Heads Up Seven Up

Elle had a very productive weekend. I can honestly say that I had tears of joy this weekend as Elle held her head up for the first time. From the day she was born, I have been obsessed with tummy time. I was looking through the notes I made for the first time we met with the out patient cardiologist and at the top of the list in big letters is "CAN WE DO TUMMY TIME?" It's also at the top of the list of questions that I had to ask the pediatric surgeon when we followed up with him after she got her g-tube. I know that Elle will develop at her own pace and I am thrilled with each little milestone she reaches....but the milestone she reached this weekend was enormous! Each day we work on tummy time. At first she hated it and would scream until she was flipped back over on to her back. The funny part is that she will fall asleep on her tummy, but she hates it when she is awake. I have always felt that the reason she hated it so much is because she couldn't hear that well. Being deaf and having her face flat into the ground wasn't her idea of a great way to spend a few minutes - she couldn't see what was going on around her! Now that she has her hearing aids - she feels more comfortable being on her tummy because she can at least hear what is going on around her even if she can't see it. For the past week, she has tolerated being on her tummy more and more. It's pretty funny to watch because we will put her on her tummy and her head will be turned to the right (not elevated - just turned) and then she will slowly turn it to the left and when she is tired she will put her whole face straight into the blanket she is lying on and start sucking on it. I'm just so thrilled she isn't screaming after 2 seconds! So yesterday I made a little pallet on the floor for her to play on and for the first time in a long time, I put her on top of a little mini Boppy thing that came with a tummy time play mat. That seems to have been the trick because as soon as I put her on it, she raised her head a little bit! I ran and got her favorite mirror with bugs hanging all around it and held it in front of her and the little girl lifted her head up and moved it back and forth as I moved the mirror. I was bawling I was so thrilled!!

We meet with her physical therapist for the first time on Tuesday and I can't wait to tell her all about Elle's big moment. We went and ate dinner at Lee's parent's house on Saturday night and I brought the pillow so we could show them too. Sure enough, as long as she had her pink pillow and mirror - she held her head up and did such a great job!

I went to church this morning while Lee stayed with Elle. I can't wait for the day when we can all enjoy church together as a family but that day is way in the future. This afternoon Mark and Vickie came over to help with Elle while Lee and I cleaned. We are getting ready for a "Making Room for Baby" sale (aka garage sale). Since Elle came a few weeks early I didn't have time to clean out my kitchen cabinets to make room for all her accessories, nor did I have time to clean out all my stuff from her closet...plus we just have a lot of junk! It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in just a few short years! I think they did a pretty good job of keeping Miss Priss occupied!

One thing is for sure, with all her head lifting and spending time with ViVi and Big Daddy - she was fast asleep by 6:30pm! Her weekend just wore her out!

Animal Print Friday

I love Fridays! It's occupational therapy day and 1 day closer to the weekend which means Lee is home and we can spend some quality time together as a family. Elle usually crashes around 7:00pm - so he doesn't get to spend that much time during the week with her while she is awake. They are outside right now hanging out on the patio - enjoying some quality daddy daughter time. I think a walk as a family is in our immediate future ( I say that because the dogs need to expel some very pent up energy). We might need to save this onesie until she gets a little bigger. It swallowed her - but she still looked too cute! I had to promptly change her after the picture was taken because she spit up. It was totally my fault too because I put her down too quickly after she finished eating. Baby with relux + laying down flat after eating = spit up everywhere! One would think I would have learned by now!!

