two front teeth

Ava lost her two front teeth on the same day!

keep the beat 5k walk

We recently participated in a 5k walk to raise awareness and support for those affected by congenital heart defects. We were so happy that some of our family was able to join us also.  Unfortunately the little lady we were all walking for was stuck in the hospital AGAIN along with her daddy. Dahlia did not tolerate her formula and she lost even more weight.  She was in the hospital for about a week and placed on a new hypoallergenic formula for kids with allergies and GI problems. Once she proved to the doctors that she was tolerating the new formula, was gaining weight and did not need a feeding tube shoved down her throat, she was finally able to leave.  So frustrating!  

All of the kids were able to finish the walk, with only little whining, mainly by Laila

when she tripped and fell in the mud.

The event was held in down town Houston.

Everyone at the finish line. We got a late start, stopped to take pictures,

and had lots of kids with us, so we were one of the last groups to finish.

The kids with their medals

After the walk there were lots of activities for the kids to do.  They loved this rock climbing wall. Aiden eventually made it to the top, even though he was a little scared.  This was such a neat event, it was awesome to be surrounded by so many people all supporting the same cause.

biopsy and a hospital stay

Dahlia had her annual heart biopsy this past Tuesday.  The good news was that her heart is functioning great and she has 0 rejection! The bad news was the blood work that was done showed her sodium level was so low that she was at risk of having seizures, she was anemic with extremely low hemoglobin levels, and her electrolytes were all out to balance, and she weighted less than she did 6 months ago.  Based on that, her Doctor decided to admit her immediately.  We finally got home on Friday.  Poor Dahlia was not at all happy to be there.  She is terrified of all the doctors and nurses because she thinks they are going to stick her with a needle.  Every time she would fall asleep she would get woken up by someone wanting to draw blood or take her vital signs.  The four days we were there completely wore me out.  Looking back I really don't know how we ever survived the six months Dahlia was in the hospital!  Dahlia needs to take in a lot more calories and be on an iron supplement, then her blood work should be back to normal.  Her doctor prescribed a super high calorie drink, which Dahlia seems to like.  When daddy came to pick us up on Friday, Dahlia was so excited she started shaking!  Then when we got home, she started smiling and looking around everywhere, like she was so glad to be home.  She also had a huge smile for her brothers and sisters and started babbling to them, telling them all about her traumatic ordeal!