Where We've Been

Sorry for the lack of posting!  I suck, I know!

Really though, we have been Go, Go, Go for the past few weeks and it's hard to find a moment to sit still.  I guess, that's the first sign that summer will be here before we know it.

We had a wonderful Easter.  What could be better than being surrounded by family, friends and more food than we could possibly shovel into our bellies and then chase down with wine, juice and lots of water.  While the weather wasn't too lovely the days before or after, the day of it was gorgeous.  It got a little chilly in the evening, but not too bad at all.


We hosted at our house and Dusty made his yummy turkey to match the ham and gazillion other sides we had.  I ended up filling 300 plastic eggs for Kaitlyn, Camaryn and Samantha to hunt.  Although, when you have that many eggs, even in a decent size yard, it isn't much of a hunt...  I set up the camera with the remote control so the girls could take picture after picture of themselves.  We were together and it was nice.

We started Easter on Saturday.  The Easter Bunny came on Friday night and brought Matthew's basket along with a note (reminding Kaitlyn to be good) and some magic jelly beans.  On Saturday, we visited the cemetery to take Matthew his goodies and then went out to a yummy dinner together.  It was wonderful, except for when Kaitlyn slammed her fingers in the door, but some chocolate cake cured it pretty quickly.  We went home and dyed Easter Eggs.  I learned that Kool-Aide works so much better than the dye kits and from now on, that's so what we are going to do!  After eggs, we planted our jelly beans (which, Archie came quickly behind as soon as Kaitlyn was distracted and ate all up!) to turn into lollipops the next morning.

Sunday morning, we had to hold Kaitlyn off a couple hours before we went and woke Samantha up to open her basket and hunt for Eggs.  Samantha loved her basket, and so did Kaitlyn.  They both got what they wanted and way too much more. 

We hunted for Eggs, we showered, we dressed and we cooked.

After everyone arrived, and we had chatted and finished cooking and eating, we convinced Samantha that her chocolate bunny was not a toy, but food.  I think she fell in love with the idea.

After everyone went home, and Easter was all cleaned up, it was time to start packing!  From Saturday to Thursday, we went to Alabama to visit family on Dusty's side.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of pictures :(  So, I don't have many to share.

This was a last minute trip, we actually booked our tickets 13 days before we left.  That is so not how I normally do things, but it was necessary.  Dusty's grandma has not been doing well for a while, and was doing worse.  Since she hadn't met Samantha yet and the last time we were out to visit was nearly 2 years ago, we wanted to be sure to visit and see her.  We had an amazing trip with such wonderful people and as always, it was hard to leave. 

Samantha hated the plane ride on the way out there and did better on the way back, but that was when I hated the plane more than words could express lol.  Terrible pilot, too tiny seats and a strong desire to punch someone the next time I heard the annoying "Fasten Seatbelt" sign come on quickly came over me.

Samantha also proved that she is a creature of habit and much prefers to sleep on her terms, in her bed, with her blanket and nothing can change that.  After sleeping terribly while we were there, she bounced back as soon as we got home.  :)

While we were in Alabama, Kaitlyn got an awesome call that brought her so much excitement!  We won a private, Build-A-Bear party with Victoria Justice from the Nickelodeon show Victorious.  She is over the moon excited.  She gets to invite 15 friends, they will be filming and shooting a promo while they play and have fun!  The only drawback is that it is in Glendale, but, it ends up being a positive because we will get to meet up with some awesome friends that it's been far too long since we've seen!  So, Sunday, Kaitlyn is going to party like a rock star!

Saturday, we get to March For Babies!  Woo-Hoo!!  What an exciting day this is for us every year.  It's a day we get to share our son with the world in a very special way.  It's a day we get to give thanks for the research that not only gave us time with him, but also give back for the research that gave us Samantha.  It's truly a great day.  And so far, our team has raised $10,505!!  What an accomplishment!!

17 months.

In less than a month, Samantha will be half way through her second year.  She has grown so much, each month it seems like she's closer to being a full blown kid and further and further away from being our little baby.  I know I'm slaking a little on this update, since it's been 4 days, but she likes to be on the go.  And on the go we have been!

That first paragraph, I did write on the 13th.  Obviously, I'm slacking.  HAHA.

So, let me fill you in on her.

Samantha talks.  A lot.  And a lot of people can understand her.  She repeats everything that she wants to and there are some things she'll say once and that's it.  It is as though she just wanted to prove so could say it, and that was it.   She loves to look at the pictures on the wall (and you know we have a gazillion) and say the names of the people in them.  She's started saying "CHEEEEESE" when a camera is pointed at her and she is quick to yell no at Kaitlyn when she's irritated.  She definitely communicates a lot.  And sometimes, she communicates in the form of throwing fits.  She throws herself on the ground, she screams, she tries to hit you away and on Wednesday she made the mistake of biting me until it broke through the skin.  You can easily tell if she is happy, sad, mad or anything else.

