We are home! Jonah was finally discharged yesterday afternoon about 1:30. Grandma Hanna drove down with Noah and we all drove home together. We stopped by the Tulare Outlets on the way home and got some fall shoes and a couple pairs of jeans that were on sale for the boys. I have my upcoming consignment sale in October so I did not want to go too crazy yet. The Baby Gap was having a good sale on jeans though and Grandma Hanna bought the boys cute fall shoes at Stride Rite. We then drove home, bathed the boys and put them to bed.

Jonah is doing very well. I am proud of him. He has not thrown up once since his surgery (and he has definitely tried). We finally may be turning a corner when it comes to vomit in the house. Hurrah! Noah has practically stopped since walking (yes, he is all over the place now and more adorable then ever!) so we may finally be passing this awful phase of reflux.

Speaking of Noah, since I have been gone he has just blossomed. He is walking everywhere and is proud as can be at his accomplishment! He has new words including cookie, toe, please and hello. He has starting experimenting with different finger foods which is SO great!! I was so excited to come home and see all he has done and it confirmed to me how quickly they grow and change!!

So we are home today. I took Jonah's glasses in and ordered new covers to go over the sides and we got Jonah fit for the Kid Cart stroller today. It is really nice and will fit Jonah well. It will be helpful to have for church because it will come with a nice tray that he can use in nursery to play with all his toys. Hopefully we will have it in the next couple of weeks.

I am excited for our new fall schedule to start. We will be very busy with all we'll have to do which will make the time go by quickly.

Come October Grandpa Langston will be back down for the boys birthday and he plans to stay through Thanksgiving and then go home so we will be grateful for the company. We are still planning on Disneyland for the boys' second birthday this year. I think they will enjoy themselves.

Thanks everyone for your prayers during Jonah's hospitalization. It will be nice to be home.

Well, I wish I was typing this from home but we are still here in Madera! Jonah is not eating as well as I would hope. He has taken some pureed food today but not much Pediasure (maybe an ounce). He is still on his IV fluids and his surgeon said we would watch him for the next "day or two.." Bah!! I am ready to go home! One thing the surgical resident did say this morning was that there was less stomach area due to the procedure so it might take time for Jonah's stomach to adjust back to where he was at with eating and that he might eat smaller amounts more frequently. Great. I hope this won't last long, especially because we can't have him losing any weight! I did freak out a bit after that discussion but Shane assured me that with time his stomach will grow and things will go back to normal, still how long will that be? He really has not shown me that he is hungry yet either...hopefully I will see that change.

I am definitely done with this hospital experience though so I am praying that Jonah will pick up with his eating and we will go home soon.

Keep Jonah in your prayers that we'll be home soon.

Jonah is on board for going home!

He is on a normal diet today and loved his Trix yogurt that the cafeteria brought up for him. They just reduced his fluids so I'm hoping his appetite will pick up and he had his first messy diaper in days (not so fun for mom but they have been waiting for poop here at the hospital). We are definitely bored of the hospital and ready to go home!

His doctor said that tomorrow or Wednesday he could go home so that is great. So far things seem to be working. Jonah has definitely had some gagging moments where he has tried to throw up but he has not been able to bring anything up, so fingers crossed that everything will continue to work the way it should. I am interested to see if this will help his reflux, it supposedly helps some patients with the actual refluxing and others still have to take meds for the symptoms (although they aren't able to actually bring up food they still have the symptoms of reflux).

I am looking forward to having structure back. Sadly, we canceled the boys' appointments this week for therapy but everything will start back up next week. Friday the boys' infant specialist from the Richardson Center will be meeting with us. We are signing papers to get the boys going with classes. Jonah will be in the "Moves" program and Noah will be in a group of children that are more advanced. It will be good for both boys to learn new skills and socialize. Noah is such a busy body that I think he'll love the interaction. So we'll have these classes twice a week for two hours. We are trying to sign up for the Monday/Thursday 8:30-10:30 classes. I think I have already posted on these classes so I will not spend much more time. It will be great to have full mornings so that just leaves afternoons to manage. It certainly makes time go quicker!

I can't believe that in a little less then a month these boys will be two. One more year and they will start pre-school. Goodness, the time does go quickly.

Well, we will keep you posted as to when Jonah returns home. Hope everyone is doing well.

Jonah's surgery lasted four hours on Thursday. It was a very, very long day by the time he was ready to be taken to his room for recovery. The surgeon said that the surgery went as well as could be expected. He commented that there was, of course, a lot of scar tissue but they were able to remove quiet a bit and clear room to perform the procedure by laparoscope. This was great news because Jonah's recovery should go better and hopefully the pain will not be as much as if they had to make an incision.