The Smallest Bill

It absolutely pains me to spend dollar bills. My heart hurts every time I have to do it. I pulled into Sonic this evening on my way home from work to get a drink for my aching throat. My total came to $1.92 and I didn't have enough change to cover it. My heart literally hurt as I handed over two very crisp one dollar bills. Don't get me wrong - I can spend some money - it's those little $1 that hurt to let go. My obsession with one dollar bills started my senior year in college (technically my second senior year - but who's counting). Lee and I had been dating for almost a year when my wonderful grandmother clipped an article about crafty ways to save money. She was always clipping articles or comics that she thought we would enjoy...it is one of the things I miss the most about her. This one particular article really hit home and 5 years later, I'm still abiding by it. The article said to never spend one dollar bills. Always pay for items with bigger bills - $5, $10..$20. If your total is $1.92 - use a $5. Put all your ones away and just watch your little nest grow! Of course, being in college, this was a little difficult to get accustomed to - but it really forced me to monitor where my money was going. I have a bad habit of swiping plastic a little too easily. I count it as one of my talents - my ability to swipe, swipe, swipe and never think twice! Always using cash made me realize that those little purchases add up! So - back to my aversion to ones. Lee and I began to diligently save our ones. I would take out cash at the beginning of each week and then at the end of the week I would take all the ones out of my wallet and put them away. They're ones...they're like pennies...you never miss them! I was doing all of this from school in Mississippi and Lee was here in Houston doing the same. We had a goal - we wanted to save up enough money to buy a English Labrador from Wild Rose Kennel in Oxford, Mississippi. It's the home of Drake, The Ducks Unlimited dog and a very reputable and prestigious kennel. The puppies at Wild Rose are investments so Lee and I had to be super diligent about saving. Nine months later, we had saved up enough ones between the two of us to buy our precious Sir Regginald. We picked him up on May 29, 2005. Of course we didn't pay for him in ones...but the trip to the bank to cash all those ones in was pretty funny. I'm sure the teller thought I had a very questionable profession!

Ever since that first big purchase, I have saved my ones. Over the years, I have saved quite a lot of ones. I used the ones I saved in 2006 for spending money on our honeymoon (plus all my change I had saved). I used the ones I saved in 2007 (plus some other random savings) to buy Lee a really nice gift. Last year I used my ones to buy 1/2 an investment purse (the other half was a gift). In case you didn't know - I call an investment purse one that I spent enough money on to one day pass down to Elle (at least that is how I justify it to Lee). Now, it's getting to be that time of year where I count my ones to see how well I have done at saving this year. This year will probably be the worst yet because for 2 months, I didn't spend any cash at all while we were in the hospital (which I guess is savings in and of itself)! I might just keep saving and add this years ones to last years ones. Once you get the ball rolling - it is a very easy way to save a little money - especially if you have a goal - like spending money for a trip or an investment purse (or a daughter that we will one day be paying sorority dues for...maybe I should just keep saving and not spend my ones)!

Back to the Doctor

Nope - not for Elle - for me! I picked up whatever Elle had so now I am the sick one. I went to the doctor today to get medicine before it got too bad and I have had to wear a face mask all day being around Elle. Being only a month away from surgery - we can't be too safe. I dropped Elle off with my mom before heading to the doctor. She was sleeping when I got back to their house - but once she woke up she was such a happy little princess...

Meeting with The Surgeon

Yesterday we spent all day at Texas Childrens. Elle woke up in a super happy mood which was a good thing because we couldn't feed her after 6:30am because she was going in for a sedated echo at 10:30am. I was so thrilled that she woke up happy and didn't get fussy at all.

She closed her eyes at the flash but I just love those big fat cheeks!

On the drive to the hospital - Elle was hamming it up big time! Look at that smile!

