The Delange Family

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-27T07:19:00.007-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas at Gigi's this year. The kids had a great time and are starting to really play well together. They are getting so big and are becoming mini versions of us. Bella is a little princess and really enjoys bossing her brother around. Zach is a ball of energy with an endless appetite. We are very blessed and thankful to have such wonderful kids and such an amazing family. Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year. May the Lord bless you all in 2012.

Zach got into Gigi's tupperware and did this!!

Opening up presents at Gigi's

Bella's new princess castle, no boys allowed!!

Gigi spoiling us rotten by letting us eat the frosting off the mixers

Christmas at Uncle Joe and Aunt Lisa's

A fun and busy 2 weeks

2011-12-18T07:06:00.004-06:00

We have been very busy and I'm sorry we haven't posted these pictures earlier, but here are pictures of Isabella's birthday party. We also had a small cake at home with her cousins and Gigi. The kids love playing with their cousins and always have a blast when they get to see them! We also have some pictures of Bella at school right after dance class, she looks so cute in her ballerina outfit (that's what she calls it).

We are thankful for all the blessings that the Lord has given us and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Happy Birthday Princess

2011-12-04T19:52:00.008-06:00

Tomorrow marks the day where our lives changed forever (in more ways than one). Our baby girl turns 3!!! I'm not going to get all sappy this year and divulge all the emotion that goes into this time of year. I spend a number of days during the week getting teared up at how much the angel sleeping next to me amazes me to turn on the water works now. She just curled up next to me to drink her chocolate milk and watch her favorite tv program...the music channels "Sound of the Seasons"! The girl is in love with music and dancing. I guess she was worn out because she dozed off a full hour before her normal bed time.

Crazy enough she had two great milestones today. First, she made a big step in progress in her potty training this evening, I will leave out the details on that one ;) AND she rode her bike for the first time all by herself about an hour ago. She spent a good 30 minutes riding in circles from the dining room to the living room to the kitchen teaching herself to pedal and steer. We had just finished decorating the tree and she hopped on her bike. She's been trying the last several times she has gotten on the bike to pedal by herself but her baby brother has a tendency to interfere. But tonight he was in bed and as she took a crack at it she succeeded! I must say that is the one thing I have noticed the most in her development lately...she is really doing more problem solving. Other than some minor medical problems and small delays in fine motor skills, our preemie princess is a ROCK STAR!!! We spoiled her with a pancake breakfast and pizza buffet for lunch. The two foods she asks for the most, other than daddy's "skibetty".

As I alluded to above, little brother is very mischievous. He is growing like a weed, saying all kinds of words, has incredible motor skills, has gotten all four of his molars in the last three weeks, and constantly wants to eat. He does tend to be a bit of a bully, so we spend quite a bit of time trying to keep him from crawling on and tackling his sister. All in all he is super precious!

On this great day of reflection I have three things to say;
1. God is amazing and works miracles that open my eyes each day.
2. I am blessed to have an amazing man in my life that supports and encourages me through some of the toughest times of my life.
3. Rebecca and Lauren, I love you more than I will ever be able to describe and thank the Lord to have given you to me as friends even if we are separated by miles and busy lives...I know you are always there!

Okay, I've cried anyway. God bless each of you and may this holiday season bring reflection to your heart on all the tiny miracles that surround us each day. Love and Peace of the Lord be with you!

Our crazy adventures on our way back from Nana & Papi's

Opening presents from Abby!

These two have become best friends, for obvious reasons!

Enjoying some ranch dressing with her carrots...only after witnessing daddy do it!

Decorating our Christmas Tree (in Halloween apparel no less!)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2011-11-24T05:14:00.010-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! On this glorious day that we all celebrate what we in this great nation are thankful for, this generation of the Delange family has so many blessings to count. Both of the kids are incredibly healthy and seem to soak up more knowledge each day. I don't think a day goes by where Chris and I don't look at each other and say, "How does s/he know that?" We have awesome family and friends that we love very much; we wish we could spend more time with those that are close by and that those that are far away could be closer to us. We have jobs that allow us to provide food, shelter, and care for our children and ourselves. There are so many people that go without each day of the year, yet we (mostly) only reflect on it now. Please remember to pray for all of those that go without so many necessities as well as all of the men and women that serve our country on a daily basis. And most importantly we are thankful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!! Through him all that we have and do is possible. Love and Blessings to each of you on this fine day!

Pictures from November...
Early in the month at home,
Walt Disney World with Nana and Papi,
And a trip to the park!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-30T19:17:00.020-05:00

Happy Haunting Everyone! Here are our family pictures from this excellent halloween weekend. The weather here in Houston was mighty cool in the very early morning, so we got to sport coats for about an hour each morning. The kids are doing great and enjoying all things halloween. AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE PREEMIE POWER CONTEST!!! THERE ARE SO MANY AWESOME ENTRIES OUT THERE! (click the link to the left)

Little man getting ready for bed!

Getting dressed for the school halloween carnival!

Running around the school carnival!

Playing at the nursery mommy loves to go to!

Sibling Love

2011-10-10T12:21:00.009-05:00

Other than tackling, climbing like monkeys and learning to share, not much has been going on around our household. Normal day to day of parenting as usual. Getting Bella to understand to be gentle with Zach and that he only wants to play with her. Then there is getting Zach to comprehend that he cannot barrel into his sister’s belly like it is a tackling dumby. Little man has quickly mastered the art of climbing up the toddler swing/slide set. He is now climbing into the swing facing backward and standing up pushing himself instead of turning around to sit. He will laugh and laugh at himself like it is the most daredevilish thing ever! This past weekend he conquered the slide (and the carpet) and is now sliding down perfectly 90%of the time. Oh, then there is the bed. I think we mentioned before that he had learned how to climb up our bed that is a good 5 feet off the ground. Now he is flying up the bed, jumping on it and sliding himself right off as you catch him in the act. Bella is in full diva mode these days. Everything is princess related and she really knows how to turn on the drama. Big girl started dance class this past week. I hope to make it over one day on my lunch hour to take a few pictures without her seeing me (she has a tendency to get quite upset if we show up during school hours and we leave her there). Other than that her vocabulary and sentence structure are crazy good, love all the new things she is saying and coming up with. We had a constipation scare this past weekend but with a quick Walgreen’s run we were able to combat it pretty quickly. Other than that there is nothing but sibling love around here. These 2 may be rough with each other at times but nothing beats watching them share hugs and kisses at bedtime, feed one another fruit loops in the morning and play chase around the house screaming and laughing wildly.

On a HAND TO HOLD note, check out the link to the left. This is the mark of the 2nd Annual Preemie Power contest. If you have a NICU patient or graduate, please consider sharing their fabulous and amazing story with HAND TO HOLD.

Here are a bunch of pictures of a couple of different ocassions.

Uncle Bruce & Aunt Tammy's wedding

diva time with Aunt Lisa's bracelet

Bella and her awesome cousin Brayden

Morning Adventures

Night Time Adventures

playing peek-a-boo with the door

sibling love

more beautiful smiles

PEACE AND BLESSINGS TO ALL!!!

Another month and more milestones..

2011-09-20T20:10:00.010-05:00

First off, we are sorry for not writing since Zach's birthday, it has been hectic around here. Work has been a zoo for the both of us the last couple of months, so after all the daily stuff all we want to do is pass out in the evening. So here it goes:

Zach is a curious little man! He is running now and loves to chase his sister and run around the house from one room to the next. He has grown tall enough and learned how to open the pull lever doors in the house. He loves to play hide and seek with the remotes; this is quite frustrating given the fact that we have gone several days before locating the remote. The scariest thing for us though happened this past weekend...he climbed up on our bed all by himself...our bed is a good 4 feet off the ground! He is completely off the bottle, went cold turkey after turning 1. The transition to milk was quite easy once we learned to add plenty of cereal to make it thick. We are still having a bit of trouble getting him to try new foods though. No words yet but lots of great sounds. He is so happy and loving, we are truly blessed to have such a sweet little man.

Bella gets smarter and smarter by the day. She is using complete sentences, absorbs things like a sponge and loves to sing and dance. She too has had a growth spurt and is now able to get most anything off the counter tops. She loves to sit in her room and read, plays dollhouse until her brother comes and knocks the dollhouse over because he wants her to play with him and she loves playing soccer. We pass a soccer field on our way home every afternoon and she sees the kids playing soccer and says Daddy, Bella play soccer too, c'mon Daddy let's play. So when we get home we have to play soccer and most of the time we are playing keep away from Zach who really just wants to run around. As for any medical issues, she has been doing really well. We've been extra cautious of her breathing lately given all the wildfire smoke/ash in the area.

Machel and I have been able to get out a few times for some much needed date nights, the funny thing is we don't stay out very late..we are truly getting old!! Or these two are just wearing us out. Machel also got to speak to her first NICU Support Group for Hand To Hold at the beginning of the month. She was very pleased with the turn out, group response and overall how she presented. She hopes there are more to come, so wish her luck!

Well now for some pictures, which is what you all really want to see. God Bless!!

They share breakfast together almost every morning watching TV;

for the most part they share well...but not always! :)

They love to go to the park

On our way to church

Birthday Boy

2011-08-21T07:24:00.010-05:00

Happy Birthday to Zach!! So we went to Gigi's this weekend and celebrated Zach's 1st b-day with family. He was all over the place, running around chasing his sister and cousins and he was fascinated with the balloons. He really dove into his cupcake and got it all of the place. He needed a bath because he got it all over his arms, face and in his hair. We had a great day and are blessed to have 2 amazing kids.

So before we get to the pictures I want to share a new favorite story. Bella, Zach, Machel and I woke up Saturday morning and we asked Bella if she wanted to sing Happy Birthday to Zach. She said I have an idea, how about Happy Birthday Bella?!? Machel and I could not stop laughing. We eventually sang Zach happy birthday and even went to Neaglins for some birthday breakfast.

Crazy Busy Summer Fun

2011-08-14T18:17:00.012-05:00

Baby Kenadie Update
The newest preemie we know is doing about as expected. Kenadie came into the world on Wednesday evening do to low heart rate occurrences inutero. She is on CPAP at 21% oxygen and having several apnea episodes. She's feeding at 2mL and we pray that goes up according to plan with no major delays. Please continue to pray for Kenadie, Kellie and KC.

Attack of the Daddy...

Isabella
The big girl is getting SOOOO BIG!!! She has really lengthened out and it is hard to get her to stand still long enough to get a height measurement. Her physical development still continuously surprises us. She is jumping (as of a month ago), running faster everyday, climbing up playground equipment we thought she would never conquer, and sliding down the big girl slide without her hand held (as of this morning). She is gaining confidence very steadily and it is great to see. As far as all the preemie issues go, we still monitor bowel movements and breathing daily. She also appears to be showing more and more signs of sensory integration disorder, which apparently gets worse with age for a preemie before getting better. For instance, hitting herself, sucking on all fingers at once, screaming outbursts, incredibly frightened by excessive/loud noises, and the list actually goes on and on. But you know what, it is all manageable and we are blessed for that!

First time at playing dress-up! She was begging to be a princess, so we went with it!

Zachary
I cannot believe my little man is ALMOST ONE!!! In less than a week he will be 12 months old. His first year has gone by so quickly. Obviously that mainly has to do with both of them keeping us immensely busy. But the noticeable difference is that he is unbelievably mobile and into everything. ALL BOY!!! There have been some hints at a few words, but we have heard nothing definitive. He makes great noises, lip and tongue movements. We are weaning him off the formula and introducing many new foods. He is showing signs of going for the more bland items. I might have a meat and potatoes boy on my hands. His walking is great and he is throwing a ball better than I would have imagined. He is also showing signs of wanting to climb on higher objects. He's been climbing on Bella's low to the ground bed for a while, but now he's trying to get up on the couch and dare I say our bed. Before I know it, I will have 2 mini-Delange's jumping on the big bed.

Rhys' Birthday

We had the great pleasure of finally being able to meet the Outlaw family last weekend (aka The OK Corral). Rhys celebrated his 3rd birthday last weekend Chucky Cheese Style. However brief it was, it was wonderful to spend even a little bit of time with them. Congrats on the precious new addition guys!

This is what I mean about the climbing...while at Chucky Cheese, and in the toddler section, little man decided to climb up the steps to the top of the slide.

Kolten's Visit

This weekend Ashlee and Kolten came to visit for the first time while being in Houston. We had a great time riding the train, running around the crowd at the children's museum, playing at the park and watching the kiddos chase each other around the house. The 3 of them have a blast together.

Bella's first train ride...she wasn't too thrilled

Jozef's Birthday
We also got to celebrate another birthday this weekend. (August seems to be the month for birthdays...I wonder why... :) ) Amanda and Bart's super cute little man is turning 2 and we had the honor of joining the festivities. They had so much fun, they slept the entire 45 minute drive home and another 2 hours in their beds. Unfortunately this mommy did not have camera in tow most of the weekend, so once Amanda posts a few pics, I will pirate them!

Well dear blog family, we hope you are staying cool in this unbareable heat. If you dare spend time outside, hydrate and sunblock up! Many blessings and hugs to everyone!

Prayer Request

2011-08-11T09:38:00.002-05:00

Our dear friends Kellie & KC welcomed their baby girl Kenadie into the world last night at 29 weeks, weighing 1lb 12oz. Please keep this precious baby girl and her amazing parents in your prayers. We can all learn a lesson from these unbelievable miracles...GOD IS GREAT!!! He will deliver us through all things and make us stronger in the end.

Preemie's are a blessing that are often unbelievable and unexplainable. You can look at a child that struggled in the early part of their life to merely exist in this world and they will do nothing but put a smile on your face. God has brought life to this being that, to their parents at least, has potential to no end. The will and fight of a preemie is like something you have never seen before. And after you witness the glory of God's work, your life is changed forever and you are in awe of the child's inspiration.

Kellie & KC, we love you and will do all we can to support you over the next couple of months. Praise the Lord for Kenadie's strength thus far!

A month has blown by..

2011-08-01T20:19:00.011-05:00

We are so sorry that it has been over a month since our last post. We have been swamped. A quick run down of the last month. Zach is running now and tackling his sister. We are amazed by his mobility and his coordination. He is getting into everything and follows his sister around everywhere. They play really well together until he decides to turn it into a wrestling/hugging match. Bel la's potty training is coming along slowly, she just doesn't seem like she wants to go in the potty. Her vocabulary is expanding daily, we cracked up the other day when we asked her how was her dinner and she responded...Delicious! She is so much fun to talk to, very expressive with her words. Nana and Papi came in for a weekend so that Machel and I could go on a weekend get away. Bella and Zach had a blast with their grandparents and Nana and Papi spoiled them rotten!! Well the kids continue to grow and we are constantly amazed everyday.

Zach learning to feed himself

Bella and Zach dancing and playing

Bella busted with mommy's shoes

Zach playing with Derek at Derek's 1st birthday

Small Strides

2011-06-28T20:45:00.007-05:00

Over the last few weeks the babies have had 2 goals set by us parents, walking for Zach and potty training for Bella. It has been a slow process, but both are making small strides to reach the end goal. Zach is now taking 3 steps toward me (as of tonight). He's been doing 2 steps for the last 5 days, so with this extra step I am hoping that walking is soon to follow. Bella Boo went potty in the big potty for the first (and only) time on Sunday afternoon. She told Chris "potty daddy" and he rushed her over where she did her business. Unfortunately it hasn't happened again, but we keep reinforcing what the potty is and that going in the diaper is yucky. We actually have a plan to do a 3 day boot camp over the weekend for potty training (thank you Amanda for the awesome guide book!).

June has been a busy month for us with Juno, mine and Chris' birthday, father's day, and Chris making a trip with Bella to Oklahoma. We hope all you dads out there had a blessed day with tons of love poured over you. As for birthdays, being another year older is a scary thought but allows us to understand the great accomplishments we have in our lives along with the fortune of love that fills our hearts. I feel supremely blessed to have such an amazing husband, precious children, incredible mother, loving in-laws, and many other family and friends that are so important and special to me.

