Updates

First, my dad is doing well. He's out of intensive care and in his own room. I was even able to talk to him briefly today.

Next, Evan is doing well. Today Dr. B, the neurologist called us to discuss changing Evan's medication schedule. Instead of waiting until Monday to decrease one of the meds, we will begin, slowly, tomorrow. The reason is because it is making Evan irritable. He is incredibly needy and, well, cranky. This goes on all day long. Then, during the night he has been up for hours wide awake and not happy. He is eating and drinking better though.

With all the trauma Evan just went through in the hospital, we are still trying to keep him happy. It's hard to do much with a boy in my arms! He isn't napping much either.

Today we saw our pediatrician for Meghan and Evan's 3 year and 1 year exams. All went well, as we expected.

Triple By-Pass

So my dad had triple by-pass surgery today. It sounds like it went quite well, though he is in a state of anxiety now, feeling as though he cannot breathe.

He'll be in more pain than most because he had a lot of spurs on his sternum, from my understanding.

It's hard not being there with him. I guess this is how the grandparents felt when Meghan and Evan were seriously ill.

Some Thoughts

So I guess three years ago (to the day on November 3rd) our lives were turned topsy-turvy when we took Meghan to the ER because she was vomiting at 17 days of age. Her heart rate was in the 320's. She went into a form of cardiac arrest. She was admitted to the Cardiac ICU. She remained in the hospital for two full weeks with the diagnosis of SVT-fast heart rate. You can read more here, if you want to.

It was hard. It was scary to know that we were responsible for checking her heart rate with a stethoscope throughout the day and during the night. When we traveled to visit family, our trusty little stethoscope went with us. Not only that but she needed medicine for her heart every six hours (and later 8). So we set the little alarm on my new digital watch and gave her the medicine as needed. We hated drawing up medicine. Giving it to Meghan wasn't so bad...unless she spit it up, or worse, threw up from gagging on it. Giving medicine to Meghan was easy. She was trained from a very early age.

She (and I) gets her first ambulance ride at the age of five months when she has a febrile seizure (not admitted to the hospital). She and I have our second ambulance rides in another two months when we are in a car accident (when Derek is in San Fransisco).

Fast forward two years. Evan is born, and the day we are discharged from the hospital after his birth, we head to the ER and are admitted because he is dehydrated despite his excellent nursing attempts. After they finally get the IV in, he is fine though we stay in the hospital for a couple days. Evan has been our healthy little boy until now.

Fast forward one more year from his birth. Our healthy little boy as a seizure that lasts several hours long. He rides in the ambulance for the first time. He seems to make a full recovery, though the reason behind the seizure is unknown. We know a seizure could return any day, but pray that it doesn't. Suddenly, our counters are cluttered with medicine and syringes. Again. And this little boy has a very strong opinion about how awful it tastes.

But it's different now. We've been through a difficult time before. Honestly, though this is not what we want for our family, in some ways this situation is easier than what we went through a couple years ago with Meghan. (Though can I tell you that Evan's hospital stay, in some ways, was worse than Meghan's? The only time she cried was when they were trying to replace mulitple IV's. Evan cried A LOT. And could not be comforted for hours at a time.) Vigilance is in watching and listening (and making sure the monitors are always on), not in trying to count heartbeats. We don't have to disturb Evan's sleep to give him medicine. We don't have to wonder if we missed something, since we will know if he has another seizure. So this is a bit easier on us as parents.

Don't get me wrong. In many ways this is horribly difficult. I don't mean to be flippant. But really, we are extremely blessed. Sure, most parents can't say that all of their children have spent days in the ICU. Probably many can't even say their child has been seriously ill. Meghan and Evan might have some health problems, but they're manageable. (I am thankful for yet another great specialist. We've heard great things from multiple people about Evan's new doctor!) Just spend an hour at a children's hospital. We quickly realize how tiny our children's health problems are. I never want Meghan's speech disorder or anyone's health to be a thorn in my side. It's just life.

