Boy, does time fly? Christmas blew past us, but was a lot of fun for my wife and me as Ian got into things a bit more this year, though next year should be even more fun. Elaine's parents joined us at our house along with her 'aunt' (a family friend who is practically and aunt). It was a good morning for everyone. Ian had no clue anything was really different, so he got up as normal and then we went into our basement after breakfast (family tradition). He got riled up at that point. He could, we think, sense our excitement and fed off that. He emptied his stocking, all the while basically running in circles with excitement. We just let him play for a while, and then sat down near the tree to open gifts. Elaine's family does things one gift at a time, and so Ian had some time between gifts. He made it maybe half way, and was so tired, that we let him take a nap in his crib. This happened at 10:30, two hours earlier than normal. The rest of us finished up while he slept, then he finished later after he awoke.

Much of the rest of the time has been a blur. Recently, we had a visit with the specialist nearby in Roanoke, Va. All was well, and Ian is still doing remarkably well. Then we got the lab results. His PELD has climbed from 19 to 27, which is a bit odd. His clot time (for his blood) was way up, meaning a Vitamin K deficiency. So, today, we went for a Vitamin K shot and he'll have labs again tomorrow to see what that does. I spoke with the transplant center yesterday, and they said with a 27, keep bags packed (which we already do) and make sure we have spare batteries for the pager on hand (which we do). Adrenaline has climbed a bit since that call...

Elaine and I have both spent much time in prayer asking why this is happening to us (which we look forward to learning someday), but mostly we are grateful for our little son and the joy he brings us.