January 26, 2011

We're in Minnesota! We've been without Internet, hence the lack of blog activity, but we couldn't live without it and as of this morning we are online!

The move went great, thanks to our friends in Houghton and the Twin Cities. I was a bit worried about Patrick being stuck unloading the entire U-Haul by himself, but that wasn't the case and everything was in our new apartment in under an hour.

Michigan Tech was nice to us up until the end and let Charlotte and I stay in an on-campus guest room (as opposed to our empty apartment), so I got to sleep on a bed! A minor glitch: we had so much help moving that Charlotte's travel bed was loaded into the U-Haul and on its way to MN before I realized it. Luckily one of my former co-workers was able to bring me a toddler bed for her to sleep in. Yes, Charlotte slept in a big girl toddler bed and she did amazingly. The first night she crawled out once, but otherwise she stayed in bed and slept. She and I arrived in MN on Monday the 17th as planned.

My new job is great. I think I'm going to love it! Every once in a while I'll get a little nostalgic and miss Houghton, but then something cool will happen like my parents came up on Saturday just for the afternoon to help us unpack, or Patrick's mom is coming to help with Charlotte this Friday...things we may have taken for granted if we hadn't lived away for a while.

We've been busy unpacking and haven't taken any pictures of Charlotte! I can't believe it. We're close to being box-free, so photos will come soon. Just this week she has started taking a few steps while holding on to one hand! Her first step is just around the corner.

January 13, 2011

Charlotte sported her new shades on our tour of Wisconsin last week. Her GI doctor in Milwaukee thought her virus may have "tipped the apple cart" and she was just taking longer to recover/regain her ability to not throw up. I wish he could wave a magic wand (it would make the trip feel much more worthwhile), but this week she's been throwing up less, so we think she is getting better.

It's been over one year since Charlotte's G-tube was placed. I remember thinking she'd have it for a couple of months at most, but here we are! The morning before her surgery I took a bunch of pictures of her without any tubes, and now I almost don't even see the tube when I look at her. In any case, here's one of her tube-free photos:


We had a nice Christmas with Pat's family, and then made our last trip "home" to the UP! Our last week at Tech has gone quickly. Today was my last day of work, and it was pretty sad! I'm definitely excited about my new job, but Tech is pretty special. Where else can I go outside in January and find 50+ students cheering on broomball games while groups of students are all over campus making forms for the month-long statue building? Patrick will wrap up his position at the library tomorrow, and then it's time to go!

Charlotte wore her Michigan Tech dress to my going away party. She was very timid around all the unfamiliar people, which meant I got to snuggle with her. :)

Here's Charlotte's post-bath hair. I love how it sticks up all over!

Saturday we load the U-Haul and Patrick will head out that afternoon. He's meeting some of our friends in St. Paul to help unload the truck. Unfortunately, I'll miss unloading the U-Haul because Charlotte needs her Synagis shot on Monday. We tried scheduling an appointment in the Twin Cities, but no one was willing to order her the shot without first establishing as her primary. This process would have taken about 3 weeks, and she needs the shot on Monday. Maybe Patrick will have everything unpacked by the time we arrive! I can only dream...

January 3, 2011

Welcome to 2011! I hope the new year brings happiness and good health to you and your family!

On Sunday we enjoyed having the Jenson's and Vendlinski's over. These families also had micro preemies and provided what I will term supportive outreach while we were in the NICU. I still remember how stunned and grateful I was to receive a package from a complete stranger at Charlotte's bedside in the Marquette NICU. Lindsey Jenson had sent a care package with reading materials and Charlotte's first preemie clothes - a red and white dress and a pretty pink hat. Then, while we were in Milwaukee the Vendlinski's were in town for a marathon and they took us out for dinner where we met their preemie twins turned perfectly health toddlers. Since then we've met for the occasional dinner in Houghton (including another mom who wasn't able to make it on Sunday). Anyway, they're good people and their blogs are linked to the right.

The students are gone for winter break, so we were able to take advantage of the ballroom in our building and let the kids run around. Here's a rare moment when they were all standing still after Patrick turned off the Vikings game for a bit of Yo Gabba Gabba.

Willow and Charlotte looking pretty serious.

Catherine, Willow, Charlotte, and Lewis. I took about 5 or 6 pictures and this might be the only one where they're all looking in the general direction of the camera. :)

Charlotte may not be looking at the camera in this one, but at least her glasses are on!

Charlotte has discovered the empty cupboards resulting from our packing. Who needs pots and pans when cupboards are such great play spaces?!

I mentioned in my previous post that Charlotte has been throwing up again. She has lost about one and a half pounds as a result, so Patrick and I have started thinking it might be best to return to the GJ Tube. Today we called CHW to find out what Dr. Stephens thought, and he is very opposed to this backward step and considers it a last resort. Since she has lost weight he, of course, wants to see her in clinic. So, we'll be making one more trip to Milwaukee on Friday. Unless Charlotte stops throwing up, and that's what I'm hoping for!

December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

2010 was our first full year as parents and it was full of joy! Charlotte is quite the crawler, she giggles regularly, and loves to snuggle. I am grateful she's our baby girl.

She was a good sport at Christmas and happily wore her Santa hat.

Gift opening was more fascinating than exciting, but still fun!

Cousin Blake and Charlotte at Christmas. Look at those cute smiles!