But the fact is that God has given us these children for a time. God has a reason for all things, and through all of this we have learned that we can never take our children for granted. Seeing a team of a dozen hospital staff work on your child is a solid reminder that life is fragile.

If you are a parent, I hope you haven't experienced what we have, but I also know that you may have experienced the loss of a child or daily difficulties with your child's health. May each of us appreciate life, no matter the "quality." Life, at all ages and stages, is still life. It is still to be treasured.

(You know how expectant parents say they just want a healthy baby? Yes, that is ideal, but really, all babies are a blessing. But that annoys me because life is to be cherished, even a difficult life. We will all have struggles, it's just harder to see our children going through them.)

So thank God today for the people in your life. Tell them what they mean to you. And go give your children a hug.

On the Mend

After drinking almost nothing this morning and afternoon, (and going a while without a wet diaper) Evan drank two good bottle tonight! Hopefully this will continue.

Derek returns to work tomorrow (at my encouragement). We will be provided some meals. At first I didn't think they would be necessary since I thought we'd get right back into routines. However, I am still exhausted, and there is still a pretty solid pile of "stuff" to remove from our kitchen's island. Before Derek's mom left Monday, she made sure she did as much as possible to help us along.

I can't say how much we appreciate everyone's support. Thank you! And we hope you understand if we didn't respond to your emails.

Open Heart Surgery

Tomorrow my dad is having open heart surgery. I don't know much but it will be by-pass surgery. Yes, it is hard to be hours from him.

So this picture is for him. My great uncle and aunt sent this hat to Meghan. The hat is from my dad's former business. The hat is, at my guess, 15-20 years old.

Meghan was being goofy and basically climbing the steps and holding the hat. See the big smile (and rash)!

Evan is walking better and seems like himself, though fussier. He still isn't eating much, but he is not dehydrated either. He hates getting his medicine, and he gets a lot. about 5 milliliters total. And it tastes awful.

So please keep my dad in your prayers, too. Since we had well over 100 emails/comments since Evan went in the hospital, I know I can count on you!

Home Sweet Home

So we're home, but I thought I'd show you a few more pictures and share a bit more.

This was Evan's cage-crib. How about that? Even our 2 month old roommate had this giant monster. (When Meghan was hospitalized at 2 weeks of age, she had a mini-crib at the same hospital.)

It doesn't look like he minds though, huh?

So we are home. Evan is on two anti-seizure medications. One will be decreased until he is off it completely, the other will be increased to compensate.

Hopefully he'll keep drinking for us, too. The doctor has said that it doesn't matter what he drinks as long as it is something. And hopefully we'll find our new routine comfortable and easy enough though it's not what we would prefer.

Oh, Evan is loving being at home. This afternoon he wreaked havoc in the toy room. He loved it.

I'm sure there is lots we're leaving out, but the bottom line is we are home. Hopefully we won't need to return any time soon. We will follow up with Dr. B (a neurologist) sometime in the next week or two, but we're not sure when (not for a lack of trying). We'll have a follow up EEG and MRI at some point.

So that's about it. And I'm glad. Hopefully life will be calm now.

WE ARE HOME!

Just a very quick note to let you know we made it home. Evan is not taking bottles well (especially formula/milk), but he is mostly willing to take juice. We have the two medicines that he has to take. Some side effects are irritability, clumsiness, and drowsiness. We've definitely noticed that Evan is particularly happy. He was walking pretty well before this (10-20 steps), but today he only took two steps. We'll see how it all goes.

Please keep us in your prayers about the seizures as well as hydration. Thanks! Some pictures to be posted later.

From the Beginning

Two days to six weeks

Two months to four months

Eight months

Nine months to eleven months

Happy birthday, Evan! We love you very much and have been greatly blessed by you!

Happy Birthday

Our visitors were (L-R) Grandma E, Grandpa E (holding Evan), Aunt Amy (kneeling), and Grandma W. They made our day a lot more special.


















The balloons made the birthday boy very happy.



















