CHD Awareness Week

Today marks the first day of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week (February 7-14) and in honor of this week, Carlie and the many children who are living with or have lost their life to a CHD, I would like to share some information with you and ask that you share it with others around you.


*CHDs are the #1 birth defect and the #1 cause of infant death related to birth defects. 1 in every 100 babies born will have a CHD (1 in every 800-1000 babies born has Down Syndrome).
*1 in 10 of those born with a CHD will have a fatal defect.

*In the US there are nearly twice as many deaths due to CHDs than that of all forms of childhood cancers combined. Yet there is 5 times more research for pediatric cancer than for CHDs.

*The cost of inpatient surgery alone for CHDs exceeds 2.2 billion dollars per year.

*There are approximately 35 know Congenital Heart Defects.

*Causes for CHDs are still being studied. While there is no known definitive cause, it is said that both genetics and environmental factors can play a role. Scientists have actually identified over 100 mutations that are directly linked to the heart.

*There is no known cure for CHDs. However, the mortality rate after surgery has significantly decreased in the past 20-30 years. On average it is about 5% compared to the 30% it was. At the same time, the rate of incidence of CHDs has remained unchanged.

*With advances in medicine, many of those born with a CHD will have their first and sometimes only corrective surgery before age 2.

*Many of those living with a CHD go on to lead normal to near normal lives. Those with complex CHDs will also go on to lead longer and more active lives than before. Most will have some physical limitations, but almost all learn to move pass them.

*Only about 30% of the children who need a heart transplant receive one in time.

*About 40,000 units of blood are used every day yet only about 5% of the adults, the only ones who are eligible to donate blood, do so. Someone needs blood every three seconds in the United States; that someone is often one of our heart children.

Locks of Love - Part 3

Caiteyn did it again...she donated another 10 inches to Locks of Love. She's been wanting to cut her hair short, and boy did she go short! While it looks very cute on her, I'm already missing her long hair. I figure this will give her an opportunity to learn how to "take care' of her hair now that it is short, it was just so long that she wasn't able to wash it all by herself.

The first time she cut her hair was in October 2007, the second time in June 2009 and now. I can't believe that we've cut over 30 inches in just three years!! Her hair grows REALLY fast! I am so proud oh her!

First Day of School 2010

The school year came around so much faster than I was ready for, just as it was finally starting to get warm, school was ready to begin! I guess that means we'll have to try and squeeze in pool time after school. :)

This year Caiteyn will be in second grade...it is so hard to fathom that she is in second grade! It's true that as soon as they start school, they grow up so much faster :( Second grade was such a special year for me when I was in school. It was the year that I met my best friend (whom I am still best friends with today) and it's the year that I have such fond memories of including a great teacher, Mrs. Kranawether. I hope that Caiteyn is able to create memories that will last her a lifetime as well...

She is so excited to go back to school and start the new year, which I love that she loves school so much, it makes life so much easier. I hope you have a great year in second grade Caiteyn, I love you so much!

First day of second grade.

Carlie wasn't able to start school the first week like her sister...with her only going to preschool two days a week, her first day of school was on the day of her cardiology appointment (which had I canceled it, it would have been another month or so before I could get her in again) and the day after her appointment, she started not feeling well. I took her to the pediatrician after she started running a fever and red bumps showed up all over her chest, she had Roseola. After a weekend of recovery, Carlie was able to start the second week!

After our preschool experience last year, I was a little worried about how the year would start off, but I am happy to report that Carlie enjoyed every minute! She adores her teacher and looks forward to her next day of school. I hope you enjoy your time in preschool Carlie, you are such a joy and I know your teachers will love you as much as I do!

First day of C.L.O.U.D.S Preschool

Cardiology Check-up

Carlie had her cardiology check-up today, her last one was in June 2009, and everything looked GREAT! Her echo showed that her heart is functioning very well! Her mitral valve continues to have a mild leak (which is great, at one point in our journey it was severe), which I assume she will always have because of the amount of work that valve does, and her oxygen saturations were registering 94/95%!! She is still on a dose of Enalapril, which I was hoping to drop this visit, but hopefully by our next one she will be able to come off of it (her cardiologist did say a while back that it is her goal to get her patients off of medications by the time they start school). Needless to say, I was very happy!! I still get nervous every time she has a check-up because you just never know; things can change so quickly! We continued to be blessed with her good health and we don't have to return for another check-up until next summer, before she starts Kindergarten!!!

Summer 2010

Summer started early for us this year, Caiteyn's last day of school was May 21st (thanks to the three furlough days that the school district had to take!). The first month of summer was pretty cool, literally, as our temperatures were in the high 70s/low 80s which didn't make swimming all that fun because it was just too cold! We had lots of playdates, free movies and the girls tried a gymnastics class for the first time and LOVED it. By the time the cruise came around, the rest of the summer flew by :( We were able to squeeze in a couple of river trips, which is always a fun time, and some swim playdates once the weather warmed up; we pretty much lived in the pool for a while there. We managed to only have a couple of pajama days (this is when we spend all day in our jammies, well, because we can) which is pretty good considering last winter break we had about five pajama days with fifteen days off of school :) We had an awesome and very memorable summer and I'm so sad that it is over...




