Hanging with Baby G

Today we had Baby Garrett over for the first time in about 6 weeks. He's really grown up in that time! He's crawling and pulling up and is generally a ton of fun. He is big enough now to play with Carolyn and we all had a great time today.


We shared our toys. :) Here Garrett is fascinated by the string on Carolyn's pull toy, while Carolyn is busy poking down the little things that pop up when it is pulled along.Carolyn made a valiant attempt to improve Garrett's literacy by encouraging him to read her favorite book, "Go Dog, Go." Well, perhaps she was a bit forceful. :)
She showed him how to play with all her toys. :)
And gave lots of kisses. He fell over a couple of times, but thankfully we were only on soft carpet and neither of them seemed to mind. :)
A good time was had by all!

More Fun

We spent all day yesterday with Emily and Company at Grandma's house. :) The girls really seemed to enjoy playing together (or at least next to each other) and except for a couple small scuffles over a baby doll and a ball, they got along great. :) I really hope that as they grow we are able to see each other more than we can now- it's just so neat that they're so close in age and can kind of grow up together. I hope they end up being good friends!

Just look at those cute baby bottoms! :)
Grandma and Grandpa's porch is a very fun place for small girls to play- the spaces in between the stones are filled with small pebbles just right for little hands to grab. Carolyn was playing this cute game with Grandma yesterday, picking up the rocks and saying "Thank you!" as she handed them one by one to Grandma. I managed to get a little video clip for your enjoyment. :)


Yesterday was a perfect day for the annual family portrait session... with the famed Uncle Tom as photographer... The lighting seemed to be just right because all of the pictures really look nice with all those bright colors.
We even managed to get the girls to sit together for long enough to snap a few shots.
And here's our little family. :)
Compare to last year's picture when Carolyn was just 7 weeks old! She's grown so much!! So has my hair. :) And at least I didn't have to wear maternity pants in this year's picture. :) So we've made some progress in the last year.
And everybody all together.

Emily and Carolyn wanted to help Grandpa push the lounge chair back to the porch. :)
And of course, the obligatory Cousin Bathtime Pictures :) A good time was had by all!

Small Setback for Jesse :(

I got an email tonight that said that one of Jesse's vocal cords has been paralyzed as a result of his being on the ventilator for the first few days after surgery. They are testing him to see if this has affected his ability to swallow. If it has, his risk for choking on fluids and getting pneumonia as a result is significantly increased. Of course, being able to swallow is rather important. I have no idea whether they think this condition is permanent or not. Please continue to pray for him- for healing for his vocal cords and that he would soon regain the ability to swallow if he has lost it. Otherwise, his recovery is going well.

A Fun Day!

Hello! I've been at work for the past 3 days, so I haven't really been around to post anything! But now I have the rest of this week off, and we're having a great time with Doug and Katy and Emily who are in town this week from Raleigh! Today we went to the Meijer Gardens with Grandma and Katy and Emily. It was so much more fun this time than the last time I went- the Children's Garden is much more structured for kids who are walking.

Carolyn waved and said "hi!" to nearly everyone and everything we saw. I love this "friendly phase" she's going through (though ironically it seems to have come at the same time as the first real "stranger anxiety" I've seen from her)!
I love this picture even though you can't see her face, because I love this little red sundress on her and I love how she looks when she is walking determinedly toward something. She doesn't even hold her arms out like Frankenstein anymore. She's such a big girl now!
The large sand area was a bit hit for both girls.
Emily, the mature 16-month old, actually played with the toys in the sand...
You will notice that Carolyn's face is covered with dirt because she was so fascinated with the small pebbles in the sand that she had to try and eat them all. She used the scoop to spoon larger amounts of sand toward her mouth! :)
Standing up!
Both girls missed their morning naps this morning, and were pretty pooped after being out in the sun running around for so long- they seemed happy to be back in the strollers! I think Emily has maybe the cutest "I'm tired" face around! :)
Of course nobody was too tired to eat Grandma's delicious lasagna made especially for small girls who love everything covered in tomato sauce. :)

We had a very funny moment tonight. Earlier today, Carolyn watched Grandpa eating an apple- we took off small chunks for her and let her taste it (unsurprisingly since my child is a fruit fiend, it was a hit...) and I brought two apples home tonight for later enjoyment. This evening as I was sitting at the computer and was a little distracted, Carolyn was rooting around in the diaper bag and came up with an apple. Next thing I knew, she was proudly walking toward me, munching on the apple ("appo")- just like Grandpa! She loved it!

She actually ate the apple!
And I love her. :) Being a mama is great.

