Such a Fun Day!

Merry Christmas Everyone! The girls had so much fun today and it of course made Jason and I so happy. We had to wake them up at 8:45 because they hadn't come down yet! But when they did they ripped through the living room like two massive tornadoes. Sophia got a TON of monkey gifts, I really hope that she likes monkey's when she is older because if she doesn't she is going to HATE looking at pictures of herself at this age. She likes them now, so her little face lit up every time she opened one. Gabi on the other had, beamed that every gift she opened was exactly what she wanted and that she couldn't believe we got her EVERYTHING she wanted. (It really wasn't that much, she just loved everything I guess)
2010 is coming to a close and it has been a good year. I hate to "say" it out loud, but it has been a great year. We had one trip to Seattle and have been scared every since, but Sophia's medical stuff seems to be leveling off. We seem to have her on the perfect blood pressure medication and we all have so many tricks when we go in that we make sure the numbers we are getting are honest! Gabi is doing really well, I can't believe that 2011 is going to bring her going to kindergarten, but I look forward to that new chapter in her life...I know she is ready!
Merry Christmas everyone!

Fresszin for a Reason

I was talked into jumping into freezing Goose Lake today for Special Olympic Alaska! It was the 2010 Polar Plunge and I was talked into by on of my AAG friends! (Thanks Diane) It was a balmy -1 degrees outside and I am pretty sure that the water was warmer then the air! Here is a photo of my team (and out photographer) after the jump and all warm and toasty!

She's FIVE already?!

I can't believe that I sit here writing today and I am talking about my five year old Gabi! (I have to be honest, the past three days with this new five year old have been a challenge, but what's new) On cue, like every year Gabi got her croupy cough on her birthday (seriously, Gabi has gotten croup every birthday since her first birthday). Lucky for her, we took her to see an asthma doctor on Thursday who said her inhaler should work at night for her coughing fits and miraculously it has! This poor girl had an inhaler when she was one and two, but we haven't used one in three years and she always has these long lasting night coughs and she is barely having them now!

On to her birthday. Gabi wanted a Hawaiian themed birthday this year. We had a couple of her school friends over and they played, ate and enjoyed themselves. Gabi had so much fun and I can't wait to see what this next year is going to bring for us!

Date with Dr. Wellman

Echo time

Goofing off before her echo



We had our appointment with Dr. Wellman today. Jason and I were so nervous. We actually didn't talk about how nervous until after the appointment. We were both not only sure that we weren't going to be here for Christmas, but we were both sure that we weren't going to be here for Gabi's birthday this Friday. I had actually already devised the plan in my head that Sophia and I would go to Seattle and Jason would stay here with Gabi and still have her birthday party. Well, we were presently surprised when we went to the appointment and Dr. Wellman told us AGAIN that Sophia's numbers have improved again. It's beyond crazy right now. Her blood pressures are phenomenal, her pulse ox's are beautiful and her echo went great. She sat through it and didn't cry or fuss (I think the bribe of a sucker, helped though!) We don't have to see Dr. Wellman until...gasp...March, the first four month gap we have ever had. I'm not sure how I am going to handle these next four months, I am sure every little cough, every little moment that Sophia doesn't want to eat or the one time that she doesn't have energy I am going to want to call Dr. Wellman and I know he will be supportive and let me come in :0)

I also had to add this little piece of funny Thanksgiving fun! In Gabi's class they make little turkey feathers with what they are thankful for. Below is what Gabi is thankful for. The funny thing about this is this isn't true in any sense, but it is incredibly hilarious!

Happy Thanksgiving

We got a nice Thanksgiving surprise when we woke up and it was snowing. School was cancelled pretty much all week because the weather has been AWFUL!!! The roads have been SUPER icy and slick and the girls were going CRAZY because they weren't able to run off their energy. I told Jason not matter what, I was going to get them outside today. Sure enough, it snowed and warmed up enough that we weren't slippin' and slidin' while we were outside playing. We even got to help the girls make their first ever snowman!

Are You Ready For Some Football

My awesome Aunt Dayl made these cute Cowboys and Eagles tutu's for the girls. The girls love them and love getting tutu's from my aunt. If you have a little girl who loves to dance and twirl...check out her website http://shop.lilbellacouture.ihostnetworks.com/Default.aspx.