Since Elle had just been released from the hospital on Saturday for her "viral syndrome" we kept her carrier covered all day. We were in the heart patient waiting room so we didn't want anyone to get too close to her. Plus - I had taken her to see her pediatrician on Monday because she broke out in a rash from her neck to knee caps. The rash was just the outward expression of the virus so our pediatrician said Elle was in the recovery stage and was ok to go meet with the surgeon. Thankfully, when Elle woke up on Tuesday morning, the rash was gone. The first part of the day was spent in the echo lab. Elle had to have a sedated echo because the echo she had while we were in the hospital over the weekend didn't give clear enough pictures (Elle was crying during most of it). The nurse we had was really nice and we enjoyed our time with her. She was loving all over Elle. That's pretty easy to do - especially when our little princess is flashing huge smiles, talking non stop and blowing spit bubbles. Lee and I were able to be in the echo room with the tech and the nurse. The tech was very thorough and it always amazes me how they can distinguish what is what on the echo. It is a lot like a ultrasound...sometimes you can definitely see what they are pointing to and at other times it just looks like a blob. After the echo Lee and I grabbed a quick lunch and then went to meet with Elle's surgeon. Dr. M is such a nice guy - he had seen us before we were released this past Saturday so this was really like a follow up visit to nail down the specifics. Ok - I have to write this stuff out so I can understand it too! Elle's BT shunt is doing exactly what it is supposed to do - re-routing oxygen poor blood back into the pulmonary artery to be carried to the lungs where the blood becomes oxygen rich. One of the problems with Elle's heart is that her pulmonary valve is very restricted. But - there is good news - there is enough blood going through the pulmonary valve so that between the BT shunt and the blood moving through the valve - Elle's body is getting a sufficient amount of oxygen rich blood. So - we're not rushing into surgery. After talking with Dr. M - surgery will most likely be at the end of September - first week in October at the latest. Dr. M also went over exactly how he is going to go in and fix Elle's heart. Again, I have to write this out for me - it's one thing to sit there and have the doctor explain, it's quite another to actually sit down and study what he will be doing. He drew us a picture so I have that in front of me! Dr. M will open up Elle's chest and she will be put on a by-pass machine. He will open up the pericardium (the sack around the heart) and cut an incision in the right atrium. It will be through this opening that he will use tissue from the pericardium to repair one of the holes that is in the right atrium. This hole is called a atrioventricular septal defect (ASD). He will also go into the right ventricle and repair the hole that is between the right ventricle and the left ventricle. This hole is called a ventricle septal defect (VSD). To fix her pulmonary valve, Dr. M will make an incision into her pulmonary valve and try to "scrape" away some of the muscle that has caused her valve to become so restricted. He will fix this incision with the tissue from her pericardium. After that, he will remove the BT shunt and then check to be sure everything is working properly. Once he is satisfied that her heart is functioning properly, he will close her up and she will recover in CVICU for a few days. After her recovery in CVICU we will go to the cardiac recovery floor for a few days and then we will be home! Of course, there are tons of risks involved and evidently one of the side effects of the complete repair for kids with Tetralogy of Fallot is that her pulmonary valve will leak. I have no idea what those side effects will be. I have been mentally preparing myself for surgery. It's the recovery that scares me. Dr. M is an amazing surgeon but our faith lies with our most precious and holy Lord. HE holds everything in the palm of his hand and will guide Dr. M and his team. I pray that Elle will stay well so we don't have to postpone surgery. I pray for God's perfect timing in all things and I pray for peace and strength during these next few weeks before and after surgery.

Hives at 5

Elle Belle is 5 months old today! She woke up this morning with a rash covering her neck, back and abdomen. It is a horrible rash but the cardiologist I called said that the rash is most likely an outward expression of the "viral syndrome" that landed her in the hospital. We will just watch it tonight and then try and get in to see her pediatrician tomorrow. It doesn't seem to be bothering her so that's a good thing!

Life of a 5 month old...

- you are now eating 6 ounces 5x a day every 4 hours and being supplemented with either rice cereal or milk between meals

- you are still in 0-3 months clothing but we are now starting to venture into the 3 month clothing and even some 3-6 month clothing

- you are obsessed with your Sassy bees and anything else that you can put into your mouth...but we're still working on keeping that pacifier in your mouth!

- you now have your hearing aids but are still super visual. You look around and follow everything with your eyes! No movement escapes you!!

- you are more comfortable sitting up and holding your head up...we're still working on head control and strengthening your neck muscles - you over all - you are doing a great job!

- no love on the tummy time...but that doesn't mean we can't work with you doing other exercises!

- you have started blowing spit bubbles and absolutely love it! I think you get a kick out of it just as much as we all do

- we're still waiting on continuous laughter. We've all heard little laughs but everyone is waiting to hear constant laughing. You smile all the time!

- you have started doing "mini signs." We can now (sometimes) distinguish "I love you" and "eat." When we do the signs for "hungry" and "eat" - you get a huge smile on your face - so we know you recognize the signs. When we do the sign for "I love you" - your hands start moving around and your chubby little hands try to mimic our sign.

- you are a mover and a shaker. In fact, early this morning (5:00am) - you rolled all the way over for the first time! Of course, once you rolled over and couldn't get back to your back - you started crying...but you rolled all the way over and we were so excited (despite being exhausted)!

- we just love you so much! Everyday is such a blessing with our perfect little angel!

