My sister, Jody, flew into town for a short visit while on her way to Egypt (I know, right?). Is your sister as glamorous as mine? Doubtful. I guess that is what happens when you are totally successful, single, adventurous and awesome. JEAL! I'll be watching "The Chipmunk Adventure" later today to get my Egyptian cultural fix. A million points goes to anyone who has seen that movie. It's the one with the hot air balloons. If you haven't, I own it on DVD and we can have a girls night watching it. It's not exactly the type of DVD you let someone borrow (or out of your sight).

I somehow got sidetracked.

We went to see Pipsey J this morning. This is Jody's 3rd Piper visit, making her the most Pipified visiting family member on BOTH sides of the family. She was acting a little T.O'd when we got there, but thankfully she calmed down shortly thereafter.

I have BIG pip news after the Pip Pics:

The outfit above is so cute and I've been saving it for her Jody visit. Unfortch it is basically light years too big, but I think the pictures are adorable anyway.

BIG NEWS! YIPPEEE, HOORAY!!!!!! I ran into Doctor Mitchell, and she informed me that Miss Pippy's rate (amount of breaths the machine gives her per minute) is 12!!!!! Only 4 months ago, it was above 40, meaning the machine was pretty much doing EVERYTHING for her. When Children's Specialized weened it to 24, we were blown away and thought that was about as low as she could go. Can you believe this kid? Dr. Mitchell then told me that when babies get to a rate of 10, they usually switch to just a trach collar with the misting oxygen. It is a little hard to explain if you haven't seen it, but it means she wouldn't be hooked up to a ventilator all the time.

The problem: since Piper has been doing so much more work breathing on her own, she has started losing weight. So they aren't going to lower her rate anymore. She is meandering around 12lbs and is still in size 1 diapers. That baby likes being skinny. She is on continuous feeds, but she cannot tolerate (without vomiting) any more than 1 oz/hour. Every 3 hours, they take a two hour break. She is basically eating about 18 oz of formula per day.

Back to the Dojee visit. Piper Jane was making her crack up so much. She hasn't seen her since last September, so she cried a little out of progression joy. I love my family so much. I can't believe how much support I have through them. 2007 I would say was especially eventful for Jody and myself when it comes to life altering changes. Sisters are just there when you need them. Period.

Strangely, I don't realize how much I miss my family until I see them.