More plans

It sounds like most everyone has already made their travel plans, but I thought I'd post just in case...

I just booked the Marriott for us and got it for $63 / night with our AAA discount. They also offer a rental car discount for booking through Hertz where you get a free tank of gas, which is actually kind of a big deal right now with gas prices being so ridiculous.

Now if someplace just offered free babysitting services, we'd be all set... :)

our plans

Hi girls,
We are flying in Friday to IAD airport (Dulles) at around 2:20, and leave Sunday from IAD at around 2:20. Will be a short trip, but we've seen all of the DC sites so didn't need extra time to spend in town. We are staying at the Marriott and are seriously thinking of getting a rental vehicle. In fact, I'm supposed to be checking out those prices right now. So, if anyone else is using IAD close to the times we are, you're welcome to ride with us!
A guest has just arrived at our house, i must go...

So excited!

OK, so I'm so excited to see all of you plans in writing. I can't wait to see you all and spend some time together. It should be a fun weekend, especially since none of us are actually in the wedding, which leaves plenty of time for play.

I thought I would post our tentative plans and try and answer some of the questions you guys have. Aaron and I are planning to make the drive down to DC on Thursday morning. Aaron is planning the bachelor party, which will be Thursday night, and I wanted to let you all know that your husbands are more than welcome to join the fun. I'll let you guys know the plans when we have them set in stone.
Those flying in may want to check into taking the trains from the airport and maybe sharing a rental with one of the other couples. This may help in keeping the costs down. Aaron and I will have a car and Josh and Julie are driving as well. Another money saving tip, Marriott gives AAA discount on top of the already low rate that Joe got, so if you have AAA you can get the room for like $70, and I think it includes breakfast (not sure about that though). The date to book by for Joe's rate is 6/5, so make sure you do it before then.

Jamie - It really isn't hard to get to DC from Baltimore. It's basically all highway if you are driving, and like I said, you may even be able to take the train down.
Julie - It's totally OK for you guys to stay at our house Tuesday night. You can stay as long as you wish in fact.
Steph - I'm planning to come down on Thursday now, so I'm not sure if we will be able to pick you up, but I know that Chris & Jen are coming in on Friday, but I don't know what airport. The train may also be an option.

For those of you staying around afterwards, I think we are going to come back to PA sometime Sunday evening. Aaron has to work on Monday (its the last day of the month), but we plan on staying in DC for most of the day to do some site-seeing and such with the rest of the gang. I'm taking off work the rest of the following week, so feel free to come up and stay as long as you want.

Well, guess that's all for now. Call or email if you guys have any questions.
I'm so excited to see you all in June! 5 weeks and counting...

Katie update and trip plans

Ok, Katie had her MRI this past Tuesday, and thankfully, the report was generated very quickly. I met with her pediatrician today who was able to explain the portions of the report to me that I did not understand....

Basically, it's very good news overall. Her bleed is gone now...it has probably broken up and absorbed, which is exactly what it should have done. So that's great news! From what I can tell, there is seen to indicate that she has too much spinal fluid, or that the exit of the fluid is blocked. The pediatrician told me that these reports need to be read in conjunction with her growth chart. We want her head to continue to measure normally. So for it has. Hydrocephalus causes the head to become large beccause there is no where for the spinal fluid to go. So instead of Katie going back in 2 months, she will go back in a month just to have her head measured. But I think that is just more precautionary. The pediatrician stressed that we will just watch her now as we would any other infant.

The report did show something else completely unrelated, but it's not a problem unless it's in conjunction with other things. So that made us a tiny bit nervous, but that is fine as well. The pediatrician said it's something we never would have known about if she hadn't been premature. So everything should be fine. I don't really like the fact that we need to watch her head though. I didn't actually see my normal pediatrian today because he was at a conference, so I'm going to see what he says too when I go in next month. But really it's good news. One more thing we've overcome:)

As far as the trip to DC is concerned,all 3 of us are coming in on Thursday early afternoon until Monday. We're hoping to have some time to see the sights on Friday and Sunday. We haven't booked out hotel yet either, and haven't figured out yet if we're renting a car. But I'll need to look into that stuff relatively soon now that things are slowing down again. I can't wait to see everyone. And thanks again for the prayers. Everytime something pops up, it's like the first time. It's so good to know we have such amazing friends who keep us and Katie lifted up in prayer.

Our Trip

Ok so we've had our tickets for a while. We will fly in and out of Baltimore. We come in on Friday June 27 and we fly out on Saturday July 5. Ang - were you still going to try to pick us up on your way to the wedding? If not, we can probably just get a car and drive down ourselves. Jamie - I think it's pretty easy to get to DC from Baltimore, but I've never done it. That's just what I've heard from Joe in the past. I would love to see some of the sights in the DC area since I have never been there. I just don't know how much we're going to get in. I am REALLY looking forward to relaxing with my friends, as well! We've had such a busy schedule recently, its going to be great to catch up with you guys!

