hello world!

we did it!!!!!!!! we broke through the bars of preemie quarantine and ventured out with devin in tow! i cant believe how NORMAL it feels to bring him places! its been a long time coming but i can finally show off my handsome little man and watch him eagerly take in the sights and sounds of the world outside our living room! it was HOT yesterday, about 85 degrees, so it felt strange, but we had to dress devin in very light clothing. thats also something im not used to. hes usually in a onesie with a footed sleeper and socks underneath. this had been his normal outfit since he came home in september. it definitely felt weird to dress him in just a short sleeved onesie and light cotton pants and bring him outside. he could have gone without the pants actually, he got pretty warm while we were on our adventures. here we are leaving our "bubble" to venture out for the very first time!

and this may seem like a bit much, but my preemie mama buddies will understand why we took millions of pictures on what looked like (to outsiders) just a normal trip to the toy store! devin pretty much had the same expression the whole time, mouth open, staring in wonder...

on our way in!

"what is this place?!?!?"

"whatya got over ther dad?"

he loved this cell phone so he got it!

and you'll all be proud of me that when he saw this next toy and got excited over it, i let him... gasp! put it in his mouth!!!

it was so much fun bringing him to the toy store and i cant wait for our next zillion visits!

when we got home we had to take off his clothes and let him try to cool down on the chair because it was soooo hot out even in the car with the a/c on full blast! apparently our central air stopped working at some point over the winter and of course we dont find out until its hot... and a/c is not an option! its hopefully getting fixed tomorrow morning.

playing with his new cell phone

later that night we went out to eat. this was a bit more stressful for me because the restaurant was a little busy, so i had a mini panic attack and opted to sit outside. nobody was out there and it was so nice out. i felt like i was cheating a bit on our freedom day, but i just felt better out there away from everyone. there were literally no people out there, it was pretty nice :) thank you so much for the placemat recommendation becky! it worked great! i can see us getting a ton of use out of it and i love how portable it is! we set devin up in a highchair with his shopping cart/high chair cover and his tiny diner portable placemat. he was so good while we ate. he just played with his new toy and munched on a few yougurt melts. he really did'nt fuss or complain at all, such a good boy! i gave him tiny sips of ice water from my straw and he LOVED it! he was just holding his little mouth open and sipping the little drops i gave him... so cute! it must have felt good on his new tooth and his new beginning of a SECOND TOOTH right next to the first one!

ahhhhhh. i can officially say fare well to preemie quarantine!  it began on devin's homecoming day 9/9/09 and ended on 4/1/10. its been a long 7 months! i actually feel like i have been in a personal quarantine since i found out i was pregnant in january of last year. i was on strict bedrest at home from 13 weeks, then hospital bedrest, then came 11 weeks of NICU hell! basically, its been a long time since i've felt free at all and that feeling is so nice to get back! it feels so good! oh, and i brought devin to target by myself today! yay! i carried him in the wrap and it was pretty smooth sailing. i might post a few more times about going places which seems pretty boring im sure, but its not boring for me and especially not boring for devin, its all brand new for us, so be prepared :) i look forward to a lifetime of fun and adventure with my little one!