Welcome!

SOFIA

If this is your first time to Sofia's blog, Welcome! To read from the beginning scroll down to the post titled "Sofia" then scroll up to read the previous postings.

Thank you to all who have stuck by us through it all and continue to follow us on our journey. I don't get the chance to update much, so to be notified when I do update please enter your email address to the right.

Please keep reading for updates about Sofia, The Parker Reese Foundation and other CDH babies. I thank you all for your continued prayers for Sofia and all CDH babies. God Bless

Sponsor a Night

Imagine caring for an entire family by simply buying and wearing a t-shirt. That’s what “Sponsor a Night” is all about. Purchase your $16 t-shirt today and wear it to show your support for the families staying at Parker’s House. Each $16 purchase shares one night with a family that calls the House, “home.”

Click here to see the t-shirts

If you are interested please email me at catherine@theparkerreesefoundation.com for more information and/or an order form.

You may pay through PayPal, check or cash.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sofia!

These past three years have flown by so quickly...apart from the first 7 1/2 weeks! I still remember my pregnancy and Sofia's hospital stay like it was yesterday. That was the hardest time of my life, but also the happiest time of my life, especially her Birthday! She has changed so much and is so big! She is potty trained, in ballet school and is extremely excited about going to Disney World! For her birthday we are having a Neverland themed party at our house. It was supposed to be outside, but the wonderful Texas weather had other plans for us! So, since it is very muddy we have moved the party indoors, canceled the bouncy castle and figured out some games to keep the kids entertained inside. Sofia is just so excited that she gets to dress up in her Tinkerbell costume that she wore for Halloween again! We have asked the kids to come dressed in the Pixie and Pirate best, so I can't wait to see them all dressed up!

I need to figure out how to add videos cause I have some really funny ones of Sofie! She knows that she is a very special girl. She lifts her shirt or dress and rubs her scar and asks me what it is. I have always just told her that that is where she is special. So, the other day she asked me and I said that is where you had an ouchy...well she got so upset and told me no it wasn't an ouchy that that was her special! She also knows where her central line scar is and we talk about that one because her Grandfather has one and we didn't want her to be scared of it so she knows that her and Grandpa are special.

She is very loving and always tells me she loves me, but she doesn't say I love you, it's always, "I love you , too!" It's so funny cause she will just say it out of nowhere! The best thing she has ever said to me though was just a few weeks ago and she came home from the weekend with her dad and she gave me a hug and kiss and said, "Mommy, you're my happy." I just about cried!

I hope you enjoy the recent pics of Sofie, the soccer one is being published in something that is handed out at the games in Liverpool, England with a special Birthday wish for Sofie and the other is one of the ones that I took to put on her invitations. The last three are of Nana (my mom), Sofie and I last Saturday at Rainforest Cafe celebrating Nana's Birthday! We were in a silly mood!

I will update soon and post some pics from the party tomorrow. I hope everyone is well. God Bless

Happy Birthday my sweet Sofia! I love you baby girl.

Blogging Again!!!

I have decided that I really want to start blogging again. I have had several people tell me that they still check for updates and wonder why I stopped. So, we're back! I just bought a new computer, so I need to transfer all my pics over so that I can add some here. Sofia is so big now! I can't believe she will be 3 in a little over a month, OMG! I will have a full (but very long) update on here by Monday, so just give me the weekend to get it all typed! I love you all and I am still and always will be so very thankful for all of your support! God Bless

Love, Catherine & Sofia

Parker's Birthday

To Sweet Baby Girl, Parker, I wish you a very very Happy Birthday! I know that you are so proud of your Mommy for all that she is doing in your name. I am so honored to be a part of The Parker Reese Foundation. Many great things will be done in your name to honor and remember you and all other CDH kiddos.

Remember your Mommy today and be with her, I know how much she loves and misses you. I hear you are getting some great cupcakes! I wish I was there to try one! Mommy will just have to buy more in August when Lauren and I come to visit!

Jes and Ashley, the two of you are always in my prayers especially today and tomorrow. We love you guys!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Angel!

Love, Catherine, Yvonne & Sofia

Audrey's Birthday!

HAPPY 2nd Birthday, Miss Audrey!

I hope you have a wonderful day you little Super Star!

Canada Update:

Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I really had some issues with Sofia when I got back and have pretty much stayed away from the computer and everything else to devote all my time to her. She is doing much better now, though.

I had a blast in Canada with Jes and Lauren. Lauren was so totally surprised! I think it is so funny though cause other than the scary movie we rented the last night we were there and of course Grey's Anatomy all we ever watched was FRIENDS! As soon as we woke up it was on, and we went to bed with the TV timer on so that we could hear it as we fell asleep! The trip was too short though and we will definately make it longer next year! Yes, we are doing this annually! We have decided that we will get together at least 3 times a year, so that way we can all visit eachothers home. Lauren and I are planning our trip to North Carolina for August and I can't wait. Only difference is I can't do another trip without Sofia. Plus I am staying at least a week so we can go to the lake house and to the beach. I am so excited.

I know this wasn't much, but I am tired, so I will update more later with pics.