I mentioned in our last post that I had made contact with Hand to Hold. I had the privilege of meeting with Kelli Kelley, the founder, a couple of weeks ago to determine the best way to approach and introduce Hand to Hold to the Houston area. I have done some research on contacts for our area and will continue to develop that database. Once we have a good distribution list, we can submit literature on the appropriate organizations. It will take me a bit of time, but I'm hoping over the next couple of months we will have made good progress in Houston. Please visit Hand to Hold's latest newsletter online if you have a few minutes:

http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/703400/27dd103d7d/ARCHIVE

Now on to what everyone really wants to see PICTURES...

At Relay for Life

Hand to Hold

2011-06-05T09:54:00.005-05:00

Hello blog family! As many of you may remember, when we first moved back to Houston, I began applying to volunteer at Texas Children's Hospital. Since the middle of February I have had the privilege of being a baby holder in their level 2 NICU. One of my goals with being a volunteer there was building a rapport with the Family Centered Care group that handles NICU family support. Luckily I was able to meet the director of that group who was upfront with me saying that Chris and I would not be able to work with their support group because we had not had our child go through their NICU. Understandable on a certain level. The director was super nice and actually pointed me in a different direction. She said there was a fabulous organization that was making great headway in the area of NICU support based in Austin. I went to the Hand to Hold website (www.handtohold.org) and instantly became quite impressed by what their founder Kelli Kelly and her team have created. After perusing for about an hour, I put together an email to find out what Hand to Hold is doing in Houston, if anything. It turns out Hand to Hold has not made it to Houston but they are looking to go nationwide. I had the pleasure of speaking with Kelli on the phone a couple of days ago to discuss bringing Hand to Hold to Houston. So to all our preemie family and supporters in the Houston area...I may be calling on you for interest and help on how to bring Houston an organization dedicated to reaching out to families to cope with the emotional, psychological and organizational stress that comes with being a NICU parent and/or family member. Hand to Hold covers the basis of every bit of support a family needs, whether it be as a resource guide, advice on how to work with staff, what do you do as a parent of a preemie once you leave the NICU, and much more. So if you have a minute, please check out Hand to Hold's website.

Now on to the Delange munchkins...

Zach is doing fabulous, although cutting 2 teeth that are giving him fits. Chris took him to the doctor this past week for a 9 month check up where he weighed 24lbs and was 29.5in long. Dr Romina was very pleased with the way he looks as well as his motor skills. The teachers at daycare say it is so cute the way he bear crawls everywhere.

Bella is still acting out. Gigi got a taste of it last weekend when we visited for the long weekend. She was quite amazed at the level of defiance by our precious angel. Hopefully by the time Nana and Papi come to visit next month she won't be as bad.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend back in New Braunfels. I got to hang out with my best friend and mom at a Aaron Watson/Gary Allan concert Friday night. Then Saturday, Chris, the kids and I had a very nice lunch visit with my former boss in Seguin...thanks Kyle & Jo for having us over! Then Chris and I were able to have a date night Saturday and catch a movie. Sunday we all took turns napping before we made the drive back home. Monday we spent the day getting Bella's room ready for her to move back in. She's been in our room ever since she came home from the hospital in April. She's had some good and bad nights. Please pray that her sleeplessness improves and her asthma symptoms remain subsided.

Here are the latest pictures of the precious babes:

Bella and Zach dancing with Daddy to the Michael Jackson Wii game

Where have we been...

2011-05-21T15:16:00.007-05:00

Hello blog world!!! So life has been a little on the busy side for the Delange household. No traveling or medical drama (praise the Lord)...just 2 little rascals that are all over the place. We have spent quite a bit of time with friends and that is great because that was one of the things we have looked forward to the most about being back in Houston. All in all Bella and Zach are doing fabulous. Bella's breathing had been getting much, much better until a couple of days ago; please pray that this cough she has developed passes easily with bumping her meds back up. She continues to be a little sponge doing very well at school learning so many things. However, one of her teachers informed me the other day that she is not wanting to listen and having to go to time out quite often. My reply, "Ahhh, that means she is comfortable with you." The joy of continued terrible 2's. Zach is getting longer, faster and into everything. He is pushing the walker all over the house and when crawling he is raising his hiney in the air while moving his feet at the same time. We have a feeling as soon as he has good standing balance he will be walking in no time. So hard to believe the little man is 9 months old already. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the warm weather, here are some pictures from the last month...

At the Astros game with the Rajtar Family...tons of family fun!!! (Amanda I stole this from your blog)

Bella helping Mommy plant my Mother's Day flowers

Zach getting into EVERYTHING! Believe me, sister is loving this!

All the kiddos in the Anderson living room for burger night

Stealing sister's blanket...oh goodness this is his new favorite thing to do

This one is just for Auntie Lauren :)

Zach Attack pushing the walker...it's only a matter of time

Many blessings and love to all! I will try to do better over the next couple of weeks (notice, no promises).

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T20:52:00.008-05:00

We spent the long weekend at Gigi's house and had a blast! Friday night was a fish fry at Pam and Frank's house. Ashlee and Bryce brought over their son Kolton, Bella and him have gotten to play together a lot and really like hanging out. Saturday we got to color eggs, play with Dalten and Brayden (Bella and Zach's cousins) and have a fun Easter Egg hunt. Sunday we were fortunate to go to church with Gigi and then had Easter breakfast. The kids were so cute and so full of energy, please enjoy the pictures of this past weekend and hopefully the Lord blessed you all with a great Easter weekend too.

Playing with Kolton Friday night

Easter Fun on Saturday with the whole family! First Easter Egg hunt with the Cousins. Unfortunately, we only took video of the hunt.

Dressed in our Easter finest

After Easter Service and Breakfast the kiddos were all tuckered out!

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

2011-04-12T10:46:00.012-05:00

For some time now we have wanted to take Isabella back to Charlottesville, VA…her birth place. About a month ago, we booked a trip for this past weekend. We were able to find a direct flight from Houston to Richmond, VA; then there is about an hour and twenty minute drive to C’ville. Both kids did great flying there and back. Zach slept the entire leg of both flights. Isabella played with her toy computer for about 40 minutes and then fell asleep, both times. We were able to catch up with so many people while we were there; it was awesome!

Thursday we didn’t make it into town until 7:30, so we went straight to eat. While eating Mellow Mushroom, Lauren and Abby stopped by to give us welcome hugs. And Lauren got to hold her godson for the first time!

Friday we took our time getting up, ate a little bit at the hotel and then headed over to the NICU. We were able to see at least 15 staff that took care of Bella including Dr. McGahren, the doctor that performed her intestinal surgery. Most of you know that I am a Yankees fan, well so is Dr. McGahren…his scrub hat is actually Yankee print fabric. So when he picked her up, he looked at her and said, “Can you say ‘Go Yankees’?” To which she replied in the cutest high pitched loud voice ‘GO YANKEES’, while swinging her arms. But probably the most amazing thing to us is that Bella ran up to, hugged and very willingly talked to each nurses/nnp/dr that came out to visit with her. It was almost like she knew they were a part of her life. I mention this because most often times she is shy around people she has just met and stays reserved for at least 15 minutes or so. Not on Friday or any other time during our visit to the NICU. (Of course Zach was in heaven having all the ladies pass him around making goo-faces at him.)

Susan, Alix, & Ellen

Dr. McGahren

After about an hour and a half there, we took a familiar walk through the hospital to The Corner. For those of you that are unaware, the hospital Isabella was born at is the University of Virginia Medical Center, which is the teaching hospital for the University of Virginia and is actually attached to the campus. The retail/restaurant shopping area adjacent to campus is called The Corner. And the apartment we lived in during Isabella’s hospital stay is roughly a quarter of a mile down from The Corner. Most of the time we walked back and forth from the hospital instead of driving, so taking this long walk from one side of the hospital to the other was pretty ceremonial. Many times that walk through the buildings, before having the rush of the weather awaken your senses, was a solid 7 minutes of decompression from the reality we were facing. Now we could walk our daughter through those halls as a miraculous success story. It was an amazing feeling. Our plan was to go up to the clothing store, load up on UVa apparel, go over to the church where she was baptized, and then let her walk around on campus for a little bit. Isabella got wrapped up with the soccer, basket-, and foot- balls while there; kicking and throwing them everywhere. By the time we stepped out of the store the weather had changed and began to rain. We decided to go get the car instead of walk them around in the drizzle. Unfortunately this put Bella to sleep, so the pictures we got at the church are of her passed out in our laps.

And this also meant no playing on campus. We had a back-up plan and decided to head downtown to the Children’s Discovery Museum to avoid the rain. Lauren and Abby met us down there for a quick lunch along with a trip to the yogurt shop. Afterward we headed back to the room for a quick rest before dinner with more friends.

Saturday was the big day though. Kam helped me plan a small picnic at the park for the staff we knew as well as some other preemies we met while in Virginia. We had a great turn out despite a good chill in the air and a little drizzle towards the end.

Emily

Abby

Isabella Fayth (in the stroller)

GIRL POWER!

Later that night we headed back up to the NICU to catch more of the medical staff and went during shift change hours. That way we could catch day and night folks all in one stop. Once again little miss didn’t skip a beat when it came loving on and “thanking” all of those who took care of her.
Lindsay and Jen

Then on Sunday we had a great surprise. We were able to meet up with Colleen, the nurse that was as close to a primary as Bella could get. We were able to have breakfast and chat for over an hour with her and her family.

All in all it was a very nice trip and great to share the progress of our precious angel with the people that did God's work to ensure she had a fighting start to her early entrance into the world. I think Charlottesville will always be our second home, no matter where we live; and the people that touched our lives over those 4 months will be like family.

Best buddies

2011-04-04T19:57:00.006-05:00

So Zach and Bella have really discovered playing with each other. They both get up at 5am and want to watch cartoons and play in mom and dad's room. Zach is now very mobile and able to crawl anywhere on and over almost anything. He is even pulling himself up and trying to stand. Bella thinks this is hilarious and plays chase with Zach. She runs over yells Chase you and runs about 15 feet away and then plops down and laughs while Zach crawls toward her. She then either gets up and runs or crawls another 20 feet and the game starts all over. They made 3 circles around the family room furniture this evening, it is a riot. Here are some pictures of them enjoying play time with one another.

Much love to all and may the Lord be with you.

KV/Ther-Rx and MOD

2011-04-01T11:35:00.000-05:00

This is the latest email...

Hello,

As promised, I am providing the latest updates regarding March of Dimes, Ther-rx and Makena. Please see the messages below. March of Dimes will also be posting this on our national website. I think you will find the below posts of great interest and benefit to you and your supporters.

Many thanks,
Zakiya Larry

March 30- March of Dimes Posting The March of Dimes has issued the following statement today, Wednesday, March 30, which you may use with your volunteers, March for Babies teams, and local news media. The March of Dimes welcomes today’s FDA statement, which lays to rest any ambiguities about whether specialty pharmacies can continue to compound 17P. It would be a tragedy to interrupt access to this important drug. To date, Ther-Rx Corporation’s handling of the launch of Makena has been unsatisfactory to the March of Dimes and to the families we represent. We’ve asked Ther-Rx in writing and in discussion to substantially lower the price of Makena and to expand coverage for patient financial assistance. We’re waiting for their public statement on this matter, which we expect will occur within the next week. The March of Dimes number one concern is the health of mothers and babies. We will continue to work in a variety of ways to ensure that all medically eligible women have access to progesterone therapy. Click here for more helpful information.

TODAY- April 1- March of Dimes PostingToday, Ther-Rx Corporation responded to our demands by reducing the list price of Makena from $1,500 to $690 and expanding patient financial assistance. While these are steps in the right direction, we have decided to terminate our contract with Ther-Rx. Please see the attached statement on our web site for the media and letter to Ther-Rx conveying this decision.

Zakiya Larry
Communications Director

March of Dimes
11044 Research Blvd.
Building A, Suite 210
Austin, TX 78759
Direct Line (512) 568-3442
General (512) 477-3221
Fax (512) 477-2788

Bella update and Zach pics too

2011-03-30T17:19:00.005-05:00

First of all, thank you for all the prayers and well wishes for our little girl. She is a tough little fighter and we are very appreciative of all of the loving support that she has. Bella was released from the hospital Monday afternoon and came home on no oxygen and no breathing treatments, just an inhaler that we are instructed to use as needed. She has only needed it once since we've been home. She is also on some antibiotics to battle the pnuemonia and make sure that she fully recovers from this latest episode. You know when she has recovered when her appetite returns and boy did it ever, this morning she woke up at 530 asking for waffles. It is so cute because she wakes up and she says good morning mommy, good morning daddy as she wakes us up. Then she asks for her juice and waffle. Her vocabulary has really exploded, she is stringing together sentences and can really communicate what she wants and needs now. Here are some pics of our little princess.

Zach is just chugging along. He is growing and become so mobile so fast. He is trying to stand up already and can crawl across a room almost as fast as his sister can walk across the room. They are starting to play together and we are having to teach them to share. Zach is such a happy baby, everyone is so amazed by how much he smiles. Here are some pics of the younger big brother! I've decided that since he will likely always be bigger than her, probably by the age of 1 that he will be her younger big brother :)

One last thing to leave you with, Machel and I follow KV-Pharma stock and look for updates all the time and some interesting developments are happening. There has been a lot of pressure placed on KV-Pharma and now it looks as if the government is going to step in. The are launching several price gouging investigations but they are also apparently going to continue to allow compounding pharmacies to make similar progesterone, I assume at the previous price point of 10-20 per injection. See the following article. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-kvpharma-idUSTRE72T6Q820110330?feedType=RSS&feedName=globalMarketsNews&rpc=43

Thanks for all of the love, prayers and support, may the Lord be with you all.

Hospital Stay

2011-03-27T14:02:00.003-05:00

Goodness, where do I begin with this post...