News on Jesse

Thought you guys might like an update on Jesse. He is officially beyond the critical first 72 hour time period. Yay! Other than that tight moment the night of his surgery, he has been recovering very well. He was moved yesterday from ICU (where it was originally thought he would stay for up to 10 days!) into a regular room. He didn't even need the intermediate step-down-type room! They are still expecting quite a bit more time in the hospital, but he is making wonderful progress. The only real blip on the screen seems to be his vocal cords, which may have been damaged by the tubes through his nose. The ear, nose, and throat specialist was going to see him today to assess the situation- but all things considered, little Jesse is still quite the miracle baby!! I really hope that one day I'll be able to hold him and see this sweet baby that God saw fit to bring through such incredible odds. Of course, he is still in need of our prayers as he will not be fully recovered for some time yet. But all that has happened in his life so far has given me further reason to believe that our prayers do matter!

Love the Baby

Carolyn loves to "love the baby." She says "mmmmm," pulls the baby close to her, and then kisses the baby's head (or whatever part happens to be closest). It's so cute!

Following Jesse...

For those of you following Jesse's story, the last word I received was this morning, and as of this morning, Jesse had had a stable, uneventful night, and is sleeping most of the time as a result of the medications he has been given. I haven't heard anything about how the day went for him today, but I guess as of right now, no news is good news. Each day out from surgery is probably a step forward for him! Keep praying.

My "Normal" Day

It interests me to think about how the same day and time can mean such different things to different people. I've been having a pretty normal day, watching my toddler zoom around the room (she is walking EVERYWHERE now!)... but over there in Ann Arbor, there is another family to whom every hour may be just dragging by as they wait and pray and hope that the moments will bring their baby son closer to their arms and not farther from them. I have never met Jesse's parents, but praying for them makes me feel "connected" to them in a way that seems to flesh out the concept of the "body" of Christ- in interceding for others, we bear their burdens and share their joys and sorrows all together. Maybe that's one reason why we were instructed to "pray without ceasing."

But... back to our "normal" day. I am just astounded at how Carolyn has grown and changed over the past few weeks. She's walking well now... not falling nearly as much, and she can now pick herself up if she does. She seems so happy with this new development and although in some ways it increases my workload (she's much more difficult to keep track of now!, I'm delighted, too! She is also talking more than ever. She seems to pick up a new word every day or two. Some stick in her vocabulary long-term; others seem to come and go. But there is no doubt, she is communicating through words! I love to hear her little voice!

Yesterday we went for our weekly visit to the library (especially the train). This is a major highlight of the week for Carolyn! This time she seemed to be most pleased carrying parts of the train all around the library (don't worry, I made sure we returned them all)!

She browsed through some books...
She enjoys climbing up on these cushions to reach the cubbyholes containing hand puppets behind her. I always feel nervous that she will fall!
Yesterday she nearly left the library without me, train cars in hand!

It is very difficult right now to get many pictures of Carolyn that aren't blurry since she is so constantly moving! We've been taking some small video clips over the past few days and when I get some time (maybe tonight) I'll make a little video so that you can all be amazed at her progress! For now, it's naptime and since we've been staying up too late, Mommy is tired too and she's going to indulge in a nap of her own!

Overnight with Jesse

Hello to all of you who have been praying for Jesse. I got news this morning that he had a good night and they are working to wean him off the respirator today. He is still in the thick of this critical post-surgical period, but the last I heard he was stable at this point. I know I've gotten a bit emotionally "involved" with this situation and I hope you're not tired of hearing about it! With God's blessing, the really crucial days for Jesse will be at an end soon and he will be able to live a normal life!

Not out of the woods...

I got another email tonight that really sobered me. Although Jesse's surgery went well, he is not out of the woods yet. His parents were with him when his blood pressure suddenly dropped and his heart actually stopped. The doctors were able to stabilize him, but this is certainly a reminder that his status is still very critical and ultimately even the best medical care can fall short. He so desperately needs our prayers. His heart and life are in God's hands after all.

Out of Surgery!

Just got an email from Jesse's grandpa. Little Jesse is out of surgery! I wasn't expecting to hear anything until later this afternoon or evening, but Jesse's procedure went so well that he was all done at 130pm! God has proven Himself faithful yet again. The surgery was a success! Of course, the next 72 hours are still very critical for Jesse, but all the early signs are positive! Apparently it is normal for a baby to have to stay on the heart/lung machine for awhile after surgery, but Jesse's little heart was doing so well that he didn't need it. The doctors felt confident closing up the heart cavity since they are not anticipating any problems that would require them to open him back up again. Wow.

I did some reading today online about procedures to correct this heart problem, and it looks like the most common procedure is for the doctors to go in and actually switch the locations of the pulmonary artery, aorta, and coronary arteries! It doesn't take a pediatric cardiologist to know that this was MAJOR surgery. Today while I was praying for Jesse, I just imagined the hands of this extremely skillful surgeon working with itty bitty tools over the baby's itty bitty body, with the hands of God positioned just above his, guiding his every move, cut, and stitch- in some ways, completing the great creative work that He had so recently finished inside Jesse's mama's womb. This was just a piece of cake for Him, and I am once again humbled at this display of His power and care for our lives.

