1 Year Checkup & First Steps

Calli went to the Dr. 2 weeks ago & is doing great!! She weighs 22.14 lbs (78 percentile) is 28.50" long (30%) & 18.50" head circumference. (93%) She has come so far since her little 5 lb birth. I snapped a picture of Calli & Dr Garza. I hope to keep doing that every year on her birthday. We really like him.

Calli has been cruising for some time now & within the last week has started standing longer on her own. Roman was playing with her on Fri & she would only take 1 or 2 steps & then fall down. After dinner we both got on the floor with her & Roman said I am going to try & get her to take some steps. He told me to get the camera "just in case." I am so glad I did because she took her first steps!! 6 of them to be exact. We are so excited to be able to witness this at home & not have to hear about it from Aunt Margaret who keeps her during the day or Mother's Day out program. It is so neat to see how she is learning so quickly!! We are in awe of our "big girl."

Calli & Lillie

My friend Hollie's husband, James was out shopping & saw these beautiful dresses. He had sent a picture to her phone for her approval. I happened to be with her at the time & told him to pick one up for Calli as well. She called Sat night & said her 2 daughters were wearing them the next day to church & thought it would be cute if Calli matched. She was right!! The girls looked great & the teachers in their class said they were so cute to look at. They are 10 months apart.

Calli was moved up to the next class when she began crawling & pulling up. Starting this Sun she is actually being moved down back to the nursery. (Along with all the other kids that moved up around the same time.) They are going to try a new concept & keep the newborn babies on one side of the room & the movers/crawlers on the other side using a divider. They did seem small compared to the older toddlers. This means that Calli will be in our class now. Although technically Roman & I are doing the bed babies (newborn babies) & another teacher will be on her side of the room (older babies) we are curious to see how she will do with us both in there. Hopefully she won't get too jealous with us holding the babies.

1st Birthday Party

Since it was Calli's first birthday we wanted to celebrate this one with a big party. We wanted our family & friends there that have been such a big part of her first year with us. Since it is so hot here we decided to have a pool party in my parents subdivision. There is a covered pavillion that we reserved next to the pool so we were the only ones using it. We went with a fish theme. Roman's cousin, Lisa made the cake & it turned out great. If you ever need one she is a good resouece. We also got her a huge cupcake just for herself. (No we didn't let her eat it all.) She swam, ate cake, swam some more & then opened presents. Calli's grandpa even put together an impromptu balloon race & watermelon eating contest. I think everyone had a good time. She did get a little tired at the end but otherwise she did great & was all smiles. After the party she fell asleep before we even pulled out of the neighborhood to head home. She stayed asleep for 2-1/2 hours that afternoon!! (Normally it's 30min-1hr) She was wore out. Here are some pics of her that day swimming & eating cake. I can't believe how fast this year has gone & how much she has grown in such a short time.

Happy Birthday Calli Raye!!

One year ago today mine & Roman's life changed!! We were blessed with our beautiful baby girl.
(warning-this is long)

Calli surprised us by coming 2 months early. I had a fairly uneventful pregnancy. Hardly any morning sickness & felt great for the most part. My blood pressure was good & I was able to stay active. The only downside was that my feet started swelling right around 20 weeks which apparently is kind of early for that thing. The Dr. didn't seemed too concerned though. In my 32nd week, on a Tuesday I went to work like any other day but just didn't feel as good as I had. I felt different & even my mom had noticed that day I started to "waddle." I decided I should go see the Dr as a precautionary. He checked me out & everything seemed fine. I was not dilated any so he sent me home to rest. That afternoon after a nap I woke up to contractions. They still seemed kind of far apart but Roman started monitoring them none the less. By 8pm the contractions were kind of all over the place sometimes close together (4minutes) other times far apart. (15 minutes) I thought they were braxton hicks. After a call to the Dr's office he suggested I head to the hospital for monitoring. After being hooked up to a baby monitor they concluded that I was having contractions so they decided to give me some medicine to in order to stop them. I was also 100% effaced but not dilated at all. The nurse told me that was very unusual. Over the next 24 hours they kept me on the monitor & the contractions seemed to stay at bay. I was experiencing some very painful back pains though. They weren't sure where those were coming from. They suspected that I may have some sort of kidney problem. As I waited for the urologist that day they went ahead & gave me a steroid shot to help the baby's lungs develop just in case of preterm labor. Two shots 12 hours apart. The urologist never made it by that day & since the monitor showed no signs of contractions they either had to release me within that 24 hour period or admit me. The Dr decided to send me home on bed rest & come in the following Mon. I was released Wed night at 9pm.

