Happy Halloween!

~ Kahla

****I am grateful for
1) Halloween
2) cute costumes
3) happy smiles
4) trick or treating
5) cool evenings

The Pumpkin Patch

~ Kahla

****I am grateful for

1) the weekend

2) Halloween (this is my favorite time of year, three holidays in three months = lots of family time!)

3) genuine smiles

4) family pictures

5) miracles, they happen every day, we just have to know to look for them

First Bath

On Tuesday night Emery's umbilical cord fell off and tonight she had her first real bath! She did great and didn't even fuss... she is such a good baby! Plus she has a super cute belly button!



She had her two week check up yesterday and it went great! She is back to her birth weight of 7 pounds 4 ounces and is now almost 20 inches long. She doesn't go back until her two month check up in December and will have to get three shots at that time... ick! I think Daddy may have to come to that appointment.




***I am grateful for
1) my slippery little newborn
2) first baths
3) goodbye umbilical cord
4) tomorrow is TGIF
5) no tornadoes w/the tornado warning!

Chase rocked it!

Tonight Chase tested for a new belt in Tang Soo Do and he rocked it! He is the senior belt in his class, not bad for a four year old, and tonight he earned his double green stripe. He is doing great and we are so proud of him!! Here are a few pics from tonight's testing:

Demonstrating the horse riding stance

Listening to Mrs. Sophia explain what's next.

Changing of the belts

Receiving his trophy from Mrs. Sophia (she was moving, not the best pic)

So proud

Daddy and Chase

Mommy and her big boy!

We are so very proud of you Chase, way to go!!! ~ Mommy




****I am grateful for
1) a rockin test night
2) Chase did awesome!
3) tomorrow is Hump Day
4) night, so sleepy!
5) bows, they are sooo cute in Emery's hair (what little she has) ;o)

Sweet Emery is two weeks old!

Sweet Emery,

Today you are two weeks old, in fact, your actual birthday is in one hour from the time I type this. How have two weeks gone so quickly? You have already changed so much and are simply a blessing to us all. I can tell we are going to have a lot of fun in the years to come!

You are a very good baby and we are very grateful. Mommy read that babies your age cry for an average of four hours, I told Duchess that you probably cry for an average of four minutes (knock on wood)! Your big brother had reflux so bad that we are not used to having a quiet baby and we are really liking it!!!!

You sleep very well and we are now waking you every four hours to eat. Sometimes you'll start squeaking a little earlier than that and we'll get you fed and you are happy. You are very content to be held and are very much a people baby. Of course, we don't complain about that one bit and every person that meets you could sit and hold you all day... if we'd let them! But we are greedy and want to do it ourselves!

Nursing is still touch and go and totally depends on your moods. Usually early mornings and evenings you will nurse readily, but other times you want nothing to do with it. That's OK though, all that matters is you are healthy and home!

We are so thankful to have you and your big brother in our lives, not a moment goes by that I don't wonder just how I got this lucky! I love you little girl, you and Chase make everything worth it!

~Mommy

P.S. I won't mention that your new nickname is Princess Poops-A-Lot... because one day down the road, that might be embarrassing to you, and I'd never want to have that happen! ;o)

****I am grateful for
1) two weeks old!
2) my Prince and Princess and my Knight (can't forget Daddy)
3) Duchess comes home this week!!!!!!
4) Chase has his first fall festival this weekend.. fun!
5) grocery shopping for the week is done!

Emery and Chase meet Addison Road!

Today Addison Road was at our church, The Ark, and we got to meet them up close and personal. They are all so kind and very sweet. Jenny was awesome! They did a great job leading our praise and worship and it was definitely one-of-a-kind day!!!

