Happy "30th" Birthday Gina!!!

My friend, Gina, and I have been friends since high school. I have had so many fun memories with her over the past 15-years with cheering together, rooming together, getting our real estate license together and maintaining our "girls night and weekend" get-togethers. Gina is an amazing person and I feel so fortunate to have her as my friend!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GINA!!!

Big vs. BIGGER!!!

1-week before Kate was born.....



.... Yup, still have 12 more weeks!

Okay.....so I have admit that this pregnancy has been pretty smooth (very little nausea, decent energy level, etc.). However.....I have had a GINORMOUS (sp?) appetite lately. And, it doesn't help that I have been eating out 2 out of 3 meals a day!!! So, that has weighed me down (literally). So, I decided to take a picture and compare it to when I was pregnant with Kate and see if I am as big as I feel. Well, that picture proved to be true. I took this picture last night and compared it to a picture I took at Kate's baby shower 1-week before I delivered. I try not to weigh myself during pregnancy (I don't even like to look at the scale at the Dr's office). But, after seeing this picture I was a little curious. Let's just say.....it's not pretty. I have already surpassed what I gained with Kate and I still have 3 MORE MONTHS to go. Many people warned me that the 2nd pregnancy is much different from the 1st and I'm starting to believe it!!! I have a feeling this is going to be one BIG baby girl!!!

Get Well Soon, Kate!!!

We feel so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing friends and neighbors. A couple of nights ago, we came home and to our surprise, we had an envelope full of these sweet "get well" cards from some of the kids in our ward. I was so touched by all these sweet messages. Through the many things we have experienced over the past 18-months, I have learned so many valuable life lessons. I've always felt that it is easier to be on the giving end of service, rather than the receiving. We have been shown many kind acts of service and I sometimes feel guilty for my inability to "re-pay" everyone back. However, I have seen how this has greatly blessed my life and hope that in the future, I can give back to others in need. A good friend of mine once said to me that the Lord gives us opportunities to serve others not only to bless the lives of those being served, but also to bless our own lives. So, by allowing others to serve us......it is allowing those serving to receive blessings.
Mr. Froggy is always a great pal to have around!
I love this picture of Kate

My Great Find!

Since spending so much time in the hospital, I have found myself doing a lot of on-line browsing. I happened to come across these sofa pillows at Restoration Hardware and fell in love with them. Actually, I think I was more in love with the price. Did I pay the original price of $39 per pillow??? Nope......instead I paid a whopping $4.99 for each pillow. You've gotta love a great steal!!!

The Royal Treatment

Not many people can say that they have an "Uncle Buck"

This has been such a great week. Kate was able to come off the vent on Tuesday and transition to CPAP. She has done so great. I think she is just happy to FINALLY get that tube out of her. For the first couple of days she was off the vent, she was just on straight CPAP. The last few days, she has been able to come off for a few hours on a high-flow nasal canula. She really likes the break. I had to laugh though.....I got to the hospital this morning and the queen was on her throne.......(aka Kate in a chair in her bed). It was the funniest thing I have ever seen! She is still pretty weak, so it's good for her to be able to change positions. She is so sweet and is such a little trooper. Here are a few things Kate loves:

*When mommy reads her favorite book, The Jester has lost his Jingle

*Having her chin tickled

*Being able to look at Mr. Froggy

*Giving high-fives to Steve, her respiratory therapist (with a little help from Steve)

*Blowing bubbles with her CPAP mask

Go Kate Go!!

Because Kate is so feisty, the tape holding the ET tube comes loose quite often so she has to have some "sleepy drugs" so they can re-tape it.

Thanks Aunt Jalene for the cute little doll!

Sundays are always nice here at the hospital. Not only is it nice and quiet, but we also have the opportunity to attend the hospital church services. Even though the meeting is just 1/2 hour long, the spirit is so strong.

