Special Visitors

Today my great aunt Joanne and great uncle Gordon stopped by for a visit. They live in Spokane, WA but have been in the Midwest for the past few weeks visiting lots of family and friends. We were blessed to be a part of their trip circuit! They enjoyed meeting Lyla for the first time face-to-face. :)

And one more cute pic from Auntie Suz :)

Friends

Here is Lyla with her friend Bella--they are just too cute.

The Tooth!

Just realized after work today that Lyla is getting her first tooth!  I can feel it and see it--tried to get a pic of it but it didn't turn out too clear.  If you look closely you can see it though.  I can't believe she's getting to be such a big girl.

It's her bottom right tooth that's coming in.

She's sucking on some watermelon here and loving it!

Lyla's classic--two fingers in the mouth :)

Happy Belated 4th of July...

Hope you had a fabulous holiday weekend.  :)

Aunties Galore!

Three of my aunts and my Grandma Irma came to visit while Linc & Abby and co were still here.  They got to meet Sophie for the first time, and my Aunt Rita got to meet Lyla for the first time too.  What a blessing to have such a loving family and such fun visitors.  

The fun never ends! 

Lyla, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Jane

A big smile for Aunt Jane :)

Grandma, Mary, Lyla, Jane, and Rita

Auntie Rita holding Lyla for the first time.

More Cuzzie Pics

I just can't resist posting pics of my sweet nieces and my wonderful brother and sister-in-law!  We had such a fun time with them--the house is a little too quiet now that they're all back in AZ. :(

What a sweet family--my brother Linc, sis-in-law Abby, and nieces Charis & Sophie

Sophie, Lulu, Charis

Rosy-cheeked sweetheart

We went to Riverfest and Charis did the bungee-trampoline--she's getting to be such a brave girl.

7 months old and counting...

    Well, as many of you know, Lyla was in the hospital again over the weekend because of another urinary tract infection.  This time she was only in for 3 days instead of 5.  With some testing she had done, it was found that she has some anomolies in her urinary tract and right kidney which makes her very prone to getting infections.  She will now be on some antibiotics all the time to keep her from getting recurrent infections.  But we got to come home on Monday and she is doing great!  Back to having fun with her cuzzies Charis and Sophie and Uncle Linc and Auntie Abby.  So thank you for your prayers and love sent our way.  As always, we give thanks and praise to God for always taking care of our little Lyla Jane.

    Also, she turned 7 months old on Sunday, the 28th!  She is getting to be such a big girl--she's really getting good at eating her rice cereal with bananas in it.  She even tried some chocolate frosting during her little birthday party at the hospital!  Enjoy the video and pics.

        

Mmmmmm....chocolate  :)

The Birthday Beauty

(apple photos compliments of Auntie Suz!)

Lyla loves her Uncle Linc and Auntie Abby too!

The Cuzzies!

Sophie

What a cutie :)

Chocolate girl

Grandma love

a few more...

Charis, Lulu, and Sophie with matching bows. :)

The Bean

Sophie Girl

Blowing bubbles in the pool!

Pinkies

Dancin Cuzzies

Charis jumping off the diving board (she started doing this for the first time!)

Auntie Suz, Vivianna, and Louella

    Well, since Joel is now in Canada for the week, Lyla and I got a special visit from some very sweet girls. My friend Susan (aka Auntie Suz) and her two girls Vivianna (5) and Louella (3) drove all the way from Becker, MN to visit. Vivianna and Louella have been wanting to meet Lyla since the day she was born, and they say prayers for "baby Lyla" every night. I think Jesus has a tender spot in his heart for children and listens extra special to their innocent prayers. Thank you Vivianna and Louella--your prayers are being heard!

    Despite the hot and humid weather, we managed to have lots of fun. Susan is like a sister to me and she is such a blessing to have around. Lyla Jane had so much fun and was so easy-going during all the hubbub, but was exhausted by the end of the visit! 

Enjoy the pics and video of our precious girls.

The Girls :)

Pool time fun!

Lyla really liked the water and was kind of mesmerized by it.  She's just chillin in this pic. :)

Lyla and Vivianna

Soon to come . . . lots of pics and videos of Lyla with her cousins!!!

Funny Bunny

Here's the funny bunny making zerberts. :)

This is my friend's little guy, Lyndon, with Lyla.  He's such a handsome little sweetheart!  He posed so nicely for the pics. :)

Papa and the Bean

My dad has been here for the past week--working hard and playing hard. In fact, he's fishing with Joel right now! He's enjoyed some time with Lyla and also did another "project" for us--he tiled our shower/tub surround. What a blessing to have such a loving and talented dad. :) Enjoy the pics!

Lyla in Papa's fishing cap--he sure can get her to smile!

Having fun with Papa

Our blue-eyed girl (with fuzzy hair!) :)

The Shower!

This is the amazing work that my dad did this past week on our shower - he is so talented. And we are SO glad to be rid of the avocado green shower. I could kick myself for forgetting to take "before" pics. 

Anyway, thanks Dad!!!!

My Adorable Nieces

I got to download some photos from my dad's camera and of course he had some pics of my nieces on there--they live in Arizona too. I had to post a few pics of them because they are coming to visit soon and I love them soooo much! Can't wait to see them and can't wait for Lyla to meet her cousins!

Charis (she's 5) and Sophie (she's 2) at the beach

The dollies  :)

Papa and Sophie after her bath

Charis, Sophie, and Grandma

Update

Well, Lyla Jane had 2 doctor's appointments this past week and this is the full report:

• She is now 12 lbs 9 oz and 25 inches long!
• Dr. Jedele was pleased with the progress she has made in her strength.
• There was some concern that her hips weren't abducting fully, but after an x-ray and appt with the orthopaedic doc, it's confirmed that her hips are totally normal!
• Concerning her eye-crossing, the pediatric opthalmologist still doesn't think it's enough of a concern (since it is so intermittent) to do anything about it.  She'll be re-checked in December when she's a year old.
• Her muscles still have low tone--she is a bit behind with her gross motor skills, and more behind with her fine motor skills.  The OT and PT have given us several things to work on with her.  Please pray that these skills will develop.
• We had doubts about getting the kidney function tests done on her, and had actually cancelled them, but we decided to reschedule them.  They are checking for reflux of her urine from her bladder back to her kidneys.  If this is occurring, it could cause permanent damage to her kidneys, so we'd want to intervene as soon as possible.  These tests will be done on June 24th so please pray that all goes well.

All in all, she is doing just great and is as fun and sweet as ever.  We thank the Lord for every accomplishment she has!  More pics and videos to come . . . Papa is on his way here right now!  He'll be here for the week.  Yay!