God Bless

Cat

We're in Canada, EH!

We are here! Jes and I flew into Canada yesterday to visit Lauren. She was expecting Jes, but I was a total surprise! It was the funniest thing, she had no idea! Today was Lauren's last day of school and she is officially a teacher! Yeah! Congratulations Lauren! We are on our way out to get pedicures, but we will all post pics soon I'm sure! It is beautiful here and the weather is wonderful. Hope you are all doing well. God Bless

Love, Cat

Welcome Baby Jadon!

Congratulations to my brother, Brian, and my sister-in-law, Kelly, on the birth of their baby boy Jadon! Jadon was born this evening and I rushed to go and get some food for my SIL who hasn't eaten all day adn by the time I got to the hospital they had taken Jadon to the nursery and wouldn't return him to their room for at least 3 hours. So, I did not get to hold him, but I did get to see him in the window. He is so cute and chubby! You can visit Jadon's Blog to see pictures and videos of him.

Sofia's birthday weekend was a lot of fun, ut I will have to tell you all about that later ccause it is late and I have an early flight to catch in the morning. I am pretty nervous cause this is going to be my first time away from Sofia that lasts more than 24 hours. I feel bad for her. I feel like she is going to be so confused, but again I will go into details about that later. She has just spent 4 of the last 7 nights with her dad for the first time. That was a big change for both of us. He will be moving here in August, so we have to prepare for this to happen every other weekend. My poor baby. I never thought that I would have children that would havet o go between their father and I. It really sucks!

At the same time though, I am really looking forward to my trip. I know that I am going to have a lot of fun and that everything here with Sofia will be fine. I will post again from my destination to tell you all where I am at and to post pictures! I can't wait! My plane actually leaves in 7 hours, so I am going to go cuddle my baby girl and get some sleep! I will post tomorrow night or Firday morning.

Love, Cat

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sofia!

My Sweet Sofia, I can't believe that two years have already flown by. My baby girl is 2! You are my wish come true. You are my everything, my inspiration. Without you in my life, God only knows where I would be. You have helped me in so many ways I hope you never have to understand. I have grown up so much over the past 2 years and 9 months and I have you to thank for it. You were a total surprise, but a very welcomed surprise. You came to me at a very hard time in my life, but you lifted me up. You gave me that little push I needed to get my life on track. We had a very rough start, but you taught me just how precious life really is. I have met some of my best friends because of you and I thank you. You have no idea the strength you have given me! There is something about you that is very special and when you enter a room everyone knows it. It is as though everyone knows how special you truely are. I am so honored to me your Mommy and so thankful God chose me to be your Mother! You are the greatest gift ever!

Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby girl! I wish for you all of life's happiness. You deserve it! I hope you have many, many more wonderful Birthdays! Never take life for granted. I Love You, Sofia!

Love Always and Forever,
Mommy

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Thank you to all of you who have followed our long journey. I still can't believe I have had this blog for over 2 years now! I had the most wondeful slideshow that I have been working on for today and now it won't download, so I had to settle with the one I got! I will keep working on it, so check back later today.

Again, thank you all for the years of prayers for Sofia and for all CDH babies, please keep them coming! God Bless

Love, Catherine

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANA!

I would like to wish my Mom, and Sofia's Nana a very Happy Birthday, today! We love you very much!

Thank you all for your prayers for Danny and his friends. Danny is alive and we of course are totally happy. He was actually moved to a rehab this morning. He was in ICU until last Friday and then was in a critical care room with a 24 hour sitter. He has suffered short term memory loss. We would be in there for an hour and he would ask us about 5 times where he was. Then when he was told he was in an accident he started to cry. Then he would forget. Last Friday he suddenly remembered he was in an accident told everyone where they were headed to and what the were going to buy. He then asked why his 2 friends were out of the hospital and he wasn't, then realized that only one of the friends involved in the accident was there visiting him. So, the doctors said it was time to tell him that his friend had died. The friend that was driving wanted to be the one to tell him, so he did. Danny cried, but was in shock and didn't believe anyone. His brother tried to take him proof the next day, but it was a bad day for Danny. He seems to also have multiple personalities right now. He can be totally fine and be the Danny we all know and then he turns into a very mean, angry and violent person. About an hour after he was extubated he kicked me in the chest and his brother, punched his mom and a nurse and also ripped a pocket off a nurese shirt. He was like that a lot. He was actually only awake and normal for about 5 to 10 minutes an hour, the rest he was angry or sleeping. I can't imagine what he is going through. He broke pretty much all the bones in the right side of his face and two bones in his neck. They docs are most concerned with the sinuses. So, they are going to give him some time to see how he heals before surgery. Please continue to pray for Danny and that he gets his full memory back.

I promise to have all the pics that I want to put up on here before Sofia's Birthday in a week! Can you believe it, she will be 2 in one week!

I hope you are all doing well. Please remember to keep all CDH babies and families in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Cat

Prayers Needed, Please!