So, we had the care conference on Thursday and things went really well. We discussed the option of a Tracheostomy as well as replacing Kate's pulmonary and tricuspid valves. While there are some benefits that could come from both of these operations, there are also many risks involved because of how weak she is right now. Bryan and I both feel that if we can get her off the ventilator and back to being on CPAP, she will be able to regain her strength so the heart surgery will be less of a risk. Kate's pulmonologist and cardiologist feel that if she were to have the Trach immediately, they would like her to remain in the hospital for 6-weeks to recover and then evaluate her heart to see if she would be ready for the procedure. This is a very fine line because we don't know 100% if the Trach will make a huge difference. Plus, being in the hospital for that long is not great for Kate's development. We've taken this medical advise into much consideration and with much fasting and praying, we both feel that if Kate can come off the ventilator and transition onto CPAP successfully, that we can take her home and allow her to gain strength and grow without having to have a Trach. There is the possibility, though, that she may not do as well as we hope, but she will definitely let us know. We feel that we at least need to give her one more shot. As we have come up with this plan, we have felt much support from all the doctors and medical staff....which we are very grateful for.

In the past couple of days, Kate has made some significant progress. We are working on getting her off the ventilator and it looks like she will be ready to come off it tomorrow (we're keeping our fingers crossed). Now she is off all her sedation meds she has been one FEISTY girl!!! That's one side of her we like to see :) We believe in miracles, as Kate has been a miracle in our lives. We love her so much and she is what keeps us going.

Finally an Update - Sorry :(

Everyone is always commenting on how they wish they could see Kate's personality when she is not sick and in the hospital, so I made this poster and included some of my favorite pictures of her.
One of our favorite nurses, Angie, loves to pamper Kate. This is the first time Kate has ever had her nails painted. I must say, she has some great nails (unlike her mom).

Someone has some "grumpy pants!"

Yes, I have been a "bad blogger" lately so I thought it's about time to post another blog. I feel like our world has stood still for the past couple of days (or should I say weeks). We can't seem to figure out what is going on with Kate. Last Wednesday when she went down to the Cath Lab to get a more accurate view of the pressures in her lungs and heart, the results showed that Kate really doesn't have Pulmonary Hypertension (which they originally thought she did). So, medication really won't help the problem. They also found that Kate's heart hasn't significantly changed since her last Echo cardiogram back in October (which is great news that the function has not digressed). But, we still can't seem to figure out what is causing all of these issues. A team of doctors and specialists are having a conference tomorrow morning to discuss Kate's situation and see if they can come up with a plan for her. We have kinda been at a stand still this past week waiting for them to collaborate. We have a meeting set up for Thursday to discuss their feelings and make a decision for what will best benefit Kate. As I have mentioned before, she is still too small to go in and have her pulmonary valve replaced, so a surgery at this point is pretty much out of the question. Plus, they don't think that fixing the valve would make much of a change for her heart at this point.

It has been extremely frustrating for us because Kate is a unique little baby with a unique condition that no one can seem to figure out. However, she seems to keep fighting her way through all of these obstacles. One option they have presented to us is a Tracheostomy. We crossed this bridge back in August and felt like a Trach wasn't necessary for her to in improve her breathing issues and Kate proved that to be true. This option has come up again and we are still not 100% convinced that this is what she needs. We feel that the best medicine for her would be to get her out of the hospital and back home so she can re-gain her energy level and continue to grow. The bottom line is that no one knows indefinitely what is the best option. So, we are holding out until Thursday when we have all our options out on the table and then will hopefully be able to make an educated decision to help Kate's future care.

One CRAZY Christmas!

Where do I even begin?? Well, we got our Christmas wish and Kate was able to come home before Christmas. She was released on Sunday and we were so excited to have her home. She was doing really well and we felt confident that we could get her home and back to a normal routine. So, we brought her home Sunday afternoon, put some lights on the tree and wrapped a few presents and we felt we were all ready for the big day. We were a little worried because Kate seemed so lethargic and had no energy at all. When we put her on the CPAP Sunday night, she had a really hard time keeping her oxygen levels up. After manipulating with the dumb machine most the night, we finally got her sats stable and were able to get a few hours of sleep.

