Lyla's New Glasses

So it turns out that Lyla is far-sighted. How they could figure that out while Lyla was sedated is beyond me. Nevertheless, she has new glasses, and we can already tell that they're helping. Lyla looks around like she sees a whole new world! Also, they are helping her eyes not to cross nearly as often. She doesn't try to take them off either, which is amazing to me. Maybe she likes having them on because she can see!

One other tidbit--this is how I found Lyla sleeping the other morning before I went to work. She made my day and she wasn't even awake yet. :)

Our Little Hero

The last song in Lyla's First Year video (which you can watch by clicking here) has a line that perfectly describes our Lyla Jane. It goes--

"You're my hero little girl. You always save the day with your smile. I know I'm in love...with the one behind those pretty eyes."

Whether I'm feeling rotten, or Daddy's feeling rotten, or even if she's feeling rotten, (which she was yesterday due to a nasty cold) Lyla still manages to put on that infectious smile, or a heart-melting, adorably hilarious silly face. It changes my attitude in an instant. I realize that I haven't faced half the challenges that she has in her short life, yet she keeps on smiling and proving that she is our little hero.

Thank you, Lord, that you've given us Lyla as a constant source of joy.

Psalm 94:18-19 "When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

Cuteness

Auntie Bryana watched Lyla yesterday and took some pics--here are my favorites...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's our sweetest Valentine--

True love is ...

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

I Corinthians 13:4-7

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and have true love in your life!

Weekend Adventure

Joel, Lyla, and I had a little getaway to the Twin Cities this past weekend. We met up with Joel's parents at IKEA, then we went to the Rainforest Cafe at the Mall of America. Lyla loved looking at all the fish in the aquariums there. She got to try some yummy cuisine off our plates too! We stayed at a hotel for the night and then went to the Minnesota Zoo the next morning. There's a large indoor area there and we enjoyed all the interesting animals. Again, Lyla's favorites were the underwater creatures. It was a perfect little escape--just what we needed. :) Lyla, of course, was a trooper through it all...

Looking at the fish with Dad

Our table was right next to an awesome saltwater aquarium--the yellow puffer fish above my head cost $1200, according to our waitress, the most expensive fish in the restaurant!

Checking out the fish

These were at the zoo--called sea dragons--unique little creatures

Lyla liked the dolphins too

Lyla and the shark--yikes!

And my favorite-the very rare and endangered Amur Leopard.

Sledding!

Lyla went sledding for the first time!

Daddy & Lyla snuggling in the morning :)

Doing Alright

Just wanted to let you know that we are doing alright. Thankfully, Joel had the day off yesterday so we were able to pray together and cry together and just spend the day as a family. We were also able to take time to count all the many blessings that we do have. We are so grateful. Lyla and her sweet smiles have brought us great comfort. She is always a ray of sunshine. :) And God has given our hearts peace. It's hard to understand why we had to have another miscarriage, but we are just trusting God and we know He has a plan. We will not give up on having another child! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers sent our way, and for your encouraging words. It is so comforting to feel so prayed for and loved. We don't feel alone because we know so many others have been down the same road.

Sending our love to you too, Jenny & Joel

Job 1:21b "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

Miscarriage

We had a miscarriage--please pray. This is hard.

14 Miraculous Months

Lyla Jane is 14 months old today--thank you Lord! Oh, how the time has flown.

Belly laugh :)

She's getting better at sitting independently--she can do this on the couch for about a minute.

Trooper Status...

...continues. Lyla had her eye procedure (to get her tear ducts opened) done last Wednesday and came through like a trooper as usual. Daddy was with her all day as I was working a 12 hour shift. As of today, her left eye does not water at all any more (yay!) but her right eye is still pretty watery, with slight improvement. We're hoping it will clear up soon! Here's some cute pics of Lyla and Joel snuggling the other morning. :)

Kisses from Lulu too!