Halloween 2010

Totally just saw that my post from last time has the wrong heading..hahaha! Here's a picture of me and the girls with their pumpkins. Fia wanted Minnie Mouse and Gabi wanted Belle. I also noticed when I looked at this that we all do a weird tilt to the right with our heads!!

Getting Ready foe Halloween

Now that both girls are old enough to enjoy doing arts and crafts, the upcoming holiday season is getting exciting for everyone. On Wednesday I took the girls to Michaels to get some Halloween decorations that we could color and decorate the house with. The girls really enjoyed doing these and it's been a lot of fun just having "girl" time. (We did them while Jason was at a card event with our friend Dennis)

Beautiful Girls

I am going to try and update the blog more often on things other than Sophia and her beautiful heart. What better way to start this kick off with pictures of the girls in their new tutu's from my Aunt Dayl. If you are ever in Oregon or want to get SUPER cute girlie clothes for your girls, let me know and I will get you the website!

Baby Steps

Sophia had another cardiology appointment on Wednesday. I of course was super nervous because I knew that the last time we were there, her numbers climbed a little bit, but not enough for another trip to Seattle. I was prepared to come to this next appointment and start making plans to go to Seattle. Sophia's first blood pressure was definitely not the easing sign I was looking for. It was 133/71. She was sitting and doing a really good job being still and calm during the pressure. She then got her next blood pressure on her leg and it was a lot lower. (In my nervousness I don't remember the good one!) It was good though. It was low, so that was a relief. Then it was time for her echo and again she did fantastic. She got a little restless at the end, but who wouldn't? After the echo, Dr. Wellman told us that Sophia's numbers actually went down from 41 to 39. He said he actually had to run the test twice because he couldn't be sure of the results. I was so excited to hear this, but I am still being cautious. This is a tricky girl and her heart has played tricks on us in the past! We compromised on another appointment in two and half months and I hope to hear good news then as well!

Heart of a Tiger

We visited Dr. Wellman today. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous since the last time we were there, Miss Sophia's number jumped 17. To start off, I can't believe how well Sophia did during her appointment. She let them take her blood pressure (115/58) without any wiggles, she let them put the EKG stickers on her and she sat through the EKG, there were three nurses and she let all of them listen to her heart, AND she sat pretty still and watched Baby Einstein (Old MacDonald) while we did her echo. She did get a little wiggly through the echo, but I had cheese it's and we were able to talk to her. Dr. Wellman was very impressed with the numbers we got today. She went from 39 to 41 in two months. Another trip to Seattle for either another angioplasty or a new stent is high 40's, low 50's. So, we are still on a slow road to Seattle, but we aren't going tomorrow. We get to see Dr. Wellman again in two months and he wants her to stay on her aspirin and he likes the blood pressure medication where it is. So, this is good news for now, just have to wait for September.

Monkey Business

Sophia is totally into monkey's right now, so we had a monkey themed birthday party! I don't remember Gabi being excited about her second birthday this much, but Sophia definitely was. Maybe it wasn't the birthday, maybe it was just the fact that she got attention and presents! She had a couple of friends come over and one of Gabi's friends came over. It was nice that it was pretty low key, but it was fantastic to see how happy and "normal" Sophia is. It is so hard to believe that two years ago we were sitting in a NICU room in Seattle, WA waiting patiently for the most terrifying day of our lives. It is so amazing how she has grown and what a little spit fire she is. I can't wait to sit with her 20 years from now and reminisce about the times we had during her childhood. We just have to wait for our appointment on Tuesday with Dr. Wellman.

Looks Who's Two

Miss Fia turned two years old today. I can't believe how much time has flown by! I will update the events of our birthday week after her birthday party this weekend. Just wanted to update a picture of my birthday Monkey Girl!

Alaska Run for Women

Today was the annual Alaska Run for Women. It is a five mile run that helps support breast cancer awareness. I ran it for the first time today (five miles in an hour) and I had a great time! Here is a photo of our team after the race...hoping to do it next year and get a better time!

