Let it Snow!!

One solitary icecicle hangs from our porch...I haven't seen one of these for a few years

This winter it has actually snowed in Washington! We are lucky to have one day of snow each Winter...if we don't hurry and run out to play, the rain shows up and melts it all the next day. We have had temps in the 20's and it has been snowing for the last few days. I went out at 1 and took some cool pictures of our lights in the snow before anyone walked in it. The wind blew snow on the wreaths on our door and garage...it is really pretty. Too bad when Washington looks like this, the whole city shuts down! The kids had delayed start days last week and ended getting an extra two days off when the schools closed.

Morgan looks just like "Hant Debbie", when she was a little girl, in this picture!

Tom taught Morgan how to throw snowballs...he'll be sorry!

Andrew, Morgan, and Tom had fun in the snow

Andrew and Tom pose by Tom's wall of snow

Yes, you do have to let me take a picture! These poor kids are always followed around by a camera :)
Tom made this tiny snowman in our front yard

Christmas lights always look cool in the snow...my dad and I hung the lights together this year, it's the most lights we've had up for the past few years...we picked the right year to do it :)

The view from Summer's room...I like to sit in the rocking chair with her and look at the lights
It snowed even more last night

Our cars almost got buried in the snow

Even our Jack in the Box antenna ball sports a snowy look

Christmas is coming...

Tom and Andrew made gingerbread houses to display at home :)

Tom's gingerbread house he made in Webelos. They spent 3 sessions making these very elaborate houses...they made the house from scratch! The gingerbread men are having a "snowbomb" fight....and a chocolate Santa is falling off the roof. Tom had a blast making this.

Andrew made this gingerbread house at school. He is very proud of it. He said it was a lot easier to make since they used graham creackers and a milk carton.

The kids show off their new ornaments...every year we buy an ornament for each person in our family that represents something fromt the year. Andrew loves Pokemon and wanted to name one of the babies Squirtel...we got him a Squirtel ornament. Morgan loves Dora everything...she has a Dora ornament. Little Tom has had a huge increase in his appetite this year and tries to eat at least 3 McChickens every time we go to McDonalds...we got him a Spongebob ornament with a bag full of Crabby Patties. Summer has been our little angel...I got her an ornament from the hospital gift shop that is called Bright Star, reflecting the light within....very appropriate :)

My friends, Bridget and Cathy hang out with Summer at our ward Christmas party
Summer's first cuddle with Santa
Summer was the only kid we could get to get near Santa this year....hmmm, maybe no presents for them....ha ha!

Our little pinkish girl!

Here she is...check out her pink piggies :)
Summer is doing great! As of last week, she weighs in at 9 pounds, 7 ounces and just over 21 inches long....she has finally reached Morgan's birth weight and height! She is now 5 months old :) All of Summer's labs keep improving too...last week her bilirubin was 3 and now is it down to 2.2 ! As you can see from these pictures, she is starting to look and act more like a healthy, happy baby :) Tues. she had her follow up eye exam, all looks well so far and we will re-check her in 4 months. This coming Tues. she has an appt. with the pulminary team....cross your fingers for us that she gets cleared for healthy lungs and we can get rid of her oxygen tank! More updates will folow next week....for now, check out her cuteness :)

Yellow ducks finally look cute on her...they no longer blend in with her skin :)

Check out her developing rolls....her legs are still a little scrawny, but the rolls are coming!

Giving Thanks

Brianna and Summer bonding at Thanksgiving

This year has been a rocky toad...to state it lightly! With the last month of having Summer home we have been reflecting on things we are thankful for.

I am thankful to all those many (many, many) people in our lives who have helped us make it through....friends, family, nurses, doctors, even complete strangers who have offered prayers in our behalf. We couldn't have made it without all the support!

We are thankful for our beautiful kids....for Summer's continuing improvement. As of this week, her bilirubin has gone down to 3.8! Her labs show that her liver function is improving and she gained 29 grams per day last week! Summer now weighs 9 lbs 3 ounces! We are able to increase her feeds per hour and give her 20 more ML's in her bottle feedings. Next week I will be able to start adding a breastfeeding in every day. She is going to be a real baby after all :)

Brianna and Whitney love the babies...they love them too :)

We are thankful for Grandparents' houses too! My inlaws have this room stocked full of toys the kids love to play with and borrow ever time we go there

Tom and I have recently come to realize how important family is...and that the things we thought were important previously, just aren't so important anymore. Our perspectives have definitely changed significantly. We are looking forward to the Holidays with family and friends :) Hopefully 2009 will be better for all of us!

I am even thankful for cranberry salad...we have it every Thanksgiving. This time it was extra special. Jeanette was in charge of making it. The night before, she made the jello part of it and didn't have room in her fridge to chill it. It was cold enough outside so she set it out on her back porch covered in saran wrap. The next morning she went to bring it in and discovered she had really made the local squirrels' Thankgiving complete! There were perfect little footprints in the top and they had munched their way through about half of it! :) She panicked, called my mom in law for help and off they went to replace the ingredients. When the new salad was placed on the table, my mom in law added a furry little friend to commemorate the event :) Good job Jeanette! Too bad I wasn't around to catch this Kodak moment, haha!

One down, three to go...

