Easter Weekend...

Our Easter weekend was wonderful. It ended in sickness which isn't wonderful, but we had a great time.
Our little cutie watching us decorate Easter eggs.

We had our nieces over on Saturday. They were a big help by helping Drake dye his eggs.
The finished eggs...

Then, we had hunt after hunt after hunt after hunt outside. It was a beautiful day and the kids loved it!

Found one!

Easter morning was filled with more eggs, sugar, hunts, and fun!!!

All ready for Easter Brunch! They looked so cute in their Easter outfits!

She looks like such a little lady here!

We always go to Easter Brunch with my family. Laynie hung out in her carseat and fell asleep the whole time. She is such a good little girl. Little did we know, she was starting to get sick though!!!

Me and Mr. Petersen

Drake did NOT like the Easter Bunny. He was fighting big tears in this picture.

Me, Drake, Breanne, and Maddox

Me, mom, and Drake. Drake was already sick and was a little stinker. He wouldn't leave my mom alone and kept saying he wanted to go home. He was sick last year on Easter too.

Papa and Mammy

Later that night we had Trevor's family over for dinner. Trevor's family is used to his mom's cooking, and so I was a little nervous that they would expect my dinner to be just as delicious!! Well, I didn't make anything fancy but it turned out great. It was a wonderful night! Drake LOVES playing with his cousins!

This poor girl got really sick Easter night and is still sick. She just has an upper respiratory infection, but it is always more serious when she gets sick. Her lungs aren't all the way healthy, plus she has a trach and aspiration problems so of course she gets worse. She got a chest x-ray yesterday and the doctor said it looks "decent". If she isn't better we will probably repeat an x-ray and just monitor her in the hospital for a few days. We are praying that she can beat this bug and get better soon. She has been so miserable and it is so sad.

We have a lot to be thankful for this Easter and we are so grateful we have such wonderful family to celebrate with!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy FRIDAY!!!

I am so HAPPY it is Friday! I look forward to Friday the entire week!

I just got some great news that we should be getting her some new special prescribed formula tomorrow. It is called Neocate. We have been trying to get it for a long time, but it is taking our insurance forever to get it approved! Finally, the nice lady that was helping me said she felt so bad she was going to overnight us one can even though it still hasn't been approved!!! There are nice people in the world! She has had a surgery (nissen fundoplication) that makes it so she is unable to vomit. But, she has been vomitting or trying to vommit constantly. At least 10-15 times a day. We have tried everything. We have switched formulas, changed her feeding amount and rate, tried medicine after medicine and nothing has worked. We are crossing our fingers that this new formula will work!!! We don't want her vomitting because then she could aspirate! I think she has cyclic vomitting. It is really common in CHARGE kiddos, but her doctor didn't really want to go there yet. She also got a new nurse last week. We really like her. She has been recieving at home nursing for a few months now. Someone comes over 3 times a week for a couple of hours so I can run errands and allow Drake to continue to have a normal life. This week our nurse started coming over for 2 night shifts also. When we brought L home from the hospital our nights were horrible. I counted how many times I would have to get up with her to suction her. It was anywhere from 30-35 times. It has gotten MUCH better!!! It is anywhere from 5-12 times now. BUT.... for some reason I seem more exhausted now than I was before. I just think 8 months of 24 hour care has gotten to me. So we started 2 night shifts a week. I don't think I slept any better this week because I was worried about what was going on, but I think I am really going to like it!!!
................................................................................................
Like I said before, I CAN"T keep clothes on Drake!
This is my proud mother moment of today...
Yes, I realize my neighbors think I am an aweful mother!
Why in the world is it SNOWING at the end of April???
It is supposed to be SPRING!!!


P.S. Drake went potty in the toilet today!!!!
HAPPY FRIDAY! So glad it is the weekend!

More random stuff...

We haven't been up to much... Laynie was scheduled for an MRI and hearing tests on Friday but it got cancelled AGAIN because the audiology machine is still broken! Laynie went to church for the very first time. I couldn't get over how adorable she looked in her dress. Yes, I realize we are extremely over-protective parents and we haven't brought her out much at all because we have extreme germophobia! The last thing she needs is a cold or sickness right now. We have had many, many lectures from doctors about keeping her healthy! We decided it is time to slowly introduce her to the outside world. We smelt like alcohol at church because we were using hand sanitizer like it's going out of style! And yes, she also sported a sign on her carseat that we got from getting her RSV injections... It said, "Please wash your hands before touching mine!" It was kind of embarrassing, but I think everyone got the clue that we are just trying to protect our little angel that has been through enough, and we don't want her getting sick! Also, Drake INSISTED on taking 4 dog treats to church. He is definitely one of a kind and likes interesting toys! Someone gave him some smarties and told him that they would taste better than dog treats. I hope they don't think that we let him eat them!

