Christmas & 2011

We had a great Christmas and a very busy month...between starting back to teaching preschool the first week of December, Sam and his siblings, continual lack of sleep, Xmas programs, family Christmas parties, an anniversary getaway trip to Seattle, a couple of ski trips to Mission Ridge, and just the holidays in general, well, you now know why I didn't sit down to post anything on the blog last month!

2 wise men and a star at our church's spontaneous nativity program

Santa surprised us at preschool!

Sam turned 2 months

the big sister...she loves her baby brother but has spoken up a few times saying "what about me?" when I'm paying too much attention to the little guy

the boys on Christmas morning

Santa made Maddie this darling dress-up closet! She's loving her dress-ups and accessories

Sam is a good "combo" of all of his siblings but has started growing eyelashes like big brother Cade's :)

Jace is a great helper with Sam and is awesome about walking him around when he's fussy and I'm in the middle of dinner

As the chaos came to an end last month, I was able to reflect a bit on this past year. I'm usually more sentimental when it comes to bringing in a new year...but this year I was so glad to see 2012! Last year was a very big year for us. We were still settling into our new home and all of the projects that it brought, I was in my first year of running/teaching preschool, we had Maddie's 3rd heart surgery and with that brought several trips to Seattle between appointments, a cath and ultimately, her Fontan surgery in May. Oh, and we had a baby!!! I'm happy to say we made it through 2011...there were times when I didn't know if it would all work out but thankfully we were also shown a lot of kindness and support from our family, friends and community which I believe took so much of the load off. 2011 will be the year that I finally learned how to "let go"...

I've felt like the luckiest girl in the world lately...our daughter has overcome three major heart surgeries, six heart cath surgeries, and lives a very 'normal' life despite having a complicated heart. Four years ago, when we received her diagnosis, I never in a million years would have thought it would turn out this well. I can honestly say that our lives are not centered around her heart anymore...and what a great feeling that is. We are so grateful for her, our healthy boys and the joy they all bring to our lives. Thank you 2011, you surely blessed us, taught us, and you'll always be remembered as a monumental one.

cardiology check-up

Maddie's 6 month Fontan follow-up was Monday in Seattle. She had a full work up at the hospital and everything looks great! Dr. Chun was very pleased with her echo, he was able to see her PA's and the Fontan site, thanks to clear pictures and a very cooperative little girl. It's usually difficult getting clear shots of her PA's, due to the scar tissue from past surgeries. Her fenestration (hole created in the conduit) is still there and she seems to be very dependent on that so no hurry on getting it closed anytime soon. Dr. Chun feels like we should address it though in the next year, in which she'll need to have another heart catheterization in order to close it. Her 02 sats were 85-88% which is where he believes they have leveled out at. We had hoped she'd end up more in the 90's but with her anatomy and likelihood of forming collateral vessels, her sats are on the low side for a post-Fontan kid. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to bother her a bit and since she's as high as she's ever been oxygen wise, her body is loving it! Maddie has had more activity, color and just overall better health since her surgery so we'll take the upper 80's and not complain :) She weighed 39 lbs. and was 40 inches in height--yes, she's grown a bunch since her surgery too. I can't believe she's in the 80th percentile for growth! Miss Maddie doesn't need to be seen again for 6 months, unless something comes up. When I stop and think of all she's been through this year, it's truly amazing and reminds me of how remarkable that little heart of hers is.

this little turkey...

likes to sleep all day and wake up every 2-3 hours at night. Yes, we're still on that newborn-type schedule. I don't know if you can predict "personality" at 1 month old, but this guy knows what he wants, when he wants it. There is no "talking him out of it" and he can be impatient and fussy or super sweet and cuddly!

We had a really relaxing Thanksgiving at Grandma and Papa's...enjoying family, good visits and of course, lots of food!
these 3 cousins have become quite the trio--they are much louder than I ever remember the little boys. They sure know how to have some fun! And, no, we did not coordinate their outfits, turned out so cute though!
Our cutie pie Sam was one month old last week!
And big sister was 6 months post-op from her Fontan surgery on Thanksgiving day. So, so grateful that a half-year later, we're here. I'm thankful for this...and so much more.

Sweet little Sam

I'm in love with this baby. I love breathing him in, love listening to all of his sweet little sighs and grunts, and I've loved being able to breastfeed again. He has the cutest little toes & stubby boy fingers, and when he's awake and being talked to, his eyes get extremely big and alert, as if he's taking in every word that I say. But what I've enjoyed most is catching tiny glimpses of each of our children through Sam...ways that they resemble one another, reminiscing about when Jace, Caden or Maddie were newborns. It's like re-living that time again but getting to share in it with them now.

Watching the boys & Maddie with Sam has brought us many smiles. "Our baby is loved" is an understatement and I'm thankful that his older siblings feel this way about their baby brother, even if it's a bit "aggressive" at times! Can you guess who gets lectured on being more "easy, gentle, soft" with the baby? As I was giving Miss Maddie a quick reminder one day about not picking Sam up, she looked up at the ceiling, hands thrown up in the air, and through a frustrated sigh said, "Why can't you just be nice?" Yes, I've been a bit short with her on this subject...

Sweet little Samuel is a blessing. And he fits the meaning of his name--"Heard God; asked of God." We are so grateful for our healthy baby, for the joy he's brought to each of us, and the Lord certainly heard our prayers.

