Monday, April 27, 2009

Bout time!

Okay, this post is long overdue. But in my defense, there has been a lot going on! I'm trying to get moved out of my house in Orem. I've moved in with my friends Colleen and Najee temporarily. Hopefully this will allow me to be able to save up the necessary amount of money to get moved up to Bountiful once school is out. Between working, spending time with Ben and driving up to spend time with Elaina, I've just been too tired to post. Besides, I wanted to share some pictures, and this way I get to post LOTS of them!!! Anyway, we had a wonderful Easter. Ben was sick, so I didn't take him up to see Elaina. I celebrated Easter with her on Saturday and then came home in time to color eggs with Ben and spent Easter day with him. It was very nice.

Elaina has been doing great! She is such a happy girl! She's just full of smiles, and I even get small giggles from her if I tickle her just right! We've started letting her sit up in a high chair for a little bit each day. She likes to lean to the right, so she gets a toy or something soft by her side to help her sit up straight. Friday was the first day, and she only lasted about 1/2 hour before she started to cry and wanted out. The nurses put her back to bed and she fell asleep in minutes. Sitting up is really hard work! Saturday she lasted an hour, but she only made it 45 minutes both Sunday and today. I don't have any pictures of her in the chair yet, they always put her in when I'm not there, but hopefully I'll be able to get a picture some time this week. I took Ben with me on Sunday and it was a great visit. We put Nemo on and they watched it together. Elaina smiled and "talked" (or rather grunted!) through the whole movie. It really is her favorite, she gets so excited at certain parts, she'll kick her legs and then extend them out straight and reach for the tv. It was fun to see both of my kids interacting together. They love each other so much! I had Elaina on my lap and Ben reached over to give her a hug. As he was hugging her, she leaned in and gave him a big wet baby kiss right on the cheek! I think it made his afternoon! Then, as we were getting ready to leave, I put her back in her crib. She rolled to her side, grabbed one of the bars on the crib railing and rolled herself onto her tummy. She just looked at me, like "and what do I do now?", so I rolled her onto her back, and she immediately rolled towards us again. Ben decided that meant that she didn't want us to leave, and I'd have to agree. It's SO hard to leave her! I'm still excited at the prospect of bringing her home soon. She's doing well, and hopefully it will continue!

Well, it's getting late, and my computer takes forever to upload photos, so I will leave you with these! This is what we've been up to!

My pretty little Easter girl!



Sitting with assistance! She looks so pink in this one... :)




Pulling her sock off. They can't put her pulse ox on that foot because she'll pull it off. She actually managed to get her toes in her mouth while I was holding her on Sunday. She seemed very proud of herself when she did it too!




This is my sweet Aunt Janet. She's my Dad's oldest sister. Elaina and I were thrilled that she came to visit!


She's got the "touch". She had Elaina asleep within a few minutes. Elaina just loved being rocked by her!


How sweet, Elaina is just holding onto Janet's hand. It was a wonderful visit!
(Thanks for bringing her Marney! I should have taken some pictures with you too!)



The aides were running behind schedule this day! I got there and she was still in her nightgown with her crazy hair! Too cute!


Such a happy girl! She's reaching for my camera strap. If I'm not careful she grabs it and tries to steal my camera so that she can eat it. :)


Mom and Elaina, having some snuggle time! I love the dress she's wearing with the ladybug. I bought one for her when she first had her g-tube, and I swear this dress runs small, because after it was washed, it didn't fit her. So I rebought it in a size 3T, thinking it would fit for awhile, and it still seems to be a little on the snug side to me. Hmmmm, maybe she's just bigger than I think she is!


Loves with big brother. So sweet!


So Ben loves to hold his sister. He hates that I always take my turn first (what can I say, I miss her too much to hand her over when I first get there! I need to get my kisses in first!) Anyway, I finally gave him his turn and after holding her for about 10 minutes, he said, "Mom, Elaina feels good in my arms! I like how she feels!" He is going to love having her at home!!!


This is my favorite picture of them all! I LOVE her smile! She is so happy to be in Ben's arms! It just melts my heart!


Well, thanks for checking in on us! We're still trucking along and someday soon I'll be able to post more often, because we'll all be under the same roof!
Hugs,
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

13 comments:

mina said...

Beautiful pics, thanks for sharing. The ladybug dress one is my favorite.

Lady said...

I can't get enough of that beautiful smile! Thanks for sharing. :)

Stephanie Ellinger said...

Elaina is such a doll and that Easter dress is adorable! I'm glad to see her doing so well. Give her a hug from Nathan!

Is she able to use the bumbo chair yet?

Good luck with everything in the move!

The Portas said...

She looks absolutely amazing! Really! Wow, thanks for the pics, they made my morning. I just love reading the word "home" on your blog. What a day that will be. I wish we lived closer, I'd throw Elaina a huge welcome home party!

Have a good week! xxoo

Mp said...

That is just the sweetest smile. Ben is so sweet with his sister! I am so glade things are going so well! Rebecca

Jess said...

Such cute pictures!!!! She looks awesome!!! Love ya, Jessica B

Unknown said...

Thank you for the pictures. Ben and Elaina looked so happy together. :) I can't wait till you all are home together.

Good luck with the move. That is amazing your friends are letting you stay with them. I wish we lived closer so we could help out.

Give Elaina bug my love!

Lacey said...

Hi there, I don't know if you remember me but when she had her nissen my baby was next to her in PICU for like a day. He had his nissen redone. His name was Jaxson. I found you through Carters blog. Have you been in the hospital since then? You need to give me a little history on your little lady bug, she is so sweet. I know you can click on his pic but our blog is jaxsonsfight.blogspot.com

The Hood's said...

What a sweet smile! And I love that big flower on her head! Keep up the good work Elaina! Good luck with the move!

Dr.Rutledge said...

Hi Hollie,

Thank you for sharing this update of your family. Wonderful pictures.

I'm a physician and former faculty member at Harvard and Stanford Medical Schools. I discovered your blog while looking for the best health writers on the web. I reviewed your posts, and think your writing would be a great addition to the Children's Health Community on Wellsphere, a top 5 health website that has nearly 5 million visitors monthly. If you would like to learn more about how you can join our Health Blogger Network, republish your blog posts and be featured on the Wellsphere platform, just drop me an email at dr.rutledge@wellsphere.com.

Cheers,
Geoff

Kathy said...

SHe's so darn cute!!!

I hope you guys get settled soon and you get all your babies home in one place soon!

they are BOTH as cute as they can be!

Kathy said...

Happy Mother's day!

Slatsette said...

y'all are just so beautiful! I can't wait until she gets to go home!!!!!!