Last Girl's Night Out with Jen

We wanted to have one last girl's night out with Jen before she left to go to Missouri. Kristy, Marti, Jen and I all went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was nice to be able to spend one more night with my friends since we don't see each other very much anymore. We love you Jen and we'll miss you very much!

Build a Bear

There is a store called "Build-A-Bear" where kids (or adults) pick out which animal they want, then they get it stuffed as much as they want and they put a heart in it, then they pick out an outfit for it. Finally they fill out a birth certificate and choose a name for their animal. I have a friend who works there so I decided to take Alex and Elizabeth to make their first build a bear. They both had fun but I think they are still too young to understand the whole thing. Elizabeth would have been happy just taking home the stroller they had! LOL. After you're done, the store puts the bear in a little box that is shaped like a house. Both Alex and Elizabeth dragged around their box like it was a suit case and it was the cutest thing!

NICU Reunion

Tonight was the annual NICU reunion. It was really fun. I haven't gone before for multiple reasons. Alex got out of the hospital about a month and a half before the reunion the first year we could have gone. He was still super tiny. We didn't go that year because we had CAST for kids the same day and I was just too tired (so was Alex). Last year CAST was the same day again and we didn't go for pretty much the same reason. This year I decided to go, mostly because I wanted to see one specific person... his primary nurse from the time he was in the NICU. I feel like I owe so much to this woman. Her name is Carrie and she is the most amazing nurse I have ever met. I wanted her to be Alex's primary nurse and she was already the primary for another child so she told me she couldn't do it. About a week later she asked if I had found someone else yet and I told her I hadn't so she said she would do it and she'd just figure something out and try to work with both Alex and the other child she was primary for. She was really good with Alex and always kept me updated on things that were going on with him. She was amazing with me as well. I have to admit that the NICU is a major roller coaster. It is not an easy thing to have to go through, you feel like you don't get to take care of your own baby. She was always there to listen to me whine and complain and vent my frustrations. If I had any issues with the NICU or with something going on with Alex, she made sure they got solved immediately. I feel that it takes a very special person to do her job. She was my guardian angel while Alex was in the hospital. Carrie has such a big soft heart. In December I received a Christmas card from her. It didn't say much except "Hope all is well, Carrie" but when I got it I was immediately filled with joy because I wanted her to know how well Alex was doing. I got the return address and sent her a card with a picture of Alex in it and I included a letter telling her how grateful I am for meeting her. Today, at the reunion, I was a little upset becaues I couldn't find her. Alex was getting tired of being there and was ready to go. As we were leaving I saw a woman from behind that looked really familiar and as soon as she turned around I felt the tears coming! She saw me and gave me a huge hug and I told her that I was so excited to see her. She said that she was working and wanted to come down to see if I was there. That made me feel very special and it proved again that she is a very caring, loving person. She said that she had asked one of the other nurses if they had seen me but they didn't know who I was and as soon as she turned around, there I was. I started crying and told her that if it weren't for her I honestly don't think I would have survived the NICU. She cried as well which really touched my heart. I feel like this woman was my saviour and she did so much to help Alex and I get through his first two months of life. I am so overly elated that I got to see her tonight. She was kind enough to hold Alex for a picture for me. Carrie is one of my heroes and I am so blessed to have met her. I owe her so much for being a part of Alex's life and mine.

We'll Miss you Jen!

One of my best friends, Jen, and her husband Jerry are moving to Missouri. They had a little going away party and invited everyone. It was nice to get together with everyone and relax and have a good time before they left. We'll miss you guys so much! Love you!
(There are lots more pictures but I'm not quite sure where they're at, maybe on a CD somewhere, so I'll add them later)

CAST for kids

Of course I volunteered at Cast for Kids again this year. Alex spent the night with Jen so that he wasn't bored the whole time we were there. There were lots of kids and lots of fun. Jeannette (Kristy, William, Jen and Jerry's niece) was invited again and she had a blast. She did fall in the water and freaked William out a bit but once she was dry and warm, she was happy again!