he looks completely annoyed). Sam the bear didn't accompany him the whole way home; he was just giving him a pep talk about it. Dale rode in the back seat with him for part of the trip. . . and had a little trouble getting back out, as evidenced in photo #2. We had a good laugh (not as good as when I walked through the screen door, but it was pretty amusing).

H*O*M*E

There's no place like it! We came home this afternoon around 2pm. Logan did great in his carseat and the alarm hasn't caused us any problems yet. His schedule was thrown off a bit so he didn't eat well this afternoon. He made up for it at five o'clock, though, and seems to be waking up now to eat again. Dale and I sat down for a real dinner (complete with cake to celebrate) and are very much enjoying the fact that we get to stay home all evening! I have more pictures from the day that I'll share later--just wanted to let everyone know we're home safe and sound! Much love!

Homecoming Dance

Tomorrow we're hosting a homecoming dance. Logan is set to come home which calls for music and dancing! I'm really not sure how I feel, to be quite honest. Of course, I'm so excited that I want to jump out of my skin, but I'd be lieing (how am I supposed to spell that??) if I said I didn't have any reservations. Its kind of surreal after so many weeks of visiting him in the NICU (seven, in fact) and sharing him with so many people. I'm happy and scared and sad and excited all at once. The big day is finally here. I've had similar experiences before. . . getting married, graduating from medical school. . . one day I go to bed on a seemingly ordinary day, and the next I wake up with a completely new "status." Tonight I'm going to bed and when I wake up I'll be a full-fledged mommy! Its kind of like starting at square one after we were stuck on square zero for seven weeks. . . fifty days.

We're off on a new adventure. We'd like to sincerely thank each of you who have accompanied us on the beginning of this journey. Certainly, we're not out of the woods yet, but getting a healthy Logan home is a huge milestone. He'll be accompanied by a monitor that shrieks like a smoke detector, so we hope it stays quiet and is good to us. So please continue to hang in there with us, and if you think of it tomorrow, join us in our homecoming dance--wherever you are!

Day 3

We've successfully completed day 3 of "spell watch" and Logan is still on track to come home on Friday if he doesn't have any concerning spells. The transfusion helped a lot; he's pink now and seems to be feeling much better. He's been eating more efficiently since we tanked him up. Apparently he wasn't having too much trouble before, as he weighed 6 lb last night!! We're getting things ready here at home; last night we put his swing together which took both of us standing on our heads looking at parts and the directions. (I don't think my brain works that way).
Today is both Dale and my last full day of work (I'll work 1/2 day tomorrow)--we're excited! I saw two cases of influenza in the clinic yesterday. I'm hoping that's not representative of what's going to happen in Omaha. Since Logan is a preemie, we're going to be cautious anyway, but with influenza potentially running rampant we'll have to work even harder. That said, please call before you stop by and if anyone around you has been feeling poorly please do us a favor and wait a few days. Additionally, please don't be offended if we have to "close to visitors" for a while.
We're looking forward to a great hump day. Dale and I have a double dinner date tonight with good friends. Hope you're having a great week!

Love Dale, Michelle & Logan

another hitch in our get-along

Logan had routine labs drawn this morning, and we were able to assess the status of his anemia. It wasn't any better, and we elected to proceed with a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, this resulted in a new IV for Logan, but the nurses said he handled it very well and didn't fuss. He tolerated the transfusion well and seems to be a different kid already. He ate very well this evening and was alert and interactive for over an hour. Hopefully tanking him up a little bit will help him feel better and help with the alarms as well. . . we'll just have to see. We got home from the hospital a little early tonight so we're trying to get some more chores done in anticipation of the little nugget coming home. Day 2 of "spell watch" is complete and, barring no complications, we're on track to bring him home late this week.

countdown

We had a good weekend. We had a fair amount of visits from family and friends, which was fun (and nothing overwhelming, which was good as well). Logan ate like a Sell (or a Choutka). . he's got where to get that talent. . . He's moved to ad lib feeds, which means we treat him more like any other baby and let him eat as much as he wants whenever he wants. He appears to be taking advantage of the privilege once in a while : ).

I hesitate to even talk about it, but I'm not a superstitious person, so we should be okay. We're counting down to Logan's discharge from the hospital! We have a new doctor coming on today to round, so I haven't touched base with him yet regarding the plan. For now, his last significant alarm was still Saturday, so today is day 2. He has to go five days, which hopefully is representative of forever, without a concerning alarm before he can come home. If he alarms again, his discharge date will be postponed and we'll deal with it.