**I don't know how many of you know our story, so here is a quick run down. We went through a lot to get Emery (and Chase for that matter). Most of you know that and if you don't, you can read through our blog to see the whole story. Basically the short of it is IVF #1 gave us Chase, we assumed IVF #2 would give us miracle #2. Instead, IVF #2 gave us a BFN, IVF #3 gave us a chemical pregnancy, and IVF #4 gave us twins that we lost at 6 weeks, 6 days. IVF #4 was finally our jackpot and we got our Princess to go w/our Prince. During this journey there were so many times I thought I couldn't take one more step, I just wanted to collapse and give up. It hurt so much, I didn't know how much more I could take. Many times, too many to count, I would play the song "Hope Now," the one you hear when my blog songs load. It got me through it all, it gave me hope, it gave me faith, it reminded me that God was w/me and it would all be O.K. How true it was. Addison Road sings this song and to meet them was one of the most awesome moments for me. We got Emery's middle name, Faith, from this song which makes it even more special. Also we got the CD signed and as Jenny put it, "What a wonderful journey of faith God has put you on" - Amen, Jenny, Amen!!

Here are some pics from our morning!

Jenny leading praise and worship... a great job!!

Addison Road and Miss. Emery

A family shot w/Addison Road

***I am grateful for
1) meeting Addison Road!
2) a wonderful day
3) a great worship
4) blessings
5) Hope Now, a song that means so much!

Mental Sticky Notes

Chase

~ You are the most awesome big brother. If Emery cries, you immediately try to soothe her and are very concerned (not that she cries often). It's adorable and wonderful to watch.

~ We put Emery in the swing for the first time and you were terrified that it was going too fast and would not stop telling us. It was on the slowest setting! ;o)

~ You have become very brave and big, I look at you and you seem to have grown by a foot just in the last week. Maybe because you are so big compared to your little sister. However, you are still my first baby and always will be.

~ The other night you slipped while getting off our bed and hit your elbow, hard, on the pack-n-play. Normally we would have seen some tears but Emery was asleep on the bed and you did not want to wake her so you simply walked over to me, looked at me w/those big, blue eyes, and I could tell you were hurting. I kissed it and a vitamin made it much better. It was very brave and big.

~ You absolutely LOVE Star Wars and playing w/them. You are your father made over.

~ You are doing great in school. Most days you are happy to go, unless you are tired. Then it's not quite as exciting to have to be up and moving.

~ You are not really a morning person at all, but neither am I.

~ You are a very good little boy and always amaze me at how well behaved you are. Don't get me wrong, we have our moments like any typical four year old, but 95% of the time, you are rockin' it!

Emery

~ You are already changing just since we met you a week and a half ago. You are an excellent baby and rarely ever cry. The only times you get upset are if you are hungry and we aren't feeding you fast enough or if you want to be held. We are more than happy to accommodate you on either.

~ When you are taking a bottle you make a little sound with each suck, it's very cute. Almost like you are letting us know that this is making your little tummy nice and full.

~ Everyone comments on your blond hair... everyone! In fact, the first comment is always about how pretty you are and the second comment is always about your blond locks.

~ I know it's just gas that makes you smile right now, but it's so stinkin' cute!

~ I love to cuddle with you at night, you are a definitely cuddle bug.

~ You remind me so much of your brother, there are certain things you do and ways you look that I swear ya'll could be the same baby!

~ You always have your hands by your face, just like you did in your ultrasounds. Always.

I love you both more than words could ever say.

~Mommy

****I am grateful for

1) Chase is adapting to his baby sister so well!

2) Emery is a GREAT baby!

3) Emery is still nursing some, beats none at all!

4) Tomorrow is Friday!

5) My family, how did I get so darn lucky?

Prince and Princess Pics

Happy One Week Birthday Sweet Emery!

Sweet, Sweet Emery,

It's so hard for me to believe that you are already one week old and boy what a week it's been! It was a tough one, but you have already proven that you are going to be quite the trooper just like your big brother is. Not only are you a trooper, you are quite the feisty little thing when push comes to shove and you are not afraid to let us know it!!!

