Lollipop

I found these pictures on Aaron's phone that he had taken of Max on Halloween night and had to share, even if a little late. Silly boy.

Giving Thanks

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God."

I thank the Lord every day for the many, many gifts that I have been given, the blessings that I have received, and the miracles that I have witnessed. My heart is full of gratitude; my blessings are too many to count.

Bragging

We recently had an appointment with a specialist who hadn't seen Ben in two months. Here are few of her comments:

- "I'm just blown away by how well Ben is doing!"
- "Ben is the one in a million kid."
- "I'm bubbling over, I'm so excited about Ben's progress!"
- "We'll have to revise our goals because Ben has already accomplished the goals we set."
- "What a fighter!"
- "I can't wait to report how well Ben is doing; I can't wait to see him again next month."
- "I don't think we've even scratched the surface of Ben's potential."

....sweet music to my ears:)

Light Bulbs

In my zeal to follow Ben through his journey towards recovery, I have been a little neglectful about documenting the equally exciting accomplishments of Hank and Max. Oh my little Matsy-boy. Seemingly overnight, Max went from speaking in one or two word phrases to speaking in complete sentences! Some little light bulb must have just turned on, because Max is suddenly just talking like crazy! Its been so fun to watch him make new linguistic discoveries and see his satisfaction when he is finally able to express himself--and I love watching more of his cute little personality emerge!

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

I can't let this day pass without acknowledging its significance--six months ago today my precious little then-five-week-old baby got very, very sick. This is certainly not an event that I want to celebrate or relive, but I can't help but be amazed, and honor, how far Ben has come in such a short amount of time. He is nothing short of a miracle! I am just brimming with pride for how hard this little boys works everyday and for each and every accomplishment that he has made. You can do it, baby. Keep it up!

Aquatic Therapy

Two weeks ago we added aquatic therapy to Ben's therapy regimen. After the first session, his therapist, Tanya (pictured) said she thought that the session was very successful. If you call thirty minutes of fussing with intermitent breaks of crying successful, then it was a hit! Thankfully, in his last session, Ben started to get a little more comfortable with the water and even started to play and splash around a little. Who knows? In time maybe Ben will learn to like the pool and be my water baby--with all cute baby chub he should be extra bouyant:)

soon-to-be 7 Months Old!

I hope someday Ben can find it in his heart to forgive me for posting this nakie baby picture...just too squishy to not share!

I have many nicknames for Ben, but one of the funny little names that I call him is Manjaben, like Benjamin backwards. The other day I was singing a song to him, using the nickname Manjaben, and realized how fitting that little nickname actually is. In Italian (Aaron's second language) "manga" mean 'to eat' and "bene" means "good" or "well." So, Manjaben in Italian literally  means "eat well," and from the photo above, it is clear that my little Manjaben definately eats well:)

In a few days Ben will be seven months old! As I laid in bed last night, my mind replayed scenes from the past seven months--some of the most horrifying and painful experiences and also some of the sweetest and most precious moments I'm sure I will ever have in my lifetime. I love Ben to peices and I'm thankful that he has taught me how to be a better person and a better mom. He inspires me to try more, work harder, and be better every single day. I love you my sweet Benjamin:)