October recap

October came and went...too quickly! At the beginning of the month, I thought I had 1 month to go until baby's arrival, but by the end of the month, we had a 10 day old baby boy! We had soccer games for the boys, scouts, ballet, teaching preschool twice a week, weekly doctor's appts, as well as finishing apple harvest. It was a crazy month to say the least...

Jace played on the Royal Dynamites this fall...great group of boys and they really learned so much! They were a fun team to watch. Jace was awarded "Most Improved" at the end of the season. (photos by Dorsing Designs)

Cade was a goal making maniac on his Kindergarten team...

and it's fun having your cousin on your team too.

Mom and I went on a little get-away to Portland for the Women of Faith Conference, which was inspiring & wonderful just spending time with her. Here were are at Multanomah Falls.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch 3 times in one week between preschool fieldtrips & taking our kids...

Maddie at the Super Sister's Pumpkin Patch

Carving our pumpkins...Miss Maddie played in the goop, she was baking "cookies" for us while Jace really got into carving his skull & crossbones pumpkin

I loved seeing many of my sweet preschool kiddos & mom's as they came by to trick-or-treat...here's a couple of Maddie's pals as fellow Disney Princesses

Jace as Tennessee Titans Matt Hasselback, Caden as a Dragonoid, and Maddie as Cinderella ...where's Sam, oops forgot to grab him for the photo!

Oh, here's our little punkin'! He's hiding under his pumpkin hat and not happy about wearing it either. Nany knitted him this hat and my friend Lisa gave him this cute outfit, he was festive & so adorable.

We went trick-or-treating on our farm/preschool bus...worked great for the kids getting in and out. Cousin Kaylee joined us too. Cade and I came down with Strep Throat following this fun evening...good times. We're on the mend now thanks to amoxicillin :) Happy Halloween!

It's a...

BOY!!!

It's true, our baby was born! We welcomed Samuel Wells Allred a little early (2 1/2 weeks) on Friday, October 21st at 7:54 am by c-section. He weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz. and was 19 inches. Bryan and I had a tough time deciding on names for this guy but quickly came to the conclusion that he just looked like a Sam and it fit perfectly. His middle name is after Bryan's Grandpa Allred.

I started having contractions Thursday evening and by 11 that night, they weren't just "Braxton Hicks" like I had been convincing myself. So since I couldn't sleep, I decided to do dishes, a load of laundry, pick up the living room, finished packing my hospital bag and then finally called the hospital. Since I was a scheduled c-section for 11-1-11 (no VBAC at our hospital) they said to come on in. By this time, they were about 7-10 minutes apart. After arriving at the hospital, my doc was called and the c-section was scheduled for 7:30 Friday morning. I was monitored through the night, given IV fluids and luckily never went into active labor so I could withstand the contractions coming 5-10 minutes through the night...was just uncomfortable and unable to rest. I've always needed the help of Pitocin to get my contractions really rolling with my other babies, so I figured they'd just stay the same and they did.

The c-section went great, I was awake for it this time (Maddie's was a crash c-section and I had been intubated & out for it) and we did really well. I was a little nervous and shaky but tried to enjoy the birth of this baby and not let what happened last time overtake me. When Sherry pulled him out, we were a little surprised...I hadn't gotten very big with this pregnancy so we'd convinced ourselves it was a girl, as did most of our family but we're THRILLED he's a boy! God knows what we needed and it was another baby boy. How I love my boys. He had great APGAR scores and his cry was so beautiful and strong...I'll never forget it.

Sam did have a little issue with keeping his respiratory rate regulated throughout the morning so the nurses monitored him in the nursery but allowed me to come in there on the stretcher to be with him. His sats were 100% and he looked wonderful with no heart murmur, so it was determined it was more of an "early baby thing" and by lunch time, he had figured it out and we were able to come back to our room as a family. Mom brought in the kids and watching them meet their new baby was so special... How lucky little Sam is to have siblings who adore him. There is never a moment this baby isn't being held around here between those 3, Bryan and I. We are relishing every minute of it and I'm afraid he's going to be pretty spoiled!

Sam & I were discharged Saturday afternoon, we like to do things quickly. It's been so nice being home, he's nursing well, his milk supply came in last night and he's waking every 3 hours on the dot to eat. The first night, I set an alarm and Bryan asked me why...I mentioned that I'd need to wake him up and he laughed. My brain is still in "heart baby mode" at times...He was right, Sam let's me know when he's hungry and so far, he hasn't missed a meal. He's already back to his birthweight today but he's a little jaundiced so we are checking his bili levels. Hopefully tomorrow we'll start to see the number go down, it was at 10.7 today and up from 5.3 on Sat. We're all very much in love with this little guy and the word blessed doesn't even begin to describe how we feel right now with our newest addition. These past few days have been incredibly healing and my heart is so full of joy.

Arrrgh matey...somebody's 6!

He's growing up too fast...Cade turned 6 a couple of weeks ago. He chose to have a Pirate Party at his Grandma & Papa Allred's pool which sure made it easy for mom!
Cade with his buddy Bennett & cousin Randi Kay

He's feeling pretty big these days, since he now needs 2 hands to show off how old he is...apparently this is the cool way to show 6 on your hands! Happy Birthday to our all-boy, talented, sweet, and amazing son. We love you Caden Larry and we're very proud of you!