Merry 1st Christmas baby girl.....& 6 mths old on the 27th!

Our Holub Family!

Daddy and Danielle down for a winter nap!

No more pictures or i'll stick my tongue out at you!

Great Grandma Holub & Danielle!

Merry Christmas! This year Christmas took on a whole different meaning for our family. We have another little miracle baby who has blessed our heart and home. Danielle was such a surprise to us when we found out I was pregnant last February. It was going to be years and take some planning before we had another baby. But she was chosen for us, and WOW has she brightened up our lives more than we could have ever imagined! At this time last year we had NO idea what this year would bring......although it was challenging at times we wouldn't have it any other way and we are so happy that God chose us to be Danielle's parents. Last Friday I took Danielle back for a re-check on her ears and her 4 month shots. Her ears got a clean bill of health and so did Danielle. We are very proud to say she gained a pound in 2 weeks, she was weighing in at 12 pounds 6 ounces and was 23 1/4 inches long!!! She is growing strong every day!

Our Christmas plans started out with 2 missed attempts for church on Christmas Eve. It was very important this year for our family as a whole to make it to Christmas mass. We have so much to thank the lord for and it was an effort we really tried to make. The 4pm mass was the Children's choir and we thought that would be intriguing for Dylan but time came and as fast went and daddy was working. So we wanted to try the 6pm mass, daddy got home at 5:30 and that didn't work either. We really hope the lord knows we really tried, there will be more family masses together in coming weeks! It was okay and we will make it next year for sure! So we got dressed up in our Christmas attire and decided to treat our family and go for dinner. The kids Grammie came in from PA for Christmas and her first time meeting Danielle and she joined us. It was wonderful, Danielle slept in her car seat the whole time while Dylan devoured a whole pizza at the Olive Garden. With smoke free restaurants it was a wonderful experience and a first for Danielle and she slept thru the whole thing!!

Christmas morning brought wonderful sounds of little voices and the pitter patter of little feet. Dylan was excited to see what Santa brought and Danielle snoozing and then cooing away in her bouncy seat as we showed her what Santa brought her. Brad and I each had a twinkle in our eye as we watched both of our beautiful children be themselves in the home we are blessed with. We also went and visited Great Grandma Holub for her family Christmas. It was wonderful to see her and she was very surprised to see the baby also. It was so much fun to see the kids put a big smile on her face for Christmas. Then mommy made a big Christmas feast at home. Next year Danielle will be digging in to the fixins' also! Pork Tenderloin and smoked ham and all the sides. It was great. The baby was hungry today too eating about 4 ounces every 2 hours today.....little oinker! She wanted her Christmas meal too! It was a very relaxing day spent with the ones we love and hugging and holding our little ones close to us, and starting our own family traditions!

The true meaning of Christmas we think sure does get lost in some of the minds of others. Unreal but true......Brad and I had a heart to heart last night just listening to one another about the true meaning of Christmas. Its not about the gifts or the fancy decorations or big dinner. Granted that is all beautiful and fun but that's just not it, just not the importance. Its family, its togetherness, its love for each other and having someone to hold. We are very blessed this year to have our daughter home with us. It breaks our heart to think of the parents who are spending this holiday with know one or in the hospital with a loved one as we once did. We know how it feels and for those we pray......for God to take care of them and for them to feel Gods love. We feel the love this year as we hold our children close and kiss them goodnight. Our daughter who last year at this time was just a twinkle in her daddy's eye, who stayed in the womb as long as she could with mommy being on bed rest for 10 weeks, who came out fighting and believing and knowing we believe in her. Tis' the season for togetherness and miracles. My little brother got us the best Christmas gift this year and Brad and I both just teared up when we opened it, it sums it up for our family...a sign that reads........'Miracles Happen to those who Believe'.

Believe in the power of prayer and believe in the love of family, that is what has helped make our Christmas 2008 so precious for us. Here are some pics of Danielle's 1st Christmas!~

Getting Big...

A week ago last Friday I took Danielle in for her re-check for her ears and her 4 month shots. Well unfortunately just as we had figured the Amoxicilin did not cut it and she still had double ear infection just as bad as 14 days before. This was a real bummer because it meant yet another 10 days on another antibiotic and that for the previous 14 days her ears had still been bothering her. The only real clue that her ears may still have been bothersome is because her eating was really all over the place, 2 ounces here, 4-5 ounces there, nothing consistent like usual. Now we are for sure her ears are better because sometimes 4 1/2 -5 ounces doesn't cut it and she is still hungry or hungry before 4 hours, so this is a great thing. She is really getting big, she is weighing in at just over 11 1/2 pounds and is 22 1/2 inches long. Dr. Collins decided to wait until her recheck this coming Friday to give her the 4 month shots. She also on Thursday, gets her Synegis (RSV Preventative) shot, it is very nice because our in-home nurse comes and gives that.

Danielle is now officially at daycare full time during the day now. Mommy is back to working in the dealership full time and Danielle is adjusting well. Our sitter is wonderful and Danielle took to her right away. She is very nurturing and will snuggle with Danielle which is great because that helps her not only developmentally but it helps her to know that even though it isn't mommy or daddy she is still being loved! She has an oxygen set up at the sitters also and thankfully our sitter is comfortable with how everything works, pretty much everything is de ja vu from Dylan. We have been consistently giving Danielle tummy time throughout the day, our sitter is great at being consistent at what we do at home. This is really helping Danielle, she is pretty much holding her head up for a long period of time and she will really push up with her hands while on her belly to look around. She is a nosy little thing and doesn't miss much!

Last Tuesday during the ice storm Danielle had her Neurosurgery follow-up in IC and her MRI. We decided to still take Danielle, despite the weather, because a re-schedule appt would not have been until the end of January and she needed to be re-checked before then and also her doctor is leaving the U to go practice in Australia and this was his last visit with Danielle. So I left work early to see if we could get Danielle in earlier, hoping there had been some cancellations. Good thing too because not only were the roads nasty but Danielle decided that she didn't exactly want to cooperate for the MRI. It was the same girls as last time thank goodness! So I had just fed Danielle and she was set up for 'no sedation'. Well she was wide awake and kicking and screaming thru the whole thing. Needless to say, 4 attempts, 1 bottle, 1 poopy diaper, 1 hour and 15 minutes, numerous positions later we got it accomplished and we were off to see the Neurosurgeon. We ended up getting to see her doctor at the scheduled appointment time because the MRI took so long. So the doctor re-set her shunt setting, because the MRI magnet threw off the setting, and he kept it the same as last time. He was very happy with her, he held her and played with her a little bit and checked her all out! He started to say that they would see her back in a year, that was GREAT news but I was like, Wow a whole year?! Then he said, 'well, lets do 6 months.' So I asked him for a great referral for Danielle to see another Neurosurgeon in his place and I told him that we would not be willing to follow with the Nurse Practitioner. He laughed, and pointed in the hallway to an office across the hall and said, 'get him, try and get him'. I looked and it was a World Renown Neurosurgeon, and the one who I wanted Danielle to see initially when she was transferred from St. Lukes. It didn't work then because Danielle's case was not as emergent as other children that were being seen at that time. I was thrilled when he said that is who he would refer us to because he is the Best of the Best! If she needs to be followed by Neurosurgery this is where we want to be and who we want to see her.

So Danielle is doing great! She is growing and growing, her growth chart at the doctors office is amazing when we look at the charted progress she is making! In January she has an eye exam, repeat hearing screen, Developmental Follow-up and Room Air test off her oxygen again. We pray for health, happiness and safety for our precious baby girl now and throughout the new year!~