Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Poop in the Tub...Take 2

That's all I am going to say about that!!!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Merry Christmas




We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and were able to spend it with family and friends.

Dennis stayed home with Emma because she has been sick for the last week or so with a cold. The poor little girl was up for 4 hours or so on Christmas Eve coughing and what not so we decided it would just be better if we kept her home.

We had a great dinner at my mom's house. Ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salads, vegetables and dinner rolls(made by yours truly, though they still don't beat Grandma's!)And of course the traditional Christmas cookies, candies and cheesecake. And as usual, we ate too much.

It was a smaller crowd than usual because aunts and uncles had to spend it with some other families, but they made their way over later. My cousin had gotten a Wii(sp?)
and to watch 4 men playing tennis on there was quite the entertainment. Though, those that know my family, know they are entertaining even if they aren't doing anything!

The kids did well opening gifts, though one little boy seemed to like pulling off tiny bits of paper instead of ripping into it like most kids do. Maybe he was trying to savor every minute of it.

Here are a few pictures, I will have to download the rest off of our other camera, which is MIA at the moment.

God Bless,

Jodi

Monday, December 22, 2008

Little People, Big Heads

Sam had a check-up a while back, it may have been his 1 year or 15 month check-up and the nurse measured his head and put it in the computer along with his weight and height. The doctor came in and took a look at his measurements and said, I would like to measure his head again. So the doctor took the measurement again and got a slightly different measurement. When he put it in the computer and showed us where he was on the charts, he said his weight is "x" and his height is "x" and his head(pause) is big. It was pretty funny just the way he said it. We are not concerned about his head because Dennis has a big head too.

He was shopping one time for a baseball hat and he asked the guy working at the store if they had any bigger hats. The guy says to the other guy, "Hey Steve, where do we keep the gigantic hats?" No joke!

So we had an appointment for Emma in Milwaukee a few weeks ago and they had to take all of her measurements and the nurse came in again and said, "I would like to measure her head again. You know how it is when they are moving their heads around and sometimes you can't get a good measurement." So she took it again and it was maybe 1/4 inch smaller than the first one.

Poor little girl, she is in the 10% for weight, 50% for height and 90% for her head size! I told them not to worry, her daddy has a big head too.

The picture of Sam was taken in July and the one of Emma in August. You can tell Sam looks quite a bit younger than he does now and Emma has much less hair than she does now.

Now who cares that they have big heads when they have such sweet smiles?!

Jodi


Friday, December 19, 2008

Bloody Noses




While rolling out my sugar cookies, I had Emma on the table in her Bumbo seat and Sam was kneeling on the chair next to her, not really causing any trouble.
Emma started to get really fussy so I started to go towards her and I notice that she has blood all over her face. She has a bloody nose a couple of weeks ago too and I had been putting a little Vaseline inside her nose to help keep it moist. I had forgotten this last week. Poor thing! I won't forget again. We are also running the humidifier in her room so hopefully that will help as well.

She must be getting more teeth too because she is really gnawing on her fingers and whatnot. So far she has been pretty good about the whole teething thing. She has about 7 or 8 right now and I am having a hard time trying to get a look to see what else is coming in.

Sam took teething pretty well too. We just gave in some Orajel and Tylenol and he usually was good to go. I will say that he drooled a whole lot more than what Emma is so far. Must be a male thing! He is started to drool a little more now, so I think he might be getting some 2 year molars.

We are in for 3-5 more inches of snow tomorrow night and then it is going to get really cold. They are talking about a Wind Chill Advisory with wind chills of -20 to -40 degrees on Sunday. Looks like I will be staying home from church with the kids. No sense in taking the little ones out in that kind of weather.
(I know you are jealous of the snow Tera, but I don't think you miss that kind of cold!!)

I got to cuddle with Emma for the second time this week. Usually we try to lay her down while she is awake or almost asleep, so I will take any chance I can get to snuggle with either of my kids. The other night she was fussing for a while after we laid her down so I went in there to pick her up. As soon as I picked her up, she laid her head on my shoulder and she was asleep. I took that opportunity to curl up in the chair for some mommy-daughter bonding time since I missed so many nights when she was in the hospital. And tonight she was pretty much beside herself so I went in there again and it took a little bit, but we had some quality time again.

I wish I could have more of that with Sam, but he is getting to be a big boy and does not fit so well in my arms anymore:(

I best go feed my husband his pizza. Well I really don't have to feed him but you know what I mean!

God Bless
Jodi

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Poop in the tub!



Yes, for the second time in his short life, Sam pooped in the tub this morning. I had put him in there then stepped out into the hall to get a towel and when I came back in, I heard him say, "Yucky, Yucky". I thought, you nailed that on the head.
Fun times. I am grateful that it only happened twice so far.

Sam is also getting into more things and becoming more of a boy. His favorite thing right now is to spin around in circles and screech in high pitched tones. He starts to laugh and it makes Emma laugh, it so sweet to hear them laugh together. The three things he says the most is cow(for his stuffed cow that he carries everywhere while he sucks his thumb. It is really cute!) Elmo- his favorite Sesame Street character(and who doesn't love Elmo!) and Emma, Emma, Emma. He will usually say her name three times anytime he says it and he got that from us because we used to say that.