Daddy, Chase, and I are so happy that you are finally here with us. Chase adores you and gets so excited when you are awake and he can see your eyes open. He loves to sing you Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, talk to you, and if you are crying he immediately tries to soothe you to make you feel better. He is going to be a great big brother and you are one very lucky little girl! Daddy is already wrapped around your finger, but let's admit it, everyone is. You are a magnet for smiles!

I still can't believe it's been a whole week since we got to meet you, how does it happen so fast? You are a really good little girl and never very fussy, unless you are hungry and we simply aren't feeding you fast enough. You are still not really into the nursing thing after our hospital stint and as hard as it is for me to accept, I know we'll do what we can with it and you'll be just fine. As long as I have you to hold in my arms, I'm good!

Please don't grow too fast, you're brother already fills that position and I don't want my babies getting quite so big!!!

We love you and happy one week birthday Princess!

Love, Mommy

***I am grateful for
1) a sweet Princess
2) a sweet Prince
3) a great appointment at the pedi and the all clear! (more to come later)
4) Monday is outta the way!
5) This Sunday we are going to see Addison Road, they are coming to The Ark!!!

Answered Prayers, Emery is Home!

Yesterday's bili test showed that Emery's number had come down from 16 to 12.4. As it turned out our pedi was on call so we were glad to know that she would actually be coming in to see us, we just didn't know when. I decided to take Emery out from under the lights and give nursing a try again before feeding her and she not only latch on, she nursed for 30 minutes... 3o MINUTES!!!!! In fact, she probably would have continued to nurse but 1) she fell asleep and 2) Dr. Q (our pedi) came in and I took her off so that we could checked her out. I could tell from the moment Dr. Q came in that it was going to be good because she was smiling. :o) She told us the number was doing exactly what we wanted and how glad she was that we had made the decision to go ahead an bring Emery back in on Thursday instead of waiting until Friday because we were able to head it off. She checked her out and said that she looked great and that she felt like she was doing well!!! We talked about using a SNS (I had just spoken with a lactation consultant about our nursing issues) and she agreed that it would be beneficial since Emery has continued to latch. She wrote an order for some eye drops since Emery now has a blocked tear duct thanks to all the crying, and she made the decision to release her!!! We'll take her back in tomorrow for a followup but she feels that we are past the danger zone!!!!!!

We are so very thankful to be home and I'd love to just sit and hold Emery and nurse her all day long, but I know I have to do other stuff as well. Chase was so happy to see us, but not nearly as happy as we were to see him. Thank you to everyone for all of the prayers, I truly believe that prayer is powerful and I've seen prayers answered many times in my life. This time was no exception!!!! I need to go wake our sleeping beauty, but here are some pics of our prince and princess. ;o)

Also, a huge shout-out to my friend, Amanda, that sent us the cow Minky to match Emery's car seat. When she would get so upset at the hospital we would wrap her in a minky and it would almost immediately calm her down (of course then we had to unwrap her to put her back under the lights). We would have been lost without it!!! Not to mention we've gotten so many compliments on it too. You rock Amanda!!!

Now to the pics!

Big Brother (by the window, he LOVES that) and Little Sister

Emery on her cow minky, she loves it!

A little princess!

****I am grateful for
1) all the prayers
2) numbers that are down!
3) we are home!!!!
4) latching
5) God

Emery Update

We are still at the hospital and it is certainly taking a toll on all of us, especially Emery. :o( It is very difficult for a baby that was strictly nursing every two hours around the clock and being cuddled all the time (literally, all the time, which I loved) to being formula fed (don't flame me, I need her better no matter what I have to do) and in an isolate with her eyes covered for 90% of the time. It's hard for mommy too. She did so good the first 20 hours or so and would easily allow us to put her back in there after she had fed and gone to sleep. At this point she just screams, which breaks my heart. All she wants is to be held close to us or swaddled in our arms. She was still nursing as of Friday morning before she took the bottle, but now she has begun to refuse to do that. She'll latch, suck a few times, and then that's the end of it. It is also heartbreaking to me because I had worked so hard to make sure nursing was successful after all we went through with Chase. I am pumping (and not getting much, but something) and giving that to her and praying when this nightmare is over that we'll be able to reestablish nursing.

