A week off

After the last week (really, after the past three months!), our family needed a break.  Thankfully, that's just what we get!  We had the opportunity to spend the week on the Oregon Coast with my extended family, in a tiny little beach town called Gearhart.  This trip has been planned for a while, but it turned out to be the perfect timing for a get away.  Three grandmas and 4 grandpas (my mom's siblings & their spouses) to entertain and take care of the boys, along with meals planned and prepared for us, a big cozy house and beautiful view of the ocean is EXACTLY what we needed!  We're only two days in to the trip, and we've already had a bonfire and made smores, seen a pod of whales, made multiple trips down to play in the sand, walked to the local bakery for fresh baked scones, watched two beautiful sunsets, and spent precious time laughing and talking with family.  It's been the perfect beach get away!

How wonderful that we can just relax as a family and pretend, at least for a week, that Dylan is just a normal infant.  And he honestly is!  I've said it before, but Dylan is showing no signs of delay at this point.  He's eating, sleeping, and pooping just like any other 2 1/2 month old (because that's really all they do, right!?)  Right now, he's laying in a swing next to me, in front of the big picture windows facing the Pacific Ocean, cooing and chewing on his fist, intently studying the brightly colored ball hanging from the toy bar above him.  He has been smiling and talking to all of my family members for the past few days, and it's been fun for everyone to get to know him better and to realize that, despite his diagnosis, he's just like the other "normal" babies they know!

The thing that I was MOST looking forward to on this trip was to have an entire week with no doctors appointments and no new news. In fact, as I was loading the final bags into the car, ready to take off for the beach on Monday morning, I got a call from the CranioFacial specialist offering us an appointment for Dylan on Wednesday.  I'm pretty anxious about the appointment (hopefully they will be able to shed some light on the fact that Dylan was born without a soft spot), and I had been told that they wouldn't be able to see us until October.  My initial reaction was that I would drive home from the beach to see them, but then I realized that would mean my week would no longer be appointment-free, and I declined the appointment (thankfully they had another opening next week).  I am just cherishing this week of normal!

Monday morning starts our week of doctors, appointments and hopefully new news on the bone structure of Dylan's head (pray that we have no need for surgery!!)  Until then, we will relax, enjoy time as a family, watch Jack explore the beach and grow up before our eyes, play board games, work puzzles, smile and coo with Dylan, and remember that, despite everything we have going on right now, we have an amazing life!