#2

Today's costume was worn without incident. Brady fashioned a Pirate costume minus the hook and substituted the rum with milk. I did hear him shout "A pirates life for me," impressive for a 3 month old.

3 Days of Halloween

Jeff and I have established Halloween as our favorite holiday. Therefore it will also become Brady's preferred day. In celebration of this blessed day Brady has 3 costumes. Yes, 3! Today Brady is featuring the first of his Halloween 2008 Line... the skeleton.

Unfortunately Brady was only able to wear this one for a short time due to an explosive #2 that saturated both the skeleton and my lap. I'm thinking this is his way of giving me some feedback on the costume choice. Better luck tomorrow.

New Name

Brady's new name is "Brady Big Boy Shannon." We went to the doctor yesterday for a weight check and he put on an amazing 13.5oz in one week. I think its fair to say that Brady and I have been very busy. He is eating like a champ.

Here is another video of me attempting to capture the elusive smile. Unfortunately, you will see more evidence of Brady's underdeveloped core muscles than charming camera work. Don't worry we are going to bust out about 30 crunches this afternoon to compensate. FYI just when we wrapped up filming he SMILED.

Before and After

It's a little graphic to start your Sunday morning off, but it's so amazing we had to share. These are images of Brady's airway before and after the procedure. Not too many parents can add internal images of their baby to the baby book! We are amazed he could even breath before. Today is a different story. He has been talking, cooing and smiling like never before. Its like he has his life back. He can focus his energy on other things than breathing. Have a great weekend....we are!!!

Recovery

Today's surgery went very well and without surprises. He was in and out in a couple of hours. The doctors were nice enough to provide us awith amazing before and after pictures of Brady's air way. We were asked to hold our judgement on the success of the surgery for at least a day, so that the swelling had a chance to go down. We're not getting too excited (yes we are) but he already sounds FANTASTIC! When I say he sounds fantastic, I mean he doesn't sound at all. When I left the hospital, I was in awe of how quite he is sleeping. Jen commented, that now she won't be able to rely on his constant snoring to know that he's OK anymore.

We just want to say thank you to everyone who asked about Brady, who called or texted with concerns, who was thinking or praying about his well being, to Jen's parents for all their support, to the Johnson's and Reilly's for providing us great dinners (and sabotage!), to the friends who stopped by the hospital, to the nurses that have given us extra special treatment, to Kari in HR who made sure we have insurance to pay for all of this, and to the doctors who lived up to their promise to provide care for Brady as if he was their own child. We are sincerely grateful to be part of such a warm and caring community of family and friends.

Surgery

Brady is having surgery on his throat this afternoon. The doctor is going to cut a tiny slit and poke two tiny holes into the valve that leads to his lungs. This should allow him to pull more air into his lungs with less effort than it does today. Currently he is working very hard to breathe.

Not to worry though, as I spoke with Brady and he said that he wasn't scared at all and it would be over before you know it. He also pointed out that anything that lets him come home is worth it, and added that the cafeteria food is less than awesome. He said that he will miss all the hot nurses carrying him around, but he was looking forward to hanging out with his buddy Bill (the cat).

Happy Buddha

Brady was home from the Hospital on Saturday afternoon. This picture was taken Sunday afternoon. And from the look on his face, you would think that the ER scares where behind us...on the contrary. Brady slowly degraded back into the uneasy breathing on Monday and was admitted to the hospital in the afternoon. Once he got a treatment he was breathing easy and eating well.

Last night they prepped him for a procedure this morning that turned into this afternoon. The doctors did some scope analysis of his throat and airways and confirmed that he has some redundant tissues in his little throat that may require surgical removal or trimming. Shouldn't be too big of deal, especially if it lets the little guy breathe better. He and Jen will be staying at the hospital for the next several days so that they can continue to do tests and eventually come to a decision what to do next and when it is safe for him to come home.

No need to worry about him though, he handled the procedure very well and was awake and eating nicely this evening. Let's all hope that Brady and Jen get some good rest tonight.