fifteen months

this year needs to slow down already!  how is this possible that i have a fifteen month old!?  keller grace, how we love you so!

• keller weighs 21lbs 10 oz and 30.5 inches long

• she is now wearing size 3 diapers and 12 month clothes

• kg is walking and running all over the place!

• keller started daycare this month.  she loves her new friends and teachers!

• keller only has a four teeth that have busted through.  two on the top, two on bottom.

• she loves to take toys out of a basket, and put them all away again (yah!)

• she still has a paci when she sleeps...

• kg knows the animal sounds for dog, cow, duck, fish (or rather fishy face), horse, monkey, bird, elephant

• keller has been prescribed ursodiol to help her liver functions

• she LOVES to snuggle and blow kisses

• her vocab is expanding and she can say hiiii, bye, mama, dadda, please ("peeeeese"), uh-oh, more, no, sissy ("sssseeeee"), ball, thank you ("ain uuuu") and many more!

The BIG 30!

This week has been wonderful!  I have felt spoiled and loved and stressed and overwhelmed!  But so thankful.  Last Saturday night, my hubby threw me a 30th birthday party at our new restaurant (more on that later).  We had such an amazing time!  I was surrounded by many people who I love dearly and couldn't have asked for a better night.  We enjoyed amazing food and drinks...and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!  Such a fun night!

Tuesday was my official birthday and the spoiling continued by many of my co-workers.  My former boss (retired last month) brought me a pack of Mt. Dew (he knows me very well).  And my new boss (who I am just absolutely loving working with) had flowers waiting for me when I walked in to work that morning.  Cupcakes, coffee, and cards were given by many...and I'm just so grateful to work in a place with such great people!

Here's to thirty and for the many more blessings that are to come!

Omaha zoo!

We spent most of our day at the Omaha Zoo. We sure had a blast!  Erik's cousins organized a wonderful surprise birthday party for his Aunt Maxine. It was such a sweet surprise. I wish I had a picture of her expression when she walked in!  Priceless!!  So fun to see the family today!  And a beautiful day outside to wander around the zoo. 

Watching the giraffes.

Aquarium fun!

Sweet nephew, Soren.

Evie & her cousin AA.  Besties.

The cutest kid I ever did see.

Watching all the fish!

All tuckered out.

THE NEXT GENERATION.  LOVE.

First week of "school"

This week the girls started attending daycare or the first time. Evie is in the preschool room and Keller is in the pre-toddler room. The week went pretty well all things considered. It will take KG a little extra time to adjust but both girls seem to be enjoying the fun filled days!

One of the biggest adjustments for our family is our morning routine. I have had a hard time getting out the door even with the girls staying home. But now packing them up each morning is completely new. To help myself get the girls dressed and on our way I did some pre planning and got their closets organized. 

Driving to school!

A sneak peak into Keller's classroom and some of her new friends. 

iDump

Coolest new toy ever.  Thanks, Mimi!

Where we spend many of our evenings.

Shucking corn.  We love summer!

Sweet Evie girl.

Loves to "read!"

Went to "Little Mermaid, Jr." with Daddy at the Playhouse.

Grandpa!  One of Evie's favorite people!

Bath time baby!

Today was a good day

biopsy and results

Last Tuesday we took KG to children's to have a liver biopsy. We arrived bright and early and got some good play time in (for 6am).

playing with the mask before procedure

At 7am they let us take her back to the procedure room and the anesthesiologist put her under anesthesia before we left. 20 minutes later, Dr. Palomo came to our room to let us know all went well. Keller was back in my arms by 7:35 after a brief stop in recovery. She was very fussy at first, but slowly got back to her smiley self. She didn't nap for one second the entire 5 hours we stayed at children's. Needless to say, she took a great nap that afternoon and was completely normal that evening. Nothing can slow her down!

This afternoon, Dr. Palomo called us with the results from the biopsy. They ruled out autoimmune hepatitis (Praise God). In fact, they believe that her inflamed liver is simply due to alpha-1. They have prescribed a medicine called ursodial. While she does have some mild fibrosis (which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver) they say that it can be reversed given how the liver fights and regenerates. We are thankful that her liver has handled being alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient so far and pray that the damage and inflammation stops. 

Dr. Palomo will continue to see her every 4-6 months but he did say we are "far far far far away from needing a transplant consult."  We hope and pray that this is something that will never happen yet trust God's hand and direction. 

We again thank you for your prayers and support over the past year. Given that this condition is chronic we still have a journey ahead of us. **welcome to parenting :)

Love you all!

snuggling after procedure

"resting" with daddy

we loved our nurse, linda!  she took great care of KG!

going on a walk around the C.A.R.E.S unit with aunt kinsey

headed home!