Thursday, February 26, 2009

Baby Vivian is home!!

I got a call on Monday from Jennifer and they were headed to the hospital to "room in" with Vivian before getting to bring her home on Tuesday. I scrambled to get the kids taken care of (Thanks Mere!!) and was so excited to see little Vivian. She is absolutely beautiful! If you remember from this post, she was connected to lots of machines and under the photo therapy lamp. But look at her now!! She's going home!!


Jennifer is finally getting to bond with the baby girl she has been waiting so long to hold in her arms.


What a beautiful family!


The rest of the images are HERE.


Because Vivian was still officially in the NICU, her big brothers, Davis and Tyler, weren't able to visit but they were at the house waiting to greet her. I'm going over there today for some family shots. More to come!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Cameron's 11th Birthday

We celebrated our nephew Cameron's 11th birthday on Sunday afternoon with a skating party at Skate Zone. I have to admit it was quite a weird feeling being back at a skating rink after all these years - the neon lights, loud music, and what's up with that funky feet smell?? Here are a few pics from our fun time!


At first Katelyn wasn't very sure about the idea of walking around with wheels on her feet but after seeing her cousins enjoying all the fun she decided to give it a try. Hannah was so sweet to help her and show her the ropes! They had some slip-on skates that were perfect for her. The wheels didn't roll very well allowing her to "walk" around more easily without falling down. Once she got her confidence up she had a ball! We had to tempt her with a trip for ice cream to get her to leave!!


The rest of the images are HERE!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Please pray for Baby Vivian!

Little Vivian Kathleen Brewer was born Saturday, February 14th to our sweet friends Josh and Jennifer Brewer and they need our prayers! Vivian is currently at Baptist South in NICU being treated for some respiratory problems. She has made some incredible strides just since yesterday when I was so blessed with the opportunity to get to see her for the first time. Here are some pictures from my visit and a recent update from Josh and Jennifer. They have two small boys - Davis will be 3 in May and Tyler will be 2 in July.



Hey everybody,


Wow! Thank you all for loving us all so much! We are so blessed! Just wanted to give y'all some new info on our little girl( see below for "old info"):

1. As of this afternoon, she is off the ventilator and doing great in the breathing department. Woot!

2. So far, all cultures and blood tests are not showing the infection spreading to the bloodstream or into the meninges (spinal fluid). Woo- hoo!

3. She is no longer on blood pressure medicine. Yesssssss!

4.She has really funky looking hair 'cause they haven't given her a bath yet. Booooooo

5. She still has a little fluid in her lungs. Yuck-o!........but not as much as before

6. She has really awesome doctors and nurses who all really like their jobs AND think she's adorable!

7.......but she'll still be on antibiotics at least till the weekend....that means at the hospital...boo


Now, here's the old info for you who missed the first time around:

Vivian was born(quickly) Saturday morning at 9:10. No complications. Beautiful! Nurses noticed her breathing was a little labored, gave her a little extra oxygen in the nursery, and a few hours later, her pediatrician said he thought she had just some extra fluid left in her chest, but asked the neonatologists to check her out. They did, and wanted to help her breathing by putting her on CPAP......at Baptist South. Bummer! She got to ride in "ANGEL ONE" a really cool transport truck while she freaked out and basically said " I don't like this cpap thing!", so they put her on the ventilator instead. AND blood pressure meds, AND sedatives. The doctors also decided that based on her symptoms, she was fighting some sort of infection that was causing something looking like pneumonia. She was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics Saturday afternoon. She has steadily improved, breathing on less oxygen, more on her own, gotten off the bp meds, off the sedatives, and only is taking the antibiotics, and recently, added photo therapy to her regimen(for a little jaundice) and should be off the lights by tomorrow.

Everyone working with her is extremely impressed and encouraged by her progress, and we are really proud of her. Davis is still getting better at saying her name ( O-livian!) and Tyler has no clue and is fine with it.

