There's a Monster Among Us

I'm afraid we've created a monster...a cookie monster, that is! Shelby & I were in the kitchen fixing our lunch when he heard Georgia in the pantry...this is what we saw! Georgia found the chocolate chip cookies and had already eaten half of one by the time we found her! Dessert first? Why not? It's Saturday, isn't it?

Isn't she the cutest little cookie monster?

YaYaBee

I got Georgia Claire & Ivy Jane dressed in their YaYaBee shirts today and took some pictures...I think they turned out really great!

Georgia thought it was hilarious when I laid Ivy in her lap...I wish you could hear her squeals!

Leaning in for a kiss...

Ivy turned towards her when she kissed her and you can tell Georgia thought it was funny!

Sweet sisters...
This HAS to be the best Braman sister picture to date! =) LOVE IT! You may be asking, what's YaYaBee? My sister Angie and her business partner Cindy opened up a shop in Fredericksburg back in the spring called YaYaBee. Angie made the shirt and onesie that Georgia Claire & Ivy Jane are wearing in the pictures above. She is SO creative and has such incredible ideas. She's an occupational therapist, but on any given day at YaYaBee she may be a dancer, artist, scientist, story teller, baker, etc. She has a tremendous giving spirit, and with Cindy's help, opened YaYaBee as a place for the children of Fredericksburg, and those visiting, to come and just be kids...to imagine, to create, to explore, to discover...

On her website, www.yayabeeandme.com it gives this as an explanation...

"Each child has their own path to travel, their own way of learning, their own way of seeing the world. Yayabee helps children embrace their uniqueness as they build the confidence needed to be successful at school, play and at home. Yayabee is an enrichment and learning lab offering occupational therapy, speech therapy, music therapy, art and tutoring in the form of individual and group sessions guiding children to recognize their strengths, gifts, and weaknesses, giving them the tools necessary to travel their path confidently."

If you have kids and are ever in Fredericksburg, you really should stop by! It's a fascinating place!

Update on Georgia Claire

I love these pictures of Georgia...she loves putting on sunglasses...we've picked up several pair here and there and she always has fun with them!

We saw the physical therapist last Thursday and Georgia's hips, knees, and ankles are hyper-flexible. The PT said the range of motion in her ankles are what a 3-6 month old should have. Her ankles are just weak and she stands on her tip toes to compensate for the lack of muscle tone. Her right foot turns out when she tries to walk because it's too weak. SO, what's the fix? We have to get custom made braces for her ankles that fit into her shoes. The PT thinks that she will be walking in no time & said this is a common condition of babies her age that aren't walking. SO, we are encouraged and looking forward to seeing her walk! She's going to be so excited and so proud of herself. She wants to walk so badly now, her little ankles just won't work right now!

She's so much fun lately...some things she's saying..."Mama" "Dada" "BuBu" (for baby) "Bye Bye" "Ni Ni (for night night) "Hi" (as she waves her hand) "Ba" (for bath) "Mmmm" (for what a cow says) "Sssss" (for what a snake says) "Bu" (for bottle) "Uh-oh" and when you ask her if she wants to do something she says "Yeah"! Last night she also said "Paw Paw" and "Na Naw" (for Grandma). We're working on "Mimi" and "Grandbarry" next!

Visitors

My niece Mary Katherine started kindergarten this year, so she has not been able to come over much like she used to. She's been a little jealous of her little sister Caroline and all of the "BB Time" she's been getting. SO, last week I took her lunch at school while Georgia was at MDO and she came to my house that afternoon to hang out with the girls and me. As she called it, "A BB Day". We had a great time...worked on her homework, did some art, played a matching game, and played with Ivy Jane...all before Georgia Claire woke up from her nap.

Ivy Jane doesn't know it yet, but she's going to LOVE Mary Katherine...

Georgia Claire already loves Mary Katherine. She was a little surprised to see her at her crib when she woke up...

SO happy to see her cousin...you can see the smile behind the paci!