Jonah did well his first night but yesterday afternoon he started getting really fussy and sensitive to any noise. He definitely does NOT like the hospital nor the many unknown sounds that come with being in one. He cried a lot and was not liking anything aside from being held. I finally got him to go down last night around 10:00. It was a long day. I was very glad to see Shane arrive about this time. Yesterday was not too bad. I didn't mind having some snuggle time with my son and being able to read to him, etc. Today I am starting to feel that cabin fever syndrome hit. We did lunch outside and got Shane's hair cut quickly while Jonah was sleeping. He was still sleeping when we returned and it was nice to be outside and feel the sunshine and open air. I, myself, am not a big fan of being cooped up in a hospital for long periods of time. The last time we were in the hospital was for Noah's week long stay with Rotovirus and that was just plain awful. I went a whole week with hardly any sleep. This time around I got a room at the Ronald McDonald house which was a good decision because at least now I can put Jonah to bed and know that I will also get good rest without having to be interrupted by nurses every couple of hours.

We just started Jonah with small amounts of jello to see how he tolerates eating. If all goes well we could be going home Monday/Tuesday which would be fabulous. I really have not seen Noah for over a week, I did have a couple of minutes for hugs Thursday morning before we left for the hospital.

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and prayers. The surgery went well and now our little man won't (hopefully) be dealing with as much yucky reflux/throwing up. We are praying this surgery was not for nothing.

I will keep you posted.

I am typing this from the airport. Jonah's surgery will be in the morning. We will leave Bakersfield at seven so we can be at the hospital at nine. Keep him in your prayers tonight. I will have my blackberry at the hospital so I will attempt to post updates when possible. Thanks everyone.

What a wonderful week it has been! I am getting ready to leave and return home.

I am reminded why I love Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. so much.

We have done so much since being here. My cousin, Bonnie Morgan, flew in last Wednesday night and stayed through Sunday. We went to the American History and American Natural History Smithsonians on Thursday. We ate delicious Thai food and had ice cream at Dairy Godmothers in Old Town Alexandria (apparently President Obama and his family visited Dairy Godmothers two weeks ago, it is a hot spot in Old Town). Friday we ate at Gadsby's Tavern (famous location where George Washington used to eat during his presidency) and then toured beautiful Mt. Vernon. Friday night we ate a picnic on the Mall and then catched a bus up to NYC. We arrived at an exhausting hour of 2:00 AM and passed out in our hotel near Battery Park. Saturday morning Bonnie and I got up early to take the Ellis Island ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We visited both the statue as well as Ellis Island. After we took a taxi to Chinatown and enjoyed the knock-off goods in the area (they are famous for their knock-off Coach, Dolce & Gabanna purses, etc.). We went to an afternoon play of The Little Mermaid which was spectacular. The costumes, props, singing were all amazing and we had third row orchestra seats which gave us the best of views. Saturday night we ate at what I consider to be the best cafe in NYC, Serendipity. I had the best frozen hot chocolate ever (they have a trademark on this delicious treat)! I would seriously return just to eat at Serendipity and experience the adorable, ecclectic cafe one more time! I also met with my good missionary companion, Lillian Clawson, at the cafe and we took time catching up. She is a sweetheart and I remember why I loved serving with her in our mission together over 10 years ago. Our return to D.C. was interesting, to say the least. We practically ran to our bus stop and when we finally got there the bus had changed it's pick up location without notifying us so we had to sit around for the next bus. We got home around 4:00 AM in the morning and practically slept the day away Sunday. We saw the Masonic Temple Sunday afternoon and relaxed that night. Monday I went to the Smithsonians and we ate at a local all you can eat pizzeria with a good friend from the area and my sister. Yesterday I took flower in to Valerie at her work and spent the rest of the day at museums. Last night we went to dinner for Valerie's birthday (happy 29!)

Today, I packed, did laundry and now I am getting ready to leave early to the airport where I will get lunch and hang out until my flight leaves around 6:00 PM. It is going to be another late night and sadly first thing tomorrow I get up and take Jonah down to Children's Madera for his Nissen Fundoplication surgery. We are anxiously waiting for the surgery time today. I hopefully will have a room at the Ronald McDonald house (right next to the hospital). Jonah's recovery time could easily be a week so we may be down in Madera this week and next.

I will feel like I am living out of suitcases but I guess that won't be too new of a feeling as I did it for so long after the boys' birth while they stayed in the NICU.

I am so grateful for the relaxing break. Valerie commented that this is the most relaxed she has seen me in some time. It was much needed and a good rest for my mind and spirit. Hopefully I have refueled enough to get back in to the hectic life that awaits me back home.