It seems the kids have been sick, one or the other and sometimes both at the same time, since we got to Houston. With the combination of daycare, climate, and pollen the ick is an inevitable evil. Two weeks ago Isabella came down with an almost 105 fever. It was roughly 3:30am Saturday March 12 when Chris loaded her up for the ER. After a couple of hours she was released following a blood count, x-ray and nasal swab. At the ER trip, no test showed anything major so they sent her home with strict Motrin/Fluid/Rest orders. So that's precisely what we did...as always when she is the slightest bit ill. The rest of that day she seemed to be progressing to recovery. Sunday the 13th however she decided to start hacking coughing and running a fever we just couldn't break. Monday the 14th I called the pediatrician 3 times to discuss her status and finally got her in for a 2pm appointment. The pedi visit showed she had a pretty bad ear infection and bronchial restriction. They sent us home on amoxicilin and a nasal steroid to use with albuterol through the nebulizer as a breathing treatment. At 5pm that same day, her nasal swab results from the ER were sent to her pedi's office...but the wrong doctor. The bad thing was that the wrong doctor read them and forwarded them to his nurse instead of her actual pedi. The test showed she had Metapneumo Virus, which is a respiratory virus that is a cousin of RSV. No one ever called to let us know this was her diagnosis. We kept her home from school for several days and by the 18th she seemed to be doing significantly better. Her nurse that works with her pedi called that day to check on her, so Chris told her nurse that Bella appeared to be recovering well. There was still no mention of this virus being in her lungs. Sunday the 20th (the day our little man turned 7 months!) she took a turn for the worse. Her breathing became labored and rapid again. It almost seemed as though she was asthmatic. She also had several fever spikes of right at 101. This all occurred Sunday evening so we wanted to see how she did during the day Monday. School called Monday to say she was coughing horribly so Chris picked her up and I made her a doctors appointment for Tuesday morning. The pediatrician immediately said something about her being able to recover from the respiratory virus. My stunned reaction was, "what are you talking about?" She immediately started to cover her tracks about the huge error on their offices part. I asked a series of questions about doing a chest x-ray, whether allergies could be an issue, is she asthmatic, etc. Her response was that all of this is related to the virus in her lungs; let's give her an oral steroid to take on top of the breathing treatments and see how she is doing by Friday. This doctor knows Bella was a preemie, has battled with allergies on some level with a recurring cough, as well as been on breathing treatments many many times. I don't understand why you wouldn't cover all of your basis's at this visit. It was my fault to walk away from that office not demanding a further evaluation of her lungs. By the 24th her breathing and coughing was no better. I scheduled another appointment for 8am the 25th. By 9:30am Friday we were checked into the hospital. The doctors visit showed her airways were no better, her breathing was just as labored and crackly with a string of wheezing. The x-ray (that should have been done Tuesday) showed build up in several parts of her lungs that appeared to be collapsed pockets in her lungs. We got her to the new Texas Children's West Campus where they knew she was coming and wasted no time tending to her. [Awesome and very knowledgeable medical staff...I felt so comfortable having her there.] After a series of rapid breathing treatments they did another x-ray. The pediatrician on staff diagnosed her with pneumonia combined with an asthmatic reaction. After all they could do in 24 hours with loads of antibiotics, oral steroids, fluids and continuous breathing treatments (yes, this means she had a constant albuterol pump/mask hooked up to her face), they transported her to the TCH at the Medical Center (downtown Houston) for extensive medical attention. The West Campus facility has a current policy that if a child needs any kind of intensive care treatment, they must be transported to the Medical Center. Bella is currently in the low level pediatric icu (a step-down unit/transition). Her vitals were really all over the place Friday and Saturday. Through last night they were able to move her from constant breathing treatments to every 2 hours to every 3 hours and even on to every 4 hours when I spoke with Chris at 6am this morning. As I sit by her side in the hospital, she is sleeping with a resting heart rate of 138, respiratory rate of 33, and oxygen saturation of 93 on 1L of 100% O2 through a nasal cannula. She is making a slow recovery, but it is to be expected with her history. God has done amazing things with her in so many ways. Get this...on Friday afternoon, when Chris brought me food, he was entertaining her while I ate and out of no where she began singing Amazing Grace. We sing it to her every night at bedtime, and she will sing Jesus Loves Me, but she has never sang Amazing Grace for our ears. Tears started rolling down my face into my salad. God is good!!!

Each pediatrician we talked to said that this virus did a number on her lungs because of her prematurity. I even asked one doctor about the fact that she was not granted a synigis immunization this year. They felt that played a factor in her contracting the initial respiratory virus and not being able to fight off it's affects. The synigis shot is just like the stupid makena/17p issue going on right now...a super expensive drug that insurance companies will cover under a certain set of rules and extensive guidelines...when it should be available to every child that will truly benefit from its purpose. (Speaking of which, I got a phone call from the Texas Communications Director of March of Dimes on Friday while I was sitting at Isabella's bedside. She wanted to discuss the makena/17p issue and the connection between March of Dimes and the pharmaceutical company. Needless to say she called at a bad time and I went off on her. I wasn't rude, well too rude, but I let her have quite a bit of pent up frustration and the damage to children that will be done as a result of increased prematurity. My daughter being a prime example of children that suffer from long-term affects of prematurity.)

Fortunately but unfortunately, Chris' parents were in town this weekend. We had (as well as they) been looking forward to this trip for a while. We had a few plans to take the kiddos out and do some fun stuff on Friday and Saturday. Instead of making it to the Children's Museum and the Zoo, their time was spent with Bella in the hospital. But it was such a blessing that they were here to take care of Zach. I know that was great bonding time for them with him one-on-two and they enjoyed every minute of it. So thanks Nana and Papi for taking care of our little man! My mom hopped into town yesterday afternoon with Auntie Kim (my mom's best friend). They helped me take care of Zach last night so I could get some much needed sleep. It's awesome being so close to family and having a family that is so caring and loving!!!

Well, please pray for our baby girl and that she comes back strong. We will keep you updated on her progress and release from the hospital. Last we heard the game plan was for release tomorrow sometime. God willing that pans out!

Chris will be posting pictures from home, so check back...

Here are the pics
Bella in the hospital

Little man growing like a weed

Positive Steps...But a Long Way to Go

2011-03-24T13:56:00.003-05:00

As a follow-up to our last post, March of Dimes is still on our bad side. Fortunately the entire 17P/Makena issue has exploded and so many people have voiced concerns. That is amazing and great news! Chris and I have been quite frustrated with MOD simply piddling along not making much of a controversy of this issue. On Tuesday I received an email from the Houston March of Dimes family coordinator who received our information from Midland. She wanted to thank us for being a part of MOD/March for Babies and looked forward to meeting us. I promptly sent her an email stating that she wouldn't be meeting our family any time soon unless she can provide me with evidence that the relationship between KV/Ther-Rx and MOD would change as a result of the latest greed campaign of the drug company. I guess that got me on some type of mailing list. About an hour ago I received an email from the MOD Texas Communications Director with a nicely detailed list of the actions MOD has taken over the last week and a half. To the dismay of so many, the MOD effort started out weak and with little effort. With the uproar that so many have made, it appears that MOD decided to up the anty as of yesterday. Here is the letter Dr. Howse sent to Ther-Rx:

It is sad that it took so much out cry from their supporters for them to make this plea. MOD should have come out with this statement from the get-go! Now they have lost the respect of so many. I can guarantee that we are still on the outs with this group, will not be fundraising this year (if ever again), and I still plan to actively renounce MOD through letters to any necessary party that will make their actions known and hold MOD accountable for their connection to KV/Ther-Rx. Like I have repeatedly told people, I can give that money to UVa Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital or our church instead of MOD. If this group ever wants our support again, they will have to stand by the above claims as well as pound the statistics into the medias head about what is really being done to make Makena available to all women that need and deserve it for their precious unborn children.

Thanks for letting me rant...

March of Dimes

2011-03-15T13:44:00.012-05:00

In the last 12 hours, our family has gone from huge supporters of the March of Dimes and the work they do to being grately disgusted by their backdoor politics. As most of you know, during the last 18 weeks of my pregnancy with Zach, I received a weekly progesterone shot. Over 10 years ago research done regarding women's hormones levels during pregnancy revealed that low levels of progesterone in pregnant women sparked preterm labor. Through a certain concentration of progesterone injections, a woman with this complication can remain pregnant for the needed time to make sure her baby is not born too early. To quote an article we read, "It is a compounded drug, widely available, at a cost of about $10 to $20 per injection. In the world of pharmaceuticals this was a bit of a bargain drug. This past week a drug company, KV Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval to be the exclusive manufacturer of this drug which KV Pharma has named Makena. They are planning to charge $1500 per injection for a total cost, per pregnancy, of $30,000!! The current cost is $10 per injection, or $200 per pregnancy. Studies show that approximately 30 women need to be treated with P17 to prevent one preterm birth. At $200 per patient, this is very cost effective. That is an expenditure of $6,000 to save the average of $51,000 per preterm delivery. With current pricing, we will have to spend $9 million dollars in P17 therapy to save $51,000. Does this make sense? And people want to know why health care costs so much. So who pays the bill for these increased costs? We all do through higher taxes and higher healthcare premiums. How much is regulatory approval worth, anyway? That seems to be what we're really arguing about. After all, patients are getting the same drug, in the same formulation, dosed the same way as before. But now it's FDA-Approved!"

It turns out that March of Dimes has been receiving funds from KV Pharma for years and is in full support of their exclusive rights to the shot. So a charitable organization dedicated to the safe keeping of inutero babies and stopping preterm births, has openly supported KV Pharma, the exclusive rights to P17, and continues to take dirty money? And you expect your dedicated fundraisers, most of who had premature babies, to be okay with this? Sorry, cannot do!!! I fully believe that my son born at 36 weeks would have been significantly early if not for those shots. MOD has lost my respect until they can redeem themselves or prove their involvement of a worthy nature in this political triangle.

As always, our family thanks you for your continued support in our fundraising efforts, but due to these recent actions we will not be walking for the MOD this year and in fact will stop our fundraising for them until a clear explanation is provided. We will also be writing letters to our congressmen, MOD, and the FDA. Knowledge and information is key to making informed decisions. We encourage you to get all the facts on this, and every political issue facing our great nation today. We have the right to know, the right to speak, and the right to make our own path. Our families path will be support an organization of honest character dedicated to the well being of the people they serve.

Blog Post about KV Pharma/MOD
http://eliza-grace-micro-preemie.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes-and-kv-pharmacueticals.html?spref=fb

Blog Post on Forbes
http://blogs.forbes.com/davidwhelan/2011/03/11/is-kv-pharmaceutical-a-flat-out-evil-company/?partner=yahootix

HAPPY BELLA DAY!!!

2011-03-14T09:23:00.007-05:00

Two years ago today we brought home our precious angel after 99 days in the NICU! We celebrate this day with great joy that God brought our baby girl through so much with incredile determination and fighting spirit. Here's a look back at the amazing hurdles she's surpassed with flying colors...

3 Days Old

Leaving the NICU

A Helmet and Plenty of Therapy

1 Year Old

Playing with my Bella Day Balloons

Blessings, Peace and Love to All!!!

Personalities

2011-02-27T20:48:00.004-06:00

The Makings of a Tomboy
I’ve known for a while that my little girl is super tough. She can bonk her head, fall off a chair, or scratch her knee and not blink an eye. But the true test came this last week, she got into her first fight…at school. Apparently she and her “friend” (as they wrote it up in the report) had a scuffle where Isabella got bit and did not retaliate afterward. Now Chris was disappointed, but it made me happy that she didn’t do something back. It infuriates me that she swings her arms at me and often slaps me, but I would rather be me than anyone else.

Then there was Saturday at the park where she fell at the playground. Turned around too fast, lost her footing and face planted on a stair. Her nose even started bleeding. A couple of tears I must admit, but she recovered quickly and went right back to playing.

We had a brief doctor’s visit with Zach’s 6 month check-up where we switched her allergy medicine from Allegra to Singular. Hopefully this will help with that deep cough she has, we shall see!

The Makings of a Momma's Boy
As I mentioned, Zach had his 6 month check-up last week. He measured in the 75th percentile in all categories; 20lb, 27.5in long, 17cm head circ. Dr. R was very impressed with his motor skills. Said he resembled an 8month old, which I don’t know if that is good or bad considering his sister is so mischievous. We have also started trying level 1 foods, carrots to start. He wasn't too interested, but we will keep it up of course.

The little man gets so excited every time he sees me. He is actually the most active when I walk into the room. It looks like he is going to take flight the way he lays on his stomach and swings his arms and legs in the air. Then he will cry until I pick him up. I decided tonight that I have to force myself to leave him on the playmate or playing with his sister so that I avoid spoiling him any further. On top of that, my back is throbbing from lugging him around everywhere.

I've had one volunteering session at the hospital and it was great. I really didn't know what to expect or how emotional I would be. Luckily it was like riding a bicycle and felt very natural, just like holding any other baby with a few wires attached.

Chris and I actually got to go on a date the other night (outside of our Valentine’s Day dinner). We went to a Steve Miller Band show at the House of Blues. Great venue, great band, great company…all around awesome night!!! Although I was checking my phone every 2 minutes in case the sitter called, even though it was already set to vibrate.

And fortunately the weather here has decided to act like Texas. It was a super sunny, humid, warm February day, as it should be in Houston, TX. We were able to get a little yard work done and then enjoy lunch outside at one of our favorite Tex-Mex spots. Hopefully we won’t have any odd spring cold bursts.

As always, our days are filled with super cute moments (along with lots of crying, dirty diapers, and constant feeding). Cute moment for the day…Bella sitting on the floor in front of Zach, opening a book, which she quietly starts to read to him, turns the book to his face, points to words and turns the pages as she continues to say words. They love each other very much…for right now anyway!

We hope that all of you are doing splendidly well and find your days filled with many blessings! Peace & God be with you!

Picture Fun!

2011-02-21T12:33:00.003-06:00

How Time Slips Away

2011-02-07T21:58:00.008-06:00

And I thought I was going to do better at this...

Well, life has continued to stay busy, obviously. We are just about finished unpacking. So much harder to do all of this with 2 small children. The kiddos are great. We constantly struggle with the snotty noses and congestion. We've even had to resort to breathing treatments on both of them. But through it all they have been little troopers and continue to smile away. Zach is getting SOOOO big. He is a few weeks away from army crawling. I actually saw him get his butt in the air tonight. At times it almost looks like he is swimming on his belly. He is also cooing up a storm and starting the spitting phase. Tonight I was drenched in slobber when I put him down for bed. Bella is being defiant these days. We have incorporated a time out stool to get the point across that no means no. We will see how that works. We keep telling ourselves that we need to start potty training...but haven't. If anyone has tips on what to do...please feel free to share your wisdom. Other than the typical get up at 5am, get ready for school and work, go to school and work, pick up kids, feed/bathe/diaper change kids, eat dinner, pick up the house, unpack a couple of boxes, and relax, not much is going on. We have tried to spend time with friends and exercise a little. I got on the treadmill for the first time tonight since before getting pregnant with Zach, have to admit that interval training felt pretty good. Hopefully we can keep up a workcout routine. Oh, the other cool thing, I have been accepted to volunteer at Texas Children's Hospital at the Medical Center as a volunteer in the NICU. I have gone through a brief general training, but attend my NICU training class this Sunday. I'm very excited but nervous at the same time. Okay, on to the important stuff...pictures...

Isabella's Godmommy Rebecca came to visit! She got to spend an entire afternoon with Bella. Then mommy and daddy got to have adults over for dinner when Mark (Rebecca's husband) joined the crew, so nice!

It's all about the little man :)

The bike Nana and Papi got me (it is SUPER cool!)

Going for a stroll with the new bike!

Swallowed by Boxes

2011-01-18T07:36:00.010-06:00

I cannot believe we have gone this long without posting anything. I feel terrible for the time lag. But in our defense, the last few weeks have been CRAZY. Between holidays, traveling, moving, being sick, and new house repairs...time has floated away. It's hard to believe it's already the middle of January in our new year. The last few weeks would not have been possible without the help of so many people.

First, Cam and Cynthia...thank you for taking care of Zach while Isabella and I were sick. Chris was in Midland packing up the house during the first week of the month. Anyone who knows that I'm an accountant can only imagine this is a super busy time at work. Juggling 2 kids in a hotel room while having to be to work before 7am and not getting off until after 6pm really wore me down. By the end of the week I got a bug and became violently sick. Low and behold, Isabella became sick within a few hours after me. Fortunately Cam and Cynthia came to Zach's rescue and he never got sick. (although they ended up getting sick the following week)

Then there is GiGi (my mom), who drove over 2 hours to take care of Isabella and me until Chris could get to Houston. Thanks mommy!

Next on the list is my fabulous Uncle Ricky. He drove down from Oklahoma last week to help Chris and me make some changes to the house. We got so much done this weekend and the house is already transformed by the small cosmetic items he was able to install. I love you man! ;)

Now back to present day. Today is a pretty special day in the Delange household. We have an old man roaming around the house. Cooder Bear, our chocolate lab, is 5 years old today. I cannot believe my little, fat, blue-eyed rollie pollie is FIVE! Now he's our 95 pound monster. He's one of the best dogs a family could have. We had our traditional meatloaf puppy dinner tonight and sang him happy birthday.

Not sure if you all remember baby girl Cherish that was pod-mates with Isabella (she was born at 24 weeks and passed away after 6 short months of life). For those of you that do, I found out Sunday that her parents welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world at just over 31 weeks. They named her Isabella Fayth, she weighed 3lb 3oz and is 16in long. She is doing well and has filled her parents hearts with a joy beyond explanation. So CONGRATS Tonya and IC on your bundle of joy!!!

