Friday, January 28, 2011

Welcome to the World

This morning, we got up early to come to the hospital....
And Aubrey became a big sister!

Emelia Ann Smith  (named after Woody's grandmothers, Emily and Ann)
6lbs. 13oz.
19 inches long
born at 8:10am
She has some blond hair and dark blue eyes.
She is beautiful!

She was having a little trouble keeping her stats up, so she is in the NICU for just a little while and hopefully she will be back in our arms soon.  Thank you for all of your prayers.  Please continue to pray for her health.


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

BIG DAY AT OUR HOUSE:)

Yesterday....was a BIG day at our house!

And NO that doesn't mean that baby came early...it just means that Aubrey had an exciting day!

I have been waiting to do this post FOREVER.

A little background:  Let me start with this cutie!  This is Koen...he is 6 weeks older than Aubrey.
I know that sometimes when you see Aubrey on this website....it is hard to get a feel for how big she is and if you just see her by herself...well, you just kind of don't know either...so I wanted to get a picture of her with someone that was her age...Her and her friend.
 Not the best pictures...but it gives you an idea of her size compaired to someone her age.  Koen weighs almost twice as much and is considerably taller...and is only in the 50% on the regular chart!
My ballerina is petite as you can see!  But she is happy and healthy.  

Our nutritionist comes every other week to keep an eye on her growth.  We gave up on charts a long time ago...I don't even know if she is on the Ds chart!  About a year ago...we decided to keep track of her growth and proportion.  As long as she is growing and proportional...then we let it go.
After all...this is not the bod of a girl that is wasting away!  The girl eats and she has the belly and cheeks to prove it!  And she is holding her own...and staying proportional....

BUT, this weight thing...is holding her back...literally backwards.
 Yup...for the last 2+ years...she has been in the infant carseat...BACKWARDS!  And yes, I could have moved her to a convertable carseat a long time ago, but she still had not met the 20lb requirement to turn her around.  And to be honest...I have been a little lazy.  It has been nice to just tote her into the house when she falls asleep in the car...and she keeps napping.

(2 weeks ago we weighed her with all her clothes on, just to see, and she was over 20lbs--so Suzanne said that if we don't take her anywhere NAKED, we could turn her around:)

BUT YESTERDAY...at her weigh in...she hit 20lbs EXACT!  So we could legitamitely TURN HER AROUND!!!!
She wasn't sure what to think about it at first...and I wish I could take pictures while I am driving, because she is LOVING it.  She can actually see out the windows and she "talks" the whole car ride now!  I knew that life would be so much better and different for her, but I am actually amazed at how much she is loving it.  

She's a big girl now!

(Nothing like waiting until 4 days before new baby comes and we need the carseat for him/her!  Thanks for finally giving it up, Aubrey:)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Just a day of Games

We've been busy around here with appointments and laundry and getting ready for new baby:)  Just 10 more days!  We're almost there...and have some relaxing days ahead.

Ella and Aubrey have really become good play friends and look for each other when they aren't around.  I love when they sit and play without help.  The other day, they spent almost two hours in the morning playing games together.  Ella organized everything and I "helped" Aubrey play by the rules...I DID NOT PLAY though because they were just playing the two of them...no mommy!   (but Aubrey needed a little help with the game rules--according to Ella:)

They played a cookie matching shape game--like memory, but matching the shapes and then the cookies fit together.
Then they played a fishing/abc game.  Aubrey got pretty good at using her magnetic fishing rod to pick up the fish!  I was totally impressed with her skills.  She also liked to swing it around...which is NOT following the rules!


And then they read to each other:)  I love that Ella made them take turns and that she sat and listened while Aubrey "read" to her!



Ella shows amazing patience with Aubrey and their love and sisterly bond is so special.  When I was pregnant with Aubrey, and everyone else was having boys, I wanted one too...looking back...I'm so glad that we got another girl!  I don't think their relationship would be the same...and I am really enjoying the way they are blossoming as sisters and friends:)

I love these ordinary days, when there are no appointments, or errands, or therapies....just sisters!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Snowy Days in Dallas

On Sunday, we got 6" of snow here in north Texas!  It was a wet snow, so not great for fort building or snowman building.  But perfect for heading out on the "hills" of north Texas.  The big girls and Woody spent the afternoon sledding and me and Aubrey stayed warm and welcomed them home with cocoa:)

To Ella's delight, the snow has not melted and is still around!  This afternoon while I was making dinner, the big girls bundled up and headed outside...Aubrey was left behind.  This is what she did while they played out back:
"Here Aubrey, have an icicle pop!"

"You want the big one or the little one?"