Tomorrow, my mom, Sofia and I will be driving up to Kansas City to a cousin of mine who is in an ICU there. Danny is 17 and was in car accident today along with 2 of his friends. One of them was killed instantly and the other was also taken to the hospital. Danny had to be airlifted to a hospital in Kansas City where he is now in critical condition. The doctor said that he has a lot of facial fractures, especially around the sinus area and that there is a lot of irritation on the brain. The Nuerosurgeon said that there is a lot of blood around his brain. He is un-responsive when the docs ask him to do things, and is having a lot of seizures.

I have know idea how long we will be there, so I wanted to give you all a quick update.

Sofia is getting so big as I am sure you can tell from the photo with the Easter Bunny. She is very bossy, already, and knows how to ignore me! Her hair still isn't very long, but long enough that I am able to do different things to it. Right now she has a sinus infection and is on antibiotics, but that is all! Thankfully! I have so many pics I want and need to add and I promise I will get to them before her birthday. Wow, I can't believe she is going to be 2 already! It is happening way too fast!

I want to say Congratulations to our friends in Turkey who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on March 24! I bet Mert is a very proud big brother celebrating his new little sister in Heaven. Congratulations Akar Family!

Also, please keep Lauren, Avery's mommy, in your prayers. She had surgery yesterday and is now home recovering. Please pray that her test results from her surgery come back with good results. Visit Lauren's blog to find out more.

I also want to wish a very belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Drew, Jackson and Avery! I am so sorry that I have been so bad at blogging lately and that I missed your birthdays. I promise I didn't forget about them, I just didn't blog. You all are always on my mind. God bless you sweet Angels. And Jackson, we can't wait to see you again, you have gotten so big!

So, Monday March 31st is Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day and a couple of weeks ago I received a Proclamation from Texas Governor Rick Perry. It is beautiful! I was so afraid that we wouldn't receive one before March 31st. But, we did! YEAH! So, wear your turqoise on Monday in support of CDH Awareness! I will post pictures of the Proclamation and other pics, soon.

Okay, I am off to bed. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I am going to work since there isn't anyone to cover me and then we are leaving right after I get off. The trip should take us about 12 o 14 hours, I hope. Please keep Danny and his friends and their families in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

P.S. For those of you in the Kansas City Area who are available, Sofia and I would love to meet you as long as Danny is doing well. Call me at 210-364-3307.

HAPPY EASTER!

Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Easter! I promise I will post an update this within the next couple of days. God Bless

Love, Catherine, Yvonne and Sofia

Merry Christmas!

I hope that each and every one of you are having a wonderful Holiday Season! I have had an extremely busy one. I haven't spent much time with Sofia since Thanksgiving since I have been working full time and going to school in the evening. It sucks! But, I know it will all pay off soon! I will be done with school this Spring so I am excited! Other than that we are doing wonderful! Sofia had another virus last week but it was just a high fever and loss of appetite. She is feeling much better though, still not eating too much. Her daddy is in town and is this is their first Christmas together. I am happy for Sofia. It really breaks my heart that she does not have her daddy here all the time. It is nice help for me, too!

I have added a slide show with pictures from last Christmas and as soon as I finish downloading all the photos from this year I will add another Slide for this year. I am so excited about CHristmas morning. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees all the gifts Santa brings! I took my Mom to see Trans Siberian Orchestra last night and that was absolutely amazing! It was such a beautiful show both to hear and to see their light show. I think we will start going every year. They are here every year on the same day. I just found out the night before that they were here and bought tickets at midnight. The show was where the Spurs play and we were in the very top row! It was kinda scarey, but once TSO started it was very relaxing. Until a drunk man showed up to sit in the seat next to me and cried about how he and his girlfriend got into a fight at the door and he wasn't sure where she was. She showed up a little later, but left soon after cause he wouldn't stop crying! Very strange! I think Sofia would really enjoy to see a mini TSO show. They played for us almost 3 hours. Great concert! They even have snow!

Well, I don't have any updates, but I will read up and then post again soon. I am sorry that I have left you all hanging once again. Life should be back to normal once I finish school. I have a lot to update on and will soon!

Have a very Merry Christmas! God Bless

Love, Catherine

Update on Baby Reese

Sorry it has taken me so long, but it has taken a while for me to actually get an update. Reese's surgery for 8am was rescheduled for Thursday and then the doctor said well, actually she has done real well, lets go ahead and do it today. So, Reese went in to surgery at 1pm. The doctors came out around 2:45 and said that surgery was just about over that they were just finishing up some stitches. Reese did very well and did not require a patch. They actually said the hole wasn't as large as they had suspected. That is all I have for now. Please keep up the prayers for Reese.

Catherine

Prayers for Baby Reese

Reese is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 8am. Please pray that her surgery goes well and she has a quick recovery. I will update as soon asI hear how surgery went.

Cat

Welcome Reese!

Baby Reese was born this morning at 4:49am and was 6lbs 10oz. She is stable and is doing well. I had the chance to go up to the hospital this afternoon and take some stuff for her Mommy to have while at the hospital. I saw pictures of Reese and she is absouletly beautiful! She has lots of hair, more than Sofie has now! Please continue to pray for Reese as her battle with CDH begins and please keep Phillip and Zach and all other CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Catherine

Welcome Baby Phillip Andrew!

