Petunia and I

I feel bad because I have yet to buy much for this baby.  I've bought him just a few onesies and a nice swing on craigslist and that's about it.  I've been looking for a cute coming home outfit but have yet to find 'the one'. 

Today, however, I happened about a diaper bag that I just could not pass up.  Lately I've been pretty frugal, questioning my purchases, trying to find reasonable more wallet friendly solutions to things I would like to buy.  BUT today I just couldn't resist!

Ever since a few years back, way back before I had Alexa I had seen a mom carrying a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag and I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  It almost made we want to have another baby just so I could purchase this diaper bag.  After I got pregnant with Alexa I remembered about this little 'want' I had, however, I found another much more reasonable yet still super cute diaper bag by Timi and Leslie, so I went with it ... and I was happy.  That diaper bag is still in very good condition but very girly so I decided I can't do that to my son in public.  Which lead me to today. 

Browsing innocently at Marshall's I discovered this bag.  And all of my previous love/lust for this bag came rushing back.  I reasoned with myself that my diaper bag would soon be replacing my hand bag so it being cute and stylish was sure to bring me some joy and cheer to all the diaper changing duties I would soon be performing.  Plus at a great price - I looked on line and they are about $150 dollars I got mine for $65.  Plus mine came with the stroller attachments, which cost an extra $20.  So that's over $100 savings!   Woo hoo!  So now I'm very much looking forward to using my new bag with my new baby and fulfilling this little secret desire of mine.   Do you have a favorite diaper bag or something you give yourself permission to splurge on?    

Crusty and Pacemaker Check

This whole week has been filled with crusty eye syndrome a.k.a. conjunctivitis. Both girls have been greeting the day with their eyes glued shut.  Poor Lexi would wake up scared in the middle of night because she tried to open her eyes and couldn't.  At first I thought the pink eye was viral and not much to do about it besides warm compresses and cleaning the eyes with cotton balls and chamomile tea.  I don't like to jump on prescribing antibiotics {unless heart related and necessary of course} and would rather wait and help the body heal itself.  I went to Sprouts looking for an Eye Bright herb but was bummed because I only found it in capsule form.  As it's name implies it is very beneficial for the eye ~ making it bright and healthy.

After seeing my poor baby with swollen lids, red eyes and lot's of yellow/green discharge I came to the conclusion this looked more like a bacterial infection than a viral infection, so I finally called the doctor yesterday. They ordered her a prescription for antibiotic drops but the pharmacy called to tell me it had been delayed.  24 hours later we still have no meds.  Things looked better yesterday but they both still woke up with crusty eyes again this morning.

Yasmin missed school yesterday and is out again today because of a fever, sore throat, cough and achy ear.  After having a fever of 102.3 on Wednesday night and waking up feeling pretty crummy, as the day progressed she started feeling so much better and even wanted to go outside to ride her bike.  Oh I forgot to tell you that she now can ride her bike without training wheels!  Her daddy took her outside and she learned like in an hour ~ it was amazing!  Literally, I went to put Alexa for a nap and fell asleep with her and by the time we both woke up she was riding like a pro!   So anyway, it's weird to me that her fever creeps up at night and she as all these aches and pains she doesn't really complain about too much during the day.  I might be taking her in to the doc to get that ear checked out not sure yet {we will be playing it by ear ~ lol!} 

So this week has not been a good sleeping week - with children waking through out the night plus I've also been so uncomfortable trying to sleep already just tossing and turning from one side to the other.  And I know I will realistically not have good sleep again for at least another let's see year or two!  Wha!   

Regarding the pacemaker, Alexa had a home transmission check on Tuesday the 25th.  I forgot to send the transmission during the day and ended up doing it like at ten at night.  But it was okay because Gabe wanted to see how it was done.  Everything went through really easily.  The last time I had tried it had trouble getting a good signal.  The next day the cardiologist office called to say that, hooray, everything looked normal!   They want to see her in the office in 3 months.  That is like two weeks before my due date! I think I will be practically 'rolling' into the office that day.

It's a boy! And Fetal Echo Results

IT'S A BOY!

