Suzie's First Flight

On Saturday, Suzie and I headed off to Dallas to visit one of my closest friends, Karyn. Darby and Karyn just had a baby girl in May and I couldn't wait to meet little Calla! Suzie did so well on both flights. The first flight I had an aisle seat which was so helpful. The take off and landing didn't seem to bother her ears at all, so that was great. She just got tired of sitting with me. But I worked hard to entertain her and we made it there in good spirits. It was so great to spend the extended time with Karyn. Since both her and Darby's families live here, whenever they come visit it is difficult to coordinate seeing too much of them. So it was so nice to have three full days of just talking and catching up. I felt so much more connected to their life once I got to see where they've been living. Suzie did so well the whole trip, although she did get a little spoiled sleeping in bed with momma. And she was a little rough with poor little Calla. But we are so thankful for how well Suzie did and for the Hughes' hospitality to us while we were there. Since Kyle was still at High School camp when we got home, I was really wishing I had stayed with them an extra day. Here are some pics I found on their blog of our two babies. Suzie seemed liked such a big girl next to sweet little Calla!

Double Stamp Wednesdays!

One of my favorite places to go in Santa Clarita is the Golden Spoon. They have many different flavors of creamy, delicious, non-fat frozen yogurt to choose from, but to be honest, I pretty much stick with the same few flavors:) There are three locations in Santa Clarita so it's pretty much convenient to just stop on by no matter what direction I'm headed!

One thing I really appreciate is that they offer stamp cards for frequent customers. (Starbucks has yet to catch on to this). I recently discovered that they have, "Double Stamp Wednesdays." So no matter how many you buy, they give you two stamps per yogurt purchased. You only have to buy 8 yogurts to get a free small, so if my monthly (okay, weekly) trip to the Golden Spoon is on Wednesdays, I get a free one after only visiting four times! It's a pretty good deal so I just couldn't keep it to myself. I always appreciate it when others share these tips on their blogs. Happy yogurting!

Professional Shots

On Wednesday my mom went with me and Suzie to get her pictures taken at the mall. Suzie did so well and she got a lot of great shots! It was so hard to choose which ones we wanted and they were so cruel to bring out several of them in beautiful frames. It took a lot of self-control for us to walk out there is only our free package and a few additional sheets. Here are the ones we brought home:





You can view all the pictures here.

The Many Ages of Suzie

Suzie recently received her one year reports from her therapists. They all put her at different age levels for her development. Here are the many ages of Suzie:

Actual age: 12 months
Adjusted age: 9 months
Cognitive/social/expressive: 9 months
Left side fine motor: 9 months
Physical: 7 months
Right side fine motor: 6 months

Overall, I was very encouraged with what her therapists had to say. They are hopeful (but cannot guarantee of course) that Suzie will be able to overcome the obstacles with her right side and that there won't be many things that she cannot do. She is already learning to adapt to the difficulty of the increased muscle tone on her right side. She passes things immediately to her left hand if she wants to examine it better or eat it. Or, if we give her puffs and pin her left arm down, she will try really hard to use her index finger and thumb to grab the puff because she knows she can't turn her hand to get the puff in her mouth if she fists it like she does with the left. She's been unsuccessful in doing it so far, but getting closer. It just seems like she's very aware of her limitations already. She's getting much better at sitting and uses her left arm mostly to support her, but is getting better at balancing on her own. Her right leg remains partially bent to relieve the muscle strain. She can now sit for a couple of minutes and is getting better at catching herself when she falls. She also tolerates the crawling position for longer, but isn't really close to doing it on her own. I'm so thankful for how well she is doing. Every session she makes a little progress. God has been so gracious to allow our little girl to do so well!!

Yesterday we went to the doctor for Suzie's one year check up. The doctor was very pleased with her progress and growth. She is now officially on the charts for her actual age!! In fact, she is growing so well that the doctor decided to take her off formula and onto whole milk! She really is a big girl. She received her one year vaccines which she did very well with. Her eyes got all big when the first needle went in and she screamed while they gave her the shots, but after I picked her up she stopped right away. Here are her current stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. even (actual: 3rd%; adjusted 14th%)
Length: 28 1/2 inches (actual: 25th%; adjusted 75th%)
Head Circumference: 18.1 inches (actual: 75th%; adjusted 90th%)

These three pictures were taken the past week




She got some cool new shades to help her get through the summer


Here is Suzie all dolled up and ready for her party


She was so glad to have her Granddad and Nana here for her birthday! Many thanks to them and to Nema and Papi for all they did for her birthday party.