In other preemie news, I was informed by a childhood friend that another micro-preemie was welcomed into the world on Dec 28 at 25 weeks gestation. Her name is Lily Huth and appears to be doing well to date. She went on the vent for a short while and became the slightest bit septic, but has recovered nicely. Please add Lily to your prayer list! If I get a blog link or have any other news I will be sure to post. It is always amazing to follow these little miracles and see all they overcome.

As for Bella and Zach they seem to be growing like little weeds. Bella is really enjoying her new house. The day after we moved in and we arrived home from school, she easily walked up the front stoop, approached the door, threw her left hand in the air and shouted "HOME!" It made my heart feel all fuzzy. She's also doing a tumbling class at school on Wednesdays (I did this in leiu of continuing physical therapy) in which the teacher said she is willing to try everything and does really well with all the equipment. Zach is gobbling down his formula like crazy, rolling over, sitting up easily in the bumpo at school, playing very well with any toy you put in front of him, and being the happiest baby in his infant room. Have to admit, it's very different not seeing them so much during the day. I miss my babies. And having so little time with them during the evening does stink. I could only imagine how much worse it could be if we didn't live 10 minutes from work.

All in all, life is wonderful for the Delange family and we have missed you all. Now that life is starting to calm down a bit, I will definitely be posting more frequently. Have a blessed day and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Peace and God Bless

Merry Christmas To All

2010-12-24T22:09:00.009-06:00

We have gone from Thanksgiving to Christmas in the blink of an eye. We have come to the climax of our time of year where there is so much running around, hustling and buslting, in search for the perfect items to make our loved ones happy. And before we know it a new year will embark upon us. For me Thanksgiving has always been the beginning of an amazing time of year where we begin to count our blessings then bask in the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, ever since Isabella's birth it has been so much more, pure appreciation for life. Throughout the year we are constantly greatful for our children and the joy they bring to our lives. During Christmas that joy is over emphasized. With Isabella it is for the obvious reason that this time of year marks her birth and struggle to survive. I have noticed with Zach that the same feelings apply. The smile on his face, the ponder in his eyes, and the cooing to his sister melt my heart. I know that my 2 amazing children are possible through the many blessings our family has been bestowed. None of that would be possible without the love of Christ. It goes so much further than "the reason for the season". Embracing Christmas is acknowledging the beginning of our faith, the initiation of our beliefs. Just as most people, I love this time of year, but most of all I love going to Christmas Eve service to reaffirm Christ's entrance into this world and purpose in our lives. I pray that each of you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS with the spirit of the Lord in your hearts!

Now, on to family business. Most of you know, but to those who don't, we are moving to Houston. This last month has been a whirl-wind it seems. My job in Houston started at the beginning of December so I have been traveling back and forth for several weeks now. On top of the travel chaos, we also took a trip to New York City for a vacation we booked back in July. For Christmas, Nana and Papi came in from Florida. So life has been super busy. To limit additional work travel, Chris and I have tried to have all of our paperwork and ducks in a row to close on our house in Houston on December 31. That means we have only a few more days in Midland. It is crazy to think that we are leaving our first home together. Midland has been a great town for us. We have met some amazing people, enjoyed the peaceful nature of the desert with actual seasons, attended an awesome chruch, found some extraordinary people to look after our children (Ellen, Katie and the parent's day out programs), and most of all started our life together. Midland has brought some interesting things to life as well; kamakazee birds (we've killed 6 in total with our cars), wind/dust storms (landing at the airport in 40mph winds is not fun), tornado warnings (I've had to be locked in the closet twice), beautiful blankets of snow, some of the most spectacular sunsets you could imagine, the drive-in, a one of a kind diner/fountain shop. Once we are gone there will be more to miss I am sure. For the time being we are excited to be closer to family and long-time friends, have the kids in a full-time school, and work on updating a "new to us" house.

Zachary and Isabella are both doing great. Zach is up to 16.5lbs and 25in long. Isabella is 33lbs and 34in tall. It's crazy to think that our 4 month old is only 9in shorter than our 2 year-old. Zach has great head control, loves tummy time and has rolled over twice. When braced in the boppy he actually sits up pretty well. Isabella is all over the place loving life and being a social butterfly. She has a captivating personality and inquisitive mind that pushes her to constantly learn. She can actually count to 10 in Spanish now, I love it! I have a feeling Zach will walk early and once he does Chris and I will have our hands full with the 2 of them being into everything TOGETHER! I actually can't wait! They are both precious and so much fun.

Here are pictures from the last few weeks; Enjoy, Peace and God Bless!

Classic Scared of Santa

New York City

Our 1st Bath Together!

Christmas Eve Fun!

BELLA BIRTHDAY RECAP

2010-12-06T16:59:00.005-06:00

Pictures from the eventful day...

Sister and Brother bonding over Super Why

Shredding the paper on her presents

Give me the sweet stuff...

Why are these people singing and looking at me?

It's about time...

Why the hat mommy?

Once again passed out while playing!

Because he is so darn cute!!!

SUPER PROUD PARENTS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

2010-12-04T12:15:00.008-06:00

Two years ago today I experienced the 2nd of the two most traumatic events in my life, Isabella’s eventful entrance into this world. I have read so many Facebook posts this week from friends in varying parts of the country speak of one life passing and another coming, as they have observed the renewal of life. Four and half years ago I witnessed the passing of my father from this world to the next as my first traumatic event. After 63.5 short years of life and 46 years of being a loving father, his soul evaporated from his body before his family’s eyes. To this day I am haunted by the memory of what happened in that hospital room, miss the feel of his big embrace and weep at the thought of not being able to sit in his lap to have him tell me how much he loves me. However, as is true, we have constant renewal of life. On December 4, 2008 as I had a living angel by my side physically holding my hand, Rebecca prayed with me and waited patiently as the next traumatic event began until Chris arrived in Virginia from Texas. At the same time, I had God's angel standing in the corner of my room telling me everything was going to be just fine. As peace washed over me by the grace of God, I miraculously held off delivery of my baby girl for 36 hours. Which was astounding considering after arriving at UVA, the swarm of nurses and doctors didn’t think I would be pregnant much longer. With Chris’ arrival from Texas Rebecca was physically relieved from watching over me, but never stopped being our advocate to the Lord and everyone back in Texas. On December 5, after hours of being inverted on my head, trying desperately to avoid pain medication, listening to the Juno soundtrack on the iPod over and over, and the constant replay of Toy Story in the VHS, Isabella’s tiny little head popped into place and I screamed at Chris that she was coming. With both of us in tears with the thought of a 60% survival rate of a baby girl born at 24 weeks on our mind, we heard our precious baby cry as she appeared in the doctors hands basking in the delivery room lights. Once the neonatal team evaluated her, they briefly brought her to my side to allow me the closest thing to a newborn embrace they could, a gentle squeeze of my left pointer finger. And in the same way that my father told me he loved me one last time by clutching my hand in response to my voice, my daughter had acknowledged her presence in this world. And the renewal of life began…

24 hours old

After 4 surgeries, 99 days in the NICU and developing a whole new family with the life of a preemie, Isabella came home. Although life was not normal, and to this day isn’t completely normal, she radiated a personality of determination and fighting spirit. Our micro-preemie has soared through her development and surpassed so many hurdles. She is a blessed child and we are fortunate parents to have a daughter whose life could be drastically different. So many micro-preemies physical and mental state turn out completely different all because of the slightest of margins in medical care and preventive care. We are eternally grateful to our UVA family and their team of medical professionals. After two joyous years of constant smiles and laughs, I continuously reminisce my experience in Virginia and often long to be back at the place where my life changed forever. Although Isabella went through many awful days and nights, the people and the city of Charlottesville always kept a bit of magic in my heart. No matter how much time passes, they will always be like family to me.

1 year old

At the age of 2, our little girl who has over come so much in her short life, is doing tremendous things:
1. Talking up a storm and repeating many words you don't ask her to.
2. Counting to 15.
3. Identifying animals, shapes, colors and recognizing them all by name.
4. Reading close to 100 words...Your Baby Can Read really worked for her.
5. Stringing words together when talking to you.
6. Walking like nothing can slow her down, although a little clumsy at times.
7. Attempting to run, jump and climb.
8. Weighs 32lbs and is 34in tall.

Each day she amazes us and lights up our lives. So here's to you Isabella...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one spectacular, courageous, determined, independent, loving and miraculous child. WE LOVE YOU!

Day of Great Joy

2010-11-14T19:04:00.010-06:00

Things around the Delange household have been somewhat calm over the last week. Our two kiddos continue to grow and become more active each day. The little man is sleeping less during the day, enjoying extended tummy time, as well as smiling and cooing when talked to. Isabella's imagination has started to run wild. Most of the day she holds her little people in each hand making them do various things each place she goes to in the house; she even tells them to "sit". In addition, she is beginning to have interaction with her dollies; tonight she put one of her dolls in Zach's swing, pushed her, and said "baby".

What an adorable smile (thanks Mere for the oh-so appropriate shirt)

The calmness ended once the weekend started. A couple of months ago we scheduled a monumental event for today...ZACH's BAPTISM. That meant company and lots of running around. My mom, best friend and her son came in Friday. Bella and Kolton had so much fun together, so much fun that this afternoon she took a 3.5 hour nap. Look at this great dance number we got to witness last night.

Then this morning the big day arrived. Kolton and Bella got ready in their Sunday best. And Zach behaved wonderfully as we swaddled him into his Christening outfit.

Zach entertained the crowd with his precious expressions before the baptismal presentation started.

He slept through most of the baptism and didn't let out a cry until Father Ligget anointed him with the sign of the cross.

Once the baptismal service was complete, he thought he was the big man in church. Look at how well he is standing in Daddy's lap.

Chris and I loved every minute of this day. It was fantastic to see our handsome, healthy son being welcomed into the Christian community with such love and warmth. The congregation at our church are an amazing group of people. We are so happy that we were able to have this service in their witness.

Gigi, Ashlee, Kolton and Luke...thank you so much for making the long trip out here to be by our sides.

Nana, Papi, Mama and Lauren...we know you would have been here if you could, but thank you so much for the special and precious gifts we were able to use during the service that Zach will cherish always.

May the love of the Holy Spirit fill your hearts always. Until next time, Peace & God Bless!

Are we behind or what...

2010-11-05T18:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry it has been so long for an update. Chris and I have both been traveling for work, so life's been kind of hectic. Here is the latest from the Delange household:

Big girl bed

So we noticed that Bella was outgrowing her crib. She was constantly hitting her head or feet as she rolled around in her sleep. The concept of her outgrowing her crib before she turns 2 is crazy considering our micro-preemie is still low on the growth chart. But sure enough it was time. We found this cool bunk bed unit and modified it with bed rails and the bumper from her crib.

Into the crib

Now that the crib is free, the little man has staked his claim to it...although he isn't sleeping in it very much. At night he is still in bed with mommy and daddy. The good thing is that he is sleeping better and crying a little less. We still have the crying fits throughout the day but they have become less frequent. We had his 2mo follow-up this week where Dr. J looked him over and the nurses got to see his crazy beet red face after administering his shots. He is growing very well, up to 13.5lbs and 23.5in, he is making great cooing noises and holding his head up well. She seems to think his motor skills are great and there are chances he will develop early, which I am sure will be encouraged by wanting to chase his big sister around.

HALLOWEEN
Daddy's little football

Mommy's Ladybug

We had a fun Halloween. We carved our pumpkin early in the morning, made sure we had plenty of candy and then I took Bella up and down the street at dusk. She did well, although apprehensive at first, and enjoyed taking the candy out of people's hands/baskets. Her most enjoyment came at home when the doorbell rang and trick-or-treators appeared on the other side of the door. Each time the bell rang she would bounce with excitement and break into the closest thing to a run she can do.

Open House at School

We got to interact at Bella's school last night where we had a folder of drawings waiting for us and some group singing. It was so cute to see all the kids she plays with and how they play together. She is counting to ten, identifying letters, and stringing words together.

After open house we went to Olive Garden. Bella loves pasta and bread! Zach was chill in his carseat just until I got ready to put a fork of food in my mouth. I told Chris I feel like the mom from A Christmas Story. He seems to start his crying fits right as I begin to do something, especially eat.

We hope you all are enjoying the change in seasons. As enter this time of Thanksgiving, we want to remind you all of how thankful we are to have you as supporters of our amazing children. Peace and God Bless!

Quick Trip to Arlington

2010-10-17T19:29:00.006-05:00

Mommy & Daddy's little pumpkin

Thursday morning I woke up in a pumpkin kinda mood. I decided Isabella needed to get in the Halloween spirit with a little orange; pumpkin shirt, bow and earrings!

The pumpkin urge may have also come from my slightly impulsive nature last week. I had told Chris last weekend that if the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays to advance to the American League Championship series, I wanted to go see the Yankees take on the Rangers in Arlington (rooting for the Yankees of course). Tuesday night Game 5 approached between the Rangers and Rays. As I fed Zach and watched the Rangers wrap up that series, I hastely called Chris stressing that I still wanted to make the trip to Arlington. Fortunately Games 1 & 2 of the ALCS were in Arlington, game 2 being Saturday at 3pm. I was able to acquire tickets pretty easily, and in a shaded area. This last minute decision turned into a great family weekend. Friday night we had sushi, which we hadn't eaten in almost a year because of the pregnancy. Luke, the kids godfather, was also in the Dallas area for the weekend visiting family, so we were able to meet him for breakfast Saturday morning. After breakfast we headed over to the Fort Worth zoo, which was very nice and canopied. Bella had a great time and we relished in her observation of all the animals. Even after a busy morning, we were able to make it to our seats at the ballpark with kids in tow right as the game started. Zach slept peacefully on my chest while Bella sat in Chris's lap as we made it easily through 6 and a half innings. We left to beat traffic, rest up after a long day, and avoid watching the Yankees choke as they trailed 7-2. Regardless of the fast and tiring trip, we enjoyed being able to have these experiences with the kiddos, obviously more for us since they will never remember it!

After our long drive to Arlington Friday afternoon

The Fort Worth Zoo

Before the game

During the game

After the game

Week In Pictures, Vol II

2010-10-03T20:05:00.005-05:00

Judging by the size, this shirt is obviously not Isabella's. This is mommy's shirt, pre-babies. While cleaning out my closet, I found it. Most people that know me, know why I have this shirt. I felt it was fitting for the princess to wear. (The shirt says Little Miss Bossy!!)

Zachary is becoming such a big boy and finally filling out all of his NB clothes. He is moving to his 0-3 months clothes tomorrow.

Isabella loves going outside to take walks with mommy and help me prune flowers. She has a special drawer that holds her hat and sunglasses by the front door, which we make her put on almost everytime we step outside. She has gotten tall enough to open this drawer and pull out her little items. Thursday I was sitting in our bedroom on the floor sorting through laundry with Zach in my lap when I hear Bella get all excited. I look up to see her trotting through the living room with her sunglasses placed neatly on her face.

This is our latest PT toy. The trike is designed to build upper and lower body strength. In just one short week it has made a difference in her leg flexibility and ability to climb steps.

He is just so darn cute!

You Can Go Home Again

2010-09-27T13:46:00.011-05:00

After 5 months of absolutely no traveling, I decided it was time to take a quick trip. Our destination? My hometown of New Braunfels, TX. Born and raised in this fabulous town, you come to appreciate all of its time honored traditions once you are older. One of those is our yearly county fair. I was so excited to share this experience with Bella (Zach will get his turn next year). As a kick-off to the fair events, there is a parade. I drove in Thursday afternoon so that I would be able to take Bella to the parade Friday morning. Once there, we shared a chocolate donut from the oldest bakery (and best) in Texas, Neaglin's (courtesy of Uncle Eddie, one of my childhood best friends) before the parade started. Alongside Aunt Ashlee and Kolton, we stood in the packed crowd surrounded by a community of families with children of all ages waiting for the American flag, military representatives, high school bands, state officials, local service clubs and many other groups to march through the middle of town to celebrate what we all love about where we live. This is small town America at its best. As the fire trucks, horses, and military personnel went by, I got to see the expression of amusement and joy spread across Bella’s face. She clapped, she pointed in wonder, and most importantly she smiled from ear to ear.