Home Sweet Home

We were released from the hospital around 1:00pm on Saturday. I was giddy packing up our room and leaving the hospital and we had only been there for 2 days! Saturday morning, the attending cardiologist came in and said she didn't feel there was any reason to keep Elle any longer in the hospital. Her fever was gone and aside from drainage - she was back to her normal self. The preliminary cultures came back negative for the flu virus so that is a good thing. We won't know for sure the final results for a few more days. Before we packed up and headed home Dr. M, Elle's surgeon, came by to talk to us. His first comment was "does she always breathe like that?" He was referring to her loud, heavy breathing caused from her nostrils being blocked thanks to the bilateral cohanal atresia she had when she was born. Lee and I kind of laughed and had to say yes. Her breathing was even worse because of the stuffy nose. We briefly discussed our next meeting with him scheduled for Tuesday. It was a quick but good preview of what to expect on Tuesday. Before leaving, he said that surgery will for sure be sometime in September. Since our trip to the ER was unexpected, I didn't pack the computer but I was able to get some super cute videos and pictures with my phone of our little sick princess.

Thursday, August 20, 2009 - The fever started but Elle was still moving and shaking ( turn your volume down - my voice is really really annoying)... Who would have thunk that in just a few hours we would be in the ER

Friday, August 21, 2009

oh the looong wait in the waiting room (pics from 2:00am - 3:00am)

we were finally admitted and put into a room but because Elle was considered a "high risk" patient - all doctors and nurses had to suit up before even entering our room

Friday during the day - Elle hardly slept. The poor thing just looks sooo tired but she would not fall asleep. I think she was scared to fall asleep because she didn't want anyone to poke her while she was sleeping!

Elle had a little bit of fun with the nurses...she is now in love with her yellow stethoscope ( we had to bring it home with us for her to play with)

Friday night - Elle was showing off her moving and shaking skills for Lee's mom and dad.

Saturday, August 22, 2009 - We had a very happy baby. She was being super silly when she was being checked out by her nurse. We all had a good time watching Elle stick her tongue out at her nurse. For part of the day - Lee and Elle spent looking out the window of our room...

I am so thankful that Elle's visit was quick and more of a precautionary visit than anything else. Of course, coming home was a shock to the senses...the cleaning fairy didn't come while we were gone so we had to spend the rest of Saturday cleaning the house...and by cleaning the house I mean washing everything that we had at the hospital and sterilizing bottles. That was about the only cleaning I got done because it is also tax free weekend and I wanted to do a little shopping! It was the true definition of retail therapy after our lonnng few days in Hotel TCH!

a very looong day

I think I finally fell asleep around 6:30am this morning only to be woken up at 7:30 with the nurses coming in to check on our little princess. Lee had to go home to check on our dogs (who escaped the confines of the backyard last night- thank you Lord for wonderful neighbors!) so he left the hospital around 9:00ish. It wasn't too long after that the doctors came in for rounds. Because elle was running a fever, has a slight cough and a runny nose- any person that comes into our room has to "suit up.". Everyone has to be covered head to toe- face mask and gown. Thursday night- the er doctors decided to run tests to see if elle has the flu or some other infection. No results on that yet. So when the doctors came in this morning they informed me about the days events. First this morning was an echo followed by a visit from an ear nose and throat doctor. The echo went ok- elle was fussy so it took a long time for the tech to get clear images. We finally fished that up around 11:00 and made our way back to our room. Our poor little Elle Belle just had a rough day. She was super fussy and couldn't seem to get comfortable. Of course, I was praying she would fall asleep so I could nap too! No luck! This afternoon a ear nose and throat doctor came in to scope elle's nose. As luck would have it- she had just fallen asleep when he walked in the door with his wicked little machine. As soon as he put the scope down elle's nose- she woke up screaming. The good news from the scope is that even though elle sounds horrible- both of her nasal passages are open. They are also filled with mucus- hence the runny nose. He perscribed some steroid drops to help clear up her nose. The rest of the afternoon is a blur. I know my parents came by but I fell asleep during their visit. Lee made it back to the hospital around 4. Right before he came back, the cardiologist came in to tell me that elle's echo showed a narrowing of her bt shunt which means we are getting close to surgery. He is going to present her case to the surgical team on monday. We also decided that we would see how the steroids go tonight to help her nose and then we will be released tomorrow. The flu culture won't be back in for a few more days so it would be better for us to go home than stay here and increase the risk of further infection or infecting someone else. We are pretty much confined to our room right now. Our night nurse just told us that if we leave- we have to wear a face mask. I'm counting down the hours until we can go home and elle might actually sleep! She is being entertained by uncle jake right now with some of her toys... I think we might be in for another long night because she is showing no signs of wearing down!!! I have some great pictures and videos from the past 2 days that I will post when we get home. I can't post them from my blackberry so that is something to look forward to tomorrow (other than being released)!!!