After my last post I went to visit other blogs and saw that Baby Phillip had been born earlier today. There is a picture of him posted to their blog. Please pray for Baby Phillip and his family as the journey with CDH begins and also for a speedy recovery for his Mommy who had to have a c-section.

Prayers for Baby Reese & Zach Update

Baby Reese's Mommy, Lauren, was taken in to be induced earlier today after some contractions during a non-stress test that showed Reese's heart rate dropping. Reese was due November 14, then they scheduled induction for November 7, but now she will most likely be here tomorrow. Lauren is actually delivering here locally and me and 2 other CDH Mommies are going to visit her tomorrow. So, please say some prayers for Reese. I will update once she has arrived!

Baby Zach seems to still be recovering well from his surgery yesterday. He is a little swollen, but that is normal. His Mommy added a video of him to their Care Page, so please visit so you can see it, too! Please also keep on praying for Baby Zach, he still needs them!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers for all CDH babies. God Bless

Catherine

This is Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I just wanted to take a few minutes and update on Zach's surgery. So, since I am in a hurry I am going to just copy his Mommy's email. Please keep praying for Baby Zach!

UPDATE!!!!!
Surgery is over! just as i finished the last post we got the call...he is out! they had no complications, he was given a bit of fluid to keep him hydrated. his blood pressure has remained stable, his heart looks good. the only suprise was that we thought from the last mri only a portion of the liver, a small portion, was up. it turns out he was missing his whole left diaphram and the liver was nearly completely inside the chest.they were able to use muscle from his stomach i believe to close the whole. the doctor said he is doing extremly well for this situation. the next few days will be rocky since the surgery was so envasive. please keep the prayers going!! thank you all so much.
God Bless:)


Hope you all have a SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN!!! I will update later with pictures of Sofia from tonight!

Love, Catherine

Prayers for Baby Zach

Baby Zach is doing well and is stable enough that they are planning his operation for tomorrow. Please say some prayers that the surgery goes well and that Zach has a speedy recovery. I have changed the link for Zach from his mommy's My Space account to his Care Page. You can get updates from there. I will post as soon as I hear how surgery went. Thank you all so much for all your prayers. God Bless

Catherine

Welcome Zachary!

Baby Zach was born this morning a little over 33 weeks. He is 4lbs 7oz and is fighting! He was due on December 14. Please say some special prayers for Zach that he is strong and will continue to fight. The last I heard his Mommy, Dotty, still hadn't had the chance to meet her new baby boy. Dotty was life flighted to Houston last night and had a c-section this morning. Please also pray for a speedy recovery for her. Zach's battle with CDH is just beginning and will be a little tougher since he is so little, so please pray for this family as their journey with CDH begins.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

P.S. There is a link for Baby Zach to the right.

OOPS! & Sofia is sick, again!

First of all, I have not been on the computer at all until right now and I just realised that I accidentally saved my last post instead of publishing it. I am so sorry to all of you who have been checking every night for an update and I waited a week. I was just so exhausted that night. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of Sofia's issues. So here goes.....

On Wednesday, Sofia was playing and somehow fell and busted her lip and chipped her front tooth. I couldn't believe it! She still only has 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. I heard her fall and ran to her to see her lips covered in blood and then I noticed something hard and white on her chin, I jsut knew it was a piece of her tooth. When Ivan came home from the gym I told him and he was able to get her to open her mouth and he saw the chip. He kept calling her Bubba! He is so mean! Then on Thursday morning Sofia's doctor called to tell me that her urine culture did not grow anything, so I could stop the antibiotics and that she wasn't going to need to do another urine culture or the VCUG. I was so happy. So, she went ahead and scheduled Sofia's 18 month check up for Friday. We went in and everything was great except Sofia had lost more weight. She said her tooth looked okay and that she didn't need to see a dentist for it. Sofia also got a mosquito bite the night before right under her eye. So, it looked like she had been punched in the eye. It was terrible! I told you all before that those mosquitos here are bad! Anyway, Sofia only had to have her Flu shot and the Hep A vaccine. She was terrified after being back in the hospital. She has been freaking out anytime it seems like someone may be walking her direction. It makes me sad. She was never really shy before. So, we left the appointment with our biggest concern being Sofia's weight loss. So, I decide to go back to work on Saturday and Ivan was flying out that morning, too. So, about 1pm my friend calls me and tells me that Sofia is feeling warm. I told her that I had Motrin and Tylenol in the bag and she could give her some Tylenol. My Mom was already off of work and on her way to get her anyway. My Mom took her home and she slept for about 3 hours and woke up and seemed fine. I was concerned that she took such a long nap, but then again she was with a friend that also has 2 kids and I figured she was just worn out. So, her and my Mom met me up at work at 6:30pm and we were going to go and have dinner. Then in about 20 minutes everything changed. We got out to the car and she was very cranky and kinda out of it. She started to feel like she was burning up and she was shivering. My Mom took her home, I ran and picked up some food on my way home and made a call to the on-call doc. When I got home I took Sofie's temp and it was 103.1. The doctor's concern was that if she caught something it was probably caught in the hospital. She said that she couldn't be sure and that Sofia would have to be seen to be positive. I decided that I would go thru the night and see how she did and then go in the morning if she wasn't doing well. At 5am she had fever again and was fine until about 1pm. I had gone in to work again, so I wasn' with her. My Mom called and said that her fever was at 103 again. She gave her Motrin and she slepted about 3 hours again. The doctor called me to see how she was and said for me to keep her fever under control and take her in to her primary doc in the morning as long as she didn't have any other issues. So, I did the best I could and this morning was the worst I had seen her. She fell asleep off and on for like 2 hours from the time we left the house to the time she was seen. It was kinda scarey. She had just woke up, too. The doctor thought she looked fine, but her temp was 103.2 when we got there. Her throat was red so she swabbed for strep and that came back negative. She then took some blood and said she would call me with results later. Of course I was thinking probably what the rest of you are thinkg, why did she take her off the antibiotics in the first place! Well, she explained that to me. Since Sofia's urine was so concentrated from her being so dehydrated, which was off the charts, they couldn't even measure it, but that showed a false negative. It contained a lot of bacteria and white blood cells. But, then the culture was totally negative. So, it wasn't a UTI. Anyway, about 4pm today they called me with the results and said that it was just viral and that I just need to keep treating the fever with the Motrin and Tylenol and that if by Thursday the fever wasn't gone to take her back in and that they would have to admit her again for observation. So, lets just pray that the fever goes away. I have given up on taking it. She is so scared of the thermometer now. She is fighting me now and refusing the Motrin and Tylenol, she even gags on them and throws them up when I fight her to take them. She was looking good this afternoon, but then not so good again tonight. So, hopefully it will start going away.

