Witnessing Miracles, and Other Weekend Fun.

Charlotte came home on Saturday, and we had a little party at the airport.

(This balloon caused some tension among the kids.  Whoops!)

(Ellie and I waited patiently!)

(Sammi was SO good with Ellie while we waited!  I think she wanted to braid Ellie's pigtails here.)

Quick background: Kelly and Kyle just adopted Charlotte.  She's their first child, she's four, she's hilarious, she's in love with her parents, she likes dogs, and she has Down syndrome.  She was born in Eastern Europe.

And now, the photos you've been waiting for... and a huge "Thank You!" to those who helped grant Ellie's first birthday wish.

(Enthralled by the balloon.)

(Four kids + 1 balloon = Not smart, Megan.)

(Charlie and Liza.)

To watch this sweet girl interact with her parents, take her new country by storm, and walk around International Arrivals "talking" on her purple plastic cell phone... well, my heart is still in a puddle on the floor at Dulles.

With Charlotte's homecoming, I was reminded of an event one year ago Sunday - Ellie's homecoming post-NICU.  The three weeks she was in the NICU were the longest three weeks of my life, and yet the weeks between Ellie's first birthday and today have flown.

Matt and I celebrated with a date night to see "The Hunger Games."  Of course, I loved the movie.  I love the book.  In fact, go see the movie this week if you haven't yet.

And just for kicks, a few other scenes from earlier in the weekend, before the rain poured down. (Gotta love long runs in the rain.  Matt did his long run Saturday, I did mine Sunday.  Gross.)

Happy Monday.

And of course, "Happy Hunger Games.  May the odds be ever in your favor."

(Sharing with Happiness Is...)

Heartbroken No More.

Thursday morning, 9:40 am: Ellie's open heart surgery began.


Monday afternoon, 4:45 pm: We were back at home.

(Not sleeping.  But eating her prayer shawl.)

 For those who missed out on the background, Ellie was born with a complete AV canal defect which was diagnosed prenatally.  (Many kids with Down syndrome have heart defects.  The AVSD/AV canal defect is very common.)  We had been on hold, waiting for surgery to be scheduled, waiting for surgery, keeping Ellie healthy for surgery.  We prepared ourselves for a long hospital stay.

I'll be honest, I don't like hospitals.  I'm thankful for them - Ellie's heart condition would be terminal without her surgery - but I can't pretend that I like staying in one room, the smell of rubbing alcohol, or sleeping in those awful recliners.  Ellie doesn't like hospitals either, so she decided to get out early.

"Seven to ten days, unless there are complications," is the standard hospital stay for this surgery.  I was warned that Ellie may have feeding issues following surgery. She needed to be able to eat and breathe without supplemental oxygen before we could bring her home.

Thirty six hours post-surgery, her only "issue" was hunger.  She couldn't seem to suck bottles down fast enough!  She was transferred from the Cardiac ICU on Saturday, and weaned off oxygen by Sunday evening.

She's only on Tylenol for pain.

All of this goes to prove that my baby is tougher than me.  If someone cracked open my sternum and repaired my heart, I don't think Tylenol would cut it.  But Ellie is a strong little girl.  She is fussier than normal, and pulled an all-nighter last night. Despite our exhaustion, we are so proud. 

Home.

Four days after open heart surgery, we are HOME.

Ellie is already trying to roll over, and our family is exhausted but relieved and happy to have a baby with a fixed heart.

(I'll write a real update tomorrow.)

Wireless (aka, Ellie is HOME!)

When we went to the hospital on Friday, we knew we were very likely to bring Ellie home "sometime in the afternoon."  We had a new nurse, and we weren't entirely sure how the day would play out.  We didn't rush to the hospital, thinking that we'd have a long day of waiting around.  As we walked in, the doctors were completing rounds.  Ellie's doctor pulled us aside and told us she'd just completed Ellie's discharge papers, we could go see our nurse and get Ellie home.  I burst into tears.  We were home by 1:30 pm.

There are two little things I appreciate about Ellie being home that I'll share.  There's about a million things I appreciate, but these are two biggies.

One: Wireless.  Holding a baby attached to a bunch of wires was difficult.  She got tangled.  I was afraid of messing with her PICC line.  Sometimes, picking her up would make the monitors go crazy.  Now, I can hold my baby.

Two: Dinner and Lunch.  Matt and I ate with Ellie in the room.  If she cried, we could have gone to her.  She didn't cry, though, because she was in her swing, which I think is her favorite "new" (er, borrowed) toy.  She has been in it for the past hour, wide awake since 4:25 am, and after two bottles and breastfeeding, I cut her off.  I was hungry, so I came downstairs, put the very awake Little Miss in the swing, and now we are both heavy eyed and hanging out.

And now, because words do not do justice to the joy of having our baby home:

(Dogwood tree and natural light)

(WIRELESS)

(Happy with the new toy)

(Ready for our first walk)