After the parade, my mom, Bella, Zach and I went up to visit my co-workers for cake and punch. They all thought Zach was handsome and Bella was amazing. I get so excited being able to have the kids spend time with them.[THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO SPEND WITH US AND THE GREAT GIFT.]

Chris flew into Austin Friday afternoon to join us for the remainder of the weekend. We found out some time back that there is a Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria in Austin. While we were in Virginian for Bella’s NICU stay, we fell in love with Mellow Mushroom. This restaurant became a safe haven for Chris and me. On our half mile walk back to our apartment from the hospital we would sneak in for a pizza and beer to wind down from whatever bit of stress had elapsed for the day. So as a treat to ourselves, we got to share Mellow Mushroom pizza with Bella for the first time after picking Daddy up from the airport. (but it would have been better if we were in Virginia)

Saturday morning is what Chris and I had been looking forward to the most with Bella. At the fairgrounds Saturday morning there is always the children’s game area, animal petting area and the larger animals to observe. Bella has recently gotten into saying animal noises and pays the most attention to her books with animals in them. Her reaction was priceless even though she was slightly intimidated by the size of the animals, even the babies.

That afternoon we had a mini family reunion at my mom’s house to celebrate Zach’s arrival. We were surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and the dearest friends. We laughed, ate, watched football and enjoyed being a family. [THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT WAS THERE. OUR LIVES ARE THAT MUCH BETTER BECAUSE EACH OF YOU IS IN IT.]

It was wonderful being back home for a few days and getting to visit with so many people, even if it was short lived. I must say, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel blessed for all the many gifts God has given me in my life. And one of those gifts are all the amazing people in my life. I love you all and can't wait to see you again soon.

Cute Moments of the Week

2010-09-19T18:50:00.006-05:00

A month ago tonight, I went into labor less than a week after having my last progesterone shot and my cerclage still in. The day before going into labor we had our last ultrasound with the Perinatalogist who told me that only 5% of women go into labor within 48 hours of having the cerclage removed. (Chris thinks I should take Zach over there for a visit to give the doctor a good laugh.) Getting the cerclage out without a drop of pain medication was excruciating. But once it was out we were Thunder Cats A Go! Labor pains were tolerable for the first several hours but once 11pm hit I was craving an epidural. I couldn't feel ANYTHING from the waist down afterward. It was so bad I almost kicked the nurse in the head because I thought I would be helpful in moving my leg for her. It was like watching a stick of jello aimed at her head. The next 4 hours seemed to fly by as I rested and listened to Zach's heartbeat on the monitor, paranoid up until the last minute praying that he was never in harms way. At 3:34am Zach popped into the world screaming at the top of his lungs as Chris helped me curl up to deliver that final push. We were safely the proud parents of two children.

Needless to say, the last month has been rough. Having a newborn with a 21 month old toddler is not easy by any means. On top of that, this is kind of new for us. Isabella's first 4 months of life were spent in the hospital. At that time, the nurses always tried to lighten our mood saying, "Enjoy the free babysitting!" Only now do I know what they meant. While Bella was in the hosptial we saw that as somewhat of a stab to the heart because we wanted to be able to take a healthy baby home with us each time we left the unit. Now that we have a healthy baby home this time around, which we are oh so greatful for, we realize what we did not experience before. A newborn has so much adjusting to do when they first come home. In addition, Zach being a full month early has spurred him to require much needed cuddling in order to feel a comforting heartbeat (what we preemie parents know as kangaroo care). He has been a super fussy baby that we continuously have to hold to keep him from crying uncontrollably. Although Chris and I are extremely exhausted, we have been able to relish in a few very adorable moments this week...a few of which we have pictures to go with.

Zach fussing
Zach was fast asleep in his bassinet looking so cute, so I went to get the camera. When I got back, this is what I showed up to.

Zach relaxing
Mister man stretched out on his tummy time pillow (yes Mere, I'm not afraid to put my boy on the pink pillow!)

Zach filling out
If you look close enough at his wrist, you can see a little bit of baby roll popping up.

Zach and Daddy cuddling
My 2 favorite guys in the world looking so cute taking a nap together!

Bella and the Dirt
After school one day, I was making Bella a juice cup. As I brought it to her in the living room, this is what I saw. I couldn't help but laugh, look at the plant with dirt all around it, and pull out the camera.

"Boots" and Bella
Papi bought Bella a monkey last weekend while he was visiting. She has started saying "monkey" much more in the last few days. If you didn't know already, Bella loves to watch Dora the Explorer. This morning Bella brought the monkey into our bedroom. Chris asked her, "what do you have there?" Bella's response...BOOTS!!!

One of the best things about living in West Texas are the beautiful skies. This is the sunrise after a heavy night storm.

Happy Grandparents Day

2010-09-13T11:52:00.003-05:00

GiGi, Nana & Papi:

Grandparents day is a special day dedicated to the people that love us unconditionally and spoil us rotten. Thank you so much for taking the time to come visit, hold us, have play time, and cover us in kisses. We really enjoyed having you here over the last few weeks. We are blessed to have grandparents like you. Thank you for loving us with all your hearts.

Love, Bella & Zach

Oh the Sleepless nights

2010-09-10T14:28:00.005-05:00

Zach
We made a super quick trip to the pediatrician this morning to do a weigh in. As with so many things, Chris and I made guesstimates as to how much the little guy weighs. Chris went with 7.5lbs and I thought he would be right at 7. Turns out Daddy wins again. The little chunky man weighed 7lb 5oz. It was obvious that he had filled out quite a bit; he has much less dangly skin throughout his body. On the down side, he is still crying quite a bit. We think we have narrowed it down to gas. It seems each time he starts to screech inconsolably, a few seconds later a series of farts come out. Hopefully Mylicon will do the trick and soothe his gas pains. Other than that he is doing most normal newborn things and steadily staying more alert and holding his head up amazingly well. Along with the newborn beginnings Mommy and Daddy are getting no sleep and no nap time to make up for it during the day. I don't think Chris and I have ever felt our age like we have in the last 3 weeks.

Bella
Lately we have been giving some generic updates about how Bella is doing. So I want to take some time to kind of detail what she has been up to (other than being a great big sister).
1. School - She is in school 4 days a week now. Both of our babysitters are in school full time and are unable to watch her. Luckily we found a mother's day out program in town that does Mondays/Wednesdays and we were able to obtain a spot. She really enjoys interacting with other children. Well, except when a certain little child screams during class all day long. On Wednesday we walked up to class and as soon as we opened the door one little girl was crying uncontrollably. This immediately put Bella in a funk. When I picked her up that afternoon, Bella's eyes were super swollen. Turns out the other little girl never quit crying; as a result, most of the class kept crying during the day. I felt so bad we had to go to my favorite dessert bar and grab a cookie. Other than that, her interest at school is great. It is so cool to watch her focus and process on what someone is trying to teach her.
2. Physical Therapy - Although she is walking great and seems to have a much better sense of balance, she definitely got my clumsiness. The girl falls forward, backward and trips over her own feet. Currently we are practicing stepping up and walking on a balance beam. It is surprising how difficult this is to teach a child. She still has to reach down, grab the step and then put her foot up to climb the steps. She is kicking her soccer ball all around the house as well as enjoying walking in the grass. I actually saw her sit in grass for the first time today. Now we need to practice kicking the soccer ball in the grass.
3. Speaking - We got discharged from speech therapy for the second time today. I had called the speech therapist back in some time in July. After a quick eval we decided to do a once a month visit. At the time Bella's vocabulary was right at 10 words when it should have been around 25. As of today, we are well passed the 40 word mark, which is appropriate for her actual age. It seems the day after the speech therapist did the eval in July she decided to start speaking. And she continues to learn new words each day. Another positive is that she has started to explore numbers and can actually count to 3. We feel very blessed that she has such an interest to learn considering her prematurity.
4. All around cuteness - What can I say...the girl is continuously precious and adorable. There is not a day that goes by that I don't look at her and count my blessings. I think about how cute and unbelievable she is with all of her words, actions, faces and even sassiness. We may be fast approaching the Terrible 2s, but they often make me laugh. The way she tells you "NO" can be so darn funny.

Our matching Yankees shirts courtesy of Auntie Lauren!

We hope all of you are doing great, many blessing to you all!!!

Newborn Check-up

2010-09-02T15:38:00.007-05:00

Zach is 2 weeks old tomorrow so this morning we had our first pediatric appointment with Dr. J. She was so excited to see the little man and glad he was doing so well. Zach's flexibility and reflexs were good and all his internal parts sounded great. On a little less positive side, he has a touch of jaundice and is only up to 6lbs. He was about 5lb 9oz when we left the hospital, so he should be closer to 6.5lbs by now. As a result, we have to do the same thing with him that we did with Isabella, supplement his breast milk with Neosure powder formula. That means each feeding we add Neosure to his bottle of milk. We have to take him back next Friday for a quick weight check to make sure he is packin' on the ounces as he should. She and I also had a quick conversation about Colic. Zach is a bit of a screamer. If he isn't eating or in a deep, deep sleep, he is cryin' at the top of his lungs. Needless to say it has caused many a sleepless nights for Chris and me. Since Colic normally starts at about this age and his crying is so sporadic, we agreed it wasn't Colic but just a matter of him being a few weeks early, needing attention, and adjusting to gaining weight and temperature. Hopefully using the Neosure and keeping him extra bundled will allow him to calm down a bit (so far it has worked this afternoon).

Isabella is doing fabulous as always! She has adjusted nicely over the last week to having a little brother around the house. Her looks of confusion have turned into curiosity - she loves touching Zach's toes. She even likes to rock him when we have him in the car seat carrier. Bella definitely has her moments of acting out, refusing to listen to the word "NO", as well as crying when you cannot pay attention to her, but overall she is doing great with the changes around here. I like to think part of it has to do with my ability to interact with her more. Now that I am feeling a little better I have been able to love and focus on her when I'm not taking care of Zach (instead of just laying in bed). Other than new baby, Bella started school today for the fall. All of her teachers from the spring were so impressed at how much she has grown physically and cognitively. I even got a "she's the best kid in the class" today; no standards set there! Chris and I always rave to each other about how smart we think she is, but we are supposed to be biased.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days:

Many blessings to all of you :)

Some more pics of our little bitties

2010-08-25T13:06:00.008-05:00

We have been so lucky that GG (Machel's mom) has been with us since Friday. But alas, she had to go back home and Bella already misses her GG. Machel and I are exhausted, little man eats, sleeps, cries, poops, eats more and cries more! Bella is starting to get a tad bit jealous, but she is very sweet with Zack. Enjoy the pics and thank you to all of our friends, family and co workers for the well wishes, emails, cards, flowers and gifts. It is amazing to have so many great people in our lives!

Day 2 for ZMD

2010-08-21T23:33:00.003-05:00

We spent the day at the hospital with Zachary and Machel. GG, that's what Bella calls Machel's mom, brought Bella up to the room in the morning to see mommy and daddy. She burst into the room and all she said for about 2 minutes was mama, daddy, mommy, dada, over and over, it was so adorable! Zachary had a great day. Little man pooped 5 times today!! Machel began feeling much better around 2pm and Zachary got a clean bill of health, so guess what we did? We went home!! What an amazingly different experience, we checked in to the hospital Thursday night around 8pm and we went home Saturday night around 6pm! We are so tired but so very happy to have both of our little babies home together. Bella has the funniest look on her face everytime he cries, she doesn't quite know what to make of it. She did give him a kiss goodnight before she went to bed tonight. She is going to be a great big sister!! Thank you all for the prayers and god bless you all!!

GG and I are sitting in the hospital room having fun!

Mommy and baby snuggling

Bella ran around the room and hallway saying hi to all the nurses and other patients and families. She wore herself out!

I'm ready to go home in the same carrier that Bella went home in

Guess who put this on me? Warm and resting in my bed for the first time

Zachary Michael Delange

2010-08-20T16:09:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Zachary decided that 36 weeks was enough time and decided it was time to see his big sister, mommy and daddy in person. Machel began feeling mild contractions at 4pm and by 8pm we were headed to the hospital. Zachary was born at 3:34am on August 20, 2010 and weighed 5 lbs 13 ozs and measured out to be 18.5 inches long. As you can see from the pictures, Machel and Zachary are doing just fine. Bella is a little bit confused, very curious and happy to be able to hug and kiss mommy again. Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes throughout this pregnancy. The Lord has now blessed us with 2 little bundles of joy and every day we have with our children is an amazing miracle granted to us by the Lord. Thank you all and God Bless.

Getting Oh So Close

2010-08-15T13:03:00.008-05:00

Baby Derek Update
In our last quick post I mentioned a prayer request for our friends Cam and Cynthia. Their little boy Derek was born on August 3rd about 1pm at 4lb 5oz. He was taken to the level 3 NICU after a short evaluation. Derek was intubated for 3 days and diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. He has since been moved to the level 2 NICU, now weighing about 3lb 15oz. He has progressed to no oxygen requirements, no IV lines and full feeds. Once he can get his bottle feeding to a routine, they should let him head out the NICU door. Praise God!

Zach Update
Little man is cookin' away. My progesterone shots have stopped and we are thinking the cerclage will come out this next week instead of later. This coming Wednesday we have an ultrasound and should get his approximate weight at that time. Chris and I have a bet as to how big he will be. My belly is quite large and everywhere you touch you can feel baby. I am super excited and ready to meet the little man that is training to be an MMA fighter in my tummy. This kiddo has some serious kicks and punches. Hopefully he and Bella don't have too many crazy fights as they get bigger. I know how strong she is and I can only imagine what he is going to be like.

A special THANK YOU to Chris' co-workers for throwing us a baby shower last week. It was super awesome and they got Zach tons of cool stuff...a few boy things that we forgot we needed.

Isabella and the Terrible 2s
We know that Bella is aware that mommy is pregnant. But we aren't sure if she is sensing that Zach will be here soon or if the Terrible 2s are starting to kick in. She has been super moody, crying at the drop of a hat, not listening to us (basically doing what she wants), and all around having major attitude. Other than the fits over the last couple of days, she is doing FABULOUS. Our itty-bitty baby has grown into a little lady and is soaking up more and more knowledge each second of each day...WE LOVE IT!!!

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Prayer Request

2010-08-02T17:56:00.003-05:00

We received word this afternoon that our very good friends Cam and Cynthia will be greetng their baby boy into the world 5 weeks early tomorrow. They have been monitoring Cynthia very close over the last couple of weeks because the babies weight measurements have been borderline low. Today they fell below acceptable levels so his parents will get to meet him sooner than expected. One of his big sisters is a NICU grad as well...so we pray that he has that same preemie superstar gene. Please help us pray for the Anderson family as their NICU journey begins tomorrow.

2 Weeks in Pictures

2010-08-01T17:55:00.005-05:00

Helping mommy with her smores craving

Kicked back at a baseball game while granmommy visits

Trip to the Library

This is my cart daddy

Enjoying my park fun with daddy

God is Good

2010-07-16T13:12:00.008-05:00

First and foremost: HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY RHYS!!! We hope you had a fabulous day and got spoiled rotten.

