ahhhhh, spring...

Beautiful girls.

This spring has been so strange. Strange things happening, strange strangeness, just strange. I'm coming out of it all feeling incredibly calm... and pretty much like a superhero.
I should just get used to a life of strangeness. Yes, I'm the queen of vague :)

This isn't much of an update. Just wanted to share that I'm still kickin. I'm dancing through life to Lady GaGa at the moment.

I've developed an allergy to various alcoholic beverages. I happen to think this is retarded... before I was prego I could enjoy a glass of wine and not have my head explode like a puffy weird face. Its not like I need to drink to get through the day... most of the time ;) (don't worry, I don't drink to get through the day, I am JOKING) but I do miss being able to have a glass of wine, or whatever. Has this happened to anyone else??? Does it go away???

I have to get the nuts chopped off of our little boy llama. He's getting frisky... I don't want to be dealing with 8 zillion llamas... good lord...
I feel sort of bad about the whole nut chopping business, but I'm sure he'll understand when he's older :) Sometimes being a farmer is just bizarre.
I had to untangle a llama from a barbwire fence. I was obviously trying to help her, but all the other llamas went nuts and covered me in spit. I had a hulk moment and saved the day, but those little spitting bastards seriously pissed me off. No treats for you jackasses!

Wow, that's all I've got! I'll keep you posted on my riveting life!

OMMMMMMMMMM

I love yoga.
I love that no matter how good you get, you can always get better.
Its bizarre how it can be incredibly challenging, but calming at the same time. You should try it.
Do it, you know you want to :)

My life is like a bad sitcom...

Do you ever have those days when you wonder if you've somehow stumbled into an alternate universe??? You realize that you must have somehow fallen into crazy land, or got sucked into a wormhole shortly after waking up...
Yesterday I was in the Twilight Zone...

I decided to take Nyla to town for some 'mommy time'. Our plan was to get all decked out for Easter, so we headed to Walmart, completely unsuspecting the horror that we were about to experience.
As soon as I stepped through the door I knew that something was NOT right. Everything was loud, screechy and COUNTRY. We stood frozen by the entrance until the greeter (with a painful look on her face) pushed a cart into us. We took a few more steps and there, by the Easter display was the source of the pain and horror.... karaoke!! WHAT THE HELL!?
It was strange and confusing. I still don't know why they were doing karaoke at Walmart... all I know is that it was painfully bad. People were walking through the isles like zombies while crazy people belted out either country or gansta rap. At one point Nyla looked up at me with her beautiful eyes wide and said, "Mommy, can you please ask them to stop doing that???" If only...
We ended our Walmart shop early and pretty much had to punch out unsuspecting strangers in a race to the checkout. Finally, we were free.

but it didn't end there...

My dad is a member of a sportsman club here. Every year they have this big gun show at the arena... haha, big guns... :) My dad is quite elderly, and is not well, but every year he volunteers to do security. He stays the whole weekend, even sleeps there. So we usually go check how things are going.
At Walmart I got Nyla some big balloons to play with because the gun show is hideously boring. (I'm sure you can imagine... table after table of guns. Just guns... and weirdos). She was running around throwing her balloon in the air when it snagged on something and BANG! It was so freaking loud and of course echoed throughout the whole arena. good lord... loud bangs and arenas filled with gun toting weirdos are not a good combination. There was complete silence, then it was like a freaky ant hill. People went completely nuts... they were scurrying around trying to figure out who or what was shot, until they noticed a tiny little girl crying and holding the remnants of her prized balloon.
I swear I thought they were going to start shooting blindly into the air like that crazy cartoon guy.
I scooped up Nyla and tried to make a hasty exit, but unfortunately my dad called over the conservation officer dudes so we could discuss the best way to deal with our stupid bear. Apparently we live very close to where Alberta releases all of their trapped bears. GREAT CALL ALBERTA! I told him that our plan was to shoot it. He decided it would be great 'FUN' and wants to be in on it. At least he didn't say anything about me climbing into a trap to pour bacon grease on a rotten meat bag like his buddy did last year.
I swear, if I wake up and find a bunch of creepy dudes dressed in camo gear with fake trees strapped to their heads in my front yard I'm going to lose it.
In my opinion, these are all signs. Time to get out of here. I can't wait to pack our shite and drive away. It gives me the heebie jeebies...

