"I got to say prayer"

This was so cute that I thought I should share it with everyone: Normally Whitney goes to bed about an hour before Zach goes to bed so putting Zachy to bed is pretty easy. Last night Whitney was having a hard time going down so she was still awake and fussing when we put Zach to bed. So amongst all the chaos of trying to deal with Whitney and put Zach to bed we forgot to say family prayers. Well around 1 am Zach woke up crying. I went in to ask him what was wrong. He kept mumbling something but I couldn't understand him. Finally, he lifted his head up, looked at me and said "I got to say prayer." So, at 1 in the morning we folded our arms, bowed our heads, and Zachy said a prayer. I left the room and he went right back to sleep. That kid is so funny. Of course he would remember in the middle of the night that we forgot to say our prayers. I love that little guy!

Storytime

Seriously, how cute is this? Zach and I went to get Whitney up from nap and Zach asked to get in Whitney's crib to read books to her. They laid there for like 15 minutes just reading books. It was so special. Some of the happiest moments in my life are watching those two play together. I just love it!

Of course, story time ended with Whitney sitting on Zach (don't worry, he loves it)!

Whitney Update

I have been meaning to write this post for weeks but life has just been to busy. So here it is, finally. We took Whitney to Seattle in June to have all of here tests done to make sure that her hemangioma is not affecting her heart or brain. We had all sorts of tests including an MRI, echo cardiogram, and an EKG. We had all these tests done in one day. It was a long rough day for us all but especially for Whitney. She had to me put to sleep for the MRI which was so sad. It was hard watching her be put to sleep but it was even harder watching her wake up. She was so confused to out of it. She couldn't even lift her head. It was like she was a newborn all over again. It was so weird. All the tests for her heart looked good and the MRI looked good but there was one little problem they found. No one really knows if it is a big deal but she has too much space in between her ventricles(I think that's what they are called). Right now our doctor is not too concerned but he thinks she will need another MRI a few months down the road to see if the extra space goes away. Here she is all ready for her MRI:

Here she is after her MRI:

After all the tests were done we started Whitney on medication to try to get her hemangioma to stop growing. We knew there were side effects to this medication and we have definitely seen some of them. Before starting it Whitney was the happiest baby ever. She very rarely cried and was always smiling and laughing. She also was a great sleeper that NEVER woke in the middle of the night. In the first week after we started the medication she woke up 3 times in the middle of the night. She also started crying a lot more. She would just all the sudden start screaming and there was really no way to calm her down. She didn't laugh as much either and for the first few days it was even hard to get her to make eye contact. After the first week things got quite a bit better but she still had her meltdowns and didn't laugh as much. Just this last week has been so much better though. I think she is finally back to her normal self. She has been so happy and smiley and she didn't have any meltdowns all week. I am so glad to have my baby girl back! Whitney will be one her medication until December. If we take her off of it and her hemangioma starts growing again we will have to keep her on it until she is one. Luckily we have already seen a huge change in her hemangioma. It is much lighter in color and it is now even with the skin, before it was raised off the skin. The medication is working like it is supposed to which has made this whole process worth it. Whitney is so beautiful and so special to us. We love her so much and are lucky to have her in our family.

Best Friends

Before Whitney came into this world we were kind of worried how Zach would do around her. He is kind of a crazy and destructive child and we didn't think he would be able to be gentle around her. Boy were he wrong. He is so good with her. He is almost always so gentle and loving towards her. He loves to hold her hand, or foot if her hand is not available, and he loves to give her little kisses. He loves to share his toys with her. Whenever I put her in her carseat for us to leave the house he always picks out one of his favorite toys to put in her carseat for her to play with. It is so sweet. He also has little conversations with her. it is so funny. He will ask her a question and then answer it for her. For example, the other day he asked her if she wanted an ice cream cone. She didn't say anything so he said (in his cute little Zachy voice), "no, no your doesn't want and ice cream cone". So then he asked again and this time she started talking back so he said (in his excited little Zachy voice), "Yes, your does want an ice cream cone!" It was so funny. That kids cracks me up. Whitney likes him just as much as he likes her. If he is around it is nearly impossible to get her attention because she is always staring at him. She loves her big brother! I love these two kiddos and I am so glad they like each other so much. I hope it stays like that forever!

Saying Goodbye

My parents had a foreign exchange student, Mohammad, living with them for the past year and he just left to go back home to Lebanon. Zach and Mohammad became great friends so we were all sad to see him go. Here are some pictures from our last night with Mohammad.

Grandpa bought Zach ice cream from the ice cream truck. Zach sure loved that!

My Little Buddy

My Beautiful Baby Girl

Whitney was blessed on Sunday and man did she look adorable. Here are some picture from that wonderful day.