Jesse's grandpa closed his email with the following. "It is so good to come to the place where you
realize that your power is so limited and it is so important to fully entrust your loved one to the Lord. Thank you and please continue to pray...We have already been praying that little Jesse will grow up to be a strong Christian dedicated to what God has for him."

Thanks for joining me in praying for little Jesse! I'll keep updating as I have more information.

In Surgery

I just got word that Jesse is in surgery right now. His mama was able to go over to the hospital and hold him one more time at about 630 this morning, and then she had to endure the ultimate test, trusting him truly to the Lord as the surgeons took him in for what will likely be a very lengthy procedure today. It will likely be evening before we there is any real information to share, but I will post as soon as I know anything else. In the meantime, pray.

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man [woman too!] avails much!"
-James 5:16b

Catching Up...

So, it's been a few days since I've posted much of anything... we hit the ground running after we got back from Chicago and I'm still trying to catch up on an impossibly long "to-do" list. Also, our wireless internet was down and although I did have access via the desktop (and therefore did not choke completely), I felt a bit cut off from the world since most days I keep my laptop open all day long and get really excited whenever anyone comments on my blog or sends me an email (or even, I'll admit it, when my Southwest Airlines "DING" program dings and I can then immediately begin dreaming about where I could go for cheap... if I even had enough money for a "cheap" trip- we've been too many places lately and the travel fund needs some time to recover, but that's a different story, for another time, or maybe never, because surely you would find it too boring to describe... YAWN...) But anyway, my Father (the great and powerful Computer Wizard) figured out how to do what an hour and a half on the phone with various support networks couldn't, and he fixed our wireless internet! Instantly, as soon as I saw the "connected" sign, I drank in great gulps of "air" and rejoiced as starving man over a feast!

I am such a nerd.

Anyway, we DID have a great time in Chicago, despite the cold/allergies that both Carolyn and I were dealing with the whole time (the Texas crew brought along their own symptoms, so we were a bit of a snotty crew... but it was fun anyway).

Saturday morning after we all got moving, we snagged the opportunity to plunk two precious babies in the tub and take their pictures together... the days when this is okay are so very few... and they do look cute!
Then we dropped Laura off in Holland because she had to work, and moseyed our way over to the Hope College campus, site of the Famous Anchor beside which every freshman leaving for college must have her picture taken! I wish we had been digital in those days, because I'd put my picture up from the fall of '99 when I started here. We showed the Texas folks all our old haunts and the beautiful buildings on the campus... then we headed for Chi-Town.
After much scurrying about and altered wait times (they told us an hour and a half and then had the table ready in 40 minutes! Hurrah! Except half our group was out shopping and we had to scramble to get everyone there in time...), we settled in to a nice big table at the back of the Giordano's Pizza place for some authentic Chicago stuffed crust pizza. This kind of pizza takes a long time to make, so we had to be a little creative with Miss Carolyn. The menu intrigued her for... well, about 45 seconds... long enough to take this contemplative picture... then someone had to walk around the restaurant with her until the food arrived. I am beginning to sense part of the challenge of toddlerhood- it is most certainly CONSTANT!
But she did end up enjoying the pizza in the end- as long as I didn't insult her by trying to cut the pieces too small- she wanted to hold a big piece just like everybody else!
After dinner, there was shopping at Watertower Place (what else?!) My wallet was pretty safe since there are (shockingly) NO children's stores in this huge, nice mall- and I only shop for myself when I have to... too depressing and it seems so expensive to me after being able to grab good deals for Carolyn for under $10!

Anyway, she had a ball walking in and out of this store... she really wanted to stand with the mannequins...
Sunday afternoon, Auntie Em and Uncle Bryan took charge of the two babies and sent the rest of "the girls" out on the El for the day. It was a strange experience for me not pushing a stroller, but it was a great time to just be one of the girls again.
It was RAINING in Chicago. Even in caps, this is an understatement. It was raining CATS AND DOGS AND SHEEP AND GOATS AND COWS AND ELEPHANTS. There was seriously a lot of precipitation. So we all looked really fashionable carrying around these lovely blue umbrellas furnished by our own Bryan. Except me- I carried a gold one since I told Bryan I didn't need a blue one since my jacket was "waterproof." I guess it wasn't so waterproof... and I was glad there was a spare umbie! :)
Neither my mother nor I are in the picture above, because we were both doing the same thing. :)
We visited "The Bean" in downtown Chicago- where you can see a cool reflection of both yourself and the Chicago skyline in this great big shiny bean-shaped sculpture. It's fun to take pictures of it.
And the highlight of the afternoon was a matinée production of "Wicked." I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! I've never seen a musical like this "really" done (as in, not at a high school.... :)) It was awesome!
Thank you, dear Texans for coming to the frozen North to visit us! We had a blast! Next time we'll come see you!!

