Catherine's First Birthday!!!

I am a little late with this post, but I wanted to make sure it was on here!!  We celebrated Catherine's first birthday in Lakeland, FL this year with Cathy, Warner, and Grammy.  We made yellow cupcakes with caramel frosting for the kiddos, while the adults enjoyed cake.  Catherine was very reluctant with her cupcake, and after trying it, did not like it at all.  She did like all of her presents and had a great first birthday celebrating with some wonderful family and friends!!  Happy 1st Birthday Miss Catherine, we love you!!

Fun Filled Saturday

On Saturday, we had breakfast with Santa at Chaney's Dairy Barn, an event we look forward to every year.  After breakfast we headed down to Opry Mills.  Chloe climbed the rock wall all by herself.  She was nervous at all, but Mommy's hands were sweating just watching her.  Afterwards, we met the Bledsoes and we went to look at some Christmas lights and then went out to eat.  What a great day!!

Ms. Phyllis' Christmas Party

Last Thursday, Ms. Phyllis' class had their Christmas party at FCA.  The children had a wonderful time eating lots of sugar, having a snowball fight, making a Santa beard with Vaseline and cotton balls, and playing pin the nose on the reindeer.  Chloe received a Hello Kitty car during the gift exchange.  Catherine was a "hit" during the party as well.

WPW Sydnrome

Who has ever heard of WPW syndrome.... Well, we had not either until our recent trip to Disney World. We were staying at Cathy and Warner's house before our apartment was ready. On Saturday morning as Chloe was eating her breakfast, she complained of being dizzy and sick to her stomach. She told us that her heart was beating too fast. After feeling of her chest, we were very shocked to find that we could not even get a pulse. It felt like her chest was vibrating. Stephen took her to the Urgent Care in Lakeland, FL were they did an EKG and diagnosed her with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. WPW is caused by the presence of an abnormal (congenital) accessory electrical pathway between the atria and ventricles. Electrical signals travelling down this abnormal pathway stimulate the ventricles to contract prematurely, resulting in a type of tachycardia (irregular heart beat). This condition is treatable with medication and fixable with surgery. We were sent to a cardiologist in Florida who prescribed Atenelol to Chloe. Atenelol is a beta blocker that also slows down the heartrate. We have been referred to a cardiologist from Kosair who has referred us to an electrophysiologist (EP). The EP will consult with us about a procedure called an ablation that he will perform that will "zap" the abnormal pathway and Chloe would never have to deal with this problem again. However, Chloe has to weigh at least 40 pounds before the procedure can be done. She is at a whopping 35 pounds right now. Stephen and I have the choice of keeping her on the medication or having the EP doctor perform the procedure. Please pray that God leads us to the right doctors and gives us guidance in making all of the right decisions for our precious child.

Chloe Turns 5!!

It has so hard to believe that 5 years have gone by!! Chloe is such a blessing in our lives.  She is now in preschool and goes every day for a half day.  She loves school and is learning many new things, including all of the presidents.  Chloe is now writing and she loves to read.  Chloe loves her sister and wants to play with her all of the time.  Chloe weighs 35 pounds.  We are so thankful that God chose us to be Chloe's parents!! We love you Chloe bug!! Chloe celebrated her 5 years at Chucky Cheese this year. We had a great time!!

12 Months!!

Ms. Catherine turned one on November 29th, it is so hard to believe that another year has passed. She continues to do more new things each day. She is standing independently, but scared to take that first step by herself. She loves to eat and will eat almost anything. The only time she ever cries is when she is hungry. Catherine likes to be held and often cries when we leave the room. She takes two naps a day and goes to sleep by herself. She has transitioned from the bottle to a sippy cup and is now drinking whole milk!! The transition was fairly easy for her. Happy first birthday to my wonderful daughter, I look forward to spending many more years with you!!

Letter to Santa

Chloe wrote her first letter to Santa all by herself!!

11 Months!!

Catherine is 11 months!! It is hard to believe that one year ago I was lying in my bed for seven long weeks.  Boy, was it worth it!!  Catherine is saying several words such as "thank you" "uh oh" "da da" "ma ma" and "sissy" (well, what sounds like it anyway).  She is using the signs for "more" and "all done".  She walks with her walker, but is not interested in attempting to do it on her own or walking with her hands held.  Catherine is drinking from a sippy cup and is beginning to eat table food.  Her favorite food is puffs, she loves these things!!  She also continues to eat homemade baby food.  Squash, zucchini, apples and pears are her favorite.  She also likes to eat bananas and yogurt.  Some days is seems like we cannot fill her up.  She has had several recurrent ear infections in the last month.  Catherine has 5 teeth.  We are so proud of our sweet baby girl!!

Mrs. Phyllis' Halloween Party at FCA