Thirteen Months Old & Christmas Past

~Morning Playtime for a Thirteen Month Old Little Girl~

This past month has been gone in a blink, and I can hardly believe all that has transpired in just a few short weeks.  We celebrated the one year birthday of our precious girl, waded through end of the year doctor appointments, threw in a foot surgery (mine, just something minor), enjoyed Christmas as a family, plodded through our first cold of the season (again mine, requiring a constant mask, a host of vitamins and Mucinex, and sleeping in another room for several days), and welcomed the New Year with much anticipation for the coming year and all God has in store for us in the days ahead.

~Christmas Eve and ready for sleep!~

Today, as we marked yet another "birthday," I was reminded of how far we have come.  Noelle weighed 12lbs. / 3 oz. and had an Occupational Therapy (OT) evaluation today since her eating skills of solid foods are nowhere near even the level of her adjusted age.  Her severe prematurity, continued health issues, and acid reflux still affect much of our day to day life and schedule; and the normal milestones do not come naturally for her or for us.  Each skill that is obtained takes careful thought, much patience, and consistent effort.

~Our little family on Christmas Day 2012~

However, while days like today remind me of how far she still has to go, they are also a sweet indication of how far she has truly come.  Her therapists are often surprised at how quickly she adapts and responds once she is given the right exercises or "tools" to achieve the next step; and on my part, I am grateful for the intervention and expertise of others who understand babies with special needs like Noelle.  I have a completely new understanding and appreciation for those who work with children as well as for other mothers (and fathers) who have children with special needs of all levels, but who work to understand their child and endeavor to help them in the best ways possible. 

~Each gift was a new fascination!~

 Still, when all is said and done, it is one of the most enjoyable "tasks" I have ever undertaken, and my heart is so glad to be at home daily with our precious miracle and soaking up every new thing she encounters.

~Sweet gifts from friends we soon hope to meet face to face~

As a family, we especially enjoyed watching her do this while she experienced Christmas this year in a completely different way than last year, as she participated in opening gifts (well, playing with the paper anyway!) and fussing over each little thing she received. 

~Enjoying her new pictures from her little friends~

The true Christmas story of Christ humbling Himself and descending to earth as a baby to become the Savior of the world has become more and more precious to me through these past two Christmas seasons, and I am thankful that He continues to drive the Gospel deeper into my heart through these moments.   As we celebrated His birth with our family this Christmas, we also took special joy in both Noelle's birth and her cousin Ellie's as well.  We were so glad these two could spend this special time together, even if they were not fully aware of the event or each other!  Below is our attempt of getting a Christmas picture of them together, providing us some good laughs if not a good picture.  We continue to thank God for each precious day with our miracle and look forward to celebrating more Christmas seasons just as special as this one.

~"Ellie, won't you take a picture with me?"~

~"Let's stand up and see who is bigger..."~

~"Well, at least I'm still older..."~

"Where are you going, Ellie?"

~"I'll just play with my shoes til you come back.."~

~"These are so pretty and fun!"~

~"Whoa now!  Glad you're back, but where did my shoe go?"~

~"Hey, sit still for just a minute so I can get my shoe"~

~"Oh look left..."

"Oh wait, go right..."

~"Now they want us to look up?!!"~

~"Merry Christmas, everyone.  This is the best you're gonna get!"

 Stay tuned for some exciting changes and announcements in the next couple of weeks that we are really looking forward to sharing with you....

A Sweet Celebration

Many have asked for birthday pictures; and while we did not have a large party, I realized that we have a little girl who is well loved and hardly forgotten, party or not.  Over the last couple of weeks, gifts and cards came through the mail, through friends at work and church, and through family.  Combining all of that with the plethora of facebook comments and email wishes for a Happy Birthday still made for quite the event in our household on Saturday evening.  

Although she cannot eat cake (especially since she is still barely taking one teaspoon of stage one baby food each day), we could not forgo the traditional birthday pictures and so made cupcakes for the occasion.

She was fascinated with the flickering flame as Tom lit her candle; but thankfully, she did not try to touch it as we snapped pictures.

We did give her a little taste of the frosting, but it was NOT a hit (which gives great hope to this momma who would much prefer to have a pie-loving buddy in this house, since Daddy is all.about.cake!).  

Opening gifts was a bit hilarious since we had to wipe most things down before she could touch them, but she was patient and never knew the difference.  She received so many thoughtful things (and we tried to capture pictures of everything, although some of them are far too fuzzy to post since she was enjoying them so much!).... 

A stuffed dog from Grandpa & Grandma Wagner (the only clear picture of it we could capture)...

A printed picture and thoughtful poem written for her by Lorraine Woodle...

Lots of books from Aunt Donna...

The cutest ever socks and a warm fuzzy sleeper from Grandpa & Grandma Aguiar...

Special wool socks made in Colorado from Uncle Denny & Aunt Susan...

A beautiful, soft coat & matching headband from PaPa & MaMa Boyer...

 A large teddy bear from Helzberger's (who sent it for her after my Mom shopped there for this occasion)...

(Loves ribbon....)

 A keepsake charm bracelet from Grandma McDowell to be able to add charms through the years...

 A nativity set from Grandma McDowell (notice that she is sitting up all by herself...another MILESTONE reached!!!)....

And finally, Tom's thoughtful co-workers collaborated together to get her a few special things to mark this momentous occasion.  The first gift has already generated much discussion in this household as to how it will be handled (Daddy especially is very particular on how, when, and where this will be used, for which Mommy is VERY grateful), but she was quite taken with it and would have kept playing with it until we took her to bed!

