"Hello God, it's Erin... again."

Wow, what a week to say the least! Since the last time I wrote, Lily was put in the hospital, Mark and I caught the super virus that put Lily in the hospital, I lost my job, was offered a new one, and Lily had a milestone! Whew...

In the hospital

So, first up to bat, yes... Lily was admitted into the hospital after a very scary bout with vomiting and diarrhea. On Saturday night (August 14th) we were sleeping on the couch after falling asleep to a movie and Lily woke both herself and me up with a fountain of vomit. I first thought she had gotten choked on something or coughed in her sleep so we didn't think anything of it. After washing her off and getting ready for bed, I proceeded to feed her, but it lasted only a few moments when she threw up again. This time I was a little concerned because it was definitely different than any spit up she has had before. While on the phone to the doctor she threw up for a third time and started dry heaving. The nurse on call told me to try and feed her a little more and she if she will hold it down. Not wanting to be "that" mom, I said okay, but before I could tell Mark what we are doing, she started with the dry heaving again. Instinctually, I told Mark to get her dressed while I packed the diaper bag because we were going to the ER. Something in my mind screamed at me that this could be bad because she is so little. Dehydration is not something to mess with and reoccurring projectile vomiting in a 3 1/2 month old is not normal. So we went to the ER where they did every horrible test on her that a mom can imagine. All I did was cry though the whole night, but they were trying to rule out things like Meningitis and other horrible sounding diseases. She had to have a spinal tap as well which was unbelievably painful for her and for us. The doctors hooked her up to an IV to give her fluids and to administer her antibiotics because she was dehydrated and she couldn't fight the virus. After a long night in the ER, they checked us into a room so they could monitor her progress and wait for the results of all the tests. Needless to say, it wasn't like our recent hotel stays.... but the staff at Medical City of Plano was more than helpful and we were released on Monday. We had prayed and had lots of people praying for Lily's healing and God was swift to respond. :)  However, He was going to hear a lot more from me since the week was just starting.

Mark and I got sick. Really sick. So sick that Mark was confined to the couch in the fetal position while I  was quarantined in the bedroom. Lily continued to get better and wanted to play more so she had her bouncer, bumbo, swing and all of her toys in the bedroom while I laid there just praying for it to pass soon. We made it through only by God's help (and Ken dropping off Powerade on the porch). Whatever super bug grounded both Mark and me, I can't imagine what would have happened to Lily if we had waited any longer before taking her to the hospital.

And last, but not least... while all of this is going on, I get a phone call from my boss and CFO of my company telling me that we are closing and giving me options to either take one of 2 new jobs or take a VERY nice severance package which would allow me to spend another 6 months home. So, needless to say, the severance package was the most appealing and sounded so blissful to a mom who is supposed to go back to work in another week and leave her baby at day care. To a lot of people it would have been a no brainer. I have had numerous recruiters approach me about potential jobs as an underwriter and frankly it would be easy to find a job right now so taking another 6 months off would be great. But without going into too much detail I decided not to take it. I don't want to be a career underwriter and desperately wanted to find a job learning a new skill set while making a decent amount of money. I know, every one who hates their job and wants to do something else is agreeing with me. But, after a LOT of praying and crying, stressing and talking, I took the job that best suited my family's needs and not only my own... since I will have to work anyway (being a stay at home mom is not an option right now). I asked God for a sign and He gave me one. At the time, it wasn't what I expected or wanted, but I have faith that I made the right decision and God won't lead me astray. I just know I am going to miss all of my friends and it has been a great three years working with them.

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF! Lily has had two milestones reached this week. Well, the first was actually a few weeks ago but really formed this week. She loves loves loves to hear herself laugh and coo. And trust me, she is ALL little girl. Her voice is so sweet and delicate and reaches high pitches that I can no longer reach. Here is a video of her squealing.

She wants to start crawling a lot as well. Pardon these videos all having her naked with a diaper, our air conditioning in on its last life so we take it easy on it. Plus, she likes to be naked. :) Her last milestone though was Rice Cereal. Oh boy, that was a treat. She slept for a few hours after a nice bottle of that and a hard playtime in her excersaucer. Anyway, here are some more pictures and another video of her. I hope you enjoy!

Happy in my bunny towel

Yummy tasting bunny towel

First night away and first trip to Houston

So after the last post, we celebrated Mark's birthday by having to get our air conditioning fixed. Good times were had by all, but we ended up staying in a hotel for two nights that weekend. The second night though, Lily spent the night at Grandma Peggy's house. It wasn't as bad as I expected, I think the anticipation was worse that the actual experience. I have to admit that I did shed a tear or two as Mark and I were leaving, but I knew that she would be in great hands. Lily did extremely well... except when it came to feeding time. Being that she has been breastfed and doesn't have much bottle knowledge, it was a little trying for Grandma to get her to take her bottle. Without success, Lily finally was fed by using a syringe. Not exactly conventional, but it did the trick. So, that next Monday, Mommy and Lily went on a tour of a few baby stores to find the "perfect" bottle. After trying out a few, we ended up going with the bottle that had the same nipple as her pacifier. Mission completed! Lily is now becoming a pro at eating from the bottle as well as still being breast fed. This made our next weekend in the hotel a lot easier! Here are some of Lily's 3 month pictures.

Happy girl laughing!

Winking at the camera

I am three months old today!

Big Grin!

Grandma and Lily

This past weekend we went to Houston and visited Mark's side of the family. It was a lot of fun and Lily did really well. She loved being held by her Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, and even her cousins. I was able to put her down in her travel bed (she goes to sleep really easily, thank goodness!) but her nap was short lived when she woke up by initiating that side of the family to one of her "blow outs"(and I don't mean a hair style). Grandma Sammie worked some magic though and was able to keep her white bloomers WHITE! I need to learn that trick soon. Ha ha! Her two cousins are completely in love with her too. Cy, the younger one, begs to hold her and loves that her hair color is becoming similar to his. Tomas is the older of the cousins and I love how he adores her as well. I have a feeling that both boys are going to enjoy teaching her all kinds of new things!

Tomas, Lily, and Cy

Aunt Pam and Lily

Aunt Didi and Lily

Uncle Ben and Lily

Uncle Steve and Lily

Chris with Kylie and Mark with Lily

We also had lunch with Lily's BFF Kylie. Her daddy Chris, is one of Mark's oldest childhood friends and wouldn't fate have it that they would both end up with daughters that are the same age. In fact, Missy's (Kylie's mommy) and my due date were only a day apart. Kylie ended up coming a few weeks early but they were still born in April and have the same birthstone....diamonds. Oh dear!

Okay, so now for some of her miles stones for the first week in August. Well, she is laughing a whole lot more and is developing an "Ernie" sort of laugh. (Sesame Street reference). She is pulling herself up if you hold on to her hands and LOVES to stand. I am not sure how normal this is for a three month old but if it makes her happy, then great! We are about to put her into a bouncer/walker once we find one that we like and she continues to like her tummy time. At this rate, she might just skip crawling all together, but we will see. We are still waiting to hear "mama" or "dada" but I'll settle for sounds like "Agoo" and "hia" for now. Any cute noise she makes is music to my ears!