Pictures!

We have a computer and high speed internet - at the same time! Will wonders never cease? I hope we'll be better about taking and uploading pictures from here on out. We'll see if I can live up to those aspirations. Here's what we've been up to over the last few weeks.

A rare instance of relaxing. Our ban on television is over. We had to use the TV as a distraction in the hospital and now Jaisal asks for it on (although, he doesn't get his way most of the time). 

Lindsey and little miss Penelope came to Chicago for a visit. We were so happy to meet Penelope and have visitors. We go pretty stir crazy at home since we're on a virtual isolation protocol while Jaisal's at such high level of immune suppression, so visitors are very appreciated.

Penelope is adorable and felt so tiny! I loved holding her and she was a total sweetheart, well except for needing multiple outfit changes due to blowouts. :) Jaisal was really interested in Penelope, although he was a bit jealous when I was holding her.

One outing we did take was to the Garfield Park Conservatory. I figured it would be pretty empty in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, and it was, so it seemed like a safe enough destination. Despite having been there a couple months earlier, Jaisal was really timid and needed his hand held the whole time. The only time I had to hold him back? When we got to the pond with the Chihuly glass. Then Jaisal wanted to jump into the water.

Jaisal cannot be contained these days. He has so much energy. He is on the verge of full on running and one of his favorite targets is our legs. He runs right to us and gives us big hugs. It is awesome!

This energy has made dressing little man a bit of a challenge. He really enjoys running around naked.

Jaisal also tries to climb everything. In one minute, he was on top of this garbage can in the bathroom and in the time I took to take this picture, he was attempting to stand on it. Yikes.

For the first time in a long time, Jaisal has outgrown his clothes. Dressing Jaisal was such a challenge pre-transplant. Jaisal could only wear 9 month pants because his waist was so narrow, but he needed the length of a 12 month pant. On top he needed shirts that were sized for 18 months because he had such a large belly swollen from his enlarged liver and spleen and ascites. Now he can wear 12-18 month pants without them falling down and he actually needs the 18 month tops because that is what fits overall! It is so unbelievably exciting, and I've been playing dress up with him a bit. He alternates between hoodies and outdoor gear to more of a preppy look like below.

The best thing we've witnessed over the last few weeks? Little man's smiles. Jaisal is always smiling (and shrieking). I love his toothy grin.

(That's us feeding Jaisal pizza for breakfast. I figured it was okay because a) it was Superbowl Sunday, b) I also was eating pizza for breakfast, c) the pizza had spinach on it and had a whole grain crust so it was healthy-ish, and d) Jaisal was actually eating, which is a rare enough occurrence that I probably would have let him eat anything anyway.)