From: Kraig Warnemuende <ad6075@wayne.edu>

Date: Tue Jun 24, 2003 2:56:58 PM America/Detroit

To: Kraig Warnemuende <ad6075@wayne.edu>

Subject: 06/24/03 Update from Kraig, Loren and Keren

Dear friends and family,

Summer is officially here...and the heat with it! This spring the weather here has been almost perfect--a mix of blue skies and rain storms, some almost cold days, some hot, and a lot of that ideal temperature (personally, I like it at just about 70 degrees). My roses are at their blooming peak, climbing the trellis on our back patio along with the honeysuckle and clematis. I love June!

We're working with Keren on enjoying the outdoors as well. She's definitely a winter baby and isn't too sure of all this weather.... One of the interesting quirks about her is that we've found her pupils don't contract or dilate, and as a result she's very sensitive to sunlight, or just daylight in general. It's the UV, too, 'cause inside lights and indirect sunlight don't bother her. We had read that sunlight sensitivity is common among trisomy kids, but no reason was given. I'll have to ask some of the more experienced parents if they've run into this. In the meantime, Keren now has two classy pairs of sunglasses which she accepts fairly well! Another thing we're learning about Keren is that she takes after her dad in the sweat factor! Within a minute on a warm day her lovely soft hair is drenched, and her clothes aren't far behind. Ah vell...we always look for ways in which our children take after us....I just never imagined it would include sweating..... :)

June has been a busy and fun month for us. Kraig's folks arrived, as you know, two weeks ago, and the rest of the family came in the week before Kris and Katrina's wedding. The wedding went off beautifully on June 14, with both families there in force having a grand time! We're so thrilled for the couple, and are looking forward to their return next week. For some reason we haven't heard from them since the wedding..... :) Keren and her cousin Abby, along with Katrina's niece, made an adorable trio, all three wearing dresses made from the same material as the bridesmaids' dresses. We were so impressed with how good Keren was. She put up with all the people for the two days we were there with little fuss. Amid the hustle and bustle of the wedding, the three of us were able to enjoy a little bit of downtime with our friends Cindy and Tom with whom we stayed. Thanks again to you two!

Saturday night saw us back at home and Sunday the 15th we celebrated Kraig's first Father's Day. Since then family has dispersed--Kevin, Mandie and Abby are back in OK, and Ryan (Kraig's sister Kat's husband) had to head back to AZ for work. Kat gets to stay with us a few more weeks as she's helping out and in a friend's wedding. Kraig's dad takes off back to Mali on Friday and Mom and Kat will be here one more week after that. Now I know you were all dying to hear those details.... Anyway, we just wanted to share our fun June with you!

Keren has continued to grow like crazy--over seventeen pounds now and 25 1/2 inches long. Each week we see new little developmental steps which is exciting. Watching her grow is a continual reminder of God's grace toward us--every smile is treasured. There are the frustrations, though, too, like trying to get her tongue more coordinated so she doesn't gag when we do feed her by mouth. Fortunately, though, we can work at it slowly and surely, and aren't dependent on her mouth for her source of nutrition. Having the stomach feeding tube has been a major blessing. This coming Monday, June 30, we go into the hospital for the removal of the rest of her jaw hardware--not looking forward to it, but we'll be very glad when that's done and we can put surgeries behind us, hopefully for a very long time! We'll keep you posted on that.

I think that's the scoop for now! Enjoy your final days of June!

Sincerely,

Loren for all