Jonah met with his cardiologist yesterday and they confirmed what Children's Madera said, his heart is fine. They did say they saw a small leak where his PDA clip was located but it was not significant enough to worry about at this time. They encouraged us to check this again in the next year or two.

So we have the clear for tomorrow! I wanted to make sure that everything was ok and that is why I pursued the second opinion with a cardiologist. Valerie's good friend just lost her 7 month old son (a former preemie) to heart failure and this was about the time I decided to pursue a second opinion. Let's just say it confirmed to me the importance of being diligent.

So I wanted to take time and update our blog because I won't be near the Web for another week or so. The trip was wonderful and I look forward to another fun, relaxing vacation perhaps sometime down the road.

For now, back to the little ones!

PS--Thanks Grandma Hanna for watching the boys and helping out with Noah as we are away at the hospital with Jonah. Also, I will post photos of my trip later!

Pushing brother around. Noah has taken to loving to help his brother out in his stander or any other toy that he can push around. He also loves to climb in to his little room and play with Jonah there too. So cute!

Cuddles from Aunt Valerie!

The cutest All-American Boy ever! I love this outfit on Jonah!

Playing with toys that Grandpa and Grandma Langston bought the boys.

Before Grandpa Langston left for home we celebrated his birthday. The boys got to help Grandpa blow out his many candles. Happy Birthday Grandpa!

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted!

I usually am very good about updating the blog but these past two weeks have been so busy! Grandpa and Grandma Langston left, sadly. We miss them very much. Even the boys know Pa-pa is gone. The first week he was gone Noah was extra clingy and Jonah was extra fussy (fun week for Mom). Aunt Valerie did pay a visit to us for a couple of days and this was a nice distraction. We took the boys to the LA Zoo but it was so hot we only stayed for a couple of hours! We also went shopping at the Tulare outlets. The boys were fairly well behaved, I was proud of them because we did a lot of traveling. Aunt Valerie could not believe how much the boys had grown and she was excited to see them both making progress. She is very positive about Jonah and really thinks he is going to accomplish many things yet. We are grateful for every person like Aunt Valerie that sees the best in Jonah. We need to be reminded of this!

Speaking of which, Jonah had a therapist early this week that had not worked with him in some time. She was really pleased to see that he is stronger and I was pleased to hear her note all of his progress. He can support himself sitting for a few seconds at a time and is getting better with the weight shifting. Granted we have a lot way to go but we have to celebrate the small steps! Also, Jonah has met 3 of his 4 goals at therapy and his three month schedule is not even up! Go Jonah!! He is bright and loving and his smiles with his cute dimple are the absolute best.

Now, for the big news (drum roll please).........Noah has been off oxygen since Saturday during the day!!! We are taking his sats here and there and he is maintaining the 92 and above without any oxygen. Hurrah! We did talk to Pulmonology yesterday about decreasing some of his meds and I told them what had happened. They were supportive and just encouraged us to keep an eye on him. Hurrah! Perhaps we have finally tackled the oxygen during the day issue! What a relief. Noah is on the move all the time. He is walking more and more (still lacks some confidence but we are getting there) and he is big in to mimicking all we do. He blows kisses, puckers up to give kisses, says "no" all the time--especially when he does not get his way, waves good bye and says "bye bye," says "mine" in reference to something that is his....wow....go Noah!!! He is growing up before our eyes. He is still small for his size but Jonah is growing tall and long and is becoming a big boy.

Tomorrow I leave from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. and I am more then excited. I am THRILLED! This trip has been planned for months and it has gotten me through some tough days so I am excited to finally see it come. My closest cousin and I will be flying back east and enjoying time with Valerie. We will tour D.C. and also make a trip up to NYC (I have blogged about this before). It will be wonderful and a much needed rest from the daily stress of dealing with the boys and their constant issues.

We will be starting classes with the Richardson Center the end of August. Noah will be in a more advanced class and Jonah will be in the "moves" program to work on his gross motor and fine skills. The classes will be two hours, twice a week. I am looking forward to it. I will drop them off and probably stay here and there to see what the teachers do in working with the boys. I can't believe they will be two in October. I think we are still planning on going to Disneyland to celebrate their second birthday. It will be fun.

That is the latest from the Hanna home. I will update when I return from my fabulous trip. Hopefully I will be nice and rested because Jonah goes in for his fundo surgery on the 20th, the day after I get back. I literally fly in at 11:00 pm and the next morning we have to drive two hours to the hospital. The surgery will be long and his recovery will be at least a week in the hospital. I probably will not get a chance to update the blog until we are home. Grandma Hanna (thanks Grandma!) will be staying longer to help us with everything. Thank goodness we have such supportive family!