So I Had a Great Idea

and I know you all will laugh as I'm SOOOOO good at keeping up with this blog, but my New Years resolution is to do a blog post every day for a whole year. When I informed Matt of my idea, he laughed and said "don't you think that you should start with an easier to obtain goal and say maybe once a week to start?" Laugh if you will, but I'm going to attempt it!

And since we're starting new (and I don't want to have to rename this one), I started a completely new blog! Click on the link to see and bookmark it to see if I can keep it up!

Love you all.

Surgery Scheduled for Izzy

Some of you know that our last appt with the cardiologist was quite confusing. We went in expecting to discuss the surgery and to get the go ahead to schedule it, and instead Dr G told is we could push it back and suggested getting a second opinion.

We were quite blindsighted by the appt and we didn't ask the questions we should have. After coming home and discussing it, we decided it best to call his nurse and discuss what had changed. I heard back today and basically what I learned was what I expected - he sent us the direction he did because he could tell we were apprehensive. No one wants to put their seemingly healthy on the outside baby through surgery, but we trust his opinion. Plus we have the opinion of all the other docs at Hope Childrens as well as the surgeon.

They all say that timing is crucial due to the risks that cold/flu/RSV season, so we really don't want to wait until December to get into see a new doc for an official 2nd opinion, then till Jan/Feb for the surgery.

So basically we got in contact with the surgeon today and we have a date for surgery - November 19th.

So it looks like we're going to miss turkey day with the fam (boooo!!), but she should be better in time for her first Christmas.

Here's what we know:
She goes in on the 16th for a checkup to make sure she's healthy for surgery. Then we go in some time on the 19th (we'll know more after we get the packet from the doc). The surgery should last about 3-4 hours (w/ prep), and she'll be in the PICU for that first day. We'll have to come home that day as there won't be a place to sleep, but once she's moved we'll have accomidations. She should only be there for 2-4 days.

After that recovery is around 4 weeks, so just before Christmas she should be good as new!

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

So I Know It's Been a LONG While

and I don't really have a good excuse as to why other than I have been trying real hard to stay off of the computer lately. Seems like when I get on I intend to spend just a few hours on it, but end up spending 5. So in order to not waste my day or be up into the wee hours of the night I try and just stay away all together. I'll update with some pics soon, but for now here are some things that have been going on around here lately.

- Alice is getting there on the potty training front. She still isn't telling us when she has to go 100% of the time, but she is staying dry most days. I will be so glad when she starts going on her own and when she stops yelling and telling me no when I tell her it's time to sit on the potty. Of course I think that has a lot to do with...

- Alice is going to be 3 soon, and I have a feeling 3 is going to be worse than 2. Some days I swear she has a personality disorder! She tends to be really super sweet and awesome to be around, or she's the spawn of Satan. Maybe my name was once Rosemary and my parents never told me. Either way, she can be quite the handful. I'm sure there is no magic age when it all gets easier, but I was REALLY hopeful that 3 was going to be awesome on the attitude front. I guess only time will tell.

- Speaking of getting older... we're having a Halloween bday party for Alice this year, and I can't wait! We're planning on having a haunted house, lots of games, treats, and I'm sure since we're celebrating on Halloween this year that we'll all take the kids out around the neighborhood to trick or treat as well. I'm SO excited for it and so is Alice. Of course the best part is having a reason to dress up as an adult. Part of the reason we decided to do it this way this year is because for MONTHS Alice has been talking about how she's going to have a Halloween party despite never hearing that from us. We have no idea where she got it, but eventually we decided it sounded like a good idea.

- Izzy is nearly 6 months old. Can you believe it?! I know I can't. In some ways it feels like she has been apart of our family forever, and in others it seems like I JUST found out I was pregnant! It's been a smooth transition to having two, and I'm sure part of it has to do with just how well Alice did with the adjustment and how even keeled Izzy is. I honestly don't know how we got so lucky to have two easy going babies. The next one (and yes, God willing, there will be at least one more EVENTUALLY) is sure to be a colicky nightmare.

- Lately she's really coming into her own. She's discovering new things every day, and she throughly enjoys playing with the toy bar on her bouncy seat - with her feet. I don't remember Alice ever being as interested in her appendages as Izzy is. It's so neat to see just how different they are. Toys are another big thing in her world right now. She's been rolling (but not consistently) even more lately and if there is a toy near her that is just out of reach you can bet she will try everything in her power to get to it.