She is running everywhere.  Sometimes she falls, sometimes she doesn't.  She has finally (I don't know why I'm excited, I know how this turns out) started climbing up everything.  Typically, she falls.  She loves to dance, loves to sing songs and make faces.  She talks to her babies for nearly an hour after I put her in bed and she falls asleep.  Her favorite game is to walk in circles, over and over and over until she is so dizzy she falls.  Then, she does it again, or tries walking backwards.

If you are eating, she is your best friend.  It doesn't matter what it is, she wants a bite.  If she likes it, she's by your side until it's all the way gone.

At home, she's an amazing sleeper.  In the car, she sleeps good.  Anywhere else and there is little to no hope.  She still has constipation issues, she's been on her first plane ride, her hair is growing, she loves her sister and other kids, she hates hair bows, loves playing outside and Elmo, she walks around with her baby doll and tries to feed her, and next weekend, she'll not only walk for babies, but she'll go to LA with us to meet Victoria Justice!

She's amazing.

Matthew's Team

This year, we will walk for the fifth year in a row in honor of Matthew's memory.  We will be surrounded by families that have been affected by prematurity, infant illness and child loss.  We will walk with those that have both had miraculous endings and those that have felt the pain of saying good-bye to their baby far too soon.  In 25 days, we will walk, one step at a time to give more babies a healthy start at life.

Every year (with last year being an exception) our team, Matthew's Team, holds a fundraiser to help raise money for the March of Dimes.  The money raised goes towards research to help more babies be born full term and healthy, as well as help comfort families on the NICU roller coaster.  The goal we set for our team this year is $10,000.  That money can do a lot of good for a lot of families.  It can help prematurity become a thing of the past and infant mortality something that affects fewer and fewer families.

Saturday night, we hosted Taco Night.  It was a success.  Thanks to the AMAZING sponsors, the INSPIRING team and everyone involved we raised more than $3,500 in a single night!  Thanks as well to a special check presentation that night and our grand total for the evening exceeded $8,500!!  Amazing.  Incredible.  Inspiring.

This is not something I could have even thought about doing alone.  Starting months in advance, the planning begins.  Many of our Sunday dinners were spent putting together team shirts, organizing the generous donations from the community, sending out donation request letters, preparing tickets and finalizing decor and details.  We had some great help from family members in selling tickets and getting the word out for donation needs.  Our moms and grandma were fantastic the day of with cooking a whole lotta tacos!  Our families were much appreciated with setting up, serving food, cleaning up and helping everything run smoothly.

And look at this amazing list of sponsors:

Many people have asked why we still walk.  It won't change our story.  It won't bring Matthew back.  It won't make a difference to us.  And not only does that not matter to me personally, but it is wrong.

We started walking to do something for Matthew.  As a mother, not being able to do anything for your child is such a helpless feeling.  March for Babies was, and continues to be, a way that his name can live on.  His life can have continued meaning to more that just us.  And, it's a thank you.  Matthew had time with us because of the work the March of Dimes has done.  If he had been born a decade or two before, we may not have had any time with him at all.  We may not have had those 10 amazing weeks with a sweet little prince.

And, without the research done by the March of Dimes, we would not have Samantha. 

When I was first pregnant with her, we were told that we had a 30% chance of getting to viability and a 10% chance of getting to 38 weeks.  Turns out, I wasn't one of those women who got a positive pregnancy test and that meant a baby would be here 9 months later. 

During my first trimester, I went through repeat loss testing and it was determined that I had Factor Leiden V.  A blood clotting disorder that can cause blood clots to form and increase your risk of stroke.  It also means that you are more likely to develop blood clots during pregnancy.  Blood clots in pregnancy can even result in preterm, premature rupture of membranes.  Also known as your water breaking early in pregnancy.  Sound familiar?  The disease can be controlled and managed with baby aspirin and close monitoring in pregnancy.

Because of research done in prematurity and preterm labor, during my pregnancy with Samantha, p17 was approved by the FDA as a way to prevent preterm pregnancy.  I started my shots at 16 weeks and continued to get one a week until I was 36 weeks pregnant.

Samantha was born at 39 weeks and 3 days.  By cesarean because she refused to come out.   She was born healthy, full term, screaming and has thrived in her 16 months with us.

So far, our team is $544 away from our goal of $10,000.  I think we can do it.  I think we can make a difference.  If you want to help, or register to walk with our team (because awareness and support are just as important as donations) you can do so at: Matthew's Team!

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Lately, I find myself absolutely hating the media.  All aspects of it, but mostly, local news. 