We are headed to Minnesota tonight and will be back to Tulsa on Monday evening. We almost didn't get to go. Apparently they thought that my neice had whooping cough, which spreads like wildfire, I guess. So since everyone that we were going to see had been exposed to it, we would probably catch it. Which in turn would make us take extra days off work until we weren't contagious anymore and we just couldn't afford to do that. I guess they are finding that the vaccines that we got when we were little have a tendency to wear off, or they just don't work sometimes. Which is what they thougth was going on with Madeline. Anyhoo...the good news is that she was tested and it came back negative for that, so we're good to go. :-)

I am so excited to see all you girls! And I'm can't wait to meet the new additions to our little group. See you soon! What is it - 5 weeks and counting??? Woo HOO!

Wedding Plans in the Making

Here are my thoughts on the wedding... I'm thinking about using my free air miles to make my way out there. I have nothing concrete yet. I am teaching at a technology conference the week of the wedding, but I think our final day is on Friday so that is when I'm looking to fly out there. I am thinking that I will leave Monday afternoon. If I fly in to Baltimore, will I be able to make my way to DC pretty easily? I wish I knew more about the east coast!! Let me know what you all think. :)

Wedding plans

Hola chicas,

So Adam and I just bought our tickets to DC. We ended up getting a pretty good deal, thanks to this website that Adam was watching which told us when to purchase. Anyway, we are getting in to DC on the Thursday before the wedding and are staying through the following Tuesday.

We haven't booked a hotel yet since we weren't sure about the after-the-wedding plans. We don't have a lot of time afterwards, but would love to hang out as much as possible. We'll most likely rent a car since we'll have the baby and all the things that come along with her.

We just spent a lovely weekend with Adam's mom. She kept Violet in the room with her so Adam and I were able to sleep in, in the mornings. It was amazing. Better than sex. Really.

We also took Violet to the aquarium, which I'm sure she won't remember, but I loved it.

Violet's giggling and cooing pretty much nonstop now. I feel like she's almost ready to sit up on her own and she's sure giving crawling a pretty good try, kicking her legs and scooting on her tummy. I've started signing with her, just some basic words, like milk and dog. She hasn't really caught on yet, but hopefully within a couple months.

Love you girls and miss you lots!

plans

Hey girls,

Ok, so Josh and I have settled on some plans for Joe's wedding. We are going to drive in (since our Skybus tickets are no longer valid) on June 24. We were planning to stay that night in PA if Angie and Aaron have room for us. If not, we can get a hotel. Just let me know Angie. =) And then I think we're going to head to DC a bit early on the 25th through the 29th. We wanted to see some of the sights in the Washington DC area. We are staying at the Extended Stay America in Fairfax the whole time because we got it on Hotwire for a really good price. We have to drive back to Ohio on June 30th. So that's it for us. Unfortunately, we can't hang long after the wedding with everyone. But Josh's work schedule simply won't allow it.

Liz, we're also praying for you guys and Katie and I'm sure everything will be fine. We're praying for good reports when Katie has the rest of her testing. And we've got all of our family and their churches praying for Katie. You will soon be on the other side of all this stress and will be able to just relax and enjoy the beautiful little girl you have been blessed with. I'm naming it claiming it! =) Seriously, we are and we love you guys!

Making plans...

We're looking at about 6 weeks till Joe's wedding and the impromptu sapphires reunion, and yes, I'm starting to think about making plans. I can't wait to see you all and of course meet the newest additions.
So yea, I wanted to find out your plans. When are you getting in? How long are you staying? etc... I've actually heard from most of you, but not specifics. Jamie are you coming? I really hope so, cause if not, you'll be the only one we are missing.
OK, well email me or post it on the blog. Can't wait to see you all in 6 weeks!

Liz, you know I'm praying for you. God is stretching and molding you and Nathan into the parents you are meant to be. He has great plans for Katie and we are believing with you that she and you will get through all this stronger than you were before.

Love and prayers to all.
Ang.

It's always something...

You all are going to be tired of reading our not so good news and prayer requests, but we have more...
Just when we thought we were out of the woods, we got some results back from some follow-up tests Katie had done. After Katie was born, they looked into many things, both because TEF kids can have many other defects, and because she was premature. She didn't have any of the other defects associated with TEF, but there were a few things they were keeping an eye on due to her prematurity. They discovered some things with Katie's head and kidneys, both of which were very common, and both of which typically resolve themselves. Her head had a grade 1 bleed, which is not bad and pretty common in preemies, and they say many full-term babies could be born with them as well, and no one would ever know. This type of bleed typically resolves itself and goes away. For her kidneys she had mild hydronephorsis (not sure on the spelling) of one of them, meaning one kidney was a big larger. Again, they weren't too worried about this, and Katie's system is working just fine and everything passes through her system. Well, she did have to have follow-up ultrasounds last week just to follow this stuff.