Our pedi believes that what we are experiencing is probably genetically predisposed on my side of the family. My twin sister, Katie, and I had jaundice, Chase had jaundice, Emery has jaundice... see a trait? Not just that we had it, but we had enough to require lights. (Yes, I had a sister, yes we were identical twins, no she is not alive. She was a SIDS baby and died at 6 weeks. Hence SIDS is my biggest fear, but that is another story for another day.) Basically she thinks it is anemia related and wants to run a certain test, I can't remember the name, to see if that happens to be the case. If so it would tell us that certain issues that could arise down the road are not a problem and that we would need to avoid certain meds. We'll see where this path leads.

When they reran the bili test yesterday afternoon it came back at 16, so this is a good sign. Generally, once it starts to go down, it continues to go down. I pray we are not the exception and that when they run it again in an hour or two (not really sure exactly when they are running it, just that it's this morning and it's already 4:00 a.m., so hopefully soon) it has continued to go down. They did let me take her out, turn off the lights, and just hold her for about 25 minutes yesterday (probably because I couldn't stop crying and the nurse was either tired of it or felt sorry for me). It was by far the highlight of my day. It killed me to know that my time would end so quickly and she would be back under the lights. What I would give just to have her healthy, at home, nursing like she was, and just near me. We take so much for granted and I always seem to find it out much too late.

Thank you for all the prayers that have been sent and are continuing to be sent. If you have a moment, please add the whole nursing thing in there. I know it sounds selfish because I'm perfectly capable of pumping and I know that formula fed babies are just as healthy because both Jeff and I were formula fed and so was Chase, but nursing was a big goal for me and it was going so well. I loved to watch her look up at me with those big blue eyes and just hold her close while she ate. Now I don't know if I will ever get to do that again.

~Kahla

***I am grateful for
1) We have the resources at hand to get Emery better.
2) Chase is safe and sound and OK, even if I miss him more than words can say.
3) Emery's number had come down and even if it was only 2 points, it was better than going up by two points.
4) It's Saturday and who doesn't love the weekend?
5) We have people praying and prayers get answered, I have proof of that and they mean more to me than anything.

Emery is in the hospital, please pray!!!!

Emery's bili levels are continuing to go up and she was admitted back to the hospital through the ER last night. Her test on Wed am was 10.4, last night 15.4, and at 5:30 this morning 18.3. She has been under lights constantly other than we wake her to eat and change her. This is like deja vu from Chase and it is killing me. I read so many scary things on the internet, even though I know I shouldn't even look. Please say a prayer that this evenings number will start going down. Also say a prayer that Chase is OK, he doesn't really understand what is going on, just that his life is being turned topsy turvy. I am so scared and can't stop crying. I just want both my babies to be OK.

More Emery pics!

Emery Faith has arrived!

Emery Faith has arrived and is perfect in every way!!! She was 7 pounds 4 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long and made her debut on October 12, 2009 at 6:41 pm. A long day, but oh-so-worth it!!!! When we arrived they had just implemented a "no visitors under 12, including siblings" policy due to the high number of flu cases and I was devastated. I cried A LOT!!!! However, our rockin' nurses let us slip by the rule and allowed the Big Brother to come in!!!!! Here are few pics to tide you over, thanks for all the prayers... God is good!!!!

38w4d, just before heading to the hospital

Walking to the hospital and being silly ;o)

Chase kissing Emery

The family, Chase thought Emery was a little too heavy at this point

A very proud Daddy

So pretty

Chase's first time to hold his little sister

He is smitten

Our Littlest Miracle

Hugs,
Kahla

****I am grateful for
1) my family of four
2) so many prayers that came our way
3) great nurses throughout our delivery
4) an uneventful delivery
5) our precious Emery is here safe and sound!