First Hair Cut

For part of Claire's birthday gift, Joe and I took her to get her first haircut at a shop called SnipIts, a children's only hair salon. Her birthday isn't until Saturday, but we didn't want to overwhelm her with too much in one day. She did great, though, and had about two inches trimmed off.

After her hair was cut, she had it blown dry and styled. Overall, she cared more about how the sucker tasted than how her hair looked, but it was a great experience. Possibly even a fun new birthday tradition.

World Party

Every year, Ridge Park Charter Academy takes a week to study the various cultures of students who attend the school. It's a very diverse school, which makes it all the more intersting. Thursday evening was World Party, an open house style event where students and their families travel from room to room learning about each of the cultures. They sample foods, learn about lifestyles, and play games from that culture. It's a huge hit year after year, and this year Joe was on the World Party committee, so it was especially fun for us to take part in the celebration.

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Joe and one of his students, Jasmine, served Romanian treats.

Oh, my little girl is growing up way too fast. I'm not ready to see her sitting at these big kid desks.

On Friday, the school hosted a "Parade of Nations", giving students and faculty a chance to show off their native clothing. Joe was the announcer and truly, he did incredibly well. He's such a natural!

Following was a Tae Kwon Do demonstration, as well a cultural dance presentation, which the kids enjoyed as well.

We love World Party. And while it's a lot of work, it's a great tradition and a wonderful learning experience that we always look forward to!

Snack Time

This afternoon I told Claire she could have a snack, and while I finished up a couple things in another room, Claire went into the kitchen to apparently help herself...

What you can't see in this picture is that she is actually munching on half the loaf of cranberry bread, and there was a large chunk out of the other half. She sure adds light to my life!

Chromosome Count

I wanted to share with you all a bit more good news we received last night. The doctor called with the full and final results of the amniocentesis, which showed no abnormalities with baby's chromosomes. This is great news, which leaves us optimistic, though cautiously so. The doctor explained that while it is good for baby's prognosis that the chromosomes are normal, it does leave the doctors without explanation or a "road map" for what to expect with his condition. So we'll just have to continue taking this one step at a time. The next step is another ultrasound on February 17 in which they will take a closer look at baby's anatomy, and a cardiologist will examine his heart.

For the moment, we are just grateful for the news we have received, and we will, of course, continue to pray for God's healing of our son - for his heart and abdomen in particular. Also, as many of you know, it is easy in situations like this to become fearful and anxious. Please pray that Joe and I will continue to feel at peace. A thousand thanks could never express how grateful I am for every prayer said on our behalf!

And now, an instructional sidenote....I included a diagram of what a normal chromosome count looks like. Through this experience I've received a refresher course on the matter, and it's actually quite interesting. Healthy babies have 23 pairs of chromosomes; one chromosome in each pair is from the father, and one is from the mother. Trisomy 13, 18 and 21 are the more serious chromosome abnormalities that doctors ruled out last week. Trisomy 13 and 18 are typically fatal, and Trisomy 21 is more commonly known as Down Syndrome. These all develop in a baby when there is an extra chromosome of that particular number. Other abnormalities, like Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, develop in a baby when chromosomes are formed improperly. That is what doctors ruled out last night. Interesting huh? Who knew blogs could be both fun and educational!

Socks, Socks, Socks

On a more light-hearted note...

Claire has really been into socks lately. She gets into her dresser and our closet to find them, and then she puts them on her hands. I'm not sure why, but sometimes I wonder if it's because when she was a newborn, she was so small and we had to keep her especially warm, so we put socks on her hands 24 hours a day for the first month. It's probably sheer coincidence, but nonetheless, it sure is adorable!

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Baby Steps

Peekaboo! Baby hiding his face behind his right hand.

There you are handsome!

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As you know, I went in yesterday for some additional testing to check on baby's condition. My mom went with me since Joe had to work. I will tell you now, that tonight we are celebrating, and we have good news to report. However, that wasn't the case 24 hours ago.

