deck the halls....

It is finally here: Christmas!!! I can't remember being this excited about Christmas in a very long time. Shopping for Ethan has been too much fun at this age. After Thanksgiving while everyone is out shopping, we were out picking out a tree. Our goal was to find a tall, skinny tree. Well.....we found a tall, large round tree! The more the merrier, right? Well.... after moving our large tree around the house, we finally find it a home. Ethan was such a big help decorating this year. After we finished, we told Ethan to go stand by the tree for a picture. Notice the photo above, this was the shot we got! Ha, he never gets his picture taken, never.

David hunting for the perfect tree

Ethan helping pick out a tree with Santa in tow

Moli in her Christmas coat! Someone has gained a little weight from last year:0

getting the tree set up

Ethan help Daddy with the lights

Ethan decorating with ornaments

set the table..

whew....it is finally done

give thanks....

This Thanksgiving, we celebrated twice: once in Gatlinburg and once at our house. We have so much to be thankful for, where do we begin? I for one can't help but to think of the irony of this Thanksgiving and last year's. Last year we drove through a neighborhood looking at lots for sale as we made our way to my mom's house. This year we hosted thanksgiving in that very neighborhood in our new home. We had planned to host Thanksgiving for my Grandad and Ruthie, who lost their home in the May Flood. However, my grandfather passed a few months prior and Ruthie was too busy moving into her new home to come to the dinner. That being said, I am thankful for my home and what home means: it is where you watch your children grow and change everyday, where you look forward to being after a long day at work, where you laugh with your husband, home is well....where your family is.....or as some say where your heart is.

Ethan this Thanksgiving Day...sporting a black eye

Ethan last year at Thanksgiving.... He's grown a little bit:)

Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg with the Andersons

Papa and Ethan playing with his Train

Thanksgiving at our house

My Mom and I cooking...first year allowed in the kitchen:) It is time

for me to learn how to cook mom's special mac and cheese.

sleepy...

Someone has been a little sleepy lately.... Like I always say: "the higher the booty, the longer the nap!"

big yawn's after naptime

napping on mommy and daddy's bed

line marks on my face...

17 months....

We have officially dropped the morning nap for an afternoon one. We have to stay very busy in the morning, but it pays off when we are happy come 5 pm. Ethan has become very into climbing and standing on things. We also had a very big first this week...Ethan "used the potty" for the first time! I had no intentions of starting potty training this soon. However, he wanted to sit on the potty as I was drawing his bath water one night and attempted to pull his pants down for the big event. So, I decided to go with it and bought him a potty seat that goes on top of the toilet. The next day while at work, daddy got the first tinkle while the bath water ran! I have no intentions of fully pushing the toilet training so early, but I will encourage him when he shows interest. I guess next is toilet targets!

first time on the potty

climbing and standing on everything....and yes, with a golf club

silly boy!

playdough for the first time on a rainy day

sweet eli...

Eli and his lovie duck those first few weeks

You all have heard me speak a little of what it is I do everyday I go to work. Basically, everyday is different because every baby is very different even at 700 grams. I feel so blessed to have found my calling as a neonatal nurse. It is a far from glamorous career, but very rewarding. I don't think I could walk out the door and be gone from Ethan so long if I didn't love my job.

My close family and friends knew I recently had a primary patient I cared for over 5 months, Eli. A "primary" as we call it, is when you follow a patient until discharge and care for that baby every day you work. I am not sure what calls me to primary certain patients and not others. It is almost like a bond you have when you first meet them. Eli's blond hair simply reminded me of Ethan, then I met his family and found them to be wonderful. In the NICU, we know what general paths lay ahead for our patients. I knew Eli's road would be very, bumpy and long. Little did I know the mountains and valleys that little man would climb and fall into. Eli was lesson in faith every time I walked in the door at work. I can honestly say, I have never worked so hard day after day, week after week as I did with him. I have come to realize pediatric nurses hold their own children a little longer and tighter after rough shifts. As nurse, my head was telling me of the challenges he faced. As a new mommy my heart was pleading with God to push him through to the next shift, next day, next week, and sometimes....the next hour. Then something happened. Eli decided it was time to catch up with his twin Issac. Eli was born at half the birth weight of Issac and had been the sicker of the two. Eli, who had been on a high frequency ventilator for months, pulled out his tube that connected him to the vent himself. One of his other primary nurses pleaded with doctors to let him "try" to stay off the vent with the help of something less invasive. He did. His progress over the two weeks was amazing. Soon, the little boy whose outcome was once described as "the sickest patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center" was going home after 5 1/2 months at Vanderbilt. Eli has become our success story. When things look dim for a patient, I always will remember Eli's story and the odds he overcame. That amazing family of Eli's I mentioned, I am certain their prayers are what healed him. Medicine can only do so much.

Eli before getting his g-tube

My absolute favorite part of my job is not watching babies go home. It is reaching into the incubator and handing a tiny baby to his mommy for the very first time. Our mommy's wait a long time to be able to do something as simple as hold their baby. I was able to hand Eli to his mom for the first time. Eli was recently in the hospital getting a g-tube (feeding tube) placed to help him with his feedings. I was able to see how much he and his brother have grown and thrived while at home. Now, they are home and looking forward to their first Christmas. Amazing---just amazing. Thank you Bekah and Chris for letting me share Eli's story of faith and hope. You can check Issac and Eli's blog by clicking on "Gannon Gang" under my daily reads on the right side of my blog or go to: http://thegannongang.blogspot.com

Eli at 9 Months

Eli (left) and Isaac (right)