Spring is coming!

March has flown by! I think I was busy, but I can't really figure out how I filled an entire month. I'll try to pick up where I left off.
Andrew was scheduled for another dilation on Feb 22, but we ended up taking him to the ER the night before because he'd got another cold and couldn't breathe again. Because the hospital had been overwhelmed with RSV cases it took us 3 hours to see the doctor. That was after our 3 hour drive, and after those 6 hours Andrew was doing better and they sent us home. Glad we didn't have to stay that time.
Because he was sick they rescheduled dilation for just a few days later in hopes that we could avoid possible complications with anesthesia. The nurse practitioner who examined Drew before dilation seemed concerned, but when I told her that Andrew hadn't been able to eat for more than a week because his esophagus had narrowed so much, and that we wanted to get the bronchoscopy to find out why he was having trouble breathing she seemed to understand.
The procedure went well. The surgeon said that Andrew's lungs took normal, other than the scarring in the lower lobes that we already knew about. We're happy for that. Plus Andrew has gained weight!!
Ryan left the next week for business in Texas. He went to a training on how to test pressure relief valves (PRV's). Nielson's is going to start a new division doing this testing for Conoco. Ryan was one of 3 guys selected to go. They are now in the process of building a shop, and will still have to get more certification before they can really start. Ryan has noticed his vision getting worse from the light , and has had 2 tests show that his lungs are suffering from the smoke, so he's looking forward to moving away from welding as much.
While Ryan was gone Tyler decided that he'd had enough of wearing diapers and started wearing underwear instead. He's proved that he can go on the toilet, but is still not consistent. I have been rewarding his successes, but haven't actively put effort into training him. One of these days. I'm not in a rush.
I started redoing our living room while Ryan was gone too. I painted the walls tan. Then started making slip covers for the couches. They are blue microfiber. Ryan helped me make some cornice boxes for the windows. I love it so far! I still have plans to make throw pillows. When I'm done I'll post pictures.
We also got bunk beds for the boys room. They are hand-me-downs from Grandma Nina and Grandpa Mel. Ty loves them! When I got them put up, he climbed up the ladder, came back down and got toys, then hauled them to the top. He plays "up a top" a lot. For now he sleeps on the bottom and Andrew is still in his crib. We're waiting until Andrew can get off the bed by himself before we move him into the big bed.
Andrew had another dilation Mar 18. They also placed an esophageal stent. The hope is that it will hold the scar tissue open and that the tissue will not shrink again when the stent is taken out. The down side is that they don't really make them for infants. The stent is about 3 inches long. It's irritated his reflux, and he's had a hard time adjusting. It's been almost a week and he's just barely starting to eat again. He'll take small bottles, and stole my cookie today. The first day he barely could handle a 24 hr continuous feed. He was fussing and throwing up a lot, and slept as much as he could. He's made a little progress every day though, and is now ok with a 3.5 oz feeding every few hours and is playing again. He still fusses randomly, but we so glad for the progress he's made. He was still the same weight this month (8.4 kilo's). He is getting more active and trying to keep up with Tyler these days. Andrew pulls up on almost everything now, and has even discovered how to get back down. He still needs more muscle in his feet (catch-up from being in the hospital so long) before he'll be able to balance on his own. He's pretty content crawling around for now though.
We are headed to Oregon next week for a family vacation with Ryan's parents. They are renting a condo on the beach for us all, along with Ryan's sister's family. It's our Christmas and birthday presents, and we are really looking forward to it.