The code of ethics for Journalists includes: The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.  Far too often, I've found the exact opposite to be true.  It seems now, instead of giving a fair and comprehensive account of events, events are told in a manner that seems to serve a purpose for the journalist or the organization they are reporting on.

I do believe the Trayvon Martin case is an excellent example of what happens when journalists are so irresponsible with what their duties are.  I also believe it is a great lesson to the American people that just because someone on TV says it to be true, does not make it so.


When I first read the story about the racist white, over-zealous neighborhood watchman in Florida shot an innocent black teenager over a pack of skittles, my heart not only went out to his parents, but I wanted to know what I could do to show support over the obvious race crimes.  Even as I relayed the story to Dusty in the car, I couldn't help but question what really happened.


According to how the story was depicted, an innocent kid was walking in a gated residential area, wearing a hoodie and carrying some skittles and Iced Tea.  A racist, neighborhood watchman followed him through the neighborhood.  He was then unprovoked and shot him while saying racial slurs to the dying young man.


To me, that just doesn't make sense.  Zimmerman was 28 years old.  If he was a racist to the extent that he would shoot a teenage boy just for walking through his neighborhood, wouldn't he have had some history of racist actions in his past?  Would he have been arrested immediately?  Why would the police want to cover up any wrong doing?  Is it realistic to assume that in Florida, police do not care if black teenagers are shot and killed?


Rallies held all over the country demanded that Zimmerman be arrested and tried for murder.  Why were the rallies not instead for a more detailed investigation? 


Within the last week, more evidence has surfaced and more case updates have occurred.  Of course, they aren't being reported with the same enthusiasm as the racist white guy story was.


We've learned there were witnesses.  Witnesses saw Zimmerman getting into his car and Martin attack him from behind.  Punching him and breaking his nose.  He then got on top of Zimmerman and repeatedly banged his head into the ground.  While witnesses watched.  Why did no one attempt to help Zimmerman?  Then, there were cries for help.  Some argue it was Zimmerman and some say Martin.  I do not see how voice experts haven't figured out which one it actually was yet.   Martin attempted to get Zimmerman's gun from him (the gun he was legally carrying for protection), they struggled over it.  In the struggle Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.


Those are the facts so far.  I'm sure there are more details.  Some which are relevant and some which are not.


I do not think Zimmerman's race (oh by the way, now he is constantly being reported as having a white father and a Hispanic mother) or Martin's race played a role.  I do not care why Martin was suspended from school, and I do not think it plays a role either.  I do not believe that this is a matter for the stand your ground law.


I do think it is unfortunate that a young man died.  I do think that his parents want someone to blame, someone to hold responsible.  I do think that both parties could have handled the situation so much better.  I do know that I wasn't there.  


I feel for both families.  I am sure that Zimmerman wishes the whole night played out differently, and not because a country wants him in the electric chair.


I worry about what creating witch hunts in today's society with how easy it is to spread information will do for our future.  I do worry about what our country will turn into when "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" is thrown out the window so that the media can sensationalize a story.  I also worry about what effects this will have on throwing around the word racist.


It's bad enough that those who do not support Obama are automatically called racist, as though if your beliefs differ from his you are automatically disagreeing only because he is black and not because you are anti-socialism.  


I wonder now, if I report a suspicious vehicle (such as the white van in our area that was suspected of attempting to snatch children) and the drivers are black, I will be labeled a racist because my mother is white and my dad is Portuguese?  


Gosh, I really wish there was more integrity in journalism. 

Samantha- 16 months old

This little princess is 16 months old.  She's growing like CRAZY. 

Maybe not as much physically, but watching her brain develop has been so much fun.

Physically, she's up to 23.8 lbs and I don't think she's gotten any taller.  Her head is still gigantic!

Samantha knows the majority of her body parts: eye, nose, cheek, chin, hair, head, belly button, eyebrow, ear, feet, toes, hands.

(Isn't that an adorable diaper??  It's the Bum Genius lovelace diaper and took me forever to find, but so worth it!)

She is SUCH a ham and will do just about anything for a laugh!  She loves to dance and "shake, shake, shake" and begs for "MoMo" (Elmo), and LOVES playing with Kaitlyn. 

She says Hi to everyone she sees and will continue to do it until you say it back.  She says "Byeee" and waves feverishly when she's ready to go somewhere.  She's learned to mimic just about everything we do, taking sister's temperature, opening doors (I know we're in trouble!) and loves to sit outside.

Samantha gets so excited when Dusty gets home from work and begs for him to hold her and share food with her, then an hour later is ready to slap him in the mouth if he tries to eat her food.

Samantha loves baths, wants to play in the toilet and loves playing dress-up.

