Where has the time gone

Wow - 2010 flew right by and our last post was in August....Rachel has made some big accomplishments since her first birthday:
** She is now walking - or running - however while running she has no balance
** She has 4 teeth on top, 2 on the bottom and is getting her molars at the same time - she does nothing like th books say she should - she has her own agenda
**She has some words in her vocabulary - "Mama", "Dada", "Baba", "Tado"(thank you), "uh oh" and "to-dow" (touchdown) yes my daughter knows touchdown - she is ready for Michigan football
** she likes to fist bump and give five
**loves to play outside and climb
**She knows "So Big" and when you say "oh-no!" she puts her hand on her head
**She loves to try to feed herself and does pretty well - she loves
Yogurt
grilled cheese
tacos
fish sticks
cinnamon buns
animal crakcers
beets (yes beets)
mashed potatoes
Chicken noodle soup
this is just a few of her favorite things

We have also made it through the winter with nothing more then a cold and Roseola - that's it! I can't be more thrilled - from last year and having pneumonia and being susceptable to it again - and yet it stayed away!! woo go us!!! We also got awesome news from the eye doctor in November - we don't have to go back until she starts school - unless we see something to be nervous about!! YES - one less doctor - and for a kid wt 2 parents that are near-sighted that is awesome news!!!

In December - we had the Developmental Clinic and the Bailey test - there is really no pass or fail on this but Rachel scored as a normal 12month old - which her adjusted age (at the time) was!! She is getting so big and smart!! I am such a proud mom!

She will put stuff into a box or bottle, shake it out and do it again....she loves to do that - she also loves to read books - we read everyday - I see a mini me in the future! she will also get very passionate about something and babble - not sure what she is saying, but she does and boy are we in trouble when she has the words to express everything on her mind!

January brought the twins first birthday and party - which was fun and a big celebration - lots of food, friends and family....and of course cake....well cupcakes - she is still loves frosting!

February was out first plane trip and vacation as a family. To none other than Disney World! Boy was that fun!! Great weather, great fun and very much needed!! Rachel loved the pool and enjoyed the parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot)- also enjoyed the shopping at Downtown Disney - we even got first class seats on th way home....talk about a way to end the vacation on a high note!!

March has been an eventful month to say the least - We lost Busia on the 12th and it has been an emotional time on getting over that loss. She is in a better place, but we miss her very much. She loved Rachel and she always had a light in her eye when Rachel was around.....we also had our last ever Synagis shot...we will never again have to get that shot again!!! We are getting bigger....and that is the best. We are also amost out of the woods for asthma - we don't have to go see Dr. Hurwitz until July and at that appointment we might not have to be on pulmacort! Dr. Hurwitz said he isn't even sure that she has asthma - the coursness in her lungs could be just due to having the lung disease from being on the vent....again - GREAT news and also means her lungs are developing and healing themselves...woo

Now we are just getting ready for the March for Babies on May 1...we will be in attendance this year - we ar not missing it!! Will post pictures soon....Rob has to help me with that I still am not good at it!!

Love,
Jen, Rachel and Rob

1st Birthday pictures!

As promised, sorry for the delay, here are pictures from Rachel's first birthday party as well as some posed ones that we had taken. Enjoy!

Rachel 1 year birthday and posed pictures

A year has come and gone....and boy what a year

Well a year has come and gone and boy oh boy what a year it's been. We have weathered ventilators, heart surgery, oxygen machines, two hospital stays after we were home and too many doctor appointments to count and yet here we are alive and kicking !!with Rachel at 1 year....

This blog was started to keep everyone informed of her progress and we have updated (not too regularly which is something we need to work on) when big things happen....so here is another update for the biggest milestone yet.....Rachel is 1....she is crawling...she is babbling and she is loving her baby food...she always wants more......She can have as much as she wants.

She is (at last weigh in) was 17lbs and 27inches long.....she is a little heavier then 17lbs now I think....We are surely getting some arm muscles that's for sure.

We hope to post more often, but who knows how that will go - she keeps us busy...sh no longer stays in the spot we put her. Let the babyproofing begin!! She loves her jump-a-roo as well, she is happiest when she can roll or bounce.

We will post pictures soon....we got some taken for her 1yr and also a family photo since the last one we have is from Christmas and she was on the O2. Here is to another year of laughing, loving and hopefully no more hosptial stays!

Love,
Jenny, Rob and Rachel

Happy 10 months!

