We love blood donors!

Today is a very special day for our family!  Lalo's work is holding a blood drive for their employees today in honor of little Lalo at their DC/MD/VA offices.  Not only that, but when they announced the blood drive to all of the employees in the region, they also shared what CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia) is and some of the statistics that go along with this birth defect.  To raise even more awareness, they are asking employees to wear turquoise today (the color of CDH awareness) and handing out CDH awareness ribbons to all those who donate.  One word - AMAZING!  All of this to support little Lalo, our family, a world of CDH survivors & angels, and the many people in need of blood.  Are you teared up yet?  Because we certainly were when Lalo's work let us in on their plans.  Thank you to all of those who arranged this and all who participated.  We are so joyful that our little warrior is being honored in such an amazing way.

With the blood drive, Lalo's birthday last week, and the cooler weather we have had lately, I have been thinking of last year quite a bit.  I looked back on our blog last night to a year ago.  On this day a year ago, Lalo was on his 3rd day of ECMO (heart lung bypass machine).  I shared that as of that morning he was burning through less platelets, but the very next day the ECMO circuit needed to be replaced because the blood was clotting in the tubes.  We were in such a fragile state at that time and still had no idea whether Lalito would survive.  Thanks in part to those blood and platelet donations, we have a smiling, laughing, rolling, and sitting 1 yr old that we get to hug & kiss every day.  If you are able, please consider making a difference in a family's life with a blood donation.

Happy 1st Birthday Lalo!!

Can you believe it?  Our little warrior is 1!!  A year ago we headed up to Baltimore, so unsure of our future, but so ready for our little man to start his fight.  And fight he has! Ventilators, life support, blood transfusions, infections, a stroke, IVs, 6 surgeries, numerous procedures, feeding pumps, reflux from hell, therapy galore...and with all that his smile is contagious and his laughter can fill a room.  We are in constant admiration of him and thank god everyday that he gave us this miracle.  I could go on and on, but this day has me too emotional already!    Here are some pictures of how remarkable Lalo's 1st year has been...

9/15/10 5:39pm - just 8 min after you were born and already lots of tubes

9/15/10 10:31pm - 5 hrs old, more tubes and we finally get to see you

9/25/10 - Day 9 on ECMO

9/29/10 - You decided you were done with ECMO

10/6/10 - Your eyes are open!

10/15/10 - 1 mo. old & moved to the NICU

11/15/10 - 2 mo. old and a smile



12/19/10 - 3 mo. old in your ducky pjs

1/16/11 - 4 mo. old & practicing in your carseat so we can take you home soon!

2/16/11 - 5 mo. old and happy being home

3/15/11 - 6 mo. old, bathtime with Caleb & showing off your button

4/15/11 - 7 mo. old & ready for Easter

5/16/11 - 8 mo. old, just got your GJ tube & we found out you were reherniated :(

6/15/11 - 9 mo. old, tummy time pro 

7/15/11 - 10 mo. old, at the beach, teething on some cantaloupe

8/20/11 - 11 mo. old, loving bedtime books with Caleb

9/9/11 - Almost 1 yr. old & loved his first swing ride

At 1, Lalo is...

- sitting unassisted for longer & longer periods of time.

- ocassionaly clapping (bringing his left hand to his right, but this is huge as it is him recognizing his right side more and more)

- trying to imitate some sounds in the words we say.

- waving hi & bye.

- rolling like crazy and occassionaly rolling to left, which is extremely hard for him and requires a lot more work of his right side. 

- giving kisses shamelessly :)

- watching every move that Caleb makes and laughing and playing when he talks to him.

- trying to pet Basco.

- putting everything in his mouth (except food!)

- kicking and splashing in the bath.

- (had) his first swing ride last week.

- crying when mom or dad walk out of the room.

- helping turn the pages in books when we read.
- working on his 3rd tooth.

We are celebrating tonight with a pumpkin pie I baked this morning in hopes that Lalito will enjoy the whipped cream.  We love you Lalito!  Keep fighting and we can't wait to see all of the wonderful things in store for you!

I promise to catch up on posts soon, as we have a few updates to share.