Summer has been doing well. A couple weeks ago, they took her off the Lipids and it has been great with one less wire to trip over! Here she is modeling her attachments...

Before: With two IV pumps, the Enternal (feeding tube) pump, and oxygen tank we have quite a load to carry

After: One pump gone, sure lightens the load :)

As of last week she weighed in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces. Though she has been gaining weight each week, it is only about half as much as they would like to see her gain. She has been gaining about 10-11 grams a day...they want her to gain about 25-30...that's one ounce per day! We discussed maybe changing her food recipe and/or TPN. The nutritionist has changed the "recipe" for her TPN each week trying to get her to a place she needs to be. At this point, her lab work has been great, but she is lacking enough calories to gain. The new recipe has double the calories than the previous week and we have stayed at 27 ML's of breast milk per hour through her NG tube. We discussed the possibility of having to introduce formula to help with the digestion, but for now we are waiting to see what the increased IV calories will do for her...

The not so portable version of our baby....complete with her own R2D2 in the corner of her room

As far as lab work goes, Summer's bilirubin has gone down to 6! It was as high as 12 a few weeks ago, went to 9.6, 8, 7.7, now 6. She is looking a little less yellow, but still not pink enough to match her room :) I think I might ask Santa for a pink baby :) Ok, no replacement, just make the one we have pink :) We have to be careful what we ask for!!

This Tues. is our regular clinic visit day...in addition to the GI clinic, we are meeting with the Ocupational therapist and having a swallow study done. I have been giving Summer a bottle with her 1/2 of an ounce 4 times a day instead of a binky trainer. I have also nursed her a few times. It is nice to have a somewhat "real" baby :)

Little Tom likes to help keep Summer happy...an ingenious way to keep the binky in. My hubby says he would have used duct tape, ha ha!

She is still sweet as ever....and crying right now, gotta go :)

Those crazy Cameron kids

Just for fun, I thought I would show off our cute kiddos :)

Thomas Kaiser

Named after his Dad and Grandpa...his middle name from my Grandpa Theodore Kaiser

Tom says he's Pinnoccio...Tom is 10 and is in 4th grade. He loves to draw comic books, read, and play video games. Tom is very empathetic and kind. He has lots of friends and always looks out for them and his siblings. He and Morgan love to play together and he gives her piggy back rides all the time. Tom named Summer and loves to hold her. He is a great brother to Andrew too...he helps him with reading and Andrew really looks up to him.
Tom in his classroom with his invention "Keepin' track"...a shoe box turned into a CD and game organizer

Tom at his 10th birthday party

Tom loves visiting butterflies and getting them to land on him

Tom has fun doing yard work...Grandpa and the kids hleped clean up the huge pile of leaves in our front yard

Tom, Andrew, and Connor in a Fox den at the zoo...we always have to stop her every time we go...even though they don't fit in there as well as they used to

Andrew Sheldon

Named by me :) and his middle name from Tom's favorite Grandpa, Charles Sheldon

Andrew is in 1st grade, 6 years old, and just got glasses! He was so excited to order them, he asked me every day when they would arrive. He is thrilled to be able to see! Andrew has a very unique look on life...he listens intently and learns quickly. He started school last year and went from knowing 4 letters of the alphabet to reading by the end of the year! Andrew is very sweet and is great with his siblings. He tries really hard to do the right thing and is a caring friend.

Andrew with a butterfly

Andrew can be quite a goof ball....atop this giant catterpillar at the Pacific Science Center

Andrew is as long as this dino foot print at the Science Center

Andrew is very cute with his little sister

Morgan Valerie

Named by me and Tom...we have both loved the name for a long tme, just had to wait for a daughter :) Her middle name is after Tom's Grandma Val Sheldon...Valerie is a name my mom has always loved too, none of us fit the name, but Morgan does :)

Morgan is 3 and full of it! She is so cute...she has just blossomed from a toddler to a little girl in the last few months. She has a funny sense of humor, loves animals, Diego, and Dora, My Little Ponies, and horses. She does not love wearing dresses. In fact, we have to wrangle her into a dress Saturday night so she will be dressed for church the next day!

Morgan love baby Supbo...one of the first nights Summer was home, she was crying on the floor with Morgan next to her. I went into the kitchen for a minute and Summer stopped crying. I went to check on her to find Morgan happily munching on curly fries (I told her they were like snakes) next to her. She babbled something about "Supbo eat nakes". Summer had her first real food! She was happily sucking on a curly fry and loving it! I wish I would have grabbed my camera, but surprisingly enough, I didn't....something about getting the salty fried thing out of Summer's mouth :)

Morgan is a character....she loves purses and hooded coats

Morgan loves hammin' it up!

Morgan had a blast playing in the kids' area at the Pacific Scienc Center

Summer Marie

Named by her brother, Tom...her middle name in honor of my Grandma, Bertha Marie Norris

Summer is now 4 months old and just under 9 pounds. She is doing well at home and we love having her. She smiles a lot at us and tries to make little cooing noises. She's so sweet!

Summer has recently discovered her tongue...she sticks it out all the time!

How cute she is in this dress made by my sis in law...the frog blamkie too :)

Suumer modeling her new dress...Shameless promo for my sis in law's business @ chriscrosscrafts.com :)