Smooth Sailing

My friend mentioned the other day that he checks the blog every now and then and doesn't see updates anymore. I told him that since everything was going so smoothly I felt I didn't have as much to write about. He reminded me that I didn't need to just write about the transplant-related drama or unpleasant things we were going through, but that maybe ya'll would just like to hear that things are going really good and some pictures to go with it.

So, things are going really good with all of us! We were having issues with his Prograf levels going up and then going down until *finally* it leveled out. And it's been leveled out for about 4-5 blood draws - which means of course that we haven't been going multiple times a week. Woohoo! And it was about time because his little veins were pretty shot. Hopefully it will stay level for a while and we don't have to go through that again.

Joaquin is an amazing person and every day I feel so blessed to have him in my life. Sometimes I can't believe how well he communicates or how well he comprehends what we tell him. He's getting better at putting words together to form sentences. He likes to tease me and call of the our cars "Dad car." We'll go back and forth, him saying "Dad car" and me saying "Mom car." He's also getting good at naming animals and what they say. When we go over to our friend Mitch's apartment he says, "Mitch's house" and he can recognize certain friends' cars.

He still very into sports, especially basketball. Sometimes he'll tell us that he wants to watch "teebee" and when asked what he wants to watch, he says "baketball." He likes to throw balls and has a pretty good arm for an almost 2 year old. He points out "big trucks" and accompanies that with a "vroom vroom." He also loves to read books. He's been known to stradle one of our bongo drums, pound on it and then stop to sing a little. We'll even catch him singing to himself sometimes. So cute!

I'm happy to say that he is not a picky eater, thankfully. And I'm hoping that it stays that way because as it is, he'll try anything and only really doesn't like spicy foods. Since the summer season has brought more fruits, he has become quite the fruit eater - he likes watermelon, mango, and especially strawberries. He also likes bananas and apples. He's a big avocado and tomato fan and still loves bread. We haven't been eating a whole lot of chocolate around the house lately, but that doesn't mean he isn't constantly asking for it. He is still a big pizza fan as well. A special treat every now and then is string cheese, he loves cheese of any kind. We love that he is such a snacker, he's always munching on something.

Something new he has gotten to experience is camping. We couldn't go camping last year because he was on dialysis so we are going to make up for it. We went for the first time on Friday up in between Reno and Truckee with some people from Chris's work. He had a great time, but always has a good time wherever he goes. We've also been hanging out at the beach at Tahoe. He's been having a great time playing in the sand.

So we're finally feeling like we are getting to experience the things that most families take for granted. We plan on going to a handful of festivals this summer and we know that he's going to have a great time. He's such a social butterfly, not shy at all to go up to people he doesn't know well or has just met and befriending them right away. People always seem to be impressed to find out that he's not yet two years old. He is a very smart little boy. We are planning to have a birthday party for him either Saturday June 16th or Sunday June 17th at Idlewild Park and if would love if you were able to make it! The more the merrier!