He is finally starting to repeat more of what we say. He seems to be stubborn when it comes to talking. We have this little book and it has pictures of fruits and veggies in it and it is one of his favorites so we read it alot. One day he brings it to me and points to the broccoli and says "Broccoli" and I have not heard it since. I have also heard "Grandpa, and I love you, words I have not heard since.

I was so looking forward to hearing Mama or Dada from him. Two words that I have not heard more than 10 times from him, no joke! I heard Mommy from him back in January or February but have not heard that since. Crazy kid!

Emma had therapy today and she did well. The therapist brought a activity table so she could practice standing up by it. The legs can be removed so it can sit flat on the floor or be propped up on two legs. She had a great time playing with the new toy and we get to keep it for a couple of weeks while the therapist is on vacation.
Sam also has a great time when she comes because he likes to check out the new toys she brings too and usually ends up taking the toys away from her. What he does not understand yet is that one day, she will be able to fight back and then he will be sorry. She is a fighter, which is one of the reasons why she is here today!

We are prepared for the big snow we are supposed to get tomorrow. I will be rolling out sugar cookies so we can decorate them with my parents on Saturday and I will probably make a few other things as well.

The pictures were taken back in October, before Sam got his first big haircut. I had trimmed the back a few times but decided it needed a more professional cut. All of his sweet curls were soon gone and I was afraid they may not come back, but alas, they seem to be returning!

Goodnight and God Bless!
Jodi

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

My First Post!!

I have been thinking of doing this for a while now just to keep friends and family posted on what is going on around here. I ran into a friend yesterday and we got talking and she said that I should start a blog, so here we are. Thanks Melanie!!

I look back on the last two years of my life and am amazed at how faithful God has been. Let me back up a little more and give you a bit more information.

I was 28 years old and really had been praying about God bringing a man in my life that I could marry. I really had no idea the journey God would soon lead me on!

I wanted a Christian husband who loved the Lord with all of his heart and had a desire to want to help people. I even threw in my prayer, that if he was a pastor, I would be okay with that.

Long story short, I met my husband(who is a pastor, funny how God works isn't it?) thru eHarmony in May 2004, he proposed in August of 2004 and we were married in January of 2005.

We decided to wait a year before were going to try to have kids and in April of 2006, I found out
I was expecting #1. That pregnancy progessed very well until I was about 33 weeks along when I started showing signs of preeclampsia. I was hospitalized a week later and our son,Samuel was born at 34 weeks and 6 days on November 16th, 2006. He was taken to the NICU where he stayed for 2 1/2 weeks. He did not need any assistance breathing or anything else other than to learn how to eat on his own. He was 5lb 4oz and was 18 inches long.

MUCH to our surprise, I found out I was pregnant with #2 when Sam was 6 months old. This pregnancy started out okay, but at my first appointment, the doctor was already concerned with my blood pressure. At my third appointment, she put me on medication and by the beginning of October, I needed to be put on another medication. At the end of October, I was transported down to Freodert Hospital where the baby and I were closely monitored.

They were not really sure how long I would need to stay in the hospital, so they said maybe on Monday I could go home, well everyday that changed and after a few days I knew I was in for the long haul. Actually, I knew the baby would be delivered early, I was just praying that we could make it to 34 weeks.

Well, Sunday they came in to draw some blood and a short time later they came in and said we need to take the baby. The day before I had asked to talk to some of the doctors from the NICU to get an idea of what we may be dealing with. I was really hoping they would come while my husband was there but they did not come until 9:30pm and he had gone home.

Even though I was physically alone in the room, God was with me and I cannot explain the peace that I felt wash over me. It is a feeling I will never forget.

Emma Faith was born November 4th, 2007 weighing in at 1lb 8oz and 13 1/2inches long. She had a very rough start and there were a few times during that first month we did not know if she would make it. Because of God's mercy and grace and the prayers of so many people, our baby girl is alive and well today.

We thought we were on track to come home close to her scheduled due date but she had to have surgery in January of 2008 for Necrotizing Enterocolitis(NEC) and laser surgery for Retinopathy of Prematurity(ROP). Because of the NEC, she also had to have 3 more surgeries.

After 5 1/2 long months we were able to bring our baby girl home on April 14th. She did come home with a NG tube and an ostomy bag which we learned how to change and how to place the NG tube. We were a nervous wreck at the thought of this baby coming home with us after all these months. The hospital staff was so supportive saying that she really would thrive at home.

And thrive she did. Her brother Sam was very intrigued by her and was so gentle and sweet with her. Amazing for a little 1 1/2 year old! He would give her kisses and try to put her pacifer back in her mouth and just sit and smile at her.

We were able to wean her from the NG tube after a month or so and at the end of May, she went in for her last surgery to reverse the ostomy that she had. She recovered really well from that and aside from some HORRIFIC diaper rash, she was back to herself in no time.

It has been amazing to watch her change so much, even in the last month or so. She is behind in some areas, like crawling and in some areas of talking but overall, she is almost right on track for her adjusted age of 10 months.

So that is a general overview of our last four years and we are looking forward to the New Year and all of the changes that will bring!

God Bless!

Jodi


PS
The picture of the girls doing dishes are my stepdaughters Shayla(12) and Felicia(10).