Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy!

Wow!  How did Lucy get to be 3 years old?  We are thrilled with her progress over the past year...she got her feeding tube out, her eating is getting so much better, she's growing like a weed and she is a little chatterbox who loves playdoh and the playground!

New Trike!

New Garbage Truck...love the early morning hair, right??

Since it was also Father's Day AND my sister and brother-in-law's wedding anniversary, we had an all-day party complete with BBQ, ice cream cake AND cupcakes and a St. Paul Saints game with family and friends.  The weather was gorgeous...the upside of having a summer birthday in Minnesota (when the weather cooperates!)

Thank You for your continued support of us and of Lucy...it's easy to forget that Lucy has "special" needs most of the time...but when something comes up we appreciate knowing that we've got prayer warriors behind us who love and support Lucy (and us)!

 

Yum...Ice Cream cake!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!

Dad - Mom let me type this blog today so I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and what a great dad you are.  Thanks for being so patient with me as I learn to ride my new trike and my desire to do everything BY MYSELF grows! :)

I hope you had fun at the Saints Game on Father's Day...it was very special to share my birthday with Father's Day this year!!

Love you, dad!

Love,
 Lucy

Esophagus Dilatation #22

Melts my heart when she wants to hold my hand when she's "feeling kinda yucky"

Lucy's latest dilatation this week went pretty well.  The doc said that he could still get his scope through (a size "10"), but it was tight.  He dilated her back to a 15 and spent some extra time keeping the inflated balloon in her esophagus to get some extra tissue breakdown.  He's comfortable waiting 5 or 6 months until the next one (and so are we) in the hopes that eventually we can stretch it out enough not to require so much maintenance.

Her recovery was rough - it look her a few hours once we got home to stop throwing up but once she got the medicine out of her system, around dinnertime, she perked up.  She even felt good enough to see Great Grandma DeVries on Tuesday, who was visiting from Wisconsin this week!  She was very brave at the doctor and continued to show us what a strong, special girl she is!!

Four generations!

Meanwhile...we are preparing for Lucys' 3rd birthday next weekend...how did this sweet, sweet girl get to be so big????

Road Trip to Oklahoma!

Road Trip!!

After a fun weekend in Colorado, we took a road trip to Oklahoma for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend.  We got to take two of Lucy's cousins with too - Ashley and Preston.  What a fun trip!!

After kicking off the summer right with some road trips and lots of sun and swimming, tomorrow (Monday) is back to reality with Lucy's next endoscopy and dilatation (#22, I think).  We are very anxious to see how her last dilatation has held up, after almost 5 months without a procedure - prayers are appreciated!

Here are some of our favorite pictures from last week:

Swimming!! Lucy loves the freedom of swimming "by herself" with her floaty!

Exploring Stillwater, Oklahoma's Children's Museum - the Wondertorium.

Loves her cousins!!

Visiting the National Wrestling Hall of Fame!

Touchdown!! Touring the Oklahoma State football field.

NICU Reunion and visiting Colorado

Took a little hike - do you see Pike's Peak in the background?

Last weekend, we traveled to Colorado for a NICU reunion.  What a fun trip!  This was our first time back in Colorado since we moved in November of 2012.  For me personally, it was good to be back to the places that I remembered so well as part of our life when Lucy was in the hospital.  But this time, we got to bring Lucy with us as a happy, healthy, almost-3 year old.

Cannot wait to go swimming at the hotel!

We visited the hospital where she was born and stopped in to see the new NICU - it was being built when we were in the hospital, but not open yet.  We saw two of Lucy's favorite nurses and they got to see what a big girl she is getting to be!  We also visited with the doctor who originally diagnosed Lucy's TEF and the doctor who finally discharged us from the NICU after 4 months.  We also had breakfast with one of the ladies I was on bed rest with - her little boy was born a week or two after Lucy - very early, but he is doing great!  Again, what a wonderful reminder of God's providence in our lives and Lucy's life.

Meeting Aaron - another NICU baby!

We also spent some time down in Colorado Springs, showing Lucy all the sights and places that mommy and daddy hung out at when we lived there.

Meeting some of the wrestlers at the Olympic Training Center!!

This Colorado trip was a reminder of the joyful times we are experiencing..."Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12)"