Our FIRST trip outside!

What a sweet sweet day.

Seeing Eric strap our baby boy into his car seat for the first time literally made me squeal. And I think Clay was excited about the new seat, too :)

Eric & I situated the suction machine, the pulse ox & the home vent in the stroller, which was a lot easier than I expected. Clay is off of his feeding pump for two hours during a 24 hour period, so we timed it so that we didn't have to worry about that piece of equipment for our field trip. We were trying to surprise our nurses and wheel him into their nursery, all strapped in and ready to go--but they busted us half-way ;)
Once we started out the door, I could hardly choke back the tears.. Lordy, I'm going to be such a mess come Tuesday (hopefully our discharge date!). It was just so awesome to stroll Clay through the halls of the hospital--past the cafeteria, past the elevators, past the pictures & artwork... past all the places I've walked by nearly every day for past 8 months. At times, that walk has been the scariest of my life, but on this day, it was one of my happiest. 

Clay turned his head from side to side, with those big bright eyes taking everything in...he's such an observant little bug. I think he was offended we hadn't done this before :)

We put little sunglasses on him before we got outside in the sun--can you imagine how bright that must've been for him?! I think he shut his eyes most of the time we were out there--and the 90 degree weather didn't allow us to linger long, but it was sweet while it lasted. We paused for some photos in front of the naked man sculpture--which makes for a pretty hilarious back drop..haha!

Such a ladies man!

Even though the sculpture does look quite hilarious in the background, that naked man is special to me. I can very vividly remember taking a walk one day with my mom and dad and sister...it was while Clay was on ECMO. We were so scared he wasn't going to make it. I remember looking at the sculpture and seeing that it was called 'Second Breath' and there's a quote on the base of it that says "The human spirit will always endure". Those words were truly a whisper of hope straight to my soul. I prayed then and there that God would give Clay a second breath--and that his spirit would endure through the fight of his life. Thank God for answered prayers, because today, Clay is still breathing and he's still enduring--and what spirit he has! My sweet boy sure is special..

..and handsome, too :)

Now, I can't wait to get him out the doors, in the car & HOME! :))))