Love fest

Some days I find that I'm giddily in love with my girls. I always love them, but some days I can't get enough of them. I smush them and cuddle them and sneek peeks at them... totally smitten. I can't hug them enough, I can't kiss them enough... sigh...
When I put Nyla to bed I lay down with her. We cuddle nose to nose as close as possible. We start out trying to make each other giggle with funny faces, then move on to making up stories. Eventually we end the story time with all of our goofy kisses..her favorite right now is the puppy kiss... yup, I lick her face:)
Every night its the same, and I LOVE it.
And Maren... she is so sweet. She's really into eye contact. She has an unwavering stare with big blue eyes... totally heart melting. She'll stare and stare then burst into a big fat grin. That little gummy face is beyond beautiful.
I always thought it was lame when people talked about their kids all the time, but now I understand. There is nobody on the planet as cool as these girls. Nobody comes close.

We had a great day yesterday. It was warm enough for everyone, including Maren to go outside. We have the perfect tobogganing hill in the llama pasture. Llamas are surprisingly into tobogganing. When we'd make a run down the hill they'd all run behind us down the path we made. It was almost like they thought they were doing the same thing we were. I wish I had my camera out because it was freak show and funny at the same time.
I had my first Llama related accident. I'm trying to halter train them, so some are a bit spooked. We have a big stupid dog who likes to sneak up behind them and spaz out until they in turn begin to spaz out and run spazzily as fast and far away as possible. I, unfortunately, was in the path of one of them when it decided to spaz and run. She didn't see me, she just whipped around and ran without thinking... right into me. This is where I'd normally swear like a sailor, but all I'll say is that it hurt like a mofo. Being chest-bumped by a llama sucks rats asses. I'm proud of myself though. I didn't go all Chuck Norris on the llama, I stayed remarkably calm. I am a picture of maturity and poise...

Has everyone else been realizing that its march and still surprisingly winterish? Are we the only ones STILL getting blizzards??? Am I the only one starting to twitch about this a bit?

I'm going to go stare into some beautiful baby eyes :) peace out homeslice...

Gotta love an artist

We've been under quarantine in order to avoid sickness since we arrived home with Maren. I'm not sure how it happened, but we're all sick. It isn't serious, and Maren seems to be doing pretty well so far, so yaaay for that! Nyla on the other hand is really not feeling well. Usually on days like this where she's so sad and yucky feeling we do some fun crafts because she isn't up to tearing around the house as usual.
It all started when I put a big hand print on her tummy... she laughed so freaking hard, so of course I had to keep going. She started painting her feet and asked for some 'kitty whiskers' so, as you can see, she got them.
She loves painting, she talks about how mixing colors together makes all the colors in the whole world :) I love the way she thinks about things.
So, we had a good day.
We had to go out and hang with the llamas while our hay was being delivered.. its interesting how people can be so afraid of llamas. Its not like they're going to gouge your eyes out or wear your head for a hat or anything. I realize how nardo I am, but I get kicks out of telling people to run because one of the llamas is getting ready to spit at them. Lame?? yes, but funny when someone starts sprinting away??? oooooh yes. I think its even more funny when someone is obviously afraid but is trying to be a big man and pretending not to be, then takes off running when a llama gets within 5 feet of him... mwahahahahahaaahahahaa! Ohhhhh the humor of a panic stricken face :)
Yes, I'm mean. And yes, I have the benefit of experience with these furry dudes, but I have to get my kicks somewhere right??? I can't even pretend I want to try to be a better person :)

Snowed In

Being snowed in is interesting. It makes me want to get out. It makes me push the limits of the 4X4... sort of like flipping the bird to the elements. Unfortunately, the elements have no problem trouncing the pants off the 4X4.
Once again I tried, and once again I failed... AND to add to my annoyance, that damned moose sits its big moose ass on the driveway, so even if I could get out I'd have to drive through its ass in order to make it to the highway. That's a trip I don't ever want to take.
Yup, this is my big news for the day. I'm awesome. Stay tuned for my next riveting post...

The secret is out

You may remember that I've been very excited but unable to share why. Well, I can FINALLY share :)
We have decided to start an organic vegetable farm. At first it was just a big dream because really... how the heck do you survive by running a vegetable farm???
Darryl had a meeting with the Native Agricultural Society with absolutely amazing results. They loved our idea and are willing to help us get it off the ground. Not only will we have the regular gardens, but a commercial greenhouse and farm store complete with commercial kitchen so we can sell organic baking and canning. We'll also be selling eggs and llama fur products ;)
There are lots of other ideas, but some stuff should be a surprise right???!