Needless to say I did not get any rest that night. (Come to find out after I was having back labor) My back continued to hurt & I never could get comfortable. I sent Roman into the spare bedroom so he could get some sleep since I kept tossing & turning. At 2 am I had to take another dose of medication to keep the contractions stopped. Roman got up then & stayed with me. At 3 am I could not take the pain anymore so we called the Dr's office. I thought something was terribly wrong with the baby. The on call Dr called back & said to go to the hospital. We left the house at 3:40am after I started contracting again & struggled to get down the stairs. By this time I could barely walk, was crying & in horrible pain. We got in the car & Roman drove 80-90mph all the way to the hospital. I started having contractions in the car that were 2-3 minutes apart. We made in it a record 13 minutes!! (It is a 20-25 minute drive normally) We reached the hospital & had to enter through the ER. They would not listen to me when I was telling them the baby was coming!! The first nurse thought that me being a first time mother that I was exaggerating. After being checked out by the ER charge nurse she said this baby is coming NOW. They prepped to have me deliver in the ER & called up to Labor & Delivery. Two nurses came down & rushed me up. By the time we got to the delivery room & got me on a baby monitor the anesthesiologist came by & said that he had 2 more patients to do & then he would be in to give me an epidural. As they were still preparing my water broke & the on call doctor, Dr. Ramon told me it was time to push!!What?? I was in shock that all this was happening so fast. I pushed 3 times & out came out a baby girl!!! All this happened within 1 hour of arriving to the hospital.

I never got to see her in the room & Roman just got a glimpse of her & said she had a dark full head of hair!! They rushed her away & cleaned the room. The anesthesiologist came back & it was too late, it was all over. About an hour later they came & told us all the information. Calli Raye was born Thur Aug 14 @ 4:53 am. She weighed 5lbs 1 oz & was 16-1/2" lg. She was born at 32weeks & 4days. They were not sure of what would happen to her. They gave us list of what is typical of babies that early. She was having trouble breathing on her own & had to put her on oxygen. Roman & I were so scared!! We prayed that God would just make a miracle out of her & asked Him to just place His Healing Hands on her & just let her get strong & fight. A few hours later we got to see her & we were overwhelmed by all the tubes. When word got out about our early delivery we had such an outpouring of support & prayers. Roman & I were so touched by all the people who called & sent emails. We could feel God's presence working & felt a peace.

The next day we finally got to hold Calli & heard how well she had improved within 24 hours. She was off the oxygen but had to be under a light due to jaundice. She would still have spells where she would stop breathing & the monitors would go off. The neonatologist also told us that she did not know how to suck which means that she didn't know how to eat & would have to learn this. (Normally they learn in the womb around 35-36 weeks) In the meantime while she learned she would have to be fed through a tube. Over the next 25 days we went every day to the hospital to love on her, feed her & just hold her for hours. She improved every day but would have setbacks every now & then. She is our miracle due to the healing power of God!! We are so thankful for all the prayer warriors that lifted her & our family up in time of need. She had no problems catching up size wise & today is a healthy baby. We are truly blessed to have her in our life!!

At the Beach

Last Sunday our friends Karen, Alan & Amy decided to go to Galveston. We decided to meet them there. We went & ate at Fish Tales & then headed to the beach for awhile. Since it was late afternoon/evening it actually wasn't too hot to enjoy. Calli had so much fun in the water. No fear whatsoever!!! Just took off & headed into the waves. It is such a joy to see her face light up & flash that wonderful smile.

Calli - 1 yr photos

I took Calli on Sat to have her portraits taken. We went to Picture People & they were able to capture Calli's personality. They did a great job & I was happy to get my pictures the same day. I think they are a bit overpriced though. I still love outdoor pictures better. After the pictures we went shopping in the mall with my friend Jessica. It was a good day!!

This kid cracks me up!!

So tonight the guys (Roman, Alan & Danny) left for a fishing tournament. Before they left we all (including Karen, myself & Calli) went to this mexican place we love called La Maria. Let me just brag for a minute & say that (again) Calli is such an easy going baby!! She played, laughed, smiled & cooed at anyone & everything in her eye line. She is very flexible & laid back. We all had a good time & even though it was past her bedtime Calli hung in there. What a sweet girl. I brought her back home & was expecting a meltdown. Instead she just laid there & let me change her into her pj's. Within 2 minutes of laying her down she was passed out!! Roman loves when she sleeps like this. He says it reminds him of me. (I sleep with 1 leg outside of the covers.) I couldn't resist & snapped this picture. What a cutie patootie!!

Lake Somerville

Roman snapped this picture of us on our way out the door Sat morning just for fun.

It's been a few weeks since I have updated. Not too much has been going on. Calli is so much fun these days. She has been talking more & becoming more independent. We are starting to plan the details of her 1st birthday party.

Last weekend we took Calli camping for the first time. Normally we would have slept in a tent but since the temps are in the high 90's during the days & mid 70's at night we worried that she might be too hot during the day & at night. Some friends of ours parents let us use their pop up camper so Calli could catch a break from the heat for naps & at night. We were so grateful. We will take her again in the fall when things cool off a bit. We set up a tarp for Calli & her friend Ainsley to play on in the campsite. They did very well & enjoyed time in the swing too. Calli did good in the pack in play in the camper & was such a trooper!! She went with the flow & was very flexible. By Sat afternoon after being in the sun all day she got a bit fussy but soon overcame it. She enjoyed playing in the sand & water & the boat put her right to sleep. All in all it was a great weekend thanks to our family & friends who showed up to have some fun in the sun.