Christmas

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Ours was great - we took our time opening gifts in the morning, everyone (even Mommy!) took a nap in the afternoon, we went for a bike ride, and we really just enjoyed spending the day together. We even got to spend some time with family on the webcam. Here are some pictures from Christmas...

First picture of the day - still waking up!

Santa brought Lily a kitchen.

She made herself a plate of spaghetti. Lily's first golf clubs.
Bunny rabbit
Our little chefBathtub crayons

Christmas Eve

We had a really nice Christmas Eve. We had planned to play games and have dinner with the Swans and Morrows, but since Lily was sick we stayed home. Katie shared some tamales with us, though, so we still had a yummy Christmas Eve dinner. Here are some pictures from that day.

I have to admit, we did not leave cookies for Santa this year. Putting cookies on a plate and leaving them sit out without giving any to Lily would have been a little bit difficult. But we did leave some reindeer food for Santa to take outside and feed to his reindeer. Reindeer like to eat dry oatmeal with red and green colored sugar mixed in so it's sparkly!

Big News!

We're having a baby!

I thought I would wait until Christmas Day or at least Christmas Eve to take the pregnancy test, but I just couldn't stand it anymore! My tentative due date is August 26th, but it doesn't really mean anything until I see the doctor in January.

I'll have an initial visit with my usual OB/GYN, and then I'll be transferred to Dr. Mastrobattista, my perinatologist (that's code for "specialist"). She will take over my prenatal care, and I'll probably see her at least every two weeks. I'm already on blood pressure medications that are safe during pregnancy, so there shouldn't be any need for me to adjust to new meds, at least for a little while. I had lots of labwork done before I became pregnant, so the doctors will have it to compare to if I begin to devolop preeclampsia. Same goes for the EKG, Echocardiogram, and Renal Ultrasound that I've already had - they're ready for comparison if things change during my pregnancy.

We're doing everything we can to keep me healthy so this little baby can grow... Please pray for a safe, healthy, and LONG pregnancy!

Nebulizer

Lily is such a good girl... She actually likes getting her nebulizer treatments! She sits on the couch and either watches Baby Einstein (can't hear it over the noise of the nebulizer, though) or talks to me about her medicine. She points at the mask, smiling and laughing. I'm so glad! The nurse told me yesterday that some kids have to be held down for these treatments because the scream and won't let you do it. That would break my heart!

RSV

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen...
Remember when Lily had to get Synagis shots every month last winter, an immunization to help her fight RSV? Well, in order for insurance plans to cover the very expensive injections, the patient has to meet several criteria, which basically categorize them as being at high risk for developing complications from RSV. Thankfully, Lily was not technically at "high risk" for it this season; however, that means she didn't qualify for the immunizations. If she had stayed on oxygen for about a month and a half longer than she did, she would have qualified for the Synagis injections. And wouldn't you know, she got RSV! Now, don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining, and I'm not angry. It's just ironic.
Synagis actually doesn't prevent RSV - it simply helps the patient fight the infection if it is contracted. So not getting the immunizations in no way caused Lily to get RSV. It just might have helped her keep this yucky infection out of her chest.

RSV is Respiratory Syncitial Virus. It's basically a common cold virus that would cause upper respiratory cold symptoms in an adult. It can be very dangerous for babies, though, especially those with pre-existing respiratory issues like chronic lung disease. The "cold" goes straight to their chests, causing bronchiolitis. The airways get clogged with mucus, so it's difficult to breathe well. A toddler like Lily will be fine... A baby like Lily a year ago probably would have been very, very sick. Thank God for keeping Lily healthy while she grew some bigger lungs!

For now, we're giving her nebulizer treatments every 4 hours during the daytime and letting her sleep at night. She's doing fine, and she'll probably be over this within about two more weeks. In the meantime, we'll have lots of playtime at home... Lily hasn't let her yucky cold slow her down. We're still playing all day long, and she's only taking her usual one nap a day. She's just started telling me, "Mommy, nose!" or "tissue!" when her nose is yucky; and after a coughing spell she says, "water, Mommy!" What a sweet, blessed child.