Update on Jesse

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for little Jesse today. I just got an email from his grandparents saying that although Jesse was ready for the surgery, his doctors weren't since they had a case that went late today. They wouldn't have been able to start the procedure on time, so they postponed his surgery until first thing Thursday morning. They will be fresh and ready when they go in to work on his little heart. So keep praying for him, and tell everyone you know to pray for this baby, for his mama and daddy and all those who love him and long to know and hold him as he grows. The family says that they can really sense the power of all our prayers on their behalf and they are feeling at peace and comforted by the promises of our great God. I will keep updating as soon as I get more information. I know that my heart feels very tied to his after praying for him so much and maybe you feel the same.

Stop what you're doing now...

And Pray for this sweet little boy, Jesse David Pitts, the grandson of some dear friends from our church.
Jesse was born on August 7, 2007, perfect in every way, except that all the important blood vessels that go from the heart are in the wrong positions (a birth defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries). The only way to fix the problem is an open heart surgery as soon as possible after birth.

Jesse is scheduled for surgery at noon TODAY. If you are reading this this afternoon, he is probably already in surgery. Apparently with this procedure it is very touch and go, especially for the hour right after the surgery and the first 72 hours are quite critical for him. He needs our prayers, as do his family. I'll update again with news on Baby Jesse as soon as I hear something. Keep him at the forefront of your prayers today.

I'll update with far less important news/pictures from our trip to Chicago later on today. :)

Visitors!

We have visitors! The Texas crew finally made it to Michigan to visit us!!! My Aunt Nancy and cousins Kelsey and Erica and Peyton (don't ask me what kind of cousin, I can't remember; something removed; he feels more like a nephew to me). They arrived yesterday afternoon and we all hung out for awhile at our house and gave Peyton a chance to crawl and Carolyn a nap so we could all have a sane evening. :) Then we went to Holland for dinner and sunset at the beach.
It took awhile for dinner to arrive and Carolyn wasn't a fan of sitting still for one second longer than necessary, so she walked up and down the cobblestone sidewalks outside the restaurant. :) Here we're demonstrating our Frankenstein walk together. :)

I love the determined look on her face. She's getting so much more confidence as a walker!
But sometimes she still bumps down and she just looks so cute!
We made it to the beach! Here are Erica and Peyton together in the dune grass. Amazing! A picture where the 9-month old AND his mom are both smiling! :)
And here Auntie Laura dances with Little Carolyn on the beach. :)
Peyton is crawling- mostly Army Style, but he's starting to pick himself up on all fours... He did some of both on the beach, but I thought the sandy army crawl was the cutest! He did not care one bit where all the sand got... and it was everywhere! All boy!
Here's our group- my mom, Erica holding Peyton, Kelsey, Laura, Brad, me with Carolyn, Bryan, Michelle, and Aunt Nancy. It's so great to see everybody again! We don't get to see each other very often.
Two mamas, two babies, one lake.
Hey guys! Let's sit together for a picture!! Peyton smiles when the people trying to get the picture make a spectacle of themselves... Carolyn has always just looked like she was trying to figure out why they're behaving so weirdly.
Here you can see the difference between boys and girls (or maybe it's just the age difference...) We can't get Peyton to look up from the sand, but Carolyn is more interested in the social interaction with the people around. :)
Here are the boys... crawling crawling toward the water.
And here are the girls all walking/standing together. :)
ICE CREAM! No trip to the beach is complete without a stop by Captain Sundae, a classic Hope College hangout (all of my sisters and our husbands- so far- have gone to Hope College).
Peyton missed out on the ice cream... soon enough, he too will be clamoring for "more."
We had a big slumber party at our house with every mattress we own on the floor! We all managed to fit and everyone seemed to have a good time. Next we head to Michelle and Bryan's house for the night tonight and to spend the day tomorrow in Chicago! I've got to be back in time to work on Monday so I am sure it won't seem long enough. But I'm so glad we're here.
There was much joking about who would be the first to post this morning as we all have blogs! Guess I won...

And here you can see a snapshot of how weird my family is. Brad had to work this morning and he was up early and found my mom hiding in the tiny bathroom off our kitchen surfing the internet and trying to keep from waking everyone else... he promptly got on his computer in our laundry room and they had this conversation on their gmail chat.

mom: you know you think I'm a little weird for sitting the bathroom with my lap top, but you do realize that you are sitting at a laptop in the dark having a conversation with someone about 5 feet away for you. I'd say that qualifies you for charter membership in the weird club

brad: i married into it years ago

Ha ha ha... Weird is great.