Lots of pictures

Not much happening out here in the lazy days of summer......I wish I could say "waning" days of summer but I heard on the weather to expect triple digits through most of September. But, they said the days of 110+ are over. Yeah! Swimming, sucking and sleeping has been the norm around here as the pictures show. Kayley is at 7 lbs, 9 oz. so that is good. Drew battled a virus over the week-end with a temperature rivaling the outdoor thermometer but is much better now.

We all totally enjoyed the sweet corn Mark hauled out here. It was simply delicious! We had Sharon and Arne over for dinner Saturday night and had a good visit with them. They brought along a DVD of The Villages in Florida where they are pretty certain to be moving to soon. I must say I hate the thought of them leaving Arizona but I guess after 30+ years of living here they are ready for a change of scenery. I will miss my hiking partner but she promised to come back once in awhile for some of those. :-) Speaking of hiking, the trail and falls (Havasupai) we hiked last April were completely flooded over the week-end and helicopters had to rescue hikers, rafters and campers from that area. Very scary. I am certainly glad we went in the spring and NOT during the monsoon season! I also cannot imagine making that grueling hike in this hot weather...

Mommy's little helper

Drew is at that age where he wants to copy everything that you do. I eagerly handed the following over to him. :-)

Waiting for Grandpa

As we await the arrival tomorrow of Grandpa and his sweet corn, thought I would post a few picks of my favorite two grandkids and their best friend. ( Kayley doesn't know yet that Sox will be her best friend...but she will!) The picture of two babies is a side-by-side of Drew when he was born and Kayley. Quite the resemblance, don't ya think?

Swimming at Terravita

Saturday we were invited to sister Sharon's home for swimming and dinner. My nephew Erik and his girls Kadin and Gracie were visiting from New Mexico so we had a great time with all of them. Andy took Drew swimming with the girls.

How's a person supposed to sleep?

I taped this a few weeks ago and just now found it. This was when Drew was in his old room, a.k.a. Kayley's "new" room.

Speaking of Kayley, she should hit SEVEN pounds either today or tomorrow. What a long, long way that little girl has progressed. We are hoping that she soon gets to come home. Her feedings are getting better each day and when she can stay awake for every one of them she will be homeward bound!

Grandpa Mark flies in this Friday with a suitcase full of Iowa sweetcorn. My taste buds are watering just thinking about his sweet corn. It is the best in the state! He is staying until after Labor Day so we have him here for a long visit. That makes grandma quite happy!

Today is the first day of school in Ogden.....my heart goes out to my old cronies there. I truly hated that first day of workshop and speeches. I think everyone knew I hated it, though. :-) Have a great year everyone!

56 seconds with Drew

Ordinary Miracle

My good friend suggested the first song in this video and I think it works perfectly for Kayley. I have put together a slide show of her great progress and changes from birth to today. This video is longer (about 5 minutes) than I usually post so you may want to let it buffer completely (i.e. go pour yourself a glass of wine) and then watch it. :-)

See ya later, Grandpa

I took Mark to the airport this morning for an early flight back to Des Moines. We had a great time while he was here and look forward to his return in less than two weeks! We visited Kayley often in the NICU, baby sat Drew and found time for ourselves, too. Sunday we went with Arne and Sharon to see Mamma Mia (the movie). If you have not seen it, you are missing out on a rousing good time, great music and a general feel great movie. I enjoyed it so much I am buying the DVD when it comes out so I can pop it in when I am in need of a pick-me-up!

Kayley is still doing great. Almost 6 1/2 pounds now. Last hurdle is drinking from the bottle/breast completely with no feeding tube helping her. She is definitely getting the hang of it and last night took 31 cc's for her daddy. She took 15 for me earlier so she is improving each feeding. I would think when she is strictly getting her nourishment from the bottle/breast she will be getting her walking papers. :-) How exciting will that be? Her room is ready and waiting for her arrival......

Grandpa's back in town

Mark flew in late yesterday afternoon. He was supposed to arrive at 4:45 and Megan was going to pick him up and the rest of us were going to meet them at the NICU. He was going to watch Drew while Megan, Andy and I went to an infant CPR Class. Well, as is very common with airlines, his flight was an hour late so Drew and I picked him up while Megan and Andy went to the class. I will take it next week. We still went to the hospital, though, so he could have his first peek at his new granddaughter. Tonight we went for her 6:00 feeding and he held her for the very first time, as you can see from the pics. Kayley hit 6 pounds yesterday, doubling her birth weight. I stole more pics from Andy's blog to show you the stark difference in her legs at 3 days as compared to yesterday. Amazing!