Kathy & I always joke that Mary Katherine is already ready to babysit, at the age of FIVE! She is so good with Georgia Claire. GC has these little Baby Einstein Alphabooks that she loves & was SO excited when MK started reading them to her...

Mary Katherine read all 26 books & Georgia listened intently the whole time...LOVE IT!

Ivy Jane was alert & awake the entire time. She has been sleeping 8-9 hours at a time at night & it is GLORIOUS! I LOVE my babies & their great sleep habits!
Georgia went for a ride with Mary Katherine...
On Friday, Stacy, Julia's mom, was in the area & came by for a visit. It's always good to see her. She met Ivy Jane for the first time & enjoyed getting to love on Georgia Claire. Here are some sweet pictures I got from her visit...


Georgia Claire was asleep 15 minutes after Stacy left and slept for 3 hours. When Shelby got home from work, this is what he found in the bed...she had a GREAT nap folks!

10-10-10...Definitely a Day to Remember!

William Robert Cross is my hero. Just five short days ago he went to the hospital and had his lung removed and today he is HOME!!!!!! God is SO GOOD! As Angie said, they witnessed a miracle, and they had front row seats! Will told my mom that he didn't ever want to go to the hospital again! We love this little guy and are amazed at his spirit and his courage.

Here he is again just a few hours after surgery...

This is him sitting on the couch coloring with my Dad (Paw Paw) on Thursday...
Walking out of the hospital (no wheelchair needed folks!) in his t-shirt, blue jeans, converse & holding his stuffed triceratops. Angie said he was giving the nurses high fives and hugs as they left.
And here he is reunited with big brother Gabe riding their Razors...this kid had MAJOR surgery just 5 days ago!!!
All smiles on HIS BIKE! WOW! Thank you, Lord! You are an amazing healer and I am in awe of this little life that has made such a HUGE impact already! 10-10-10...DEFINITELY a day to remember! =)

A Day at the Park...One Year Later

On October 3, 2009, Shelby, Georgia Claire & I went to the park & enjoyed the beautiful weather. Looking back at these pictures, I cannot believe how our little girl has grown! AND, even more exciting, I cannot believe how our FAMILY has grown! God has been so good to us in the last year and a half!

Here's a couple pictures of our day, a little over a year ago...

And, one year later, here are a few pictures of our trip to the park! One of Georgia's absolute favorite things to do is ride in her wagon. A while back I realized that Ivy Jane's car seat would sit sideways with her. Since I don't have a double stroller (really didn't want to get one since I had a big one, a jogging stroller, and an umbrella stroller), I've learned to use the wagon when I'm taking Georgia in to Mother's Day Out. I always leave the wagon and Ms. Janice takes Georgia and her boyfriend Kipton around the church...they go swing, they go by and see Mrs. Phyllis the church secretary, and just enjoy riding around and saying hi to anyone and everyone they see.

Georgia Claire & Ivy Jane riding together...
Hanging out together...
Sweet Georgia Claire...
Sweet Ivy Jane...
My heart is full!
So is Daddy's...he's in trouble!
This picture cracks me up...Georgia looks so serious!
Georgia started crying as we were leaving...she LOVES the park...guess we're going to have to go back soon!

Today has been a great day!

Will had a GREAT night last night. He was in quite a bit of pain yesterday and moaned and groaned a lot until about 8:30 or so last night. They "upped" his pain meds so he was able to relax and go to sleep. He slept until 3 AM when he woke up and told Angie he was "starving". So, what did they do? Eat cupcakes! In Angie's words, "Why not?!" He went back to sleep about 4:00 and slept well. He had a bed bath this morning and was able to walk about 10 feet. He moved to the couch in his room and colored with PawPaw...picture below! Mom & Dad were planning on coming home today but Will was having so much fun with PawPaw they decided to stay another night! =) These two guys are best buds...

On another note, Miss Ivy Jane is 9 weeks old today! WOW! Where does the time go?! My life is all about feeding babies, bathing babies, changing diapers, etc. right now but I wouldn't change a thing! I love it! Ivy Jane is getting chunky, as you can see from the pictures below...
Look at that tummy!
Thank you Lord for another sweet chunky baby and for a wonderful day for Will!