On Monday, she still didn't seem herself and had the same problems. However, she seemed much more congested and was coughing quite a bit. My family came up to our house on Christmas Eve and we had a nice dinner. With the crazy snowstorm we had, my brother Jeff and nephew ran off the road on the Alpine highway and got stuck (seriously stuck). So, the majority of the night was spent trying to get him unstuck. I always joke with my family that life for the Roper's wouldn't be normal without some type of fiasco : )

Kate seemed to be getting sicker and sicker as the night went on. We were up again all night, mainly worrying if she was getting the oxygen she needed. Christmas morning wasn't any better. Bryan's family came over that morning and his dad and brother, John, helped give her a blessing. Both Bryan and I felt that we needed to get her back up to the hospital as soon as we possibly could, as she was on the highest flow of oxygen and still not getting enough. So, we packed things up and drove back up to Primary's. We feel so grateful we took her in when we did because after having a chest x-ray, Kate's lungs were totally filled up with fluid. I think she was well enough for us to take her home on Sunday, but she just didn't have a big enough reserve to stabilize her on our home equipment.

Anyway, she is doing much better today. She had a CT scan of her heart on Thursday, showing that her pulmonary artery isn't as narrow as they thought it was. She also has significant pulmonary hypertension, which is high pressure in her lungs preventing the blood from flowing into the lungs from the heart. This has been a problem because not only is she not getting blood into her lungs, but it is causing her heart to enlarge. It is exacerbated by her leaking tricuspid valve. Prior to the CT scan, her cardiologist felt that going in and putting a stint in the arteries would help the flow of blood to her lungs. However, this won't fix the underlying problem of pulmonary hypertension and that her tricuspid valve is insufficient and allows blood to regurgitate back into the heart. The good news is they think that certain medication (Viagra) should help dilate the blood vessels in her lungs allowing blood to move more easily. By doing this, it should get her to a point to where she is big and strong enough to have her valve replaced. I have learned more about the human heart in the past year than I had ever wanted to know. We fell like we are FINALLY getting down to the real problem. In the past, we've always attributed her breathing issues to her airway, but now we feel that it's her heart that is causing these issues. Kate is scheduled to go down to the Cath Lab on Wednesday to determine the pressures in her lungs. From there the doctors will collaborate and come up with a plan.

I know this is one LONG blog entry.....I guess that's what I get for not keeping it updated :) We hope you all have a Happy New Year!!

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas!!!

I can't believe that Christmas is almost here. It seems like this holiday season has flown right by. I have LOVED all the snow we've been getting....there's nothing better than a white Christmas.

We have been really hoping that Kate will be home from the hospital before Christmas, and it might just happen. She was able to come off the ventilator on Thursday and has made significant improvements since then. After coming off the vent, she was put on CPAP and stayed on that all day yesterday. Today, she was put on a regular nasal cannula and has really held her own. This is a good sign that her lungs are starting to heal. The greatest part of being off the vent is that we can actually hold her. I have to say that not holding Kate has been the hardest thing, but it was such a sweet reward to be able to finally hold and comfort her today. So, at this point we are still crossing our fingers that we can get her home in the next couple of days.

A much needed vacation!

Gina, Deb, Jalene, Teresa, Me, Treo & Kenz
Last weekend, I had the chance to "getaway" for a girl's weekend up in Park City. With Kate in the hospital, I kind of felt guilty for leaving for a whole weekend and debated whether or not I should go. With much encouragement from Bryan (he knows I need it for my sanity) I decided that I would go up for just one night.....and I'm so glad I did. It was so nice to be able to relax, talk and eat treats until we were sick. It was definitely worth it and felt rejuvenated afterwards. Thanks girls for a fabulous time!

A little improvement!

We are so thrilled. Kate was able to come off the Oscillator on Thursday morning and she has done really well. We had to keep her paralyzed, though, because we want to make sure that she can keep up her sats. She did so well that we were able to stop the paralytic yesterday. She seems to be handling being on the ventilator quite well. It's really important that we take things very slow, as we do not want her to go backwards. Today is the first day in a week that she has been "awake" and been able to interact. It has been so much fun, however, I think that she is MAD....can you blame her?? We are still hopeful that she will be able to come home before Christmas, but not getting our hopes up.

