Drew Alexandra Schaaf

Emerson Reese 9 months old

2009-06-30T18:46:00.001-07:00

She is just getting so big so fast. Can someone make her slow down???? She is an absolute joy!

She now has 4 tooth which by the way all can out at the exact same time. :( Even through all that she was still happy as can be for the most part.

Have a great 4th of July and try not to melt in the awful heat.

2009-05-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Their dance recital is the first weekend in June. If you wantto go let me know! :)

2009-05-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Laundry day. LOL!

2009-03-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

2009-03-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

Finally I am posting pictures. Steve bought me a new camera the week before our trip, Thank Goodness! HEre are a few to start off with. The girls had an absolute blast on our Disney 09 trip. They are already asking when we are going back.

no pictures.

2009-01-21T12:41:00.001-08:00

Thanks to lovely sweet darling 3 year old my camera when camera heaven. :(
I wentto get the camera out christmas eve to get ready for santa and low and behold it no longer worked. I don think it is even worth getting looked at. Anyway no pictures for us of christmas morning, can you imagine how sad i was????? I did video the entire thing though so at least i have that. Whn my mom go tthere she had her camera so I at least got that.
Nothing special though.
Emerson is growing so fast I just cant believe it. She is now 17 weeks (4 months old). She is now rolling over and to her dismay gets extremely angry when she realizes that she is stuck there. So i spent a good part of the day rolling her back over and the other part is her stuck to my hip b/c she wants all the attention all the time. Rylie and Drew are still in love woth her and dont ever get jealous b/c they too love her to pieces.
Drew had a cardio appointment at the end of december and they are going to recheck her heart in 6 months. it looks like her aorta has some scar tissue and they may have to do an angiogram (ballon) to strecth it to giver her better blood flow. So we are just praying that it clears up on it's own. All things are possible through God!!!! She is on 2 meds which one she calls her chocolate medicine and the 2nd she calls "the other one". LOL I dont think the 2nd tastes as good as the 1st. LOL
Drew is LOVING her dance class and cant wait to start K4 in the fall.
They are dancing to A Spoonful Of Sugar for their recital and Rylie is dancing to Your the on that I want from grease. It is going to be soooo cute!
All is well here and hopefully I can get a new camera soon b/c I hate missing the growth spurts Emerson is going through.

IT SNOWED!!!!!

2008-12-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

In Southern Louisiana, can you believe it?
People were so excited here I got 4 phone calls starting at 630 am to tell me it was snowing. :) Love all 4 of you. :)
Drew stayed outside all of 2 minutes then stood in the doorway the rest of the time b/c she said it was TOO cold. They had a blast and Rylie came in frozen to the bone.
The funniest thing was the previous friday she asked if it ever snowed here and i told her no. Well i was sure made a liar and she let me know it. LOL Our snowman lasted for 2 days but the rest melted by that afternoon. Don't you love their snow gear??? Rain boots and super light jackets. LOL

Merry Christmas

2008-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry...

2008-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

Okay so it has been almost a month since i last posted. Sorry......
Little Emerson is doing great! She had her 2 month check up this past week and is now 8 pounds 13 ounces. She started smiling at us this past week and oh it just completely melts your heart. I have yet to capture one on film (digital). LOL The girls are still completely in love with her and fight often about who will hold or feed her. I keep trying to explain to Rylie just to let Drew go first b/c she is only interested for like 5-10 seconds. :)

I will have pictures up soon. We went to New Orleans this weekend and I went to the Helen Brett show with my Mom and Steve took Rylie and Drew to the zoo along with my dad. I took Emerson to market with me and she was such and Angel. I think we lost about an hour of shopping time with every other person stopping to admire Emerson and ask like a millionquestions each time. She just kept her head poked out of the sling i had her in the whole time looking at everyone who passed by.
Have a happy thanksgiving!!!!

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Emerson Reese

2008-10-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

I will have to do another mini session again of her soon. She wasnt cooperating very well. She is already growing too fast and she is only 3 1/2 weeks old. :( We ar going tot he pumpkin patch this weekend so hopefully more pics next week.

Growing...

2008-10-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

One week old

2 weeks old

Today at 2 1/2 weeks old.

She had her appointment with the ped. on wednesday and she was up to her birth weight at 6 pounds 4 ounces. She had dropped down to 5 pounds 11 ounces.

She is adjusting well and sleeping pretty good at night. Although she seems to prefer our bed to hers. :(

More baby pictures

2008-10-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of all 3 girls at a day old. Can you tell who is who??????????

Our newest edition!

2008-10-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Emerson Reese Schaaf
6 pounds 4 ounces
19.5 inches
September 25, 2008

I am on a roll!