Grandma W made the cakes. The hospital staff were given the leftovers and appreciated it...and thought they were adorable! We agree.


















Since we didn't have access to a bathtub, we did not let Evan dive right in, but we did let him touch it.

Want to know the funny thing? At home Evan never goes around the house in just a diaper. Never, yet that's how he has spent his hospital stay. The gowns just got tangled around him.

We almost got to come home tonight. It was out of the question when we realized our pharmacy was closed. So Derek spent the night with an unhappy and tired boy. But getting healthier and healthier!

Freedom

Happy birthday, Evan. Hopefully I will post some pictures from the past year soon.

In the meantime, Evan is a happy boy. His IV is out! He can bend his arm again. (It came out during the night. For 6-9 hours I thought his diaper was leaking, but for at least six of the hours I'm pretty sure it was the IV based on a wet spot on my bed after a diaper change that was by his arm. Around 6 AM I noticed the IV area was wet. Of course I can't be certain, since I don't know if the nurse checked it.)

He still has diarrhea, but is eating well. Until 6 AM he was taking a bottle well, too. There may be sores in his mouth from the hand, foot, and mouth that makes sucking hard.

The doctors are continuing to decrease some of his anti-seizure medication while increasing the one he will go home using. Of course our hope is that he continues to be seizure free.

I think Evan and I are both feeling rested. His "dopey eyes" (and my tired eyes) seem to be gone. He seems pretty much like the little boy we're used to.

We're looking forward to a nice day and hopefully continued improvements in Evan's health.

Even though Meghan won't be at the hospital today, I get to go home tonight! Derek brought stuff to spend the night so that I can go home and get some rest. :) It will be hard to leave him, but I'm hoping to be able to sleep tonight.

Derek told me a funny story about Meghan. This morning she flipped the laundry basket over so that she could get the salt down from her dresser. (We use it with the humidifier.) She made a big mess of salt throughout her room and on her bed. At least I avoided cleaning that!

Thanks for your continued prayers. Ideally we won't have any more seizures or problems and we can go home in the next couple of days.

Play Time

Health wise, Evan had a good day (despite the hand, foot, and mouth dx).























I took a couple pictures to show you some of Evan's good moments. He had a lot of play time today. Aren't my guys cute?























This last picture shows why Evan's oxygen sensor keeps getting changed. See the red light coming from his mouth? Previously that was on his toe.

Despite the cute pictures, Evan spent many hours crying today. Seriously. Hours. He's been fighting sleep a lot too.

It makes a mom and dad tired, you know? But at least we had some good times too, and Evan's strength is great.

I'm hoping to get to bed soon. As exhausted as Evan is, I am too. Getting a couple hours of sleep at night (off and on) and a little nap during the day just doesn't make up for the emotional and physical stress of these days.

Scratch that. He just woke up crying.

Long Day

Our little boy has lots more strength than before. He is sitting up fully on his own. That's good news, but he's not quite so content to do nothing. There just isn't a whole lot we can do with him. He really wants to be pulling on cords.

Oh, last night Evan was put back on the IV. Not great fun. He gets tangled and tangled. And he pulls on it.

Evan does have the hand, foot, and mouth rash, too. We remain in the same room. The staff just uses barrier methods when with us such as a gown and gloves...some wear masks too.

Evan also has a bit of diarrhea due to the antibiotic. No fun, even if he is in diapers.

A Minor Complication

Meghan has hand, foot, and mouth disease. It's just a viral, though highly contagious type of rash. We called the doctor this morning, and they said not to worry about it for now, and she didn't need to be seen. However, before she came here I told our nurse about it, and she said she'd like to see her before allowing her on the wing.

The nurse asked that she not come on the wing until seen by a doctor. Though our primary care's office is closed on Saturdays, we were able to have her seen here at the hospital. They confirmed that it is the hand, foot, and mouth disease. She's not allowed at the hospital.

That really, in itself is not a big deal, but we planned to have a birthday party for Evan and Meghan tomorrow here at the hospital.

