Birthday Party Results

The NICU roommates! Together for the first time.  Harper and Milly were pretty interested in each other, too!

 The Food Table.  Mackenzie made the fabulous banner!

 All of the NICU girls and the mommies!

 The birthday girl, she looks tiny here to me!

 She loved the frosting on her cake!

 So glad it was red so we could see it so good!

 Sharing her cake with momy

 This look was on her face a lot that day, and is every day and it just cracks me up!

 The family in our Minnie Ears! Obviously, Minnie was our theme for the party!

Sisters - so sweet!

It was a successful party! Everyone had a good time, but no one more so than the birthday girl herself, Harper Grace.  Not a tear was shed, it was all smiles and good times for her.  She thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  I think she loves to be the center of attention, and so she felt right at home even in the biggest crowd she has ever been in. 

Harper Grace - 1st Year in Pictures

• Today we celebrate a year of firsts and a year of MIRACLES!  Thanks be to God for giving Harper Grace the strength, courage, and the fight to live even though she had so much to overcome right from the beginning! I could not be more in awe of this little girl.  Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers over our precious little girl!

April 23, 2011 Born 4 months early at 24 weeks. 1 lb 6 oz
1 month old. Still tiny at 1 lb 11.69 oz, but off ventilator and on cannula for breathing support. She was switched to CPAP on 5/17, and then to cannula on 5/21. This is what finally helps her start gaining weight - while working so hard to breathe, she just couldn't gain.
2 months old! No oxygen support at all since 6/15! 3 lb 3.3 oz and wearing clothes and breast feeding.
3 months old - and going home today! 7/23/2011 - one month before her due date, 4 lb 13 oz.
4 months old up to 5lb 14 oz! So happy and thriving at home! Her corrected age here is newborn -this pic is when she was due to be born.

5 months old, 7lb 1 oz! Getting bigger, slow and steady wins the race! 1 month corrected age.
6 months old, lots of smiles. 8lb 7oz. Such a big girl and such a happy baby! 2 months corrected age, can you see the huge improvements she made from 5 months to 6 months?


7 months old! Hard to believe this is the same baby as the first picture, isn't it? 9 lb 8 oz here. 3 months corrected age.
8 mos old, 10 lbs 6 oz. Finally hit 10 lbs! And this is when she finally started sleeping through the night- yeah for Mommy! 4 months corrected age.
9 months, 11 lbs 4 oz. 5 months corrected age.
11 months - so sorry my 10 month old picture will just not upload to the blog, and short of starting over, I do not know how to fix it. And having spent an hour preparing this blog, I am not starting over. I am so sorry to skip a month, but this will have to do! She is a BIG 12 lbs 2 oz now! Crawling, standing, pulling up, sitting up - always on the go and very happy! 7 months corrected age.






Our Big 1 Year Old! She is just doing amazingly well! I still can not believe she is one, or that she started at just 1 lb 6 oz and a year later you can not even tell she was a micro preemie. We are so blessed with this precious miracle. She is around 12 1/2 lbs (She goes to the dr this week so I will update exact weight then). She is saying a few words, bye-bye, momma, dadda ( Well, kind of. They all may just be Freudian slips, but they seem like real words to us. The jury is still out, though). Her corrected age is 8 months and I feel like she is right on track developmentally for her corrected age, maybe a little ahead. She definitely has the mental ability of an 8 month old, maybe even a 12 month old, but her physical capabilities hold her back a little and this really frustrates her at times. I am certain by the time she is 2 we will no longer be able to tell she was a micro preemie at all. She will always be small, she isn't even on the growth chart yet and may never be, but we always knew she was going to be small, even if she hadn't been so early. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support since her miraculous birth this time last year. Without God and the support of our friends and family, we would not have made it. But look how far she has come - it was all worth it!

Determined

Making faces at Blue, who likes to come over and give kisses to Harper through the net of the pack-in-play.
She was so determined to stand up in her pack-in-play, even though she is tiny and there is really nothing to pull-up on. Here she is standing there.
All smiles in her stroller at the eye doctor. Clean bill of health on her eyes. Dr. Gitchlag even said if he didn't know she was a preemie, he would not be able to tell by looking in her eyes.
On her tippy-toes, peeking over! Very determined. I am sure she will start working on climbing out soon! This just cracked me up. She is really about two inches shorter than the top rail of the pack-in-play. She should not be able to stand up in there, and yet she can! I really hope she doesn't figure out how to crawl out any time soon - if she does, there will be no rest in our home ever again!

Life's a Beach!

Harper is pulling-up now! She will not lay down in her crib - as soon as I set her in there she stands up! She crawls every where, there is no keep her still, and as soon as she gets to where she wants to be she finds something to pull up on and stands. It is very cute and very exciting, but does make it a challenge to get things done! She is very busy all of the time!
The sun making it's arrival!
The sun just barely showing, can you kind of see the large crowd?
Fun in the sand!
So happy under her umbrella!
Billie on the last night of our trip.

