Happy 2010!

Hi Everybody,

I feel like it's been forever since I last wrote an update. We are all well. Mia is doing really well, too! Her c02 has been great - mostly in the mid 20's - mid 30's, but Jay is still being very cautious in her weaning. She's now at a breath rate of 29 and her pressure control and support are less than they were 4 weeks ago when she was starting to get sick. So that's good news! =) She's at a .5 to 1 liter of oxygen and she's satting perfectly fine. =) She's still not quite ready for room air just yet, but I know she will get there again soon!

Today is Robert's official day back to work and it was great having him in San Jose for the past 2 1/2 - 3 weeks!! Robert, Mercedes and I (and Willow, too) all drove up to Sacramento yesterday and, as long as Mia stays in stable health, we will all be going back down to San Jose on Friday afternoon.

We're hoping to have the house a little more in order so it actually feels like home, but it's definitely going to take a lot of work!! Mercedes loves her bedroom and being in Sacramento! Willow loves exploring in the house, too! It's funny watching him run around and to see where he goes. I couldn't find him last night for about 20 minutes and I was just hoping he wasn't outside or stuck in the garage somewhere! Turns out our bathroom door shut on him and he was stuck in there all alone in the dark! It was kind of funny. hehe =)

I think my allergies are worse here in Sacramento which isn't fun!! As hard as it is, I'm trying to overlook sneezing and being congested all the time. =) Other than that, I'm doing great! Hopefully I can get the kitchen set up the way I want it. We basically just unpacked and put things in the cabinets, but now I'm seeing how the kitchen will function better, so I'm looking forward to making those little changes. =)

Robert just found out that he'll be able to take the remaining week off from work so we can help each other get the house together and work on some wood working projects! That'll be fun. He's been collecting a ton of great wood working and power tools that he hasn't really been able to use yet, so he's excited about finally using some of them! =)

Continue to lift our family up in prayer. Mia is getting so much stronger and doing things I've never seen her do before!! You know how when you're about to fall asleep and your body sometimes jolts? Well, Mia did that the other day, but when she jolted, the corners of her mouth went down! I have never seen her face make an expression at all (which is one reason why they think she has Mobius syndrome)!

Another new thing she is doing now is when she bats at toys, she's now starting to grab onto them!!

One HUGE new thing I saw yesterday is that when she's sitting on my lap, reclined on my chest, she is now bringing herself into a sitting position (using her abs/trunk). She was going to TOWN moving like crazy yesterday - it was so cute!!! She was soo wobbly, but she kept bringing her head to midline, which was wonderful! Another thing I saw her do yesterday for about 10 minutes was opening and closing her mouth while kind of smacking her tongue - as if she were eating. I've NEVER seen her do that motion even two times together! She was doing it probably every two seconds on and off for about 10 minutes. I was so proud of her!! =)

Mercedes and I are going to try to remember how to get to Target and Costco now, so I will post pictures in a day or two (if we find our way back home. hehe) It's fun exploring and getting "lost" and finding your way back!! I usually remember where I am anyway, but the challenge is still fun! =)

God's blessings to you all,
Rachael <3