Happy New Year

2009 has been a year of hardships and blessings for my family.

Natalie is our true little miracle!

We feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and family and would like to thank you all for your support and prayers throughout this past year.

We pray that 2010 brings blessings for all

"Be joyous always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" -1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Santa's Cookies

I hope Santa made it by your home last night. Believe it or not, we had a semi white Christmas in Dallas...who would have ever guested.

Larry and I had been explaining to Carter why you leave cookies and milk for Santa. We both thought Carter understood at least for the most part. So, Carter followed Larry into the kitchen to get the cookies.

He game out carrying the plate of cookies into the living room with Larry carrying the milk behind him. Carter looked so proud of himself and was so happy. He sat the plate on his little table; we thought okay that is nice we can leave the cookies here.

Then Carter pulled out the chair set down and started drinking the milk and took a big bit out of the cookies. It was priceless...

Larry and I laughed so hard. Here we are thinking, okay he understands and in Carter's mind, he is think alright milk and cookies before bed, this is awesome!

You have to love kids, they are so funny. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas...We miss you all and wish we could be with you during this holiday season, but you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Happy Birthday Carter

Carter turns 3 today! I can't believe he is 3 already....time flies.

I had to post this picture, because it cracks me up. We have on our "Cars" Christmas pjs. Mater is the coolest thing in our home right now. He has reindeer antlers on that have bells on them singing "Jingle Bells", it was so funny.

Happy Birthday Carter...We love you

Getting Big

Natalie is now 11lbs 5ozs!

Dr. Zellers was so proud of her. All of her stats look great as well.

She has a heart cath scheduled for the 6th of January. Depending on the heart cath and her weight, we will then schedule the next surgery.

5 Months Old

Natalie turned 5 months old yesterday! I can't believe she is 5 months old and that I have been down in Dallas now for 6 months.

I have attached a picture of her the first day she was born. She is in the Children's transport incubator, waiting for transportation.

I also attached a picture of her I took today...look how far we have come!

One Doctor, Two Different Days With Different Kids

Well, we started off to an interesting week. Carter is like most 2 to 3 year olds this time of year...snotty. However, Monday morning he woke up a bit more congested and told me he was sick. I had no idea if he was telling me the truth or what. I asked him if his throat hurt and he said yes, then I asked if his fingers hurt and he said yes. I thought I would go ahead and take him to the doctor to be safe. Poor guy ended up having a sinus infection. We started medication yesterday and he seems to be doing a better, so hopefully this will finally clear him up.

And today, I took Natalie to Dr. Jim, our pediatrician here in Dallas for her 4 month well check up. Yes, I know that tomorrow she will be 5 months old, but we are still playing catch up.

Natalie is 11lbs 4oz! I can't tell you how excited I am in. I have to remember every scale is different, so we will see on Monday what she weighs at Children's and compare. She is in the 10th percentile on everything, but that is okay because we are on the growth chart at least. It is so different than with Carter, he is in the 50th to 90th percentile on the growth chart.

Natalie was a mess at the doctor, she acted liked it was the worse thing in the world. The minute I started taking off her clothes she lost it. I think she was partly sleepy and partly tired of people always messing with her. She had to get 2 shots as well, which she did not care for.

She is right on target developmentally, which is awesome! A lot of times babies who have undergone what she has, would be a little behind in their development. She is laughing, grabbing things, and is so close to rolling over.

We hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season so far!

We have a had a great week! Carter had his Christmas party at school on Thursday. He is so funny. After I picked him up, he sang Jingle Bells all the way home from school. He calls Rudolph on his play cell every day, just to say Hi.

I know you can probably not see it in the picture, but right at the bottom of the tree is where Carter placed his ornament he made in school...the manager made out of popsicle sticks, so proud of it.

Natalie is doing amazing! She is now taking 3 to 4.5 ounces every feeding. She is gaining more weight and has such a personality now. She is a lot more vocal and laughs all the time.

We go to the pediatrician next week for our 4 month well check...yes, she will be 5 months old, but we are playing catch up with our vaccinations.

10lbs 7oz and Gaining

Natalie is now 10lbs 7oz! She is slowly gaining weight, but she is gaining and that is what is important.

We had a great doctors visit today. Natalie had routine blood work and x-ray done today along with her weight and oxygen check. She is gaining weight and we are almost back on the growth chart for her age.

Dr. Zellers did talk to us about her next surgery. If everything goes as plan, meaning she continues to gain weight at the same pace if not better, she will have the next surgery in January. We will first have a heart catheterization done, which will be a day procedure the first week of January.

The next surgery is the Glenn Shunt. The Glenn Shunt is where they will connect the superior vena cava directly to the pulmonary artery. The superior vena cava is the large vein that brings blue blood from the upper body to the heart.

Now, most people have only one superior vena cava, but Natalie is not most people as we know. She actually has two superior vena cavas. Now this is not uncommon, but this is not common in the least. Dr. Forbess will have to connect both superior vena cavas to the pulmonary artery.

We go back in a few weeks for another follow up and weight check. Please continue to pray that Natalie stay on the same course and continues to gain weight.