I always try to make it to Abe’s school parties and his Christmas (first pic) one was no exception.  April, of course, tags along, and now Andersen too.  They did a book exchange by drawing numbers and then made a Christmas tree using an ice cream cone, green frosting, and MM’s.  Abe’s Christmas program (second pic) was that night and he did AWESOME!!  We have a video of it and may post it if we get around to it.  I just love the songs that they do and I know they practice very hard for it.  Abe was super excited to have us watch him.  Our big boy… we love you so much!!

My parents came to visit for the holiday.  My Mom arrived on the 22nd and Dad came late on the 25th (he had to preach that day).  My Mom stays with us, but then when Dad comes they stay at a nearby hotel.  The kids LOVE going to the hotel for swimming and breakfast.  We didn’t do a whole lot while they were here.  Just lots of chilling and swimming.  At night time we’d break the cards out and if there was a Bowl game on, then we’d watch that too.  Love when my parents visit!!  More pictures here.

REFLECTION:  Even in the rush of posting this entry I want to be sure not to brush over what we really celebrate during the Christmas holiday, that is, Christ’s birth.  There is an analogy that our pastor used in one his sermons a couple months ago that has stuck with me.  And it was something that I pondered a lot during Christmas time.  He said that if we were to take all of the water in all the oceans in the whole earth and fit it into a dixie cup, that wouldn’t be nearly as incredible of a miracle as the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  It really helped me remember just how astounding it is that the LORD who created our world out of nothing became part of the creation He made.  In the form of a baby, He then grew to be a man that selflessly died that I might live.

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

chorus from “How Many Kings” by Downhere

Curious George was the theme since April adores him.  Be sure to check out the cupcakes!  The party wasn’t anything overly exciting.  Just time to hang and celebrate with friends/neighbors.  Even though January was insanely crazy, I’m glad we pushed through and made the effort.  April I know had fun and it got the house clean. =)  Plus, we’re blessed with really great friends and hanging with them, well, should happen more often.

Pictures begin here.

I think the prompting of the transition came from BSF.  Yesterday we finally made it back to class for the new semester, and since she is now two, April moved up to the two year old class.  I was a bit concerned about her transitioning, so we had been talking about it.  How now, since she was two and a big girl she was going to be in the big girl class.  Had no problems at drop-off and she went right in her new class!  I’m thinking that’s what prompted this sudden switch out of the crib, since it wasn’t even prompted by us.  And today she even wanted to sit on the potty!  (Not getting too excited about that yet, but thus far she’s been opposed to anything to do with it.)

A bit on the sad side to see my little girl starting to become a big girl, but fun and exciting too – ah, the bitter-sweetness of parenting.

One of the things that made being in the NICU so tough was that I wasn’t there to celebrate April’s birthday with her.  I wasn’t there to get her out of her crib when she woke up and sing to her, or ask her if she knew what day it was, to hug her tight and just have some one-on-one “mommy time” with her.  Of course I knew that my place was with Ander, and seeing him sick was even tougher, but given this past year and everything with her heart, the mom in me was especially thankful to see her reach this birthday, and in such good health.  Also, this was the first year that she even began to have a sense of birthdays and that it was HER birthday.

I had been discussing her birthday with her since the week prior.  We were planning on a party that morning and I wanted her to know what was going on.  So, she had been saying for 3 or more days before the big day, “Happy Birthday April!”  And if you ask her how old she is she’ll say, “twooo” and hold up two fingers.  Adorable.

Thankfully, I was able to spend some of her birthday with her.  Mike brought Abe, April and Grandma Mim up to hospital and we had a small birthday celebration there.  We didn’t do anything big – just cake, singing, and gifts.  But it was enough for it to be special and about HER.  Go here for more pictures.  I’m still hoping to have a party with her friends this weekend.  Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Here’s a brief update on what she’s doing right now.  She continues to be very verbal and talks like crazy, sometimes to herself.  For example, just last night at dinner I heard her say, “Don’t like turkey… Yes, you do!”  She likes to give status updates and often will just inform us of things; we think it’s basically verbal thinking.  I remember Abe doing the same thing around this age.

