Sienna's First Day of Preschool

Sienna started preschool today! She goes Monday through Thursday from 8:30-11:30 am. I was so worried that she would cry when I left but she had no troubles at all. She gave me an extra hug and then went back to the carpet. When Levi and I got there to pick her up at 11:20 they were still outside so we watched her through the window. No big surprise to find her at a play kitchen (her absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world). I was, however, surprised to find her playing alone. She told me later that none of the kids wanted to play with her. I was very shocked by this until Aunt Shell asked her if kids asked her to play (she said yes) and then Aunt Shell asked her if she told them no (she said yes). What?! Why?! Apparently, Sienna only wanted to play kitchen and not other things. She fell asleep about 5 minutes after we left the school. School obviously takes alot out of her!

Back to School

The first day of school is here! Sierra had butterflies in her tummy. She said that she had them since the night before. You remember that feeling, don't you? So excited yet nervous at the same time. I know I say it alot, but I mean it - I can't believe that it's possible that my daughter is in the third grade. It's so hard to let them grow up. It's not difficult for me to stand back and look at the situation and then be able to say 'She needs to do this Wendy. She's growing up. Let her'. But someone try telling that to my heart. Your heart never lets go. I am so proud of her that sometimes it's overwhelming. She had a great first day and Sienna and I were waiting for her in the driveway when she got home (I, of course, was hiding behind some shrubbery as to not cause embarrassment). Here's a little video of Sierra fresh off the bus after her first day of school.

Watch Out! Here Comes Levi!

Watch out - here comes Levi! This is probably the most said phrase in my house right now (besides, 'Stop That'). As most of you know, Levi goes to therapy once a week. Because of Levi's health issues when he was born he qualifies for all kinds of developmental programs. They think he is just a touch behind developmentally. So, Levi does physical and occupational therapy once a week. Therapy has Levi doing all sorts of things that most people don't allow babies to do - like climb up AND down stairs. Of course at therapy everything is padded (unlike home). This has made Levi completely fearless of attempting anything! I'm constantly catching Levi going upstairs, into my room (involves one step) and the kitchen (also involves one step). You can't take your eyes off of him! In the time it took me to go pee yesterday he made it all the way across the living room and half way up the stairs!

I was tired of chasing him around this morning so I used his walker and some pillows to block off the rest of the house from the living room. However, he still managed to get through my blockade!








Look at my popsicle Mom!
Levi got to have a popsicle last night and he was sooo happy with it!

Levi's 1st Birthday Party

Let me start by saying that I'm sorry for being slow about getting a new post up. We had Levi's party and school shopping and life going on. Plus, I knew all my pictures were gone from his birthday post and I wouldn't be able to do a new post until I fixed the last one (yes, I'm that anal). But, I finally fixed the other post and feel ready to move on.



Levi's birthday party was tons of fun! All of his family came over. Levi is just sooo little compared to his cousins. They're all so much older than him. But he loves them all! The kids had a blast swimming all afternoon while Dave and Uncle Chris grilled the burgers. And it's always nice to have some adult company around the house!



Levi couldn't hang though. He got tired and had to go to bed for a nap before the party was over. He did manage to stay up long enough to open his presents. He even got to play with a couple before napping. However, as soon as the nap was over, he tore into his new stuff. He loved it all! Especially the bikes. We got him a lion walker/bike and Aunt Stephanie got him a Spiderman bike - it makes 26 different noises! (Thanks Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Kevin). Thank you to everyone for coming and celebrating Levi with us!

Happy Birthday Levi!!

Levi turns one year old today!! Honestly, it doesn't seem possible that an entire year has gone by already. Where does all the time go? Levi is going to have his party on Saturday so Daddy can be home for it. In honor of Levi's birthday I thought it would be nice to look back at his life so far. It hasn't been easy for him, that's for sure.

Levi was born at 5:43am on August 14, 2006. He was so tiny and perfect with all that black hair. He was doing this adorable little grunt. I thought it was so cute and made him so boyish, right up until the nurse took him from me for some testing because that cute little grunting could be a sign of respiratory distress. I only got to hold him for about 5 minutes.