We took the girls to the beach for Easter! It was amazing and wonderful for all of us. We really needed to get away. We went to a sunrise service on the beach, right out from where we were staying and it was so special to see so many people come together at such an early hour, and on their vacation, to worship and celebrate the ultimate price Jesus paid. And when the sun did rise it was amazing. He has risen indeed! Beautiful. Some how I feel closer to God at the beach. I don't know if it is because the ocean is so huge and amazing and beautiful that it just makes it easy to see how mighty God is, or if I feel like it is the "end of the Earth" and God is just on the other side of the ocean, maybe it is a bit of both. I wish I could do that every Easter.
The weather was great after the first day, which was cold and rainy - only 58 degrees! It was 10 degrees warmer at home that day then it was on the beach. But we just relaxed at our condo, and then took the girls to Build-A-Bear and out to dinner that night. The next two days were sunny and warm, around 72, and perfect for playing on the beach. Billie built sand castles and Matt buried her in the sand (one of her favorite things to do, not sure why). Harper loved the sand and the water, but didn't like the wind. The first day on the beach she was able to nap in my arms under a towel, but the second day she just got tired of it and wanted her bed. We all got to take a run or two on the beach, too, which is the perfect place to run in all the Earth, if you ask me.
We are planning Harper's birthday party. It is so amazing to look back over the past year and see how far she has come. I think I take it for granted a little bit until I see the pictures of how tiny she was. I have an awesome blog planned for her birthday, so check back her next Monday (if I am on top of things, it will be up on time.)

Thankful

This is Harper pulling herself up in her crib!
Billie wore this dress that Harper is wearing for her first Easter back in 2001! Billie was 3 months old when she wore it, though. I will try to get a picture of Billie in the dress up later in the week.
Doesn't she look proud of herself?


I just had to share that I woke up with thankfulness in my heart. We are so blessed in so many ways - a strong roof over our heads, healthy, happy girls in their warm beds, full bellies, beautiful spring weather to enjoy, and safe cars to get us where we want to go. The list goes on and on. Life can change so quickly and everything can be ripped from you in mere seconds. I guess I just feel so blessed to have Harper and Billie and to have them both so healthy. I look at Harper and I am so amazed at how well she is doing - basically no lasting effects from being a micro-preemie. She is happy and healthy and doing things right on time for her corrected age. She is actually trying to pull up now! She went from not crawling or sitting up to crawling, almost sitting up, and pulling up in a week! She is so strong and so strong-willed. She will not sleep unless she wants to- she fights sleep like no other baby I have ever seen. She sleeps good at night, but she does not nap well at all. She is so funny, she will fall asleep for about 5 minutes and then she jerks herself awake and she is good to go, wide awake! She gets that power nap in and that's all she needs! She crawls every where now, and even though she can't sit up yet, she has learned to improvise and "prop-sit" by propping herself up on one arm and playing with her toys with the other. She is eating better and I am certain she is growing well, although she hasn't been weighed in about 3 weeks so I don't know for sure. I have to pinch myself sometimes so that I know all of this is real. Harper was so tiny and so sick at birth, but she beat all the odds and I am so thankful.
Billie has been on spring break this week and has been enjoying time with her grandparents. The Rosecrance's took her on a bike ride on the Virginia Creeper, and her Grandma and Grandpa Williams have her today, I think they are making a trip to Build-A-Bear and possibly the nail salon to get her toes done! She is a very lucky girl, but she is also very deserving.
I have been sewing up a storm. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I made the girls matching dresses for Easter, and bunnies to love on, too. They aren't perfect, but I am learning and I enjoy it so that is all that matters.
Our good friends The Delgados just brought their son home from Eastern Europe. He is in the hospital for surgery today and could use your prayers. They are an amazing young couple, and he is a miracle child with EB. EB is a skin disease he was born with and is very serious. You can read about them here: http://goodtimesdelgadostyle.blogspot.com/2012/03/anton-is-in-hospital.html?m=1 .
Yesterday I was changing Harper's diaper and just above her head are pictures of Joshua and Caleb. She looks at them and I swear she knows them. I always tell her they are looking over us from Heaven. I still miss my boys every day, but the pain gets softer with time. I love thinking of them in Heaven and how wonderfully made they are, and how happy they must be in the presence of Jesus. I am so thankful that God blessed me with Joshua and Caleb. I feel so honored to have been chosen to be their mommy. God is so good and knew how special this would make me feel forever. Such a gift to be in the presence of angels. I am so thankful that God gave me the strength to live even when my heart was breaking. There are three very special people in heaven watching over me and my family. Not a day goes by that I don't miss them or wish I could be with them, but I am also thankful that God chose to give me life and multiple blessings within my life. I am just thankful and in awe of my many blessings. There were days I didn't think I would get through, but God brought me through them. There are still days I ask God "why?" but then he gently reminds me that it was all part of his plan and that is all that I need to know now. I love that when I am still I can hear him. I also love that God does know what I can handle and carries me through- that I can always feel his presence and even when I worry and feel scared, I know he will never leave me. I am so thankful for my many blessings!