I realize that this will sound crazy to some people, but we love the farm life and we aren't afraid of the work involved. Its going to be AMAZING!!!
Its going to take some time to get everything going, so by this time next year we will be settled and getting ready for the spring planting season.

I'm totally going to go all 'farmy'. I'm going to drive my tractor everywhere and wear my rubber boots ALL the time :) I'm sure they make rubber boots with heels right??

This is only funny if you've seen 'Trainspotting'


What do you think about this for a logo???? ;)

I'm looking forward to updating on our most recent 'adventure'.

PS: BOOOOOO on nay sayers!!

You better sleep with one eye open Mr. Bear!

So, in the effort to win the fight against bear terrorism, my Dad bought me a gun (see picture below). I'm actually pretty excited about it. He had a bunch of modifications done to it so when I'm facing a bear and probably pissing my pants I can still have a good chance at actually hitting it.
(For those of you who don't know, all spring and summer we were tormented by an angry, and surprisingly intelligent bear).
I'm not a fan of bears, and yet they seem to be drawn to me. So, no more Mr nice guy... or Mrs nice girl... whatever. In the spring, bears better steer clear of our place or I will be turning them all into bear rugs (and giving them away to my friends as birthday presents... will you be one of the lucky ones?????)

More pics

I received some more pictures from Diane today. Although things were crazy when we were in Vancouver we managed to do some really fun things with Nyla.
Hollie and Tracey brought us all to 'Bright Nights' in Stanley Park. You ride around on the little train and look at all the Christmas lights. Nyla LOVED it.
We also went to the Aquarium... she went crazy for the sea lion. I'll post aquarium pictures next time.


Us at 'Bright Nights'

We took Nyla to meet Santa. One of my favorite memories is when Nyla saw Chloe dressed in her 'princess' dress to meet Santa. Nyla was completely in awe :) We didn't bring any fancy clothes obviously, and I was feeling a bit sad for Nyla because she would have to go in her regular clothes, when Hollie and Tracey brought out a beautiful princess dress for Nyla too. I admit I cried... It seems like such a little thing, but it was a huge deal to Nyla (and me).
You could tell she felt like a million bucks when she was showing off her dress :) I'll post that picture with Santa when I get the scanner hooked up again.

While Diane was with us she'd take Nyla to Hollie and Tracey's house and they'd go for a walk on the sea wall every day. Nyla called it 'walking and laughing with Grandma' :)

Maren in her incubator. This was during our second week when she really started to do well. Her creepy head IV came out and we could finally start doing regular cuddle time!!

When we were finally able to take her out of the incubator it was important for Maren's development and bonding to do skin to skin cuddle time.

It was amazing being able to hold her after just staring at her in an incubator for so long.

Even though that time for us was really challenging, we also have some really great memories.
Hollie, Tracey and Diane really went out of their way to make sure Nyla was taken care of. I'm so happy that when Nyla talks about being in Vancouver she always says how much fun she had.

Some of my recent favorites

I finally found my camera cord!! I can't believe how quickly the pictures loaded. The dial up gods must have been smiling on me today.

I love the back of her head (and the rest of her too). Its unbelievable how big she is!


She takes my breath away.



So does she

My favorites


Diane made this toque :) I love it


What happens when I'm feeding Maren

All we need is love ( man, I'm corny, but I love the Beatles)

I'm not usually very interested in Valentines day. It's kind of like my birthday, I could take it or leave it. My sister and I were chatting about that, and she happened to mention that she likes Valentine's Day because her kids enjoy it so much. I hadn't thought of making it a kid's 'holiday' until that conversation.
Nyla loves crafts... especially super messy crafts, so I dug out all her glitter, glue, puffy things and anything else she has left in her craft cupboard and we decided to make some Valentine's Day cards. I told her we'd keep Daddy's card a secret until he woke up.
Darryl has been working some crazy long days and was catching a couple of hours of sleep, but Nyla was so excited she burst into our bedroom and yelled "Daddy!!! I'm making you a secret Valentines Day card!!!" I love how kids keep secrets :)
I wish I had taken a picture of her after she was done. She's always covered in whatever we've been using for crafts. She was extra sparkly today!