So that was all about Meghan. The nurse confirmed a rash on Evan, but the doctor hasn't seen him yet. It's likely that we will be isolated to our own room. I guess that's not such a bad thing, but, of course we would prefer for him not to have it since it could complicate things.

On a different note, my dad visited today. His health is not good. His heart is not pumping the way that it should. I was quite surprised at how bad he is. Pray for him, too, if you would.

Looking Pretty Good

Yesterday afternoon Evan started on clear fluids and then got to have formula and applesauce. Around 10PM we were taken from the PICU and sent to the "floor." Thankfully we're in a room now. Evan was stable enough long before that, but there just was no room for him.

We had several crying spells yesterday. By this I mean that he cried for 30-60 minutes and refused to be comforted. It's so hard. So tiring. I actually didn't pack up our things at all because I had been holding a crying Evan. They did it for me.

Though I may be exhausted, apparently my body is thrilled with the two hour stretch of sleep I got tonight. It's after 2 AM. And I just can't get back to sleep. Thankfully Evan is sleeping! Thankfully our baby roommate is sleeping and the dad does not snore!

We've been told that we'll be in here at least until Monday, so tomorrow we'll celebrate his birthday here. We may not know the cause of the seizures when we leave, but he will continue to be on anti-seizure medication (though a normal, low dose).

So E is eating. He is sleeping. We have a room. And a roommate. The baby roommate is having some tests done so I have to walk quite a ways (not on this wing) to use a bathroom. At least there is a sink in the room I can use. Honestly, I don't mind walking to the bathroom, though it's much farther than I would prefer. (Oh, I even have to pick up the phone and tell them who I am so they can let me back into the wing!) If I were on the side of the room with the bathroom, I think I would not be overjoyed at all the interruptions a roommate would bring-just because they wanted to use the bathroom. So each time I do go for my little walk, it won't be a big deal. And with all the junk-type food I've been eating, it's good for me. My French onion soup for dinner was my vegetable for the day. I had some apple juice. We'll call that my fruit. Okay, maybe I don't usually eat many fruits and vegetables during the day, but add to that the fried foods...

We're expecting my Grandma and Grandpa E. and Aunt Amy (my dad, his wife, and my sister) today! Gma W. will come again, too. It's weird to have our family here. In our previous hospital stays we haven't. That will be a nice treat, though the hospital room will feel very small. There are actually only two chairs. The pull-out chair that turns into a bed and another. The pull-out chair uncomfortably seats two. It's more comfortable as a bed, even if I can't sleep.

Real Nourishment (with some venting)

Today Meghan brought Grandma W. to visit. She barely acknowledged Evan and went directly for the television. In her defense, I think he was sleeping. After a little visit, lunch, and a bathroom stop Meghan wanted to go outside to the playground here at the hospital. She was so sweet asking me to join her. Gma, Daddy, Mommy, and Meghan all got some fresh air while Evan napped.

The day was either very quiet or filled with Evan's frustrated cries. We were excited when he could finally have some juice. Can I let you in on a little secret? When a baby is getting IV fluids AND juice, be sure to change the diaper BEFORE giving him more juice, especially if he's going to be in your lap! I was feeding Evan his second bottle when I felt a lot of wetness. Apparently my jeans couldn't even soak it all in. There was a little wetness beside me on the chair. Oops.

So this morning we were told that Evan might be able to go to the "floor" which means a regular room by the afternoon. We were so frustrated because NO ONE talked to us about this all day long. Of course he could have been checked on when we were at the playground, but no information came our way to let us know their thoughts. We asked several times to talk to a doctor. Eventually I went out to the nurse's station and asked again before Derek went home for the evening. We were told that there just are not any rooms available for Evan on the regular floor. They don't even have any spare rooms in the PICU. So that means Evan is well enough to leave the PICU, but just can't yet. We were glad that we finally got the three minutes of their time to explain that to us!

