December Wrap Up

Natalie opening her Laugh and Learn Kitchen

Carter telling Santa want he wants for Christmas...Dragon Style Lighting McQueen

Carter's Birthday Cake

December has come fast and furious and is now almost over. Our life has continued to stay crazy and I am starting to believe that is the new normal from here on out, so I better get use to it. I thought I would do a little wrap up on the month so far, since my posts have been far and few.

We started the month with my half marathon, Dallas White Rock. I did blog about this and had a few pictures as well. My experience with the half marathon was amazing, not only was I running in honor of my daughter, but I was running for all the patients at Scottish Rite. I am thinking this might be an annual run for me, so if you ever have the desire to run a half marathon, I love for you to run with me in the Dallas White Rock.

The next week we had Carter's birthday party on Friday, December 11. Poor kid gets the shaft since his birthday is really the 22nd. We invited a couple of his friends and he had a blast. Of course we had a Lighting McQueen and Mater cake. Carter is finally into the unwrapping of presents and had a ball that night unwrapping and playing with all the new cars and trucks he got.

Sunday, Larry, Carter and I drove to Lubbock with some good friends of ours to ride the Polar Express Train. That is right, we rode all the way to the North Pole and back in less than an hour, pretty impressive, especially since the train never got above 20mph. Regardless, Carter had a wonderful time. We had hot chocolate and got to meet the big man himself, Santa! To top the night off, each kid got a bell to ring (if you believe). We took two cars and the dad's got to drive home with the boys and their bells all the way from Lubbock (pretty sure, Mindy and I planned that one right).

The next was Carter's birthday and Christmas party at school. Can you say sugar high for the week?

During all this time, Natalie has now mastered climbing our stairs and the child is fast. Larry and I have had to improvise on a baby gate to keep her off of them, because she has not figured out how to climb downstairs yet.

This brings us to last weekend...We all packed in the car and drove to Dallas to celebrate Christmas with Larry's family, followed by Natalie getting her tubes. No trip would be complete unless one kid got sick right before....lucky kid was Natalie, ear infection (go figure).

We spend the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge with Larry's family. We had Christmas Saturday morning, the kids loved it! Carter spent all day in the water park going full force. Natalie never entered the water park. She had Christmas, took a nap and played with Gran and Papa in their room. I wanted to be extra careful with her, because of the surgery on Tuesday. The last thing I needed was for them to tell us to come back, because they could not do her tubes right now.

Sunday morning we packed up from Great Wolf Lodge and went to my brother's house to celebrate my mom's birthday and hang out with them. That evening we put my mom on a plane back to Amarillo and headed on into to Dallas for the next two days.

Monday, Natalie had her pre-opt appointment and Tuesday she got tubes. Natalie's surgery went great! They did put oxygen on her during the surgery to be safe, but she did awesome! Two of our nurses in recovery were nurses in CV-ICU when Natalie there. They were so impressed with how big Natalie had gotten and good she was doing; always nice to hear.

We are now home and my bag is put up in the closet where I hope it stays for a while. If you have not been following, let me help you out; we have been gone every weekend for over a month...I am done.

This brings us to today, Christmas Eve. Carter is pumped that Santa comes tonight and tomorrow we get to have a birthday party for Jesus, where we get presents too! I will post some pictures of our Christmas this next week, but until then, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Ear Tubes Are In

Natalie's surgery went great! She was literally back there maybe 15 minutes. Larry and I had a chance to get a cup of coffee, which is in the same room and go to the bathroom, that was it.

She ended up having a double ear infection, which might cause more drainage over the next few days. I guess the medication we had been on was not working; thank goodness for tubes.

We were leaving the hospital at 9am and on the road back to Amarillo by 10am. Natalie slept most of the way home, which was nice. She has been a bit cranky today, but who can blame her.

I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and support. This was by far the easiest surgery we have been through yet. I also wanted to give a special thanks to my cousin and her husband, Gentry and Jordan, who showed up at our hotel at 5:30am to watch Carter...thanks.

Tubes Tomorrow

Natalie is getting tubes first thing tomorrow morning. I know getting tubes is an easy procedure, but it is still a surgery to say the least. We are at Children's and will have an anethesiologist who is familiar with heart patients. No one foresees any problems, but always good to be safe with her.

She had her pre-opt appointment this afternoon and everything went good. I was a bit worried she might not get to have the surgery, because guess what...she has an ear infection. She has been on medication since Thursday, so I think that helped.

I will let everyone know how the surgery goes. We will be driving back to Amarillo after the surgery, so I will not be updating until tomorrow night.

I ask for you all to say a little prayer that all goes well. Thanks!

Merry Christmas to All

We wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

2010 Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

The button we wore in honor of Natalie; Thanks Cassie and Crystal

My Running Buddies (We are missing a few girls)

My sweet husband who ran a half block with me and cheered me on

I did not get to show off my iron-on shirt, because it was too cold...guess I will save it for next year

My motivation to keep running

I wanted to thank everyone for you support during my training and for the prayers the morning of the race. The Half Marathon was so much fun! I know 13.1 miles, fun, but seriously it was the most amazing experience.

That morning it was super cold outside. The temperature was 38 degrees, but felt like 31. I was pretty far back in the corrals, so I did not start until almost an hour after the gun went off. As I start running, my toes were completely frozen. I was not sure if I could run all 13.1, but about mile 4 my toes thawed out and I felt great!

I finished in 2 hours and 12.07 minutes! I was really glad with my time, especially since it was my first half marathon.

Thank you to all my family and friends who put on their running shoes and ran with my in honor of Natalie. It meant so much to me and I do not know if I could have done it without you.

Time to Run

Natalie over Thanksgiving

The time to run my half marathon is here. I can't believe it! I am nervous, but excited to be running in honor of not only my miracle baby, Natalie, but for all the patents at Scottish Rite Hospital. I wanted to thank all of you for your support in helping my reach my fundraising goal. I also wanted to give a special thanks to Cassie and Crystal for making the cutest buttons for us to wear during the race in honor of Natalie (will post pictures later) and for all my friends and family that will be cheering and running along with me on Sunday in honor of Natalie. I ask everyone else to say a little prayer Sunday morning as I run along side friends, family and other runners.

Thanksgiving was amazing! We have so much to be thankful for and I am reminded of that daily. Natalie is by far the happiest baby. The only time she fusses is when she is hungry and you to not feed her fast enough or when Big Brother gets in her personal space for too long. Plus look at the picture and tell me you do not fall in love with her...

We went to Austin to see Larry's sisters and the rest of the family for Thanksgiving. The kids did awesome in the car! We even made them listen to the Arkansas vs LSU football game on the radio on the way home for 4hrs...Go Hogs!