Here is a little video of Harper crawling!!

To Keep You in the Loop

Matt took Billie to see the Star Wars movie in 3D, it was the opening night so they got special Darth Maul glasses and got to meet Darth Vader and some Storm Troopers. She had a great time, and it was a surprise - which just makes it more fun!

Harper was napping in my lap and I was holding her sweet little hand and just snapped a few pics with my phone. I thought it was sweet and worth sharing.

Matt is itching to get Harper on a bike...This helmet will not fit for 6 mos to a year, but it was very cute. I told him until she fit well in a helmet and could sit up well on her own, no bike was in her future. He just wants to get her out and have fun with her!

Billie reading to Harper as I cooked dinner one night. Once again, they are adorable together and Billie is the best big sister a girl could ask for. It warms my heart and makes me smile every time.

Valentine's Day morning the girls both opened gifts from Matt - It was a great start to a fun day!

This is Savannah, Billie fell in love with this horse at her lesson on Saturday. She just so happens to be for sale, and one of her fellow classmates had her new horse there for her lesson, so Billie was kind of hoping we might buy her a horse, too. We are not buying her a horse, but a girl can dream, right?!

This is her in the ring riding. She loves to ride and is getting very good. She can trot, canter, two point, and does a pretty good job at it all. Her teacher says she is close to learning jumps, which is really what Billie wants to learn!
Matt just had to put Harper up on Savannah. She didn't really seem too impressed.

This was Valentine's Night. We had our traditional fondue dinner. This year we did a swiss cheese with fruit and veggies and bread. Harper had sweet potatoes and bananas. It was a very fun night.

So this was just a quick update to keep you all in the loop. I do want to add we took Harper to see the therapist yesterday and I was very disappointed with the results. She will start weekly therapy because Dr. Trainer says she is developmentally delayed and her gross motor skills are delayed. I felt we had accomplished every thing she had us work on since our last visit, and she didn't even mention any of those! So now we have a long list of new tasks/goals for her - all new to us and we will work on them at home and go once a week to work with a therapist to help us. She needs to be sitting up on her own and she is not flexible enough - I am probably not stating this correctly, but since she is a preemie, her muscles are tight, especially her flexor muscles in her back, and this causes her to be less flexible than a baby that was term and is 6 months old. And she is using them to do everything, including rolling over, and these particular muscles are always seen in preemies to be strong and if we don't get her using her core muscles instead she her developmental delay will worsen and could cause delays in other areas. I have to run, but we will take your prayers on this - it has me very stressed out and worried about her development. Also, she is off of formula now and her weight gain has slowed to a crawl ( or less!). I really do not want to put he back on formula so I am increasing my calories, fat and protein intake in hopes to help my breastmilk content. So prayers for her weight gain is also needed. Thanks to you all!!

Happy Harper

Harper is pretty happy most of the time - and she loves to smile and laugh!

Just a quick update. I am working on a special blog entry, one that I should have done a while ago and it is taking me a while to complete it. But I hated to keep going too long with out an update. Harper is doing great and so is Billie. I am finally feeling more like myself, too. For those that do not know, I had an incisional hernia from my surgery with Harper and I had to have it repaired. It came up a few days after my surgery and I was hoping it would go away on it's own, but instead it just got worse. The surgeon told me that it would be very painful, even worse than my c-section, but I didn't believe him. It's a good thing, or else I would not have done it. He told me the next day that no patient ever does believe him. I had to stay one night in the hospital to manage the pain, although I really didn't want to stay after I tried to get up the second time, I relented and agreed to one night away from my babies. Kellee stayed with them and they were of course fine! But it was hard to be away. I think it would have been easier if we had been say, at the Grove Park Inn enjoying the spa! It was no spa, but everyone (minus one cranky lady) was very nice to us and took very good care of us. And even though it hurt so bad, I loved my surgeon. I am not completely healed yet, but I am doing much much better. It took about two weeks before I could care for Harper and myself again. Kellee and Cathie helped me during that time. I am able to drive again, I just can't lift anything heavy yet. It won't be long, though, and I will be good as new! We take Harper back to the therapist next week and I am so excited to show her how amazingly well she has mastered all of her tasks/goals and to get new exercises and goals to begin working on with her. I know this wasn't a big update, but it is all I have time for. Love and thanks to everyone!