Little Miss Sierra Mae

Today it was decided that Sierra needed her beauty sleep. She got tired out yesterday from a lot of stimulation in learning how to eat. Today she was kept quiet and calm and slept most of the day. She continues to do well with everything but showing interest in learning how to suck. She did get her IV taken out this morning as all of her labs came back clear. And I finally was able to dress her in a "LITTLE" pink : ) She is still being fed through her tube and weighs 5 lbs. 5 oz. which means she is at least maintaining her weight pretty well. I will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow and it is going to be super hard for James and I to leave her here and head for home so say a little prayer for us. She will be able to come home with her family as soon as she can suck all of her own meal for 2 full days in a row. We are hoping that happens soon.

Simon

Simon had fun playing with his friend Henry today. He is now home playing with his daddy and sleeping in his own bed again : )

Good News

Sierra is off oxygen and has been moved out of the isolet and into the regular nursery. She is still receiving extra care and monitoring because she is still breathing to fast at times and needs to learn to regulate her body and how to eat. She had a feeding tube put in yesterday but is also starting to suck and is getting food in various ways at the moment. We are going to work on that today. Still no word when she might come home BUT she is doing well. On another note, James is having surgery on his finger today at noon. We aren't sure what to expect as an outcome.......he will have some pins to hold the bones in place and we will see what else. AND Simon is having fun hanging out and Grandpa and Grandma DeVries' house.

SIERRA MAE GROOTERS

She's Here. 4 1/2 weeks early, 5 pounds and 6 ounces, 18 1/2 inches long, she arrived at 4:10pm today. My water broke early this morning.....after many hours of not believing it was real we ended up at the hospital and had another c-section. Sierrra is doing well, we got to see her for a few seconds in the operating room and she is now being monitored in the nursery. She is doing well with the oxygen in her blood but needs to be watched closely because her lungs are very immature and she is breathing too quickly. Here are a few pics of the little sweetie.

Broken Finger and a Hair Cut

Simon got another haircut today. You can actually see his face BUT mommy needs a little time to get used to it. I think it makes him look way older. AND James broke his finger playing basketball. Right now it is just in a splint but we have to make an appointment with a specialist because it may need surgery.

New Rocking Horse

Our family received a new rocking horse as a gift fromour friends Tom and Tonya Spencer. Tonya's 85 year old grandfather makes them and they are great. Simon already loves riding the new horse : )

Catch Up Time

I wanted to catch you up on a few more things that have happened in our lives over the busy Holidays. Simon made a really sweet gingerbread house with Grandma Grooters at the cottage. James and I also got a new KING SIZE bed for Christmas. The new mattress has been great, especially at the end of a pregnancy.

4 weeks to go and.............

we've decided to try and sell our house : ) BG#2 should be here by this time in exactly 4 weeks. Everything is still looking good and I am looking forward to not being pregnant anymore. We also have started looking at some new houses in Allendale. Of course, first our current house would have to sell. We are preparing to start the process and see where it goes. If anyone has any good buying/selling tips let us know.

GR Children's Museum

Penguin Play is at the GR Chrildren's Museum right now, and while we didn't get much time playing with the penguin set up, we had fun everywhere else. Simon got to crawl through a mirror tunnel, play with balls, and try out musical instuments.

Our Family Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas Season : )

DeVries Christmas Eve

Extended DeVries Family Christmas

Lake, Steve and Heather visit for Christmas

Simon's First Gun - That's A Daisy

Grandpa Grooters gave Simon his first gun and it even has his name engraved in it : )

Oosterhouse/Grooters Christmas

Visiting Great-Grandma Grooters

Little Helper

We finally put some locks on all of our kitchen cupboards to keep Simon OUT! He helped Grandpa and Daddy install them : )

Simon has a rough life : )

Simon woke up this morning and promptly fell asleep by me in bed. Then he got to help mommy and grandma "sew". And he got to cuddle up in the down comforter and watch a little morning cartoons : ) Rough, isn't it?

Baby #2 update

Well, it looks like Baby G #2 will arrive at dawn on February 2. We have a c-section scheduled for 7:30am. We will also have an amniocentesis test which is scheduled for February 1, to check and make sure her lungs are ready for delivery. WOW only 8 more weeks!

SICK!

Well, our family overall hardly ever gets sick but what a week we have had. Simon ended up in Prime Care on Tuesday afternoon with a temperature of 104.4f and a double ear infection. On Wednesday I had a fever, sore throat, an ear ache, and pain. And then James acquired the lovely sore throat this weekend. WHAT FUN, WHAT FUN! Please pray that we all feel better this week : )