Natalie had her 15 month well check up; she was finally feel enough to have one. Her oxygen was 89 and she was 20.02lbs. I have been a little worried about her development. I feel like she is a few months behind, I know she has been through a lot, but mom's have to keep an eye on these things. She is almost perfect were she should be! The only thing we are kind of behind is speech, but I am hoping that once we get the tubes put in her ears, she will catch right up. Most children at 15 months can say 5 words, Natalie is only around 3 and that just happened in the past few weeks.

Natalie also got released from therapy! She met all her goals they had for her. We are going to try and continue to go once a month, so we can stretch her neck. The scoliosis tends to tighten her neck on one side. Continuing therapy all depends on insurance...got to love insurance.

Thank you all for your continuous support! I hope everyone is having a great start to the holiday season.

Sad, but Encouraged

Early this week, Steve Catoe, the oldest person with Natalie's same heart condition passed away at age 43. His half the heart finally gave out. I wrote about him and his blog, Adventures of a Funky Heart, about a month ago. I just got to know who he was and learned so much from him in the short amount of time. He was a great source of knowledge for me and other heart moms.

I am encouraged by Steve's life and inspired by him. To live to be 43 years old, is amazing! When we first got diagnosis, the doctors told us, Natalie would not live a normal life expectency. I think 43 years old, is pretty good if not awesome! Larry and I always had the fear of 20 or 30, but 43 is incredible. I am also encouraged by the medical system, 10 or 15 years ago, babies did not have a very good success rate with tricuspid atreisa. Natalie is only 16 months old, but the time she is 40 years old, look at all the medical improvement they will have made.

Steve~You will be missed, but your story will live on forever...

An Amazing Post from a Heart Mom

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had an amazing one , full of wonderful things to be thankful for...always one little miracle in particular that now does not sit still for anything.

I will post more about our Thanksgiving later this week. I wanted to post this link to the a blog that was forwarded to me. The post is from a mother of a heart baby that was able to shadow her son's heart surgeon on a different patent, but got to see what her baby boy went through.

I have always wondered, but I do not know if I could do that, even if it was not Natalie. I know this is a totally different hospital and the patent's heart defect is different than Natalie's, but wow. I am so blessed to have had an amazing team work on Natalie and continue to work on her and care about her. Thank you, Children's!

http://inky-binky-bonky.blogspot.com/2010/11/shadowing-my-sons-heart-surgeon.html

Children's Appointments

We had a long day on Friday, but Natalie had all her appointments at Children's and everything went pretty good for the most part.

We started our morning with an ENT appointment. Natalie is not hearing clearly right now and with all the infection she has had lately, they thought it was best for tubes. Because Natalie had RSV recently, they like to wait 6 weeks before anesthesia so she will be getting tubes in late December.

We then drove around for a while between appointments, because Natalie could not eat. She had a sedated echo, which causes her not to be able to eat 6 hours prior to the appointment...trying explaining that to a 16 month old. She actually did awesome! We were pretty blessed, because she slept for about two hours in the car and we drove around Dallas. Larry and I actually drove past where we lived while we were down there, so I could take a picture and add to Natalie's First Year Book (which is not even close to being done).

Her next appointment at Children's was around noon with Dr. Zellers for a check up and a sedated echo. Believe it or not, her oxygen was running 97! We could not believe it, I have never seen it that good. The doctors always told us that her oxygen would actually be better in Dallas than Amarillo, because Amarillo's elevation. By the time they did the sedation, her oxygen had dropped to 88/90, which seems more realistic to me, but that is still amazing.

Natalie did not do so good with the sedation medication this time. They said they should be the last time they have to sedate her, because she is getting to big (thank goodness). The medicine is pretty nasty or at least they say it is. She took it okay, but fought like any normal kid getting medicine shoved down their throat.

Natalie then tried to fight going to sleep so bad; it was horrible there for about 10minutes. She kept trying to get out of my arms, but then would fall back on to my chest and go to sleep for a few seconds. She then got a bit sick and threw up, but the saddest part was, she threw up and then her head just fell in my hand. I kept thinking about the U-Tube video that went around several months back with the boy who had sedation from the dentist, I think.

It broke my heart, she had no clue what was going on, but trying to fight me and the medication. Natalie finally went to sleep after about 20 minutes of fighting. She then, woke up a few minutes before the echo was over, but he got what he needed.

Overall, everything went great with both appointments. Natalie seems to be doing awesome! We just watch her for the next few years. She will let us know when it is time for the next surgery; oxygen lowering, sleeping more, loss of appetite, etc.

Thank you all for your prayers on Friday. We are truly blessed to have such an amazing support system. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

16 Months Old

Carter and the Friendship Bear

Natalie is officially 16 months old today! I can't believe how big she has gotten. She is feeling so much better, but we are still playing it safe and staying home not doing to much. She has an appointment in Dallas this week with an ENT and Dr. Zellers, where she will have a sedated echo. The echo is just routine, Natalie's last echo was in February. I will be one long day, but at least it is all in one trip and not multiple. I will updated everyone this week on how the appointments go.

In Carter's class at school, each child starts out with 3 bears every day on a chart. If a child misbehaves, they get a bear taken away. If the child continue, they get another bear taken away. And lastly, when the 3rd bear is taking away, the child goes to the office. So, Carter comes home Wednesday and says he had a bear taken away. I asked why of course and he told me he hit someone. I asked why he hit his friend and he informed me, the friend hit him first, who knows if that is really the truth or not. We then talked about how we don't hit our friends and why we don't hit our friends. Then, I talked to him about the bears and reminded him he does not want to have one taken away, because that is not good.

So, I got to pick Carter up early for his first dentist appointment ever (more in a minute on that) and he pulls the "Friendship Bear" out of his bag. The Friendship Bear is given to the child who was a good friend to everyone in his class and his teacher that day. Now really, the day before he got in trouble for hitting and today, he gets the Friendship Bear...makes me laugh. He got to keep the bear all weekend and has been so proud of it, he even slept with it every night. I love the Friendship Bear, but I have never been more excited to take something back in my life. I dread the day, he comes home with the class pet for the weekend.

Okay now back to the dentist...I took Carter Thursday afternoon to his first dental appointment ever. I did not go back in the room with him, because I know better; a child is always better when mommy is not around. He did awesome! They showed him all the tools and let him play with the chair. He was not a fan of letting them put the instruments in his mouth, so they didn't. Basically, this was a get use to the dentist visit. Our dentist suggested that it would be good for him to see Larry or myself get out teeth cleaned next time we come. Well, luck has it, he gets to go with me in two weeks to the dentist to watch me get my teeth cleaned. I having a hard to time picture them cleaning my teeth while my 3 almost 4 year old son sits patiently in the corner watching and playing (more to come in 2 weeks).