I haven't heard anything yet on her kidneys, and really am not too worried about they seem to work just fine. However, the head ultrasound indicated that she has large ventricles (the area that hold the spinal fluid). Her pediatrician said the reports from radiology were pretty vague, and he had several people look at them before calling me, and called some other specialists as well. Basically, the report was very vague, and we don't really know if this is a problem or not, so we need to get a head MRI done. They said it very well could be a normal variance, which is of course what we are praying and believing for. But because she already has the one defect, we can't ignore it and really need to look at it more closely. The doctor wouldn't give me any info as to what it could mean if it's not a normal variance. In looking things up and talking to some people, it seems that it could basically mean too much fluid results in pressure on the brain, and when that happens it's typically necessary to get a shunt put in to drain the pressure to prevent problems. I don't know much else. I don't know if this is something that develops, and that's why we didn't see if on the previous ultrasounds, and I don't know if it's related to the grade one bleed. I think I'm just in for a wait for a while, because right now the MRI is scheduled for next week, and it sounds like it will be a week and a half or so before I will know the results. Her pediatrician was very good about making sure the MRI was necessary before calling me, since it requires her to be under anesthesia. So of course, I am nervous, but trying very hard not to think about it, and to just believe it is all withing normal ranges. So please keep us in your prayers once again, and hopefully this will be the last time. Sorry to always be bringing rough news.

I know I seldom post good things, but we really are enjoying every day with Katie. She's growing so fast. She's got to be between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds now, and it's crazy how fast she grows. She's hit the stage where she's a bit fussy sometimes now because she's awake more, but doesn't really play yet. But she smiles a bit more and enjoys being on the ground to move around a lot. She's rolled from her stomach to her back twice, mostly because she hates tummy time:) And she's just now waking up, so I need to go. Thanks for your continued prayers. This is another big one.

funny

I noticed the coincidence of the middle names as well. It's funny that they all have the same middle name. I think they're all named after family members as well. Ann is a popular middle name! And lovely... =) haha... Love you girls!

Is it coincidence?

I just realized something the other day that I thought you all may be interested in. A funny thing has happened in our little group of girls that I find quite interesting. So far we have 3 baby girl sapphires ALL WITH THE SAME MIDDLE NAME! Is it coincidence?
Lilah Ann
Violet Ann
Katherine Anne
FYI, Ann or Anne means gracious, merciful.
Yea, just thought you all would like to know this little bitty fact about our group. No pressure to those having baby girls in the future. :)

Love you girls.

So thankful...

So we got our praise report! Yesterday we had an appointment with an ENT, who was very knowledgeable and knew all about TEF and even knew Katie's surgeon. She was also very knowledgeable about hemangiomas, and thankfully, we don't have to worry about the one on Katie's neck! She said it is not attached to the larynx, and it cannot attach itself because there are layers of tissue separating the hemangioma from the larynx and they are not permeable. So there is nothing to worry about. She also looked in to Katie's files to read about a scope done prior to her surgery the day after she was born, and there was no indication of any hemangiomas at that point either. The specialist also explained the breathing difficulties, and they are related to her trachea, and how because she has TEF it sometimes I think folds or something. I don't remember exactly how she explained it, but it's something that can also just happen to any kid. So it's nothing to worry about at all as long as she is gaining weight and thriving. And she'll always catch her breath...she won't ever just not breath.

Thanks so much for your prayers. The thought of losing Katie for weeks again to the operating table was more than I could handle. You have no idea how grateful I am to just have her home in my arms where she belongs. My Myspace has a quote about being a premie parent, and how you learn to really appreciate life. It's so true.

So in other news, we're just enjoying watching Katie grow so quickly. Her weight gain is no longer a concern, and she gains more than a half pound per week. She's now about 6 1/2 pounds, which to us is huge! She's taken to nursing pretty well now, and we only do bottles at night now (mainly because she'll eat more from the bottle, thus sleeping longer, giving me more sleep in the process:). She's a tiny bit behind her age developmentally. She'll kind of fall between her gestational age and her true age for a few months I guess. But she's catching up. She actually even rolled over from the stomach to her back last week, so we're not too worried. She also has all of her follow-up tests next week, so we'll finish checking into the other premie concerns at that point. But we're not too worried. Nathan is an awesome father, and I couldn't imagine doing this without him! And the dog is adjusting. She gets jealous, but is also quite interested in the baby, and doesn't like it if I leave Katie upstairs sleeping in the morning when I come down. So that's us. I think thing are finally calming down around here now, and we can just enjoy our little baby. Thanks again for everything, and I can't wait to see you girls for Joe's wedding. Jen, you'll really be showing by then. I'm sure you're just too cute. Julie, you might be showing a bit by then. And I'm glad this pregnancy is going better for you.