Hello!
Ariel is now 7 months old! She is growing fast--almost 18 lbs & 27 inches long now. She is such a happy baby & so much fun to be around. Though night time has been a bit more challenging, as she is teething & wakes up a lot throughout the night. No teeth yet though....
For Valentine's Day, we got her a little bear & her grandparents (Ginny & Alan) got her a dog that rolls over & sings. She loves getting new toys!
She's been eating lots of new foods as well--she loves veges but isn't too fond of fruit. Though, oddly enough, she seems to like prunes. We learned the hard way that it isn't a good idea to feed a baby prunes for breakfast & lunch...and then proceed to run errands. Wow--was that ever a mess to deal with! We had to change her diaper in the front seat of the car since we didn't think the gas station bathroom would have a changing table (they do we found out later...). After running out of baby wipes & having a naked baby in the car with a poop stained outfit, we decided to take her into the gas station to finish the clean up. We all made it through all right, and we sure did learn our lesson! Ahhh.....the trials & errors of parenthood!
We've also been taking lots of walks as the weather has been warming up. Ariel loves stroller rides! There are always so many birds to look at along the way.
In other news this month, we bought a family car! It's a four-door 'desert sand' (gold) 2009 Toyota Corolla---we love it! David's grandparents, Laurice & John, helped us to get the car so it would be easier to travel with Ariel. We cannot thank them enough--it's so nice to have more room for the stroller & so much easier getting Ariel in & out of her carseat.
March has been a bit challenging too, as Angie spent a week in the hospital due to a serious condition called Vertebral Artery Dissection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebral_artery_dissection). Her blood pressure reached 210/120 at its highest peak, and we're so thankful she didn't have a stroke.
The doctors in the emergency room just thought it was migraines & sent her home twice in one week since there didn't appear to be anything wrong. My mom insisted they do another CAT scan to include her neck this time, and that is when they spotted the tear in the artery nearly a week after her initial complaints of pain and the third trip to the emergency room in the middle of the night.
The doctors are still running tests due to high protein levels in her kidneys and will have to do a biopsy in six months after she is done taking blood thinners to allow the artery to heal itself. The kidney issue may or may not be related.
Angie was released from the hospital Saturday night, and she has been staying with Moma & Alan at their house in Meridian. It will be at least a few more weeks before she can go back to her apartment. She is on a lot of pain medication along with the blood thinners to control her blood pressure & prevent a stroke. They'll do another CAT scan in six months to see if the artery has healed, and hopefully she will not have to get surgery. Please keep her in your thoughts.
We hope you enjoy the photos.
Lots of love,
Tammy, David & Ariel
p.s. Here are some bonus pictures for you to enjoy!
