Thursday, March 26, 2009

Could he be any cuter?


I was so happy when Jeremy got home around 4:00 and said that I could head over to the hospital to meet Dawson. Both boys were still napping, so he could work from home while I enjoyed some time with friends. He said to stay as long as I wanted to, so I took him up on that. I got home at 7:00 PM.

Can I just say that Dawson is adorable and I would love to take him home with me? Oh, did I just say that? Oh well. I admit that I am smitten!

I wrote a short note to Dawson after meeting him. Here it is:

Dear Dawson,

I remember your mommy calling to tell me that she was going to be having another baby. I remember how happy she was and how excited I was for her, your daddy, and your big brother Bryce. I have prayed for you since you that day. I was so happy to meet you today for the first time and to see that you are here safe and sound. I prayed for you to be healthy, and healthy you are. Now that you are here I will continue to pray for you. I pray that you will grow to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, and mind. I also pray that the Lord will protect you all of the days of your life and use you to further His kingdom. You are blessed with so many people that love you, and I just know that the Lord has wonderful things in store for you!

In God's love,
Marianna

4 sweet boys on my mind

This morning I have 4 sweet boys on my mind- Samuel, Vance, Dawson and Stellan.

Samuel and Vance are always on my mind since they are my babies!

Precious Dawson and Amy are doing well. If you would like to read more about Dawson's birth and see pictures of him, check out Amy's blog. As I expected, he is adorable! You can still be praying for Amy to have a smooth recovery and for her to get some much needed sleep. (She lost a lot of sleep during her pregnancy.) Also, pray for tiny Dawson as he eats, sleeps, and grows. He is a tiny baby compared to Bryce at birth; Dawson weighed 6 lb. 4 oz..

If you have been praying for Stellan, keep it up. He is still in SVT (high heart rate). The doctors don't know how his heart and body are still tolerating it after 4 days of SVT. I know how it's possible- the Lord has been working! He's a miracle baby! Please pray with me that the Lord would heal his heart. MckMama posted about his heart condition yesterday. He has an extra electrical pathway in his heart, which causes the SVT. If things don't get better (like Stellan going into heart failure), he might need an ablation, which a very risky procedure on babies. To read Stellan updates, click the Praying for Stellan button on the right sidebar.

Have a great day!

Marianna

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Dawson is here!!!

Thanks for praying! Dawson was born about an hour ago. Amy and Dawson are doing well. The Lord answered our prayers! From what I hear, she had a smooth labor and delivery. Praise the Lord!!!

It's Dawson's Birthday

Amy is at the hospital and will be having Dawson this afternoon, so please pray for her and Dawson. She is 37 weeks 3 days. She went to a routine check-up this morning to find that she was 6 cm dilated!?!?!? She has no suspicions that she was that far along.

Here are some prayer requests I came up with for Amy and Dawson if you would like to pray for them:

1. Amy would be at peace and her nerves would be calmed
2. Amy would be able to get an epidural for the pain (She's already 6 cm)
3. Smooth labor and delivery
4. Dawson would be completely healthy
5. Smooth recovery for Amy and lots of support and help from friends and family.

Dear Lord,

I ask you to be with Amy right now. Calm her nerves and give her a peace that only comes from you. Lord, please allow Amy to get an epidural and be in as little pain as possible. We ask that she would have a very smooth labor and delivery. May she sense Your presence and Your hand on her. Protect Amy and Dawson throughout labor and delivery and bring Dawson safely into this world.

Lord, please send Renee to the hospital ASAP to make this process as quick as possible. Please guide and direct Renee and the nurses. May the nurses take excellent care of Amy. May Amy have no complications from delivery and may Dawson be completely healthy. We know that both of them are in your hands. We commit them to you!

In Jesus Name,
Amen

These boys love a good laugh

Samuel manages to crack Vance up most of the day. Excuse the bathtub view, but I couldn't resist.


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Girl Talk

Ok. I don't spend much time recommending blogs, but this blog is worth your time. What I do now when I find a blog I like is I subscribe to receive new posts at Bloglines, so I don't waste my time checking to see if there is a new post. This is a blog that I just subscribed to, and I like what I see. If you are a Christian woman, this is something you should check out. It will encourage you as a Mom, wife, and Christian and challenge your faith and walk with the Lord! It's called Girl Talk.

Please continue to pray for Stellan







Stellan's condition has not improved, and he needs your prayers. I am praying for the Lord to heal Stellan's heart,and my heart is heavy. I look at Vance and can't help but think about sick Stellan and cry out for God to heal him. Read MckMama's blog for the most recent updates. Thanks for caring enough to pray for this precious baby boy. He is in need of a miracle!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Baby Stellan needs your prayers today

I found My Charming Kids through Confessions of a CF Husband . I have been intrigued with Stellan's story, and I have followed the blog ever since then. Today Stellan (4 months old) is in Pediatric ICU and in need of prayers. Please take the time to pray for the Lord to heal his heart and his precious body! The doctors said he wouldn't survive when he was in the womb. (To read Stellan's story go here.) He is a miracle baby, and I know that the Healer can perform another miracle today. I am praying for him, will you join me?

