Prayer and Celebration

The girls and some girl friends of mine wanted to have a shower for Henry.  But neither he nor I needed anything so I wasn't wanting to have a typical baby shower.  Instead, a friend of ours, together with my girls, put together a time of prayer and celebration in his honor.  

As it turns out this April 25th was the last chance I would have to be with friends since the next morning I was admitted to the hospital.  Everyone had a little bite to eat and some delicious cupcakes made by another girl friend and lots of chatting.  

As a matter of fact, we chatted so much, no one took photos after we first arrived and Gosia finished setting up tables.  Everything was so beautiful and it was really just a special time of fellowship for me after being isolated for so many months.  With or without photos, I didn't want this special time to go un-noted in my online scrapbook. 

 The floral arrangements Gosia put together were simply elegant.  I am trying to figure out how we can work some of her genius into Brianna's upcoming graduation ceremony.  Her choice of colors were so far from anything I would have chosen myself, but they popped beautifully!

The girls made a ton of these favors, which came in handy when hypoglycemia set in later.  ☺

 My favorite part of the whole event were the prayer cards.  Gosia took special verses that had been encouraging to me throughout my pregnancy and put them on these beautiful prayer cards.  She had them at each table with specific prayer needs for our boy so that guests could take them home and focus prayer on that area of his life.  Some of the verses included Henry's verse Luke 8:50 and my verse for 2013, Isaiah 40:31.

 Elisabeth is my Martha Stewart in the making.  The evening before the shower she asked how many people were coming.  When I asked her why she said she wanted to make favors for everyone.  She sat up until after 10:00 with Emma's Cricut cutting out these little hearts.  How sweet is that?

It was a wonderful way to spend an evening with some very special ladies and I am so grateful that Gosia and the girls gave me a nudge to go along with it.

Baby C Update

I apologize for not getting this update to you sooner.  Life is complicated for us right now and my best intentions aren't getting things done as timely as I would like.

A big thank you for all those who joined in prayer and fasting for Baby C and his family.  Last Wednesday we received the wonderful news that he will be returned to his parents by July 3rd.  I am afraid I can not share the details with you, because quite frankly, I just don't understand all the legal end of it.  But my husband explained it as the state needed a way to save face by returning the child without admitting they made one huge whopping error.  

Regardless, God has answered our prayers and this family will soon be fully restored.  We thank God for giving us the opportunity to seek Him on behalf of our brethren.  I urge each of you to hug your children a little tighter tonight and enjoy each moment with them because we never know how many we will have.  

And because I hate to post without a photo and I can't share a photo of this family here is a completely random but great photo from my camera.

A few days before Addison was born my girl friend came to take photos of our family and maternity photos.  All the flowers were on the cherry tree and it was a stunning back drop.  The day after we brought him home there was a big storm and all the flowers blew off.  The next day was sunny and gorgeous.  Elisabeth, Carmella, Addison and I were playing under the cherry tree and I was snapping photos.  Ellie said we should lay him in the petals and take his picture.  And I did.  Not sure how much our man liked it, but I think they came out beautiful.  

Hugs,

Kat

The Littlest Big Sister

Carmella is such a good big sister.  She adores Henry in a way that seems far beyond her years.  Whenever she hears the word baby Carmella starts looking around for the fellow while she says, "Awww."  She is so gentle patting his head and giving him kisses.  We taught her not to kiss or touch his hands or face so as to not spread germs.  And she will not even put one finger on either.

Her favorite hand out these days is beside his bassinet.  If she wanders off you can bet that's where she will be.  Looking something like this.

And I promise Henry pictures and updates are forthcoming.  We have so many pictures that every time I start to post them I get sidetracked trying to decide where to start I run out of time before I put any up.  But it'll be worth the wait.  He is so incredibly adorable....

Big Sister, Little Brother

Addison came along just in time.  Carmella doesn't like to sit still very long for cuddling and rocking anymore.  And Elisabeth sure loves rocking the babies.  She will sit and rock him for an hour at a time.  

She loves to look at him, too.  Several times a day things get quiet and that usually means we will find Carmella and Ellie standing by Henry's bed staring at him.  Tonight Ellie said she loves looking at him while he sleeps because he is just like baby Jesus. 

