Thanksgiving in October????

Thanksgiving, by far, is my favorite holiday.....not because it is the day I made my debut into this world.....but because of all the yummy FOOD!!! My mom is such an amazing cook, and for as long as I can remember, she has always provided a fabulous Thanksgiving meal (everything from scratch). Even the years we spent Thanksgiving at our relatives, she would always make a full Thanksgiving meal so we would have a week worth of leftovers! I love to cook, but I'm just not that good at it. I have never cooked a turkey, nor attempted to cook a turkey.......until today. And I must say, I was pretty proud of myself. I even made stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, rolls and a pumpkin chiffon pie. Anyone want to come to our house for Thanksgiving dinner this year????

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!

Tonight we had our annual Halloween couples party at Kenz & Laren's. Bryan has been in Washington D.C. this past week and, unfortunately, wasn't here for the party this year. He was devastated that he had to miss it.....(actually, Bryan is a BIG party pooper when it comes to dressing up, so he was quite happy to be out of town). But, that didn't stop me from going dateless this year. We enjoyed good food, good friends and FUN!!!! Thanks Kenz and Laren for a fabulous time :)

And 1 more makes 4!!

Well, we have decided to go for round two and add to our family. We are so excited!! I'm just glad to be done with the 1st trimester and into the 2nd. This pregnancy is much different than my pregnancy with Kate, as I have been a little under the weather the last few months. But, I have felt much, much better. We think that it will be really good for Kate to have a sibling close in age. We're expecting an April baby and we can't wait.

A much needed vacation!

Gina, Me, Treo & Aunt Jalene

This weekend....Bryan played "Mr. Mom" while I spent a "Girl's Getaway" weekend down in St. George. It was so nice to spend some time in the (somewhat) warmer weather. I tease Bryan that I need to leave more often because every time I do.....Kate seems to step it up! We finally started feeding Kate through her G-Tube, and this weekend, Bryan started giving her a bottle and she took it like it was nothing (she hasn't had a bottle for almost 3-months). As sad as it is for me to admit......Kate is definitely turning into a Daddy's Girl! I'm so grateful for Bryan and the awesome father he is to Kate. I'm already planning my next getaway :) Thanks girls for a fabulous weekend!!

My very own original Vermont Teddy Bear....

Kate has 2-sets of wonderful grandparents, who love her very much (and tend to spoil her just a little bit). Grandma and Grandpa Roper vacation in Vermont every year (I must admit....I am a little jealous). This year Grandpa brought Kate back this darling little Vermont Teddy Bear. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!!

This week has been a little stressful, but we finally made it through it. On Friday, Kate started having seizures. She continued having them through the weekend and we couldn't figure out why she was having them, especially because she has been on medication. We met with her Cardiologist and Neurologist and figured they were set off by a combination of things. Kate had been constipated (yeah....not fun ) for a couple of days which caused the medication to not be absorbed efficiently. Also, she has continued to pack on the pounds and is near 21 pounds, which would require a higher dose of her medication. We also stopped one of her meds last week which got her electrolytes off balance. So, the combination of these things caused these seizures to come back. She has been doing so much better now!!!

Today we met with the surgeon who placed her G-Tube and I am happy to say that it is healed to the point that we can start using it (after 2 months...it's about time). So, we gladly removed the feeding tube from her nose. This is a huge step and is going to make our lives much easier.

We are so grateful for the progress Kate has been making. She is so much more active and just acts like she feels better. She is so much fun and we look forward to her continuing to progress.

Kate's little friend Maddy turned 1-year-old today. She had a fun birthday party last Friday with family and friends. The balloon artist was a huge hit not only with the kids, but also the parents. He could make ANYTHING with those balloons. We ended up with a poodle, a rainbow and an amazing sumo wrestler.Maddy had a great time diving into her cake. She was so cute and wanted to share her cake with everyone. Happy Birthday Maddy!!! We love you!

Happy Birthday Madison!!

Never a dull moment....

Okay, so you are probably wondering why I am posting a picture of this beautiful basket. Well, there's actually a funny story behind it (a little embarrassing at the time, but I can actually laugh at it now). Anyway, I take Kate into the AF Hospital every 2-weeks for some blood work. I took her in today and let me preface.....I have never had a problem when it comes to watching blood being drawn. For crying out loud, I watched Kate get her blood drawn almost every day while she was in the hospital. Well, for some reason, the lab tech was having a hard time finding a good vein. She poked Kate at least 3 or 4 times. I just stood by Kate holding her hands trying to calm her down. After about a half hour, I started feeling a little weak and light-headed. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor with cold towels on my forehead with numerous people standing over me. The worst part was that I had thrown up during the incident. Could it get any worse than this??? I think the hospital personnel felt sorry for me, so when leaving they gave me this basket full of candles, lotions, a picture frame, etc. It was so sweet. Needless to say, they were finally successful at getting Kate's blood, but I am dreading having to go back in 2-weeks. So, that was my eventful moment of the day!!!

Sleep Study!

Yes.....we were only gone for 1 night!!!
All ready to go...jammies and all!

Let's just say that we made it through the sleep study....and it took us a whole day to recover from it. Actually, it wasn't too bad until 2:00 am when Kate decided she didn't want to sleep nor did she want all the monitors attached to her. She fought it the rest of the night until the test was done at 6:00 am. With this being a "sleep study" I'm not quite sure how accurate the results are going to be, considering Kate was awake the majority of the time. Oh well, at least it is over with.

We have been having a home care nurse come 3 days a week, which has been really nice. With these visits, Kate is weighed every week. Much to our surprise (well we were not too surprised), Kate weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs. 14 oz today. That is a whole pound and 5 oz. she has gained in a week. Are you kidding me??? I guess with her fitting into size 18-24 month jammies (which are slightly tight on her) it goes to show that she is packing on the pounds. But hey....who doesn't love a chubby baby??