We found out the sex of this baby last month, at our Level II ultrasound in December.  Honestly, I had been telling my hubby all along I really thought it was a boy and would be shocked if it wasn't - so I was glad to be proved right.  And he was impressed by my motherly intuition to say the least. =)

We hadn't shared the sex with too many because we wanted a reconfirmation of that info before we announced it more publicly.  When they asked us if we wanted to know the sex back in December, we decided yes, for two main reasons.

1) Our first two kids were surprises ~ so we have already experienced the joy and anticipation of waiting.  So we figured our last two we would find out, which included Alexa and this baby. 

2) I need to figure out where I'm going to put this baby {lol ~ that sounds bad} but really I just mean we've run out of rooms/space and in order to make some space wanted to know if I should keep or move out all the baby girl clothes Alexa has grown out of.  I also need to figure out if Alexa and this baby should share a room for now or if I should move Alexa to her sister's room. Would love to hear your ideas!

So anyway, I now feel like I can {cautiously} proceed with the 'clean the room out' plan.  I had a friend who was told boy, boy boy and then ended up having a girl, hence my apprehension with this matter.  But we could clearly see all his little parts so there is not much denying the fact. We are thrilled as this means we will have two boys and two girls and our older son gets to have a brother!

However, of even greater importance is that the fetal echo cardiologist told us the baby's heart looks great!  We had our much anticipated fetal echo this morning.  I was so stressed, because Caleb was sick this morning, Yasmin missed the school bus, Alexa stayed home with Nana so there went my carpool partner, traffic was terrible and I still had to pick up hubby before my appointment.  We were late but they still thankfully took us in.  It felt much different than last time.  We were still a bit nervous but since the Level II ultrasound gave us good news we went in feeling much more optimistic and just much more educated and prepared on the matter.  I couldn't help but remember the first time I lay on that bed for my last pregnancy.  I was scared terrified about what they might find, about what that meant for the baby I already loved SO much. The appointment was long.  They were being very thorough.  They were training a new doc to do fetal echos so they were taking their time.  Either way my hubby and I were just thrilled with the results.  We are so thankful for a healthy baby boy!

After entering the CHD world and seeing much pain and loss I will never again take for granted the health of my baby's or any baby's.  The body is so wonderfully made and so complex I realize more than ever now there are many thing that can go wrong.  I just hope/pray that baby makes it safely into our arms and home.

The only other thing that remains weighing heavily in my heart is Alexa's next echo appointment, which is suppose to be done sometime in April - about a few weeks before my due date. I just pray pray pray for more good news, really just no change in her pulmonary conduit pressure would be awesome! Sigh....

But for now everyone happily anticipates the new arrival of the 'little brother'.  We are working on names!

Memory Lane 2010

Here are a few highlights from our 2010 - it was amazing! 

January
Alexa had her heart cath in preparation for her open heart surgery.

She spent two nights in the hospital. One the night after the cath and
another a few days later when her 02 levels dipped lower than usual because of the cath.  

I spent the month recovering from a torn calf muscle
and preparing emotionally for what was to come.

On a fun note we took our older kids to the production of Annie!

February 
 A very emotional month! On Feb. 23, 2010 our baby endured an

8 hour open heart surgery. Alexa recovered well but needed to be re operated 6 days

later to insert a pacemaker as she was in surgical heart block. On Wednesday, March

3rd {after 8 days} we walked {ran} out of the hospital doors -so very grateful and ready for HOME!
We are so thankful for the love and support of family and friends during this time. 

March 

Was spent mostly home and at follow-up doc appts. Alexa was completely

transformed from being easily winded to running non stop like the energizer bunny!

We could tell she felt great, better than she ever had before. It was a joy to see! We

settled into our ‘new’ new normal. Family came from out of state to visit and to take

grandma back home {after helping us out during this time}. 

April 

 Celebrated my parents 35th wedding anniversary!

Enjoyed meeting other local heart families at a Mended Little Hearts Picnic.

Attenden an Arizona Diamondback game with Caleb’s baseball team.

Caleb also won Academic Achievement Award at school!