2008-08-21T07:57:00.001-07:00

I am getting all kinds of pictures up today. They were playing behind the couch yesterday and Drew said CHEEZZZEEEE!! MAma LOOK! So of course I had to take the picture becuase they were hugging instead of fighting over something. Then right after this Rylie decided it would be fun to jump off the couch a few times. After me telling her to stop it like 20 times she landed straight on her face on the berber carpet. She now has rug burn from the top of her forhead going straight done to her nose. Also she busted her nose so hard that is bled. She was not a happy camper at all. All is fine now, I thought she may have woken up with 2 black eyes but thankful that was not the case.

Rylie's first day of K5

2008-08-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

Rylie was quite excited to start her first day of school. Though she is still not thrilled with havingto take naps. She loves her teacher which is good b/c she was sad that she didnt have the same teacher as last year. We are finally back in a routine and I dont feel so stressed all of the time. My house is so quite with just Drew. She keeps herself quite entertained during the day with minimal mess. :) Though she does miss her big sister. She wont be lonely for long. I only have a little over 7 weeks left before this new baby girl get here. Which might I add still doesnt have a name because once again we cant agree on anything. Oh Well... she will have a name eventually.

2008-08-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

She looks like a little old lady here. LOL Cracks me up. Rylie bought her princess dress up for her birthday so she had to wear it as soonas we got inside. All the little girls had a blast. Another successful and fun party. Happy 3rd Birthday Drew!!!! CAn you believe she is already 3???? Seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital.

Sun and Fun

2008-07-19T07:11:00.001-07:00

We went to Destin for a week and had a great time. The girls LOVED it!
They came home with hermit crabs that Granny bought for them. Ask me me who thrilled I am to have smelly crabs in my house. LOL drew keeps insisting we go back to play putt putt. That may very well have been her favorite part. Enjoy the pics!

Good news

2008-06-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

I received an update on Jason. Just a tad slow in updating.

Well great news today! Jason found out today that the cancer has not spread-it's contained within the colon wall. This form of cancer is very treatable and the Doctor expects a full recovery. Jason and Candace will see the surgeon on Monday and will find out about surgery then. THey will meet with a cancer Dr. next week also, to discuss treatment. We are all relieved and thankful. God is moving on their behalf-please continue to pray. THey have been so encouraged by everyone's loving words, prayers, and love that they have felt. Please continue-Jason will probably be in the hospital 5 days for the surgery, and then recovery time at home. Pray for a speedy recovery. I'll keep you posted as we know more. Please forward to your prayer partners! Thanks, Kerry Arsement

Prayers needed

2008-06-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

I recieved this email this morning. Please pray and pass this info along.

Hello Friends
I'm asking that all of you join your faith with ours and believe that God will heal our dear friend Jason Esta. He's actually more than a friend, he's our son in the Lord. Yesterday, Jason was told that he has a malignant tumor in his colon. He will have multiple scans done tomorrow to determine if it has spread and the severity of it. As I know more, I'll let you know. Please agree with us that the tumor is no longer there, has not spread, and the peace of God that passes all understanding will be prevelant in Jason, his wife Candace, and their boys, Noah 8, and Rhett 2 1/2. Jason is a wonderful man of God who has meant so much to many people in his 33 yrs. He has a contagious personality that puts every one at ease. His love for God and man draw people to him. He truly lives what he talks. He serves the Lord daily by witnessing to others. Please join us in prayer and forward to other prayer warriors. Don't forget to have your children pray also-Jesus loves the prayers of our innocent children. We are expecting a miracle.

Thank you-Kerry Arsement

2D/4D Ultrasound Images

2008-06-17T18:33:00.001-07:00

Pictures!

2008-05-19T16:04:00.001-07:00

You need to click on the picture above to get the full picture. Drew wants to go to dancing lessons so bad that I often find her dressed in Rylie's dance clothes. Look at her cute little scrunched elephant legs. hee hee......

Update on Drew

2008-05-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

Drew had her cardiologist appointment today with Dr. Bob in New Orleans. After a long 3 hour wait he finally saw us and said he sees/hears nothing wrong with her and that she i s doing excellent! He did not even do an echo b/c he said he thought she was doing well enough. We go back in 8 months.
Hopefully I can get pictures up on here soon. There are bunches on my camera that I have yet to take off and put on the computer.
This pregnancy is going a lot smoother now that all of the viruses and mornig sickness is gone. I go to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist next tuesday for some complications I have had. He didnt seemed concerned and actually said he wasn't going to see me about that problem anymore. But..... Due to Drew's heart complications he wanted me to continue to see him so he could monitor this baby more closely.
I will keep you posted.