Of course, we're very excited; we've waited over 6 weeks for this countdown. I think we'd be fooling ourselves if we didn't admit to some apprehension as well. We spent the weekend trying to get things in order here for a new little person (and his monitor : ) to come live with us. Please pray this week for Logan's continued development and readiness to come home. Please pray for our continued development as parents as we transition from hours and hours at the hospital with continuous information about his condition at our fingertips and plenty of staff/help nearby to bringing him home to our quiet apartment with the two of us. I would also ask for prayers as we continue to juggle the other demands of life and try to keep everything else in line. Perhaps that has been the biggest struggle through all of this.

Have a great week! We'll keep you posted.

Love Dale, Michelle, & Logan

centered

I had to post this picture because I love it. This was Logan when I arrived to wake him up on Friday. He's so peaceful that I was immediately quieted and centered and suddenly nothing else mattered but my sweet son. Today he looks the same except his feeding tube is out!! This time for good (we certainly hope). He took above and beyond his minimum bottle feed for each feed overnight, and has taken all of his feeds by mouth for three days. He had a significant alarm this morning (significant meaning it buys him 5 more days in the NICU so they can watch him) but we're hoping once his caffeine dose is therapeutic that those will settle down and we'll still be on track for a discharge date potentially late next week. I enjoyed a great "day off" running errands with my sister and Dale was on feeding duty with Logan and did a great job. Perhaps we'll post more later on. Have a great weekend!

DML

quickie

Its been a while again since I updated, and we made it through another Thursday (although not without a hitch). We're still wrestling with our emotions for a number of reasons. We tried stopping Logan's caffeine, but the number and severity of his alarms increased so it was restarted. This is good & bad. On a positive note, it gets us closer to a discharge date (maybe next week some time??). The bummer is that he goes home on a monitor. Pardon my selfishness here and granted, I have zero experience to date with a home monitor. I'm bummed because I was really looking forward to perhaps having a seemingly "normal" newborn experience for a while after 6 weeks of the NICU. . .with no tubes, wires, bells or whistles. Such is not the case, however, and Logan will come home with a monitor so that we can ensure his utmost safety. He's eating very well and gaining weight (5 lb 10 oz last night!!) I'm not sure what the plan is for removing the feeding tube, but I assume we're close (and this time Logan's much closer to ready for that). Thanks for hanging in there with us. Please have a great weekend.
Love Dale, Michelle & Logan

Good Grief

I was talking with Logan's nurse the other day about grief and have been thinking about it now and again. Any time life doesn't go quite as planned, or any time you miss out on something I think its natural to grieve. As you know, there are several stages of grieving and there are good ways to greive. . . and there are bad ways to grieve. Let's face it, when we got pregnant and excitedly spread the word to all of you, this is not what we expected. It would be easy to perseverate on all of the things we missed (the third trimester experience, normal labor & delivery, going home with our precious 2 day old newborn, trying to figure out feeding and diapers and baths without a clue what we were doing, the list could go on and on) but it doesn't do any good. It also doesn't help much to compare Logan to any other kid with any other story. Life for us has been very different than we expected the past 6 weeks, and as I look back on it, we've been situated in various stages of grief.

Once I started thinking about it, I didn't think I'd spent much time in the anger stage. I remember thinking that I simply didn't know people could be angry with God (or whomever or whatever) because in the end there's a beautiful child who still gets to come home with us. Then I woke up the next day and I was angry. . . oops : ) As I look back, I've spent plenty of time in denial, too. In fact, I kind of had the notion that in a couple of days/weeks, we'd walk out of the NICU and be done worrying. . . that he would have magically transitioned to a completely healthy "normal" kid (if one exists) and it would be life as usual from here on out. I'm not so ignorant to think that parents don't worry about their kids, but I kind of thought his first 2 months would make a nice chapter in his book of life, and that we could turn the page and begin another.

Such is not the case. We've been dealt a very special hand with Logan, and we'll always care for him in a very special way. He'll have different needs and followup when we leave, and I think I'm starting to accept that. We're not going to close this book and open the book on easy street. Don't get me wrong. . .Logan has done GREAT, and for the most part is a very healthy kid and for that we are truly truly blessed.

Good grief. That is my hope and my prayer. Lord, please shower us with grace and provide us the perseverence to handle the curves in life. (and please move me past the denial that once we walk out the doors of the NICU that life is going to be a straight shot : ) For you, please forgive me if you call or stop by and catch me in an angry mode.