This is the first year that I actually started my Christmas shopping early and finished early, so that is one less thing to worry about. Also, since I have had a lot of time on my hands, I was able to finish my Christmas cards in the hospital and get them in the mail by 5:00 pm on Friday.....whew! So, I guess you can say that we are all ready for Christmas. I feel that this Christmas Season has been especially special for us. I think it's really easy to get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas and forget the true meaning of Christmas. I think when we focus on the birth of our Savior and reflect upon all the many "gifts" he has given to us, it makes this Christmas Season much more meaningful. We just want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!

An Update

This past week has been very draining for our family, both physically and emotionally. I've hesitated posting a blog, as not much has changed in the last couple of days. Kate is very sick and we can't seem to figure out what is causing her little body to react this way. Kate has been tested for ALL viral infections as well as anything bacterial, and everything, so far, has come up negative. Last week, she was placed on a machine called an Oscillator, which is a different kind of ventilator, but breathes for her giving her over 500 small breathes per minute. The purpose for being on this machine is to help open up her lungs and oxygenate them. The hard thing with being on the oscillator, is that she has to be completely paralyzed and sedated. She has been like this since Friday, so it's been really hard being up here, especially when there is nothing we can do for her. Again, it's a very hard situation, as we are just as much baffled as her doctors. Right now all we can do is wait and hope that whatever is ailing her little body with work itself out. Kate is a little fighter, but she definitely likes to take her sweet time recovering, so we are not quite sure how long she is going to be here.

On a lighter note....Kate had some special visitors yesterday.......Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap from the Utah Jazz along with the rest of the Jazz team, came to Primary's and visited with the kids here in the PICU. Bryan was a little bummed that he wasn't here when they came :( They had their picture taken with Kate and autographed a basketball for her. Obviously, she wasn't aware that they were there, but I'm sure when she gets older and looks at these pictures she'll be like, "Mom, why didn't you at least have my hair curled?"

GO JAZZ GO!!!!

Last night, we tried putting Kate on her tummy to see if that would make any difference with helping to open up her lungs. We all know that Kate HATES "tummy time", so this is the only time you will see Kate having "tummy time" and not throwing a fit!! It was also a perfect opportunity to get some curlers in her hair. The nurses were joking that it looked as though Kate was just relaxing at a spa and getting pampered.....hardly.

Sweet Kate

'Tis the season for being sick! Last weekend, I came down with a nasty cold and unfortunately gave it to Kate. We have been so careful to prevent her from getting anything, but there is only so much we can do. We took her to the ER on Monday night because she was having flu-like symptoms....a high temp and dehydration. She was put on IV fluids for a couple hours and had numerous tests done....all of which came back fairly normal. So they sent us home because there wasn't much they could do. Kate had a rough day on Tuesday. She had a really bad cough and we were not able to stabilize her oxygen levels. She had a pretty hard night and around 5:00 am yesterday, we ended up taking her to the ER again where they felt she needed to be hospitalized. Whatever she has is really taking a toll on her body. It's hard because something as little as a cold can really attack her major organs. Either it's the virus she has that is causing her heart to fail or as she has gotten bigger, her body is not reacting very well to the heart surgery she had back in January. We are hoping that once she gets over this sickness, that everything else will be able to heal. There's not much we can do at this point, but just wait for her to overcome this virus and see how she recovers. We knew at some point that Kate would have to have another heart repair, but hoped that it wouldn't be for a couple years down the road. But, the way things look, she may have to have another procedure sooner to try and improve the function of her heart.
We have appreciated every one's concern for our family. People ask all the time what they can do for us and really, the only thing we can ask for is to pray for Kate. I know that the power of prayer is real and with faithful prayers, miracles can happen. We have been so blessed with such amazing friends and family and we love and appreciate all of you!

Our Little "Scot" Girl

Grandma & Grandpa Roper brought this darling outfit back from Scotland last month and I was afraid Kate was going to outgrow it by Christmas, so I had her wear it to church on Sunday. She didn't quite make it through Sacrament meeting with the whole ensemble, but we were able to snap a few shots after church.