Hello

2008-05-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

All is finally well here. We went to Disney World on April 5th and Rylie was running a fever Saturday, the day we left. She stayed sick till Wednesday and Drew got sick that night and stayed sick till the weekend. I got sick Thursday and Steve got sick Friday. It was a respiratory flu that made it's rounds. Not a fun trip AT ALL. :( Then as we are recouping I get call from school saying Rylie was sick the friday after we got back and needed to be picked up. So that went to Drew and I and then me again a week later. Luckily Steve was spared both times.
On to better things....
I am now 17 weeks along today and baby is doing good. I have another appointmet in 2 weeks with an ultrasound. Will post then if we find out for sure the sex of the baby.
Drew is doing great and she has an appointment on thursday in New Orleans with Dr. Bob.
I will update later this week.

Happy Birthday Rylie!!

2008-03-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

My Rylie just turned 5 on wednesday. Where has my baby gone? She is just growing up so fast. i didnt do a big party, big step for me as most of you know. LOL This morning sickness has just got the best of me. It is getting better though.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Steve!

2008-03-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

It sure has been a while.

Today is Steve's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!!! I love you!

We are now expecting baby #3 by October 12th!! I am just 10 weeks along so we have a ways to go. When we asked Rylie if she would like a baby sister or baby brother her reply was I already have a sister I dont need another. LOL

Now that she knows I am pregnant she is excited. She keeps asking when and I just keep saying a long time.

Drew is doing awesome despite the cough that she has finally rid herself of that has been here since January. We have an appt. with Dr. Bob for her 6 month checkup sometime next month. I promise to update. :)

Rylie is doing good in school and loves it.

Have a great day!

Prayers needed

2008-01-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is from my friend Amy. If you could please pray for this little boy that would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Friends and Family:
I do believe in the power of prayer. I am personally asking you to pray for a family in desperate need of as much prayer as possible. Bryce Norwood is the little cousin of very close friend of mine. Bryce is a 6 year old boy from Shreveport who has been battling cancer. He and his family have been at St .Jude’s for his treatments. At this point in time, Bryce is loosing his battle with cancer. His little body just can not fight anymore. He is now in very intense pain, and his parents are helpless. All they can do is try their best to comfort him. Bryce at age 6 is a Christian and understands that God is calling him home. With that being said he is only six and has fears (about death) that I am sure you would agree a child should never have to face.

With that being said, I feel that I must do SOMETHING to help. The only answer I get when I ask what I can do is this: PRAY!!! So I am in listing you to help me do just that. Please pray for this boy and his family… for comfort and peace for Bryce and comfort for his parents and siblings. Please take time to do this now, and as many times as you can during the days to come.

Thank You,
Amy

The following is a link to Bryce’s online journal (kept up by his mom). If you would like to see Bryce and learn more about hum, I encourage you to visit this site:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brycenorwood

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

Dang where does the time go?

We had a great christmas holiday. While most people dread having their children home for 2 weeks I loved it! No having to go somewhere everyday. We could have jammie days if we wanted and Drew even slept in most days, well till 9 am. Drew loved having her "sissy" home all day everyday. They actually played quite nicely most of the time. Does she really have to go back to school on tuesday??? Rylie is counting down the days till she is able to go back and see her friends and her teacher. Only 2 more sleeps till school day as she refers to it. LOL

Drew is now talking up a storm and everytime she repeats something Steve and I just bust out laughing b/c we are not used to hearing her talk and it just sounds so cute! Her new favorite word (b/c R says it all the time) is AWESOME!! but it sounds more like AWE-TUM!!

Enjoy a few pictures and hopefully I will post more soon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2007-11-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

I have been fussed at lately *wink* for not posting as much so I will try to do better. :)

MORE PICS!! YAY!

2007-11-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hello

2007-11-12T19:09:00.000-08:00

All is finally good here again.
Drew had a virus yet again and Rylie caught it a couple days later but both are doing great now. Although Rylie seems to not want to go back to school since she missed one day laying on the couch watching tv. LOL She has thankgiving break next week and is quite thrilled. We will see how I fare with both of them at home for a week. :)
Lemon Drop Lane is doing well, the word is finally getting out about our store. If you take a look in the Acadiana moms magazine you will see our add and there is a 10% off coupon too!
More pics to come soon!

Pictures!

2007-10-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a while...