- The latest thing she's been doing that makes me grin from ear to ear is she LOVES to sit on my lap and play peek-a-boo. And I don't mean I put my hands on her eyes or my eyes and play it, but rather she will fold herself in half, bury her face in my belly, sit up and I'll say "peek-a-boo!" She'll laugh and then do it all over again. Cracks me up! We have video of the first night she ever did that (although it was after she stopped being REALLY into it) so if you're good I'll upload it so you can see just how damn cute it is.

- A certain special teddy bear got a face lift this week. Well not so much a facelift, more like a face transplant. I had to preform very lengthy surgery on Alice's beloved Teddy (she's very original when she names things) a few days ago. Lately she's been kind of rough with him and my last surgery didn't last for very long. His eye was starting to come undone on Friday so I finally decided he was due for a major overhaul. I spent a good 2 hours total working on getting his arms back together (they come together to "hold" a part of the blanky), sewing the small blanky piece back on, securing both eyes, fixing his nose that has been coming apart for well over a year, and adding his mouth back which we haven't seen since Alice was probably less than a year old. Aside from the fact that he will be forever dirty no matter how many times he is washed, he looks good as new!

- Alice is starting to show just how girly she really is. She's obsessed with princesses, dressing up, and she's got the damsel in distress thing down pat. And the one thing she's been wanting for her birthday is makeup. She always wants to put it on when I'm getting ready in the morning (and I usually oblige) and she's been begging to have some of her own to play with. So I gave in, found a cute Tinkerbell (whom she is also currently obsessed with) pencil case and filled it to the brim with cheap makeup and brushes. I have a feeling it's going to be a big hit!

- She really surprised us when we took her to go see the Toy Story 3D double feature. She had never been to a movie before so we weren't sure how she was going to do for one movie, let alone two, but she did fantastic! Aside from not wearing her glasses for long (which isn't that big a deal, but some parts were especially blurry without glasses) she behaved so well! So well in fact that we bought her the "Where the Wild Things Are" (I know what you're saying, how tragic that you didn't already have that book!) book and we're hoping to take her to see the movie when it comes out soon.

- On a more serious note, Izzy's next cardiologist appointment is tomorrow. We'll discuss what Dr. G's colleagues had to say about Izzy's case and she should have another echo and unless the hole has closed up dramatically we're going to go ahead with surgery. We should have a better idea when that will be tomorrow. She continues to do SO well though, you'd never know she was sick! I think that fact alone is what keeps me from thinking about this surgery. To tell you the truth, it hasn't even hit me yet.

Well the baby is up from her nap so I'll have to stop here. My 4th quarter resolution is to keep up with this much better than I have been. Hopefully I can stick to it!

Happy Birthday Uncle James!

Thought I'd Clarify

Izzy's heart on the echo shows signs of congestive heart failure, but
she currently isn't showing any signs of it (like sweaty, rapid
breathing, turning blue when she's calm, etc) which is why the doc was
so shocked when he did the echo because based on the looks of it she
should be.

Thank you bunches for all the support.

Update on Izzy

We wanted to let you all in on what we discovered at Izzy's
cardiologist appointment today.

First, the good news. The hole in her heart is definitely getting
smaller (yay)!

The bad news is her heart is starting to show signs of congestive
heart failure. Her heart is stressed because some blood is getting
pumped to her lungs and back to the heart again instead of going to
the rest of her body first. He prescribed medicine to help combat
this problem in hopes that her heart will show signs of improvement
long enough for the hole to close on it's own.

So there's that. Good news is she's currently not showing signs of
heart failure, to the shock of her cardiologist.

The other bad news is that she's not gaining weight like he hoped.
She's gone from the 50th percentile at birth, to the 10th or 12th
percentile now. He wants her to gain more as it will make her less
veunerable to disease, especially since RSV season is right around the
corner.

So we're hoping that she does well on the meds and she can put on more
weight by the time her next appointment rolls around. In the meantime
Dr. G is presenting her case to fellow pediatric cardiologists to see
what their point of attack would be to get another opinion.

For now we're still hopeful that the meds can keep her heart healthy
long enough for her heart to do it's thing and heal itself, but the
doc stressed today that he's definitely worried.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm Home

Surgery went well, no more gallbladder!

Matt says that I had a small umbilical hernia that they fixed while they were in there.

Tired, hazy, nauseated, and in pain, but hopefully I'll be well enough to take care of the girls by Monday when Matt goes back to work.

and no, Mike, I didn't did not ask to keep it.

(better now, smart ass? :) )

Good News

Don't have time to post much, but I wanted to let you all know that Izzy had a good cardiologist appointment today. Dr. G checked her out and said she looks great and that the murmur is definitely much louder now (you can even FEEL it!), which should mean that the hole is getting smaller. Hurray! We still don't know for sure, but we'll get confirmation that it's closing when she goes back in a month for an echo.