Early Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Corning on Saturday morning. We were having so much fun opening gifts with Lily that we completely forgot to take pictures! We're so thankful for our webcam... Now that Lily is a little older, she really enjoys the webcam and seems to understand who she's seeing on the computer screen (she calls it "TV" when the webcam is on; otherwise it's called a "puter"). Here are some pictures of Lily's new table and chairs. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Just some pictures

This is what Lily does if I lean down to take a picture of her:

UPS was here!Big Muscles

Holiday Party, etc.

Our MOMS Club holiday party was last Friday. It's always nice to visit with other moms, and Lily is old enough now to enjoy some of the activities, so this was a really great party! The kids got to make reindeer hats with antlers and scoop up some reindeer food to take home for Christmas Eve. There was a book exchange that we didn't participate in this year, but we probably will next year. Santa came to our party, but Lily didn't want anything to do with him. She gets really excited about Santa when she sees statues or pictures of him, and if she doesn't have to get too close, she likes to see him in person. But the moment she senses that I'm going to try to get her close enough for a picture, she turns into a little leech and will not let go of me. If we sit her on Santa's lap, she melts down in tears instantly. Worse than when we saw Topper at the mall a couple of months ago! It's so funny how some kids are mesmerized, some kids can't wait to talk to Santa, and others are just petrified. In any case, we had a great time at the party.

Here is the back side of Ande giving Lily a hug. Take a peek at Katie's blog for the front side!

I think I'm all caught up with my blogging now... Did you wonder what I've been up to? Well, not really much Christmas shopping, since I got most of that done before Thanksgiving. What I've been busy with is Lily's scrapbook. I've been working on it like crazy in my spare time for the past couple of weeks because I am WAY behind. Part of the problem is that I've always taken SO many pictures of Lily. It is really hard to choose which pictures to put in the book!

I really like the program I use for digital scrapbooking. It's called picaboo; there are hundreds of backgrounds available, and all sorts of page layouts. I don't have the creativity or patience for scrapbooking with paper. My goal for 2009 is to scrapbook as I blog, so I'll get both things done at once. We'll see how that works out!

Well, like I said, I think I'm all caught up with my blogging now, so there are lots of posts today. If you're reading the FeedBlitz subscription email, you might want to click on one of the links to the actual blog to be sure you get all the posts. Sometimes FeedBlitz doesn't list them all when there are several in one day. Merry Christmas!

Christmas is Coming!

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet? If not, here are a few pictures to spark some cheer...

This one is adorable. That grin is just a TEENY bit mischevious.

We put our tree in front of the stairway this year. It still doesn't have a topper... Maybe after Christmas this year I'll find one. I'm looking for a big gold star or a cross.See, I told you that first picture showed some mischief... Our little gremlin started opening this gift a little bit early!

Christmas Cookies

We made Christmas sugar cookies last Sunday. It was such a mess... And so much fun!!! I absolutely love to bake. I like to cook, but baking is my favorite. I would like to do more of it, but the problem is that I also love to EAT!

I don't think the pictures really do justice to the amount of flour that was caked on this child.

I think we did the Christmas baking a little too early this year. The cookies are already gone, and that has allowed me to ponder my cookbooks a little too much. There is definitely more baking in store for this week!

Good thing I went to the gym this morning. Now if only I can make a habit of it...

Christmas Party

Last weekend we attended the Meriplex Christmas party and had a great time. The food was delicious, and we enjoyed a night out with friends after dinner.

I've checked with everyone who I know was taking pictures at the party, and the results are in... Dusty's going to have to take me out to see a play or something so I can wear that dress again. There are no pictures of the whole dress, just the top.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We spent lots of time with family members, many of whom had never met Lily before. Everyone had a great time, and I think we lost count of how many pies were eaten.

Lily is supposed to be taking a nap in this picture!