2007-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

I have been so super busy with the store and with trying to keep up with the girls.
Drew had her cardioappt. with Dr. Bob. It went good except her pulmonary artery is on watch now. It is a little narrow so they will keep and eye on it. He said if anything they may do a cath and put a ballon in it to stretch it. Just keep her in your prayers that it corrects itself. I had posted about this but blogger must have ate my post. She went to the cardio today here in town and she also said her pulses were great!
Last week the girls and I took a short 4 day trip to disney to see some girl friends. We had so much fun and we were sad to go but happy to come back home to Steve/daddy.
Amy, my mom, and I will be at the My Lady's Fair at the hetyman on November 10th. Please come by while we are there and visit. :) We also have coupons for $1 off to get into the craft fair on the counter at the store.
A huge thank you to all of my friends and family who have come by the make a purchase in the store. :) LOVE YOU!
Pictures to come soon. I promise!

Lemon Drop Lane

2007-09-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

IS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!!!!!!
Today was our first day open. We were quite excited but since people can't read our minds that we are now open we had very little business. LOL
Our sign is in the process of being made right now and they said we should have it no later than monday. We do have an ad that my mom added to hers on those little electronic billboards that you see in restaurants so hopefully the word will get out soon. We will also have an ad in a christian magazine that is starting up here in town soon. So tell everyone you know to come and visit us at 312 Guilbeau road across from The Gallery apartments.

The family is well. Drew has an appointment with Dr. Bob next week for her 6 month check up and I can't wait. We still LOVE Dr. Bob so it is always nice to see him especially since he always gives us good news about Drew.
Rylie started K4 on the 13th of August and boy was that a rough day for me. Of course I cried like a baby the whole day. Actually Drew cried too b/c we left her sissy behind. :(
Rylie loves every part of school except the part where she has to go to bed early. She gives us a hard time most every night. She also started dancing class today along with her friend Grace. Miss Rylie is one busy girl!
Drew is adjusting a little better without her being home all day. She does not like the fact that Rylie and Daddy both leave at the same time in the morning but she is getting better.
I will update soon with store pictures and pictures of the girlies.

Last set

2007-08-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

Lots of catching up to do

2007-08-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

More!

2007-08-05T11:25:00.001-07:00

PICTURES!

2007-08-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

She got a hold of Rylie's lipstick from her recital. :)

Sick again

2007-08-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Drew started weezing last week and had a low grade fever so I took her to the ER at 5 pm b/c of course by then the dr's. office was closed. They did x-rays and told me she had pnuemoia???? HUH? So they sent us home and at 1 am she woke up weezing again really bad. We tookher back to the ER and it was determined that she did not have pnuemonia that she had croup. She has not even had a cough but whatever she is fine now, THANK GOD!
Her birthday is friday! Can you believe she will be TWO?!?!?!?!?!
I am still in shock and awe of my miracle.

Hello

2007-07-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness where do I begin. I see that it has been forever since I have posted anything.
We have been so busy around here lately. A friend and I are opening up a children's "boutique" in the smae building with my mom. So it has been non stop since this all began. More news on that later when things are more finalized. We are thinking sometime atthe end of august for the store to be open. So Look for further news on "Lemon Drop Lane". :)
Drew is doing so excellant! She doesn't talk much but she is quite smart. The past few weeks she has REFUSED to keep a diaper on. She now goes to the potty all on her own without anyone asking her. The girl is not even 2 yet! Speaking of 2, she will be on August 10th, my little miracle is such a blessing! And oh such a handful but I love her all the same. We don't have another cardiologist appointment until sometime in September. I think she weighs somewhere around 23 pounds, she eats everything all the time.
We went to the beach with our friend in June and had an awesome time. Drew hated the sand but loved everything else. She could have sand all over her from head to toe but refused to let it touch the bottom of her feet.
Lots of pictures to come.

Pictures

2007-06-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

Crazy!

2007-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh man Drew keeps me busy! The girl NEVER stops.

National Geographic had a film crew come a week ago to film us for a show they are doing on Katrina and us "trapped" in New Orleans. It doesnt air until the fall so I will be sure to let everyone know the dates.

We went to Houston for Mother's day and the girls had a blast at the aquarium/fair. Last weekend we went to Dallas and the girls and I did LOTS of shopping while Steve played foosball. :)

I have a bunch of pictures that I will post either today or tomorrow.

We were all sick a couple of weeks ago and Thank God that is now over. Steve and I were both sick for our anniversary of 9 years (together for 16!) but all is good now.

We are going to Destin in 2 weeks with Cassie, Preston, and Miss Grace. We can't wait! Not sure how much relaxation we will get with crazy Drew but it will still be fun. Seriously she is like the energizer bunny. LOL She is doing fabulous health wis, no complaints here.

Over due Easter pics

2007-05-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

FUN!

2007-05-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

More Pictures!

2007-05-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Festival International

2007-04-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry

2007-04-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to log in at all lately. It is now fixed!