We met with the Dr. yesterday and our ambitious hope is that we're within a couple of weeks of coming home. From the beginning, we were told to expect him to be here until his due date (9/11) so anything we get before that will be a treat. He continues to do great; for the most part he's been feeding well and seems to just need one or two feeds through his tube per day. He had good weight gain last night (he had stalled out for a bit) and hopefully he'll continue that. He continues to get cuter and more lovable every day (I think he got that from me) and I seriously can't wait for you to meet him! I humbly ask for your continued prayers for all of us.

Thank you, and much love from all of us! Have a great day.

the little engine that could

Logan continues to chug along. His tube was replaced Saturday afternoon because he was just working too hard to try to keep up with his feeds, and his weight gain slowed down. Since it was replaced, he's only taken one feed through it, but its a lot less stress for me, knowing its there if we need it. He did rest well this weekend. He acted on Saturday like he didn't feel very well, but I'm guessing he was just plumb tuckered out!
We had a frustrating weekend; we had a lot of different people with a lot of different ideas about Logan's care, and we finally have everyone on the same page. . . I think. As I've alluded to in the past, Logan has one speed: slow and steady. (good thing he's cute : ) We're hoping tomorrow to talk to the doctor and get a better feel for the projected course between now and his discharge date. . . whenever that may be.
Dale and I took good naps this afternoon, and are poised to take on another week. Thanks to good friends who fed us today. As always, thanks for your prayers. We love you all and are so excited to share Logan with the world.

all*star

This is Logan. Specifically, this is Logan after he decided he didn't need his feeding tube and then proved it to us by taking all of his feeds by mouth all day and all night last night. The little nugget gained weight again last night, so we have reason to believe he can hold his own. The possibility exists that it might have to be replaced, but its fairly unlikely. We've cut down on the frequency of his alarms, which is also wondeful news. This morning he passed his hearing screen. Check.
He's still on caffeine twice a day, and its up to the doctor to decide if we'll try to wean that off before he goes or if he'll go home taking caffeine and on a monitor. The key word is home. We're getting closer. I brought the carseat up this morning (but its still in the car because I need to figure out how to outsmart the base to secure it in the car.) Once we get that figured out, they'll put Logan in his carseat to see if he can keep his oxygen level and heart rate up while he's in the car.
Last night we had a slumber party at the hospital and I got up with Logan with each feed so he could nurse. He did a great job; woke up on his own each time and ate like a champ. Today we're enjoying some down time. Dale's headed off to a company picnic and I'm. . well. . . enjoying some down time : )
Have a great weekend!

My grace is sufficient

I was so excited this morning, I couldn't wait to post. Logan pulled his feeding tube out again last night. No big deal; he does it about every other day. But. . . . the nurse hadn't put it back in because. . . he took all of his feeds overnight by mouth!! He ate well this morning at 8 when I got there, too. Now, I'm not overly hopeful that he'll fly solo from here on, but it does make me hopeful that we're getting to the point that he may just "flip a switch" on some things and catch on. I'm hoping he'll do the same thing regarding his bradycardia and just figure it out one day and stop alarming, or at least cut back on the frequency significantly.

Again, I am in awe at how the Lord works. Admittedly, I was drained last night. . . nearly empty (in fact, I haven't proofread the last post, so no promises : ) and this morning, in a split second I was filled back up. I am reminded of one of my very favorite verses. . . "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" 2 Cor 12:9.

A Case of the Thursdays

We survived another Thursday. Thursdays are hard for me. By noon on Thursday, I'm usually in tears and today was no exception. There was no particular reason, really. I think it just happens to be when I hit my wall each week. I have energy enough to carry me partway through the week, and by noon on Day 6, I'm spent. Thursday is also the day that Logan "rolls over" and achieves another week of maturity (i.e. today he's 36 weeks). Its a little bit disappointing not to know exactly when Logan will come home. We know he's getting closer every day, and for that we are grateful.

I learn a lot on Thursdays. Like it or not, I have to let my guard down. On Thursdays I don't have the energy to mask my emotions so I learn to be very honest. We both are learning to ask for (and accept) help from friends and family. It amazes me how much energy we spent(d) trying to be self sufficient. Slowly I'm learning to let go and lean on people.

Logan's had a good week. He got a good report from his eye exam yesterday, and he is a trooper when it comes to trying his hand at nursing. As we close the book on another Thursday, we are grateful for the progress he's made and the gentle hands who guide him. Look for more fun, detailed posts this weekend (and perhaps more pictures!)

thanks for checking in; take care
the sells

Worth it.