I am still doing great with my running. I ran 12 miles on Sunday and could not walk or should I say, I did not want to walk that night. I was so worn out, but it felt great to run 12 miles and now that I only had 1 more for the full half marathon. The Half Marathon in only 2 1/2 weeks away! I am so excited, but a little nervous. I just keep reminding myself I am doing it for Natalie! I can't think too hard or I start to cry, which is not what you want to do when you are running 12 miles.

I hope everyone has a great week and I will post this weekend after her appointments in Dallas. Please say a little pray for Natalie and for Larry and I. Natalie sedated echo is not until noon, so she can't eat or drink anything, but clear liquids after 6am...no fun, especially when you can't explain why they can't eat or drink.

Feeling Better

Natalie is feeling better! We went back to Dr. Scott's office today for a check up. Natalie's O2 is back up to 82 from 78, this is a huge relief for me. She normally runs around 84 to 86, but we are in the 80s.

The good news is we do not have to go back to the doctor until the end of November. The bad news, she got 3 shots today. Two where for her 15 month well check up, which we have obviously not been well and one was her second flu shot. The nurse said Natalie might run a slight fever and be a bit irritable this for 3 or 4 days from the shots. I said, "Bring it on", we have been there and lets just get it over with. So far though, Natalie seems happy and just walking all over the house.

We did not have an eventful weekend, but we did have a nice time hanging out at home. I got Carter the movie, Mater Tall Tales. I have now watched it over 30 times, no lie. I am worn out, but he just asked to watch it again. Carter also got some new boots (picture attached) this weekend. He says, "They are like Daddy's boots." I am pretty sure Larry's do not have green on them, but Carter is so proud of them. He has even worn them with shorts.

Thank you all again for all the prayers of healing for Natalie and sanity of myself with sick kids. I am praying we are on the mends and pray we stay well. I am starting the slow lock down for winter season for Natalie, poor thing is not going to get to go many places until later spring, but I can not handle another case of rsv or worse, plus her immune system is shot after 4 months of antibiotics of some sort.

RSV Update

Natalie doing much better today. She still has a nasty cough, but seems to have more of her personality back.

I am involved in a group in Amarillo called, High Plains Mended Little Hearts (HPMLH). HPMLH is an organization nation-wide the provides awareness about congenital heart defects and support for families with a child with congenital heart defect. Jamie Synder runs the High Plains branch has been a great source of information for me. Her son, Kaston has tricuspid artesia and is now 8 years old. Kaston not only went to Children's for all of his operations, but has Dr. Zellers as his doctor as well. Jamie provided us with a blog sight today that is not only extremely helpful, but encouraging as well.

The sight is, Adventures of a Funky Heart. Steve, the writer of the blog is 44 years old and has tricuspid artesia.

http://tricuspid.wordpress.com/

I find it encouraging that Steve is still healthy and alive. I know that seems like a lot, but Steve is the longest live person right now with tricuspid artesia. I find it encouraging that he is doing so well and that by the time Natalie is 40, look at how much our medical field with increase in this area.

Steve posted the other day about the flu and colds. I have never thought of it, but it was nice to hear him explain what a cold feels like when he lays down. He said he feels like he is drowning, because of the pressure. Natalie is too young to tell us how she feels, but I have noticed there have been times this past week that she really wants to sit upright or lay on my chest versus down in her bed. I have never thought about how laying down might be making her feel worse.

Thank you all for the prayers and support this past week. Natalie goes back to the doctor tomorrow for another check up. I also talked to Dr. Zellers last night again. He feels my comfortable with us being in Dallas for Natalie getting tubes in her ears. We are in the process of setting up the appointment. I will keep everyone posted on that as we find more out.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight"

Proverbs 3:5-6

RSV, Among Other Things

Life was going great until last Thursday night in the middle of the night. Both kids went to bed just fine and things were good, until about 11:30pm. I went to check on both kids like I do every night. Natalie was fine, but when I went to check on Carter he was crying. First, his pull-up had leaked, so like any other good mom at 11:30 at night, I changed and put him on the other side of his bed, which was dry.

He then came into our room 10 minutes later crying, so I just let him get in bed with us. He finally went to sleep at 12:15am and Natalie woke up. I gave her a bottle and she went right back down. I took the bottle downstairs and when I came back up, Carter was wake crying again. He was extremely restless and would not go to sleep. Larry and I tried everything, we thought.

Finally around 2am, Carter started screaming bloody murder, saying his ear was hurting. I had that mom feeling that his poor ear drum was about to burst. We got Carter and Larry all dressed to go to the ER. Right before they walked out the door, Carter calmed down and wanted a popsicle (really?). We decided to not take him to the ER, but let him get in bed with us and watch a movie.

Have you ever tried to sleep when your child is in the bed watching a movie...doesn't happen. Every time we went to sleep, Carter would start laughing and talking to us. Finally at 3am, we turned the tv off and he went to sleep. Our night did not stop there though...

Around 4am, Natalie woke back up. I gave her another bottle, but could tell she was not feeling great. We did not have any motrin or tylenol in the house (never will I make that mistake again). For 2 hours I tried to calm her down and get her to go back to sleep. Finally at 6am, I just went downstairs with her and we watched Mickey Mouse.

The minute the doctor's office opened, I called. Larry did not even ask, he just stayed home to help me (I love him). We were loading the kids up to go head to the doctor's office and Natalie threw up everywhere. I just looked at Larry and said, "Thank you for staying home with me, I would be crying right now, if I was by myself."

Carter had a double ear infection and a slight cold. He is doing much better now. In fact, you would not even know he was sick a few days ago.

Natalie on the other hand, she had another ear infection in her right ear. We are in the process of talking about tubes for her. We are trying to figure out if we should see a specialist in Amarillo or Dallas, because of her heart and the procedure of doing tubes. The doctor gave her a shot and an antibiotic to take for 10 days. Yesterday, Dr. Scott called back and said her strep test came back positive as well. I talked to her for a while and decided to take Natalie back in. I just felt that after a shot of antibiotics and 2 full days of it, she should be at least fever free.

Natalie and I went back yesterday afternoon. Turns out, Natalie has a double ear infection, strep and yes, that is right people...RSV. The one thing, I have tried so hard for her not to get and she gets it. This will make you laugh (well maybe not), I talked to the CVS Caremark people yesterday about Natalie's synagis shots (RSV shot), they will be mailing her first one out this week. I am a little frustrated, because I talked to them 2 weeks ago about everything, they just did not push that one little button that said ready or whatever it says. Come on people, I could have use that 2 weeks ago or even a week ago.