We really want our baby girl to be home NOW, but realize she's got a little left to do before that. Not an easy situation. Familiar, but not easy. We all feel very loved right now. You guys are wonderful. We appreciate all the prayers.

I will try to send another one of these later.

Thanks, people

Josh and Jenn

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Happy 1st Birthday Baylor!

On Sunday Katelyn and I attended Baylor's 1st birthday party at Aunt Kaye's house. Bart and Owen stayed home since both of them were feeling a little under the weather. The party was great fun and Baylor seemed to love every minute of it! Here are a few shots from the day.


Happy Birthday sweet girl!! The rest of the images are HERE.

I ♥ FACES

This week's topic over at I♥Faces is "wonder". Since these images are more photography related then family, I decided to move these weekly posts to my photography blog - www.lorimercerphotography.blogspot.com. Follow me there if you would like to see more!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Progress Report



I forgot to blog about this several days ago but Katelyn just recently got her very first progress report! We are so proud of her! Here is a copy of her report since I had to sign it and return to her teacher. Looks like she's only got just a few items to work on for this year.

Mastering buttons - she still has trouble with snaps on her jeans
Months of the year
Counting to 30 - it gets a little sketchy after 15
Diamond shape - guess I need to step it up in teaching her that this is a girl's best friend!




Way to go KK! Keep up the good work!

My Valentine

Since the kids had a few sniffles and coughs I stayed home with them instead of going to work at the florist. I hope they are better today so we they can go to Baylor's 1st birthday party! Close to lunch there was a knock on the door and it was a delivery from my sweet husband! My absolute favorite - yellow roses!!


Katelyn got lots of goodies too! It was her first bouquet of roses! She was very excited!


Owen got the sweetest little bear just his size. I think he loved the balloons the best of all. He held on to his balloons for most of the day!


Thank you honey for all our treats!! Sorry...we spent most of the day in our PJs so no photos of us!! :)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!


Hope you have a wonderful day of love! I'll be spending the day nursing my two sick children. I knew we couldn't avoid the inevitable forever! It sounds like mostly cough and cold so maybe they can get over it quickly. Have a great day!

Spaghetti Night

There is nothing quite like a child's first encounter with spaghetti. It is almost like a rite of passage and it was Owen's time. As much as I try to keep him out of messes, spaghetti night is a time to just let it all go and have some fun. That is just what he did! He absolutely loved it!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Little Bug

I mentioned in Owen's 9 month update that when you put him on his back he just kicks and kicks much like a bug on its back. Here's a quick sample to show you exactly what I mean. It's almost like it is instinctual because he does it just about every time. It's pretty funny!! Eventually he'll roll over and scoot away.

Grandparents Day

Wednesday was Grandparents Day at Katelyn's school. Pop and Gigi were available to join her for a pancake breakfast, a tour of her classroom, and a short presentation. Katelyn loved every minute of it! She was so excited to have them there with her! Here are a few images from the day.


Each of the kids got their picture made with their grandparent(s) that the school printed out for a keepsake. I was excited to get to be one of the photographers. :)


Since Nana and Poppy were unable to be there here I made a quick video of the highlights of the program. Mrs. Bamberg interviewed each of Katelyn's classmates asking them about their grandparents. Surprisingly Katelyn was a little shy.


They ended the program with a couple of songs and a bible verse.


Thank you so much for coming Pop and Gigi!! The rest of the images are HERE.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Family Fun

Sunday was such a gorgeous day that I just couldn't let it pass without getting outdoors with the family. Bart graciously agreed and we all went to the zoo for the afternoon. We all had a wonderful time walking through the park. Katelyn was our "tour guide" holding the map and making sure we didn't miss any of the animals. She has been there so many times she knew exactly where to go and wasn't going to let Mommy or Daddy bypass anything! :)

Monday, February 9, 2009

I ♥ FACES - Silly

This week's I ♥ Faces theme is "Silly". This is most recent image that came to mind. They look possessed don't they? I couldn't help but leave the "red eyes" too!