Holy cow! I'm sure this is the first of many, many times I'll sit in awe at how fast "our baby" is growing (I forsee a similar post 15 years and 11 months from now : ) Yesterday was the one month mark for the little guy. Its hard to believe he's been here that long. Then again, I think about how much he's grown and changed and it seems like he's been here for years. It has been such a privilege to be his parents and get to sit by his bedside and watch him. Yesterday we were recounting our daily schedule with friends, and each time I want to say "but it doesn't mattter." I'd like to share a few sentiments from one of my a friend of mine who was quite helpful to me when Logan was born. He and his wife have had two premature babies of their own.

We talked about how having a premature baby helps to understand how God feels about us. In the beginning, we could only look through the box at our precious little boy. We watched him as he slept. He didn't know we were there and there was no "reward" for going, we went because we love him. He'll never know we were there; we went because we wanted to. "I think God is the same way. He has always waited by me, even when I can't acknowledge His presence and I am an incapable, incompetent being, just for the chance to be near me. Not because I am anything special - but because He loves me - and to Him. . . I am worth it."

Today Dale and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary and I can't help but think about how things have changed for us over the last two years. I am richly blessed. And it is worth it.

marching marching

This note was waiting for us when we arrived this morning. (There are ant stickers "marching" up the side of the bottle) That's a good descriptor of what we've been doing lately. left. left. left-right-left. And we march. Step by step, Logan is getting older and stronger and closer to going home. Step by step, Mommy and Daddy are getting closer to feeling adequate to take him home and be responsible for him. Sometimes it becomes methodical and we just step to the beat, moving forward. Other times, our legs get tired and its hard to pick up our knees and keep marching. But we do. Sometimes we miss a step and fall down. But then we get back up and keep marching.
Its been a great weekend thus far. Yesterday my dear friends hosted a baby shower. Thanks for all of you who thought of us and took time out of your weekend to share part of the day. We received many nice things for Logan (and a ton of great books!) and it was great to see all of you. Thanks to friends and family who traveled, especially in the nasty heat.
We've been utilizing Sunday as a day of rest, so I anticipate sitting in the recliner next to Logan for most of the day. Dale says he has some special shopping to do. . . we'll see what that entails. It's been a soggy, damp, morning; perfect for cuddling up and reading stories, and I think we will do just that.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ps 118:24

Love to you! Dale, Michelle, & Logan

The clean plate club

is about to install a new member. Logan moved up the ranks again today. For two of his feeds, he nursed the entire feed and didn't need any tube feeding. He did it twice in a row and by the third feed he was plumb tuckered out! He gained weight again, which is AWESOME (5 lb 2 oz). He was able to consume an entire feed without alarming, which is AWESOME. And. . . he went all afternoon without an alarm, which is indeed. . . AWESOME!
The little nugget is just trucking right along and will be home before we know it. Each of these steps are certainly in the right direction. When he sleeps, he sleeps hard (which is good because there's obviously all kinds of brain development and growth going on. His alert periods are becoming longer and he's more interactive.
We are so pleased with his progress and proud of our little guy, as its certainly hard work to do things for himself (I liken it to a treadmill session at the gym, every three hours). We've also been enjoying visitors now and then. We'd just remind you to please call first (you can't gain access to the NICU without Dale or myself) and know that Logan's down time is precious and necessary. Please don't be offended if we defer your visit for another time or ask you to cut it short. We absolutely do not want to do anything that would jeopardize the progress he's made.
That said, THANK YOU for your prayers and thoughts. We look forward to the day when we can bring him home and share him with the world (I think you're really gonna like him, but I'm a little biased) Have a great weekend and please be safe and stay cool. It sounds like its gonna be a scorcher out there (at least here in Omaha relative to the summer we've had).

Much love!
Dale, Michelle, & Logan

We achieved another milestone today--Logan ate part of his breakfast (. . . and his lunch. . . and his supper)! He's nursing well enough that he's allowed to try to eat with each feed. Depending on how well he nurses, the rest of his feed is fed through his feeding tube. We've been trying to let him nurse when he's awake and I can get over to feed him. Today he nursed part of three of his feeds and he still gained weight! This is awesome because 1) It means he's learning how to eat like a big boy and 2) He has to work hard to nurse, burning extra calories. Its awesome that he's taking in enough calories to make up for the difference. We are very pleased.

On the flip side, he set off his alarm more frequently today. It's hard to tell why this is happening. Certainly part of it could still be his age. His feeds are run through his feeding tube over only 30 minutes and its possible that he's not tolerating the bigger, faster feed as well. He's still on caffeine to prevent apnea and bradycardia.