Momma and Daddy can finally exhale!

Will update with vacation pics ASAP. I have a lot to look through!

Why Are Strangers So Much Nicer In the South?

I don't think I've ever met a restaurant hostess that was more chipper
than the one we encountered at an O'Charley's near Chattanooga, TN.
Now whenever I dine at said restaurant I won't blame the whole chain
for hiring morons (I've had really bad luck with them and figured it
had to have been a problem they have nationally). Apparantly I just
need to take a LONG roadtrip when I'm craving southern fried chicken
salad and hot sweet rolls.

Anyway, if you couldn't tell we are on our way home. Sadly we left
Georgia and all of our loved ones who live there (or near there)
behind this morning. It was a very sad goodbye and I miss all of them
desperately already. We are currently somewhere outside of Nashville,
TN and plan to stop for the day wherever the road has led us by around
7:30pm. The girls (and, let's face it, the parents) can't take much
more than that in the car so we'll spend the night in a hotel and head
home early tomorrow morning. We should be back in Chicagoland
sometime tomorrow!

I'm so sad it's all over, but we definitely had a blast seeing everyone!

Not Five Minutes From Aunt Rosie's

And Alice is already passed out cold. Hopefully she'll sleep most of
the way to GA!

Goodbye Lakehouse

Hello Aunt Rosie and Uncle John!

The family and I packed up our things and left the lakehouse this
morning. We're headed to Georgia to spend a day with my cousin
Jennifer and her new little one and I couldn't resist stopping by and
spending a few hours at Aunt Rosie's house before heading out of state.

It was nice to finally see the house and her yard that I know mom was
always so very fond of. And of course the company was good. Mike,
Rae, Kaylee, James, and Dad joined us a bit later for lunch and good
food was had by all.

Now we're off to Atlanta to see Jen, whom I haven't seen since 2004 (I
think)!

Milestones at the Lakehouse

Well I missed it because I was slaving over a hot stove making chicken
and dumplings, but apparently Izzy rolled from back to belly! She's
getting so big already!!

I Don't Have Many Photos on the Phone

So this will have to do for now.

We all arrived safely in NC from our respective parts of the world,
India included. So far we've enjoyed swimming in the lake, genuine
Carolina BBQ, and the company of many realtives.

Tonight it looks like more swimming, discussing plans for tomorrow,
and chicken and dumplings are all on the agenda.

At the moment, life is very good!

Somebody's Smiling

Izzy started smiling this week! She's also become enamoured with the
toy bar on her bouncy seat. She can sit in that thing for hours so
long as the music and lights are on. I can't wait until she starts
doing it all the time!

It Better Have Been the Best Day of Your Life

We threw a surprise graduation party for my BIL Freddy this past
weekend. Lots of fun was had by all, especially the kids. This pic
would have been a lot cooler had it been a video instead as you just
can't quite capture that moment without the squeeling and laughter.
Aunt Ann had a lot of fun teaching the kids to bop eachother with the
balloons. Always the instigator.

I Don't Know How Easy It Is To See

But this pic that Alice "painted" on probably one of the best gifts
ever (thanks Mike and Rae) marks the first time I ever saw her draw
something more than a scribble. If you look in the lower, left corner
you'll see a stick figure that is me, apparantly.

What'd You Say?

I Habe My Gwampa Eyes On

That's what she tells me anyway.

Once upon a time Alice swiped these safety glasses from the
Jacksonville house (hope you didn't need them). She hasn't played
with them in a while, in fact I forgot we had them, and today she
pulled them out and said that little gem. She's certainly always good
for a laugh.

Speaking of laughing, we got our new computer this week so we've been
Skyping fools having talked to James and a very giggly Kaylee (and
Mike and Rae too) yesterday. Now that we have a computer that can
handle video chat I have a feeling we'll be doing it more often.

Not much is going on here. If you don't know already I have to have
my gallbladder taken out. The last time I was down at Dad's I had an
attack and after a morning in the J'ville ER (fun, it's SO different
from the hospitals around here) I found out my gallbladder is full of
stones and sludge. A classic post partum presentation they tell me.

So on the 10th of July I go in to have it removed. Hopefully it's
pretty straight forward and there won't be any issues.

We're looking forward to seeing some of you VERY soon!!

My Girls Are So Different

Alice was always a bit behind when it came to physical milestones. Of
course it never worried me because she was advanced in other areas and
afterall someone has to be below average. Well my little not quite a
two month old Izzy just rolled over so she could get closer to her
stuffed doggie. With the way she moves during tummy time I have a
feeling this kid is going to be mobile MUCH earlier than Alice was!

