Tuesday - August 22nd

As I try to post, our youngest son is wailng like a banshee. Must be the Irish blood. He has an uncanny sense of timing. Just when I am on the verge of accomplishing something, he insists on my full attention and both hands. I keep trying to explain to him that I Am Trying To Get Something Done, but he really doesn't seem to care. As my father used to say of babies, you just can't reason with them. We are sitting out on the deck, listening to NPR and all of the fascinating noises of the neighborhood: the pond burbling, dogs barking, birds, tree frogs. It is amazing what you hear when you stop to listen. Lest you fear that Griff will be a little tree-hugger, we also have identified the very distinctive chugga chugga of the Bud Light beer truck stoppped at the little store down the street. I think the Guinness truck comes on Thursday. One must learn to discriminate early. Any way, Griff has been very good and has been helping me work in the garden. We have identified all the flowers and birds and all of the colors. If the neighbors are listening, I'm sure they think that I have lost my mind. Whatever. If the kid can't identify a hibiscus, it won't be MY fault.
Allan has had several good days in a row. He has continued to bottle-feed. He is slow but steady. A lot of times he won't feed well two times in a row. He just doesn't have the energy to do that every time. Still, he seems to have turned the corner and, although we aren't telling him, there is some talk of being discharged by the end of the month. We are ready (ish) to get him home, but realize that it took a couple of attempts to liberate Griffith. It is going to be hard to have two since we are only just now adjusting to having one, but it will be nice not to have to split our time between home and the hospital.