On the Mend

This week Stella gave us quite a scare as she battled some respiratory issues.  She didn't feel well over the weekend and by Sunday night she was laboring to breathe some.  We thought about taking her to the ER but took her to see her pediatrician instead on Monday.  He prescribed her a steroid and albuterol treatments and asked to see her the next morning.  On Tuesday when her symptoms hadn't changed and even seemed a little worse we were frightened.  We took her to the hospital for a chest x-ray which was a bit traumatic.  Stella didn't want to cooperate so they had to strap her into a seat.  Because it was already difficult for her to breathe it was sad to see her so scared and upset.  The technicians were great though.  After a few albuterol treatments Stella began to hold the mask herself.  She doesn't seem to mind taking the medicine at all now.  We took her back to the doctor on Wednesday, and again on Friday.  She has finally started to sound better and is much more active.  We'll take her back again this Tuesday but it seems like she's on the up and up - thank god!  We knew that because of her prematurity Stella could have trouble if she caught a cold but after making it through her first winter healthy we weren't prepared for this scare.   Hopefully this will be an isolated issue and she won't have many more problems like this.

Claire is such a happy baby.  She is growing and changing so fast.  Since she has mastered rolling over she is now working on grasping and holding things.  Stella loves to play around her and as protective as we try to be Claire usually doesn't mind her big  sister at all, often times she just laughs!  We've done our best to keep Stella at a distance from Claire this past week.  So far Claire doesn't seem to be coming down with a cold so hopefully she will stay healthy this time.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and well wishes this week!

Claire's Baptism

Claire and her god parents, Katy and Joey!

This morning we were surrounded by our church family, relatives, and friends for Claire's baptism.  We all gathered for food and fellowship afterward in honor of our sweet baby.  A special thanks go out to Claire's God Parents - Katy and Joey, to Pastor Harold, the party planners at church, and everyone who provided support for our family today.  It was truly a special day!

Party Favors

Assorted Soaps





Beautiful Cake made my Claire's Aunt Mary Jane
(Many thanks!)





 The Hooley's made the trip from Ohio so being with family this weekend was lots of fun.  Stella has caught a terrible cold so she wasn't really herself but she sure does love her cousins and found a little bit of energy to play with them the best she could.

This week Claire learned how to roll over.  We simply cannot believe how fast she is growing!  This week she'll see her pediatrician for her 4-month visit.

Another Busy Weekend

Napping after the Winter Festival Parade

Since we haven't been to many of daddy's games we all went on Friday night.  It was Senior night so it was a good game to go to and we were able to sleep in a little bit longer on Saturday - not too much though because Stell-Belle had gymnastics.  Afterward we all went for a walk down the street to watch the Tri-Town Winter Carnival Parade.  It was COLD but something fun to do close by.  Today we went to Kalub's birthday party where Stella had lots of fun.  We never would have guessed Stella would have a social calendar so soon!

Stell-Belle & Claire-Bear ready for another birthday party!

Party Weekend

  We had such an eventful weekend full of lots of fun with our girls! After spending another Friday night at Grammie and Pa's Stella and Mommy went to Gymnastics Saturday morning. Then we all headed to Nick Winston's birthday party which was lots of fun. Stella got to jump around in a bounce house, watch Nick open presents (which was a good learning lesson for her), and take a swing at the pinata. Needless to say she was a tired girl by the end of the day!

Stella enjoying the bounce house!

On Sunday we headed over to the Britton's for the Super Bowl. This was an especially fun game for Daddy because he loves the NY Giants but Stella wasn't interested in celebrating any touchdowns - she was having too much fun playing with Gigi! Claire-Bear is such a happy girl and went along with our weekend plans undisturbed. It was such a treat seeing her with baby Cambria, who is just about three-months older. With any luck they will get along as well as Stella and Gianna do!

Stella and Gianna; thirsty after playing hard!

Claire and Cambria, being happy!

Snuggle time with Grammie!