Kids Portraits Fall 2014

I've slacked a bit on getting pictures of the kids. We've had some really clear days this past week, allowing for lots of natural light to come in through the windows. I finally decided yesterday morning, since all the kids were happy (specifically Ana), that I would take some updated pictures.
These are all indoor, which compared to my other 'indoor shots', I'd say I've improved. Pleased with how they turned out.

Miss Ana Sophia,  approx 3 months

Yeah, she didn't last as long as I'd hoped.

 Introducing Lila Brooke, 2 years

My handsome man Levi Hunter, 4 years (almost)

 

Now the hard part, getting pictures of Tim and I. It just never happens.

5K

In 2007, I lost one of my close friends at the end of my senior year. She was only a sophomore at the time, but we had played soccer together for many years. Since that time, her family has held a 5K in her honor, The Mandy Deppen 5K, raising funds along with raffle ticket sales and donated prizes to present scholarships in her name to students from our high school, Graham High School.

Our lives had gotten pretty busy over the last year, and I've had 3 children since and I was never able to make it to the 5K. However, I received news that this would be the last year they would be doing it. At that moment, I told myself that we would be there. I was able to talk my parents into doing it with us. My dad also knew Mandy and her parents from our days of soccer.
We had the kids with us so we only walked, and we definitely brought up the rear, but I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it.

Lila's Birthday!

My sweet Lila (or bean-bean we often call her) turned 2 years old on Sunday.
She got lots of fun things from family and friends including a leapfrog phone, play makeup and hair dresser set, a tutu, a tea set, and a soccer game. We gave her a doll that came with a doctor set and a mini stroller.
We spent time with family in Ohio the week before her birthday.

Then we celebrated as a family on Saturday October 18th. We went to a trunk or treat for Tim's work but it was SO cold and wet. We only lasted about 45 minutes. Sunday after church ON her birthday we just sang and gave her cupcakes and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Lila!

Blessing

We blessed miss Ana Sophia on August 31st, 2014. Tim's parents and his sister's family made it. My parents also came. Although my dad isn't a member of the Church, I was really glad to have him there to see such a special moment in our lives. I will remember this forever.

6 Years

                         Tim and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on September 27, 2014. 

I was able to find a sitter for all 3 kids and took Tim out for a round of Golf. Tim really likes to Golf and has kind of gotten me into it as well. It's super hard for us to find time to go since we have 3 kids now, but I really wanted to go before the weather got too cold. Especially since during the warmer weather I was pregnant or recovering from my c-section.

We only did 9 holes because of the short time we had. I was glad for it because my hands were starting to get sore and blistered from holding the golf clubs. And when you're not that great at, like myself, you take a lot of swings. We didn't keep score. I'm glad for that because I was able to just have fun and not think about how I was doing. We had a blast. It was really nice being able to do an activity together rather than just going out to eat or see a movie for a date.

Anyway, we also hit Red Lobster for lunch. Definitely a favorite for their Endless Shrimp Special.

They actually ended up sitting us in a section without a server. We brought it to the host's attention after 10 minutes or so and they treated us like royalty afterwards. After a sincere apology from the host and the manager, we ended up getting a free appetizer, free drinks, and a free dessert. We only ended up paying for our entrees. 

Also, Red Lobster makes THE best Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris. 

Unfortunately... No pictures from our golf outing or lunch that day. I forgot to grab the small camera and I don't have a smartphone that takes decent pictures either.

We came home that afternoon, though, and took the kids to a local corn maze with a lot of activities. They had a blast and I'm glad we utilized carrying the younger 2. The 12-acre corn maze would have taken us much longer had Lila walked it. 

Fortunately, I DID take pictures here. I used my old point and shoot so quality of pictures isn't the best.

Ana Sophia Franjesevic

We had our 3rd child on August 8th, 2014. She was born at 8:27 AM weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.25 inches long. She was also born with a head full of HAIR!

