Any signs of Daddy????

Finally, after always being called Mommy's Mini Me I think we may have found some evidence that Alexis has some of her daddy's characteristics. Everyone says she has her mommy's sweet cheeks but those aren't exactly small cheeks on Daddy as a baby.

Little Boy Brady loves my daddy!

I love this picture - little Brady loves Rick. We went to his birthday party on the 4th of July and then saw him again this last weekend at Jade's birthday party and he wanted Rick to hold him the entire time. Not sure what the infatuation with Rick is?!?!?!
Just a cute pic of Alexis crawling thru a tunnel at the mall playground.

In someone else's eyes

Last week we met with Dr. J (another pediatric cardiologist) to see what his thoughts were on Alexis' heart condition. After doing another echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), O2 saturation levels, and physical exam he came up with the following plan and observations. There appears to still be some tight muscle tissue underneath her pulmonary valve. So he has put her on a medicine that is supposed to relax her heart so that the tight muscle underneath her valve can relax and hopefully that will allow the blood to move and flow more freely thru her pulmonary valve. Dr. J says that Alexis is the boss (like we didn't already know that ;) ) and we will just have to wait and see if her heart responds well to the medicine and if this plan is going to help her. We are praying that this works and prolongs the need for open heart surgery anytime soon. One day at a time is how we handle her condition and are so very blessed and thankful for all the thoughts and prayers that have gotten us this far. And with all of this going on with her heart she still manages to party like a rock star at her friends' birthday parties!

Happy 4th of July

Sending lots of love from the All-American Girl!

10 months old

These are the days to remember and to try and slow life down so that they don't go by too fast! A lot of things have happened lately to make me stop and think about how if you don't make a conscious effort to stop and enjoy the great moments of life they can so easily just pass you by. Tomorrow Alexis will attend her very first birthday party for one of her friends (this is only the beginning of a 2-3 month whirlwind of friend birthday parties). I can't believe that we will be preparing for Alexis' first birthday party in just 2 months. Alexis finally figured out how to crawl on her own on Tuesday and has since been making her way around the house and into everything she possibly can. She has a new found love for balls, she loves to throw them and then crawl after them (maybe I should call it self-motivating way to get faster and better at crawling). She has also graduated to big girl pajamas - they don't make footie-one piece pajamas in 12 months. :( I was quite disappointed to find this out. You can see for yourself how big she is getting. First day home from the hospital - 10 days old 10 months old

Here are some of the photos we had taken last weekend. Enjoy!Happy 4th of July!

Splashing in the Fountains

This is how we have been spending our time and keeping cool on these long, HOT days of summer!

Mended Little Hearts

On Tuesday night, Rick and I attended our first Mended Little Hearts of Phoenix charter meeting. This is a support group for caregivers of children with heart problems. It was a good meeting and it was nice to speak with parents that can relate to our situation. They host monthly meetings so we will continue to go on a regular basis.

Our Sweet Michelle

Our dear friend Michelle was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in April and had surgery on Monday to remove the tumor and lymph nodes. We will continue to pray that her treatments and recovery go smooth. Please keep her in your thoughts.She has a contagious smile, sweet personality, and is great with Alexis!

Mommy's Night Out

Mommy went out with some friends on Sunday night to dinner and to see the movie S*x in the City. I stayed home with daddy and kept him very busy.When Daddy was doing a few dishes I crawled over to my toy basket and took every toy out of the basket!

Celebration of DAD!

Alexis wanted to make her dad's first Father's Day really special because after all he is the perfect daddy! All weekend long it was all about celebrating the dad and spending time doing some of their favorite things. On Saturday morning, we all got up early and went to the zoo. We all had so much fun. This trip to the zoo we decided to visit the children's zoo and the farm (2 places we had never explored before at the zoo). Alexis is really starting to enjoy the zoo and all the different animals. On Sunday morning, we made daddy breakfast and then headed off to church. Later in the day, we took Rick to a nice steakhouse for dinner.

Helping Dad open his cards and presents.

Inside the clam shell sits a tiny, shiny pearl!
Inside the kangaroo's pocket.
Riding the cow on the farm.What a perfect place for a family picture!