Merry Christmas everyone!

I just celebrated my very first Christmas! Grandma and Grandpa Suomala, lots of aunties and uncles, and two cool cousins came to celebrate with me. And I got presents!

Here I am--pretty in pink. My grand-aunties sent me this ensemble--it works for me, don't you think? The pink thing makes my dad a little nervous, though, but he shouldn't worry, I'll be using my Carhartt hat and bibs soon enough. Besides, I don't think my cardiologist would like it if I started welding just yet.



Here I am with my mom and dad. When everyone was here, I got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa so my mom and dad could do a night on the town. I did just fine, but I think they missed me, especially at 1:30, 3:30, and 5:30 am!!









Here I am with my cousin Jacob. He's 8 years old and really nice. He likes Star Wars stuff a lot. He was very good at holding me. I was kinda sad that he had to go home.











I got to meet my cousin Stella too. She's three and likes to be a princess sometimes.











During my naptime, everyone went out to see Chicago. Here's Grandpa, Grandma, and Stelly at the Shedd Aquarium. Mom said that I could go to the Shedd when I'm a little bit bigger to see the baby beluga.

Helena really is a superhero baby. Since she has come home, she has learned to turn over onto her side and she has started laughing again. She is more grumpy than usual, but she has a 4 inch incision on her side and so that is understandable. And we still have to be a little gentle with her. We can't lift her up under her arms for 7 more weeks and we have to limit her exposure to large groups of people for another month. And we still can't give her a bath in the tub for another couple days because her incision can't get wet. Other than that, life with baby is getting back to normal.

HELENA IS HOME!!! We simply can't believe it, Helena is home. We went to the hospital this morning at around 8:30 and we were gearing up for at least one more night, maybe more. But, after the doctors rounded at around 9:30, they came to us and said "There is nothing more that we can do, do you want to go home today?" We said, "Are you kidding? Of course!" We made it home at around 4:00 and Helena seems much more comfortable. She is still in a bit of pain but we are able to control it with good old tylenol. We will keep working on increasing her food intake and making sure that she gets enough rest. She will need to keep her activity and contact with other people to a minimum for at least 8 weeks. The folks at Hope Children's hospital and the surgical team of Dr. Ilbawi are an amazing group. Just think of that, they operated on her heart and two nights later she is home. I am still trying to wrap my ahead around that one! We think that our baby is part superhero!

Here some pictures from today. Helena was much more calm today because we could give her food. As you can see in the picture, Helena is hooked up to a lot of cords and monitors. Her incision was in the right side, as you can see. And she has a chest tube in her side as well. Hopefully that will come out tomorrow. She held my orAaron's finger all day even in her drugged state.

Hello Everyone. Helena had really good first night thanks to all the medications she was on! Today she has started eating again and is completely off supplemental oxygen. She is already ahead of the game and the surgical team is talking about discharge this weekend! I gotta tell you, this kid is above average. We will keep the updates coming......Aaron

HELENA HAD A SUCCESSFUL SURGERY! Helena went into the operating room at about 1:00 and was out by 4:00pm. Helena astounded the doctors at how well she is doing and further astounded them by going off her ventilator almost immediately after surgery. Yes it is true our child is above average as Garrison Keillor might say! In Helena's case, we think she is WAY above average, that is our personal bias. Helena will spend a few days in intensive care and will spend a night or two on the regular floor. The doctors say that she will more than likely spend at least five days in the hospital. However, this is an average number and it could be longer or shorter. Thanks again for all your prayers, we appreciate the support!

Hello everyone! Things here in Chicago have been going pretty well. I am enjoying my work at the hospital, Mary is in the process of finishing her first semester and Helena is still doing really well. Our latest news is that Helena will be having her second surgery on Thursday December 7th. In this surgery the surgeon or as I call him "The Rock Star" will add a second shunt on the side of her heart that pumps blood out to the lungs. Basically the surgery is to increase her oxygen levels. In this surgery they do not have to stop her heart and they do not have to crack her chest. The surgeon will actually go in through Helena' side. How does he do that? Well I don't know and I really don't want to know! Sometimes too much information is dangerous. I still can't imagine how this guy is able to operate on a heart that is the size of a strawberry. The only way I can explain it is that such a talent is a true gift from God. We are thankful for Dr. Ilbawi and his wonderful team that will perform the surgery! These people are incredible, believe me!

Helena, Mary and I will have to spend about 5-10 days in the hospital. There are no perks to staying in the hospital except for the free donuts that are delivered to the waiting room each morning at 8:30 a.m. They are darn good donuts! My Dad will also come down from Minnesota to help out. Enclosed are some pictures from Thanksgiving. My parents John and Judy came down in addition to my sister Anne and her husband Grant. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our neighbors one level below, the Manisto-Saari's. In case you are wondering, they are Finnish too! Very Finnish to be exact! Thank you again for all your continued prayers and support! God Bless and check back often as we will daily update the blog starting on the 7th to keep everyone posted about the outcome of Helena's surgery.