Somebody Had a Long Day

What happens when you spend the whole day shopping (we went to the
Wilton's tent sale with Auntie Annie) and playing outside with your
friends?

You fall asleep during dinner with bratwurst on your face.

I'll be off to bed early too if Izzy lets me because I'm pooped! Not
before taking some painkillers though, I have a feeling I'm going to
need them.

Izzy Has the Rice Eyes

I know, I need to post, but it wouldn't be my blog without a month in
between posts. Now that I've settled into life with two babes I'm
HOPING that I can force myself to post more often. Call it my mid
year resolution.

Anyway, as I sit here in the rocker with a sleeping babe in my arms, I
looked down and realized I passed along at least one trait to my Izzy,
the Rice half open asleep eyes. Wish it was a not so creepy trait
(ask my college roomate, it's creepy) that got passed on, but I'll
take it.

Heading back home tomorrow after nearly a week in Jville. I'm looking
forward to sleeping in my own bed again, but I'm not looking forward
to leaving the fam.

Izzy Update

Izzy had her first chardiologist appointment today. The office was
like heaven to Alice as it was the first office she'd ever been to
that was totally for kids. This means bright colors, LOTS of toys,
and tiny little uncomfortable waiting room chairs that were just her
size. Needless to say we didn't have to do any Alice wrangling while
we were there.

The appointment went well. The nurse did a lot of poking and prodding
at Izzy and everything still looks normal, which means the hole isn't
giving her any issues yet. Her doc came in (which by the way, I
totally love this guy so far) and listened to her heart. Her murmur
is still there and louder than he remembered. Believe it or not
that's actually a good thing because it could mean the hole is getting
smaller (thus the pressure is different. If it were getting bigger
the pressure would be equal). We'll know for sure in two weeks when
we go back.

I'm glad the first appointment is over. In my mind I was thinking it
would be harder than it actually was. I'll keep you posted (and
update with pics) as I'm finally feeling LOADS better!

Update and pictures

Sorry we didn't update earlier, but we've been busy.

First, an update on the girls, then the pictures.

Becky is doing OK all things considered. For those who don't know - she had an emergency c-section and lost a lot of blood. On Monday her blood levels were on the borderline for needing a transfusion - the doctor gave us a choice between doing that or going home and resting/taking lots of iron. We decided for the go home route. Becky is very weak, and having some extra aches and pains that are due to the extra fluids they pumped into her. They said that taking iron, drinking lots of water and walking a lot should fix things, so hopefully it goes away soon.

Alice is doing good as the big sister. She is a little frazzled after being shuffled around to various family members for a few days, but things are getting back to normal. Now that we are home it seems like she is getting a little jealous of all the extra attention Izzy gets (feeding, holding, etc.) and is wanting to "be a baby" more often. Becky and I are doing our best to make sure she gets all the attention she needs and that she knows we love her.

Isabel is doing very well. She does have a heart problem called VSD (ventricular septal defect). Basically, it is an 8mm hole between the 2 lower chambers of the heart. We are seeing a pediatric cardiologist about the problem, and basically we are in "wait and see" mode. The hope is that the hole will close itself naturally and nothing further will need to be done. If things don't progress (or if she starts developing symptoms) there are medicines that may help. If it doesn't close on its own, and the medicine doesn't help, she may need to have surgery. Just pray that it closes on its own for us.

And now on to the pictures.

Becky will probably kill me for posting this, but it is the only picture we have of her in labor.

Eww...mucus....but she is so cute!

The nurses are making sure everything is OK.

Her feet are so tiny and cute!

Sleeping in the nursery at the hospital.

Alice's first time seeing Izzy.

You can tell she loves her little sister...

...with kisses...

...at least that made one of them happy.

Hanging out with Uncle Chuck

and Grandpa Charlie

And Grandma Cindy.

Aunt Maggie also made a surprise visit.

Alice is all about helping mommy recover.

No mommy, I don't want to be unwrapped!

Gnome kiss!

Sleeping in mommy's arms.

This is a cute picture of Izzy, but it also is good for demonstrating how swelled Becky's hands are from the fluids being pumped into her. She also has Fred Flintstone size feet.

Grandma and Grandpa Bathje came to visit on Tuesday.

Alice playing with Grandpa.

Grandma and Grandpa Bathje brought M&Ms. Yum!

That is all for now, more to come as cute things happen.

Good bye creepy alien

I have removed the creepy floating alien baby from the side bar.

You are welcome.

Hope to have some more pics up tomorrow or Monday. The ones of Alice holding Izzy are extra cute.