Wanna join in the fun? Check out www.iheartfaces.com!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

A Beautiful Day for Birthdays

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day! We spent the morning between two birthday parties and had lots of fun together. First up was Little Miss Ella, one of Katelyn's classmates, who had a Build-A-Bear Workshop party at Eastdale Mall. All I hear about from Katelyn is what fun she has at school with Ella and Courtney (she is the one in the pink in the top left photo below). I'm so glad we were able to make it to Ella's party! Katelyn had a blast making her new friend Sadie the monkey. A Saturday morning at Build-A-Bear is a wild and crazy place!


The rest of the images are HERE.

Next we bolted over to Caroline's house for her 4th birthday party. We got there at the tail end as everyone was leaving but we stayed a few minutes and it was nice for Katelyn to get some one-on-one time with Caroline. She had a great time decorating her own cupcake and jumping in the bouncy house. Happy Birthday Caroline!

Little Diva


I got a new white background that I was playing around with the other day. Katelyn graciously agreed to be my little model. When I was looking through the images this one stood out to me as totally priceless. I just love how this shot perfectly captures her personality! This is so Katelyn - a little rough around the edges with a hint of pink princess!

Fun Carousel Ride

On Tuesday after Kindermusik we met up with Meredith, Will, and Anna Kathryn for an impromptu lunch at the mall. Katelyn and Will had a grand time riding the carousel together.

Nine Month Well Checkup

On Tuesday we went for his 9 month checkup at Dr. Wood's office. WooHoo! We made it from 6 months to 9 months without a sick visit - and even through the Christmas holidays! I was so excited! Now I know after I put that out there we'll probably all be sick tomorrow but I'm just so excited at how far he has come. I just pray we can make it through the rest of the winter season with no major sicknesses in our house. Stay away germs! :) Dr. Wood said he was looking wonderful. Looks like we hit another growth spurt - he has gained a little over a pound in weight and an inch in length in just the past month. He is currently in the 50-75% for weight (20 lbs 10 oz) and 90-100% for height (30 1/2 inches). A quick look back at Katelyn's stats at 9 month - she was 19 lbs and 29 1/2 inches. They are both at the same percentiles at the same age. I hope they can maintain this "tall and skinny" track for life! Dr. Wood said she saw no need for additional physical therapy. He can have more soft solid foods now including eggs and orange juice and can start some whole milk around 11 months. She was surprised that he was eating the Stage 3 baby foods as well as he is. I told her so far he was not picky and I'm so thankful for that! No shots for this visit and so Owen and Mommy left very happy! :)

Check out his growth when compared on the table!!

Nine Months

Whoa! Nine months, already? You gotta be kidding me right? My boy is growing up so incredibly fast. Owen turned 9 months on Monday. He has definitely come alive these days. He LOVES his big sister and watches her constantly. I have a feeling we are in for a rough time when these two get together! He has already learned how to scream to get our attention or his way (just like his sister!). He loves to EAT and has yet to turn down anything I've offered him. He can now hold his own bottle and actually prefers that you just give it to him on the floor as opposed to being held. Bath time is I think his absolute favorite. He could play for hours in the water. He is going to love the pool this summer. His latest sound/word is "UH-OH" and while he is still perfecting it you can definitely make it out. Still no "MA MA" yet but I'm not rushing it as I'm sure I'll hear plenty of that in the years to come! :) He is starting to use a sippy cup just a little and actually has taken quite an interest in it. Every now and then he will try to get up on his hands and knees to crawl but prefers the tummy combat crawl when he is after something. If you lay him down on the floor on his back he is constantly moving his arms and legs like a bug on its back. It's pretty funny (maybe I need to video that sometime!) :) He HATES to be left in a room by himself. Even if you just walk to another room and come right back he immediately goes to hollering. The second you walk back in the room he starts to laugh! He is an awesome sleeper (Thank you God!!) and definitely outsleeps his sister which I was worried about since they share a room. Owen usually goes down about 8:30 or so and will sleep most mornings until at least 7am but probably later if we didn't have to get out to be somewhere everyday. He still takes two naps but usually has to fight to get them since we are on the run so much. Luckily he sleeps very well in the car seat! :) His hair is growing like crazy and it won't be long before it is time to go see "Ms Pat". The monthly pictures are starting to get increasingly harder as it is difficult for him to be still anymore. He has started wrinkling his nose up when he smiles and it is just too cute!

