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Playing with the Elmo balloon that the Tierney cousins sent him

Hi guys! Well, James did as well as we thought he would...DeAnn was ready to send us home on FRIDAY! Yup, two days after having a large part of his tongue cut off, James proved that he is a great eater and that he has a high tolerance for pain. Tommy and I were not quite as comfortable about leaving so we stayed Friday night and DeAnn arranged for Dr. Marsh to give the discharge orders early on Saturday. We left early Saturday morning and arrived back home at around 1:30. James was so excited to see Emily and Matthew and they were eager to see his tongue. I think that they were both a little taken aback by the stitches and "wet scabs" at first, but then they warmed up to it all.

James has been doing very well since we arrived home. He has been drinking from his sippy cup (a little, but it is getting easier) and drinks very easily from the bottle. He has been doing well with his baby food and even successfully ate some pasta and cheese tonight. Tommy and I think that the most difficult thing for him is the frustration that comes from having to relearn how to eat. He still has a bit of swelling, so it is a bit hard for him to swallow. We are constantly amazed by his persistence. He is so happy to be at home with his toys, free to roam around. He is also so so very close to WALKING! Today, he took about 6-7 steps and is gaining more and more balance. I'm not sure who is more excited about this: me and Tommy or Em and Matt! They are so great to James.

Please enjoy the video that we posted below. Tommy took this video of James in his crib. It shows a lot of his silly personality as well as a great shot of his tongue (towards the end of the video). What you are looking at in his mouth are stitches as well as wet scabs (the white stuff). It can take up to 6 weeks for all of the stitches to fall out. We will take pictures every now and then so you can see the amazing job that Dr. Marsh did with James' tongue. We were so very impressed with his entire staff (including DeAnn and Kristin) as well as the staff at St. John's Mercy in St. Louis. What a great hospital! Thanks for all of your prayers. We pray that you all have a wonderful week and God bless!