Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Happy third birthday, Laura Grace!

This weekend we celebrated Gracie's third birthday. Her parents planned a luau in her honor at their beach house. We had such a great time!


Gage slept for the first hour or so of the party (as he did his own), but he was able to jump right in and enjoy the fun when he woke up...


Gage bought her roller skates, and they were a big hit!



Welcome Baby Ava! (almost a month late...)


My newest precious niece, Ava JoAnn Kelsey was born July 8, weighing 8 lbs, 10 oz; 19 1/2 inches long. She is perfect in every way, and I cannot WAIT to get her in my arms! Each one of my nieces and nephews claims a special place in my heart, and I am so grateful for each of them! Gage and I are headed up to Michigan to meet her for the first time tomorrow! We just can't wait!! As a side note, pray for me as I endure a lengthy flight with a one year old!
Welcome to the world, Sweet Girl!!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Fourth of July (a little late)

Last year, we spent Fourth of July in the hospital. Gage was two days old, and I was still recovering from the c-section. The year before that, we kept Laura Grace, so Jim and Michelle could go see the fireworks (at the time, Grace was extrememly frightened of loud noises), so this year, we were determined to see some fireworks! We went down to Washington (which is about 30 minutes away) and watched them at the waterfront.




Gage's new wagon certainly came in handy-he LOVES it much better than a stroller.


We had a good time with Shane, Tree, and the boys, and Josh's parents. Gage and Hayes were even perfect through the whole thing-neither one seemed the least bit bothered by the noise.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Little Sickie


Gage had a bit of a runny nose I was blaming on new teeth on Sunday. On Monday, he woke up with a full blown cold, yucky nose, cough-the whole nine yards. By early afternoon, he was wheezing pretty badly, so I called his doctor and they got him in immediately.
He had to have a breathing treatment, for which he was ANGELIC, to my surprise. They insisted on consistent nebulizer treatments every three hours all day and through the night and another appointment today to make sure he is progressing. I woke him up every three hours last night, and he was SO perfect every time. He never fusses at the mask-he just sits in my lap, rather mesmerized by the whole experience. Bless his heart.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Before and After...




The pictures speak for themselves. He was SOOO skinny. You can probably imagine how much I LOVE those chubbies on him!

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Happy Birthday, My Love!



Well, it is just past midnight, and I am typically in bed by 10pm, but Gage's birthday party is tomorrow night, and I have decided that I am going to start a tradition--in addition to the birthday cake for the guests at his party, I am going to make him his very own special cake every year. This year, I went with a baseball! It is by no means perfect, but if it were, then I would have started with the highest expectations, and that would be pure crazy. Okay, so that's just an excuse. I've simply no where NEAR mastered the technique of decorative cake baking.

I will take better pictures of it tomorrow as it sits on his high chair tray for a moment, before he destroys it...without an ounce of appreciation for the hours of careful effort and ridiculously sore hands of his mother.

Anyway, Gage spent his "actual" birthday at work with Mom, playing with Laura Grace. Tomorrow evening, we will have his party! Pictures will SURELY follow.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Reminiscing...


For the past week, I have been constantly remembering back to a year ago. On June 26 of last year, I was transfered via ambulance to a hospital with a NICU capable of handling a baby so early, because my water broke at 31 weeks, and the only option was to deliver. I was scared to death that my precious baby was going to be born "too" early. The ultrasound showed that he was about 3 lbs. Doctors were very concerned about his lungs, so they pumped me full of steroids to help them develop more quickly. And then for the next six days, I lay in the hospital bed, allowing him time to grow, as doctors watched closely for signs of infection or irregular heartbeat.

On July 1 (exactly a year ago today), at about 10pm, I started noticing a tenderness in my stomach that the doctors were concerned could be an infection, since I was much more susceptible to infection without sufficient water around the baby as protection.

Early the next morning, after an exhausting c-section at 2:45am, I burst into tears as I heard the doctor say "he has baby fat!", and I heard that loud cry, his first noise--a sound I will never forget as long as I live.

I had prepared myself (as well as I knew how) to hear no baby sounds as doctors hurriedly allotted me a quick glance at my silent baby and rushed him away shoving tubes and needles in him. So I cannot begin to explain the joy I felt when I heard him crying so loudly, saw doctors smiling (obviously relieved that he was not as tiny or dependent as expected), and watched as Josh took him in his arms and brought him to me, and I will never forget that first kiss when Josh brought him close enough for my lips to brush his.

Gage was a whopping 4lbs 5oz, he had very slight breathing complications, but improved quickly, and though the doctors anticipated his hospital stay would be every bit of six weeks, he came home eleven days after he was born. God is so good!

I am convinced that this world is a better place because Gage is in it. To know this little man is to love him. He is a gift, and I cannot imagine life without him.

Tomorrow, he will be one year old, and this has been the best year of my life! I will be forever grateful because of this miracle with whom God chose to bless us!