Sisterly Love

Poor Aidan

These photos may just about sum up Aidan's childhood, surrounded by six sisters.

Erin Has a New Skill...

...It's NOT numchucking skills, NOT bowhunting skills, NOT computer hacking skills...(for you Napoleon Dynamite geeks, tee hee).

It's........SITTING! We don't remember getting this excited when the other kids sat for the first time. Just after surgery, at 7 months, we noticed Erin taking off with much more energy and strength. It's fun to see such a tiny little one sitting.



















And to prove that she is eating very well, check out the rolls...

Mocha

We'll miss you, Mocha. Well, some of us will :)

Flower Princess

This one is just too good not to post. Here's Molly Grace, taking advantage of our last bit of summer-like temperatures. Notice the inside out shirt and missing shoe, which just adds that special flair, don't you think?

It's Game Day!

Sleepover Time

Molly Grace (6) Margaret (7)

It's Been Over Two Weeks!

It's hard to believe that Erin's surgery was two weeks ago Wednesday. She continues to do fabulous, eating like a champ. Yesterday she had her two week post-op visit with the cardiologist. She had a great check up. An EKG was done to make sure the electrical system of the heart was not effected by the surgery, and it was not. She also had another chest exray to look for fluid. She's had several of these done now.  As you can see, they're done a bit differently than what I was used to.

Here's a couple of pics of the little predicament that Erin found herself in for the x-ray (these pictures were actually taken before surgery, but the one she had yesterday was very similar)...





Don't worry, it's not nearly at torturous as it looks :) I don't know why, but I find these pictures to be so cute.

Everything went beautifully with the post-op visit. She does still have a small amount of fluid in her lungs, which is quite normal, and she will continue on the diuretic, at half a dose, for another month. The other good news is that her heart is already smaller in size, her liver is on its way down in size, and her heart has no murmur or gallop. It's working perfectly. I hope the only gallop I ever hear again is the pitter-patter of her little feet running around our home.

On another note, I just wanted to say thank you, once again, to both of our moms and Kelly and Kelley, for all their help while we were away at the hospital. Everything went so smoothly while we were gone. They all went to Mass on Wednesday, just as Erin went into surgery. It was a worrisome day, and they prayed and prayed. But at the end of the day we were all relieved, and there was joy.

The rest of the week they had a lot of fun!

They went to Bay Beach...






They made five new Irish dance bags for the girls (here's cousin Colleen modeling hers)...



And they (well, some of them) got really dirty...



They even weathered an evening with no electricity for six hours! Imagine...six hungry, active kids, in the dark, with no electricity. The grandmas didn't miss a beat. Way to go Grandmas!!!

Ya Never Know What to Expect With This Guy...

Here's what The Boy came clomping up the basement stairs wearing yesterday morning.

Hmmm....he's either planning on plumbing, fixing the dehumidifier, or perhaps fishing???

He's definitely Irish, with a cheesy grin...

I have no idea....

A Visit With Great Grandma Dillon

This photo was taken the night before Erin's surgery. Great Grandma Dillon lives so close to Children's Hospital, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit. It was the first time Grandma was able to meet Erin. After an all day long pre-op, Grandma Dillon, Grandma Delaney, Mike, Erin and I had dinner together. It was a treat and a nice distraction for all of us!