Eating Mommy's necklace

Apparently it was pretty yummy... she got mad when I took it off!!

9 Month pictures

Some that we had taken last weekend...

Girls Lunch!!

Today, Brynn and I met my friend Tiffany for lunch at OREGANO'S! Tiff and I have been friends since jr high/high school and we usually get together a few times a year (even though we should get together more than that!!). I'm really bummed because she's going to be moving soon but I'm super excited for her because of the fun opportunities that are going to be heading her way!! That's ok, it means that we'll have another place to visit!!

Here are some pictures from our fun lunch!!







P.S. I think Tiff's bangs look super cute!!

9 Months Old!!

Brynn, I can't believe how much you have changed and how much you have experienced in the last month. Where do I start?!

You had your very first surgery three and a half weeks ago to straighten your eyes, because they were crossing. You were such a brave baby girl and you don't even realize it. We went for a follow up appointment yesterday and Dr. Salevitz was really impressed with the outcome of the surgery. Your eyes were perfectly straight for the first week and a half after the surgery and then they started to cross again... it's definitely not as as obvious as before the surgery though. Your Daddy and I were really worried that you were going to need another surgery soon but Dr. Salevitz said that if he looked at you for the first time today, he wouldn't recommend surgery. Your eyes are still a little red and you can still see your stitches but you are still the most beautiful little girl in the world!!

You love to scream now... especially when Daddy and I get you worked up. We yell "AHHHH!" and you scream right back at us!! For some reason, you love to clench your fists right now too. You do it all the time!! (Daddy does it and you copy what he does!!) You're starting to become quite the little copycat.

Yesterday, you also had your 9 month well visit. You weigh 18lbs, 8oz and you are 28-1/4" long (or... 2' 4-1/4" tall!!). You are in the 50th percentile for your weight and 75th percentile for height. Your Daddy and I thought you weighed atleast 22lbs!! ;o) You also got a shot yesterday and you didn't even cry!!! What a tough girl!!!

I also took you into where I work yesterday, between your doctors appointments. Everyone said that you are soooo cute and that you look just like your Daddy. You went to two of Matt's t-ball games this month and you also went to a high school softball game!! You really liked that one because it was a night game and you got to see all of the bright lights!!

Within the last month, you have tried avocado, yogurt, fetuccini alfredo and a LEMON! Your lips puckered up with that one!! (Daddy thought it was hilarious, you didn't know what to think!!)

I keep telling everyone that you are such a "little turd", everytime I try to get you to say Mama, you say Dada. One time I said "mamamamamamamama" and you looked right at me and said "DAD". You seem to think it's pretty funny, so does your Daddy. For a while you were saying "Mama" but apparently you don't like to say it anymore. (Except for when you're crying, then you say it.)

We have discovered that you look super, super cute in hats with your kissable chubby cheeks, so I'm all into putting hats on you right now. You don't mind them for about five minutes and then you take them off. I don't blame you, it's been in the 80's and 90's lately!!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub...

It's Brynn in the tub!!

Exercise ball

Atleast someone was using it...

Trapped

My hubby... the rocker!!

Sexy.

Crazy pictures

This is what happens when Mommy zooms in way too much and Daddy moves Brynn way too fast for the camera... you get some really goofy shots!!







WHOA Daddy!! I just about ran into the camera!!

Conversation in the van

On our way home from Matt's t-ball game tonight...

Me: Matt, is she (Brynn) talking to you?

Matt: Yep!

Me: What's she saying?

Matt: I don't know BUT SHE'S EATING HER FOOT!!

Brynn and Daddy

A while ago, Chad and I decided that we were going to take a picture of Brynn every month in the Bug. I haven't posted many of them but here are some that we took today!!







Does she look like her Daddy or what?!

Oh mom...

Another picture?!



Ok, I guess I'll smile!!

Beautiful!

Brynn's surgery was a week ago today. We can't believe the difference that this surgery has made, not only with her eyes, but her emotions as well. She is so much happier now than she ever was before!! She's grabbing things so much faster than what she normally would and she's talking a lot more too. I don't know if the talking part has anything to do with it, but she is a lot more talkative than she was a week ago.

We took this a few days ago... isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!



I took Brynn for her follow up appointment last Friday and Dr. Salevitz was really impressed with how great her eyes looked. We had to make another follow up appointment for April 25th, so I went ahead and made her nine month check up appointment for the same day. He said that she may need another surgery in six months or five years, you just never know. So, we'll just have to keep an eye on it.

Ah, what a relief!!

Goooo Cubs!

Tonight we went to one of Matt's t-ball games!! The game flew by but I did get some good pictures!! Miss Brynn was dressed up as his little cheerleader!!