Drew had a cardiologist appointment last wednesday with Dr. Dalal here in town. She said she looked great and that we don't have to see her for 6 months instead of the 3 we had been doing. Besdies that Drew has been grumpy the past few days. She is cutting her eye teeth and keeps pointing in her mouth saying "oww-cheeee". :(
She has been trying to say so many new words and new signs.
I am working on a video slide show so hopefully one day soon I will finish it and post it here.
Lots of pics to come!

HAPPY EASTER!

2007-04-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to you all!
We will try to have an egg hunt outside later if the sun stays out. Pics to come soon!

Drew woke up with a 103 fever with absolutely no other symptoms, so i am thinking maybe her teeth?????? Or that is what i am hopeing anyway. We already have a pediatrican appointment at 845 tomorrow so we will see what the fever is about too.

Hope you all have/had a great day!

2 more

2007-04-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 more for my photography class.

Photography class

2007-04-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

I am taking a phtography class with a friend and our 1st assignment was to take an outdoor photo. I think I did okay for my 1st try in manual mode. This first one will not be turned in but I like it b/c the subject is sooo cute. :)

More birthday party pics

2007-04-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

My 88 almost 89 year old grandmother wanted to give it a try too! She did pretty good!

I though this one was pretty cool!

Enjoying some birthday cake!

Pictures!

2007-03-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

For some reason I can only post 2 pictures. I will add more later.

A lot going on

2007-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

First let me apologize for not posting sooner. I was having a hard time logging into blogger. :(
Let me start with Drew's Cardiologist appointment that was on the 14th. Dr. Bob said she was doing great. Everything with her heart is working fine and growing fine. He was quite impressed with her little personality, she even puckered up her cute little lips and gave give not one but 2 kisses. :) She really is something else, with such a funny personality.

Rylie turned 4 on Monday.
Happy Birthday Rylie Roo!
He party was great and she loved it all! She stayed in her fun jump until about 6:30 that night.
I will post some pics later.

Now onto this past weekend. Drew caught a virus last wednesday the 21st. She threw up a few times and had runny diapers a couple of times. She seemed fine with the exception of not wanting to eat. SUnday morning she woke up and fell asleep in the middle of the floor and then again while I was giving her a nebulizer treatment. Very out of character. So I decided I was taking her to the ER thinking she may be dehydrated from not eating or drinking in 3 days.
We ened up staying in the Er from 9 am to 5pm. They decided to admit her b/c one of her numbers was dangerously low. We ended staying until tuesday b/c it was taking a while to get back up. She was in great spirits the entire time. Everyone kept saying she was the wellest sick baby they had ever seen. She received lots of iv fluids which helped a ton.

Thank you everyone who kept Drew in their prayers. She is doing great now and back to her normal self.

Swimming!

2007-03-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

We started swimming lessons and the girls LOVE IT!

HI!

2007-03-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

I forgot to update on Drew's appointmens. She had her RSV shot last week and should have only one more and then RSV season should be over.
Drew also had a pediatritian appointment for her regular 18 month check up. I thought all was fine, she was getting over a nasty cold. Well. I was wrong we ended up coming home with a nebulizer to give her breathing treatments four times a day for 7 days and antibiotics for 10 days for an ear infection that was starting up. He said that he wanted to stop it before it all turned into something much worse like pnuemnia or RSV. She is completely better with no more wheezing or runny nose. So all is well here again.
We have another appointment with the ped next week just to make sure she is okay. Also on the 14th she has an appointment with Dr. Bob so hopefully that will be good news too.

Update

2007-02-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

Both girls have that nasty cough right now so hopefully it passes soon.
Drew has 2 appointments next week on the same day. Thursday at 930 she has her 18 month check up at the pediatrician and then at 11 she has to go and get her RSV shots. :(
I can't wait till RSV season is over we hate those shots.
I hope everyone is well. I will try to post more often, I have been such a slacker.
Actually Drew consumes all of my time, she never stops. EVER! :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

For lunch we had a picnic on the living room floor. Rylie loved every second of it. She even thanked me on her own for making her a valentine lunch. :) And Drew was happy b/c she was not locked down in a highchair. LOL

What a mess!

2007-02-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

Rylie was painting and Drew saw her window of opportunity and took it.
LOL

Pictures!

2007-01-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

My big beautiful brown eyes!

My new favorite shirt for Drew. And she loves to "play" x box.

Here are a couple of pics for those of you who keep up with us and ask for more pics more often. :) It is my fault I am slacking in the picture taking department.

Reflection.....

2007-01-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

This has been another long year, but God has pulled us through. Drew is now happy and "healthy" and we are living our normal life. Thank you all for your support, love and prayers. We are blessed to have you in our lives.