Bella & Lyla

Progress Report

It occurred to me today that I have not given a progress report on Lyla for a very long time! So here goes--

• On Dec. 28th she had another ultrasound to check how her kidneys/bladder are doing. It was encouraging--the hydronephrosis (swelling) of her right kidney has gone down, but is still not gone. Her right kidney will probably never be fully functional, which is okay because her left kidney is still in perfect working condition and is compensating for the right one. Also, the dilation of the right ureter has gone down. We are praying that both the right kidney and right ureter will continue to improve. You can join us in that if you want! She will have another ultrasound in May.

• She recently had her eyes checked and the opthalmologist still thinks her vision is fine and doesn't think her occasional eye-crossing warrents any intervention. Also, next Wednesday (1/20) Lyla will be having a small procedure done to open up her tear ducts so her eyes won't be watering all the time--I am looking forward to not having to always be wiping gunk out of them! She will be sedated for the (10 min) procedure, so after it's done he's going to do a thorough eye exam and the audiologist will be doing a hearing exam also--we're going to get as much done while she's sedated as possible! Please pray that all goes well that day. I'll be working so Daddy gets to take her in.

• As far as physical development goes, Lyla is still not sitting up on her own. She is inching closer and closer though. I'm trying to work extra hard on her sitting up with a goal in mind--I'm hoping she'll be able to sit up by May 1st because this is the day of Josh (Joel's brother) and Bryana's wedding and she is going to be in it! Bryana's friend's son will be pulling her down the aisle in a wagon--cuteness! Lyla's arms and legs are getting stronger--you can tell if you watched the jumparoo video--she really likes to jump. :) A few days ago the physical therapist from the Birth to 3 program gave us a stander for Lyla. We put her in it for about 20 minutes a few times a day. This will help her hip and knee joints to develop correctly. She looks SO tall in it! She will also soon be getting a neoprene (like wet suit material) onesie to help her posture--should be interesting. Joel just laughed and laughed when I told him about it (Lyla's orthopaedist prescribed it)--Joel said we should take her scuba diving. :)

• Lyla's personality is starting to come out more and more. She's beginning to realize that she can make people laugh by making silly noises and faces. She likes to give super corny smiles once in awhile too. So funny! She still is not saying any words but likes to have funny sound conversations back and forth. I think she will be starting to work with a speech therapist pretty soon. She also likes to play gimme five. :)

• Lyla has been eating really well lately. She basically eats all things Gerber and about 2 or 3 bottles a day. We are starting to give her table food too--she loves little pieces of meat--she's our little carnivore. You'd think she could eat a steak with all the teeth she has! We think she's getting a molar on the bottom already.

• I am back to a scheduled position at the hospital. I'll be working two 12-hour shifts a week. On days when both Joel and I are working, Joel's mom will be taking care of Lyla--what a blessing! Also, we are strongly considering moving to Arizona this summer or fall. Now that Lyla is so stable and doing so well, we would like to give it a try. It would be so nice to be able to live close to my family, but there is also so much that we would miss here. I often feel very torn. But we are working toward moving there. Many pieces would need to fall into place--we would need to sell our house, and of course Joel would need to find a job with comparable pay in AZ. Then we would need to find a place to live there! (Though we could live with my parents in the mean time.) Anyway, we would covet your prayers in this area too-we are praying for wisdom in our decision-making. It is shaping up to be a very big year for us!

Anyway, here are some cute pics of Lyla Jane...

Lyla's stander

Mommy & Lyla being silly (and staring at the lighted fan)

Lyla and I with our friends Michele and Bella :)

Thank you in advance for your prayers for Lyla and for us. And while you're at it--send up a prayer for my dad--they found a spot on his lung when he had a chest x-ray done--he'll be getting a CT done on the 25th to investigate further. Thanks and love to you!

Another Grandma's Birthday!

Dear Grandma,

From the day I was born,

and every day since,

you're always loving, caring,

and seeing the best in me.

Always willing to hold me, rock me, play with me, feed me, sing to me, read me books.

You delight in my every accomplishment, every milestone, every smile.

Thank you Grandma for being wonderful in every way.

I love you! Lyla

Happy birthday Carol! Hope you have a blessed year--we love you! Joel & Jenny