Zach & Mommy Update
WOOHOO!!! 31 weeks and moving right along...what a great feeling! I had an ultrasound done yesterday. Zach was measuring at 30wks 5days and an estimated weight of 3lb 7oz. Chris and I both expected him to be around the 4lb mark. But for some reason his abdomen was measuring a little small at 29wks...everything else was measuring at 32 weeks. The perinatalogist did a dopler on the ambilical cord to make sure good blood flow was coming through and it appeared normal. They are going to monitor his abdomen closely to make sure there isn't a growth problem. I honestly think it was the way he was laying; curled up on his right side playing with his feet...don't think you can get a good picture of an abdomen that way! All organs continue to look great. In the last few days little man has been very active; making my tummy bounce from side-to-side, pushing on my lungs, and causing some general tightness.

I appear to have my daddy's nose!!!

I haven't had a contraction in 2.5 weeks, which is WONDERFUL! (I hope I didn't just jinx myself) However, I am having some major headaches. Most likely this is caused by the increased hormones with the progesterone shots. All I can take are 2 extra strength tylenol in one day, so there is some suffering. Other than that, the 3rd trimester stage of poor circulation is keeping me up at night. I really hope at some point I will be able to catch up on sleep before there are 2 kiddos in the house. On a good note, the ultrasound showed that the excess amniotic fluid does not appear to be a problem any longer. Zach has filled in the space nicely.

Bella Update
Poor girl has a small cold right now! Sniffles, runny nose, watery eyes, slight cough...all the ick a mommy hates to see. But as a plus she is being extra snuggly...is that selfish of me? I say this because otherwise the little munchkin is doing laps around the house learning all sorts of new stuff and words. In the past couple of weeks we have added the following to our vocabulary: bus, bounce, juice, kick. And the cutest thing ever...she pays lots of attention to her little brother. I cannot feed her in the high-chair, so I sit on the couch and she stands in front of me. She is mesmerized by my tummy and constantly wants to pat it. We started asking her to hug Zach and give him kisses, and she took to that very well. But now, if she is standing a good few feet away from me and we ask her, "Bella, where is Zach," she will walk up to me and place her hand on my stomach. She's already an awesome big sister!

Needless to say, with Bella's development seeming to grow by leaps and bounds week after week and having such a successful pregnancy to-date with Zach...we feel incredibly blessed.

Lots of fun

2010-07-02T10:22:00.006-05:00

We have had a fun week! We were invited to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese and Bella is amazing us with her inquisitive nature and ability to climb on things like a monkey!! She is learning new words and doing new things every day. She enjoys walking and climbing a lot, as you will see in the pictures!! Her new favorite room in the house is the kitchen and she loves opening the cabinets and taking out the tupperware and pots and playing while we cook. She loves her books and we went and bought her a bunch more. She is constantly flipping the pages and she loves to be read to. She will walk over to a book and start saying book, book, book and pick up it up, bring it over to you and say da da da until I read her the book. She is starting to feed herself too, Machel bought her a special spoon that bends easily and makes it easier for Bella to grip and feed herself.

Machel and Zachary are doing great. I think we have a little soccer player because he is kicking up a storm in Machel's belly!! Machel has a "healthy" belly :) and we are anxious to see how much the little chunkster weighs at the next sonogram!

Enjoy the pictures and Happy 4th of July. May the Lord watch over all of you and your families!!

Lots of Updates

2010-06-23T16:10:00.008-05:00

Zach Update
As you can see by the header, we had our last ultrasound at 26 weeks. Zach is measuring 2lb 8oz and as if he were 27 weeks gestation. It is hard to imagine he is that much bigger only 2 weeks from when Bella was born. But considering how large my belly is, it isn't quite surprising. As a side note, I have excess amniotic fluid. The perinatalogist checked Zach's bladder, kidneys and esophagus to make sure that he was taking in and releasing the correct amount of fluid. Everything with him looked sound, so both doctors seem to think that it is simply a variant in my body to have excess amniotic fluid. The catch to the excess fluid is that it can spark preterm labor...like we needed another risk factor right!?! So the doctors have just stressed "stay off my feet as much as possible". Fortunately I'm still getting progesterone each week and we've completed our round of steroids. The steroids will help little man's lungs in case he does come early. Progesterone will stop at 36 weeks and my cerclage will be removed at the same time.

Bella Update
Big Sister started her summer school program Tuesday. I'm excited to get her around other children again. Her first day of school was cut short because she also saw her pediatric surgeon that afternoon. GREAT NEWS, her hernia surgery has been delayed once again. We went into the appointment under the impression that she would be having surgery as soon as next week. The surgeon had told us back in April that she wanted to repair the hernias this summer for sure. But after observing her yesterday and us updating her on Isabella's bowel patterns, the doctor is comfortable with delaying the surgery. Bella has grown almost 2 inches since Dr. G observed her in the hospital in April. With the elongation of Bella's body, the doctor seems to think the bowel is not in danger from the hernia and that by feel and appearance the hernias have smoothed out somewhat. Even though they will need to be repaired at some point, we can push it back for at least another 4 months. Chris and I are glad for this for her developmental purposes. Having the surgery next week would limit her mobility and ability to attend school, which would potentially delay any development by a couple of months. She's starting to walk very well and her little imagination is growing each day. Monday night she started playing peek-a-boo with her Fischer Price Little People (she carries them around everywhere).

We also did her 18 month check up last week. Isabella is 26lbs and 31.75 in, even with her prematurity she is in the 50th percentile for height...we are super pleased with that. Dr. J is very pleased with how she looks, her growth and how she is progressing through all of her therapy. Speaking of therapy, we also had our first therapy session out of the house with Isabella making her first trip to a playground. There is a really cool park here in Midland developed especially for children with disabilities. There are special ramps, slides and walking beams designed with special needs children in mind. Obviously Isabella only has minor special needs that she will eventually outgrow, but the therapist felt this would be a good place to test Isabella's range. She used the ramps to observe how Isabella reacts to walking up inclines and down declining surfaces. Then she had Bella walk on a gradually narrowing beam to see how she reacted to the narrowing width. Overall she was pleased with this initial visit to these obstacles.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to my mommy (Granmommy) for making a special trip out to Midland last week. Chris had to be in Houston for work, so mom came out to take care of Isabella and me for a few days. She was a huge help and we loved having her around. LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Finally passing out!..........................Trip to the Park!

Playing at Surgeons Office..............Being silly at mattress store!

Unfortunately I was not able to pamper Chris for Father's Day the same way he did for me on mother's day. We spent the entire day at home watching sports and whatever else on TV he wanted to. I will surely have to make it up to him after Zach is born. But I must tell you what an amazing father he is to his daughter and unborn son. He is so dedicated to Isabella's development and Zach's safety. I cannot tell you how thankful I am when we do make it out of the house and see how some fathers either aren't around or aren't active with their kids. I almost feel like the awkward one with the husband who is so committed to his family. Chris always plays, teaches, and loves unconditionally with Isabella. Watching the two of them interact is such a joy. I feel blessed every day to have this man as the father of my children. On top of father's day, tomorrow is the Big Guy's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!!! We promise to spoil you a little more tomorrow than we were able to over the weekend :)

We hope all of you are having a blessed summer so far and we wish safe travels for anyone traveling during the vacation season. Peace and Love to you all!

Phillipians 1:2-5
2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.

Weekend of Celebration

2010-06-06T19:59:00.007-05:00

Not only are we ecstatic that little man is hanging in mommy's womb so well, but we had several birthday markers over the past five days. Thursday, the 3rd, was our puppy Juno's 2nd birthday. We are so excited that the 2 year age has finally hit for our rambunctious white lab. For those of you that don't know, labs typically don't pull out of their puppy phase until they hit 2 or 2.5. Juno has been a handful, to say the least, over the past two years. Even my mom can attest to her devilish ways. If any of you have seen or read "Marley and Me", Juno is a clone of Marley. Friday night we celebrated with our traditional doggy meatloaf. The puppies go crazy for it. Then Saturday Bella Boo turned 18 months. As I mentioned the other day, she continues to amaze us with every bit of knowledge she is sucking up and exhibiting. But the kicker comes tomorrow. I am officially a Thirty-Something as I hit the BIG 3-0! Of course with my birthday falling on a weekday, we spent the weekend enjoying an early birthday celebration. The first part of my birthday present arrived on Friday with a FedEx package. The doorbell rang early in the morning and I thought it was Bella's former babysitter coming to say hello (she just got back from Taiwan). To my surprise there was a big package addressed to me that I wasn't expecting, which is always a happy sight. I immediately looked at the title of the sender and in shock saw it was from ESSA BAGEL, New York City. Chris and I try to make a trip to NYC each year. While in NYC you have to find a good bagel shop and on each of our three visits we have devoured ESSA BAGEL. The last two years we have gone in June for our birthdays. Now, since we can not go to NYC this year with our precious baby boy pending arrival, I mentioned to Chris about a month ago that the only thing I wanted for my birthday was a package of ESSA BAGELS. The great thing about this little place is that they overnight bagels and cream cheese to any sucker willing to pay the price for shipping. So my fabulous husband was a sucker for his aging pregnant wife; although he swears Bella is the one that placed the order. That evening we went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a couple of items. As you can see below, Little Miss was a little rambunctious herself.

Saturday we went to one of my favorite places in town for lunch, an old time soda shop called Grahams; fabulous greasy food and milk shakes. Afterward we went shopping for my other present from Bella. The catch is, Chris found a 50% off coupon for one of my favorite boutiques in town, so I got an extra gift! Anyone that knows me well enough knows I LOVE shoes...you can only imagine what I picked out, a cute pair of black/cream/red flats to accommodate my coming pregnancy months. But Chris was extra sweet and picked out a very cute top to throw into the gift pile!!! Then our birthday outing led us to my FAVORITE place in Midland...Sweet Soul Dessert Bar. It is this amazing little, simple bakery that makes delicious cookies/brownies/cakes that I go to at least once a week for my chocolate chip cookie fix (this is probably the only thing about Midland I will truly miss when we relocate). Even though Chris doesn't eat chocolate, he ordered me a small German Chocolate cake (my favorite). This was about all the out and about I could handle, so we headed back home for a little rest and some cake for Bella and me.

We topped off the birthday night with a mommy and daddy quick date at a steak house, The Barn Door (thanks Donny). It is one of those traditional Texas steak houses where the atmosphere is just as much a part of the experience as is the food. The grill was open to the restaurant to watch the meat being prepared, probably the best filet I have ever had, as a result when we got home I could smell the yummy goodness in my clothes and hair. We were lucky to have this date because our babysitter over the last few months, Katie, was sweet enough to offer to watch Bella while we grabbed a bite to eat. I was very thankful because she is leaving for the summer and I wanted her to be able to spend some extra time with Bella. She has been amazing and worked very well with Bella to progress her development in these past few critical months. We are fortunate that Ellen is back from Taiwan and will be working with Bella again. We love both of these young ladies very much for all the great work they do with our little angel.

We probably should have gotten more pictures over such a fun weekend than what we did...but that's the point, we were having fun and didn't take pictures. Thanks to everyone for all the early birthday wishes. Love and Peace to all!

The Toddler

2010-05-31T13:15:00.011-05:00

Chris and I have decided our little girl is no longer Baby Bella, but Big Girl Bella. She is doing so many new and intriguing things every day. Oh, and the big one...She's WALKING. She took her first three steps by herself a few weeks ago. Of course this was prompted with food. After that feat, we decided to keep encouraging her with food. Even though sometimes I felt like I was training one of the dogs to do a trick, it really seems to have worked. Now she is venturing away from furniture on her own and enjoying walking what few little steps she can at one time. There were some days I thought that she would crawl until she was two or older. She has so much more confidence crawling. But it appears that her confidence in walking is beginning to emerge. On top of the walking she is beginning to communicate with us in her own little way; letting us know when she does and does not want something, she approaches us to snuggle when its time to sleep, makes gestures when she wants to sing a song, and laughs preciously when she thinks something is really funny.

ECI (the group in Texas designated to help children with developmental delays) evaluated her a few weeks ago because she has been in the program for a year. When she was evaluated last year a month after we got home, putting her actual age at 5 months, she graded as a 2 month old; which was close to her adjusted age (if she had been born on time). At the year evaluation she was right over 17 months and for a preemie born at 24 weeks she has made remarkable improvements. She scored as follows:

Cognitive = 18 months
Social/Emotional = 16 months
Adaptive Behavior = 15 months
Communication = 13 months
Physical Development = 11 months (this was for not walking!)

All in all, these signs of development along with her recent walking tell us that we now have toddler on our hands!

Little brother has officially made it farther along in the womb than Bella did. That mark came and went this past Friday. I was full of emotion...fear, anxiety, uncertainty...as Friday came and went. Luckily I had a doctors appointment on Friday with the OB and everything looks normal. We will keep up the appointments and shots as is for now. Once July hits we will probably get a steroid shot and stop the progesterone. God continues to bless us each day that little man stays put.

Crazy hair after my nap!

Time to go to the pool!

Playing with my Monkey-in-the-box!!

Reading one of my many books!

First Baseball Game

2010-05-08T19:03:00.005-05:00

Friday night Chris's company had a picnic at the local minor league baseball park. I love baseball, so this was a big treat for me. I was super excited to be able to take Bella to her first baseball game. We didn't stay very long, the weather was quite chilly as the sun set. But we were able to take in the ball park food and the first three innings.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! We hope you have a fabulous day and get spoiled rotten.

Many blessings to everyone!!!

Swim Lessons and Little Man Update

2010-05-04T21:27:00.007-05:00

Big Sister
Isabella started swim lessons last night with daddy. It was the cutest thing. Of course, like most baby swim classes, this is to get her used to the water and to know how to react to it. She loved splashing her arms, reaching/holding on to the side, and especially jumping into daddy's arms. I can only imagine that her little head was thinking, "The big guy will catch me!" Each time Chris would set her on the edge she would dive right for him.

Some of the new things Bella is doing:
1. trying to say new words like mouth, turtle, clap
2. clapping - it has taken some time, but she is finally clapping her hands
3. reaching for the sky - it is so cute because she really does it when we sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle
4. stacking and collapsing blocks

The walking took a step backward with her stint in the hospital and week of getting back to feeling normal. It seemed as though she was so close before getting sick. Now we are back to focusing on standing, weight shifting and finding spacial awareness.

Little Man
Zachary got measured today at my perinatal visit. He is charting at 21wks 2days and weighs approximately 15oz. According to the doctor, everything about him looks beautiful. They will keep me on progesterone at least until 34wks and may do a steroid shot at 26wks. Please continue to pray with us that Zachary stays where he is for as long as possible!

March for Babies

2010-05-02T21:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was our local March for Babies walk. Overall the Midland/Odessa area raised $325,000. The most exciting news for Team Wonder Bella is that our little girl raised the most money in the family team category for Midland. Once again, THANK YOU for your support of this great organization and the pursuit to give premature and babies with birth defects a better start in the world.

The weather was windy and cold, but Bella and Daddy had a good 4 mile walk (I sat at the volunteer table and sold beanie babies). Bella fell asleep on the way to the walk, woke up briefly for the start and was back asleep by the end of the first lap.

Napping before we get started...

Waking up to partake in stretching and invocation...

And the walk begins...

Celebrating a joyous day...

Love, Peace & God Bless to you all!

Crazy Week

2010-04-26T19:11:00.002-05:00

First, I want to start off with a huge THANK YOU for all of our March of Dimes supporters! Isabella met her fundraising goal this past week and that is AWESOME. Our local walk is this weekend and we are super excited to take part in our first March for Babies as the proud parents of a NICU graduate.

Oddly enough, the last time I mentioned March of Dimes was when Isabella had a stay in the hospital. Well...we made another visit over the weekend. I got a call from parent's day out on Thursday afternoon that Bella starting vomiting after waking up from her nap. Of course I had Chris head straight over to get her. On their trip home she continued to be sick. We decided he should take her directly to the hospital. It was obvious she was dehydrated and we don't take any chances when it comes to a possible bowel problem. They did x-rays and a CT scan to discover her bowel was backed up again. What we didn't understand was that she had 4 dirty diapers between Wednesday morning and Thursday before parent's day out. How is it possible that she goes at least twice a day and still has a bowel full of stool? As gross as it sounds, we constantly watch the size, color and consistency of her stool output; all as a precaution to adjust her diet or give her laxative as needed.