January- second surgery

February

March- Happy 3rd birthday Rylie Roo

April

May

June-at disney

July-the pic below this one was right before the surgery.
Thank you lord for protecting our baby girl.

August- Happy 1st birthday

September

October-Germanfest

November

December- Merry Christmas

Shots

2007-01-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

i took Drew in to get her 6 month baby shots. She was trooper as usual. The really great news is she weighs 19 pounds 6 ounces!!!!
So the cardiologists scale was very wrong like I thought.
Now onto Rylie, I have noticed her asking me "what" a lot. So I had the nurse check her ears with the machine. She has blockage in both ears. :( We have an appointment on Monday to go back and see the doctor. I hope it is something minor that can be fixed very easily. She had a bad earache back in Novemeber so I am guessing it has been like that since then. Bad me for not realizing this sooner.

To end on a happier note, Drew is now WALKING everywhere! Just in the past 2 weeks she seems so much happier. She is babbling more and laughing out loud. It is just those little things you take for granted in a normal child. Though she can say "mama" quite well and very often. I will be happier when she learns a new word. LOL

One more

2007-01-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Just because it is too cute!

More Christmas pictures

2007-01-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Waking up Sister to go open presents
Christmas Morning

Drew update

2006-12-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

We took her yesterday for her checkup at the cardiologist yesterday. It has been 4 months since we last saw her. She said Drew was doing great and the echo (ultrasound) of her heart looked good. There was still a tiny hole last time that the surgery did not fix and it is now completely closed up! She said everything else looked good and we go back in 3 months.
Her one concern was Drew's weight. Though I am not completely convinced they have the best scale. It is always way off from the pediatricians. Theys aid her weight was 17 pounds 13 ounces.
We have an appointment today to get an RSV hot so they will check her weight there. It is possible she lost a little bit b/c she has been sick with a cold and not wanting to eat much but 2 pounds? Hopefully it was just a mistake.

Hope everyone is having a great and non stressful holiday. Merry Christmas!

Back from Vacation

2006-12-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

We went to Disney again. Rylie and Drew had so much fun! They were completely exhausted by the end of each day. The weather was awesome. I don't think we will ever go again in the summer.

Mommy's little helper

2006-11-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

CHEESE!

2006-11-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

click on picture to make bigger

Happy Thankgiving

2006-11-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

Trip to New Orleans

2006-11-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

2006-11-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

Sick :(

2006-11-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

It has been a rough week here.
I had a cold and tried my hardest to not get the girls sick but I mean com on I am their mother and I am with them 24/7. So of course they both caught my cold. Rylie worse than Drew.
The colds are gone but now Rylie has an earache again but I just put some herbal stuff in her ear and it is now gone. THANKFULLY. She was screaming her head off while covering her ear. :(

DRew was taken off of her formula completely so the milk wouldn't cause more mucus and now she wont drink more than 10 ounces. I guess it is finally time to ween her milk down anyway.

She weighs about 18 1/2 pounds and besides the cold she is doing great. She now climbs on EVERYTHING! This girl has no fear what so ever.

Hopefully I will put some new pics up soon.

Pictures!

2006-11-02T10:08:00.001-08:00

I was wrong

2006-10-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

Steve noticed tonight that Drew was cutting some back teeth. She has two at the bottom in each side that broke through and 2 at the top on each side that are about to breakthrough. That would also explain her short naps and crankiness the last couple of days.
Now she has some chompers and wont have to swallow her food whole. LOL
But she will look funny with 4 teeth on top and only 2 little ones at the bottom. hee hee......
Now that I know what is wrong I feel much better although I am sure she feels awful. :(

Appointment Update

2006-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Drew had an appt. with her pediatrician last week. She now weighs 18 POUNDS 2 Ounces!!!!!!
She is such a spectacular and beautiful little girl. She is almost walking but just on her terms, definately not when I probe her to do it. LOL
She got her RSV shot 1 1/2 weeks ago and the got her 4 months old immunizations a week ago. She has develpoed a weird cough so hopefully it goes away soon. I am trying several things but nothing seems to be working so I am thinking it may be allergies b/c she has no runny nose or any other symptoms so maybe it is a sinus drip?????
Just pray it disappears.

Pumpkin Patch

2006-10-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was not able to get on the pc to post pics fpr the past week.

More!

2006-10-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

Pictures

2006-10-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

We went to Germanfest in Rayne today and thought I would share some of the pictures.

Drew is doing great!

2006-10-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

She is all over the place, I can bearly keep up.
We almost have a walker! Where have the past 14 months gone. :(
She now says mama, dada, bow bow for bounce bounce, hi, and bye. She did try to say Rylie today and she got excited when she managed Ry Ry.
She is just growing so fast but we are loving every single second.