Derek and I agreed that our previous two stays at this hospital (one with each child, plus several ER visits) were better than this one. (We had incredible care with Meghan during her SVT stay and with Evan when he was a dehydrated newborn. You can read about her SVT here. It was pretty scary!) Today just left us frustrated! (And I'm not even done venting yet!) We had numerous nurses in what is usually a one nurse shift. Poor communication. It took about 8 hours to get the diaper cream we asked for. They didn't seem concerned with us when Evan screamed and cried for a long time. We wonder if he would have gotten the first bottle if we hadn't asked for it...

This evening when Derek left my friend Julie picked me up to take me for food. (She had offered to bring food, but we already broke that PICU rule today, so I didn't want to push it or eat in the cafeteria.) We went to a local diner and had French onion soup and a French dip. I had a really encouraging time with her, and it was just nice to catch up. (Sadly, we did the same thing when Meghan was in the Cardiac ICU...) Anyway, when I returned to the hospital, I went straight to the "family center" to get a room key for the night in a Ronald McDonald room. (Derek and I discussed doing this so I could get a bit more rest...this room is NOT restful, but after today we were concerned if Evan would get the care he needed if he were upset in the night. So when we were talking to the doctor she said we'd get a call if they couldn't console him if we slept in the other room.) Anyway, I came back from dinner, went for the room key and they told me that there had been a phone call about 10 minutes before that saying that Evan couldn't be consoled. WHAT???? I didn't get a phone call! I had made sure to tell a nurse (sadly not ours, though she had been with us earlier in the day...three nurses before that time) that I'd be out for a bit and my phone number was written on the white board. So there was some miscommunication. That doctor tried to call the room thinking I was asleep. I know I look tired and am tired, but it was only about 7 PM.

So I figure I will sleep mostly with Evan tonight, but after he wakes up, I'll go upstairs to a private room for a couple hours.

Anyway, back to Evan. He's had two bottles of formula today. I asked to give him some food, too, and he took a good bit of applesauce. That's all good news. We haven't heard any more about test results

Evan's eyes are what I'm calling "dopey eyes." They're only half opened. He still doesn't have good neck strength either. The neurologist told us that it may be a week before Evan is back to normal due to all the anti-seizure drugs (not the seizure).

Something else I have failed to mention is that he is not likely to have a seizure now due to the high dose of meds. He won't even have another EEG (of his brain) until next week at the earliest because of all the medications.

So despite my disappointment with the hospital today, I know we're in God's care. In the book A Praying Life (by Paul E. Miller) and an email, I was reminded twice today that we often need to feel helpless in order to rely on God. Unfortunately, most of us tend to be very independent people, trusting in our own talents and capabilities instead of relying on the full grace of God that we truly need to be dependent upon. Once again I ask that you would pray with us for Evan...for the short term and the long term. We don't know what lies ahead for us, but we do know that God has plans and a future for each one of us.

I am done being frustrated...and should probably ask Derek to read this to make sure it doesn't sound too angry before posting it. Since he's not here, I will just tell you that I WAS frustrated and even a bit angry, but I'm over it now. Thanks for reading till the end of this long post and letting me vent!

Some have said how strong we are to be handling this. Honestly, Meghan's SVT and cardiac arrest were pretty scary too. But in all things, no matter how difficult, I know that God never gives us more than we can bear. Of course, we're not meant to carry our burdens alone. We're to take them to Him! Even better, God is with us through each trial. He may not remove it from our lives, but He will always bring us through it.

Time to pull out the little chair and turn it into a bed. Evan is asleep. Content. And I can't even hear him breathing (which is a good thing after yesterday and last night).

Yum Yum

We got to feed Evan. For now he's just on clear liquids, but it's better than nothing.

The sticker on Evan's face held his oxygen tube in place. He has a matching sticker on the other side.

















He's a pretty big baby, huh? (Not a lovely picture of me...but that's okay.)





















Below a close up of the IV and the "No-No" wrap that prevents him from bending his arm.

He has opened his eyes.

We put egg carton foam in his crib as bumpers. He throws himself around. A lot.