Previously the GI doctor thought the severe constipation was the result of a virus she had that caused the bowel to slow down. Chris and I didn't really buy that considering all of her history. Hence our constant observation of her diapers. What we feel so bad about, is even with our incessant worrying over what kind and how many bowel movements she has in a day, this happened again. It goes to show that her prematurity still affects her on a daily basis and only time will heal her bowel motility.

So after our ER visit Thursday night, at which they discharged us because she was able to hold down pedialyte, we had another round of not being able to hold down liquids into the next morning. The final straw that morning was the green mucous that came up with one small dose of pedialyte. Chris rushed her back over to the ER to get an IV in her and make sure something was done to get her system cleaned out. The ultimate decision was to transport her to Lubbock so that the surgeon could monitor her in case there was an obstruction in the bowel of some kind. Bella and I made the trip in an ambulance to Lubbock early Friday afternoon. We were in the ER for a couple of hours and then moved to the PICU. Dr. Goldthorn, the surgeon, was concerned Bella may have a small obstruction but needed her to pass a portion of what was sitting in her bowel. Luckily she had 2 large dirty diapers within 30 minutes of each other that evening. Further x-rays showed there was no obstruction, but there came a quick warning from Dr. G. With these 2 episodes happening so close together, with each blockage would come a greater risk of obstruction.

We were released yesterday afternoon with adult strength laxative to use as needed and strict orders to give her a daily laxative (where as before we weaned her off of the daily laxative and gave it as needed). We will also adjust her diet to strictly pureed foods until she gets a little bigger. Having a preemie is scary, but the worry doesn't end when you leave the NICU. Once you get home, there is constant therapy and monitoring of physical well being. It takes patience, persistent observation, and accepting the realty that your child is a little different than a typical baby. I would have to say each of these things brings me closer to Isabella on a daily basis. But as unique and special as our little preemie is, I definitely don't want little brother to come too early.

The little man is growing well. Growing so well he has been giving mommy some growing pains. It appears I have had some small contractions and as a result I've started a regimen of precautionary drugs. I'm getting weekly progesterone shots and have a stand-by bottle of terbudaline. Progesterone has shown to delay preterm labor. Terbudaline is used to stop contractions. I stay off of my feet as much as possible and unfortunately cannot lift Isabella. It is really hard not being able to pick her up and love on her. But I try to cuddle with her as much as possible in other ways. My nerves have been a little on edge as each week goes by. I'm anxious about simply making it to 24 weeks but also concerned about him deciding to make an entrance like his sister did at 24 weeks. The shots do help to calm my nerves a little, but praying seems to give me the most piece of mind. I know if I trust in the Lord He will bring each of us through this in the same way He did with Isabella.

I hope this post finds all of you well! Peace & God Bless!

Pics from Easter and more

2010-04-18T21:50:00.012-05:00

Sorry it has taken so long to post, but we have been busy with Bella, traveling to San Antonio and working. I also have been helping out a lot with Bella and around the house so Machel can rest. Machel will post in a few days and tell you about how she's feeling and give an update on the little man, but enjoy the pics of the princess!!

I love my Easter presents!! Especially the Dora DVD and Wonder Woman shirt!

Family Easter pics. Thanks great-grandma Mama for the beautiful dress!!

Bella playing. Machel loves that hat, it keeps the sun out of her face when we go outside.

The classic picture in the Texas bluebonnets!

Easter Egg Hunt!!!

2010-04-01T17:09:00.009-05:00

Bella had a great day today at mommy's day out! She was playing with everyone and everything and when Machel and I showed up for the Easter egg hunt Bella let out a big yell and was smiling big!! She was in her walker and came running toward us!! It was so cute, see for yourself....

Then came the Easter egg hunt!! We walked out together and Bella had a blast!!

At the end of the hunt, all the kids came together for a picture. These are Bella's weekly playmates!!

Here are some pictures of Bella last weekend with her Nana. We went to church for Palm Sunday and Bella was so pretty in her dress!!

Machel is doing very well and has been taking it easy this week. All is progressing well. We are very thankful for all of the well wishes and prayers from all of you. Thank you and God Bless. Have a Happy Easter!!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

2010-03-29T11:46:00.006-05:00

Some of you have just been waiting to see the pictures...and others have no idea what I am talking about...

Surprise, surprise, Bella's going to be a Big Sister...you can tell what we are having without a doubt...

I had a cerclage done last Wednesday. For those of you that don't know, a cerclage is a set of 4 stitches strung through the cervix to help keep the cervix tight and in place (they say it is similar to a belt). The goal is to keep my cervix from thinning, like it did with Bella, and help keep little man in the womb longer than big sister was. He is roughly 16 weeks along, measures to be 5 oz., and developing appropriately. This pregnancy has been much different than Bella's, in a positive way, which I am blessed to feel is a sign of a healthier/longer pregnancy. No official bed rest or contraction monitors yet. I will continue to pray that no monitors or pumps will be needed. My activities are now limited as to the level of strain/stress I put on my body and I will do any necessary bed rest as I feel my body needs it, anything to make sure we make it as far along as possible.

And how does Bella feel about being a big sister...she fell asleep at the ultrasound this morning, if that gives you a small indication of what is to come!!! We expect there to be some jealousy, but hopefully little man will be a mama's boy and there won't be too much competition for attention or affection.

As I mentioned the other day, Bella was getting a super dose of grandma time. Grandmommy and Nana were a HUGE help to Bella and me last week. Granmommy being here to assist care for the baby girl while daddy was having a much needed vacation. And Nana loving all over Bella while Chris nursed me after the cerclage surgery (I don't do well with anesthesia). Thank you both for being FABULOUS grandmas!!!

On a WALKING note, Bella is getting really close. Last night she took steps toward me with one hand being held. And today, while eating a snack, she stood by herself (with no prompting from me) several times for a few seconds. Its looking promising!!!

Peace & God Bless to you all!

Something New!

2010-03-25T10:52:00.005-05:00

Last weekend Granmommy came into town to hang out with Bella and me while Chris was in Las Vegas for a NCAA tournament trip with the guys. On one of our outtings, we made a quick trip to the mall. See if you can tell what we did at the mall in the picture below...

Look a little closer...

That's right, the diva now has bling! It's fake bling, but still sparkles to match her ever evolving personality! She did very well with the piercing itself. She screamed a little, but nothing nearly as bad as when she gets her synigis shots (we have our last set next week). She has also done very well with having the earings in her ears; no skin irritation and no grabbing at the ears.

Bella is now getting a double dose of grandma time. Nana just came in from Florida last night to love on her little girl. I'm sure by the time Sunday comes around she will be spoiled from all her grandma love she has had in the last week and a half.

Here are a few more pictures from the last week:

Ooooo, I got a Bella Day present from Abby...

Look at my beautiful new pillow...

I love pushing my activity table around the house...

Don't I look cute in my aqua blue...

Other than being adorable, Miss Bella is becoming quite active and talkative. In the last couple of weeks we've had one of those occurences where her development has blossomed. We can tell she is trying to say new words, like dog, ball, and book...looks like the "B" has stuck. Of course she got "D" down a long time ago with her never ending DADA. Boy is she a daddy's girl. Her attempts at walking are also improved. She makes movements like she wants to stand up on her own with nothing around her as well as takes good steps when being held. She also exhibits more of a desire to push her walker. Another trick she has learned is to climb. Chris and I have both caught her trying to climb up her crib. We are guessing she learned that from the little rock wall she has on her mini swing set. It is so cool to watch our little person change and grow.

Many blessings to you all!

HAPPY BELLA DAY!!!

2010-03-14T09:03:00.007-05:00

One year ago today our precious little girl graduated from the UVA NICU!!! As is with every second of every day, Chris and I are blessed to have this little miracle light up our lives. We were talking this morning about where this day lined up in the happiest days of our lives. We placed it at #2, right behind the unbelievable day of her birth.

We need to take a moment to recognize all the amazing people that made this day possible. Without the work of the doctors, NNPs, nurses, and RTs at UVA, we know that this day of celebration might be much different. The love and care they give to the children in their unit is spectacular. They are such honorable and knowledgeable people. THANK YOU ALL!

It is only fitting that we celebrate this first annual Bella Day on the Lord's day. Our God is an amazing God. Throughout Bella's NICU stay we trusted in the Lord knowing that he was craddling Bella in His hands, along with all the other children in need around the world. Through so many prayers, Bella's followers helped to uplift her even more. Thank you for all the support you continually gave our family.

We hope all of you have a blessed day! May the peace of the Lord be with you!

Here are pictures of us yesterday at a birthday party:

I love my parents (and the camera)

I wanted to get in the jump castle so bad!

My future alma mater!

I'm so cute!

The DIVA has arrived

2010-03-11T19:50:00.006-06:00

That's right folks, princess Bella has officially become diva Bella. Chris and I knew that between the two of us, our precious daughter was going to have a good portion of attitude in her. WELL...little did we know to what extent. If she wants you to play with her, she screams at you until you sit next to her and she smiles that heart melting smile. If she is hungry, she makes sure you know her tummy is empty or you aren't moving the spoon fast enough. If she is tired, she fights going to sleep and throws her body around. If she wants to be left alone, she grunts and turns away from you. Up until roughly three weeks ago we had spoiled our daughter rotten. We know her new found independence and demands are partially our fault. To counteract that, we now spend quite a bit of time telling her "no" while she just smiles connivingly or shakes her head at us. Getting stern is then necessary to get the point across. After a few tears, it seems to sink in that there are certain things that little miss shouldn't do. But that doesn't mean she gives up trying!!! Ah, the joins of parenthood. Trying to be serious while laughing under your breath is not an easy trick to master.

Bella has been sick since starting day care, a small respiratory thing. Nothing a little antibiotic and breathing treatments didn't clear right up. It stinks, but she has to develop an immune system somehow. Parent's Day Out is going really well. She has warmed up to the teachers nicely and is comfortable being left there without mommy and daddy. It is so cute to see her get excited to see us in the afternoon. We are still struggling with walking. She doesn't want to spend time standing to get to the point of taking steps. Oddly enough her physical therapist pointed out the other day that it is her attitude that is holding her back. The PT noticed her behavior, identifying that she knows what she can get away with. Meaning that if she doesn't want to walk, she knows we are going to carry her. Now our practice is to walk her to the changing table, to her high chair, to her toys, pretty much every where. If this doesn't push her, we will have to start using different therapy devices (i.e. special walkers) to spur her towards walking.

We hope all of you are enjoying these early days of spring. Many blessings to you all!

This look means: FEED IT TO ME NOW!

This look means: SATISFACTION

This look means: Mommy sucked it up and did something nice for the man she loves!

Bella goes to........

2010-02-26T07:56:00.008-06:00

Well, I mentioned last post that Bella was experiencing some firsts and Meredith guessed walking. Bella is not quite walking yet, she is such a fast crawler, she doesn't see the point of stumbling around yet. She is walking much better and has taken a step or two between objects, when she goes from her table to the couch or from one couch to the other, but she is still very reluctant to let go of anything and the moment she realizes she is standing on her own, she looks around and plops down on her booty, then proceeds to crawl like a mad woman!! So what first was I talking about? Well Bella started mommy's day out yesterday!!! She was supposed to start on Tuesday but we got 5 inches of snow and here in Midland and 5 inches shuts down everything!! Anyway back to the mommy's day out.

Machel found a great place for Bella to go to start interacting with other kids her age. She found a church that has a mother's day out program every Tuesday and Thursday. They only had an opening in the slightly older classroom, so Bella is the youngest in her class. Everyone else is 18-22 months old and they are walking and talking. Bella being the big girl that she is, wasn't fazed by this at all. The teachers put her in a walker and once she figured it out she was chasing all the kids around! She had a really good day and only cried a little when Machel dropped her off! Otherwise she interacted with the other kids and was playing and having lots of fun!! We are really excited, because they have story time and teach the kids bible stories and sing songs, it is a wonderful environment for Bella. We thought it was getting to be time for her to venture out and start interacting with other kids her age and we are hoping this will help her development even more!! We are really excited!!

Well here are some pictures of Bella going to school..enjoy!! (In case you are wondering why Bella's clothes changed, she made a massive stinky that got on her first outfit, luckily Machel packed an extra outfit just in case)

They have cool toys and a slide similar to the one I have at home!! She immediately wanted to play on it!!

Ms. Erin holding Bella at school, Ms. Erin is one of her teachers.

All that playing made me tired!!

Look, I have 2 big teeth up top now too!!

Playing with my new toy with Daddy after I got home from school!

Bella Update

2010-02-22T19:45:00.014-06:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but we have been so busy!! She has recovered well from her PICU experience and is back to her old self, with a little bit of extra princess attitude!! We will update with a bunch of different news and firsts real soon, but for now here are a bunch of photos of our cutie pie.

It was a beautiful day in Midland this weekend and we went outside to play!

The PICU Experience

2010-02-01T20:13:00.005-06:00

As of Friday, Isabella graduated from a NICU baby to a PICU baby. That's right folks, we were in the hospital over the weekend and a portion of our stay was in the PICU. Tuesday of last week Isabella had an episode of projectile vomiting. Based on color, texture and her reaction after the release made me feel it was only a sour tummy. Wednesday presented no problems...she was full of energy and no sickness. Thursday morning at 5:30am Chris went to pick her up from bed and she erupted again. I was out of town, so Chris rushed her to the ER here in Midland by himself. After going over all of her history, the ER docs ran a lengthy series of tests because she had no fever and appeared to be most comfortable curled up. They ran urine tests, CBC and did xray on her bowels. The urine and CBC were clean, but the xray showed extreme backup in her intestines. For those of you that don't know, Isabella had bowel surgery while in the NICU. This leaves her at high risk for life long bowel problems. With her symptoms and the xray, there was potential for blockage/obstruction in the bowel. The ER docs decided to admit Isabella for full day observation. They were hoping she would have a bowel movement by the afternoon and be able to send her home; that wasn't the case. The afternoon rolled around and Dr. J, her pediatrician, had been by a couple of times. Bella's bowel sounds were there but weak. So Dr. J decided it was best to keep her over night. It was also decided to perform another xray. This xray showed that the contents of the bowel had not moved very much. At this point I got in my car as quickly as I could and made the trip back to Midland. Even though Isabella wasn't born in Midland, there was a flood of memories as I walked onto the pediatric wing and inhaled the stench of the hospital. I hated the smell but looked intently for Isabella's room. I walked into the room to find her just as Chris said she had been all day, SLEEPING. She wouldn't stay awake more than 10 minutes at a time. I relieved Chris so that he could go home, clean up the house, take care of the dogs and get some much needed rest. However, his venture home didn't last long.

Isabella had been given a suppository and released a very small amount of stool while I was there. With this the nurses said I could give her a small amount of water. After letting her drink 3 tiny sips and holding her for 10 minutes, she lifted her head to release bright green slim all over my chest. There was the evidence we were afraid of, the bile. I was so scared and slightly panicked. We live in a town with only a decent hospital and no pediatric surgical team. I told Chris to rush to the hospital, demanded the nurse get Dr. J back up to see her, and said that I was going to want her transported to Lubbock. The Covenant medical system in Lubbock is the closest Children's hospital with everything Isabella would need. After a thorough review by Dr. J and several tests, Isabella and I were on the road to Lubbock at 1am Friday morning. I made sure to sit in the front seat with the driver of the ambulance and keep a steady stream of conversation. We got there in record time, talked with the ER doc and nurses, had another xray, and had observation by her surgical doctor (who she has seen several times to keep an eye on her hernias). Dr. G, the surgeon, said that Isabella's bowel looked as if she had not had a bowel movement in weeks. Which I knew was not even close to true.