Natalie ended up having a chest xray done yesterday as well. Her chest has a little inflammation, but her heart looked good. Her O2 level is down a bit to 80-81, which is lower from 85-86, but she still in the 80s. We will be going back to the doctor daily for check ups, this way they can keep an eye on her without us having to go to the hospital.

We have been in contact with Dr. Zellers in Dallas (our pediatric cardiologist). I had actually called his office yesterday morning to talk about an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist. We were suppose to go to Dallas Friday for her sedated echo, but have had to cancel it for right now. Dr. Zellers called me on his cell phone last night to check on Natalie and see what he could do for us. Now that is an awesome doctor! Actually all of our doctors have been amazing throughout all of Natalie's life. Dr. Scott called me at 8pm last night to talk about Natalie's chest xray.

Dr. Scott was going to call Dr. Zellers today to let him know about everything, Natalie got another shot yesterday and one this morning as well. She seems better this morning, a lot more smiles. I will keep everyone updated a lot more this week on Natalie's condition, please pray for her to heal. Poor thing has been sick off and on for over 3 months now, she needs a break (mom as well).

On a different note, Saturday was the Amarillo Heart Walk. My kids did not go obviously due to illness. My mom and I went to walk and we had a few close friends join us. Thank you, Amanda, Linda and Deaven for walking with us and to Randy and Stacy for the donation. We had a wonderful time and met up our Team, " High Plains Mended Little Hearts." I have posted a picture of the team; parents and the Heart Babies.

Sunday, Carter was feeling great, so we took him trick or treating with some friends. He had a blast. We went to 7 houses and he helped hand out candy. He asked us Sunday night if he could do it again tomorrow. He still has not quit grasp the concept of holidays being on one day a year.

I have posted a picture of Carter and his Halloween friends. Carter was a skeleton, but he thinks it is a pirate. He has now worn the same costume for the past 3 years and it is finally getting too small. I am going to have to figure something out for next year.

I also posted of picture of my poor sick little girl as well. She went to my mom's house while we took Carter trick or treating. She just waved at everyone and was a little mad at my mom, Gigi for not givng her chocolate as well. She wanted some so bad. She just kept looking at my mom and pointing to the basket of candy.

Amarillo Heart Walk 2010

Come out this Saturday, October 30 to Medi Park (Area 9) for the Amarillo Heart Walk, as we try to "Create Hope, Inspire Change and Celebrate Success!" The walk is free and it is at 9:30am and their will also be games and activities going on. Come out and walk with us and our Little Heart Miracle, Natalie!

Pumpkin Patch

I hope everyone is enjoying fall so far. Amarillo has really started feeling like fall the last few days; leaves all over the ground, cooler weather and rain.

Wednesday was my birthday and I have to say, God blessed me with an amazing day. Morning was not stressful getting kids up and dressed. I actually got Carter to school on time and even got him some donut holes on the way. I had a great bible study and a wonderful lunch with Larry. We had one small meltdown on the way home from school, but both kids took naps and then my mom came over for dinner. Overall it was the best day, I even got Natalie's hair in pigtails.

Natalie is feeling so much better this week. I ended up going to get Corona, why I did not do that at first, I do not know why. I will not make that mistake ever again. Most of you are probably wondering what Corona is; no it is not beer. Corona is actually for horses, yes I know. Corona is for animals, but it is the miracle cure of diaper rash. I am not joking, ask any Amarillo mom and she will confirm. In fact, several mom's told me to go get Corona, but I didn't. I thought we have a prescription cream, so this should work better...not on Natalie. I think she was allergic to it, so the prescription cream made everything worse. Once we stopped the prescription cream and started on Corona, her little bottom look so much better.

I doubt you all can buy Corona at your Walgreens like we can, but if you ever need some for a bad diaper rash, let me know, I will send you some. Like I said, Miracle Cream!

Carter had his Fall Carnival at school this week. He wanted to be SpiderMan on Monday, so we went to Target, but once he saw the costume, he said it was too scary. We settled for our costume from last year, however, I noticed it was a little small as he was walking into school...oh well.

When we were in Dallas two weeks ago, Larry's parents took the kids to the pumpkin patch. The got some amazing pictures, which I have posted some.

Yes, I am still working on the video of Natalie walking. What happened to blogspot? I can't seem to download a video. I try and after 30 minutes of trying to load, I stop. If anyone knows what I need to or am doing wrong, please let me know, otherwise I will not be posting videos anymore only pictures.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

YouTube - The Reason for the World by Matthew West (with lyrics)

YouTube - The Reason for the World by Matthew West (with lyrics)

Here is the song by Matthew West, I talked about it in my previous blog

And Here We Go Again...

That is right, we went back to the doctor this week. I feel like we can't catch a break these days.

We went to Dallas this past weekend to see my brother and his family, Larry's parents and Larry and I went to the Arkansas vs A&M game. We had a wonderful time! The kids did awesome in the car. Natalie did not even cry once, she took a little nap and watch movies. Friday we hung out with my brother, sister-n-law, niece and nephew. Then Saturday, Larry parent's came in town and watched the kids while we went to the game. Sunday, we hung out with my brother again and then headed home. Overall it was great weekend!

Natalie woke up Monday with horrible diarrhea and I mean horrible. You knew when she went because she would start screaming bloody murder almost. So what happens to a baby when they have diarrhea...diaper rash. It is by far the saddest thing I have seen lately. Every time we go to change her diaper, she starts crying (the big tears type of crying) and starts shaking, because it hurts so bad. She laid on her side watching a movie for over an hour the other night. She is not herself at all. I took her to the doctor to be safe and everything looks good for the most part. The doctor believes it is because she has been on so much antibiotics lately, that this is the side effect. She has been on 3 rounds of antibiotics since the last week of August, each last 10 days, so you can see not much time off in between. She seems to be doing a little better today, so I am hoping we are turning the corner and getting well.

Carter has been doing good. He has some allergies right now, which makes him a little cranky. He is also trying to completely cut out naps. I still try and make him lay down everyday no matter what, but I can't make him go to sleep. So he has been extremely tired at night. I guess it is the never ending battle of parenthood.

We are starting to gear up for Halloween at our house. I got what little decorations we have out. I was trying to convince Carter to be what he was last year, a pirate (actually it is a skeleton sweatsuit, but he thinks he is a pirate). It actually worked for a while, but now he wants to be Lightening McQueen (from the movie Cars). He is so funny, I ask him what he wants to be and he says, "Lightening McQueen, Zoom Zoom." I think costume shopping is good father, son time (of course, Larry does not know that yet).

I can't believe it is already the middle of October. Where has this year gone?

I am not sure if any of you have heard Matthew West's new album, The Story of Your Life. He took stories from people's life that had written him and made them into songs. I have not heard the entire album yet, but what I have heard is amazing.

