Introducing....

The newest member of our household:

Yes, I know it's goofy to be so excited. But I am. Right now I'm sitting here NOT hearing it run, and it is running! It's not completely silent, but it's MUCH quieter than the old one, and it has a delay setting, so I can set it to begin in the middle of the night.

And as for the other, more important members of our household:

Faith has found a love for playing the piano. She pulls herself up to it and grins and gets so excited as she pounds away.

And she LOVES bathtime. She gets down on her belly and swims. It makes me nervous, because she's still so little. But she's so stinkin' cute when she does it, that I just watch her closely, and let her go at it.

Michael is still struggling to eat his food, as you can see:

But we're very happy with the progress he's made. I must say, though, that the day I can take him to Wendy's and have him actually bite into a hamburger and eat it - I think that will be the best day of my life up to that point. Sadly, I'm really not joking. Dealing with his feeding issues may very well be the biggest trial of my life up to now. It has certainly brought out the worst in me, and has made me face some of my greatest weaknesses. But it has also taught me patience and perseverance and a bit of creativity. And it has given me a desire to help other parents and children who are on this same path. I tell myself every day (during my pity-me moments) that no child, and no parent, should have to deal with this. But now the challenge is finding the way to help. I don't want to be a feeding therapist. They haven't done much for us, to be honest. So I'm beginning to consider approaching it from another side - whether it be from a psychological standpoint, or nutritional, or maybe from the natural healing side. All I know is that "the system" has failed in Michael's case, but I don't believe that kids like Michael can't be helped. It's a matter of finding the right avenue. We're going to try some things that others have suggested to us, and if he progresses, maybe that will shed some light on where I should put my focus.

On a lighter note, Faith obviously has no feeding problems, except maybe that she isn't a very tidy eater.