Hungry Boy

It was a rough night. I think we had about a two hour stretch at one point. Evan is really upset when he's awake. And he's hungry. The poor guy can't eat yet. One issue is that his breathing is questionable. (At one point last night I wondered if he would need the tube again; thankfully it was time for a breathing treatment that helped). He also doesn't have enough strength to sit up/hold his head up yet. Regardless, he is not happy.

I thought it was about 5 AM...instead it's 7 AM. So I'm going to get some food and a shower before rounds.

Night Time Thoughts

It's late. I'm tired. (I believe I wrote that a few hours ago, too. Sleep hasn't come to me yet.) Guess what!? Since this is a neurological case, he will get checked every hour. Yea! (Sarcasm!) So in addition to being right across from the nurses' station in the PICU, we get checked on hourly. It's all for a great reason though. Maybe Derek will sleep at the hospital tomorrow night. Enough whining from me. I'm not the one who spent hours in a seizure and even had a spinal tap today.

Evan is doing okay. Having the breathing tube irritated him enough that he needed a breathing treatment. He is now getting a steroid to help him with the breathing so that he won't need to be intubated again.

At the moment he is on two anti-seizure medications, an antibiotic in case of infection to be safe, and the steroid. He also got a suppository-style dose of Tylonel. I think that's it.

When we go home he will be on a new type of anti-seizure medication. We will also have something to give him in case of a seizure lasting for more than three minutes. That is also in suppository form. It could be worse!

The room is on the chilly side, so I asked about the temperature being raised. Evan's not leaving his blankets on tonight (just like at home). In addition to the lightweight blanket I was given for my pull-out chair, I am using my bathrobe (that Derek so nicely packed for me) as a second blanket.

Beep, Beep goes the IV machine. I might have 45 minutes to catch some sleep before the next set of checks. It will take me 40 to fall asleep...

Scratch that. Evan was just awake. Did I forget to tell you that the anti-seizure medication makes him irritable? Poor baby! And he gets tangled up in all his tubes. He just wants to move, but he doesn't have the strength yet to move like he usually does. Don't get me wrong, he's rolling, arching his back, and trying to be feisty. I'm curious what tomorrow will bring.

So I began this a while ago when the nurse came in. She's been back a couple times since then, and she's still tending to the little patient. I helped when he was crying. The two doctors just walked in. If you've never had the opportunity to sleep in an ICU room, don't worry, I'm not really sleeping either.

Breathing Tube Out

Just a quick note to tell you that the breathing tube is out. Evan's doing okay now. He's breathing on his own. No more seizures, though he is heavily drugged.

This doesn't look like bacteria or viral infection. That's good. It could be a one time thing, or the beginning of something more (like epilepsy). We can also expect to stay in the hospital till Monday or so. Looks like we'll sing happy birthday to him with a hospital staff all around.

We are all exhausted. Evan is miserable when he's "awake" though his eyes haven't fully opened yet. He hates all the tubes and that he can't bend his left arm.

PICU-Evan

We are at AI DuPont hospital with Evan. This morning when I went in to get him he was having a seizure. We're in the Pediatric ICU.

Seizures aren't new to us since Meghan has had two (3/2007, 3/2008), but Meghan's were harmless, short febrile seizures.

Evan's seizure continued and continued, though it changed while we were in the ambulance and seemed to stop. But it didn't. By the time we made it to the hospital (which is about 50+ minutes from our home) it was still happening off and on. Seizure meds only helped so much. But now he is doing okay. He has had an EEG on his brain which showed no seizure activity. The spinal tap came back clean.

We don't know what is truly happening. It will be another 48 hours before one of the test results comes back, so Evan will not be discharged before then.

I had put Meghan on her bus this morning, and she is with our neighbor now. She had no issues with Mara picking her up. I'm sure their swingset was incentive enough!

Derek was at work, of course, when this happened. I called him after calling 911, but based on our experience with Meghan, we weren't too concerned. We talked about him coming home to get Meghan off the bus since we knew I'd be gone for many hours with Evan.