I Think Someone is Allergic to Mosquitos

Last year poor Gabi had a really bad reaction to a mosquito bite that she got on her hand. It got really swollen and we have to put a large band-aide on her hand so that she wouldn't bother it and it would get better. Well this year it has been topped. She got a mosquito bite on her face yesterday and when she woke up this morning she was fine. Then Jason picked her up from school and this is what he found...



Gabi's eye is now nice and swollen. I of course called the pediatricians office because I have never seen anything like this and was reassured that kids get back reactions to bites and that I can give her some allergy meds (went to the store and bought Clariton, even though I wanted to get benadryl, but they didn't have any for kids at Fred Meyers) an ice pack and some hydrocortosone cream. It isn't bothering her at all and she is the same happy little girls that she has always been. Unfortunately, she has a giant swollen eye because of a bug bite!
Here are some more pictures of the girls from this weekend...they're a little more attractive then the previous one!


A bit of a Sophia update...she is doing well. We obviously won't know much more until we go see Dr. Wellman in July. I have still been looking for an automatic children's blood pressure cuff or machine so that I can take her blood pressure here at home. I think that would help decrease a lot of my anxiety. I have tried to take her pressure with the manual cuff that I have, but with her talking and wiggling...it's a little hard, automatic would be so much easier. Unfortunately it doesn't appear anyone thinks to make automatic cuffs that are available for purchase.

Sweet Heart

Sophia had an appointment with Dr. Wellman today. She actually did REALLY well until her echo. She fought quite a bit, but we were able to get pictures. Her blood pressures were really high and Dr. Wellman has her on blood pressure medication to see if it will help and her pressure differences went up 17 points or whatever it is. 50's is when they need to go back in and fix the problem and she is at 39. It's so frustrating because she was at 22 three months ago when we got back from Seattle. I know as heart patients, our kids have ups and downs, but I just wish Sophia would get a break. She is such a little ray of sunshine and she deserves a break.
Ok, actually I feel a little better now. Since she is two and can't complain I feel it is my job to do it for her. I will update everyone as soon as we know something, but we don't get to see Dr. Wellman again until July.

More Fun in the Sun!

It has been absolutely beautiful here. We have been outside the majority of the weekend the girls absolutely loved it! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! You'll notice the paint pictures at the end! I left them for five minutes to get some water and Sophia had painted all over herself, but Gabi was only able to get to her hand!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mother's out there!

Fun in the Spring Sun

With the weather today, I just couldn't help but take pictures of the girls outside. Now I know there are a lot of you who will think I am hilarious when I say that it was 50 degrees out and it was a heat wave. But grow up in Alaska and it totally is. It was sunny and warm and perfect! The girls played outside when we came home and we stayed out for a little over an hour! They had so much fun and we finally were able to get Gabi to ride her bike!!!

Heart Run 2010

I'm not exactly sure why, but I was much more difficult for me to participate in the Heart Run this year. I actually have been training since January to run the 3K portion and I am determined to run the 5K portion of it next year! I did get to run this year, it was the latter portion of the race because the first part gets so congested, but I still made it! I felt fantastic, but I also felt so heavy hearted with the thoughts of all of the heart kiddos we have met these past three years. Here are a few pictures of the kids post race...almost forgot, not only am I proud of myself for actually running the race, but I was even more proud of GABI running the race. Jason and her obviously ran behind me and Fia in the stroller, but when Jason crossed the finish line with her, he said that she ran and you can see by the look on her face how proud she is of herself!

Easter...I know it's late

I know this is super late, but we have been so busy. We had a great Easter. We went to brunch just the four of us, which is REALLY rare and it was really nice. We then made the rounds and got their baskets at each of the grandparents houses and the girls made out like bandits.

I Hear Ya!

Sophia got her tubes put in on Friday morning and she is doing SO well. We weren't really sure how it was affecting her hearing. She would respond to us when we talked to her, but the last month or so, she was screaming at the top of her lungs and going out to dinner was a NIGHTMARE!!! I was able to go and see her right after her surgery and the fabulous nurse brought Sophia a Popsicle. She even put a soda lid underneath it so that it wouldn't drip all over her. Well, Sophia wanted to hold the soda lid and not the Popsicle stick. She threw a HUGE fit because she couldn't hold it. The nurse was really worried that she was in pain, but we had to reassure her that she was fine, just royally upset. She threw a huge fit in the car on the way home, but was fine by the time we got home. We went out to lunch on Saturday afternoon and she did so well! Jason and I talked about she must not have been able to hear really well. The doctor told Jason that the mucus that they took out of her ears was the consistency of rubber cement. She is super happy and is doing really well right now!