I was driving down the road one day and was listening to KLove, when Matthew was talking about this song, A Reason for the World. He talked about the story behind the song and then played for the first time ever to the mom who wrote the letter. I have to say, she seemed to hold it together a lot better than I did. I was crying so hard, that I am sure the guy at the drive through I was at, thought I was freak.

The song talks about a tragedy and finding comfort in the world, because...

"Maybe the reason for the pain

Is so we would pray for strength

And maybe the reason for the strength

Is so that we would not lose hope

And maybe the reason for all hope

Is so that we could face the world

And the reason for the world

Is to make us long for home"

I figure most of you know this, but some might not. I lost my dad two weeks before we found out about Natalie. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of him or miss him dearly. I am not sure why we have gone through so much turbulence, as I like to call it, but I know God has a reason and a plan. So, I do not lose hope in knowing God does everything for a purpose. I believe my dad went to Heaven, so that he could be in the operating with Natalie when we could not. I know I will see him again in Heaven some day.

This song also touches my heart, because I a friend I have made through emails and facebook. I spoke of her family and her son, Cohen back this summer. Cohen was a heart baby as well, but he lived only a few weeks, but is still making an impact on everyone that hears his story. Cohen's mother, Megan is such an inspiration to me with her continual faith and strength in the Lord.

So I could not post the video on this post for some reason. I am still not too smart with the whole blogging bit. I am going to make another post right after this with it. Also, if you search around on YouTube, you can hear Matthew West talk about the story behind the song.

Just remember during your time of turbulence that there is a reason for the pain, strength, the hope, and the world...so that we long for home.

Beeping...Flu Shots...8 Miles Down

Okay, I spent my entire morning trying to upload a 10 second video of Natalie walking. My computer and I are not getting along. I guess you can say, my morning has not been tops.

I had what I thought was the smoke detector beeping at me starting a 7am. Larry changed a battery out on one and we thought it was maybe our carbon monoxide detector, so we messed with it as well. Larry left for work and guess what...the beeping started back. I think I almost went insane changing batteries out and nothing was working. I finally called Larry about to cry and he said oh what, check the carbon monoxide detector in Carter's room. Thank you, thank you...the beeping has stopped! I know you out there that have that annoying beep from time to time no what I am talking about it, it drives you mad.

Both kids got their flu shots this week and they did awesome. The key was teddy grahams. Natalie got her shot and started to cry, I gave her a teddy graham and that was it she was happy. Carter was a sucker, once he got that sucker, he was pumped.

I am over half way with my running for the half marathon. I ran 8 miles last week! I wanted to ask you all again to consider helping me reach my fundraising goal. I understand if you can't help out financially, but I would like to ask you to continue to pray for me, my friends and family during our training process. The race is less than 2 months away. I am so excited!

http://www.active.com/donate/tsrh10/EBunn

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will try again to post the video later, maybe my computer and I can be friends again.

Doctors, Doctors Everywhere

Well, since my last post we have been to the doctor's office multiple times. Carter woke up last weekend with a 103.4 fever...nice. I took him to the doctor Monday afternoon and what do you know, he has strep. I must say the poor little guy felt miserable, but he had the best manners while he was sick. I guess not having a lot of energy and your throat hurting does that. I could tell that Tuesday afternoon he was back....loud and running around the house. I decided to keep him home from school one more day to be safe, but we were both happy he got to go back on Thursday.

Thursday afternoon I noticed Natalie had white around the inside of her mouth. She had been having diarrhea for a few days, so I was waiting for her to spike temperature, thinking she was going to get strep, but never did. I took her to the doctor Friday afternoon. She has thrush along with an ear infection, that she has had and has never cleared up...poor thing. We go back in 10 days to make sure the ear has cleared up. Natalie has been on some sort of antibiotic all but a few days for the past month. I am hoping this is not what we have in store for us this winter. I guess it is time to start not leaving the house again. I just really thought we had another few weeks before illness set in, but better safe than a hospital visit.

I actually went to the doctor this past week as well. Most of you do not know this, but I have a heart murmur that I have had since birth. My grandmother suggest I go, since it had been over 10 years and I am training for a half marathon. I had an echo Thursday afternoon and met with my cardiologist on Friday morning. I am happy to say, all is good! I do not have to go back from another 10 years. I actually have 4 small leaks in my valves, but 3 are extremely common and one not so much, but not uncommon. I have been blessed to never have problems.

Besides just doctors office visit, we also took Carter to the Tri-State Fair a few days before he got sick (probably how we got sick). He had a blast! My mom kept Natalie for us so we did not have to bring her along and worry about her getting sick. Out of all the rides, Carters favorite was a fire truck that went up and down in a circle. He still asks if he can ride the fire truck....he is having a hard to understand the Fair only comes once a year (thank goodness).

Natalie is a walking champion now! She is walking everywhere. She is still have to hold onto something to stand up, but once she gets that down....it is over. I have been working on trying to get a video of her walking to post, so look this week.

I am still running and training for my half marathon that is only two months away. I am up to 8 miles now!

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" ~Proverbs 16:9

Walking

Natalie is walking! She is taking a lot of steps and stopping to catch her balance before she proceeds on. Now, she is still crawling and can't stand up without holding on to something, but she is moving. However, we walking comes bumps and bruises too. She has a little cut above her eye, but she just cries for a minute and goes on.

We are also giving her a lot more people food. She had pancakes and yogurt this morning and pasta this afternoon. I am still trying to get her to drink out of cup, but she just chews on it. She is still cutting teeth and is about to have an entire mouth full.

Carter is great! He is loving school still and wishes he could go every day. Larry and I took him to Sea World this past weekend, while my mom kept Natalie for us.

Carter loved Sea World! He said the "Big Whale...aka Shamu" was his favorite. We were watching the dolphins and one splashed him, he thought that was pretty funny. He did like the Shamu show, though he thought it was really loud and covered his ears the whole time. Larry and Carter did ride a little kiddie coaster and he loved it!

We had a great weekend in San Antonio! We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort and some friends from Texarkana came and met us. We swam, rode bikes and went to the Riverwalk. Now the weather did not always agree with us and it rained some, but it was actually nice because it cooled things off a bit.

I will post some pictures from San Antonio and Napa later this week. Also, the Amarillo Heart Walk is October 30, so if you live in the area...mark you calendars.

One last thing...be sure to cheer the Razorbacks on this weekend, we play Alabama at 2:30 on Saturday! I love football season

One Child Staples Out & One Child an Ear Infection

I know I have not posted any pictures from my trip to San Francisco yet. But we have had a busy week in the Bunn Household, like always. And well, I am not good at that, but I am trying to get better...I promise.

