Moving Up The Scale

The good news is, Laura is gaining more weight!!! YAY!!! She's up to 11 pounds 4 ounces and her pediatrician was so pleased with the progress Laura is making on the scale and developmentally. We are so thankful for this positive answer to prayer!!

Here's Laura on the way back to Riley for her MRI on Thursday. Her cheerfulness sure is a special treat during these hard days.

All ready to be put under. It was recovery that wasn't so easy. But we had a good nurse, and time to wait it out, and she's been fine ever since.

We're still battling terrible colds, but we've been able to get a bit more sleep since mid-week and that is making a huge difference!

The older kids ended soccer season today and it will be nice to have Saturdays free. Colder weather is here, but there's still plenty of sunshine.

The Last Days of Fall

The cooler weather is headed our way and I think we're about to say goodbye to the beautiful October days of autumn.

It's taken me weeks to upload these photos we took over at Eagle Creek. It was such a gorgeous day for a walk and we all needed some stress relief.

The stairstep children sitting on a log:

Me with the babies:

A very dark picture of Michael and me:
Something fun to play on:
Andrew is all about sketching and drawing right now. Following in his grandmother and great-grandmother's footsteps.

Rounding a bend, we saw Mr. & Mrs. Mallard out for an evening stroll.

The rose hips were beautiful.

Gorgeous colors! Orange and blue are complementary colors so it is no wonder that an October sky looks so beautiful against the orange trees.

Walking through the woods:

Such beauty!
Fallen leaves:
Today is the last day of homeschool group. The kids are already there and Michael and I are waiting to take Laura in for her MRI. This will let us know if there is anything going on under her nose where the tiny hole is or if there is something wrong with her brain.

Laura's been suffering from a terrible cold this week which makes it difficult for her to sleep at night and causes her to gag her food. We are all praying it will be over soon. This week has been amazing for difficulties (some not mentioned here). I think I'm ready to cry "uncle". However, Michael kindly took over some feeds last night so I was able to get a couple hours of sleep.

It Runs in the Family

I recently came across this sweet picture of me feeding my sister Christina.

I haven't had time to take a matching pose picture, but what I couldn't believe was the matching hairstyle (on the baby)!!! Crazy hair runs in the family. It's the long on top and short on the sides that we're talking about and the picture below isn't really the best demonstration. Oh well.

While Christina's hair may have been crazy as an infant, it grew into the beautiful brown/chestnut color it is today. So, here's hoping Laura continues along the same pattern!!!

Putting on the Chub

Guess what?!!!!! Michael just called with the good news that Laura is 10 pounds 11 ounces!!!! I can hardly believe it!! That means she should more than reach her goal before surgery!!!!!

Another item for prayer -- we all have bad colds and Laura seems to have a cough as well. Not good, and not helpful when she is feeding.

Laura at Five Months

Laura turned five months at the end of September. Those of you on facebook have already seen these, but I need to post them here for the record.

How thankful we are for a happy baby. It does make a huge difference.

From experience, I know how precious it is to have a little baby sister.

Maybe the six month pictures will show chubbier cheeks. :)

That one tooth has been joined by a second in the last week.

All ready for church. Laura is blessed to have a cousin who is just 6 months older and doesn't mind passing down clothes.

Crazy hair -- but guess what? That runs in the family -- can't wait to show you the matching picture.
Fingers are so good.

Rachel wore this outfit (a gift from Aunt Marcia) when she was little.

We love to see her smile.

Not so sure......

As someone mentioned, this is a little like having a newborn again. The doctors are hoping she'll gain 10 ounces before surgery Nov. 8th. There is no talk of changing the surgery date. Maybe she'll gain more!

Laura takes pumped breastmilk (fortified with formula) through her tube. She nurses while that happens to keep her from forgetting how to eat. We're also supposed to keep giving her solids so she doesn't forget that either. But time goes so fast, and her little tummy is always uncomfortably full that we haven't managed that yet.

Laura's New Look

Here's where Laura stayed for the week:

Boy are we glad to be home though!!! We're getting used to our new schedule which involves feeds beginning at 6 a.m., every three hours, until midnight. Just a little bit tiring.

Here she is with her new look:

And here's Laura charming everyone in the radiology department. They did a test to make sure she was properly swallowing milk. Fortunately, she was just fine.

Back home and ready to "eat":

Here's what it looks like.

And now it's time to go start a feed and then get some rest before midnight.

She's GAINED

Laura weighed in at almost 10 pounds 3 ounces this morning which is a gain of nearly 3 ounces, and is the heaviest she's been yet!!! YAY!!!! Thank you Lord!

Hopefully we're going home in the next 2 hours.