Today was the first anniversary of Raquel's liver transplant. We are happy to say that the year has been relatively uneventful. She spent only a few days in the hospital to treat an episode of rejection. She is still battling the EBV, but she is showing no symptoms. She has tolerated the decreases in her anti-rejection meds well and we hope that at her next visit we will see that her immune system is fighting the EBV.

We have been amazingly blessed with our Katie's willingness and ability to donate part of her liver to Raquel. There are so many more babies who are not as fortunate. It is very important for everyone to take the time and make the decision to be an organ donor. Donating organs simply saves lives. We had the opportunity this weekend to hang out with Katie during the WTTW walk in Lincoln Park. Raquel also got the chance to meet her favorite monster, Elmo. It has been a great year and we have hope that the years will just continue to get better. Thank you all for your support.

Today we went to the park. It was a beautiful summer day. Not too hot nor too humid. Raquel went down the slide by herself, face first on her belly, but by herself. She enjoyed it. She also went down the big slide. She was a bit scared, wish I could've gotten a shot of her face, but when she was done she was smiling.

We also saw her first caterpillar. A big fat green one!She was kind of freaked out when she saw it moving, but so was I. It might've been the biggest caterpillar I remember ever seeing. I wonder what kind of butterfly it will be. And then on our way to the car, in somebody's garden, we saw a beautiful yellow butterfly.