Stellan or MckMuffin, as his mommy calls him on her blog:

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

9 month old stats

This is my 2nd post of the day.

WARNING: This is a long post mainly for family and record keeping.

I love this photo of Jeremy and Vance at the local nautre center because Vance has a huge grin while Jeremy looks like he's scared of what Vance might do to him. It's like that around here most days because Vance is strong and is often found swinging his arms at us. Poor thing has no idea that he is hurting us. :)

Ok. We went to the doctor a week early for Vance's 9 month check-up. The office was booked for his actual birthday, so they told me to come early since he didn't need shots.

Before I give you Vance's 9 month old stats, let me say that he is probably the biggest baby we've ever seen. Oh, and I hate it when complete strangers make comments about how big he is. I guess I take it personally since I birthed him. :) I know he's healthy, but why do people feel like they have the right to make derrogatory comments about his weight. Oh well. That's something I need to get over.

Vance at 9 months old:

Height - 31 inches (above 97th percentile)
**Samuel was tall but only 29 inches at this age.
Weight- 23 lb. 5 oz. (90th percentile)
**Samuel was only 19 lb. 5 oz. at this age.
Head- HUGE (90th percentile)

We've been seeing a new doctor for a couple of months, and I just love him. He's been in practice for a long time, and he has been my answer to prayer with Vance's issues. The doctor had nothing but good things to say about Vance, so that's good. He said that Vance is now free to eat anything but citrus, tomatoes, and eggs, so I am hoping to start table food soon. I have to admit it makes me nervous and will probably happen at night when Jeremy is home (at least at first).

Now let me tell you what Vance is up to:

Food: Vance drinks 4 bottles a day (about 24 oz.). He eats cereal and 5 jars of baby food a day. He seems to like stage 2 food including pasta and chicken or turkey. He also loves puffs.

Milestones: I haven't been good about posting milestones with Vance. Sorry, Vance... Vance started sitting up from a crawling position on Monday, March 2, which was at 8 1/2 months. That same day, he started moving forward. I hesitate to say crawling since he's not proficient, but since then, he has been doing the belly crawl and the army crawl. He is on the move! I will be curious to see how long it takes him to be proficient at crawling.

Sleeping habits: Vance sleeps through the night; although illness and teeth have interfered with that a lot since we moved. He also takes two naps a day, which vary from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours. Some days he tries to nap less than 1 hour, and some of those days he won't go back to sleep... It's funny how the 2nd time around, you are less worried about it. If this had been Samuel I would have tried everything to get him back to sleep, but this time around I just let Vance try to go back to sleep on his own and don't stress when it doesn't happen. Sometimes a poopy diaper is the culprit. Oh, and Vance also surprised me on Monday, March 9 when I went into his room (when he was supposed to be napping) to find him sitting up in his crib and talking. I immediately asked Jeremy to lower his crib a notch. That boy is so tall that I felt like it was unsafe for him to be up so high. So, life is changing for us. I am now aware of things on the floor more than ever since Vance has an older brother who loves to play with coins and small toys. I'm praying for no choking incidents...

Speech: Vance is saying "mama" and "dada" a lot as well as lots of other babble.

Teeth: Vance got two bottom teeth at 7 1/2 months and according to the doctor has 2 upper teeth about to "show themselves". Maybe that explains why he was up at 4:45 AM today with no desire to go back to sleep. He is also giving me problems at nap time; some days he will talk and fuss for 1 hour before he falls asleep??? Needless to say, I am praying for him to cut those teeth soon, so that I get more sleep. After all, he just consistently slept through the night at 7 months old, so I am just getting caught up on lots of lost sleep.

Brotherly love: Lastly, Samuel and Vance are having a grand time together, and I am enjoying watching their relationship develop as Vance gets older. I just can't wait to see the fun they will have!

Discipline: So the doctor told me that now is the time to start disciplining, and then he explained what he meant by that. Vance is already getting into outlets, blinds, etc.... He said to pick Vance up and tell him "no" and then to take him into another room before playing with him. If you play with them right after you tell them not to do something, they think that they will get to play if they do that thing. I thought that was interesting. This is the first doctor to bring up discipline with me.

Likes: Vance loves the paci. He never goes to sleep without, which is something I plan to break him of soon. I am not looking forward to that! Vance enjoys all of his "baby" toys, and he also loves to bang two toys together. He enjoys the exersaucer and the jumperoo. He plays well alone; I am blessed to have him happy playing alone for a long time. This afternoon for about an hour I made cakes and did this post while he played alone. Samuel does the same, but he was at work with Daddy this afternoon. He talks to himself and seems to analyze his toys, which cracks me up. He is one determined boy too. He goes after toys across the room. :)

New Ministry

You haven't seen a post from me in awhile because on Jan. 28 Jeremy and I became a CARES Team for Apartment Life. We now live in an apartment complex and are in charge of resident events and resident care. Jeremy started a blog about the ministry- Our Apartment Life. If you want to know more, check it out.