Goodbye Marti

As most of you already know, we had to say goodbye to our dog Marti a few weeks ago.
 We have had Marti since college and she had just turned 11.  She was the first living thing that Max and I were ever responsible for, the first thing to greet us every time we walked in the door, and the first thing that taught us both how truly great cuddling on the couch can be.
Marti had always been our shadow and full of life!  We knew something was wrong when she no longer wanted to go for walks and didn't come upstairs to lay in our bedroom at night.  I took her to the vet and my worst suspicion was correct.  Marti was diagnosed as being in the final stages of liver cancer and there was not a whole lot that could be done to keep her from suffering.
I called Max, asked him to come and be with me, and together we held her as she was put to sleep.
Max made this collection of photos from some of  his greatest memories of Marti and what she meant to our family.    
Thanks for being such a great dog, Marti...we will always love you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying the little things...

I feel like a completely different person today than I was a month ago.  I believe that Chance and Savannah are making me a better person...a better mom.  I'm learning s.l.o.w.l.y that things don't always have to be clean, on time, and just the way I think they should.  Sometimes, things get better when you just sit and enjoy the moment.
So for the first time...I know that I'm really behind on putting pictures up on the blog and I'm not upset with myself for falling behind because I've been holding my babies, and taking naps, and doing things that make me and my family happy.  I can't believe that I am 33 and I'm just now realizing that I like naps.  I think life is better when naps and babies are in it!

I need to give a huge shout out to Carol for coming to my rescue the first week that Savannah was home from the hospital.  Carol slept for a week on our uncomfortable couch, made us delicious comfort food every night, and spent time talking and drinking Chardonnay with me :)
So... thank you Carol! I appreciate you more than you know!



Chance adores Savannah! He is an amazing big brother.  I feel like we are watching him mature right before our eyes. I am so proud of the caring sweet boy that Chance is. 

 

Grandma Carol and Savannah 

 

We didn't stray to far from home while Savannah was on oxygen.  There was something to intimidating about venturing out with a baby and an oxygen tank. 

Marti during her last days just laying with Savannah
 

 

Usually my big adventure out of the house for the day was to go to Ms. Barb's to pick up Chance from daycare.  These are all of the kids that Chance and Savannah will be with all day once I return to work.  They are all really sweet kids.  It is a big comfort to already have an established trusting relationship with Ms. Barb.  I think it will make returning to work easier.   
 

Sleeping and growing...

Savannah was able to be without her oxygen tank on 4/26.  It was such a relief to know that she was growing and thriving. 

I think that Chance and Savannah look very similar.  The picture on the left is of Chance when he was two weeks old.  The picture on the right is Savannah at three weeks old. 

Max has continued to be the hardest working person I know and has been pulling double shifts by working at his job during the day and on the garage every spare minute he has at home.  Chance loves spending time helping Max with his tools. 

Max has built this completely on his own and has accomplished so much considering that he has only had the evenings and weekends to do it. 
 

It makes me feel almost guilty for partying with my friends while he is out slaving away on the garage :)
It was a special treat to spend the evening at home with three of my closest friends on my birthday. 

I could sit in bed forever and watch Chance care for Savannah.  It is heart melting. 

Savannah is growing by the day and now fits into all of her newborn outfits and more importantly  her head bows. 

I've even been brave enough to go out for brunch with both kids.  Of course I had some pretty great helpers with Chance. 

 

I hope I continue to allow myself to be in the present moment for my children and to always enjoy the little things...like naps...and watching sleeping babies.

The Road to Home

The days after Savannah's arrival were stressful, sleepless, and overwhelming.  (Thus the reason that I am months behind with these photos...sorry). 

We were told to expect to have Savannah in the intensive care unit until her due date 4/26 which would have been about four weeks.  Luckily, she was only in the hospital for about ten days. 

It was crazy to see how much her little body would change in a matter of hours. 

The picture above shows Savannah about an hour after she was born and then again 24 hours later, as soon as she was unhooked from oxygen. 

On day one,  we were told that Savannah was doing well off of her oxygen and that she would be cared for in three hour shifts around the clock.  We were allowed to be present to ask questions and check her progress during any and all shifts.  I requested to be allowed to stay in the hospital for as long as possible so that I could be with Savannah. 

On day two, Savannah was still doing well off of her oxygen but she began to develop jaundice and had to be placed under lights to get her bilirubin levels to go down. 

My mom also arrived which was a tremendous help because Chance was not allowed in the NICU at all.  No children under the age of 16 were allowed in the NICU during flu season. I definitely understand the need for the no children rule, but it was so sad to not be able to introduce Chance to Savannah.  Not to mention that without my mom or outside help, it was impossible to balance the time needed to be with Savannah and to also be present for Chance. 
Thank God for my Mom!

It was so much easier to be present with Savannah when I knew that Chance was being well cared for too!

I honestly don't know how we would have made it without the help, love, and support of all of our family and friends.  I knew that Savannah was going to be okay, but it was still very comforting to have our smiling family and friends around to bring flowers, food, and hugs when we needed it most. 

Because the hardest days were days three through ten.  Little Miss Savannah had to be placed back on oxygen and was given a feeding tube because she decided that she did not like to eat (for anyone other than me that is).
 The hospital informed us that if we wanted Savannah to go home that she would need to begin regular feedings without the assistance of the feeding tube and that she had to gain weight...a lot of it. 

Oh, have I mentioned that the nurses had observed that Savannah strongly preferred breast over bottle...which meant that me and my boobs were requested to be present for each and every one of Savannah's feedings occurring at 830, 1130, 230 and 530 around the clock. 

My mom stayed for a whole week so that I could sleep  at the hospital every evening.  The rest of the time I would drive back and forth from home to the hospital every few hours.  Max was great about bringing Chance to the hospital to spend time with me.   We also tried to explain to Chance that we had a new baby to take care of at the hospital.  Chance understood way more than I expected him to and he was an absolute trooper about our strange and sudden family shift. 


We tried to keep things as normal as possible for Chance.  I took a few afternoons to meet my mom and Chance at the park in between Savannah's feedings.  Chance, exercise, and sunshine were a welcome break from the hospital walls.   

 

Chance has decided that he loves elephants and he would sit on that elephant statue in the park for ten minutes at a time.  He would also crack me up by playing with the tic tac toe board and insist that it be organized into all x's or o's. 

 

 

After ten long days, we were able to take Savannah home from the hospital and begin our journey in the real world.  No more nurses to help with feedings and my mom was saying that she would have to return home at some point as well...

Max and I hugged my mother goodbye, thanked her for all of her help and dove head first into being parents of CHILDREN!
 

We took Chance to the hospital so that he could be with us on the ride home with Savannah.  It was so surreal and absolutely wonderful to introduce Chance to Savannah for the first time. 

We are blessed with two beautiful healthy children and we can not wait for the many new adventures to come. 

These two make our lack of sleep and the limited amount of space in our bed all worth it!