So. . before he comes home he needs to eat on his own, and he's making great progress in this department. He also needs to be weaned down on his caffeine, however, and needs to not be setting off his alarm. This will be our next "project" (I'm not calling it a hurdle because its to be expected during his course with his prematurity). Certainly, we celebrate how well he's doing eating (and know that he'll probably regress a bit intermittently. We hope his alarms would become less freaquent, which would place us even closer to his HOMECOMING! Tomorrow marks four weeks in the NICU. Its gone quickly, and Logan has come so far. Its easy to forget, however, that he still has a month of developing, and strengthening before he's a "newborn." We're grateful for God's grace through it all, lifting us in celebration during the high points, and sustaining us during low points. There's more of each to come, for sure. Have a lovely evening.

Love to all,
Dale, Michelle, & Logan

We did it!

Dale and I had a little party tonight in honor of Logan's weigh in. We celebrated five pounds with malts from Goodrich. He tipped the scales at 5 lbs .05 ounces (As you can see in the photo, he was ready for his length to be measured, too. That only happens on Thursdays though, so he'll have to wait.) He is tolerating his feeds over a shorter amount of time, and we're making progress in the eating department, too. He did great with his alarms today--just a few. He had a few more this evening, but we think he might have been having some problems with reflux.

Keep your fingers crossed that Logan continues to do well. We don't have any projections regarding when he might come home, but its easier to settle into a routine when he's progressing, albeit slowly. Its also easier to go to work know he's receiving excellent care and he's sort of on autopilot. I'm grateful for an attending physician this week who's understanding and lenient regarding my schedule.

Happy hump day. . . Logan's 35 weeks tomorrow!

Thanks for checking in.

Love Dale, Michelle, & Logan

The A*I*R we breathe

is the air Logan's breathing. Today was a big day again today for the little mister. He's breathing room air with his cannula removed (again). Last time it was removed he alarmed all afternoon, necessitating its replacement. Today he's done great. Hopefully his airways are developed enough that he won't need it. His left cheek is back (along with that beautiful dimple) and he's one step closer to being self sufficient. We are, of course, very proud of him : )
I was pleased when the doctor came in this morning to examine him. He looked at him and said, "This looks like a healthy baby who just needs to grow. Let's fatten him up and send him home to Mom and Dad." AMEN! His feeds were shortened up again, so we're slowly moving him closer to eating every few hours, like he'll do when he gets home.
Our day was otherwise mildly complicated by a minor flood in our apartment. I awoke to a "funny noise" and a soggy rug at 3 am today. They had to pull up part of the carpet to replace the pad and now we have a big fan blowing down the hallway. "White noise" my friend Kelly suggested. : ) The nice thing is that Dale and I aren't even phased by the fact that the floor is torn up in our apartment 9 days after we moved in. That's right, everything's put in perspective.
We'll be having a five pound party very very soon. Stay tuned. . . .

Love~Dale*Michelle*Logan

This

is what Logan did all afternoon. Our perfect, peaceful little boy rested quietly while his mama rested quietly in the recliner next to him. It was good for both of us (and thanks to Dale's hard work all afternoon I was able to retreat for a while). You'll notice he did sneak a peek at the camera just to see what I was doing : )

Tomorrow begins another work week. We ask for prayers of peace and "centeredness" as Dale and I try to find the right balance between work and Logan time. Please also pray for Logan's feeding routine. It's going to be tough for both of us (my milk supply, mainly) to hang in there while he continues to figure it all out. After waiting patiently to cuddle, hold, and love him in "regular" newborn fashion, nursing is an experience I would love to share with Logan.

As we begin another week, we are richly blessed and pray that you and yours experience the same. Best to each of you; thanks for checking in.

Love Dale, Michelle, & Logan

quick check-in

No news is good news. No big changes yesterday, except that they started the slow transition between feeding Logan continuously and boluses every few hours. With that change, I'm trying to be more available so he can try to (learn to) nurse before he gets his feed. Eventually, we'll get to the point where he'll nurse first and only need to be fed through his feeding tube what he doesn't take by mouth. He had his second real bath last night, this time under the direction of Mom and Dad. . . he's a slippery little (4 lb 8 oz) devil, but we did okay and he didn't fuss. (and Sam let us put baby lotion on him when we were done. . . heavenly!)

We've had AWESOME nurses this weekend, which makes all the difference in the world. We're grateful they shared their weekend with us. Yesterday we finished cleaning out the house and Dale's dropping the keys off today (I'm opting not to go). I'm hoping to chill out at the hospital with Logan for most of the day today while Dale runs errands and meets up with us later. The weather is absolutely beautiful here today; hope you have a minute to enjoy it.

Thanks for checking in. Much love--Dale, Michelle, & Logan