Things are going well with the three of us. Nicholas continues to be a good eater and is getting bigger every day. He took his first commercial flight last week. We flew one way to Cleveland; a quick, one hour flight. He did great. We had his bottle ready for take off and landing and in between, he slept. We were impressed. He is eating cereal two to three times a day and is learning how to blow bubbles which is fine unless he has a mouth full of food; then, it's not too funny for the Mom feeding him.

We are both back to work full time. It's been a transition, but, Nicholas's nanny is working out well. She helps keep the house in order when Nicholas is napping, which helps us out. Their favorite pass time is going to the park, lying on a blanket, and looking up at the tree and clouds.

Some of Nicholas's Rasmussen cousins came to visit for the weekend. We had a nice time and were reminded of the importance of a schedule. Missing a morning nap can create a bit of a breakdown mid afternoon, even for a 4.5 + monther. Nicholas can't wait to visit them to watch them play hockey and soccer.

We hope you are enjoying the last days of summer and for those that are still in school, good luck with the school year. The summer really flew by.

Denise, Denise & Nicholas

A lot of firsts...

A lot has happened since our last blog, which I realize was 3 weeks ago. We had a wonderful party on July 31st. We had a nice gathering of family and friends and were happy to see everyone and thankful for all the love and support we've received over the last 7 months. We had a photographer come for an hour and will share those pictures once we have them. Nicholas got baptised at our church the following day. It was nice to have our family in town for that event.

Nicholas saw his pulmonologist on August 2nd and was officially taken off the oxygen. We anticipated him coming off during the day and still being on it at night. Although, he was sleeping at the Dr. office and his oxygen saturation was great, so, they decided to discontinue it all together. What a relief to be rid of all the tubes. Not sure who was happier to get rid of the tubing, Nicholas or us. We did an overnight study to ensure he would maintain his levels and so far so good. He weighed in at 14 lbs 3 ounces and was 24.5 inches long. We talked to the nutritionist during this visit and discussed starting rice cereal which she agreed was a good idea. Nicholas now takes a little cereal a couple times a day along with a handful of 8 ounce bottles. He's a good eater. He has also been sleeping through the night (8-10 hours), which is great.

We've been to the lake house a few times in July where Nicholas went into the pool for the first time and went on his first boat ride last weekend. He loved it. The sound and vibration of the waves put him right to sleep.

Mommy Mancuso goes back to work next Monday. We're thankful to have had her home for the time we did. She'll be working in Chicago, so, close to home which will be nice. She has been working with Chelsea (the nanny)to familiarize Chelsea with our routine at home. We sure will miss having her home!

We hope you are all having a wonderful summer. Enjoy it now as fall is right around the corner.

Denise, Denise and Nicholas