Christmas Day - Austin

Christmas Day is somewhat crazy for Jason and I but actually works well for us. On Christmas Eve we have a dinner of tacos and tamalaes at Jason's house. Yummy! After that we go to my house and spend the night. We wake up early so we open presents with my family. Once done we head over to Jason's and spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon with them just to head back to my mom's house for dinner. It is crazy but allows us to spend special moments with both of our families. We have definitely perfected it since the first year we were married.

The pictures below are from Jason's house. It starts with Christmas Eve and goes into Christmas day. Christmas Day was absolutely gorgeous so we got to spend some time out in Grandma's yard. She has a gigantic yard that has so many beautiful flowers in it. After Kaylie went out once their was no way to keep her inside. She definitely takes after her daddy when it comes to the outdoors.


Our first outfit. Apparently, Kaylie did not enjoy it as much as I did because she decided to show us what she had eaten after one of her meals. Awesome!



During dinner Kaylie was very well behaved. She sat and entertained us while we ate. Grandma had tiny little presents on the table and Kaylie enjoyed countless minutes putting them in and out of a bowl. What ever works!


With everything going on throught out the day Kaylie did incredibly well! With the night we had had I was concerned she would not be the sweet child she was. Thankfully, I was wrong. She was quit the trooper!


This was her favorite toy from grandma. It is a car that makes a lot of fun sounds. She plays with it all the time. I even caught her dancing by herself as I came around a corner to get something. This has been a great toy to use during her feedings. Thanks grandma!



After our reindeer outfit crisis we decided to be proactive with her Christmas outfit. During every feed this is how she ate. It worked well! We did not have any issues the entire day. Maybe she is trying to tell me something about the clothes I put on her?!?


The one thing Jason and I do not have (that we wish we did) is a yard with older trees for the dogs to run in. Thankfully, grandma does. The dogs love going to grandma's house and are constantly on the look out for squirrels. If they are not outside they are sitting by the window wishing they were. They run non stop and then crash once they are forced to come in. Do you think Shiner was tired? They sleep for several days after they get home.

Christmas in Leander

Now that the highway has opened up it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to get to my mom's house. The first year it was easily 30 to 45 minutes. I think that has helped make our day a little easier.

Christmas at my mom's house has always started early. My dad, youger brother, Jason and I come in on Christmas eve. Since this was one of the first years my nephew could actually understand what Santa was we knew we would be getting up when he was ready. He was ready at 7. I could handle that!

Her favorite toy here would have to be the baby stroller. Right now she is really into things she can push and to be able to take her baby doll around in something that pushes is the best. She couldn't have asked for anything better. Her other favorite toy came from IKEA. She can push it across the room while little colored faces pop up and down. Gotta love things that make noise.

Eli and Kaylie had a great time opening their presents but an even better time playing with them. We were a little worried we would have many situations where one wanted/took the others toy but for the most part they did great. Each one pretty much stayed in there own little world making the day incredibly enjoyable for everyone.

For dinner my mom puts in a little bit of her Italian heritage and makes some manicotti. Her manicotti is the best. I have not had any since that compares to hers. The other main dish has nothing to do with her Italian side but is something we all love. That would be spinach loaf. I know it sounds gross but it is actually the most delicious food you will eat. I was worried the spinach taste was going to be overpowerring but once it is cooked in with all the other ingredients you would never remember it was there. Thanks momma for a delicious meal. I know you did not feel well and doing this for everyone means so much to us. We hope we did not leave you with too many leftovers! We love you!

Kaylie's 2nd Christmas

This year was so much fun! The first year Jason and I were married we started our own tradition of celebrating with each other before we went to Austin. We decided to do this with Kaylie as well until she is truly old enough to know what Santa is. We ended up having our dinner on Monday night and then opened presents with her on Tuesday. Surprisingly, she loved opening presents. She wanted to open up everything and once opened she would sport the biggest smile. We couldn't have asked for anything more.

After seeing all of her reactions, Jason and I would have to say her favorite gift from us was her new dolly. She had only opened it halfway before she started smiling. Once it was open she leaned down and kissed her without any cuing. It was so incredibly sweet.

