roses

Happy Easter!

18 months old

Dahlia turned 18 months old on the 22nd.  She has started moving a lot more, and is really close to crawling.  One day when she was scooting around she almost scooted herself all the way under the couch.  Dahlia has started babbling a lot more also.  By far her favorite word to say is daddy!  She saw her daddy's car pulling into the driveway one day after work and got so excited and let out a big, "daddy!"

Hodges Gardens State Park



 The kids were off of school for spring break this past week.  The first part of the week we took the kids on a "camping" trip to Hodges Gardens State Park in Louisiana.  We stayed in cabins along with my sister Lauren and her family. This park was so beautiful!  Spring was the perfect time of year to visit.  The weather was cool and everything was blooming.  The cabin was right on the lake and each morning there were geese that would walk around the cabin.  The kids loved chasing after them.  Even though we were in cabins we still had a campfire and roasted marshmallows.  It rained some while we there so we didn't get to explore the whole park, but hopefully we'll be back!

17 months old

Dahlia is now 17 months old! She had a check up with her transplant team last week and has finally starting to gain some of the weight back that she lost.  I packed a bag though, just in case Dahlia hadn't gained any weight and her doctor wanted to admit her.  Luckily that wasn't the case!  At 17 months she has now started to shake her head no to everything.  She can't say no yet, but she is sure making up for it!  Dahlia has also started to point at things.  The other day she saw my reflection in the mirror and pointed and smiled at me.  I love watching her learn new things.  With my other babies it was special, but with Dahlia it is a little bit more magical because of everything she has been through.

two front teeth

Ava lost her two front teeth on the same day!

keep the beat 5k walk

We recently participated in a 5k walk to raise awareness and support for those affected by congenital heart defects. We were so happy that some of our family was able to join us also.  Unfortunately the little lady we were all walking for was stuck in the hospital AGAIN along with her daddy. Dahlia did not tolerate her formula and she lost even more weight.  She was in the hospital for about a week and placed on a new hypoallergenic formula for kids with allergies and GI problems. Once she proved to the doctors that she was tolerating the new formula, was gaining weight and did not need a feeding tube shoved down her throat, she was finally able to leave.  So frustrating!  

All of the kids were able to finish the walk, with only little whining, mainly by Laila

when she tripped and fell in the mud.

The event was held in down town Houston.

Everyone at the finish line. We got a late start, stopped to take pictures,

and had lots of kids with us, so we were one of the last groups to finish.

The kids with their medals

After the walk there were lots of activities for the kids to do.  They loved this rock climbing wall. Aiden eventually made it to the top, even though he was a little scared.  This was such a neat event, it was awesome to be surrounded by so many people all supporting the same cause.

biopsy and a hospital stay

Dahlia had her annual heart biopsy this past Tuesday.  The good news was that her heart is functioning great and she has 0 rejection! The bad news was the blood work that was done showed her sodium level was so low that she was at risk of having seizures, she was anemic with extremely low hemoglobin levels, and her electrolytes were all out to balance, and she weighted less than she did 6 months ago.  Based on that, her Doctor decided to admit her immediately.  We finally got home on Friday.  Poor Dahlia was not at all happy to be there.  She is terrified of all the doctors and nurses because she thinks they are going to stick her with a needle.  Every time she would fall asleep she would get woken up by someone wanting to draw blood or take her vital signs.  The four days we were there completely wore me out.  Looking back I really don't know how we ever survived the six months Dahlia was in the hospital!  Dahlia needs to take in a lot more calories and be on an iron supplement, then her blood work should be back to normal.  Her doctor prescribed a super high calorie drink, which Dahlia seems to like.  When daddy came to pick us up on Friday, Dahlia was so excited she started shaking!  Then when we got home, she started smiling and looking around everywhere, like she was so glad to be home.  She also had a huge smile for her brothers and sisters and started babbling to them, telling them all about her traumatic ordeal!

happy one year heart anniversary!

On this date one year ago, Dahlia received her life saving heart transplant.  We are so grateful for the past year we have been given with this sweet little girl, every day we fall more and more in love with her.  We are also grateful that it has been a relatively smooth year without any major complications, and no rejection!  For us today is a very joyful day, almost like a second birthday.  However, we are very aware that while we are celebrating today, somewhere out there is a family who is grieving the loss of their baby today.  We hope that they are able to feel some sort of peace and know that they are very loved.  We are thankful for everyone who supported us and helped us this past year, it means a lot that we are not walking what can sometimes be a very overwhelming, scary road alone.

16 months old

We've had a break from cold weather for the past couple of days.  Dahlia loves being outside.  Poor baby caught RSV for the second time!  The older kids catch it at school and bring it home.  From now on if they seem like they are coming down with something, the older kids are going to have to wear a mask when they are around Dahlia.  When Dahlia is sick she wants to be held constantly and is extremely fussy.  Luckily she has pretty much recovered from it and is getting back to her happy self, as you can see from the pictures that were taken today.

dahlia's day

playing with one of my favorite toys, a paper towel

Can't go too long without my pacifier!

Oh wait, I forgot Barney was on!

I love sister!

15 months!

On the 22nd Dahlia turned 15 months old.  Due to the fact the she is still bald, still not crawling and teeny tiny, I constantly have to remind myself she is in fact 15 months old and not 6 months!  At 15 months she still loves to be cuddled and be held.  We try to work on tummy time each day, but unfortunately most of the time she just wants to lay there and relax.  Dahlia does love sitting up on her own and playing with her toys.  She can also turn herself around in a circle, while sitting.  She also loves watching Barney, when I turn it on she'll get very excited and say, "Bah! Bah!" She  loves playing with her brothers and sisters. Sometimes she will babble on and on to them, but if they annoy her or get in her face she will scream at them and try to slap at them.  It makes me laugh when she screams at them; it is very apparent she is the youngest of five! I can't believe that next month it will have been a year since her heart transplant.  This past year has just flown by!

Merry Christmas

Last Christmas Dahlia was attached to a Berlin Heart waiting for a heart transplant.  We are very blessed to have her home, with a healthy heart this Christmas.  I had lots of plans to make this Christmas perfect.  Unfortunately most of them fell apart because I and some of the other kids were sick.  On Christmas Eve, I could barely get out of bed.  Dahlia was also recovering form RSV.  Luckily we caught it in time and she started breathing treatments and was able to stay out of the hospital.  I am praying that she does not catch this new virus because it is a monster.  Even though Christmas did not go as planned we still had a wonderful time being together and celebrating the birth of Christ.

happy birthday Dario!

I can't believe that Dario turned 10 years old today! Has it really been ten years since he was born! Dario makes my job as a mom really easy. Everyday when he comes home from school he always starts his homework without me ever having to tell him. I really appreciate how responsible he is. Recently he taught himself how to ride his bike and picked it up in only two days. Unfortunately someone stole his bike a couple of days after he learned how to ride it. For his birthday he wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese, which has become a birthday tradition since he was two years old. I wonder how many more years that will last!

christmas tree farm

On Saturday we went to a nearby Christmas tree farm and picked out our Christmas tree. The kids love running thru all the trees and picking out the perfect tree.  We picked out a tree that was way too big for our living room. It takes up almost the whole room, but makes it smell so good!