We went from having hot Texas weather yesterday to very windy, rainey 50 degree weather this morning. It was great, but not having to take a sick toddler on a 45 minute drive to the doctor. But, we made it safely and it cleared up this afternoon. I don't watch local news very often and so I missed the weather report. I had to unpack a box of 18month clothes this morning hoping to find something for Sofia to wear! The girl has more clothes than I do, but we forgot about winter clothes! Actually I haven't had to buy her any clothes until today. The box I unpacked was full of clothes from her Birthday. She is just now starting to fit in her 18 month clothes. She did have one pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt we had bought for her for Halloween. Her Grandma and Papa immediately went out and fixed that problem for us and bought her some new outfits and shoes for the winter. She loves Dora, but calls her "backpack - backpack!" Dora, Boots and Backpack are on the shoes that her Grandparents bought for her. She is talking so much more now, it is too cute!

Well, I am going to go and try to start checking the 300 emails I have. Before I go though, I want to congratulate my Brother, Brian, and my Sister-in-Law, Kelly, they are expecting and are due right around Sofia's Birthday. We are all praying for a very healthy baby boy! They have 3 girls and 1 boy already and for Kelly's sake I hope it is a boy or else my brother will make her try again! We keep referring to the baby as a girl, though! My fingers are crossed Kel!!!

Thank you all again for your prayers for Sofia and I am sorry, again, for the posting mistake.

Love, Cat

Sofia is Home!

Sofia was discharged earlier today. Her Pulmonolgist said that her over inflated lung is normal in babies with CDH and that as long as it is not causing her in problems that they wouldn't do anything about it. She was very dehydrated and her urine culture was still very concentrated after 12 hours of IV fluids. Her doctor did say that she has another UTI and that she is really concerned since this is the second one within a year. It was actually this time last year that she had the first one. So, they gave her antibiotics thru her IV and she will be starting on oral antibiotics tomorrow. Then next Friday her doctor will be testing her urine again and doing a VCUG to check for reflux. So, we have to wait another week before we know anything for sure. I will update as soon as I know something. We also can't have her 18 month check up till all this has cleared up. Thank you all so much for all your prayers and support. You are all amazing!