The big news today was that Kayley had her oxygen removed. Let's all hope she is strong enough to do it on her own. I am thinking she can!

It's like....kissing your sister

Drew came to see Kayley today. It was rather touching! Megan and I had been at the NICU since 9 am and Andy brought Drew after lunch. Drew has been saying Kayley's name for quite awhile and I show him pictures of her all the time so he has an idea just who this little person is but not quite sure what to think about her. I think he will have a lot to say about her when she gets home, especially when he finds out he is getting moved to a different room and bed and she is taking over his old stomping grounds. :-)

Let's try a bottle

The NICU is trying to teach Kayley to drink from a bottle. She is doing very well for someone who isn't even supposed to be born yet. Way to go Kayley! Email me!

Sunday morning in the NICU

Megan went down early today to visit her daughter. Grandma showed up around 11:00 to take some video and see how Kayley was doing today. She is inching ever so close to 5 pounds. My prediction is 5 pounds at Monday night's weigh-in! This is, of course, the complete opposite of the premise of the TV show "The Biggest Loser". We want Kayley to GAIN weight each weigh-in. She is doing very well in that department. She would have been voted off the TV show several days ago. :-) Email me!

Kayley's room

A visit with Kayley

Those pearly whites

Email me!

Just say "please"

Pretty in pink

Megan and I spent all of Saturday morning at the hospital visiting Kayley. Sunday I went in around 11:30 to see Megan give her a bath and then she dressed her in the cute outfit shown in the pictures. Following her bath I held her for over an hour during her noon feeding. She was very snug and sleepy while I did this. It is just sheer joy to hold her! She is up to 4 pounds, 4 ounces now. She still has the oxygen prongs in her nose but I assume they will try weaning her off of them this week perhaps. The only other thing she has to learn before she can come home is how to bottle/breast feed. She is still too young to attempt that but they may try towards the end of this week or early next week. The only thing I know for certain about her is that she is one sweet little girl. :-)

Drew and Kayley

Good news abounds

Kayley is doing great. For her one month birthday she got a great report from the opthamologist that examined her and she made it into a big girl bed. That is, she graduated from the covered isolette in NICU to her very own uncovered bed. She can keep her body temperature stable without help. As for her eye exam, the little girl amazed nurses and the examiner. From Andy and Megan's blog:

"The last update of the day is a biggie. The Arizona Pediatric Eye Specialists came in today to give Kayley an eye exam. They check for something called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). It's when blood vessels in the immature part of the retina develop abnormally causing some complications in the eyes. This could be anything from nearsightedness to a wandering eye to blindness. Since a full term baby's eyes are just done developing when they are born, premature babies' eyes are not mature and are at a high risk for ROP. Well, we received great news. Kayley's eyes are already mature! The actual sheet that we received states, "Your infant's eyes have mature blood vessels and are at a low risk for developing ROP." Then it says, "She should have another eye exam by an opthamologist in six months." However, the "six months" is crossed out and written in is "24 months"! What great news. They do not seem worried at all about her eyes at this point. When Megan was there, the nurse told her how great this was and how she really couldn't believe the results because Kayley's eyes are not supposed to be mature at her age. Kayley just doesn't stop amazing us. What a great 1 month birthday..."

Yup, she had some quality time in that womb before she decided to see the real world a few months early! She also weighs 4 pounds 1 ounce. At this rate grandma will be lucky to be able to lift her when she gets home!

Drew and I are having a great time every day. He is so good about entertaining himself and is still a very happy little boy. He still takes long morning and afternoon naps so I am sure that helps with his sunny disposition. We have tried going outside but it is really hot right now. His cheeks get beet red after a few minutes so we pretty much stay indoors during the day where the air conditioner keeps churning out the cool air. His daddy takes him swimming a lot after he gets home from work so he does get his outside time each day.

A few pics of Kayley in her new big girl bed and some snaps of Drew. Have a great week-end.

Holding Kayley

I had the great privilege of holding my sweet granddaughter tonight for the very first time since her June 9th birth. She is fed every 3 hours and they want her held during the feeding. I took the 6 pm spot and was in heaven doing so. I was a little nervous at first but warmed up right away. Holding Kayley was like holding Drew the very first time except she was lighter in my arms. She stretched, hiccuped, slept and opened her eyes during this time. She is changing daily before our eyes. A beautiful little girl. I am definitely going back for that 6 pm time slot. Megan goes earlier and Andy later so I can slip in during this time and no one will be the wiser. :-)