ADORABLE!

I don't care if it is too soon... I just can't get over how cute she is with a pony tail!

It seems impossible to keep clothes on this boy. I LOVE it when I catch Drake playing with Laynie. It only lasts about a half of a second but it makes me happy. Laynie LOVES Drake. She watches him all the time and smiles at him. Drake is STILL hesitant of her... one of these days they will be able to play together! I know he cares about her because when I say I have to take L to the doctor, he says, "NO Laynie doctor, Laynie all better." He gets sad and it is sweet that he is looking out for her. I know he will be the best big brother in the world. He was also sent to our family for a reason, and I think he is going to protect her and help her so much!

Ahhhhh, a kiss on the cheek. This was done because of bribery. Candy can make him do just about ANYTHING! He takes after his mom and has a huge sweet tooth!

Family Time...

We have had some fun lately...

We had a Saturday night movie night! We rented Megamind. Drake was pretty excited that he was included. Endless popcorn, candy, and pop is his dream come true!

We had a really nice evening yesterday. Drake's favorite thing to do is mow the lawn. He begged Trevor to mow the lawn, and Trevor gave in even though the lawn didn't need mowing. What a nice dad! Drake followed Trevor the entire time! He really loves to work!!!

I even brought Laynie out for some fresh air! She loved it!

She couldn't stop smiling!

Drake was also excited to go on a bike ride. We are getting a small glimpse of nice weather and we can't wait for summer!

Such handsome guys!

Drake is also loving hanging out in the backyard all day. He always wants the dogs outside with him. I love watching him explore and get dirty outside!

Our cute girl...

I found my tongue...

I stick it out all the time...

I love it!!!

My hair is growing and my mom says it is getting CrAzY...

She tells me every day that she can't wait to put my hair in big piggy tails on the top of my head with two huge bows. Well, she tried a pony tail and I told her it was a little too soon!!!

Sometimes I get sleepy and fall asleep... My mom thinks I look cute so she takes pictures!!!

Sometimes my mom tells me I am being lazy because I don't want to hold up my head..

I just tell her I am RELAXING!

Progress...

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Dear Laynie,

I can't believe how much you have progressed. Looking at pictures of you when you were so tiny and sick breaks my heart! I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. It feels so good to have so much behind us. There are many more challenges ahead of you and I know you can accomplish them! I am so proud of you and I look forward to watch you progress more and more!

Love, Mom

*I was looking at pictures from the past and it was hard to look back and see everything that she has gone through. I can't believe how far she has come in her almost 8 months of life! I just had to make a video. I am so excited to watch her fight and get stronger. I am looking forward to watching her sit up, crawl, and play more and more! Love you Laynie Bug. Warning... this video is long!

Our HOLE...

We are so excited... our house has started! It should be done in July! We have been looking for awhile now and we couldn't find the perfect house for the perfect price. We found a plan that we LOVE and we decided to build! We also really like the neighborhood. It isn't anything extravagant, but I think it is going to be perfect for us!

This weeks randomness...

She is just getting cuter and cuter and sweeter and sweeter every day!

She is doing really well lately. She has had a lot of feeding problems, but we have changed a lot of things and it is starting to get better! I am having a hard time keeping her nasal stents in... she pulls them out about 10 times a day! It's driving me crazy!

This is a rare photo with her mouth semi-open. She keeps a lock on her mouth and will never open it. I washed my hands really well and felt for teeth the other day. I was so surprised to find 2 teeth! She won't let us see them though.

I can just grin looking at this kid. He is so funny these days and learning so much. He has the strangest games and imagination. He counts with me when I count, but whenever he has 2 or more items (of anything) he holds them up and says "One, foo, five!" It makes me smile every time. It is one of those things that is so cute that I don't want to teach him the right way.

I don't know any other kids that LOVES deodorant, toothpaste, chapstick, and contact cases more than Drake. He doesn't play with normal toys, these are his toys! He carries them around all day and puts them in different locations. He also has to have about 5 dog treats in his hand at all times. Elmer follows him around all day long. I guess Drake likes to feel in control!

These two are so cute together!