Love, Cat

Sofia's in the Hospital

Sorry again that it has been so long since the last update, and I am sorry that this is going to be short, but Sofia has been admitted to the hospital. Friday evening I noticed that the left side of her chest was swollen. I took her to the ER and the doctor said that she was fine and that that was just made that way! I was pissed he was a little rude about it and left it at that. He said that if I was so concerned then I should take her to her normal doctor on Monday. Well, Sofia did not eat the whole weekend and has been sleeping a lot more than usual. I called her doctor as soon as we woke up this morning, and they asked for me to bring her in right away. I did and the doctor agreed that Sofia's chest was swollen and that it was not like that the week before when she saw her. She was also very concerned cause Sofia had lost a little over a pound and was not wetting any diapers. As we talked she was able to download Sofia's xrays from Friday night's ER visit. She was shocked and asked how could that doctor think they were normal xrays cause they were not normal at all. She then checked Sofia O2 Sats and she was satting at 90%. She sent us to the hospital immediately and had Sofia admitted. I only wish the rest of the day and testing had gone as quickly! It took about 2 hours before they took some blood and hooked her up to an IV and then about another hour for them to take her to have a CT scan. Then we got down there and I asked where they were going to sedate her and the nurse looked confused and said why, it is only a 2 minute test. And I told him that they told me they were going to and that is why I asked. So the guy that was going to do the scan said lets just try to lay her down and see how she reacts. Well, she totally freaked out and wouldn't let go of me. So, they sent us back up to her room and said it would be about another hour before the doc to sedate her. Then I got a call from her doc saying she was having to fight them to even sedate her to do the test today they wanted to wait till tomorrow and she said no cause she thought there was a chance that she may have re-herniated. So, she had to call her surgeon to get him to back her up. They did, but the guys nurse was so rude to uis when we finally went down. She just wanted to go home. It was so weird having them sedate her while she was in my arms. She got so heavy! Then they asked me to leave and to go the another floor and wait for them in the Pediatric Surgery Waiting room. So, we did. They were done in about 20 minutes and took us into recovery to sit with her till she woke up. She was so grouchy when she woke up and then about 2 hours later was totally wired! I got the call about three hours after the scan from her doc to tell me that her left lung is over inflated and that it looks like her stomach may be starting to re-herniate. She is waiting for the other two docs to go over it and they will call as soon as they find out. Then at about 10pm they took Sofia to do a urine analysis. It took 3 different sized catheters and 4 nurses for them to finally get it. Then, when they were done we went back to the room and my poor baby passed out. Her daddy showed up aobut 30 minutes ago and that is why I had time to run to the playroom where the computer is to post. I am going to go back now and try and get some sleep. I will update as soon as I can, or I will have someone do it for me. Please keep Sofia in your prayers. God Bless.

Love, Catherine

Grandparents and Update

HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY!!!!!

I am so sorry it has taken me almost 2 months to update again. I totally missed Sofia's 16 month update! We moved on August 15th and so we have been super busy, especially with me in school. Well, that Sunday after we moved into our house that is totally tiled except for Sofia's room which is wood flooring, Sofia had a wipe out and bit completely thru her tounge. It was horrible and disgusting and sad. She was hungry and would try to eat and then she would just scream out in pain. It was heartbreaking. Then the next day her breath was horrible it smelled like something was decaying. We called her doctor who told us to come in cause it sounded like Sofia may have an infection. We took her in right away and were told that it was totally fine and healing great and the smell was just from the dry blood in her mouth. She will show you her tounge now when you ask to see it and she liked to play with it, gross! It has finally closed so she can't stick her finger in it anymore, yuk! Okay I am done with that topic! But, that day the doctor also decided to try Sofia on just Soy products to see if that would help with her bowl problems, so we did for two weeks and it didn't make a difference. Hopefully one day we will get it all figured out.

The Monday after that which was the 27th, Sofia graduated from the ECI program! It was so cute! The even brought her a cap and gown and a diploma! The cap and gown were a little big since most kids don't graduated until they are 3, but we managed to make it work for some pictures that she screamed thru!


I will post some pitures of the house once we finish painting and getting everything set up. This week I am taking Sofia to a trial class at The Little Gym and a trial at Soccer Tots to see which one she and my friend's little boy, Jun, enjoy more. Then we will decide where we will enroll them. Jun is Sofia's boyfriend! They are cute together and play very well together. I need to post some pictures of them, too. I will try and update after her classes to tell you all what we decided on and how the classes went. I am very excited! They are both "Mommy and Me" classes, so they should be fun!

There are so many baby updates, I am just now changing it, but Baby Jack has been born and is doing well, please visit his blog and keep him in your prayers. Please pray for Jaslyn, she has been having a lot of seizures and they aren't sure why. And there is a Mommy on BOH that just had fetal surgery, so please keep her and her unborn baby in your prayers and that the surgery will be successful. There are also several Expecting Mommies whose blogs I need to add and will do soon, please also keep them in your prayers as their battle with CDH begins.

I also want to congratulate my brother, Brian and my new sister-in-law, Kelly! They ran away and got married in Vegas last Saturday!!! And, also I would like to congratulate my cousin Tony and his wife Perry on the birth of their son, Corbin!

Well, I have to go and get ready for work now. I will post soon, I hope!

Love, Catherine

15 Month Checkup and Pictures

Sofia's checkup went really well. Sofia is 23lbs 4oz and is 32 inches long! I still don't know how she got to be so tall! Her daddy was in town this past week and we went and had some more pictures done. I hope you enjoy the slide show, it is pretty long! They took over 100 pictures, but there are a lot that I didn't post because of security reasons for her daddy's job. They are some of my favorites, though! Those of you that wish to see them let me know and I will email them to you. Thanks for still keeping up with us!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

15 Months, Baby Idol Contest, & More Birthdays!

Sofia turned 15 months today! We don't have her check up scheduled until later next week, but I will update once we go to tell you how BIG she is now! She says so much now and runs around everywhere! Sofie loves to be outside and in water. She gets very angry if you go out and leave don't take her with you.