It seems we take 2 steps forward only to take one backward. Charlotte's ear infection has returned, so she's back on antibiotics. She is throwing up regularly again as of about 2 weeks ago. We think (hope!) this is related to her cold and that once she shakes that the throwing up will subside again. The worst part is that any progress we'd made with her feeds has been lost. She's barely interested in water these days.

For now, though, I'm focused on ringing in the new year! We opted to stay in rather than celebrate with friends to allow Charlotte to rest (she hasn't had a good nights sleep in over a week, so let's hope tonight is it). However, it looks like I'll be the only one awake in our household when midnight rolls around. I'm looking forward to our last New Years in the eastern time zone. Next year we'll be back to watching the ball drop at 11 p.m...I really don't mind going to bed at 11 p.m.! :)

December 22, 2010

Merry Christmas! Our holiday vacation had a rough start, but things are already looking up.

Charlotte went home sick from daycare last Friday after she threw up, and she then developed a fever and bad cough over the weekend. On Monday Charlotte's pediatrician prescribed nebulizer treatments twice daily for 2-3 months. At first Charlotte was very resistant to the nebulizer (screaming, pushing), but she's pretty ok with it now. We've noticed that she falls asleep much more easily, so it's definitely helping her breathe more easily.

Last winter Charlotte received Synagis shots to prevent RSV. This winter we weren't able to get them for her because our insurance would only cover them if she was being treated for her Chronic Lung Disease. Well, the nebulizer counts as treatment, so Charlotte will once again be protected from RSV.

Then, we made what we hope is our final trip to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee on Tuesday! Let's back up a bit...In late November we decided to remove Charlotte's GJ Tube (because she'd stopped throwing up - yay!), and put in the Mic-Key Button G-Tube again. We were able to do this ourselves at home, but we've been concerned because the tube itself (the hardware) has been leaking. We tried putting in our spare Mic-Key button, but it also leaked. We finally called CHW on Monday and Charlotte's nurse wanted to see her right away, so we drove down first thing Tuesday morning. Here's a picture of Charlotte barricaded on our bed while we finished getting ready to go:


Nurse Amanda had never seen a G-Tube leak like this before, so she deduced we must have received a faulty batch of Mic-Key buttons. She ordered up a new button and we haven't had any problems since. After leaving CHW we did a little shopping at the mall and as we left the mall we decided to drive to Eau Claire Tuesday night instead of waiting until Wednesday morning. The trip went smoothly except for a stretch of icy roads from Wisconsin Dells to Mauston, WI along which we saw 20+ cars and 3 semis in the ditch. It was all worth it though to wake up and not have to drive this morning!

Let the holiday celebrations begin! Tonight Grandpa and Grandma Russell took us to have dinner with Santa at Fanny Hill. Patrick went to this when he was a kid, so it was extra special to bring Charlotte. Here are a few photos from the evening:

Let's Eat! Wait, why is my shoe on the table?

Santa was a bit scary,

but better at a distance.

She loved it! She met Frosty and Rudolph!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

December 18, 2010

Boxes? A UofM penant? Yes, we are returning to Minnesota! We'll be moving the weekend of January 15, so if you'd like to help us load or unload the U-Haul, please let me know. Your help would be appreciated! :) Oh, and there'll be pizza or something in it for you!

I am looking forward to joining the College of Biological Sciences in Student Services as an Academic Advisor. I interviewed on December 10, and so got to experience the 5th biggest snow storm in Minnesota history. My flight was canceled due to weather in Chicago, so Patrick and Charlotte drove down with me (two drivers is always nice), and rather than returning on Friday night or even Saturday morning we ended up staying until Sunday...and still hit blizzard conditions in the UP. Oh yeah, the interview. It went well! The Student Services staff seemed great and I'm looking forward to working with them.

Of course leaving is bittersweet - we'll be closer to family, friends, and medical care, but we're both leaving jobs we enjoy, and we'll miss all the great people we've gotten to know here. However, any doubts we had about leaving Houghton were erased when approximately 2 hours after I accepted the position Patrick received a call inviting him to interview for a position at the UofM. This is a job he says is exactly what he wants to do, so I hope it works out. If not, we both feel a bit more confident he'll be able to find something sooner rather than later.

The past couple of days we've been busy on the Internet looking for a 2-bedroom apartment and also researching our daycare options. If anyone knows of an apartment near the UofM (Highland Park, south Mpls, around the U) please let us know. Or, if you have daycare recommendations (or warnings) please send them our way!

Charlotte's language skills are developing! While she's not a big talker yet (she was saying "hi" for a while and she's pretty good with "dada"), she knows how to hug (see photo above) when we say "hug" and she blows kisses when we say "kiss". She's also learning where her (and our) noses are!

We're still trying to turn her into a winter lover, but it's going to take some time. We got another sled that supports her and helps her sit. She cried pretty much the entire time we had her in the sled.

Well, I'd better get back to packing and gift wrapping! We'll be in Wisconsin and Minnesota for Christmas, and we look forward to celebrating the holidays with family.

November 29, 2010

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a fun weekend and took quite a few pictures!

Charlotte had fun with Grandma and Grandpa Russell. Here she is watching a video of herself. At what age is Narcissism no longer cute?

AHHHHH!!!! (says Charlotte the dinosaur)

Hanging with Daddy.

We got outside for a few minutes, but Charlotte was not a fan. Pretty sure she just didn't like being bundled up.

She couldn't even sit up! Here she is closing her eyes just hoping it'll be over soon. Maybe next time will be more fun!