Considering the past few Christmas we were hoping this would be the year Kaylie's Christmas curse was broken. For those who didn't know we thought we had miscarried her on Christmas Eve two years ago and then she had RSV last year. On Monday she had been put on antibiotics for a sinus infection so we were pretty sure we were in the clear. 30 minutes outside of Austin she started coughing non-stop. On Christmas Eve it was constant. Since her Advair and Xopenex were not helping we ended up borrowing my nephews nebulizer and adding the third heavy duty medicine called pulmocort. Thankfully, she woke up 10X's better Christmas morning. For awhile we thought we would be taking another visit to the emergency room. Considering we made it through I think she has officially broken the curse.

18 month-really 19 month check up

Our 18 month well baby appointment was originally scheduled for when we were in the hospital. Since OCH wanted us to do a follow up appointment we went ahead and rescheduled it as soon as we could. The only way to do this was to put us in as a sick visit. Whatever it takes!

Current stats:
weight:17 lbs 14 oz (actually taken at therapy this morning) < 3%
height: 29 cm - 3%
head: 17.8 - 25%
Current teeth count:
* 8 up
* all 4 molars (1 year) are in the process of coming up. The bottoms are a lot closer than the tops. No wonder she has not been happy. She has not been sleeping well and wakes up in an inconsolable fit.

Last week we went in for a bad cold and cough. Since it has not really improved/stayed the same he went ahead and temporarily stopped the Bactrim (used for her immunity) and put her on Omniceft. Hopefully, this will stop it. If she gets too excited she starts with a coughing fit. He thinks it may have turned into a sinus infection.

The pictures:
On Sunday I put Kaylie down for a nap and asked my brother Michael to listen for her so I could take a nap as well. I told him he could just knock on my door to let me know and I would come and get her. The nice brother he was he decided to take her into the living room with him so I could rest some more. I actually heard her and called for them but no answer. Knowing that she had only slept for 30 minutes I knew something had to have woken her up and that she was probably still tired. After a few minutes I decided I was just hearing things because all I heard after the initial cry was football. I ended up getting up about 30 minutes later and this is what I found on the floor. Michael said they were playing a game where he put his head down and she would follow. The game stopped when she no longer got up. I ended up waking up my snoring child an hour later.

Can stacking

Kaylie has become quite the little helper. Since all of her foods have to be hand made to a specific recipe we have to buy a lot of canned food. After the other day she has learned where they go and wants to help put them away. As I looked through the mail I realized she was going to the bags, picking up a can, and going in the opposite direction of the pantry. Instead, she was taking them and stacking them on the mat in front of the sink. After I caught her she must have thought she was in trouble because she then tried to bring me the rest. I love her!

Daddy's lil helper

I started filming after she had already given him several cans. I am sad because I stopped filming a few seconds before she started clapping and cheering for herself. She has definitely come a long way when it comes to understanding commands and requests!

Discharge day pictures

Today was our first full day home. Jason stayed home with her and tomorrow and Friday I will be with her. Silly girl was so happy to be home she refused to take a nap. Overall, good first day home. Better than expected. I think I expected the worst!

Last night my computer was not cooperating so I was not able to post pictures.

Before

This was the day we were admitted. Click on the picture for a closer view. Jason and I did not realize how sick she looked until we compared it to a healthy picture. Unfortunately I did not get a before naked baby picture so this will have to do.


After

Nothing needs to be said about the difference a month makes!

Were Home!

We are all finally back under one roof and so far things have been going well. In typical Kaylie fashion Kaylie left the hospital having thrown up her last 3 out of 4 meals. She wanted to make sure they missed her!

Once home things moved incredibly smoothly. We made due with simple meals and maintained the protocol given to us. Kaylie did great and responded well to the same program that we used in the hospital. Their were a few times I thought she might get sick but she was a champ and held it down.

Kaylie's weight at discharge was 18.0 lbs. I will post pictures tomorrow of our last day.

We wanted to thank everyone for their love and support. We are thrilled to have our little one back with us at home.

We can't wait for everyone to see her again. Although she looks the same (with the exception of her weight) she does not act the same. You will have to see for yourself what I mean. It's a wonderful thing to see!

Fun at OCH

Yesterday afternoon the Stall family joined us at the OCH to play. Fletcher and Kaylie had a blast. It was a great way for each of them to burn of some energy. After her they left she ate and then passed out. Good times!

Tomorrow we will finally all be under one roof. We can't wait!