 

 

 

May 
 Celebrated my brother and sis-in-law 10 year wedding anniversary at a

beautiful beach house in Oceanside, Ca. {that we almost burnt down having a fish fry

in the patio ~ yikes!} Also, attended District Convention and explored Sabino Canyon in

Tucson, AZ with kids.  Hiked the canyon and swam in a rare Arizona river and waterfall!

 

June 
 Went to Disneyland for the first time with Alexa in our family!

During this trip was the first and only time Alexa got sick the whole year!
Despite the illness, she was in good spirits and enjoyed Disney and the beach! 

Enjoyed this vacation with hubby’s side of the family.

Kids also took swim lessons and enjoyed lot's of swimming at Nana & Tata’s home.

July
This month we said our sad goodbye's to our beloved dog Dash.  

Alexa went to Texas to visit Grandma for the first time!

We got a new dog named Marley.

We visited {Spanish} District Convention.

August 

 This was back to school month - Yazzy started 1st grade and Caleb 3rd grade!

We were busy helping Nana and Tata move out of their home. 

Kids enjoyed, last days at Nana's pool.

We found out we would be welcoming a new baby into our family!!!!

 

September 

 Took us for a visit to Austin, Texas.  I was in love!

We had/have hopes of possibly moving there one day. 

We also visited San Antonio, Texas including the Alamo and River walk. 

Alexa turned TWO Beautiful Years Old on the 2nd!

Oh, I was already beginning to feel drained {6 weeks preggers}.

 

 

October
Finally after what seemed like many months of packing and repacking,

we finally just enjoyed being home! Alexa was potty trained this month! She did great!

Only took her a few days to get the hang of it! {proud mommy!}

I launched my new{redesigned} photography website I had been working very hard on.

My baby boy turned NINE amazing years old on the 17th! 
Can't believe I have a child that old already!

And he got named Student of the Month {again - proud momma}!

 

 

 

November
We participated in the first Phoenix, Arizona Congenital Heart Walk!

With the generous support of family and friends we raised over $500 for Team Alexa,

supporting The Children's Heart Foundation! 

I photographed this event and a few others.

Went to a nice party at my lil' sis' house and grandma came over for a nice visit.

 

 

 

December
This month we had our level II ultrasound and found out the baby looks great!  

We also found out the sex but this will be revealed in the next week or so.
We were so happy and relieved!

We headed back for a trip to Mambas {grandma’s} house in ol' El Paso Texas.
Spent nice time with hubby's family relaxing and eating.
My baby girl, Yazzy turned SEVEN wonderful years old on Dec. 28th!

{kid's crazy hair day at school -last week of school 2010}

What a year!

Our Trip to 'Mambas' House

Everyday, for about two weeks before going to grandma's house in Texas - every time we would get in the car to go anywhere Alexa would exclaim "Mambas House!!!???"  And I would very patiently have to tell her over and over, not yet baby, only 12 more days, or 8 more days, or 2 more days, and finally tomorrow ok?

And so the day finally came that we set off for our trip to Mambas House as she call's Grandma's House.  We got to spend time with my hubby's family and got to eat A LOT of good food my mother-in-law had prepared for our visit.

A couple hours into our journey to mambas house we got to delight in this glorious sunrise.

While at Mambas House we also got to enjoy a fabulous moon rise, which this picture in no way does justice to.  The moon looked like a GIGANTIC egg laying sideways on the horizon.  So awesome!

Then Alexa investigating things outside of grandma's house.  I love this little outfit.  I took it off the manikin at Old Navy! =)

 
And here is Alexa after she decided she was still hungry after dinner and picked up a cucumber from grandma's kitchen table and was chomping away!  Can't say she doesn't like to eat.

And here is poor Mamba knocked out from all her cooking!

And my other baby girl a couple days shy of seven years old seen here with her oldest cousin Trisha. 

And last an almost group picture.  I'm missing because I'm taking the pic and then a couple of nieces {cousins} are also missing.  But here is part of the group we got to spend 5 days and share one bathroom with. =)  Yes, Mambas house is small but it's warm and cozy and always filled with love. 

  It was nice visiting with family.  It was nice for me to able to relax and not have to cook. It was not nice I gained a few extra pounds, but I'm pregnant right so maybe nobody will notice. ;)