By the time breakfast came at 8am the doctor was telling me that Levi's lungs were underdeveloped and he was struggling to breath. He would need to be transfered to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Toledo Children's Hospital. I was completely devastated. It felt like my entire world fell out from underneath me. I remember sitting on the edge of the hospital bed feeling completely numb just starring at these doctors telling me that my son might die just so casually, as though giving me the weather. I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight, I wanted to break something, but I couldn't even speak. I just sat there. There was this long awkward silence. I think they were waiting for me to say something. Still nothing. When I finally managed to open my mouth all I could say was that I wanted to go with him. Considering that I had just given birth all of 2.5 hours earlier that wasn't their first suggestion.



A team of people from Toledo Children's Hospital came in a special ambulance with special equipment to transport him. He looked like he was in a space ship. It was an incubator that was attached to some other thing on wheels that actually went right into the floor of the NICU ambulance. He looked so pitiful in that thing. He was so small with all these tubes in his nose and mouth. They even had some weird strap across his forhead. It was completely heart breaking. He was born at 5:43 and by noon he as on his way to Toledo without me (which made me feel like he was alone). Mama couldn't let her baby be alone so I was discharged and on my way by 1pm.

Once we got to the hospital in Toledo they told us that they had to put Levi on a ventilator. They felt he might not make it through the night if he had to breath on his own. I can't even describe the feeling. There are no words. We finally get to see him. At this point I'm walking in a fog. It's almost like I'm watching everything happen. You've got to be kidding me! This is not my son! That's what I wanted to say as I looked down through a plastic box at a baby you could barely see because of all the tubing and tape. All you could see was one little closed eye. But yet, I knew that this was my son. I felt it. My heart was just aching. I couldn't even touch him. It only upset him.



The doctors said that he would be on the ventilator for at least 3-5 days if he survived his first 24 hours. He would probably be at the hospital for at least 2 weeks. Dave and I got a room at the Ronald McDonald House. Thank God for the Ronald McDonald House. This was by far the longest day of my life. I was completely emotionally exhausted. My body was physically drained. I spent way to much time walking on the same day as giving birth. However, sleep still did not come easy.

I was up and showered by 6 and called to check on Levi. He had made it through his first 24 hours!! I got Dave up and we went to see Levi. Even though he had made though his first day he still had a long way to go. Sitting there is so hard. You're surrounded by tiny sick babies in incubators. My son had tubing taped to his face so he could breath. The sounds the breathing machine made. The beeping of his monitors when his oxygen would be to high or to low. You just feel so helpless. There is absolutely nothing you can do, but pray.



This sort of thing changes who you are. Inside. It's a scar on your heart, your soul. It heals but the marking is always there. And if you scratch it, the memory of the pain is so real it feels like you're in that moment again.



But through it all Levi was strong, so strong. He was off the ventilator and breathing on his own in 2 days. He was discharged in 7. He is my amazing miracle man. He amazes me everyday. Just yesterday he pulled himself all the way up in his playpen which he had never done before. He is almost walking. Saying Mamma, Dadda, Hi, Yeah. I thank God for him everyday. As I do all my kids. But it's different for Levi, he had to fight so hard just to be here.



Well, this turns out to be not the post I had in mind. But I guess it's the post that I needed it to be. Thank you for remembering with me. It's usually something I avoid. But today, I am remembering and celebrating! Happy 1st Birthday Levi!! We all love you so much!

Isabelle's Birthday Party

We went to Isabelle's first birthday party yesterday. Isabelle is Danielle (Payne) Michael's daughter. She is absolutely beautiful! And she is already walking! Sadly, I'm mortified to admit that we didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl. How do you go to a birthday party and not get pictures of the birthday girl? I'll tell you how. It involves having one clingy baby, one curious toddler, 2 big kids that won't come off the water slide and a bigger kid that is busy being social butterfly. All of that plus one busy birthday girl equal zero pictures of the birthday girl. Don't worry though, I went to Danielle's blog and stole this picture of Isabelle so you all could see her beautiful face! To check out all of Danielle's blog click here.

We had a really nice time. We got to see so many people that we don't get to see very often. Steve and Molly have a beautiful home. Jona and her husband Eric are expecting their first child! Shawna Wiley and her three handsome boys were there. It was a very nice afternoon. We didn't get to stay and see Isabelle with her cake though. Levi was so fussy and just wallering me to death! So we had to cut out a little early.

Danielle brought a water slide for the bigger kids to play on. Sierra and Brandon had an absolute blast on that thing! That's all they did all afternoon. Everyone had a really nice time.