still here

It's 3:45am and we are still in the ER. Elle finally fell asleep around 1:00am after being stuck 3x so they could draw blood. The first stick was unsuccessful and I just sat there holding my poor baby's hands while lee held the oxygen mask over her face and her pacifier in her mouth (that's talent for you) as we watched them search unsuccessfully for a vein. I cried - it was horrible. The second and third tries were better. They ran all sorts of tests and I think they all came back ok but the cardiologist want to watch elle for the next day or so which means that we are about to check into Hotel TCH. They have talked about doing an echo tomorrow to look at elle's heart. As we sit here and wait I have been reading my "One Year Bible." I've leaned on this verse before but as always, I come across it at just the right time-Romans 11:33-36 "Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory in him forever! Amen." We don't know what the next few hours/days will hold. Now may be the time for Elle's major repair- we don't know and we're not in control. The only power we have is to trust in God's pefect timing. How great are his riches and knowledge and wisdom!!

and we're off

I am typing this blog from my blackberry as we drive to the emergency room. Elle has been running a low grade fever all day and coughing. I had called our pediatrician this morning and actually scheduled an appt for 8:00am tomorrow. We decided to make the long trek down to Texas Childrens after talking to the Cardiology Fellow on call this evening. With Elle being so close to surgery- it is better to be safe.

Truly Blessed

Lee and I are truly blessed. We have a beautiful angel for a daughter. We have family that we love and we have the most amazing friends. Three of my wonderful friends came in this past weekend to spend the weekend with us. Meghan (Auntie Megs) came in from Colorado and Aunt Shay and Aunt Eldy (Laura D) came in from Mississippi. After dropping the last one off at the airport on Sunday I cried the whole way home. The drive is long so between sob fests I started to think how I was going to describe the events of the weekend. It dawned on me that I would share some of the things I was thanking the Lord for as I drove...

Thank you Lord for my wonderful friends who sacrifice to come and visit us from all over the United States

(Megs, Shay, myself and Laura after a day of shopping at Ikea - I love that place!) Thank you Lord for friends who enjoy Animal Print Friday as much as I do

Thank you Lord for friends who cater to my daughter's every need and support her clothes habit

(Elle was dressed all weekend in clothes that Auntie Megs brought her!)

Thank you Lord for friends who make me laugh so hard I cry

Thank you Lord for friends who wash my clothes, clean my fridge, clean my kitchen, clean out my car and take care of Elle so I can dry my hair completely and put on makeup

Thank you Lord for friends who stay up late with me so we can feed Elle and then stay up hours after that talking

Thank you Lord for friends who dive into Key Lime Pie with me at 2:00am

Thank you Lord for friends who tell me like it is

Thank you Lord for friends who love Elle so much

Thank you Lord for friends who know when to listen and know when to talk

Thank you Lord for friends who are perfectly content renting a movie and taking late afternoon naps

Thank you Lord for friends who inspire me

Thank you Lord for friends that have wonderful talents I don't have

Thank you Lord for friends who carry on conversations even when they are completely asleep

Thank you Lord for my wonderful husband who made us the best breakfast ever on Saturday morning and then left for the deer lease so we could have a girls weekend

Thank you Lord for window shopping and real shopping and impromptu trips to the outlet mall 30 minutes before they close (we still managed to go to 3 stores in 30 minutes)

(Eldy, Elle, myself and Shay after dropping Megs off at the airport...we're smiling because my parents had mimosas waiting for us when we got to their house...)

Thank you Lord for wonderful weekends with my beautiful daughter and beautiful friends. I am so truly blessed!

How Could I Forget...

I almost forgot to post this in all my excitement about Elle's hearing aids. On Tuesday afternoon, after Elle had her hearing aids in we went over to my parent's house to take care of their fish and all that good stuff (they were on vacay this past week). Of course, like any good grandparents - they have ice cream in their freezer. Lee and I both immediately dove into the Jamoca Almond Fudge. Elle was sitting on the couch and Lee was with her and out of the corner of my eye I saw him give her ice cream! I almost had a fit! I believe my statement was, "Did you just give her ice cream? She's gonna get a sugar high!" Lee just laughed and informed me that Elle had a big day and needed a little sweet treat! She loved the 3 tiny bites she got!