Carter started school this week! He goes three days a week and loves every minute of it. Tonight he kept touching the computer screen when we were video chatting with my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. I kept asking him to stop and of course like any other three year old, he didn't. He looked over at me and said, "Teacher says to keep our hands in our laps." Really...his poor teacher, he seems to have down what to say, but has forgotten to follow it. I look up to all you men and women out there that are teachers, I just do not think I could do it.

Carter also got his staples removed on Tuesday from his fall from the side table last week. Luckily, Larry came with us and took him inside, while I set in the car with Natalie. Carter walks in a little teary eyed and walks out with a sucker and a smile on his face. Larry said he only cried once, because she pulled his hair on accident. Oh man, I am in for it with him if that did not hurt...ER, we will be back again soon I am sure.

Natalie now has eight teeth and is getting two more. She is a slobber monster right now. She also has an ear infection we found out today. She has not been sleeping good and has been a little cranky so I took her in and sure enough, ear infection.

We also got her a little shopping cart that she can push around. She is too freakin' cute with it! She smiles and pushes it from the kitchen to the playroom and back. She has not figured out how to turn it around yet, but is so happy to be able to walk behind it. However, instead of putting items in the shopping cart, she throws them out all over the floor.

I am still training and doing pretty good. I got a little off on the running with vacation, but I am back now and in full mood. There is little over 12 weeks until the half marathon. I am so excited to be able to run and raise money for Natalie and Scottish Rite!

I just got off the phone with Larry and he is probably going to kill me for posting this, but I am think it is great. He went to a two hour yoga class today in Houston. It was one of the warm or hot yoga classes. First, he has not really worked out in a few months and second, he has never done yoga. He said he was going to be a bit sore tomorrow. I am always sore after yoga, but have never done a hot yoga class before. I just do not know if I could handle that one. My hat off to him.

I hope everyone is enjoying the September so far. So happy for football season again!

Life Continues

This past weekend, Larry and I got to go on vacation for the first time in two years and it was so nice! Larry's parents came to Amarillo to watch this kids, while we went to San Fransisco and Napa Valley for a few days with friends.

Larry has a childhood friend that owns a vineyard in Napa Valley, Arista Winery. We got to see the McWilliams and got a behind scenes tour of how the wine was made and grown. I can honestly say I never realized how much art and science went into making wine; not using pumps and a specific type of soil, etc. We went on a few other wine tours and then went to San Francisco for a few days. I have always wanted to go to San Francisco for some reason. I just have a few cities that I have always wanted to see, not sure why but I do.

While in San Francisco, we toured Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf. If you have not ever had the chance to go to Alcatraz, you should. I did not realize that Alcatraz was once a military post before a prison. It was fascinating seeing all of that and learning about "The Rock." As we finished the tour, there was an old inmate who was autographing books. I can't image coming back to a place that like that after so many years. We did not have to chance to visit him, the line was really long. I will post some pictures later this week of our trip.

While in Napa, I got a call from Larry's mom on Thursday evening. Natalie was running a 102.4 fever, which completely freaked me out. I called the on call doctor that night, because I thought going to the ER would be a nightmare for everyone. After a dose of Motrin, her fever dropped to 100, not great, but better. I woke up nice and early the next morning (remember, I am two hours behind) to call the doctor to make an appointment. Larry's parents took Natalie to our pediatrician, Dr. Scott. Dr. Scott called Children's to see what all needed to be done. Come to find out, there is a check list you basically go down and check off to make sure things are still good and there is no infection inside.

Natalie had to go to the hospital and have blood taken, xray and urine sample. She also had the normal check up; throat, ears and nose. Everything came back fine. Her O2count was slightly down, but still in the lower 80s. They gave her antibiotic just in case, but said it was probably a viral infection. I was worried there for a bit, the first time she gets really sick and I am several states away. Larry's mom kept me updated through the whole process and Dr. Scott called me to fill me in afterwards, I am way impressed that they kept me so involved not being there...thank you to them.

Thank you to Larry's parents for not just keeping our kiddos but taking care of Natalie with everything! Larry and I needed a little relaxing and get away after all we have gone through this past year.

We got home on Sunday and the kids were excited to see us. Of course, Carter's first thing was, "Where is my surprise?" You got to love little ones. I spent Monday doing laundry and playing with Carter and Natalie.

Well, last night Carter was in one of his over tired so I am really hyper moods at 6pm. Carter has been trying to completely cut naps out all together so we have these moods (hyper, because we are tired), watch out. He ran upstairs, I thought to get his shoes, when I heard a huge crash. My cousin was here, so I gave Natalie and ran upstairs. Carter met me at the top of the stairs, so I thought he was just scared. We went into his room and his side table was knocked over and the lamp broke.

I kept calm and was trying to calm him down to see what happened when I say blood all over his neck and back of his shirt. I picked him, got a towel and came downstairs to the kitchen to see better. We called Larry to come home, Carter wanted his daddy right then. A good friend of mine was picking me up to have a girls night, so she came in to help.

We finally saw the cut on the back of his head. He also bit the inside of his check and has a good size bruise on his jaw. He calmed down, but was upset because I would not let him play Play-Doh right then, because he needed to go to the doctor...really?

After long discussion last night and this morning, I figured he stood on his side table to get something from a cabinet and what else, it came down and him on top of it. We have talked so many times about not standing on tables and climbing on things, but Carter is strong willed and I am afraid he will learn things the hard way.

We took him to Urgent Care and he ended up getting two staples. He was a big boy and it just so happened that Larry bought him a surprise yesterday afternoon so Carter was perfect. I ended up going to meet my friends from dinner and when I got home Carter ran over to me and started trying to climb up me and flip over. Boy doesn't act hurt at all. We have to have limited activity through tonight and he should be fine. Limited activity for 24 hours in the challenge, he is bouncing off the walls to go do something. We do have to go back next week to have them removed, but that is next week.

I guess the is the first of many trips to the Urgent Care or ER...how do you survive boys!

A Blessed Family - A Celebration of Life

Make a free photo slideshow

First Step

That is right, Natalie took a step the other day! Now, it was only one, but it was one! I am so proud of her, she is a movin' and a shakin'

Thank you all for the support in my training for the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. I didn't get the gym as much as I wanted to last week, so when I went yesterday morning, I was struggling bad. I go nice and early so I will be home by the time the kids wake up and Larry needs to go to work, so that makes it twice a hard. I was trying to convince myself I could do it, when I started watch ESPN. There was a story about a pro-basketball player was had a spinal fusion and how he went back to a children's hospital in LA to visit with other patients. I really did not get the whole story since I was just watching it and listen to my music. I felt like God was telling me okay, you may be struggling, but this is what you are running for so suck it up and run...no complaining. God sure has a funny way of helping you out, even if it is motivation through an ESPN segment.

