good news!!!

Our friends Dan and Kerry and their son Ryan are finally home! Ryan William Corriveau (7 lbs. 6 oz.) was born July 10th at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Ryan has a rare heart defect (HLHS) that was diagnosed before he was even born. He has undergone the first of three surgeries to repair his heart and his journey home has been delayed by infections and other complications. Dan and Kerry have been amazing keeping all of us updated through email and digital photos during their stay at CHOP, and I cannot tell you how relieved I was to receive the news tonight that Ryan is now at home.

Sadly, I have several friends and friends of friends with children who have serious health conditions. All of them inspire me with their strength and ability to celebrate the joy in their lives instead of dwelling on the difficult days.

10 months

Tomorrow Cole will be 10 months old and yesterday he took his first steps. He's been practicing standing unsupported. He'll stand next to the sofa holding on, and every so often he'll through his arms up in the air and see how long he can stand. When he's excited he'll flap his arms in the air as if to fly which is very cute but it doesn't help his balance at all.

Cole has taken one step a few times before but he always fell right away so we didn't count it. But yesterday, he took 3 steps towards me to pull his hat off my head when we were playing. The best part was that both Tony and I were there to see the whole thing. I guess we'll have to buy him some shoes before our next trip to NJ, but for now he's a happy barefoot, 5-tooth toddler.

quick pic from the last playdate

9 months and then some

Cole's tooth count as of today is 5! He looks more like a little boy, instead of a baby, every day. I never expected the time to pass so quickly. He's cruising along the sofa and his baby gate, and looks as though he will take his first unaided step at any moment. He's also enjoying his new chompers, crunching on Cheerios, Gerber puffs and wagon wheels, his crib rail, his pacifier, and if we let him...Kitty's tail.

We had a fun playdate 7/25 with Elaine and Nina. Cole and Nina interact a lot more than they used to, and they chased each other around the room. In almost all of my photos, either Cole or Nina is blurry because they were constantly in motion...except during snack time, so I've got lots of pics of them stuffing their faces.