Here's a look back over the past eight months:

Friday, February 6, 2009

Poppy & Gigi

Here are the interview sheets from Poppy & Gigi. Katelyn had to do these for Grandparent's Day at her school next week.

Weekend with Nana & Pop

This past weekend Owen and Katelyn went to stay with Nana and Pop for a much needed "mommy break". They had such a wonderful time! Owen even blessed them with one of his infamous "blowouts" that Nana said was a "four-hander" requiring all hands on deck! It took Nana, Pop, and even a little assistance from Katelyn to clean up the mess. Needless to say Owen ended up in the bathtub for a good hosing down. Of course Owen just laughed through it all! :)

When I got there to pick them up on Sunday morning this is what I found. Yes, I know you are probably going to kill me Mom for posting this but I just thought it was too cute!


Owen started to finally get up on his hands and knees and tried out a little crawling. He didn't take but just a few steps until he decided he could get there much quicker using the combat crawl on his belly! Of course I had to have him show off a little for the camera!





Before we left I had to get a few pictures of Katelyn with Nana & Pop for Grandparent's Day at school next week. They had to also fill out an interview of questions. What a neat keepsake this will be for her scrapbook!


Thank you Nana & Pop for loving on the kids this weekend and giving me a much needed break! We love you!!

The rest of the images are HERE.

It was a beautiful day!

After Kindermusik last Tuesday (yes, I'm slowly trying to catch up!) the kids and I stopped by Vaughn Park for a little while to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous weather we were having. It was sunny and upper 60s - uncommonly warm for this time of year! It really made me look forward to Spring. The kids had a great time. I caught Owen chilling with his bottle and his foot propped up on his stroller tray. It was too cute! Katelyn ran all over the place trying to take it all in. Mission accomplished - they had a wonderful time AND took a great nap that afternoon! :)



As I was working on these I could help feel a little "deja vu". I looked back through Katelyn's pictures and sure enough we were at the same park almost exactly three years prior! Weird, huh?? I remember it was much colder that day! Here is a collage from that fun day too. I even found the old blog post. :)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Window to the Soul

"They" say (my husband hates it I say "they say" always asking me "who is they?"...anyhow, i digress) that the eyes are a window to the soul. Check out these beauties! No wonder Owen and Katelyn are so bad because who couldn't just give them anything they wanted when you see a face like this?!? They were playing and having a grand 'ole time in the bathtub recently and I just happened to grab a few shots. Turned out these are probably some of my absolute favorites so far!

I couldn't help but be inspired by a shot I saw from Suzanne about a year ago (which I can't seem to find now or I would link to it) of her daughter Ella in the bathtub and decided to try a similar treatment on this image of Owen. I entered this image in our local camera club online camera club competition recently and it won FIRST PLACE! Yeah! I was very excited! It was titled "Nana Strikes Again!". :)

Monday, February 2, 2009

I ♥ FACES contest

Taking a break from my regular posting for a moment to enter my cutie pie in a fun online contest over at the I ♥ Faces Blog . This week's contest is "The Eyes Have It" and I couldn't help think of this recent picture of Owen just taken last week. I'll do a separate post about it later but for now I'm going to share it with you here. He is 9 months old today!!



Want to join in the fun? Go to www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com!