sprinkler

Leah and Deacon had a little pajama party on Saturday night. I feel as though Leah is doing the sprinkler dance...ah, I'm so proud!

5 months old!

Ok, Ok so technically, Leah won't be 5 months old until Monday - but I couldn't wait to post this cutie picture until then! We love bath time in her little pink bathtub. She enjoys seeing how far she can splash water across the kitchen. ( The cats love that! )
We hit a milestone yesterday at 6:15 am...she rolled over for the first time from her tummy to her back. We were so proud that we didn't care we were awake too early!

cereal

My baby's growing up! We gave her her first taste of cereal last night and we think she did pretty good! As you can see, it looks like she is trying to help him feed her. And, it still is looking like she is going to be left handed. Precious!

hours of fun ahead

Gol, mom...I am trying to play here!

4 month checkup

Leah had her 4 month well child checkup last Wednesday. I am proud to report that she is super healthy (and hope she stays that way)! She weighs 14.8 lbs (50th %), 24 1/2 inch tall (50-75th%) and her head is at the 50th% as well...I can't remember the actual measurement.

She did SO good with her shots, only crying a couple of minutes afterwards. She slept super good two nights in a row as well - she's still sleeping in her swing at night, but at this point, we're thankful to get some good sleeping in! She will break her crib in soon enough!

coming home

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post a little update on my dad...he received a transfusion Thursday night as a result of his weakness and low energy - the surgeon said that it wasn't too risky considering the blood came from one of his kids. That really did the trick! They were able to take him off oxgyen and remove his last chest tube yesterday morning.
I came down with the stomach flu so I haven't been able to see him since Thursday night, but I've talked to him on the phone and he sounds MUCH better! He will be coming home from the hospital tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.
Thank you for your prayers thus far, and please continue to pray for a complete recovery!

getting ready

Never you fear, in the midst of all the activity lately, I have NOT forgotten to take pictures of our little peanut. I decided to try something new this week in preparation of starting her on solid food. I have been so excited to try out this highchair since I got it at one of my baby showers....
She did SO good and seemed to really enjoy playing with her toys on the big tray.

And update on my dad: he had an "ok" night last night. He is very sore and uncomfortable, but he is out of ICU and back in a regular room. He will be here for between 3 and 5 more days depending on his recovery. He is up and moving and is making little wise-cracks with the nurses, so we are encouraged to see the sense of humor coming through. Please keep him in your prayers as it is frustrating and slow-going for him. The nurses are all very encouraging and saying he's doing great so far!

Success!

We were just informed by the surgeon that my dad made it through surgery perfectly!
He came off the heart/lung machine very well. We should be able to go see him in about a half hour. They did 4 bypasses and each went GREAT!
Praise God for such a wonderful surgical team!

First update

Today is going well so far. We made it to the hospital about 15 minutes before they took my dad down for surgery at at about 10:30. He was very calm and relaxed and ready for a meal before-hand.
We just had our first surgery update at 2:20 saying things were going very well, he is currently on the bypass machine and they are planning on repairing the 4 blocked arteries.

We should have another update in an hour or two.

Thanks for your prayers!

Monday's the day

We learned during our visit today that they've decided "pencil" my dad's surgery for Monday afternoon - what we're hearing it will be about 1 pm and take between 4 and 5 hours. They are planning on a quadruple bypass, but they will know more once they get in there and "take a look around".

He is feeling "ok". The incision on his leg started bleeding under the skin yesterday so they stopped his blood thinners and had to put him on ice, and morphine and put lots of pressure on it. That seemed a bit better today, although there is a nice looking bruise.
His blood pressure is also quite elevated, but we think it's due to his excitement about getting the show on the road, so to speak. He is instructed to stay in bed and "rest"...he's been taking their orders quite well and has been a good patient so far.

Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers. It's nice to have something more concrete to focus on, and look forward to a speedy and FULL recovery.

I'll keep y'all posted!

Love - VB'S!

Friday, 1-2

Hi Guys! Thanks so much for all of your notes, emails, calls etc. We are always reminded in times like these how AMAZING our support group is. You are all SO wonderful and we are so blessed to have each and everyone of you!

One of my dad's surgeons stopped in today and briefly explained how this whole bypass thing works. He seems to be erring on the safe side and said surgery would probably be on Tuesday now, because they feel comfortable waiting 7 days after the last time he took his Plavix (blood thinner).

Corrie, Holly and I went to the Michigan Blood Center and each donated blood so they can use it specifically for his surgery just in case they might need some extra - we were told about 20% of men will need extra "blood products". Holly got on the news while they were broadcasting about how their blood volumes are low and everyone should come out and donate ....DONE! (sooo, get out there and donate blood everyone!) I wanted to take a picture of all of us donating but we all forgot our cameras so you're just going to have to imagine three giggling girls eating cookies and drinking lots of juice.

We're all enjoying as much family togetherness time as we can. And of course, Leah brings lots of joy during the stressful time. We're all aprehensive about the surgery, but we have faith that God will heal him and he'll feel better than he has in a long time.

I will try and keep updating as much as I can! Love to you all!

New Year's

Happy New Year to all of you wonderful friends and family! We have faith that this New Year will bring so many new gifts and blessings!
As some of you may know by now, my dad (Bruce) went in to the Meijer Heart Center yesterday with similar chest pains as about 15 months ago. They proceeded to do another heart catherization and found an artery that was almost completely blocks and I believe (this is unclear) 4 other arteries that are showing serious blockages. The cardiologist has recommended open heart bypass surgery.
He has been taking blood thinner since his last stay at the hospital, so they need to wait until that is out of his system before they can perfom the surgery. They are thinking it might be on Monday.
Please keep him and our family in your prayers.