What have we been up to????

Okay, so I want to apologize for not posting much lately. It has been really busy around here. Matt has not gotten any word on layoff yet. We are crossing our fingers that he does not get laid off. He took a job on a different shift for more pay. He is now working the midnight shift. He is still working hard on the new addition. It is coming right along. It has been kind of a slow process. Matt has been working on it as much as he can and then our brother-in-law Dan comes to help when he can. I really need to take some updated pics to put on here.
Isabella is doing great. She as always continues to amaze me each and everyday. She is just getting so big. She is so active these days and has really been trying to figure out how to go!! She is off the vent two hours at a time. She is getting closer and closer to being able to be off during the day. She babbles constantly and tries to mimic the cadence of voices. I am working on birthday party plans. I can't believe she will be two in less than one month!! Her cake is going to be a giant cupcake. I ordered the cake pan for it and I am really excited to try it out. I think it is going to be a cute party. She will actually be able to eat some of her cake this year.
Matt and I did the black Friday shopping yesterday. What a mad house. We bought a new computer so I don't have any of my photos on it right now. I really need to get with it and post some pics already!!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Good Check-Up and Belly Pic

Bella had a check-up today. They were impressed as always with her progress developmentally. They want us to continue to wean the vent. They would really like to see her off the vent all day and only needing the vent at night. They also decided she has allergy issues so they put her on Zyrtec. With a lot less snot, she should be able to come off the vent a lot more. I really think the Zyrtec will help us wean more quickly. Bella's new trick is pulling on her trach so she can let more air flow. This allows her to be able to make more noise around her trach. When she wants to jabber, she just starts pulling on her trach. It is so cute. Good thing it is secure or she would be pulling the whole thing out!!

Okay, I know what you are thinking, good golly she is only 3 months!!! Well, it is baby #4 and I have heard that you show a lot more a lot sooner with each baby. I popped out really quick like this with Bella also.

Sorry for the huge delay in posting!!

I guess I just have not been in the mood to blog. So here is a recap of the last week and 1/2.
1. Bella has had some kind of stomach virus and did nothing but throw up for 4 days. She is finally feeling better today. She has (knock on wood) kept everything down today. When she is not sick, she is staying off the vent for 6 hours total in one day. She is starting to really interact with her toys now. I think a lot of it is the fact that she is seeing so much better. She is also getting more strength. She is getting soooo close to being able to sit on her own and she is still trying really hard to crawl.
2. I went to the Dr. last Friday. We got to hear the baby's heart beat. I am seriously as big as a house!! I look more like seven months pregnant than three months pregnant. I will post pics soon, I promise!!
3. Also Gifts of Gabi's Grace and us at Miracles Happen are starting to prepare for Santa's Little Helpers again this year. It was a huge success last year and we are hoping for it to be a huge success again this year. So we are asking for your help. We have not set a date yet, but sometime in December we will deliver the gifts to the PICU at Children's Mercy. Some of the stuff we had last year was: coloring books, crayons, jewelry, movies tickets, McDonald tickets, books, and so much more. Ages in the PICU range from infant to 18. So please if let me know if you want to help in anyway. e-mail me at megangudde@hotmail.com or you can donate money at www.giftsofgabisgrace.org