Mama!

Brynn's been saying "Mama" all day today!!! YAY!! For the last two weeks, she's been saying "Daddy" or "Dada" a lot. I would try to get her to say "Mama" and she would whisper "Dada!!" back to me. Chad thought it was pretty funny... Um, not me.

The Many Faces of Brynn

Squishy face!



Huh?



CHEEKS!



AAAAAHHHHH!

How appropriate!!

Check out the new song I added... "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash!!

What an awesome song, thanks for the comment Dad (a.k.a. Grampie Don!)!!

P.S. It made me cry... it fits her perfectly.

Special treat

Since Brynn was such a big girl yesterday, Daddy gave her a special treat. It was her first time eating CHOCOLATE ICECREAM! (I think she had a little too much but she loved it and she deserved it!!)



EDITED TO ADD:

To hear the video without listening to the song playlist blaring at you, click the pause button on the playlist!!

Brynn's surgery update!!

The alarm went off at 4:05AM(!), we were both extremely nervous for everything that was going to happen today.

We arrived at the Phoenix Children's Hospital at 6:00. She was in a pretty good mood, considering she hadn't had anything to eat since last night at about 7:00. After we filled out all of her paperwork, they put hospital bands on Chad, Brynn and I so they knew who we were at all times and so that no one was able to steal her from us!! There were about six other kids and their families that were in the surgical waiting room with us, for all sorts of different procedures, I think Brynn was the youngest of all of them. Brynn was the second baby called back to the prep-area. The guy who took us to the prep-room weighed her in at 8.5 kilograms (almost 19lbs!). He also hooked her big toe up to a monitor, which she didn't really like, and he had us change her into a gown. We met with two nurses, they both asked us a bunch of questions and told us Brynn was SO CUTE! Shortly after that, we met with the anesthesiologist and Dr. Salevitz to go over a few more things and to answer any questions we may have had. They took her to surgery at about 7:15am. (We didn't even cry!!)

We sat in the lobby/waiting area until about 7:45, Dr. Salevitz came out and told us that she did great!! They gave her gas to put her to sleep and then they gave her an IV. When we went back to see her, she was still really out of it. One of the nurses was holding her and was giving her a small bottle of Pedialyte. The nurse gave her to me and Chad started making her a bottle. She couldn't wait, she was sooo hungry!! The nurse told us that she was actually on her second bottle of Pedialyte. ;o) (That's our girl!) After she was finished eating, she fell asleep for a little while and they kept an eye on her to make sure that everything was ok.

By about 8:40, we were on our way home!! They gave us some medicine that we'll need to put in her eyes twice a day and we take her in for a follow up appointment on Friday morning.

When we first saw her at the hospital, her eyes were really dilated, bloodshot and actually pretty bloody. She slept the whole ride back to our house and another two hours once we were home (Mommy and Daddy slept for those two hours too!!). When she woke up, she started crying and her tears were orange and red from the medicine and blood. ;o( You could tell she was uncomfortable and didn't know what had just happened. We gave her some Tylenol and she seemed to be a little better after she had that and another bottle. ;o)

As the day progressed, you could tell she was feeling much better. We had to really watch her today to make sure that she didn't rub her eyes. She has some stitches that will dissolve and we need to make sure that she doesn't disrupt them.

Her eyes aren't completely straight yet but you can definitely tell that they are more straight than what they were. Dr. Salevitz said that they should straighten out more within the next few weeks. He said that he was really glad that we did the surgery as soon as we did, he said that her muscles were really starting to strengthen and pull her eyes closer together. Eight months was the earliest that he would do the surgery because of the anesthesia.

Chad and I are both really excited that we made the decision to do the surgery and we hope one day, Brynn will be glad too. Chances are that she'll have to have atleast one more surgery sometime down the road. If we didn't do the surgery right away, there was a possibility that she could go blind in atleast one of her eyes, so to us, we didn't have a choice, we were going to do the surgery.

Brynn, we are so proud of you for being such a strong, beautiful little girl. We love you with all of our hearts and are so happy that you made it through the surgery today with no problems.

Pre-surgery with her "Soooooooo Big" gown on, with Daddy:



Sleeping in Mommy's arms after her surgery and bottle:



Eating Pears and Strawberries after her first nap:



Late this afternoon after we put her medicine in her eyes:





Playing with Daddy and trying to grab his tongue (feeling much better by this point!!):



Also, we just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers through all of this!! There are a lot of people that we need to call and e-mail back but this was the quickest way to let everyone know how she was doing all at once. For everyone that called, we will talk to you soon!!!

Love,
The Wests