Monkey see, monkey do.  She imitates pretty much everything, and her biggest hero to mimic is big brother.  A couple weeks ago my sweet little girl took a block, pointed it at me, and went, “Phsoo, phsoo” – basically shooting me with a pretend gun.  She had no clue what she was doing, but since Abe turns everything into a gun (since about three and a half), well she does it now too.   Sigh.  The girl is definitely a tom boy, although she does like her dolls and shoes; there’s some girly in there too.

She’s become a bit of a stinker and likes to completely ignore you when you call her name, especially if it’s to correct her or ask her to do something.  Selective listening for sure and often outright disobedience.  She adores not only her big brother, but her little brother too.  She freaks out if his eyes are open and squeals loudly, “WAKE UP EYES!!  WAKE UP EYES!!”  (Evidently Ander must sleep a lot, because both kids get pretty excited if his eyes are open.)  And she always wants to hold him, and I think she sees him as basically another one of her dolls.  She loves to swing, jump, run (“Ready, set, GO!”) and lately is into doing things by herself.  “April do!” and “Do by self.”  Takes us forever to get in and out of the truck.

I love this age while at the same time it’s one of the most frustrating.  Typically the cuteness of it beats out the angst. =)  I’m so so glad God chose us to be her parents and that He’s blessed us with her sweet beauty in our lives.  We love you Sweet Pea!!

I guess I should close out our 9 days in the NICU a bit more officially than my last post.  We’re home!!  Yahoo!!  Andersen held steady his oxygen sats and we were discharged from the hospital at 3pm on Thursday (2/2).  Dr. Imm joked about not discharging us until 4pm; he knew how anxious I was to get out of there and during rounds that morning had even commented, “Mom won’t give me any more than 24 hours.”  Nope!  That’s right buddy.  We want to go home!  There is no better walk than the one leaving the hospital with the patient in your arms.  As good as Andersen’s numbers were, it was just very clear to me (and the staff) that he had turned a corner Wednesday evening and was ready to go home.  Since then he has done nothing but improve.  His cough gets a thousand times better each day, and yesterday (Monday) Mike and I commented to each other that he is almost 100% – barely a cough all day and no congestion to suction.  Praise the Lord!!

I took him in yesterday for a follow-up with our pediatrician.  When we left the hospital on Thursday Andersen weighed 9 pounds 1 ounce and today he weighed 9 pounds 13 ounces.  We’re already out of newborn clothes and diapers.  Our doctor said he looks great.  So good that he didn’t even bother checking his oxygen sats.  We’re beyond happy to be, we hope, through this hurdle.  Now just to keep us all healthy!  Thanks again for all the prayers, all the meals, and the many offers of help.  A special thanks again to Mike’s work for being so understanding, for the cards, meal and bib.  I don’t ever get to see you all and wish I could express how much your support means, not just to us as a family, but to me personally.  Thank you!!

Going forward: He still has a hacking cough which will likely hang around for awhile yet. I’ve also been warned that he will have breathing episodes over the next 2 to 4 weeks while his body and lungs heal. His immune system is very weak and he’s even more susceptible to getting sick now than he was before. So, please pray for continued healing and for the whole family to stay healthy.

Yay for home!!

Ander had a GREAT night. His oxygen saturation numbers were better than we’ve seen them yet, and that includes when he was ON oxygen!  We still have to make it to 3pm today (full 24 hours) before they’ll discharge us. Here’s praying he keeps it up and shows that he’s ready to go home!!

In the pic above, the second number down, the 99, is his O2 saturation. Yay for 99!!

I met the rest of the fam and Mike’s cousin Carlos for lunch. After lunch Mike and I headed to the park with Abe and April.

While gone, Andersen woke up and got fighten’ mad hungry and tore off his oxygen canula (sp?). They noticed that with it off he was satting great, so decided to leave it off and see how he does. So far he’s doing great! Pray that continues, especially when he falls asleep.