I am currently working on my slideshow from Natalie's birthday and baptism weekend. The computer was winning my frustration battle yesterday, but today I have my boxing gloves on, so I am going to finish it and get it posted.

Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

I had a crazy idea back in May, that I need to run a half marathon. I am not a runner or at least wasn't a runner. That same week, I received a Scottish Rite newsletter reflecting the donations earned from the Dallas White Rock Marathon that past year. Well, there was my motivation and half marathon, it was like God was telling me okay, you want to run, run this one. What better motivation then to run an event that raises money and awareness for a hospital that my daughter happens to be a patient of.

So in June, I signed up. I plan on running 13.1 miles on December 5 along with who knows how many individuals. I have several good friends and cousins that have agreed to run along beside me as I run my first half marathon. I am now up to 6 miles and every time I add a mile and think I am not going to be able to finish, I think of Natalie and all she has gone through and will go through in her life and like that, one more mile seems like nothing.

I ask that you consider helping me reach my goal in fundraising for this event. If you are unable to help monetarily, I ask that you say a little prayer for us as we train for this event. I am running for my daugther, Natalie!

www.active.com/donate/tsrh10/EBunn

I will keep you all updated on my training as it continues.

Scottish Rite Follow Up

Natalie had her follow up at Scottish Rite yesterday in Dallas. She had a great doctors visit, but for me a little frustrating.

I know I can't plan, that is up to God. I just wish I did have so much uncertainty and waiting with Natalie. I know we have about two more years or so before her next heart surgery and then there is always a possibility of little maintenance surgeries in her future and the possibility of a heart transplant. I guess, I have just been dealing with heart a lot longer then her spine now.

We really do not know any more than what already knew about her spine. She has scoliosis and is missing a few ribs. She is developing great, so that is not holding her back in any way. The problem is they can not get an xray of her standing up yet, so they are not fully sure the degree of the curve. The first xray was a few weeks after her last heart surgery and Natalie was not a wiggly, the xray shows about a 28 degree curve at the time. This time was a little worse, but no much, however Natalie would not stop moving so they had to take 3 xrays before getting a good one. Dr. Richards told us that is hard to really tell at this age and without her standing up right. We go back in 8 months for a follow up.

Dr. Richards said, he really can't tell us what Natalie's future holds. We pray her spine stays the same and the curve does not progress. However if her curve gets worse, they will have to do surgery. Natalie is not a good candidate for a brace or casting. The casting puts a lot of pressure on her chest and she would not be able to handle it. Also, the brace or casting does not work for her type of scoliosis. The surgery would be a spinal fusion where they would put rods in her back. I did learn if she ends up having to have the surgery, if they do it while she is very young, it is not a one time surgery. The main surgery is placing the rods in, then they go back every 8 months to lengthen them. However, they can only lengthen them twice before having to go back in and replacing the rods.

I had a lot of questions for the doctor, but he stopped me after a few and said we just can't answer everything right now and that I was getting way ahead of myself. He was really nice and right. For now, we just have to wait and watch as she grows. I do know that she is in the best place possible she could. Scottish Rite has been fantastic!

I know God has a plan for her, she is so special to us and a little miracle in our eyes. I not going to lie, it is hard for me with all the uncertainty that seems to always be around her and will always be around her. I hate as a mom not being able to protect her more. I just have to keep looking to our good Lord and Savior.

I ask everyone to pray her spine stays the same and the curve not to get worse.

Unhappy Little Girl

Natalie has not been too happy the past few days. I can't blame her, if I had 6 teeth breaking through the gums and had gotten 3 shots, I would not be too happy either.

We had a little friend over yesterday, Parker. Parker is about 4 months younger than Natalie. Natalie and Parker had so much fun playing together. They spent a good deal of time, stealing each others pacifiers. It is so fun to watch Natalie interact with other babies and kids her age.

I guess Natalie's peace and quiet are about to be gone; big brother is coming home this weekend. Carter has had a blast in Texarkana. He had a little playdate with some good friends of Larry and I's little boy yesterday morning. They rode bicycles for about 2 hours and today is going swimming with them...thanks Danielle and Jill.

Larry's dad got a convertible car several months ago. They drove Carter around in the driveway. Larry's mom said Carter's face was priceless when they put the top down and it folded into the trunk of the car. He was not too sure about the whole thing. Glad he has had a great time.

A Blessed Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend, filled with love and celebration. Larry's parents came in town on Thursday. We did not tell Carter they were coming, so when he woke up from nap and came down the stairs, they were knocking on the door...it was perfect timing. He was so excited to see Gran and Papa.

Larry's sisters, our nieces and one brother-in-law came in town on Friday. Our nephews and other brother-in-law had to stay in Austin for karate and Cub Scouts.

Friday night, we celebrated Natalie's 1st Birthday! We all went over to my mom's house and went swimming. The kids had a blast in the pool. Natalie loved the icing on the cupcake! She was not sure what to do at first, but then Larry stuck some in her mouth and she waited a second and then started licking her lips. At one point she had icing in one hand and cheerios in the other and was looking at favorite food and her new favorite food, trying to decide what to put in her mouth...we decided to mix them together and then shove them in at once.

Saturday we all went to the pool and just hung out and celebrate Larry's mom's birthday. We had a great time just catching up and letting the kids play.

Sunday, we had Natalie baptised. What a special day, to promise to bring her up in God's word. To me, she is already a child of God, a blessing from Him. She was so cute and just took it all in.

Everyone left Sunday afternoon. Larry's parents took Carter home for the week with them. He got a little sick on the way there, but is doing great now. I miss him, but I am enjoying the quiet and the time with just Natalie.

She was playing on the floor yesterday and I went into the kitchen for a minute, when I came back, she had crawled up to the third step on our stairs. I guess it is time for us to go buy a baby gate. She is a crawling machine now. She has also started cruising a bit once she pulls up. I am thinking it will not be long before she is walking and then, there is no stopping her.

We went to her first year well check today. She is 18lbs! Natalie has hit a huge milestone in my book, she is now in the 10th percentile on weight, height and head. She went from 3rd to 10th in a matter of 4 months; way to go girlfriend!

I have posted a few small pictures from her birthday, but I promise to have much more next week.

Natalie Turns One Tomorrow

Natalie turns one tomorrow! I never thought I would see this day. I can't believe all she has been through in the past year....3 open heart surgeries, transplant candidate for a period, heart cath, multiple xrays, EKG, ECHO, ivs, blood draws (multiple is a way too nice for all she has been through), MRIs...literally, "Bless Her Little Heart."