Beautiful Boy, Beautiful Heart

So today we made the early morning trek to Children's Hospital to see Henry's Cardiologist.  Dr.  Martin and his staff were simply amazing.  I can not say enough how impressed I was by the level of care, the way they treated Addison and the way they treated us.

Henry had no worries but he sure looked cute in his little hospital gown.

He weighed in at a beautiful 7.04

So this looks way more intimidating than it really was.  Lots of wires and stuff but he didn't mind it in the least bit.  I was a little disturbed that I had just spent an hour trying to get him to wake up and nurse and he had no problem opening his eyes when they strapped him in.  ☺

After the EKG he had an echocardiogram which showed our beautiful perfect boy has a beautiful perfect heart.  He has something called a Patent Foramen Ovale, or PFO for short.  That just means that the separation between his atrium that is supposed to open wide at birth is not open very wide.  However, the doctor assures us this is of no concern at all now or in adulthood.  Dr. Martin stressed that it is in no way related to his turning blue while eating.  Addison will be rechecked in a year to make sure it has opened properly.  Although, I am not sure exactly why if it doesn't affect his health at all.

We sat in the doctors exam room for a long time just breathing the breath we've been holding for five months and smiling at our boy who once again has somehow beaten the odds.  God is so good to us!

We celebrated with a coffee/chocolate milkshake.  Yeah, it was really good.  And so not on either of our diets.  But sometimes you have to break the rules.

The Bag Lady

Carmella loves bags.  Any sort makes her happy.  When she sees a bag she will squeal "BAG!" and put it on her arm.  She isn't very discerning.  Walmart, Target or grocery store bag.  They are all good.  Paper or plastic.  Those make her smile, too.  But what she especially loves are pink bags.

 She has three favorites that she will tote around with her all day.  As the day progresses she adds more and more trinkets to the bag of the day.  If she should set her bag down and forget where she left it, she will wander from room to room saying, "BAG?"  until she finds it.

One day I guess she couldn't decide on a bag because she carried three with her all day long.  One filled with princess dolls.  One with crayons and coloring books.  And one with plastic Easter eggs filled with yogurt covered raisins and almonds.

 Not even two and already she knows the importance of being prepared for any girlie emergency.

Summer Days

I love the long and careless summer days with my kids when we do nothing but build memories, laugh and frolic.  Let the games begin.

The Big Tub

Tonight Henry, yes we all call him that, had his first bath in the big tub.  He loved it.  Carmella loved it. We all loved it.  

Our view of the beautiful boy.  Yes, that is one of his names.

And Addison's view of his adoring fans.  

Even more entertaining than Downton Abbey.

Addison Grant

Last week this was our view of baby Henry.

photo by Susan Schmidt Photography

But this week it's a little different.

We asked you a few weeks ago to guess when this little boy would be born, what his name would be, what he (or she) would be and who he would grow up to be. Your guesses were so much fun to read. Before we announce who won I want to share a few of our favorites.

Favorite names (and closest to what we would actually use), entered by Lisa. Her names: Jackson and Genevieve

The answer to "What will Henry be when he grow up?" were by far the most fun. A few that had us laughing out loud or were just so well thought through:

Terri R - She will be a queen -silly people that is what all princesses grow up to be.
Joanna B - A heart surgeon
Elizabeth Rose - An Italian coffee addict
Bethany W - A dietitian for diabetes
Kate F - A physicist

(Btw, Kate F, we have started calling him the little physicist and are convinced by his ohsosomberandwise personality that a physicist is exactly what he will be...plus it's just fun to say.)

But the closest date is what we were looking for and for that the winner is...

Ann P who guessed April 30.

Well done, Ann (and thank you for your lovely note in your entry). If you email us your address (artschilipepper@gmail.com) we will have it sent your way.

As for baby Addison, every expression, movement, sound, of this little boy is met with oooos and ahhhh from his ten biggest fans always standing over him, admiring his overwhelming preciousness. I think Addison's father is the only one in the world who wishes his baby wouldn't sleep through the night so he has an excuse to feed and cuddle him. Rarely does he get to nap in his bed because who wants to waste valuable cuddle time?

And now I'm off. There is a precious little baby I'd rather be snuggling.

Until next time...

The Henry has arrived.

Ladies and gentleman, please welcome...

our little Henry.

(the heart swells with pride at this cuteness)

For details...watch on.

-The Wachter Kids
(all nine of them)