Eventually I called our parents and pastor. At some point Derek and I realized he was very needed here, so he went home and collected toiletries, clothes, and reading material for me. He was even thoughtful enough to get the laptop. (And boy are we happy that the hospital has wireless. Three years ago it didn't, but we didn't have a laptop then, either. Pastor Bill arrived before Derek, and by that time I was mostly done crying. :)

I will post updates if we learn anything more. The anti-seizure meds got him out of it, but it took a fair amount. He's sedated due to all the medicine, but they will let him wake up at this point. He is restrained though so that he does not try to pull out his breathing tube. (That will be removed when he's awake and alert and ready to have it gone.) Other than that, we wait for test results, though nothing is coming up positive yet.

In the meantime, we ask for your prayers. Thank you.

Evan's Turn

Well, last week I shared Meghan's haircut. On Friday, I cut Evan's hair, too. Derek has done this without me the last several times. We just buzz it. (I had wanted to grow it a little longer, but it's just too thick to try to cut with scissors at this age.)


















As you can see, we're a little shaggy. The bumpo only helped so much. The toy-not at all! (He is wearing a diaper!)
























It's amazing how much hair that little boy has to spare.

Here is Evan after a bath and nap! (He actually had his haircut completed after this picture. I didn't have time to get around the ears.)

The Kids

As we are in between birthdays, I thought it would be fun to make collages of the kids together. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

A Great Day

When Meghan arrived home, she was asleep on the bus. The bus driver reported that she had a good day and was all smiles. The communication notebook (which is written in daily by the teacher) also said that she had a great first day of school. I'm excited that Meghan is happy about school. I just wish she could tell me all about her day! Someday...


















(This morning at pick-up, the bus driver told me that she would be later than the time I was told for the return trip. I didn't expect for the bus to arrive about 30 minutes later though! She is trying a different order of drop off tomorrow. We'll have to wait a while to see how long the trip will take.)

First Day of School

This morning when I woke Meghan up, she asked where the sun was. This is where the sun was forty-five minutes later when we were outside waiting for the bus.

Where is the bus?

Excited apprehension.

Brrr....

Meghan's bus driver and aide.

All buckled in the bus! I'm not sure if the tears were because of the cold or anxiety.

The bus turned around in the cul-de-sac, and Meghan was waving to us!

Good-bye, sweet girl. I hope you have a wonderful morning at school! We hope and pray the speech and language classroom will be fun and beneficial!

(Mommy only teared up a little. Grandma W. was here for support. Thankfully we were able to take pictures with her camera since ours died in time for the birthday party.)

Birthday Fun, Part 1

(First, I have to say that our camera has finally given in to its end. A couple weeks ago I, um, left the camera outside on the back steps. Overnight. It rained a little. It dried out, and surprisingly, worked, except for the zoom lens. I was thankful. Even before this little incident we were going through rechargeable batteries like crazy. On this special day, it stopped working altogether. Great timing, huh? Thankfully, Derek's brother and sister-in-law came to our rescue. In the meantime...I guess we need to start shopping.)

Some fun photos from the first birthday bash. We celebrated both Meghan and Evan's birthdays since much of Derek's family was able to visit. We had four generations celebrating.

I just think this picture is funny.
















Meghan had chocolate milk for the first time. (She has had hot cocoa a lot though.)

Derek's mom made this cake. We love her cakes! This cake was Meghan's, and next week Evan will get his (though he ate this).

Remember the name pillow I made for Meghan? I am pleased to say that after announcing each letter, she announced that it said Meghan and promptly took it to her bedroom before opening any more gifts.

Next week we'll celebrate again! Come back for more!

Meghan's Beginning

The many faces of Meghan. Can you tell she's always had a bit of a personality? (The ages for each collage is stated directly above it.) As always, click on the pictures to make them larger.

2 days- 2 months.























3 months-6 months.























10 months-14 months.























18 months to 25 months.

Good-bye two; hello THREE!

Happy birthday, Meghan! We love you very much!