12 weeks old

Finley is doing great. He has had a couple of good nights of sleep and is generally seeming more content these days. He is eating well and getting more active by the day. He had his first motorboat ride (Daddy got to waterskiing!) this weekend. And he will have his first plane ride this week when we go on Wednesday for three days to New York City. Daddy has a conference at Columbia University and we are all really looking forward to seeing Karen and John Kalafatas and their daughter (Fin's girlfriend) Becca.
We continue to have the time of our lives and are so thankful for him every day.
Love,
Finley et al

Finley's first Fourth

Finley slept through most of the fireworks in Kenan Stadium for his first Fourth of July, but he had a great time. Daddy had to plug Fin's ears for most of it because it was very loud, but it didn't seem to bother him.
He continues to do great. He is eating well most of the time and sleeping well most of the time. The developmental people spent three hours with us on Tuesday morning. He scored in the "normal" range on most of the tests and they are not overly concerned with anything that he is doing or not doing at this point. He will be enrolled in their program and will have his progress monitored over the coming months.
We continue to get more smiles by the day and he is really locking eyes with us now and loves watching Tasman.
He is 11 weeks old and doing great.
Lots of love,
Yankee Doodle Fin and the rest of the doodles

Happy Canada Day!!

Finley is now drug-free. Well, technically the drug will need a couple of days to completely clear his system, but we are counting it. He seems to be doing fine. We continue to struggle with not really knowing what odd little things he does are normal baby stuff and what might be cause for concern, but he appears to be just fine. We are so thankful. 10 weeks ago from tonight we were completely terrified of where we would be right now. It seems almost like a dream that we are here celebrating his first Canada Day with nothing but joy.
His outfit today came courtesy of Uncle Craig, Aunt Tamah, Michaela, and Caden. Oh Canada!!
Love to all,
The Canadian Carolinians

One week to go

Finley is at the last stop on his way to drug-free status and everything continues to go well. He goes back to his doctor this week, so we will get an update on his weight gain and other such things. He has had a fair bit of gunk in his nose and we think he might have had a cold for a while, but he is soldiering on through it. He is changing bit by bit. He is still not smiling on a regular basis, but he is engaging our eyes more and more and is really liking the mobile on his crib. He also loves to hit the ring on his play mat and to knock the blocks over when we pile them up.
He is now two months old!! Wow! And he is loving have Grandma Hannah back for another visit.
He continues to be an absolute blast.
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Finley, Tasman, and Grandma Hannah

Look closely at this one...

Happy Fathers' Day

An incredibly special day for Daddy K and Finley. Eight weeks ago we would never have allowed ourselves to dream that Finley would be where he is now. We are so thankful and are loving him so much.
I leave this evening for four days in Toronto. I will be back here on Thursday night and then will go back up Sunday night for 5 more days. It is going to stink to be away from him, but it is necessary. And webcams are wonderful inventions.
Happy Fathers' Day to all.
Love,
Finley and his Daddy and his Mommy

Some more visitors

We had some more people come to visit. Jenn and Mike Sheridan celebrated their 10th anniversary with a trip down here. It was great to see them.

Then Bryce and Michelle and Luke (13), Joel (11), and Leah (6) drove down from Barrie for a whirlwind trip. They left Barrie Thursdsay afternoon, arrived here Friday afternoon, then left to drive home this morning (Sunday) at 7:00 am. On Saturday, Bryce, Michelle and Daddy K competed in a triathlon over in Raleigh. Bryce blew us all away with an incredible race. Michelle (who had her torn ACL surgically repaired last December (6 months ago!!) and I survived. Then Bryce, Luke, Joel and I played golf on Saturday afternoon in 95 degree sunshine. It was Bryce, Joel, and Kevin playing best ball against Luke and we only beat him by 6 strokes. We played UNC's course, which is called Finley Golf Course.
We have one week of normal now and then Daddy K is going up to Toronto for a few days to do some teaching. Grandma Hannah is joyously preparing for another return visit to help Mommy with Fin while Daddy is away.
Finley's dose drops again today, from 3.5 to 2.4. He stays on that dose for 1o more days, then 10 at 1.3, then he is done. Everything seems to be going well with him. He is locking his eyes on us more and we are getting the odd smile that we think might not just be gas. He continues to pack on the pounds (we haven't weighed him, but the fit of clothes doesn't lie).
Until next time,
Finley, Mommy, Daddy, and Tasman

Another first! Fin found his own thumb when his cousin Joel was holding him last night. He has not sucked it again since, but it is probably only a matter of time.

A visit from the Samuels

Kevin and Rilla and their boys, Liam (5 years old) and Jess (4), were here for a couple of days on their way to Myrtle Beach. We had a great time and the boys were so wonderful with Finley.
His phenobarb dose has dropped from 4.6 ml to 3.5 ml and all seems to be well. The decreases will continue on a weekly basis until he is (we hope we hope) down to none at the end of June with no seizures.
We continue to love every minute with the little man.
Much love,
Finley, Mommy, and Daddy