We had some really great news this week. Two weeks ago, I went in for an amniocentesis and we got the results back on Tuesday that everything with this baby is healthy and normal. What a relief. We feel so blessed and are so excited for the arrival of this new little one. Oh, and we got a definite confirmation that IT'S A GIRL!!!

A Day To Be Thankful......Thankful I'm not 30 yet!!!

T H E B I G 2 9!!!

Yes, today I celebrated #29. I guess that means I have 1 more year to celebrate my 20's....and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. The funny thing is that the closer I get to turning 30, the more I feel like 20. I guess that's a good thing??? I had a really great birthday though. In fact, I have the most wonderful, thoughtful husband I know. This morning Bryan had arranged for me to get a massage & pedicure at Remedez (perhaps the BEST salon). When I got home, he had gotten Kate bathed and ready (minus the hair being curled), cleaned the house and did the laundry. Now why is it so hard for me to accomplish all of that in one day, let alone in a couple of hours??? Bryan definitely makes a great "Mr. Mom." Later that night, he had asked his mom (thanks Grandma) to come and watch Kate while we had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Chef's Table. I have to say, this was one of the best birthday's I have had. Life doesn't get any sweeter than this!

THANKSGIVING 2 0 0 7

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Rosenvall's. We had dinner at John & Michelle's (Bryan's brother) and what a FEAST it was. We started a tradition a couple years ago to get together the night before Thanksgiving for "Pie Night." It seems like we eat so much on Thanksgiving day that when it's time for pie, we are all too full. So, this way we enjoy the pies beforehand. It's been a fun tradition to keep alive. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Michelle & I wanted to start the day off right and go for a walk before the big feast began!

The table was set so beautifully.

Michelle is your everyday Martha Stewart!

Abriel was so excited to show off her "Kater Bugs" Masterpiece!

"Giddy-Up Horsey!!!"

I am THANKFUL for.....

I LOVE this time of year because I pay special attention to the the many things that I have been blessed with. Here are just a few of the MANY things that I am THANKFUL for.....

The Gospel of Jesus Christ
"Heavenly Pieces" from Dippidee
Friends And Family weekend at the GAP (thanks Teresa)
SceNted Candles
My sweet Little Kater Bugs
Being a mommy.....the greateSt job in the world
Great books from great writers
My Incredibly patient husband
Being able to traVel and see all the beauties of this earth
Health Insurance
Girl's Night Out!!!
My LeGgs because they allow me to run and cycle

I hope you ALL have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Children's Museum

Those are some pretty cute cows??

This was the coolest bubble blower!

We had too much fun!

My friend Lindsey and I took the kids to the Children's Museum at the Gateway today. Let me just say that place is every kid's dream come true. I wish they would've had this kind of place to go when I was growing up. We had such a fun time. In fact, I think the parents had just as much fun as the kids.....I know I did. If you haven't had a chance to go there yet.....it's definitely the place to go

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

She wasn't being at all bashful!Yay! We were so excited to find out today that we are having another girl. It will be so fun for Kate to have a little sister close in age. Everything on the ultrasound looked normal and I will go in for another one in 4 weeks just to make sure. I thought deep down that Bryan really wanted a boy this time around, but he was so excited when we found out it was a girl. I think he is such a great "girl" daddy anyway! I did measure about 1 week off, so my new due date is April 28th. It sounds so far away, but I'm sure that it's going to creep up on me sooner than I think.

Fillmore . Friends . Family . Fun

I love going home to visit my family and unfortunately, we don't get down as often as I would like to, so when we do......I consider it a real treat. We decided to take a day trip down yesterday (Sunday) for our family friend's mission report. Afterward, we had a little get together at Grandpa Roper's barn with family and friends. It was a lot of fun to see everyone. The best part, though, was the chocolate fountain.....YUMMY!

Family Pictures

We've procrastinated having our family pictures taken and we finally had them taken today. It was such a perfect "Fall" day. My sister-in-law, Annalisa, is a photographer and came and snapped a few shots in a gully close to our home. I had a few shots taken with my camera, and the hard part is trying to pick one out for our Christmas card. Kate always seems to want to sleep at the most inopportune times. So, we're hoping that we can get at least one of her looking at the camera.....we'll see.