Well it was a bumpy month of May, but Rachel turned 10 months! We spent 2 of the weeks in the hospital because she had trouble breathing, both times we took her to the ER at St Joe's and they admitted her. The first time she caught a nasty case of pneumonia and the 2nd time she was still getting some effects of the pneumonia as well as having an adenovirus infection. She would be constantly mucasy, coughing it up as well as when we would suction her nose. Her lungs are still developing so the air sacs would not be able to inflate all the way for her to breathe, so she would resort to taking faster shallower breaths. We could tell she was not herself and she didn't have much of an appetite. At this point I wouldn't say she is all better as she still does have mucas that we suction out of her nose, but she doesn't need oxygen during the day and we put it on her at night only as a precaution to help her breathe. We got a huge o2 tank and a couple smaller ones for travel, but no concentrator this time. She does NOT like having the oxygen on at night and whenever we check on her she has always pulled the tubes out around the top of her head. We also give her treatments of albuteral through a vapor passed over her face so she breathes it in. It's possible that she might have a mild case of baby asthma but they're not sure.

She's now 14 lbs 7oz as they weighed her during her doctor's visit yesterday, so getting bigger day by day! She's also become an expert at rolling herself over, grabbing her paci and putting it in her mouth (usually backwards). She also has started to grab for things, like your face or glasses when you hold her close. She's also starting to begin sitting up on her own, although she can only do it for about 10 seconds or so before she tips over. We have started her on some solid foods in addition to her bottle. She definitely prefers the fruit over the veggies!

Unfortunately since she got home from the hospital she has not been sleeping through the night anymore, so we have had to get up usually around 2-3am with her to feed her or rock her. She also doesn't take great naps during the day so usually by the end she is overtired and cranky but doesn't want to go to sleep! Eventually she'll go down though, she knows her crib means sleep!

Enjoy the pictures, will write more soon
Rob and Jen

10 month update

Rachel's Baptism

Thank you to everyone who came last Sunday for Rachel's baptism, and to our out of town family who sent gifts and prayers. It was truly wonderful to have our family and close friends there to share this special event in her life. There were 4 babies being baptized at the mass, Rachel got to go first. The water was a little cold for her tastes. We thought she wouldn't mind it because she doesn't mind taking baths. Wrong! As soon as the priest poured water on her head she screamed but it didn't last long. Her christening gown was actually the same one that Jenny wore to hers...it fit no problem! Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa J for the cake and the custom label chocolate bars at the reception (and for storing the christening gown 31 years), and to Grandma and Grandpa B for the pictures and christening outfit accessories.

Rachel also got her last synegis shot at the doctors this past week. A couple more weeks and she'll be back for her 9 month well baby checkup. 9 months can you believe it?? She's been fighting a cold and congestion for going on 3 weeks now, but at least the bad cough she had in the beginning is gone. We also think she's starting to teethe so we have baby orajel and teething rings all around. We had a few weeks where she would sleep pretty much through the night, but not so much these past weeks while she's been sick, and probably not in upcoming weeks as her teeth come in. It was nice while it lasted!

Enjoy the pictures and thank you again to everyone,
Love Rob and Jenny

Baptism

Rachel is a happy 8 months old!

Well we've reached another milestone - Rachel is 8 months old! Unfortunately she's fighting a bit of a cold off, has some gunk stuffed in her sinuses that needs suctioning and has a bit of a cough. We've tried to keep her in the 'Vapor Room' as much as possible this weekend to help her breathe. Unfortunately for her, that's pretty boring and wants to be taken out to play and cuddle. She has definitely perfected the pouty face and has been putting it on to full effect when we put her down.
In honor of her birthday we took her to a photographer (friend from high school) to get some pictures taken in a low pressure environment. Took a bunch of different outfits, including her baptism gown that we'll be using in 2 weeks, to get different shots of her. Rachel is definitely camera aware and likes to stop the cute face she has on just when you're ready to shoot. Even so, we got some fantasic pictures to share and treasure. Enjoy!

8 month pictures

No More Tubes!

The day that we've been waiting for finally has arrived....we got the ok from Rachel's breathing doctor that she does not need to be on oxygen assistance anymore!!! They took her off of oxygen for about 10 minutes and she hung in around 98% on her o2 saturation so bye bye tanks! We'll keep the equipment for another month just in case, and she has a follow up visit in a month just to be sure. We do still have to keep her on her apnea monitor at night when she sleeps. She's growing though so the belt that goes around her chest is getting a bit tight!

Her weight at the doctors office was just over 12lbs and by all accounts everyone says she looks great and is doing fantastic. We are so excited to have this weight lifted, it is unbelievable.

Enjoy the pics of Rachel's natural face!

3-9-2010