It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated! Peter has been fantastic! I posted some pictures on Caring Bridge here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/peterhernandez/journal/view/id/60c60154846bd961a2e2792b

• We had a cardiac clinic appointment in May. Peter’s labs and echo look great—praise the Lord!
• We had some meetings regarding which services (speech, physical, occupational therapy) Peter will receive when he turns three.  He doesn’t qualify for physical or occupational therapy because he’s too good! He will continue speech therapy but it will look a little different than it does now. He will go to a language lab twice a week. This is a small group learning setting with a speech pathologist—like pre-K with about 3 other kids who have language difficulties. We are excited to see how he thrives in this environment!
• Peter continues to say new words daily! When I last posted, Peter could say about 20 words that other people could (probably) understand. Now he is up to over 100 words and phrases! Some of his newest words are macaroni, Pete, Michael, truck, home, ready, and okay. Last night during dinner I snagged a fry from Peter’s plate. He looked at me and said very clearly, “How rude!”  Haha! He wasn’t wrong—I apologized and asked appropriately for one of his fries. He was so happy to share with me then.
• He often uses words first (before signs) when asking for something.
• He picks up on words we say and repeats them mostly accurately—we have to take care what we say in front of him! This is a completely normal milestone that we are so excited Peter is ready for.
• Ending consonants are becoming more automatic.
• Difficult consonant sounds, such as S, F, and J, are getting better.
• Z, X, Q, and letter blends are still difficult.
• He sings some words correctly to songs (Amazing Grace, Jesus Loves Me, Signing Time theme song, songs on the radio with “hallelujah” in them).
• Peter loves to play with cars! He spends the majority of his play time pushing them around, lining them up, putting them in his backpack, dumping them out of his backpack…He usually packs a backpack full of cars to take with him on errands.
• His favorite vehicles are Jeeps. He recently got to pick out his own books at the library and choose several about Jeeps and trucks.
• His other favorite thing is monkeys. He also picked out several monkey books. Another favorite book of his is our school yearbooks.
• A few weeks ago Peter realized he is able to climb in and out of his crib. (I suspect he’s been able for quite some time but didn’t know it). We converted his crib to a toddler bed for the last time. I always have a fair amount of trepidation for this transition because there is absolutely nothing keeping the toddler in bed except his own will. So far Peter has gone to bed and stayed there all night like a sweet angel. He’s very proud of his big boy bed.
• We started watching the school episode of Signing Time more often. We hope that by the time September rolls around, Peter won’t need to use many signs at all to communicate at preschool. We continue Signing Time to expand his vocabulary and also provide an opportunity for him to practice words verbally as well as in sign.
• Potty training is going well. Peter made it all the way to and from Kansas City with no accidents (we stopped four times each way to use the bathroom, but no accidents!)
• Peter’s summer chore is unloading silverware from the dishwasher. He doesn’t do it quite like I like it but he knows how to put spoons with spoons etc. He also loves to hand me dishes from the dishwasher as I put them away.
• Update on Aurora: Aurora turned 10 last month! She auditioned for youth symphony with her violin and was accepted into the preparatory orchestra. She also won first place in our school science fair. Her project was investigating whether the 5 second rule was true. Aurora’s dance teacher put together an individual dance recital for her, as she was not able to participate in a group class or the yearly recital this year.
• Michael was able to attend school in person for the last month and a half of school. He loved it so much and integrated into the class routines as well as possible!  His handwriting has improved so much this year and he reads very well! He still loves to listen to Adventures in Odyssey daily. Aurora (violin) and Michael (piano)  had their first music recital. They both did very well! Michael kind of likes to be organized and is my only kid so far to voluntarily make his bed (and mine too!). A few weeks ago we organized his toy drawers and he was super excited. To give you and idea where our interests lie, we now have designated drawers for action figures, cars, spy gear, and nerf blasters—and the one for randomness basically.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Peter is doing so well and we don’t take that for granted. Often people ask me when/if Peter will need another transplant, or at what point he’s “safe” from the threat of rejection. The short answer is that we have no idea and anything can crop up at any time. He probably will need another transplant at some point. As to when, it could be decades from now or it could be a few years. The life of a transplanted heart is affected by many things, such as episodes of rejection and coronary disease. We are never “safe” from rejection. The most critical time was immediately after transplant and obviously he flew through that with no trouble. Other than that, we don’t know. Peter gets labs monthly monitor, among other things, markers that may indicate rejection. We are thankful for these days of thriving for Peter and focus on helping him grow and live as normally as we can.