Ahh, freedom!

Whew! It's been a while since Archer's last update, but he's been keeping Mom and Dad busy! For those who have been awaiting a post, hopefully this will bring you up to date!

An eye update:
Archer visited his pediatric opthalmologist (eye doctor) today and surprisingly allowed the nurse to dilate his eyes without much trouble. The opthalmologist was extremely impressed with Archer's vision and said that unless you study his retinas (where thousands of laser cuts from the surgery can be seen), you would never be able to tell that he had any complications with advanced ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Although the doctor cannot determine Archer's exact vision until he is more verbal and able to describe things to us, Archer responded perfectly to all of the tests today! Typically the doctor would want to see a patient yearly from this point, but, due to Archer's history, we will go for another check-up in 6 months as vision issues can appear quite suddenly. We are extremely thankful that the progression of Archer's ROP was caught and treated quickly while in the NICU and that he has had such a good outcome so far!

Ft. Wayne March for Babies

April recap: It's hard to believe that we celebrated the Archer's 1st year at home on April 11th! We are so grateful for all of the family and friends who helped us meet our fundraising goal for the March of Dimes and those who joined us in the March for Babies in Archer's honor! We are continually amazed by the support of our loved ones, as well as the gracious staff and students at Ottoville Local School. With all of your contributions we were able to donate $1,000 to the Toledo March for Babies and another $200 to the Fort Wayne March! We really enjoyed participating in the walks and being able to reconnect with some of the awesome nurses, therapists, and staff from the Dupont NICU too!

Archer's Armor March for Babies team

Archer was also able to celebrate his first Easter at Grandma's house! He loved the food, although he didn't care much for searching for Easter eggs. Luckily the weather was beautiful and he enjoyed a trip to the park.

May recap:

feeding parakeets

The month of May meant the end of an extended RSV season, and some much-needed freedom for Archer (and Mom and Dad). Although we still try to avoid anyone who is ill and are cautious when going out in public, Archer has been loving the trips to the store, mall, restaurants, and friends' houses that he had missed out on since last November. He also attended his first wedding, a birthday party, and the zoo twice.
We had the opportunity to celebrate Parents of Preemies Day on May 4th by attending an event hosted by Graham's Foundation, which is an incredible resource for families with children in (or out) of the NICU! It was humbling to be surrounded by so many other parents who had been impacted by premature birth and had experiences similar to our own.
Archer was also able to visit his birthday buddy, Max, and the boys enjoyed playing hide-and-seek and competing for toys. They both attended their first Cincinnati Reds game together too! Archer loved being around all of the people, clapping, and engaging the fans in the rows around us.

Archer apparently was impressed with all of Max's chatter, and started repeating syllables once we returned home. He began speech therapy twice a month in April, but we see the most improvement after he has been around other talking children. Archer has "mama" down, and his "dada" is getting better. He loves babbling as he runs around the house and enjoys taking pretend phone calls.
We have reduced his physical/occupational therapy sessions to once a month just to monitor progress, and the next goal is standing on one foot, so hopefully Archer didn't inherit his mom's clumsiness!

New favorites: playing with cars, sweeping, dancing (pretty much just wiggling his arms around), kicking a ball, swinging, slides, and climbing anything. Dad loves that he has more interest in his Legos now, although he enjoys taking things apart more than building at this point. He is getting sillier and more ornery, and it's so fun to watch him get excited when he accomplishes something! Archer loves to help out around the house and will run and grab his hat when he wants to go outside and explore. He is frequently on the move, and his face always seems to be sporting a new bruise. He somehow managed to end up with a straw up his nose when he tripped carrying his cup, and he has experienced his first playground injury as well.
With all of that activity, you would think he would be exhausted by the end of the day, but he often tries avoiding bedtime because he has so much on his agenda. Luckily Archer will usually submit to an hour or two of nap time a day. He has teased Mom and Dad by sleeping through the night occasionally, but inevitably a new tooth starts emerging and wreaks havoc on nighttime sleep. Archer is up to 12 teeth, and judging by a recent sleepless night for all of us, we think his fangs (canine teeth) may make their appearance soon!
And, the picture barrage! : )