Thanksgiving

Deep-fried Turkey. Yummmmmy. It is now a tradition for my big bro and family to come up and fry up a turkey for Thanksgiving. The next day, we had our own MN State Fair: they fried a "Bloomin Onion", chicken wings and corn dogs - last year, they made cheese curds but the curds must have sat a little too heavy in the 'ol tum-tum b/c they didn't make it on the fry list this year.
We had a ton of fun while they were here! It was awesome to hang out with them for the weekend.
Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas season so far!

Ellie's Photoshoot

Our friend, Jen, came over yesterday and did a photoshoot of Ellie and our little family. Jen is so creative and artistic! I can't say enough good things about her! Here is a pic of Ellie on the piano bench. Tried to get her to play a concert for us but she thought it was more important to sleep.

Jen's Website

Cousins

So sweet. Can't say any more.

Fall Pictures

Here are a couple pics from our fall walks since Ellie has been home from surgery. She's doing very well and is doing new "tricks" for us each day.

Happy Halloween!

Chubby Bunny and Wisdom Teeth

Have you ever played "Chubby Bunny"? Great game. Yup. Whoever can stick the most marshmallows in their mouth and still be able to say with clarity "Chubby Bunny" wins. They should have a game like that for people who just had their wisdom teeth removed except that no marshmallows are required. You just have to be able to say to the oral surgeon (with clarity, remember?), "Why in the world did you just remove a big chunk of my jaw? Did you pump fat into my cheeks?" But, alas, all I could utter coming out of unconsciousness was, "Huh? Ummm. Owwwwww. Ughhhhh. Huh?" The tooth fairy still rewarded me with $20! That's quite an increase from the last time she visited! (Lovely pics, eh? Yes, the swelling has gone down and life is great!)

Ellie is home from heart surgery!

After 1 week in the hospital for open heart surgery, Ellie-belly is home! Initially, they expected her to be there for 2-3 weeks. She is doing so well and it is truly a miracle! Thanks for your prayers and support.
This picture is post-operation! Happy Girl!

Heart Surgery Update

For information on Ellie's heart surgery, click on "Ellie's CaringBridge Site" under "Cool links". Thanks for visiting! Please let us know you were there!

Update and Pictures

I love this little girl! She is the cutest cutie! She is now 10.5 pounds and is 21.5 inches long. At her last cardiology appointment, the cardiologist said to go ahead and schedule her AV Canal heart surgery - It's October 10th - 2 weeks. There have not been any negative changes to her heart but they don't want to wait more than 6 months after birth to repair it. We feel very blessed that her heart is doing so well. She caught a cold this week and was hospitalized for 2 days but she is getting better. It was scary - we have to keep her healthy for surgery. Two of her nurses, Patricia and Allie, came and saw us which was super cool.

I'm not excited for her surgery - I don't want her to have to go through it. My heart aches in a way that I can't explain. However, we feel very good about it and we know she will be okay after she recovers. In the words of one of her nurses, Allie, Ellie is a ROCK STAR!

Since she has been home, she has been quite active and alert. She's got great muscle tone which will come in handy later on since Matt wants to hike with her up to every state's highest peak - my thoughts: "have fun guys". She coos (occasionally) and we try to have "conversations" with her. She always responds to music and she loves her bouncy seat. We're still waiting for a REAL smile - She only smiles in her sleep! Wonder what she's dreaming about! She's not big on eye contact yet...we like to play a game where we get in her line of sight...she usually looks away so...we repeat and she looks away. This goes on for a while - It must be annoying to her. Oh well...she better get used to us because she's stuck!

FINALLY!

We FINALLY have Ellie home and I FINALLY have a chance to update...

DISCHARGE DAY
August 22, 2008

The BEST nurses EVER!

Ellie is glad to be home!
Check out my pretty blanket made for me by my Great Aunt Cindy!

Ellie's Baby Blessing
With grandparents on both sides (literally)

With my mommy...

Ellie hung in there as long as she possibly could...

Ellie's Favorite Things

Relaxing with daddy...

