NICU Reunion

Today, we attended the 3rd Annual Sc*ttsdale He*lthcare NICU Reunion. The reunion is celebrated with an egg hunt for the kids. Lexi had a good time hanging by the Easter Bunny's side and hunting for eggs before the start of the hunt. It was a beautiful Spring day with a little bit of a breeze and a perfect opportunity for lots of photo ops.Kissing the "chocolate bunny". She has no idea, yet, that these kind of bunnies are for eating.Amanda and Lexi standing by the Easter Bunny.We had to check out what was in each egg before we put it in the basket.She had a basket full of eggs, stickers, and candy at the end!And one last picture with the Easter bunny!

So we've been a little busy . . .

. . . and that is why it has taken us so long to blog about what we have been up to.

Picnic time

The weather has been so beautiful here that it is the time of year for everyone to have their outdoor picnics and parties before it gets too warm outside. This weekend we had 3 outdoor parties and picnics to attend.Little Payton celebrated her first birthday!Blowing bubbles with the big kids.
Look at me, I can ride this Big Wheel!
Who knew they made quads for kids this age? She loved riding the quad.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

From the Little Irish Italian Girl
And Happy Birthday Uncle Russell!

Good bye

Lexi and I traveled to Iowa to say goodbye to my aunt Sharon. Aunt Sharon was just beginning her battle against breast cancer when she came down with a very unexpected illness that her body could no longer fight. She is now with "Wings" and watching over us all. Aunt Sharon was a strong woman with a great sense of humor and always added a little bit of wit to her stories. She will be very missed by our family and friends. I remember when I was little and stayed over at her house. Even though you hate to have it be under these type of circumstances - it was great to see family that I hadn't seen in quite awhile and reconnect with cousins, aunts, and uncles.
Lexi enjoyed getting to play with her cousins, Trevor and Trystin, while I attended the services. We stayed at Papa and Nana's house and Lexi had lots of fun getting spoiled and playing with the dogs and running in the yard. It's a good thing Papa Larry loves me because I flooded his laundry room on the last night we were there. Wonder if we will get another invitation to come back. Here are some of Lexi's adventures during the few days we spent at my dad's house.Nana chose the big yellow school bus to bring some excitement to grocery shopping. Lexi, of course, didn't mind!We went to feed the ducks crackers and the ducks were way overfeed (I guess some other people had the same idea) so Lexi decided to eat the crackers.Helping Papa Larry rake leaves and when he was done, "I got to ride in the wheelbarrow!"Petting the dogs - there was a lot of love from them!

18 months old

Alexis,
You are now a year and a half old and in the last 2 weeks you have become a new person. You have officially began the terrible twos and are such a toddler. At your 18 month doctor's appointment you were 22 lbs., 9 oz. (24 percentile) and 33.5 inches tall (95 percentile). Your language button has been turned on and you now try to repeat almost every word we say. You say almost a new word a day and it is so much fun to have a conversation with you and watch you learn. Just a small sampling of your vocabulary: shose (shoes), nose, eye, toes, teeth, knee, keys, car, go, bye-bye, daddy, mommy, nana (banana), peas, geen (green), beans, coat, cat, p (pig), dawg (dog), puppy, moo, quack, gobble, roar, eat, cup, wa-wa (water), bub-les (bubbles), baa, bath, hi, helwo (hello), pry (pray), cook-ee (cookie), crak-er (cracker) and the list goes on.
You are such a loving little girl. You blow everyone kisses and you especially like to give your stuffed animals kisses. You like to snuggle with mommy in the morning and you still like to drink your milk sitting on mommy's lap.
You have been introduced to the naughty chair a few times and throw your fair share of tantrums when you don't get your way. (Maybe that's because daddy spoils you too much, if there is such a thing.) :)
You are constantly on the go and enjoy your daily outings to the store, library, and park. You like to run non-stop and are full of energy. Pushing your baby stroller is one of your favorite things to do, but you still don't like your babies to ride in the stroller (only Cur*ous Ge*rge and El*o get to ride in the stroller). They both get fed pretty well, too, by you.
Your typical day is sort of like this:
7:30 am : wake up and hang out with daddy while he gets ready for work
8:00 am: cup of milk with mommy on the couch
8:30 am: take a bath (with bub-les), brush teeth, and get dressed
9:00 am: eat breakfast
9:30 am - 11:30 am: Play, go to the store, visit the park, or story time at the library
11:45 am: Nigh-nigh (night-night) take a nap
2:00 pm: cup of milk with mommy on the couch
2:15 pm: eat lunch (yup, it's a late lunch)
3:00 pm-5:30 pm: play, run errands, visit the park, or music class at the library
6:00 pm: cup of milk with mommy on the couch
6:15 pm: take a walk with daddy & mommy in the wagon
7:00 pm: eat dinner and have a cookie
8:00 pm: brush teeth & read books
8:30 pm: say a pry (prayer) & go nigh-nigh (night, night)
As you can see, you and mommy have a very busy day.
Sweet Pea, you are so much fun to hang out with and spend my day with - I wouldn't trade it for anything! I couldn't imagine my life without you - you always make the sun shine brighter. I hope to be the best mom you could ask for and I hope that when you are older you will remember & cherish the time we had together when you were younger. I don't want to blink because I know it won't be long and you will be a "Big Girl" going off to school. Please don't grow up too fast and know you will always be my little sweet pea!
Love, Mommy

The Beat of My Heart . . .

. . . is doing good! We are happy to report that today's appointment with Dr. J (Lexi's cardiologist) was good. The appointment itself didn't begin on such a good note ~ immediately when we walked into the exam room and Lexi saw the Blood Pressure & EKG machine she burst into tears and hung onto mommy for dear life. Steve (Dr. J's assistant) heard the crying and brought in the bubble machine and it made things a lot better. Next, we had our Echo appt. (ultrasound of the heart) and there was something about the Echo Tech that Lexi really liked because she sat so incredibly still I thought something was wrong. She did so well that she got to play with the echo machine when the tech was finished and print a picture of her heart. There weren't even any lollipops needed for the echo. Dr. J said that the echo looked good and the medicine is working nicely to open up some blockage below the valve. The gradient in her valve was 37% today and that is 10% lower than the last Dr.'s visit so we were very excited to hear that (heart healthy is 0%, so lower is always better). Her O2 Saturation level was 99% (100% is perfect)- up a bit from last time, as well. Overall, it was a good appointment. We will continue on the medicine and follow up with Dr. J in six months. This was a big appointment for Lexi because a huge milestone in the progress of her heart was to see how her heart would handle her walking, running, climbing, jumping, and everything else 18 month olds do. Again, we are so thankful and grateful that Jesus has blessed Lexi with this good report. Thanks for all your prayers.