Aiden's Update

The doctor called this morning and said that Aiden is still jaundice but his levels are not high enough for any kind of treatments. There is nothing wrong with his thyroid, liver or kidneys and the jaundice should clear up on its own. This is great news! Yay! On a different note, Emily is starting to notice Aiden more and I have even caught her trying to snuggle with him when he is sleeping on the floor. Too cute!

1 Month Already?!?

Today we had Aiden's 1 month check up at the doctor and it was a pretty traumatic experience. It started out as a regular visit with the nurse taking all of Aiden's measurements. He now weighs 8 lbs. 2 oz. and is 21 inches long. (Aiden is in the 25 percentile for weight, length and head size.) When the doctor came in he said he was a bit concerned about how yellow Aiden still appeared. He said this could be due to elevated jaundice levels or from a problem with the liver, kidneys or thyroid. In order to determine what is going on, Dr. Nix said we needed to do some blood work. A different nurse came in to do the labs and I was expecting her to use Aiden's foot - just like every other time he has had blood drawn. Well, apparently they needed too much blood to use his foot. Instead, she tied a tourniquet around his little arm and asked me to help hold him down. Luckily, Aunt Jennifer was with me because this was proving too difficult for me to handle. She took over helping the nurse with Aiden while I kept Emily busy. The nurse tried both arms without any success and finally said she was going to have the doctor come back in and try. Dr. Nix came back in and found a spot to draw the blood. Since Emily was having a melt down at this point (we had been there for 2 hours by now), I did not see where he was pointing. Aunt Jennifer gently responds, "Mommy, you will want to go wait out in the hall." Fully trusting her, I did not ask any questions and left the room. A few minutes later the doctor comes out and tells me he was finished and got what he needed. When I went back into the room, Aunt Jennifer was holding gauze to Aiden's scalp! Apparently, a rubber band had been put around his head 2 times so that they could get a good vein! Poor little dude! I am so thankful Aunt Jennifer was there because there is no way I could have held him down for that. She said he was tough guy and only cried when the rubber band was taken off (it pulled his hair). We should have the test results in either tomorrow or Thursday. I will be sure to post an update once we hear the results. In the mean time, here are some pictures of our growing little boy!

Pigtail Pirate Princess

Emily is sporting a new hair-do today! PIGTAILS!!! This new look seems to bring out the pirate in her...

Emmy's Mickey Mouse Party

On Saturday we celebrated Emily's 1st birthday with a Mickey Mouse themed party. We had a huge Mickey balloon, a Mickey cake, and lots of other decorations that helped turn the Coventry Club House into the Mickey Mouse Club House. This was a special birthday for several reasons, other than the obvious of it being her 1st. Emily's party was held on her daddy's birthday, all of her cousins were there, including Katie who lives in Australia, AND Aunt Jennifer made her another tutu! When it came time for the birthday girl to eat her cake, she was not all that impressed with it. She definitely did not like having messy hands and enjoyed it much better once daddy started feeding it to her. It was so much fun celebrating Emmy's first birthday with her friends and family.

Happy 1st Birthday!

I can not believe that a year has already gone by and my little girl is now a toddler! Where in the world did the time go? Emily is such a big girl! She is almost walking, very curious and is always off exploring. We have made the switch off of formula to soy milk. Although Emily only has 2 teeth right now, she is a champion at chewing and breaking down food! With the new addition of Aiden to our family, Emmy is stepping up to the plate and proving to be an awesome big sister. So far, she is not showing any signs of jealousy and is sharing her mommy and daddy nicely.

Today, as a special treat for her birthday, Daddy got her donut holes for breakfast, Aunt Jennifer brought her a cupcake at lunch time, and CC came at dinner time with another cupcake and decorations for her highchair! What a sugar-filled day! It is a good thing her birthday only comes once a year! I am amazed that we ever got her to go to bed! Here are pictures of our Birthday Princess from today.

Aiden's First Bath

Daddy gave Aiden his first bath today. Emmy and Aiden are so lucky to have a daddy who loves them so much and who is so 'hands on'. Here are some pictures of our little monkey, wishing he was anywhere BUT in a bath, with his proud daddy.

Daddy fixed Aiden's hair just like his!

Going Home!

On January 1st, Aiden and Mommy were discharged from the hospital to go home. Aiden has a little bit of jaundice, but since his levels were in the normal range he did not have to go under the lights like Emmy did. Tomorrow we have to bring him back in to the hospital for a quick bilirubin test to make sure he is still doing well.

Leaving her mark

At Methodist Hospital, they have a program that allows siblings to leave their hand prints on the walls that go throughout the 2nd floor. This is a way for them to feel special and have something of their own to show off as friends and family come visit their new brother or sister. Well, when Emily heard about this, she was not going to miss out! She was able to paint her hands pink and leave her mark by the elevators. If you are ever visiting this hospital, be sure to look for Emily's hand prints!

Happy New Year!

We had the best New Year's Eve ever this year! Celebrating the new year with both Emily and Aiden was an incredible experience. Who would have thought that we would be blessed with 2 children before 2009? Certainly not us! Since we were still in the hospital, CC and Aunt Jennifer came up and we all brought in the new year with milk shakes and Scrabble. This year is going to be an exciting time for our family and we look forward to our life as a family of 4. We hope you have a wonderful new year and are blessed beyond your imagination, just like us!