Happy Birthday Girls!

Wow. It's been so long I have no idea where to begin. Oohhh, I know....How about this? HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY! Today, April 29th 2008, our little Abby Girl is 2 years old. Her sisters, Emma and Madelyne are no doubt celebrating with her. Happy Birthday you two. Mommy and Daddy miss you both very much. Thank you girls for watching over your sister and now your brother too. You are sure to have your hands full!

Okay then, let's start with Easter. We went out to La Quinta (Palm Springs area) to stay with Great Grandma and Grandpa, aka "G.G." and "G.Pa" The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast.

Take a look at Abby and Eddie with their Easter Baskets...



We put M & M's inside the Easter Eggs and Abby was having so much fun just shaking them like a maraca...



Whereas Eddie was more interested in his basket and spent most of the time trying to get it opened. The packaging provided much more entertainment than we had anticipated!



We also went to the pool. It was the first time for Eddie and Abby's first time this season. Last year she was not a big fan at all, but this year she is loving the pool!




Ah yes, the O Face....a classic indeed



Eddie couldn't get enough of the pool.



Look at this guy! What a little tank. At this very moment, he's plotting his course and in two seconds he'll dart in the direction he's looking. However, he'll take off so quick that his little hands can't get in front of him quick enough. So his master take off plan will turn into a barrel role instead.



Unfortunately, both Abby and Eddie got sick over the Easter weekend. Eddie was able to shake it off after a week or so but Abby wasn't so lucky. She got a terrible case of nausea and diarrhea. The diarrhea made her incredibly dehydrated and thirsty. Abby has really come a long with the sippy cup and would drink a lot of water to hydrate herself. However, since she doesn't have that sphincter at the bottom of her esophagus, the water just came back up. She would dry heave and everything. It was not pretty and Abby was in a lot of pain. Finally, one morning she woke up looking terrible and pale and acting lethargic, so Kelly took her to Urgent Care. She was admitted immediately due to dehydration and severe diarrhea. Since she was so dehydrated, the nurses couldn't find a vein for the IV, and our little munchkin got poked over 6 times before they found a vein that would work.

After that, she was pretty out of it... Take a look...



The docs think she may have contracted a form of the rotavirus. (google it for more info) There is of course a vaccine for this virus as of this year, but Abby didn't get it. Anyway, as usual, momma didn't leave Abby's side and Grandma, Grandpa and GG and G Pop came to the rescue. Between all of us, Kelly was able to stay with Abby while we all played hot potato with Eddie. Thanks guys...AGAIN....for helping us out!

Finally we get a smile



Since she had the IV hooked up at all times she couldn't move around the way she wanted to, so keeping her attention became a real challenge. Uncle Steve managed to keep her interested in his bubbles for quite a while.



Eddie managed to keep himself occupied with all the new hospital toys...especially Abby's IV Tube.



Grandpa and Abby in the hospital right before going home. Finally she started to feel better.



As for the other stuff, Abby is doing GREAT. She is taking steps on her own now. They are a bit wobbly but she's taking them! Here she is helping Daddy push the stroller and as you can see, she is not holding on to anything! She does this a lot now. She can stand on her own with no problem for quite a while.



She is also saying, "Momma," "Dadda," "Papa," "Eddie," (kind of) and others that I can't remember now. It's great. She has learned some sign language too. She knows the sign for "all done," "more," "want," and I think some others here too which again, I can't remember. (It's 2:30AM...cut me some slack will ya?!)She is supposed to point to what she wants, and then make the "want" sign. Her preference though is to still simply point and yell, "eeeeehhhhhhhh!" And these days, the "eeeeeehhhh!" has gotten incredibly loud. Eddie has taken up the role too now and he has a crazy set of vocal chords! That kid can yell with the best of them. He is also quite the adventurer. Check out his favorite new play area...





And here is Eddie's little escapade to the bathroom the other day. Abby quickly followed little brother in, but not to escort him out. No no, she was all about it. Together they finished up the role! Nice.....!







Thank you to all of you for following Abby and sending your prayers and well wishes during these past 2 years. As you all know, she has been through so much, had so many surgeries, so many "close calls," and so many colds, flus etc... and I can honestly say that I'm not sure how we would have gotten through all of it without all of you.

She's 2! I can't believe she's 2! Today is a good day. Wait no...today is a GREAT day.

I hope you are all having a great day too.

I know you know this, but I love you all very much. WE love you all very much.

- Abby's Management