Halloween 2009

I know this is way-late, but I've been going through files on my computer from the past 6 weeks so I can update the blog. I would just skip this stuff altogether, but the blog has become my scrapbook, so I really want to include it all because I'm also in the process of turning my past blog posts into book form (so it really IS going to be our family's scrapbook) - how cool! Check out www.blurb.com if you want to know what I'm talking about.

Anyway...here is our fun family outing on Halloween. A church in our city does a huge family festival - so we went again this year. This was just 4 days after Braden was born, so he was still in the hospital, but we had a good time with Sadie and my mom and sister. Enjoy!

The Fam (minus one)

Sadie LOVES the bounce house!

I love this picture!

I thought she would be scared of the horses, but she had a great time as you can see!

Mersadie got to play a lot of games - she got candy at each one, so she was really into this!

No tossing for Sadie, she just walked right up to the pumpkin and put the beanbags in the slots.

Mersadie LOVES her "Reece" and Mimi!

And I think she loves Mommy too!

Sadie and some of her best buds!

Another one of Sadie and Brian

I wanna go Dizzy-Wand!

I don't know how Sadie figured out that Mickey Mouse lived at Disneyland and we lived close enough to be able to go to Disneyland, but every time she sees the commercial for Christmastime at Disneyland, she says she wants to go to "Dizzy-Wand". I usually tell her, "yes, baby, we'll go to Disneyland sometime soon, but not today". This usually satisfies her and she goes on to talk about how Mickey Mouse lives at Disneyland and then gets distracted by something else. Well, last night - my answer wasn't good enough and she WOULD NOT STOP saying "I wanna go Dizzy-Wand". I got tired of it and asked Brian if he would do something to get her to stop. His solution was what you find in the video. Nice. I picked up the video camera after about 2 minutes of this going on and it lasted another minute and a half. Not my idea of how to get her to stop saying it, but it worked... She was done after this.

And, yes, we will be taking Mersadie to Disneyland sometime soon. Just not today. Enjoy!

Braden's Newborn Pictures

Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I took of Braden the other day. He slept like a champ right through it all. I have more to show, but he is calling me now - he needs to eat. The last 2 are my favorites I think! Enjoy!

Our Little Man is Finally Home!

Praise the Lord - today we brought our little Braden home! He is doing so well and has come a really long way in his short 13 days of life! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. Enjoy the pictures from today!

Finally at home!

First car ride.

Mimi is just as happy as we are to have Braden home - and to be able to love on him!

And our Mersadie. She LOVES her little bro! She couldn't wait to hug and kiss him. Brian and I got her a little baby doll and gave it to her when we brought Braden home. In this picture she is trying to share it with Braden.

Sadie is showing us how the baby eats and how she is going to help with Braden. She's got this big sister thing down already!

Kisses! This melts my heart!

She couldn't stop touching his "yittle" face.

Proud big sis!

More pictures to come soon - Sadie wanted to hold him tonight and we got some great shots of that!

Braden's Update

Before I get to Braden (because blogger put my pictures in reverse order) - here is our little Sadie. She has been such a trooper through this entire process. She has not fussed one time in the million times that Brian and I have had to leave her. It's amazing. She's pretty independent anyway, but I figured us leaving all the time would eventually get to her - but she is just great staying with Mimi or Brian when my mom and I go to the hospital. Anyway, here is how I found Mersadie the other morning. She had her hat, my shoes, her suitcase and her money and she told me she was going on a trip - on an airplane. I don't know where she was headed, but it looks like she was ready for fun!

And for Mr. Braden ~ he is doing SO much better! He is now completely bottle feeding - the nurse took his feeding tube out of his nose while I was there this morning! He is back under the photo therapy light for jaundice, but his levels were down this morning, so they are just keeping him under it today just for extra precaution. The only reason Braden hasn't been moved to a regular open air crib is because of the jaundice. He is doing well breathing with only short periods of faster breathing. The doctor said today that he has really come a long way and we should be looking forward to having him home soon! We CANNOT wait! Bring on the sleepless nights - we just want our healthy boy at home!

This picture was taken yesterday morning - that is why he still has the tube in.

My mom finally got to hold Braden! Here he is with his Mimi!

And I couldn't resist posting this picture because I just know he is smiling because he's in his mommy's arms! Thanks for your continued prayers!

More Updates on Braden

First photo of Brian and I together with Braden. We can't wait until Mersadie can be in the picture too! Because of the H1N1 virus, children under 14 are not allowed in the hospital for visitation whatsoever. Don't you love our fashionable blue gowns? We have to wear them EVERY time because of the virus as well. Lovely.

Anyway...as you can see, Braden only has one little tube going into his mouth for feeding. He is off of the respirator, has the chest tube out and the tube that was going to his belly button. He was also taken off of photo therapy (for jaundice).

Since all of this was done, we FINALLY got to really really hold him. I sat and held Braden for an entire hour and a half today and it was SO good for my soul.

What the doctors are concentrating on now is getting Braden's digestive system to work. They were feeding him small amounts through the tube, but they were getting a lot of residual left in the tube which indicated that Braden was not digesting it well, so they stopped the feeds for today and will try to start again in the morning. After his digestive system starts working (he needs to have some bowel movements), we will start trying to get him to learn to suck. In the meantime, I am just thrilled that Braden is doing better and I can hold my precious little guy.

Mid-yawn. So cute.

Brian and his boy. Awww.

Mommy and Braden. Just love that little guy to pieces!

Now you see why I just sat and held him for an hour and a half!


And, of course, SADIE!!

My sister and mom have been helping us with Mersadie and it has been a life-saver! Here is Mersadie having Cocoa Puffs for dinner while she is still in her p.j.'s from this morning. (It was my sister's turn to take care of her). Don't you just love the look on Sadie's face? She knows she's getting her way and getting VERY spoiled. I'm afraid I'm going to have a lot to fix once Mom and Marisa leave, but I'm incredibly thankful for the love and support!

Braden's Progress

Today was a great day for our little Braden! (The picture above is from today before he got all of the tubes taken out). He got to come off of the respirator and get the chest tube taken out!!! He is now breathing on his own, but they still have him on oxygen because they didn't want to take everything away at once. He is slightly jaundice so he is under a light but that should be able to be taken off tomorrow. The tube that was going into his bellybutton was also able to be removed today! They started feeding him small amounts today through his feeding tube instead of just IV fluids. The best part of all - Brian got to hold his baby boy for the very first time today!!!

We are SO incredibly thankful to God for answering prayers. We are still taking one day at a time but are so thrilled about the progress. Thank you to EVERYONE who is praying for our family. Your prayers mean more than any words I could ever express!

And to not leave our little princess out of the limelight...here is a picture of our Minnie Mouse from this evening. We went to a local church's fall festival and Mersadie had a blast. I have plenty more pictures to share - just too much to do tonight - so I'll post them later. Isn't she just precious?