Pictures as promised

2006-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Rylie has recently started going to Dancing School and is thrilled with it. She has gone to 3 classes so far and after each one she comes out with a small frown and says "we still did not spin". I guess in her mind the entire class is supposed to be about spinning around the whole time. LOL

NO MORE MEDS!!!!

2006-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

We took Drew to her caridologist appointment today to see her doctor here in town. She said she looked great and took her off the last medication she was on! That is such a huge relief b/c that means she is a million times better and also b/c I have such a forgetful brain and always forget to give it to her on time. LOL We don't have to go back for another check up for 3 months! YAY!!!
I will post some new pictures soon.

Just another Thank You to all of you who have followed us in this journey. God has blessed us with a sweet and gorgeous BIG miracle. Thank you and we love you all.

Also I will still keep this blog open to just post random things about our family and lots of pictures.

New fish

2006-09-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

And "her"name is Aloyisius, pronounced A-la-wish-us. My creative little 3 year old is quite something. When Steve got home Monday night she was so ready to walk out the door to get get a new one. So we ended up with a cute little black goldfish who is now Aloyisius. LOL

Drew update:
We brought Drew to an appointment today to see Dr. Bob this morning in Baton Rouge.
He said she looked "Absolutely Awesome"! She gained another pound in the last month, she is now 17 pounds! Rylie was only 18 pounds at 1 year old so I think Drew is pretty much on target. He changed her medicine she was on to once every other day. I had a hard enough timr emebering to give it once a day and this is really going to thro me for a loop. I am already so forgetful. He said eventually he will take her off he is just doing it slowly b/c her lungs may still not be fully developed from all of her problems.
Friday I am bringing her to get her 1st RSV shot of the season for precautionary measures. We don't need to take a change of her getting that with her lungs not beingas strong as they should.
She has another cardiologist appointment next wee on the 22nd. I am sure we will be told the same thing as today. I will update then.

OOPS!

2006-09-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

We will be making a trip to the pet store tonight. "Lucy" is no longer with us. :( Steve transferred her to her new fish bowl yesterday and lets just say he missed a step or 2 in the transfer. This morning Rylie fed her and she was kind of just floating about. I checked on her at noon and she was bobbing up and down and we watched her pass on. I told Rylie that sometimes fish just live for a few days. She accepted that and asked when we were going to buy her a new one. LOL! At least we did not have a total meltdown like I thought we would. I wonder what this new fish will be named?

THANK YOU!!!!!

2006-09-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much to everyone who came to the party! We had a blast and are so blessed to have such great friends and family. Drew spent all night till we went to bed playing with each and every toy. If you click on the flickr box to the right you can see all of the pictures we took.
Also, to those of you who had a camera, if you have some good shots could you please email me those. I would love to see them!
Thank You! Thank you! Thank you!

Also, just a short apology to those you you who had to take home a fish, in my head it was a cute idea. LOL If it is any consultation I had to take one home too. And of course mine is still living(unfortunately)so Steve went out and bought "Lucy" a new home today along with some fish food. I think Lucy is here to stay for a while. Sorry if you were sent home with one. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble. :)

Thank You!

2006-09-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks for coming to Drew’s Party. It has been a long journey but the pain of every second this past year will be worth the pleasure of our little girl’s future. Having the vision of celebrating Drew’s birthday is what has kept us going while sitting in OR waiting rooms and hospital ICU’s.

While I was enjoying Magic Mike’s performance at Drew’s party, I was thinking “even though the performance was flawless, it was still an illusion”. I am so thankful that I serve a God who is not an allusion artist but a miracle performer. Sometimes it is easy to forget how fragile Drew was during her crisis. God miraculously pulled her through so much.

Thanks to everyone who helped out with the party, thanks for keeping Drew in your prayers.

Gift ideas

2006-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

People keep asking what Drew needs. Really she doesn't "need"anything so I will just tell you this. She wears size 12 months clothes which is either 9-12month or 6-12 month. Pajamas size 12-18 month but not the ones with the feet things on them. She is way to tall for those to fit in the correct size. As far as toys go, just anything educational for her to learn and have fun.
Can't wait to see you all Saturday!

Drew's party, RSVP

2006-09-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

I mailed the last of the invitations yesterday. Sorry it took so long. Drew has been keeping me super busy while Rylie's been talking my ears off.
Please if you will RSVP as soon as possible. I need to account for everyone so I can buy the food.
Email me, call me, or reply here. I have only recieved 2 RSVP's so far.

One more week till party time!