"These ice pops are cold!"

"Mom, why aren't we out there with them?  I want to go out and play!  It can't be that cold...can it?"

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Heart Day

Today is a big day for us...it's heart day!  No it isn't one of those corny Hallmark Days that has been added to the calendar on January 6th.  It is probably only a day that we celebrate here at our house and that those around us who know us and love us remember...but it is a special day for us.

Two years ago...we handed our precious baby girl, not quite 4 months old and not quite 9lbs, over to a nurse, who walked down a very long, white sterile hallway...to a waiting team who fixed her broken heart.  It was probably the hardest day of our lives.  But I will NEVER forget that day.  Yes is was difficult and long and so hard, but the team of doctors and nurses that took care of her that day (and the month that followed) and put our minds at ease and fixed our baby girls heart and then cared for her like there own...THOSE PEOPLE deserve a round of THANKS today.  We only did it once, but they do it all day, every day with hundreds of families each year.  We will be forever grateful to them for the life that they gave to our baby girl...because without this fix...she would not be with us.  And I can't imagine a life without this baby girl!
As I thought about it today...the emotions still run pretty high and are pretty raw and more than a couple times, I was almost in tears and probably squeezed her a little too tight.  But I'm a more grateful person because of this day and when I see that scar peaking out of her shirt, I thank God that she is here with us and that we are so blessed to have her in our lives.

I'm glad that today came around when it did, because my girls have been so sick (Aubrey might have bronchitis now) and I was feeling overwhelmed by all the appointments and keeping everybody's medicine straight and given at the right time and keeping fevers down and snuggling everybody that needed it and well...reflecting on Heart Day, put it all back into perspective for me.  Days like these are EASY in comparison.  And while they aren't fun, I sure would rather be at home in my jammies snuggling my girls than in a hospital away from my family watching my littlest recover from heart surgery again.  Heart Day helps us remember to be thankful...because sometimes we forget.  Heart Day helps us cherish more, love more, hug more and slow down to enjoy the life that we have.

So Happy Heart Day Baby Girl...You have come a long way in two years!  And we love you that much more!

In other exciting news:  Aubrey is moving on to new milestones in the new year.  For two years, (since heart day), we have been using a nebulizer almost every day.  Right now, we are doing 6 treatments a day and holding that thing for her is getting so old.  Today, when I set her on the couch to get ready, she took matters into her own hands!
She pretended to put the medicine in, sat down, put it up to her nose and was trying to turn on the machine herself!  So independent these days!  So I let her and was surprised at how well she did, holding it there herself for almost the whole treatment and readjusting it when it would slip and everything!  (and yes, we watch Baby Signing Time for almost every treatment:)

At Aubrey's 2 year ECI evaluation, our PT mentioned that besides walking independently, the next thing on her checklist of development, was  potty training!  To be honest, she is really interested in potty training and almost every bath begins with taking off a diaper and her peeing on my rug!  I have been dragging my feet a little and today during PT, we jumped the first hurdle and I pulled it out of the box.
She was more than delighted to sit on it and eat snacks.  Up and Down, Up and Down, Up and Down for at least 10 minutes.  Her only problem is that her feet don't touch the floor!  Though she is pretty good about backing up and trying to sit down, I'm thinking we need a shorter potty or a little stool or something if this will ever work.  (I have no hope that she will grow taller, fast enough).  After that, are problem will be trying to find 9-12 month undies (or I'll be putting my sewing skills to use)!  


Monday, January 3, 2011

Too Late?

Am I too late to wish everyone a Merry Christmas?  :)

My kids have been taking turns being sick and needing snuggles and comfort and so everything else gets put on hold:(  I will spare everyone the "sick" pictures that my lovely husband took of us all on the couch the other day...we are a sad bunch.  The sleepless nights, coupled with being 8 months pregnant, are starting to wear thin and my mind is focused on just the necessities of keeping everyone fed, hydrated and clothed:)

Hopefully, this week, we will put it all behind us and have a wonderful new (HEALTHY) year!

Funny Sick Ella:  I do have to share about Ella's sickness, because I don't want to forget and it is just too funny!  She gets REALLY HIGH fevers...105 is pretty typical for her and we know not to freak out too much these days...we know how to handle them.  But she gets so deleriously funny when she is feverish.
*In the middle of the night, she'll start singing "John Jacob Jinglehimmerschmidt" as she is trying to fall asleep!
*Yesterday on the way to the ER, she insisted that we stop at the carwash FIRST, because Dad's car was really dirty!
*After not eating for DAYS...her request when she was finally ready to eat something...Pea Soup, String Cheese, Pickles and Hot Chocolate!