"So, did my bladder just break or what..."

This is an old picture of Elijah - when he was about 10 months old and weighed 12 lbs. (He was underweight by a lot - at one year, he was down to 9 lbs. 14 oz.)

We've really settled into a routine with Elijah. The catheter with the leg bag isn't too bad and Elijah kind of likes it. He definitely feels better and his personality is showing it! I remember when he was 10 or 11 months old, how he would always giggle and play games, I distinctly remember thinking how smart he was, because at such a young age, he could understand humor and tease us. He was always smiling and giggling.

I also remember the vast change after the surgery for the tethered cord, I remember how lethargic he was and how sad it was to watch him just lay there - how he would sleep for 20 -22 hours every day and would fall asleep even eating.

He'd gotten better since then. He'd been playful at moments and still had a legendary smile, But he also liked playing alone and often did, he'd always take a nap for several hours every afternoon and just didn't play as hard as the others.

Well, that has changed - he runs and jumps and causes trouble - he teases his brothers and sisters and wants to constantly laugh and make noise. He's so hyper, we have to work to get him to slow down and settle down a bit. Tonight he made up a song in the car: "I love you, because you love me, you a great mommy... " -roughly to the Barney tune (Repeat 6000 times) He giggled every time and gave us the classic grin I remember from the picture here. Scott and I both noticed - the old Elijah - the one we'd almost forgotten - is BACK! That feels good, even if the road to get here is rough.

Elijah is adjusting too. He was getting dressed this morning and asked: "So, did my bladder just break or what?" I said "Yeah, is it a big deal to have the catheter in?" and he said (as he was running away, "Nope, No big deal, Schmeal". And a moment later, he came back and said "Why did it break?" Not sure - so I just said: "We don't know, but it's no big deal, schmeal." He laughed hysterically and ran off to repeat the saying to his brother! I think this must be a four year old processing and understanding what's going on, but realizing that he does feel better.

Please continue to pray for him and us. This week we will meet the new urologist on Thursday and pick up our first order of catheter supplies tomorrow (hopefully enough for our vacation). And on Friday, we leave for a two week road trip through Yellowstone (visit old High School friend) and on to Minnesota to see Scott's parents, then to Michigan to see my folks, and down to Cincinnatti to see the Creation Museum and finally home through Denver, where we may get to see some other friends, although we haven't confirmed yet. It should be a good break.