One Amazing 5 Year Old

This picture was taken of Will about 4 hours after his surgery. Angie & Joe are amazed...he was eating his 4th popsicle, watching Polar Express & wondering when he could go to the toy store! Angie said he slept well through the night, but was awake from about 3-5 AM wanting to go to the toy store and wanting another popsicle and fruit loops! He's been fussy but does not seem to be in much pain. He will be moved to a PCU room today!

About the surgery...it was a complete success! It was scheduled for 9 AM but they didn't take him back to the OR until about 10:30. The cool thing is that they allowed Angie to go back to the OR with him while they put him to sleep so that the last thing he saw was his sweet Mommy's face. I tell you what people, Texas Children's Hospital in Houston gets it! It is an awesome place! They called Angie periodically with updates...first incision was made at 12:30...lots of prep work done from 10:30-12:30. At 4:00 he was in recovery, breathing on his own, and wanting Mommy. Dr. Cass was extremely pleased, said his left lung looked beautiful, there was no sign of infection, no other anatomical concerns, and he is very optimistic about Will's future prognosis. PRAISE GOD! His chest x-ray this morning showed a little fluid in his left lung, but it looks like he probably aspirated during surgery...normal for that surgery. We just have to pray now for no infection and no pneumonia, but it looks GREAT! My parents were there with Angie, Joe, and Will. Joe's sister is staying in Fredericksburg with big brother Gabe. We are all so thankful the surgery is behind him and look forward to watching him run and play with his cousins! Thank you for your prayers...God performed another miracle in Will's life and we are so thankful!

Prayers for Will

All of you know about my nephew Will and the many surgeries he has so bravely faced in his short, but very full, 5 years of life. Tomorrow he is facing yet another big surgery...he will have a lung removed tomorrow morning at Texas Children's in Houston. He is such an amazing little guy and although we do not know why he is having to go through all of this, we DO know that God is good and He sees the big picture where we only see today. I believe that God has HUGE plans for William Robert Cross and he is going to touch SO many lives (he already has), and probably break a lot of hearts, too! He is PRECIOUS and is going to be QUITE the catch one day, that is, if my sister Angie ever allows it! =)

On his carepages site, Angie posted this today titled "PRESENT". She has such a way with words...

As we drive to Houston today, are hearts are full of hope & visions of Will running, riding, swimming & laughing without struggling to breathe. Will is in good spirits today...singing, laughing, & watching scooby doo in the back seat. As I type this, he's sleeping with his mouth wide open....not a care in the world. Will is full aware of why we are going to Houston. He has not had much to say about it- he lives his life in the moment- not in the past, not in the future. How much we have been blessed by this little boy! How much we have learned from him! Please pray that Joe, Gabe & I can also be present today - to savor each moment. We love you all!

-------------------------

Please join me in prayer for Dr. Darrell Cass, the surgeon, Dr. Chris Glover, the anesthesiologist, and their entire team. The surgery is supposed to last 6 hours. I will update as I know something.

Smiles & Pig Tails

Ivy Jane started smiling at us a couple of weeks ago but I never can capture it on camera. Last night she was giving me the BIGGEST smiles...I was able to get a couple of shots...not her biggest smiles, but still very sweet!

Georgia Claire's hair is growing and I can never keep a bow in it or keep it looking good, so I started experimenting with pig tails last night. Shelby told me he wants her hair in pig tails every day...SO CUTE!

Here is Georgia doing one of her favorite things...reading her Baby Einstein Alphabooks...the neatest little set of 26 books with three pictures of things that start with each letter of the alphabet.

Getting another one out for Daddy to read...

Mama's first attempt at pig tails...

Georgia found her belly button...

It has been such beautiful weather that we decided to get some fresh air last night...of course that meant Georgia taking a ride in the wagon!

I hope we have years of many smiles & pig tails to come...