In my last post I mentioned how much Cutler enjoyed walking around exploring, with the help of someone’s hand.  Today he decided not to use anyone’s hand and now Kobi’s work day is going to change dramatically.  Below are a couple videos from this afternoon, including where he enjoys tackling his big brother.

Ok, now that I am done being sappy, just wanted to provide some updates.

Cutler continues to improve on a rapid pace.  He is really starting to eat a lot more as well as continues to drink more and more.  I am really looking forward to the appointment on Tuesday when I can break the good news to the doctors and hopefully begin the discussion on when we can remove the feeding tube.  Cutler is really enjoying walking around, still with the help of one of our hands, but now he insists on using only one hand and when working with him he can sometimes stand on his own for a few seconds before taking a run at me.  Today we took him to our neighbor’s birthday party and Cutler was so excited to just walk around this huge bounce house area for what was probably close to an hour.  When holding both mine and Melanie’s hands he was practically running.  He loves to walk around and explore everything.  Also today Melanie took him to some baby tumbling class, which he enjoyed quite a bit and will start going to once a week to help him interact with other kids.  Unfortunately this is an area for him to improve as Melanie reported back that he bit another kid.  I hate to say that it doesn’t surprise me, but he is in love with biting any and everything.  One other thing that we have been working with him on is identifying things, such as hair, eyes, nose, etc.  Below is a video of him tonight showing what he has learned…near the end of it so be patient.

And here is a video of him playing with Melanie…

While today is pretty much another holiday brought to us by our friends at Hallmark, I for one am grateful for a chance to reflect on how lucky I am to be a father.  A lot of celebrations on this day are to honor father’s, but I was sitting here tonight playing with the boys and realized how lucky I am to be a father.  I realized how lucky I am to have such a fighter in Cutler that despite all he has been through is perhaps the happiest baby that I have had the joy to experience…and that’s saying a lot because Mason was a complete joy to have as well.  I realized how lucky I am to have such a sweet, patient, and understanding son in Mason.  Through all of this he has really never acted up once, but has always been very understanding and patiently waiting for his opportunity to prove himself as a great big brother.  I realized how lucky I am to have such wonderful children due largely in part to my beautiful and sweet wife as I am sure the majority of their outgoing and happy personality comes from her.  I realized what an inspiration my children are for me.  They inspire me to be a better father, to be a better husband, and to be a better person.  I see their tremendous qualities and spirit and just hope that someday, when they are old enough to know, they will say that they are proud to be my sons.

Now, to my dad, I’m proud to be your son.  Happy Father’s Day!