when I started this blog five years ago, I was a pet sitter and the name animal-crackers made sense. now I'm a stay-at-home-dad and freelance writer, but rather than confuse everyone by getting a different blog, it's just easier to keep posting things here.

Dylan has been doing very well lately. Although his weight has remained steady at about 2 pounds 9 ounces, his lungs seemed to have turned a corner. For the better part of two days he's been ventilating at room oxygen, which is 21 percent.

He still has a long way to go -- two and a half months, give or take a couple of weeks. And he's still 4 pounds 11 ounces less than what Josh weighed when he was born.

Now we're actually thinking about what it'll be like to have him home. We're converting the office into a bedroom; tearing up the ugly shag carpet and polishing the green tile beneath. We'll paint the soothing lavender-blue walls a more neutral beige, to better complement the green tile.

We're not sure whether it's better to move Josh or Dylan into the office. It faces the front, which is louder and better suited for Josh. However, Josh will have a difficult enough time adjusting to Dylan. We don't need to make him feel like he's been kicked out of his room.