We definitely feel Natalie is our Miracle Baby and we have to thank all of you for your prayers and support during everything this past year. She still has a lot to go through in the future, but one day at a time for now. The staff at Children's Medical Center and Texas Scottish Rite have been a blessing to us more then they will ever know...thank you. And to everyone everyone out there who prayed none stop for Natalie, thank you...I do not think I will ever be able to say thank you enough. I truly believe we are where we are because of prayer.

Natalie did have an appointment this week with the Amarillo Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Luckstead. He said everything look great. She is 17lbs 4oz! He did want to make sure we were monitoring her scoliosis somewhere, which we are. In fact, she has an appointment at Scottish Rite the first of August for a follow up on her scoliosis.

Cruising and Crawling

It has been a wild week at the Bunn House this week. Natalie is officially crawling, like a champ. She is slowly exploring this house and loves it. Carter however, is not so found it, because now she crawls over to his train tracks and starts destroying them. He gets so upset, it is not funny, but it is. Carter was doing that to his cousins a few years ago and now Natalie is doing it to him.

Natalie has also started really pulling up on things. In fact, last night she walked around the coffee table holding on to it. Wow, she has come so far in such a little time.

One more week and she is will be one years old! We have appointment at Texas Tech in Amarillo this week with the pediatric cardiologist here as a follow up. This way we see a pediatric cardiologist every 2 months, but only have to go to Dallas every 4.

Carter is doing great! He has done so well with his "Big Boy" undies. We had a physical for school this past week at the doctors office. He is now only in the 75th percentile for weight. He has not been this low in 3 years. He started off a little guy when he was born, but quickly shot up in the weight and now he is finally starting to get taller and slimming down.

On the Move

Natalie pulling up to her knees to play

Natalie is officially army crawling forward. She is on the move, slowly but surely. I walked into her room the other morning to get her out of bed and to my surprise she was sitting up in her bed just playing. She finally has figured out how to get from her tummy to a sitting position.

We went to the pool last weekend and she loved it! They have a really shallow area where water shoots out and she just set there and played for about an hour, while Carter went wild in the little bit bigger pool.

Carter is finally starting to jump off the side of the pool to us and is doing great sticking his face in the water. He also is doing awesome on potty training!

June 2010

Happy Girl, standing and playing all by herself!

Who needs pool toys, when we can just use our cars that we play with all the time, sleep with and even take a bath with...yes, we are attached to these cars

Too Cute! Carter does have on his Christmas PJ top and it is fleece, by the way.

Natalie playing with her toys, while watching The Wiggles. Yes, now she loves it just as much as Carter did and still does...never ending

I thought I would post a few pictures of everything going on this past month.

Carter has worn "big boy" underwear all week, even to school with little to no accidents! This is a huge hurdle for us that we hopefully crossed.

Natalie is just doing great! You can finally see two more teeth popping through on her bottom.

Sweet Baby Cohen

In my last blog, I ask you to pray for a sweet couple and their baby boy, Cohen. Cohen was born with a heart defect and was at Children's undergoing multiple operatings in his first week of life. His heart was doing okay, but his kidneys and liver were not function properly.

My heart is hurting as I am writing this, but Cohen has gone on to be with our Lord and Savior this past Friday. I know Cohen is in a better place, a place where he can run and play and be in no pain and suffering. What a sweet little Angel is making right now...

I now ask that you all pray for God to wrap His loving arms around Cohen's parents, Megan and Brent during this time of sorrow for them.

I can't image losing a child, but I have come close and I am just at a loss of words...please pray for them.

11 Months Old

Can you all believe, Natalie is 11 months old today? Gosh, we have been through so much over the past year. Natalie is our miracle baby!

I have been planning her first birthday...she is going to be 1 next month! Where has the time gone...oh that is right, Children's mostly, but what a blessing Children's is to us and an will always be.

A year ago today, I woke to what I thought was my day trip to Dallas for a check up and to tour Children's. Needless to say, we did not make it to Children's that day. I went to my first check up and then went straight to Baylor and got admitted for my 10 day stay on bedrest. Can you believe that has been a year ago that started my 9 month stay in Dallas?

I can't thank you all enough for all the prayers back then and still now. We would not be where we are today without all of you prayer warriors out there. Natalie is the luckiest girl to have so many people pray and watch over her.

I would like to ask you all for a favor. We have recently been in contact with another young couple going through a similar situation at Children's with their son, Cohen. He is a little over a week old and has already had 6 surgeries...bless his little heart. Cohen is hanging in there, but needs lots of prayer. I have attached their blog below if you want more information about Cohen.

http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/

I will post more pictures this weekend. Natalie is getting so big. She is also finally starting to try and get in the crawling position, thought we are not moving yet, but it is a start. She is also pulling herself up onto her knees from her tummy. She wants to move so bad. I set her on the floor and she tries so hard to get to her basket of toys if it is not close enough. Her knew favorite thing is Cheerios...every kids favorite at one time.

Summer Fun

Swimming with Gigi, Natalie and Carter

Carter's Bug Bit on His Ear

We are finally getting settled in our rent house. We still have a few things left to unpack or put in storage, but for the most part it is all coming together. Carter loves his new home, because it has stairs. I love that something so small means the world to him.

Carter had Vacation Bible School this past week, where he goes to Mother's Day Out. He loved it! His little group was the Barn Owls, so he walked around all week saying their little chant, "Hoot Owls, Hoots Owls, Whoo, Whoo, Whoo." He is so funny!

Tuesday morning, he woke up and his ear was sticking out from his head. I took a closer look and he must have gotten bit by something. He is ear was bad, but after a little Benadryl, it started looking better. I have attached a picture of the back of his ear and yes, that is actually what it looked like.

Natalie has been doing great! She has finally started saying, "Da...Da...Da." She is so happy!

One Wild Week

Sorry, I have not posted in a while, our life is crazy right now. We have lived with my mom for a few weeks, went to Dallas for a check up and followed it up with moving!

Natalie has her first check up in Dallas since we were able to come in February. Everyone was so shocked about how big she has gotten. She weighed 16lbs 4ozs and her O2 level was around 86. Natalie had a chest xray and an EKG, both came back great. She has out grown her lasik, so we are down to three medication a day. She does not mind taking them at all, but I just like that we are one more down. More than likely she will be on two the rest of her life, but that is not a big deal at all.

Natalie did awesome in the car for the most part. She and I drove to Wichita Falls and picked Larry up, where he had been working. She only cried once we were in Wichita Falls about a block from where Larry was. She then slept the rest of the way. She was a trooper being in the car all that time and we made it a fast trip, down there one day and back the next.

We have been moving for the past week. Larry, myself and some friends got about 75% of our stuff and we had movers get the big items, like the entertainment center and safe. We should be finally out of our old house the weekend and officially into our new home. We have been staying here for a week, but we still have boxes everywhere.

I will get better about posting, now that we have internet again.