(Aunt Kayla, I know this will make you proud!!)...

...and one of the other gifts caused smiles to cross all of our faces.  Perhaps, this product will just do the trick for us through this next year.  Thank you, Honda Flight Test Team!!

So although we were not physically surrounded with people on this joyous occasion, we still felt and experienced the love and encouragement of so many through your cards, gifts, phone calls, texts, and comments.  It was a celebration, regardless of the circumstances, and we truly appreciate you joining with us.  We thank God for this first year with Noelle; and while it has been incredibly difficult through many days, we would not trade one moment of the time He has allowed us with her.  We look forward to this next year and watching Him continue to grow her and use her for His glory. 

Happy First Birthday, Noelle!!!

 

Today, at 11:27a.m., Noelle turned one year old and marked one of the sweetest milestones in her life thus far.  Knowing that there were many days and weeks in which we never even dreamed of this day, makes reaching it that much more special to us.

So how do we celebrate such an incredible event in her life?  Probably not as you would expect, since many one year old babies have quite the party.  But since we are in the midst of lock down season and still ever mindful of her health, that could not be an option for us.  Instead, it is a day full of memories, thankfulness, and precious family time together.  So rather than a party with friends and presents, we are spending the day delivering a sweet treat and a Happy Birthday card to our NICU family (sans Noelle due to lock down), for this celebration is as much theirs as it is ours.  The day also still holds a few presents and cupcakes (although for pictures only and not to be eaten by the little person who still has no teeth) as we enjoy this special day as a family, remembering how different things were one year ago at this time.

While preparing this slideshow of her first year and formatting the entries for her birthday book (which so many of you lovingly submitted), we have been overwhelmed yet again by God's goodness to us through these many months.  Words just cannot express our true emotions today, and these feelings are often demonstrated with flowing tears of joy.  So with very thankful hearts to a God who has been gracious beyond measure, we celebrate this first birthday with our precious miracle.  Happy Birthday, sweet Noelle!!!

~Birthday Outfit made with love by Auntie Em~

In celebration with us, please enjoy the slideshow and birthday book links below...

Noelle's First Year from Grace Outpoured on Vimeo.
A photographic journal of Noelle's first year of her miracle life.
Music Credit: "Precious Life" from the "Hidden in My Heart" collection by Breakaway Music

For a preview of Noelle's birthday book, you may click and view here.

Eleven Months Old / Giving Thanks Challenge ~ {Day #8}

Thanksgiving Challenge ~ Day #8

Topic: Noelle
Title: Eleven Months Old

{If you are new to this challenge~which is not your typical Thanksgiving challenge, you can catch up on the details here, and please feel free to join along at any time...}

~Really, Mom?~

I can hardly believe that I just wrote the title, "Eleven Months Old."  Where has the time gone?  There have been so many days through these months that I have not dared to think beyond the next hour or the next day, let alone dream about reaching her first birthday; and yet, here we are celebrating eleven precious months with our little girl and entering the home stretch to her one year birthday.  I am overwhelmingly amazed at God's goodness to us and thank Him for each precious moment we have been given with this little girl.  She weighed 10 lbs. / 10 oz. today and continues to fight and grow, tiny though she still may be.  Happy Eleven Month Birthday, Noelle!!  We love you!!!

{Although she is still on oxygen 24/7, she is doing well enough for us to remove the cannula for short moments of time, such as snapping pictures. }

If you are local and would like to help a relief project for New Jersey this week, please check out this page and do what you can to assist this effort.  

***Do not forget there is only one week left to submit your entry for the book project for Noelle's birthday.  You can read about the project and the deadline by clicking here .  We are enjoying the submissions we have already received but would love to hear from you, if you are willing to participate.  Thank you so much for helping us make Noelle's first birthday a special time of remembrance!!***

Ten Months Old

~Ten Months Old~

I just cannot believe that our baby girl is ten months old today ~ it hardly seems possible!!  The changes continue to amaze us, and we are soaking up every wonderful minute with our little blessing.  Our first week of lock down was a delightful change of pace with no doctor appointments (the first week with no appointments since early June!); and we kicked off this period with a special visit from Noelle's Auntie Kari and Auntie Barbie.  Noelle absolutely loved the company and all the extra attention and snuggles, and I enjoyed the sweet fellowship during the few short days they were here.  Unfortunately, Noelle's reflux flared pretty badly again this past weekend, so we moved up one of her doctor appointments by a couple of days to today.  Her medication has been weight adjusted thus far, so this flare up was evidence that she had outgrown her dose and was in need of a new calculation.  Thankfully, her pediatrician was able to put her on the maximum dose possible (now that she is big enough); and we are all hopeful that this new dose will improve the situation so that we may get more positive results on the sleep study next week.  The added benefit to today's appointment was that we were able to see how much weight she has gained, and she weighed 9lbs. 15oz.  That is the closest she has ever come to averaging 1 lb. / month, and I was excited to see her progress.  The rest of this post will be in pictures, but I am hoping to post more regularly again once we have a chance to get past our appointments this week and really settle into our routine of being at home all the time.  These coming months are going to be quite fun as this little girl makes us laugh in new ways every day; and we continue to thank God for your many prayers as we take one day at a time, seeking to wade through this time period in the healthiest way possible.

 Ten Month Activities

~Sitting up with a little boppy help!~

~A New Friend...~

~Helping Daddy Read~

~A little someone figured out that there are bows on her helmet...~

~Meeting Auntie Kari for the first time~

~Playing with Mommy's chin~

~Saying "See You Soon" to Auntie Kari...~

~....and to Aunt Barbie too~