One of our local radio stations, Mix 96.1, is having a Baby Idol Contest and I entered Sofia into the contest. 50% of the voting is by public votes. So, please, please vote for Sofie! The voting isn't the easiest, but you just go to voting area and click on number 483 and vote! 483 is Sofia's number for her picture. After you click on 483 you have to enter your email address and then they send you a confirmation email and once you receive that and then click on the link they send you, your vote is counted! I told you it wasn't an easy process! You are only allowed to vote once per email address. The prizes are gift certificates and we could REALLY use them! There are about 700 contestants!

We have two very special Birthday's to celebrate today. Leigh turned 1 today and she is the daughter of a High School friend of Ivan's and her and I have become good friends. Today is also Auntie Meaghan's Birthday!

I will update some more later. I am in school now and I go Monday - Friday from 6pm to 10pm. So, I am pretty busy now! Please vote for Sofia! Thanks

Birthdays!

Tavo, I hope you had a good Birthday, sorry we couldn't stop and see you today, your Beautiful Niece was sick once again! We love you and I can't wait to celebrate on Saturday! You are a teenager now! WOOHOOOOOO! I love you little brother!!!




Please keep Mert's Parents and family in your thoughts and prayers today as they celebrate His First Birthday! We love you, sweet little Prince!

Watch Sofia!

One of Sofia's pictures was chosen to be on one of our local News Station's Morning Show. Tomorrow morning between 5am and 7am Sofia will be one of Kens 5 Morning Mug Shot Winners! We won a gift certificate to IHOP and I know she will enjoy her pancakes! Here is the picture I submitted. I don't think I have ever posted it here.

Now for a mini update: Sofia is 14 months and 1 week. I had to take her in to the doctor today cause her allergies have been horrible over the weekend. Also, she has a mosquito bite the size of an egg on her head. I keep telling people that the mosquitos are so big that we can keep them on a leash if we could catch them! I swear they are! Anyway, it turns out she has a bad ear infection to her allergies and of course allergies. She was put on Amoxicillin for the infection and Zyrtec for her allergies and a sterroid cream for her bite. The doc said it was just so big cause her body isn't used to the bites yet! Sofia now weighs 23 lbs 5 oz. Here is a more recent picture of Sofia.

Welcome Baby Claire!

Claire was born June 7, 2006. She was a few weeks early, but they had to induce her Mommy cause she had pre-eclampsia. Claire was born weighing 5lbs 8oz and 19 inches long. She cried after she was born which is pretty rare, but she was heard out in the halls! She was only on O2 for a while, but then had to be taken to the Children's Hospital to be intubated, but is still at room air. Please say special prayers for Claire's Mommy who hasn't had a chance to go and see her baby girl because she is still being treated herself. Claire is off to a great start, but please keep the prayers coming!

We also have another CDH baby about to arrive, Baby Luke should be here any day now, but his Mommy is scheduled for induction on Monday. Please keep Luke and his family in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Time Flies

Sofia has been home with us for one year now! I can't describe the emotions that I have about today. I am more emotional about today than I was about her Birthday. I plan on getting Sofie a little celebration cake and will take some pictures and post them later tonight. Here are some pictures of Sofia 1 year ago. The first is during the car ride home and the last two of of her in the hospital right before we leave.



I know I still need to post some updates and I will, I promise. We have just had a lot going on lately, but I wil get to it next week cause I am off for the week.

Thank you all again so much for your continued support and for all the support you have given us over the past couple of years. Wow, I can't believe it has almost been 2 years since Sofia has been a part of my life! Please continue to keep all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

One Year Ago...

Need to Update

I am so sorry, I haven't been able to log into my blog and finally today I was able to! YEAH! I have so much to update on and a ton of photos to share but for now this is all you get! I will try and update more tomorrow.

Balloons for Jolee Jean

Prayers for Papa!

Tomorrow morning my Dad will be going in to have a Nissen Fundoplication done. The surgery should take about 3 hours and he should only be in the hospital a couple of days. He can't drive or do much or even eat much for the next few weeks. It should take a about 6 months for him to completely heal, though. The crazy thing is that this is something Sofia's surgeon is having us go in for some more tests to see if she needs it done, too. She is such a Papa's Girl! She is really going to hate that he can't hold her for a while. It is going to be hard. I will update tomorrow when I have a chance. Please say some special prayers for my Dad. God Bless

Love, Catherine

WalkAmerica

I am participating in WalkAmerica because I believe in the March of Dimes mission to save babies. Please support my fundraising efforts by sponsoring me in WalkAmerica today. Contributing to my walk online is fast, easy and secure. You can donate directly from my personal webpage with a credit/debit card or PayPal. If you prefer, I can also accept cash or check. Just click the appropriate box on my webpage.

Last year I did the walk while Sofia was in the hospital, and this year I am so happy to have her joining me. Our team is Team Forever Our Sunshines started by a dear friend who lost her daughter, Kaleigh, to CDH and also lost her son, William Logan, to Non-immune Hydrops Fetalis. CDH occurs in evey 1 in 2,500 births, which may not seem like a lot to many, but when you are the parent of a child born with it and you meet someone new almost every day who is either expecting a CDH baby, has a CDH Survivor or has a CDH Angel then you know it is just way to common. Researchers still don't know the cause or have a cure. Doctors can never predict the outcome of a CDH baby until they are born and most of the time not even then. So, please donate so that we can have more research done and find the cause so that many more babies can be saved.