Heart and Ears

It's been awhile, I know and I do have some updates, but not pictures!! We have had three different types of doctors appointments in the last week and we have been give tons of information.
First, we took Sophia in last Monday to see an ENT because of her recurrent ear infections. The doctor told us they typically give kids tubes after 5-6 ear infections in a calendar year, Sophia has had nine! She had just gotten over an ear infection and she had some fluid in her ears. They wanted to wait and talk to Dr. Wellman before they scheduled the surgery to make sure he thought she would be okay with it. Coincidentally we saw Dr. Wellman on Thursday and I was on pins and needles. It was Sophia's first cardiology appointment since her angioplasty. First off, we were able to get both of her blood pressures right away and they were the lowest I have ever seen them! (In a good way) She really fought us for the echo even though Gabi was there, had a princess movie on, and she was on my lap. Either way, her heart looks great and Dr. Wellman was very happy with her results...I think that is the first time Dr. Wellman was happy with what he has seen on her echo.
Then today we saw Dr. Penman, we are done with synagis, but I wanted her to be seen just to make sure that she doesn't have an ear infection. The good news is that she doesn't have an ear infection, bad news is that she still has fluid in her ears. So I will keep phoning the ENT office and see if they will ever schedule her appointment.

Happy CHD Awareness Day

From my CHD miracle

Heart Mommy's

So I am going to copy Katie's page because my brain hurts from work and I just finished my taxes! I'm not going to copy, copy, but I am going to talk about Heart Mommy's today.

Heart Mommy's are a special breed. Yes there are Heart Daddy's too, but Heart Mommy's are the soul of a child with CHD. We know our children like the backs of our hands. We know what medications they have been on and which one's they shouldn't take because of bad reactions. We know the special tricks to getting tricky blood pressures (laying down, Gabi laying beside and singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider). We know EVERYTHING about our heart child's medical care. We're very hands on, it's the only type of control that we have in this situation, so please let us have it :0) We are severely passionate about out children.

I was so blessed to be able to find a Mended Little Hearts Group here in Anchorage, because I know there are other Heart Mommy's out there. (Of course, while I was in Seattle having Sophia, there was an article in the paper about how AK leads the nation in CHD and how we don't have ANY surgeons here to deal with the problem) So it was refreshing to see someone who has to take the three hour plane ride to Seattle, people who have to live at the Ronald McDonald House or hotels just so their children can receive medical care.

The One You May Forget

Ok, you really won't forget this person, but I think the title can speak volumes. It's funny with ALL of the posts I have put on this blog, this is the one that literally has me crying. This blog is about our sweet Gabi. Gabi is our healthy child. Why does writing this and thinking about her make me cry? Because I don't know if there is anyone more affected by Sophia and her heart condition then Gabi. Gabi was two and a half when Sophia was born and because of the situation we were in and because we were away from home, Gabi was with us every step of the way in regards to Sophia and her surgery's, But Gabi is absolutely the most protective of Sophia. She's the one that broke down each time Sophia was brought back to the anesthia room. I remember after Sophia was born Gabi told me that after she was born she had heart surgery. It broke my heart for this little girl to think that every baby that is born has heart problems and has to have surgery. I have had to explain to her a couple times that she doesn't have a sick heart, that Sophia is the only one that does. Every time we are in the hospital Gabi is the first one to go to the hospital bed when the doctor's come in and she tries to absorb the information as well. But this isn't how I want you to know her...I want you to know my Peanut!
She used love the color pink and purple, but she has recently told us that she doesn't like pink and purple her favorite colors are green and blue now! She LOVE, LOVE, LOVES to wear dresses, she is such a girlie girl despite my protests! She LOVES her green blanket and still takes it everywhere with her :0) She loves to draw and color. She is the smartest little girl that I know and I am not just saying that because she is my daughter :0) This is my Gabi, the one that can be forgotten because of CHD.