Church to Hearing Aids and Everything in between

Sunday, August 9, 2009 - I woke up at 5:30am intent on not falling back asleep so I would be up and ready for all of us to go to church together. We don't leave for church until 10:15am so I had a few hours to kill! Needless to say I was able to get a few loads of laundry done and actually feel productive before we left for church. I even steamed Elle's outfit so it would be perfect for our major outing! Elle had been fussy all morning so Lee and I were both anxious to see how she would do at church. Sure enough, we got to church and it wasn't three minutes before she started getting fussy. Lee's mom took her out of the sanctuary and walked in the halls with her. Lee's aunt Debbie took the second shift so Vickie could come back in and listen to the sermon. She had the magic touch and Elle fell asleep in her arms. Thank goodness for Vickie and Debbie! Thank goodness that we go to church with a lot of family members! I walked out about halfway through the sermon to see how she was doing and Vickie and Debbie had it under control so I was able to sit and listen to Lance's sermon. Lee and I snuck out of church before it was dismissed so we could grab Elle and leave before everyone else left. Before leaving, we had to take some pictures to commemorate this momentous day! Of course, Elle woke up on the car ride home and was a perfect angel!

Monday, August 10, 2009 - Elle had an evaluation for physical therapy. It went really well and I am praying they call us to set up a weekly scheduled time. Basically, the therapist played with Elle for an hour - the whole time she was making notes about Elle's posturing, her strengths and her weaknesses. At the end, she told me that Elle does have weak neck muscles/arm muscles that she would like to continue to work on. She gave me a sheet of exercises to do with Elle - most of them make her scream because they revolve around her being on her tummy. We just keep chugging away working on our little lady's neck control! After therapy, Elle got to go to work with me! I can honestly say that by the time Lee came to pick her up from the office so I could actually get some work done - I was exhausted! But..she did good at the office with me. It helps that all my co workers just wanted to love on her all day so they kept her occupied!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - Hearing Aid Day! Lee went into work early but then came back home so we could all go downtown to the med center to TCH for Elle's hearing aid fitting. I strategically planned Elle's outfit for the day. She needed to be wearing something that accentuated her hearing aids! After getting our little princess dressed for the day and the car loaded with all of Elle's accessories - the three of us headed downtown to meet with our wonderful audiologist. I just love our audiologist. I love her so much I may try to hook her up with my brother in law! She had all Elle's goods ready to go when we got there. I must say that when she pulled out the hearing aids I squealed in delight because they are so cute! Our audiologist was so excited that I ordered pink hearing aids and sparkle ear molds - I think she was just as excited as I was! By the time the hearing aids were ready to be put into Elle's ears - she had fallen asleep. She slept through Dr. E putting them in and us talking. It was a definite lack luster response. Lee and I both were expecting eyes wide open kind of reaction. Well - that reaction came later. She eventually woke up and started experiencing the world for the first time. Her reaction to the waiting room was classic. We walked out into the crowded waiting room - people talking - the tv going - and Elle just didn't know what was going on. Her eyes got huge! I was so excited for our little princess. I had to give Dr. E a hug before we left - it means the world to me that she was as excited as we were for our little princess. After getting the new aids, we headed up to see our precious nephew, Witt. It will be a super exciting day when Elle and Witt can play together and it won't be in a hospital room!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 - We had an appointment with a gastro doctor. After discussing all of Elle's feeding issues with the doctor - she made a few changes to Elle's medicine (what it is being compounded with) and she made the exciting announcement that she thinks Elle is ok to start supplementing her feeds with rice cereal! Over the course of the next week or so we will also be changing her feeds from 4 ounces every 3 hours 7x a day to 6 ounces every 4 hours 5x a day. Hopefully, this new feeding schedule will help our little lady put a few extra pounds on her and help her grow some more before surgery. Lee picked up some cereal on his way home this evening and this evening, we fed Elle rice cereal for the first time! At first she hated every minute of it. After a few minutes she realized that she was eating something different and absolutely loved it!

I really need to be more careful when I am taking videos because they don't rotate! Oh well - she is still super cute even if she is side ways!

Three Minutes

I have 3 minutes to write this post until the microwave goes off telling me it's back to sterilizing bottles! Elle's had a momentous few days and I will definitely sit down later today and write all about them. Just to give a little teaser

Sunday, August 9, 2009 - we went to church together for the first time as a family!

Monday, August 10, 2009 - Elle was evaluated for physical therapy and she went to work with me

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - Elle got her hearing aids!

If you look closely - you can see her tiny hearing aids!