The first thing I did yesterday morning was have an ultrasound. It was then that the doctor noticed some things that concerned him. The baby does have a heart defect. At this point we're not sure to what extent it is. I'll be meeting with a cardiologist in about a month to learn more. Also, there are a couple of things, including a cyst on the brain and a pinkie finger that crosses over the ring finger on the left hand, that in and of themselves, might not be a big deal, but the doctor said that they are, along with the baby's severe omphalocele (hole in the abdomen), a definite flag for Trisomy 18, which is a chromosome disorder that would be fatal for our baby. Typically babies with Trisomy 18 live only a matter of hours after birth. This is certainly not the news I was expecting or hoping for. He talked to me about our options, but I knew that as hard as it would be, I would carry and we would love this baby as long as the Lord allowed us to.

After that came a bit of blood work and then the amniocentesis. The amniocentesis went very well. I was expecting the worst, and so it really wasn't so painful. It was over pretty quickly actually. The last stop of the morning was to talk with the genetic counselor, who spoke to us about chromosome disorders and how to prepare for them.

Needless to say, the news from that morning was devastating. I was so sad to think of losing our son. They told us that preliminary results from the amniocentesis would be back in 24 hours, which would let us know if the baby did indeed have Trisomy 18. So today was a long day of waiting, and to be honest, preparing for and expecting the worst. That's why I am so excited, and a bit in shock, as I can report that the test results came back negative for Trisomy 18. So while we wait to find out more on baby's condition and prepare for some challenges ahead of us, we are celebrating tonight. I will have a doctor's appointment Monday morning with my main doctor, and then some meetings with specialists, cardiologists, pediatric surgeons, etc., coming up in the next month or so. But one "Baby Step" at a time...

We praise God for His hand in this. We know there isn't always a happily ever after in life, and so we cling to His promise to be near us through all of life's circumstances. He loves our son far more than we can ever imagine, so we're trying to trust His plan for him. We also want to thank the many, many people who are praying for us. I am blown away by the support we've received so far. I truly believe God hears each prayer said on our son's behalf, so thank you again for that.

Baby News

As we enter a new year, I am realizing how quickly our baby's due date is approaching. Soon enough, we will meet our beautiful new baby, which we eagerly anticipate. Monday, Joe and I went in for our scheduled ultrasound, and while it was wonderful to see our baby, the doctors noticed something that concerned them. Our baby has a condition called an Omphalocele, which basically means there is a hole in the wall of the abdomen in which some of the organs are exposed. This hole could mean one of two things. We are hoping and praying that it is simply an isolated problem that can be repaired surgically once the baby is born. However, there is a chance that there might be chromosomal abnormalities as well. The good news, though, is that typically when there are problems with the chromosomes, other indications would have been detected in the ultrasound, and baby seemed to check out just fine in every other aspect. The brain, heart, spine, hands, feet and facial features are all developing perfectly, which is encouraging for us.

This coming Tuesday, I will be having an amniocentesis done, as well as another ultrasound, to better determine if there are in fact abnormalities with the chromosomes. I will also be meeting a team of high risk pregnancy doctors who will be watching both me and baby closely throughout the duration of the pregnancy. We feel so fortunate to have both the advanced medical help and the caring specialists that have been made available to us. Joe and I remarked at how incredible it is to have doctors and nurses who value our baby's life so dearly. This baby's life has just begun, but it has been filled with so much love and care already. And on that note, onto some exciting news....

Initially, Joe and I had not planned on finding out the gender of the baby. With the news we received, however, and with the many tests and ultrasounds to follow, we both felt it would be better for us to know. We want to pray for this baby specifically and know this baby as well as possible through all of this. So....drum roll please....we are having a little baby boy! We're very excited and now look forward to naming our sweet son. In the meantime, I like Hercules :).

We want to thank each of you for celebrating with us in the good times and for praying with us through the difficult times. We will keep you posted on developments along the way.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!