Around 5:15am Friday morning we were transferred to the PICU. They wanted her in this unit because they still considered her at high risk for blockage/obstruction. During the day she had ultrasounds, xrays and suppositories administered. She finally had two good size bowel movements and improved bowel sounds. As a result, a 12 hour stint in the PICU was over and we were transferred to the pediatric wing. At this point Dr. G felt that Isabella's bowel was possibly suffering from lesions and/or low motility. To determine the exact cause, she had to empty more of her bowel before they could do a GI contrast study. Even with suppositories she wasn't able to have the contrast study until Sunday morning. By 2pm Sunday afternoon, Dr. G returned with great news stating that the inside of Isabella's bowel looked just fine. However, with her history it appears Isabella is showing signs of chronic bowel problems (low motility). She is now on a prescription laxative and we have to start seeing the GI doctor again. We are so grateful that no surgery was required. I am perfectly content to keep her on a regime of high fiber for regularity.

This just goes to show that preemie's are most susceptible to chronic, life long problems. And without the great care that Isabella got while in the NICU, this trip to the PICU could have been much worse. That is why I was spurred to sign-up for our March for Babies team today! Team Wonder Bella is up and "walking" and would love for anyone to join us on our walk May 1 here in Midland.

As always, God is great! We are constantly amazed by His grace and love. Peace and Love to you all. God Bless!!!

Cooder Bear's birthday Jan. 18

Relaxing at home

Hospital stay

Fully Recovered

2010-01-19T11:31:00.007-06:00

Everyone is finally feeling well. No runny noses, sore throats or awfull headaches. The entire family is healthy and doing great.

Little Princess seems to be getting so much taller each day. She has gone from being a stocky chunky monkey to a long thick little girl. Of course we knew it would come eventually, but it happened a little slower than we expected. Bella is roughly 30 in. and still sitting at 26 lbs. She hasn't made much progress in the standing on her own area, but getting slightly better. We have her wearing special shoes for the time being. PT is concerned about her standing on her toes and rolling her right foot. The shoes have seemed to help some. Now we just need her to realize that crawling isn't the only mode of transportation. Other than that everything is about the same with her. She is still a little chatter box with all of her different sounds. However, her favorite word is DADA. She LOVES her daddy so much. This morning she was actually crying and upset when he left for work. I don't think she has done that for either one of us yet.

The most exciting news...Bella is finally getting two more teeth!!! The top two teeth are poking through. That brings us to a whoping 4 teeth! Amazingly she isn't having much trouble with this set. And praise the Lord she has been sleeping through the night for the last week or so. I'm hoping this keeps up, but I'm not going to count on it either. She usually does this in spurts and then its back to waking up once or twice a night. Many prayers that the little angel keeps this sleeping pattern up.

Speaking of prayers, please keep our new preemie family members in your prayers tonight. Peyton and Benjamin continue their NICU stay and need all the prayers our hearts can give. (their stories are on the right)

Many blessings and much love to all of you! Here are the recent snapshots of the Princess...

Recent Pictures

2010-01-11T10:39:00.002-06:00

Chowing down at Buffalo Wild Wings!

My Preemie Mohawk! My hair is still so disproportional from my head being shaved in the NICU.

GIRLS RULE!!! Thank you Auntie Lauren for my awesome girl power shirt.

Ringing in the New Year...

2010-01-06T18:11:00.003-06:00

...with a sick family!

Hello dear friends! That's right, the Delange household is sick. I had a sinus and ear infection last week. Isabella started having a runny nose on our trip home to Midland this past weekend. And just as I was starting to feel better...Bella gets worse (with a small virus)...and I have seemed to pick up some of what she has. Chris is barely hanging in there; his throat is sore and he is exhausted from taking care of his girls. I think this is our first official sharing of family ICK.

Our holidays were splendid! We had a wonderful visit with Chris' family in Florida to celebrate Christmas. And a pleasant week in New Braunfels with my family to ring in the New Year. My sinus infection kind of put a damper on most of that last week and any idea of a New Years celebration. But we did play Spades with Mom and Kim until we were all ready to pass out...from just being physically worn out from the holidays.

It was so nice to be back in our home this weekend. The hitch has been unpacking EVERYTHING. So many great gifts and new items to place in the house. As you can imagine, being sick has not aided in getting all the post holiday chores done. Our Christmas lights are still up in the front yard. Frosty and Rudolph continue to greet our neighbors during the day. Hopefully by this weekend we will all be feeling a little better and able to get back to some of these tasks.

Beyond being sick, Little Princess is doing quite well. She is crawling like a speed demon throughout the house, walking while holding on to everything, switching from one toy to another while standing. The catch is she doesn't want to stand on her own. We have been trying for several weeks now to get her to standing freely. But she just seems to want to sit or squat. Her legs are still pretty short compared to the rest of her body, so balance is an issue. She is baby talking up a storm. We wake up to her gabbering, which is adorable to me. It typically persists throughout the day as she makes a large variety of consinent and vowel sounds.

I added two preemie blogs to the side. Take a look if you have a chance. Happy New Year and many blessings to all of you. Peace & God Bless!

Merry Christmas...from Florida

2009-12-25T09:40:00.010-06:00

Wow, do we feel like bad parents!?! I think this is the longest we have gone without posting. The weeks since Isabella's birthday have been so busy getting ready for the holidays. We are in Florida visiting Nana, Papi and Mama (Chris's parents and grandmother). The weather is gorgeous, the wine has been plenty, the food is delicious and everyone is spoiling the princess rotten. Thank you to all of Rick and Linda's (papi and nana) friends that have dropped by to visit and/or sent gifts for Isabella. It was great to see you and capture how much you love our little girl.

Well, a year ago today, Chris, Isabella and I were having a much different Christmas. Isabella was in the midst of recovering from a major surgery as the result of a bowel perforation that could have easily taken her life. Chris and I were leaning on the birth of our Savior more than we ever have in our lives. During this Christmas season we turn back to Christ with a bounty of thankfulness and love. Without His strength, love and teachings our journey would have been and would be much different. Praise God for all His blessings and continued uplifting.

And for the moment everyone is waiting for, pictures of Isabella hamming up the camera:

First BBQ, courtesy of Uncle Frankie

Sharing Chinese food with Daddy

Waiting in the airport to take my first plane ride

Sitting on my great-grandmothers lap

Enjoying the Florida sun

Opening presents

Celebrating my birthday with Nana, Papi and Mama

Cuddling with Nana

Christmas Eve present

Christmas Morning

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!

2009-12-17T09:37:00.002-06:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY ANGEL!!!

2009-12-05T20:27:00.015-06:00

First off, thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes for Princess Bella! Our little diva definitely knows she's loved.

Today has been a wonderful family day. Bella is teething very bad, so we got to say happy FIRST birthday at 2:45am. She slept on and off till 6:30 and then it was play time. After a quick, much needed nap, we took off to see SANTA.

We were so surprised that she didn't cry while sitting in his lap. She has been so irritable the last few days. Along with the teething, she battled with trying not to get a stomach bug Chris had this past week. Luckily it only came down to her running a high fever...none of that other icky stuff.

After Santa, she was so wiped out she took a 2 hour nap. This did her so much good and she was her normal bubbly self the majority of the day. In the moment of being fresh from her nap, she opened a couple of presents from Mommy & Daddy that I wrapped. Amazingly she took to it pretty well, maybe her OT will be pleased.

We all played with the new toys after Chris got them together. She really likes her table toy she got last weekend (thanks to the Koepps and Hobergs). We threw her a small party at Granmommy's house since we were in town for Thanksgiving.

At her actual birth time (5:30pm CT), we sang her happy birthday. Later in the evening we sang to her again, after unveiling her birthday cake; so yummy, Sweet Potato cake with Butter Cream icing (who would have thought).

Now the Princess is winding down from her big day watching her favorite Disney princess, Cinderella. The girl totally mellows out everytime this movie is on and she will NOT watch any other Disney movie. But once Cinderella's stepsisters tear up her mouse crafted dress you better be paying attention because she is DONE with the movie. Without fail she screams each time the movie gets to this point and she will not watch anymore, it is so adorable. I pray that she is relaxed enough to have a good nights sleep so we can make it to church in the morning.

Well, the past year has flown by and been full of so much emotion. Praise the Lord that emotion has mostly been happy. Thanks to everyone for all the support and prayers over the last year. Our journey would have been so much harder without you. Much love, peace and God Bless!

SANTA!!!

Opening Presents is fun!!

Last Week at Granmommy's

Today with Mom and Dad

Did we forget to mention that it snowed in West Texas this week??

Thanksgiving day of Firsts

2009-11-26T21:02:00.009-06:00

Helping Daddy fry his turkey...

Eating mashed potatoes...

My first sippy cup...

Too much turkey...

My first ice cream (BLUE BELL)...

Hanging with my cousins...

Our First Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:35:00.008-06:00

Isabella's FIRST Thanksgiving Morning!

Goodness how things change in a year! At this time a year ago I was still pregnant...a week later I wasn't. Our miracle was born on Dec 5, 2008, had a trying NICU course, came home with little maintenance and has thrived ever since. She truly is a blessing and gives us a hundred reasons a day to be thankful. Our wish for all our family, friends and blog readers we've never met is that you have a blessed day and you have many things to be thankful for.

Psalm 26:7
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

Psalm 69:30
I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Here are some pictures from last week!

We will post more pics tonight after our Thanksgiving festivities and the chunky monkey has gotten her gobble gobble on...Love and God Bless!

Our Big Girl!

2009-11-11T20:49:00.008-06:00

Isabella turned a whooping 11 months old last Thursday! Our big girl is getting to be such an amazing little person. She has been at a full out crawl for the last week and a half, pulling herself into standing on her paper boxes, turning pages of a book and making so many new sounds. We could have swore she said DOG last night while playing with Juno, that may have been a little wishful thinking. Her level of cognition has seemed to blossom as well. In working with her you can just watch her expressions and see her mind at work. Her responsiveness in precarious situations is impressive to us. With all of her therapy sessions and different therapists, each of them are pleased with her abilities for her ACTUAL age. Her only lagging attribute is the use of her hands and shoulder strength. We are so blessed with our precious angel. God Bless you all!

Wonder Woman!!!

2009-11-01T07:11:00.006-06:00

Our little girl is getting big!! She is crawling around, climbing over things, trying to pull herself up and she loves to walk while holding our hands!! She is getting so strong. But that's not all, she is becoming very inquisitive. Whenever we are eating she wants to try it too. She is such a cute, little chunk!! Machel was eating popcorn on the floor and we were waiting for trick or treaters last night when Bella crawled toward Machel and the bowl. She crawled over Machel to get to the bowl and then grabbed a handful of popcorn. After taking the popcorn from her we gave her a few to chew on, then put her in her high chair with some of her apple puffs. In the past she would smash the puffs instead of picking them up, but something clicked last night and was grabbing puffs and trying to put them into her mouth. Only about half of them actually made it in her mouth, the other half ended up on the floor, but we were so excited!! She was even using her left hand to do it too!!
So we took Bella trick or treating Thursday afternoon at my work. My office has Halloween every year. We put candy out and workers bring their small kids up to work to trick or treat in a safe environment. We also get to see the little one's cute costumes!! Well this year both Machel and I dressed up with Isabella as we went trick or treating!! Then on Halloween night we dressed her up again, so that Wonder Woman could greet the trick or treaters that came to the door. We had a great evening! Enjoy the pics of the princess!!

Daddy is Papa Ron Burgundy, Mommy is a Yankee's fanatic

Super Sammy and Wonder Bella

Halloween Preview...

2009-10-27T18:12:00.005-05:00

Can anyone guess what the princess is going to be for Halloween?

First, Chris and I want to send a special thanks out to Granmommy for taking care of Isabella this weekend. We took a quick trip to New Mexico to celebrate our anniversary. It was lovely, but we missed our girl so much. She and Granmommy had a grand ole time.

However, before we left...Isabella made sure to give mommy a few presents to remember her by. Bright and early Friday morning, say 4:30 am, she woke up by projectile vomiting all over me. She happened to be sleeping in our bed because she had already woken up at 1:30 am. Then of course with the vomit came a bath. Daddy got the water ready while I stripped her and carried her to the tub. As I stepped up, there came a wet sensation...pee all down my front. Do you think she was trying to tell us she was mad that we weren't taking her with us? Of course Chris looks at me and says, "That's your kid!" I will claim the messiness any second of the day!

God Bless you all!

THEY'RE COMING.......

2009-10-20T17:14:00.009-05:00

FINALLY, the chunky monkey has two teeth popping through. It seems like she has been teething for so long. During the day this past Friday she was extrememly irritable (and Chris had noticed the night before that her bottom gum had a very heavy bump). As soon as I rubbed my index finger across the gum I felt this little poke on the left side. By Sunday, they were both easing their way up. And when I say easing I mean it. Those suckers are taking their sweet time and we have at least one crying fit a day. Amazingly though, Orajel seems to work on her. And she is ultimately realizing that the teething ring is her friend and not some silly toy to throw on the ground.

We hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. Remember to take care of yourselves and wash your hands often. Many prayers and God Bless!

All stretched out!

Combing the floor!

Playing airplane with Daddy!

I was a pumpkin for the day, thanks to my godmommy Rebecca!

My many expressions!

The many smiles of Bella

2009-10-12T12:25:00.005-05:00

We had a good week and Bella is up on her knees and swaying like she is about to take off crawling and then after a quick move she drops on her giant forehead (see it's a good thing she got my big forehead!!) She is even going to her designated boxes and trying to pull herself up!! She can get herself up to her knees really easy but can't quite stand yet, so after some effort she gives up and starts gumming the box, it's really funny. She is yelling a lot now, no words or sounds, but lots of laughing and yelling, so we hope a mama or dada comes out soon! So enjoy the pictures of our little happy girl!

Daddy feeding me fresh blueberries and we are making a mess!

My UT girls!!

Daddy had to offset the ugly Burnt orange!!

10 months old!!

2009-10-04T20:23:00.006-05:00

Our little blessing is now 10 months old!! It is amazing how time flies, but here we are approaching her 1st birthday and it seems like last week Machel and I were walking to the hospital 5 times a day to see our little miracle. Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who have been praying for her since she was born. Thank you to all of her nurses and doctors who cared for her. But most of all I thank the Lord for giving us this little angel. So many people have told us what a miracle she is and let me tell you she touches lives everyday. Her smile is contagious and reminds me how glorious the Lord is. At church today she brought a smile to everyone she saw, because all she does is smile and laugh! Our pastor was back, he has been gone for over a month with his ill wife who passed away last week. He gave an amazing sermon about the love of the Lord and the love of your fellow man in your time of need. He was obviously still grieving and in pain, but gave a beautiful rendition of how the Lord is always watching over us. Then after church as we were walking out, the pastor was saying good bye to all of us and Bella smiled at him. He looked at her and smiled right back and she reached for him as he reached for her and they embraced. He held her and they smiled, we all did, she grabbed at his beard and he laughed. The Lord had put our miracle in his hands to help him through his hardship. She is truly a blessing and Machel and I are so thankful that we were chosen to be her parents. Here are some pictures of our baby girl growing up!

Rolling around and crawling!

Daddy's always on his computer, I want to play too!!

Bella in her Sunday dress with a hand knit sweater (thank you Jo Kraft)

Eating Carrots and Veggies, she loves her food!!

Growing Time

2009-09-30T07:10:00.006-05:00

Isabella seems to be going through another growth spurt. She ways roughly 25lbs. and is about 27.25in. long. From one day to the next she seems to be larger...and not just in round plumpiness!!! She's been sleeping quite a bit and very hungry. As we mentioned last time, she has been army crawling for a couple of weeks. But if you put bottle a few feet from her on the floor, you have never seen her move faster! Enjoy the photo gallery...