My Hairy Monster

2006-08-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

And NO I am not going to get her a hair cut. :) I am trying to just let it grow out. We fight all day long with bows and barrets. She is obviously more stubborn than me. LOL

2006-08-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

It is hard to see but that is where drew's tube was. It looks even better than that now. The other picture is what was in her stomach. The bubble part was inside. Sorry the picture is so blurry.

2006-08-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry I forgot to post yesterday.
Drew's appointment went fine. The doctor said she looked great and also did another echo (u/s) on her. She did say that there were a couple of places on her heart that we need to keep an eye on. I did not ask much about it because honestly I just don't want to know. They were not overly concerned and said they would just watch her. We just need to pray that her4 heart heals 100% perfectly.
We borrowed a walker from a friend today and within 3 miutes of her being in it she decided she was done and climbed almost all of the way out of it before Steve caught her. Good thing I didn't spend money to buy her one, crazy girl. I thought maybe it would help her to get some balance, I guess we will do it the old fashioned way. :)

Shots :(

2006-08-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

I took Drew for her 1st set of shots today. She only cried for a minute and told the nurse bye-bye so she would leave. lol
She is sleeping now and doing well. She has a cardiologist appointment tomorrow so i will update again then.

Can you tell they are sister..LOL

2006-08-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

If you click on the picture it will enlarge it and you can see Drew's bottom 2 teeth.
There is absolutely no doub that they are sisters. :)

No more feeding tube

2006-08-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

To make a really long story short Drew no longer has her feeding tube.
It was quite traumatic how it happened, maybe more so for me than her. Her tube attachment got caught under the side of the door and I picked up and did not notice and pulled it out of her stomach. She cried for like 30 seconds and was completely fine and still is.
We rushed to the ER and they could not get it back in so they gave me 2 choices, either send her to New Orleans to go into surgery to put it back in or leave it out. I instantly opted for leaving it out. I called Dr. Bob and he also said to leave it out. They were going to take it out in 5 months anyway so why put her through another surgery. The hole has completely closed up already. They said it takes like 24-48 hours. Hers closed up in one hour. I was at the Er within 15 minutes but I guess still not fast enough.
It was totally my fault and I feel awful for having to put her through all of that but it ended up working in her favor. NO MORE TUBE!
We were not sleeping well at night worried that she would strangle herself witht he feeding tube cord. We would wake up several times a night with it wrapped around her neck. :O
She has been eating most of her milk and lots of table food by mouth. She was just getting like 9 ounces of milk from her tube while she slept. We had planned on taking her off completely friday night so this is just 2 days earlier.
Drew is doing great and drinking more milk today than she ever has. WOOHOO!

More appointments

2006-08-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

Drew has an appointment on Tuesday to start getting her immunization shots that we have put off for the last year. Hopefully she will do well.
She also has an appointment on wednesday with the cardiologist here. She just wants to see her for herself even though we are seeing Dr. Bob.
I am pretty sure Drew has gained some weight, she feels so much more solid.

Drew is fussing to be held, I will type more later.

2006-08-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

I think I have finally decided on doing Drew's birthday party on September 9th so don't make any plans for this day. Still have to make invitations. I still need addresses from some of you so if you don't think I have it email it to me please. Thank you.

Presents!

2006-08-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Birthday Cake!

2006-08-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

2006-08-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

The middle picture is Dr. Bob.

Drew's appointment yesterday was good. She gained a few ounces. He took her off one of her meds and now all she is on is lasix which is the diuretic once a day. We have another appointment in a month with him in Baton Rouge.

The best thing about today is DREW IS ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday my sweet Baby Drew!

A few more pics in the hospital

2006-08-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

These are from the last 2 days in the hospital.
I need to take some of Rylie and drew together but that is like an act of congress to get one good picture of the both of them together. Also I got Drew's pics taken at Penney's right before her surgery and will get Steve to scan them when he gets a chance.

The pic with the 3 guys are The Zeyphers baseball team in New Orleans. They came to visit each patient there and gave drew a bat, baseball, and glove.

2006-08-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

A little explination of the cath images below for those who don't have MD degrees. Lol.
The first was was taken in January right before her surgery when she was 6 months old. It shows what the surgeon at Tulane did to repair her coarction of the Aorta when she was 2 weeks old. It kinda looks like a nub.
The 2nd is the cath we did a few weeks ago right before this last surgery. It shows more of a ball shape to the Aorta. That is what they did in January for her second surgery to rerepair the Aorta. They did a complete repair and reshape of the Aorta, which is why her surgery in January took longer for her to recover from. And also the reason they could not do the VSD repair. They did a lot to her little heart on that surgery.

Thank you God that she is all fixed now.