Today

Darren and I decided this morning to take the kids out to White Sands Missile Range to witness the annual Bataan Memorial Death March. It was so humbling and awe inspiring to see the surviving Bataan veterans in attendance, and the teams of soldiers and civilians running or walking the rigorous route in their honor. We stayed only long enough to have a picnic lunch on a patch of shaded grass and to watch a few groups of participants crossing the finish line, and then it was time to head back home so I could get back up to the hospital. Darren had already spent about an hour with Kristen this morning, but I feel so guilty carrying on with "normal" activities knowing she's up there by herself.

This first picture is of the park where all the food tents were set up; it was just past the finish line. My kids loved the giant flag, and I thought it was beautiful against the clear blue sky.

When I arrived at the hospital this afternoon, I discovered that Kristen had pulled her feeding tube out earlier this morning so I seized the opportunity to take some pictures of her without it. I'm so glad I remembered to take the camera with me! I knew it would probably be replaced again later in the day (and Darren reports that she did have a new one tonight), so it was a rare treat to see her without it. I also (finally!) got some pictures of her with her eyes open. She's looking so good! And she's finally passed her birth weight: she's up to 4 lbs. 2 oz. now. Woohoo! We expect that she'll start rapidly improving in the next week or two. She's doing much better with her feedings now, taking every third feeding entirely from the bottle, and her temperature has remained wonderfully stable, as have her O2 sats. I am so eager for the day when we'll finally be able to bring her home!