This summer Carlie was FINALLY able to ride Big Thunder with the help of her 'high heels' and she had so much fun. As soon as we got off, we stood in line to ride it again...

Hawaii Pictures

Mike and I had such a great time while in Kaua'i! Our time there went by so quick and I can't wait to go back (with the girls) for another visit. By the time we left I felt very comfortable navigating the island, a benefit to being on a smaller island. We tried to fit in as much as possible without feeling like we were doing too much, after all it was vacation! It was so BEAUTIFUL there, absolutely breathtaking!! I wish I had a better camera with me, but I still managed to get some great shots...I hope you enjoy them.

Dance Competition Cruise

The week before Mike and I headed to Kaua'i, Caiteyn and I went on a four day competition cruise with our dance studio for Nationals. We had a ton of fun with all the other girls and moms, and it gave Caiteyn and I some time to hang out, 'just the two of us'. Caiteyn especially loved the fact that she could have soft serve ice cream at any time during the day, my only request, that she eat something that I would approve of first...the first couple of days that we were home, we were both suffering from soft serve withdrawals :)

All of the teams competed very well and there is talk of doing Nationals at Sea next year...I can't wait!

Hope and Caiteyn...TOO COOL!

Hope, Arianna and Caiteyn before we left port.

Goodbye Long Beach...

Hope and Caiteyn in Catalina.

When we reached our first port of call in Catalina, we were walking around the little town when we noticed a tent that had "Locks of Love" written on it. One of the girls from Caiteyn's team told her mom that she wanted to donate her hair (I guess it's something that she has been wanting to do), so Hope walked over to the tent and let the women know that she would like to donate her hair. After the women made sure that it was OK with Hope's mom, she sat on a stool and had 10 inches of her hair cut off. Hope's generous donation inspired two other girls from our team to donate their hair as well...by the time we made our way back to the ship, only four donations had been made, three of them being from our studio.

Hope about to have her hair cut.

Hope's cute new cut!

Caiteyn and Arianna hanging out with the bison.

Silly...

Night of the Captain's Dinner.

Some of the dancers and teachers of Studio Elite.

10 Years

WOW! 10 years...I remember when we were newlyweds thinking about our 10th wedding anniversary and thinking how far away it was; looking back on it now, those 10 years have gone by really fast (as does everything else when you get older *sigh*). I have always had the mindset that marriage doesn't just happen, it is something that you MUST work at, and our marriage isn't any different. We have had many ups and downs with MANY challenges along the way, but no matter the challenge, Mike and I knew that divorce was NEVER an option! We committed to each other, for the rest of our lives, that we would continue to work on our marriage forever. I'm proud to say that we have now been married for 10 years, because when you really think about it, we are a success story and we have my parents (married for 35 years this October) and Mike's parents (married for 45 years this November) to thank for being role models for us. Many of my friends have gone through divorce and when I look at why they divorced, it's because one of them was 'done'. How can you just walk away, how can you be 'done'? A commitment was made...and to walk away without even trying to 'make things work' is just mind blowing to me. So I applaud ALL the couples who have made a commitment and are choosing to 'work' on their marriage...congratulations!


To celebrate our 10th anniversary, Mike and I are in Kaua'i and we're having so much fun. The last couple of days we have been taking it easy, exploring the beaches and the island, and starting today we have some adventures planned that we are both really looking forward to! Be on the lookout for a post all about our trip :)

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY MIKE!! I LOVE YOU BEYOND WORDS!!!

Keoneloa Bay, Shipwreck Beach

Dance Recital

The girls recently took part in our studio's dance recital and while this was Caiteyn's fourth recital, it was Carlie's very first one. Carlie has been on stage before as part of the studio's competition team, but this was the very first time that she danced on stage without her sister standing next to her! They both did such a great job and I couldn't be any prouder of them. It was a very long day for us with MANY costume changes, but it was all worth it to see their faces light up when they were performing.

My day consisted of changing one of the girls pretty much every other song (and therefore I was only able to see their performances from the wings-so thankful for DVDs!) so I was only able to get a few pictures from my camera. Most of the pictures are from Papa and Nana who enjoyed the performance from the audience, and here are some of those pictures for you to enjoy :)

I'm so proud of you Caiteyn and Carlie and I LOVE watching the two of you dance!

Happy 7th Birthday Caiteyn!

How is it possible that my first born is 7 years old today?!? I guess what they say is true, time flies when you're having fun! I couldn't imagine my life without you Caiteyn, you have brought so much joy and purpose to my life that I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for you. I enjoy every minute that we have together and I am proud to be your Mom...I love you Baby Girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITEYN!!!