To think we're already 1/4 into her second year completely amazes me.  I cannot imagine life before her.

Our weekend at home

This week, we've been to the doctor three times. Samantha's follow up on Monday, the ER on Tuesday and what should have been Kaitlyn's physical on Friday.

Friday started with me taking Kaitlyn to school and then making a mad dash to the DMV to make it to my appointment to renew my license (long story), only to find out that all systems were down. To kill time, I went into work. I returned back to the DMV, quickly passed my test while Samantha screamed and called Dusty to brag about my perfect score only to find out that he was on his way to pick up Kaitlyn from school. She was sick.

I met with Dusty and got Kaitlyn and went straight to her appointment. Her fever climed to 103.8 and had a nasty sore throat. He did the strep culture and home we went. When Dusty got home, I went and bought a new thermometer, the one you swipe over the forehead and I love it!! Both girls LOVE it.

Since the fever has remained all weekend with Kaitlyn and been on and off with Samantha, we stayed home. No parades for us :(. I went at lunch time and got the girls some shamrock shakes to celebrate, but mostly it was all about resting. Just like last weekend when Kaitlyn had a stomach virus.

To keep from going stir crazy, I went to work on the yards and yards of fabric I've been collecting and turning some ideas into reality.

It gave me a nice pile of new clothes for 2 special girls.  Of course, considering that their closets and drawers are stuffed to capacity, I don't know where to put them...

I've decided, Samantha's go to outfits this summer are going to be pinafores.  Could there be anything more perfect for showing off all our adorable cloth diapers (which I am hoping we'll be out of my next summer!!), be super cool in hot weather, and so versatile!

I made 2 so far, one with ruffles and a matching diaper cover and one without.  I have 3 other fabrics I want to get coordinating material for to make more.  I love that they only take 45 minutes (without ruffles, 1.5 hours with, including the diaper cover) and 5/8 yard of each fabric (for the size 2T, add another half yard for ruffles and diaper cover).

I made each of the girls simple skirts with hot pink pockets to match one I made their cousin for Valentine's day.  Kaitlyn LOVES this material.  I do too, I wish I would have bought more.

I turned 2 tank tops and some seersucker into fun (and easy) dresses for them.  My only regret is that I didn't properly center the back of Kaitlyn's (which I may fix, though I think I'm the only one that would notice) and on Samantha's, I was too impatient to look for white thread on the elastic.  Thanks pinterest for the inspiration!

And lastly, my most proud piece.  This one also took the longest at about 2 hours.  I didn't have a pattern, I didn't have a tutorial and it's the first time I did a button hole on my machine.  I totally winged this one.  I'm debating if I want to add a nice wide sash out of the gray.

Sorry the pics aren't all that great, I'll probably replace them later with ones off of a real camera.

How did you spend your weekend?

Samantha's First ER Visit

And I have a feeling, it won't be the daredevil's last.

Samantha is STILL going through her "banging head on everything in sight" stage.  We discussed it with her doctor as recently as Monday at her follow up appointment (more on that, turning 16 months and life in general soon) and decided it was mostly likely just a phase.

On Tuesdays, we have dinner at the In Laws.  When we were getting ready to leave last night, I noticed a new wound next to the forehead bruises she had from banging her head on the table earlier that afternoon.  This time it was on her eye.  Little one decided to hit her head repeatedly on a table in the playroom and must have missed her forehead and got her eye instead.

A small welt on her eyebrow wasn't too concerning, but the bright red spot on her eyeball next to her Iris was.  A google search led to a call to the advice nurse who urged us to take her in to rule out a serious eye injury because of her age.

Dusty stayed home with Kaitlyn (who was in bed) and I took the sleeping toddler out to the ER.  The first one I went to had people laying on the floors, a 4 hour wait and was plain gross.  I walked in, turned around and walked out.  Telling myself driving another 25 minutes was well worth it.

And it was.  She slept through me taking her out of the car, again.  Slept through walking through the rain.  Slept through the band being put on her ankle and slept until I laid her on the scale.  23.8 lbs.  (Woo Hoo for weight gain!).  She was silent as a mouse when the doctor shone the bright light in her eye and asked a gazillion questions about her phase (he thinks it might be more of a sensory issue than a phase and suggested we watch it and report it at her 18 month appointment if it's still going on) and diagnosed her with head trauma and a subconjunctival hemmorhage.  He assured me that it was relatively normal and the head trauma that led to the injury was far worse than her bloody eye.  And, her eye may be bloody looking for a couple weeks, worsening before it gets better.

The doctor was amazing, thorough, compassionate AND had us out of there in 15 minutes, warning us to never go to the first ER again.  

Hopefully she'll learn a lesson and stop banging her head on stuff.  Then again, she was still doing it this morning so who knows!