I’ve joined with millions of compassionate people across the country who support WalkAmerica each year. Won’t you please help me in this worthy cause? Visit my webpage and sponsor me in the walk that saves babies!

With your support, there’s hope.

Thank you all again for all your love and support this past year and during my pregnancy.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Mother's Day 2007 & 1 Year Ago

I am curious to see what surprises Sofia will have for me today. Last year my surprise was my Mom calling me in my room at the Ronald McDonald House to tell me that Sofia was no longer in the NICU and that she was now in the Special Care Nursery! So, now this year she has to pull off a really big surprise in order to top last year's! Maybe she will just get up and walk! She tries so hard and it is the cutest thing! When she is actually taking steps she gets so excited and has the funniest grin ever! I wish I could catch it on tape, but it happens so fast and only like once a day! She is pretty lazy! Her Daddy was too when it came to walking, so I guess she takes after him! I will share pictures from our day later on. Here are a couple from last year.

I wish each and every one of you a very Happy Mother's Day!

Love, Catherine

Remembering Parker Reese and Dakota Mae

Please say a prayer for Parker and Dakota's Parents today as weall remember their beautiful baby girls. Both Parker and Dakota became Angels in Heaven one year ago, today. Please light a candle in their memory.

Balloons for Parker

Please keep Parker's parents Jess and Ashley in your thoughts and prayers today and tomorrow as I am sure they will need them. Please visit Parker's Website or Jess' Blog to leave Birthday wishes for Parker and Prayers for her Mommy and Daddy.

Parker, you are truely loved and missed. Happy 1st Birthday, Sweet Princess!

1 year ago...

Just wanted to give you a little update on Miss Superstar! Audrey and her Mommy, Jenn, were asked to be a part of their hospitals campaign. So, I wanted to share their campaign pic with you. They are so beautiful! You can see their campaign adds on buses and billboards in parts of Dallas. They also have a radio add. Visit Audrey's site for more info on the campaign. Audrey has come so far. I have posted some pics of Miss Audrey and I hope her Mommy doesn't mind!
Happy Birthday, Superstar! We love you!

Love, Catherine

P.S. I need to post pictures of Sofia's gift from Audrey. It is a Cabbage Patch Doll named Adrianna Annette and she is also a CDH baby. She actually has the same scars as Sofie! It is too, too cute! She smells really good, too! Sofia loves her and pats her to sleep and says "ba-ba" for her baby! I will post the pics as soon as I can! Thanks Audrey! (and Jenn)

Upgrading

Blogger has changed some of their template settings, so I finally did the upgrade. Some of the links may not work, but I am working on having them up and running soon. So, look for some new changes over the next few weeks!

Sofie's Steps

SOFIA TOOK 3 STEPS!

Today Sofia's Therapist came out for her bi-weekly visit and she was working a lot with Sofia on standing. Which she stood for the first time witout assistance last Monday, April 23! So, she was working with Sofia and said she thought she would deffinately be walking in the next 3 weeks. So, tonight my Mom came home from work and was playing with Sofie. I told her that she stood a lot for Michelle and I was surprised cause she is pretty lazy with me. I try all day to get her to stand and she gets so mad. So, my Mom decides to try and get her to stand. She stood her up and Sofia started giggling and stood for a while. My Mom called me out of the kitchen and I cheered Sofia on and she turned and took a few steps towards me and fell. It was so cute! She seemed so happy, but I don't think she knew what was going on. Both my Mom and I started crying! We have some concerns with her left leg, but the therapist wants to wait and see what she does with it when she is walking on her own. She turns it in when she is walking with her toys or holding our hand, and she drags it some, too. Hopefully it will correct itself, but she told us that PT can get her a brace to help straighten it out. When she stands it is fine and doesn't turn in, so we will just have to wait and see.

I still have so much to update on, but I will post it soon, I promise! I also have a ton of pictures I want to share with you.

Please continue to pray for all CDH babies, we had 2 born yesterday that really need your prayers. Also, if you haven't donated to our Walk America for the March of Dimes fund please do so. Every penny counts!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Sofia's 1st Birthday Party!

Sofia's Party was a BLAST! Her party was on April 21st. We had between 80 and 100 guests, we couldn't keep up! Here are some of the pictures that we have so far. My camera kept taking fuzzy pics, so this is all I have for now. The small ones I downloaded from a MySpace page so they saved smaller then the rest. Sofie did really well most of the day with the exception of Cake time. She was just so tired and cranky. She even slept for about and hour and a half before we did the cake, but I think all the people freaked her out. I hope you all enjoy the pics. There was also a slide show and once I figure out how to get it on here, I will!
Gifts for Sofia
Birthday Princess
Auntie Jazmin (Gingi), Sofia & Daddy
Sofie's Guest 1
Scared, tired and crying Sofia!
Mommy and Soifa
Sofie's Guest 2
Opening Gifts
Mommy, Daddy & Sofia on Pinata
Daddy and Sofia
CANDY!
Sofie not so happy!
Birthday Girl
Sofia
Sofia's Cake