Here She Is!

Isabel Rose
4/17/09
4:23am
7lbs. 12oz.
20.5in.

Born via emergency c-section - mommy and baby are doing well.

Thought You'd Like to Know

My water broke at 4:45pm! No real contractions though so they just
started me on pitocin to get things moving. I have to stay in bed
because she's not in my pelvis and since my water already broke there
would be a greater risk of cord prolapse (pinching of the cord between
head and pelvis) until she drops. I'm not happy about that, but there
isn't anything I can do about it.

So since my water broke she has until 4:45pm tomorrow to make her
appearance or they'll have to take her or risk infection.

So not long now and we'll be a family of 4!! I'm so excited!

Alice and Daddy Have a Conversation About Dessert

Alice: But why do I have to eat eggies?!

Daddy: Because the cookies said so.

Alice: Wahhhhh.
*pause*
Daddy, cookies don't talk!

This kid is wise beyond her years!

Ten on Tuesday

So...we accidentally missed a few Tuesday's, and everybody is clamoring for an update so I'm going to do one for you.

1. Here are some Christmas pictures, since we haven't done a real update about that.
   
   Santa got Uncle Ryan a sweet new toy. The girls weren't allowed near this obviously.
   
   
   The leopard girls.
   
   
   
   Alice and Kaylee got matching strollers and dolls for Christmas and had a blast running around Grandma and Grandpa's house with them. Unfortunately this is the best picture we got of that.
   
   
   Alice and JJ. Not sure why Alice is attempting to pick her nose through her upper lip, I taught her the proper way...
   
   
   Alice tracing her hand on the day after Christmas.
   
   
2. We had several visits from Auntie Tori, and Grandma Cindy/Grandpa Charlie/Maggie made a visit as well. The chicken and dumplings were (was?) awesome, it just took about 3 hours longer to cook than we thought it would.
   
   
   Alice and Tori playing with the easel Alice got from the Arizona Rice's for Christmas. She loves this thing, thanks guys!
   
   
3. Alice LOVES to read. We read her books every day, and she reads them back to us as well. When she is reading, they usually go something like "once upon a time, there was a girl named Alice and she was a princess - she had a mommy and a daddy, THE END". I've read War and Peace 3 times, and that was definitely the best version.I think Becky was just testing the camera or something - but this is a darn cute picture.
   

   
   
4. Becky and the baby are doing OK - Becky is mostly just tired of being pregnant and can't wait for it to be over. As of her last doctor visit the baby was breech, but they said that is nothing to worry about...yet. We think she (the baby, not Becky) flipped sometime recently, but neither of us are doctors.
   
   We just got back from our successful "Steal the Watermelon" caper. Strong Bad would be proud.
   
   
   
5. Alice is getting very excited, and talks to the baby in mommy's belly a lot. She also comes up with elaborate little stories about how she is going to help us with the baby, or play with the baby. Some of it is in the video below, but she wasn't really into it when I recorded this.
   
   


6. Unfortunately, both Alice and Becky have been perpetually sick for...a long time... Alice has a hacking cough that won't go away, and Becky keeps getting cold/flu like symptoms on and off. We've all been to the doctor (I had it for a few days myself) but it looks like this is a (non-flu) virus so they can only treat the symptoms. No pictures for this, that would be gross.
   


7. Thanks to the unseasonably warm weather recently, Becky and Alice have been outside to play a few times. One day they even got to go out for a picnic, and Alice loved that.
   
   At the park
   
   
   Playing hopscotch - only missed it by 3 feet
   
   
   Eating at the picnic in the backyard
   
   
8. The picnic made me sad - because when I got home from work that day, this is what Alice said to me "we had picnic and ate apples and peanut butter sandwiches and you were at work and I miss you!" (I'm paraphrasing of course.)
   
   
9. Alice has grown up a little since our last blog post - she is talking in fuller sentences, and can mostly hold a conversation. This also means a change in her TV viewing habits. She isn't on the Caillou and Sesame Street so much anymore, but she LOVES Dora.
   
   Too bad she's already outgrown this shirt
   
   
10. For whoever was frightened by my poor attempt at a beard - that scraggly, wispy, ugly thing is gone. The result of my experience is this - it is not possible for me to grow a ZZ Top beard in 3 months. Even 3 years seems dicey.
    
    Seriously? This is nearly 3 months of growth?

That is 10 things, so hopefully this is good enough for you all. Becky says she will be doing a post soon, but if not I'll try to be better at keeping them going. Here is one last picture of Alice to get that ugly visage of me out of your brains.

Oooohhh, a movie star!