Before her first bath, only a few hours old

All clean and sleeping on Mom day 2 in hospital

As far as my birth experience. It had its ups and downs. I had a repeat c-section and since my water didn't break early (like last time), I was a bit more anxious. I didn't sleep well the night before and I feared my spinal a little more. When I was in labor with Lila, I had contractions to distract me from the administering of the spinal. This time around I sat anxiously waiting and I was SO thirsty since I had to fast before surgery.
I wasn't feeling too good morning of, again probably just my nerves. And when they gave me the spinal I did feel nauseous while waiting for it to take effect. My body needed to get sick, and I kind of gagged a few times, but it passed quickly, even before Tim made it back to the OR.
Then I was numb and everything from there on out was smooth sailing. We stayed 3 1/2 days in the hospital. I had a really rough night only once because I had trapped air inside my body from surgery and I also felt like I couldn't take a big enough breath or catch my breath, a side effect of the anesthesia they told me. It was awful, and I cried...and I was embarrassed. I couldn't look my nurse or my husband in the face while I cried in my attempts to get out of the bed.

My recovery was the best part. I invested in a Bellefit corset to hold everything in and support my c-section incision. Best $$ I've spent in a long time. I felt great and I was way more mobile, which speeds recovery process up a lot. It really helped when Tim went back to work after a week and I was at home with all 3 kids by myself. I was also able to wean myself off of my pain medication much faster.

Then came the stress.
A few days after discharge, the hospital called and said Ana's newborn screening came back abnormal and we'd need to get a second one done to confirm the abnormalities.
Second test done, confirmed the abnormal screening.
MORE TESTS which included more blood work which meant a very unhappy baby, and urine screens. I tell you what...getting urine from a newborn (specifically a GIRL) is NOT fun when you have to do it yourself at HOME. But we won't get started on that.
What they were concerned with was a high level of tyrosine.. meaning that she could very well have a metabolic disorder called tyrosinemia. Untreated,  the condition can result in liver and kidney disease or cancer, and death before 10 years of age. However, if caught early she would be able to be treated (for the rest of her life) with medication and a special low-protein diet.
I basically gave you the short version, you can google the disorder to figure out what exactly it is...but in any case.... we were worried, and I was stressed beyond my limits while trying to get these tests done, collecting urine myself, handling my other 2 children, making it to dr's appointments during the day and trying to find a sitter for the kids since Tim was working. It was awful. Doctors were also concerned with her bili levels. Meaning she was jaundice. Although she never had the light-therapy...they said that her levels were still on the high side.
We've also seen 3 different doctors offices in the last 3 weeks. The pediatrician, a geneticist, and a liver specialist. Like I said, lots of appointments and lots of blood work. traveling, and worry.
Last week we were anxiously waiting on a specific urine test that would tell us whether or not she had the tyrosinemia. During that time they had me giving her a special formula called Tyrex that was tyrosine free in the case she DID have the disorder. That way we'd be ahead/prepared if she was to have it. However, they called me the Tuesday before last and told me the test came back negative/normal. WE WERE SO RELIEVED! We have officially 100% ruled out the metabolic disorder, at least the most severe of the 3 types. However, they are still running tests to see why exactly her tests came back abnormal in the first place. We went in on Tuesday for more blood work and an ultrasound of her abdomen. They called back the next day saying that everything, again, looked normal. As of right now, I only have one more appointment of follow up blood work for miss Ana and it's next week. The follow up is for the Liver specialist we saw down at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis 2 weeks ago.
We're hoping and praying that everything continues to come back normal. We're hoping these were false positives... or that our prayers were working and our Heavenly Father is looking out for us.
Ana no longer looks yellow (at least to me and Tim) and she's eating and gaining weight like a champ. She's already up to 9 lbs 4 oz and every once in a while she sleeps more than 4 hours at night. So far, we've been most impressed with our pediatrician, out of all the dr's she's seen. Which makes me really happy to be most happy with her REGULAR physician. He's been the one who said he wasn't too concerned with her bili levels, that she was looking great, and that he would continue to treat her a normal/healthy child. So far....so good.

1 month!