Here is Suzie's friend Joshua enjoying the balloons


We had a little table displaying a collage with a picture from each month of Suzie's life, her first diaper and booties, the sign from her incubator, and a picture of Kyle that looks just like Suzie


Suzie had her very own cake all to herself


Although she got a little scared when everyone sang, "Happy Birthday," she definitely enjoyed digging into her birthday cake!


She decided that the dogs needed some frosting too. Daphne had pink and green icing on her back the rest of the day.


Our family picture:)

Happy Birthday Suzie!

Our precious girl is one year old today! I can hardly even believe it was a year ago that she came into this world, three months before her due date. One year ago we were told that our baby girl had a 40% chance of surviving. And now here she is, healthy and happy and doing so great! We praise God for blessing us with this little one and for allowing us to be stewards of her for however long He allows. We praise Him for teaching us so much over the past year and for blessing us far more than we ever imagined. Happy birthday Little Suzie!

July 18, 2008


July 18, 2009

Here is a little recap of some the events of the past year, thanks to the wonderful calendar my sis made for me:

7/17 Mom checked into the hospital due to lack of movement from baby
7/18 Suzie is born at 5:44am
7/19 transferred from Glendale Adventist to Huntington Memorial
7/24 Mommy got to hold baby in her hands for the first time
7/19 Suzie first tried Mommy's milk
8/4 switched from intubation to c-pap machine
8/7 Mommy held Suzie in arms for first time!
8/7 switched from c-pap to nasal cannula
8/9 Daddy held Suzie for first time!
8/11 Suzie's first surgery to install a reservoir to relieve her hydrocephalus
8/16 first time doing cuddle care
8/18 started wearing clothes
8/21 moved to first step down nursery B
9/4 first attempt to drink from a bottle
9/8 Suzie's second surgery to put in her shunt (back to critical care nursery A)
9/13 moved from incubator to crib
9/14 moved to second step down nursery C
9/30 drank a whole bottle
10/8 first attempt off oxygen
10/10 due date! Weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz., 20 inches
10/11 back on oxygen
10/14 off oxygen except for feedings
10/15 drank all 8 bottles on her own
10/18 Suzie came home after 92 days in the hospital
11/7 third surgery--laser eye surgery
11/23 Suzie laughed for the first time
12/25 first Christmas
1/6 first session of therapy
1/18 six months old!
1/27 started scheduling
2/13 first time to see snow
3/3 completely off oxygen
3/16 started solid foods
4/8 can sit for a few seconds on own
4/26 first time going to church
5/2 NICU reunion
5/4 first two little teeth appear
5/18 became a cousin again to Ashley Sharon Case
6/5 surgery to repair shunt
6/6 came home from hospital
7/18 first birthday!!

Suzie's First Year

With Suzie's birthday just two days away, I wanted to post some pictures from the past twelve months of her life. We can hardly even believe how big our little girl is! She continues to be such a delight to us. We go to the doctor on Monday, so I will get her current stats then. Also, her therapists are currently doing her one year reports, so I should have some info on where they put her developmentally. She is getting closer to sitting on her own, but she really doesn't like it because it pulls on her tight muscles on her right side. She would much rather prefer to stand or lay down. More info on her development to come, but for now, here is a picture from each month of her life. Look how much she has changed!! We think she's cuter now than ever:)

On the day of her birth, weighing 1 lb 14 oz, and 13 1/4 inches long. She was about 27 1/2 weeks along, but pretty small for her age.


One Month


Two Months


Three Months


Four Months


Five Months


Six Months


Seven Months


Eight Months


Nine Months


Ten Months


Eleven Months


12 month pictures will be posted soon!!

Great Grumpy's Birthday

On Friday my family all got together to celebrate my grandpa's 92nd birthday! We call him Great Grumpy because that is the name my sister's kids gave him a while ago. We had a great time celebrating with him and we are so thankful for his very generous and loving heart.

Here is Suzie and her Great Grumpy!


This is Suzie and her newest cousin Ashley, exactly 10 months apart! Although it's more like 7 months. Suzie looks so big!!


All the Wahler grandchildren all lined up from oldest to youngest. Shelby at 5 years, Jason at 2 1/2 years, Suzie at 1 year, and Ashley at 2 months.


Jason and Suzie both playing with their toes:)


Showing some tummy with Daddy


Showing a little attitude


Happy with mom:)


Our newest family pic!