Cruising with mommy...

More to come!!!

Day 104: Ellie's coming home!

We just found out that Ellie will be coming home this Friday, the 22nd! They put her back on the drug, caffeine, to help stimulate her breathing and it's working almost too well! Ellie suddenly has some serious lungs and makes sure that everyone on the unit knows it! We are so grateful that she is stable enough to come home. My parents are coming into town this Saturday so it works out perfect!!!

Heart surgery status: Since her heart is stable right now, their plan is to just keep "growing her" as big as possible so that she can recover faster after the surgery. The surgery will happen in the next 1-3 months.

Important information: Thank you so much for your support throughout this time! It has helped us in so many ways. Many of you have expressed interest in meeting Ellie and that is definitely okay and welcomed!!! However, because of her fragile state (prematurity/heart defect), her doctors have recommended that visitors not touch her. If you or your children aren't feeling well, we ask that you wait until you're feeling better before you visit as it would be a major setback if she were to get sick. This will be in effect until next May when RSV season is over. Thanks for your understanding! She will definitely be ready for some serious hugs and snuggling in the spring!

More THANKS: We really appreciate your prayers and support. It's truly a miracle that she's doing so well. We feel so blessed!

2008 Beijing Olympic Games

I love the olympics. I always feel so patriotic. This year's olympics have been different, though. I find myself cheering for so many different countries because I can see my international students in many of the athletes. It's cool how perspective can change you!

Okay, just kidding! These pics are from August 2007!

7 pounds 5 ounces

Ellie is now 7 pds 5 oz and is 18.9 inches long!
She loves bathtime!

Ellie's 0th Birthday

Ellie turned 0 on July 25th! We had a little party for her at the hospital. Good times!

6 pounds 7.5 ounces

Look at our big girl! She's growing a ton and is so fun to cuddle with! She's doing very well. We still don't know when she'll be able to come home - it all depends on her breathing and how much food she can eat by herself without the tube. Her heart issue makes it difficult for her to stay awake during entire feedings but she's done it several times and we're so proud of her! It is truly a miracle that she is doing as well as she is. Thank you for your faith and prayers. We have literally felt them.

ELLIE ROCKS! :)

6 pounds 3.5 ounces!!!

Pig Roast Update

At the request of my sis-in-law Jess,

here is the most disgusting but funniest video featuring Chef Matt:

Fun Times

Pig Roast

Call Matt at "White-Ham's Pig Roasts" if you ever want a good party. He is quite the pig connoisseur! He threw a HUGE church pig roast party at our house - nearly 80 people came!

I must say that I was not very excited about this activity...but, it ended up being a great success as everything he works hard on does.

So, let it be known to all:

"I, Erin, hang my head in shame for wincing when I found out a GIANT pig would be stored in my bathtub overnight...for griping when a huge cinder block TOMB would be constructed in our backyard for all the neighborhood to see and smell...for crying out in horror as I saw Wilbur on display...and most especially for eating him and LOVING every minute of it." :)

Backyard Volleyball

Matt and his brothers built a sand volleyball court in their backyard growing up - it took the entire summer! Recently, when family was in town, Matt's parents had another layer of sand dumped onto the court.

This is a picture of Matt smashing the ball past his dad...not very nice, Matt! :)

Fourth of July Firecracker 10K

This is a family tradition that started a few years ago with Matt's brother Stephen and his wife, Jonelle. I made a new best friend after this year's race: the chiropractor!

The pink sock is for Ellie! :)

Look who is 5 pounds 1.5 ounces!!

Let me blow you a kiss!

4 pounds 14.5 ounces today!

Matt's First Father's Day

Thanks for watching my video.

Love, Ellie

Beautiful Girl

Daddy's Ring

The Girls

First Time Holding Ellie

Introducing Ellie Marie Gray

Born: May 9, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Weight: 1 lb 14 oz
Length: 13 inches

Ellie unplugged

Proud parents

Day 1 - still tired from the move

Breathing easier

Ellie plugged in

Headed for the beach