I still can't share anything about why I'm so excited... I've come to realize that it was not very nice to post about it when I can't share about it. I'm just so excited... its hard to keep it to myself. I did mention it to two different friends and their responses almost made me cry. They both said the exact same thing..."That's so you". I LOVE having friends who know me so well that my biggest dream, although crazy to most, is totally accepted and understood.

I know I gush about my friends a lot, but I really am blessed. I was reading Hannah's blog tonight. She was thanking people for being there for her in different ways.
I'm stealing the idea from Hannah. There are some people in my life who have been truer then true, and on this lovey day I'd like to share the love, so to speak.

(these names are listed in no particular order...)

Imelda: I love that no matter where we are, when we're together, regardless of the circumstance we laugh until it hurts. I'm humbled that you were willing to leave your family in the days before Christmas to come help me take care of mine.
There's a lifetime of friendship that can't be summed up in a paragraph, but I'm really glad that no matter what, we're in it together. I'm really happy that we never have to be worried about losing each other. You're my actual sister/friend.

Diane: Its not common for a mother in law to become a great friend, but we've achieved it. I love that I can be completely myself around you. I miss our movie nights and shopping trips. I like that we can talk on the phone almost ever day and not get sick of each other. Most of all I love seeing how much you love Nyla (I know you'll love Maren just as much). I didn't grow up with a Grandma so I love watching your relationship with her.
You sacrificed a lot of your time to be with us when Maren was born. I absolutely could not have made it through that situation without you. You really went above and beyond the call of duty and I know not many people would have done the same.

There are 3 ladies who have always been there, no matter what.

Kelly: You are one of the only people on the planet that knows absolutely everything about me. You put up with a lot from me and I can't tell you how I appreciate you not kicking me to the curb :)
I trust you, rely on you and love who you are. I can tell you anything and know that even if you don't agree with what I've done, you'll always support me. You're one of the few people who really know me and 'get' me. I know that we'll be sister/friends forever and its not just a cliche.

Christy: I love our friendship. We can go ages without talking, but can pick up where we left off as soon as we see each other. I can tell you anything without worrying what you'll think of me. We have such a unique friendship, and I feel like I really 'grew up' with you.
I love how deeply you care for your friends, and how willing you are to help in any way. You're an amazing support to me.
I love your sense of humor :) I love that we can laugh together like crazy people, and cry together... also like crazy people ;)
I can always count on you... no matter what. You're another sister/friend forever.

Jenn: You have been a true friend, and have also shared your family with me. You and your parents have had such a huge impact on my life... I'd be lost without you. I feel completely at home with your family, and you actually understand why that means so much to me.
You've witnessed some of my highest highs, but also my lowest lows, and you brought the love of a sister plus the love of parents to me. How can I thank you for that??
You are the most honest person I know. I love that you say what you think at all times (even if it sometimes makes me want to beat you :) Yes, that's right... another sister/friend :)

You three ladies are so special and so important to me. You have absolutely touched my life and changed who I am. I feel like I grew up with all of you. So many of my great memories includes at least one, if not all of you.

Cindy R: Our friendship is also very special and important to me. It usually takes me a very long time to make a friendship like ours, but it seems like there was some kind of divine intervention involved. I feel like we're so alike, and understand each other so well. We can share great stuff, but the really awful stuff too. We can be completely real with each other, and still have a great time :)
I know that our friendship will always be there... I say 'sister/friend' a lot, but its just so true. You make me check in when things are rough, and aren't afraid to tell me to get my head out of my ass (although you usually say it much nicer...)
You're there, always, without question.

Darryl: You are the most amazing man I've ever known. You know me and love me, and allow me to be me. We've made it through more in the last (almost) 6 years than some people will see in a lifetime, and even though sometimes we hung on by a thread, we always hung on. You are the person I want to tell everything to. I could spend every day with you and not get tired of your company. Nothing is scary when you're with me...
We're so made for each other, that this next adventure doesn't scare you but makes you just as excited as I am.
I love you, and I like you. I'm proud of who you are.

This post is already long, and I know Maren is about to wake up to eat... but there are other people who have influenced my life in crazy amazing ways... Carmen, Hannah, Peter, Kelsey. I think this post will have to be continued...

Happy Valentines Day

OH YEAH BABY!!

First of all I'd like to report that at Maren's last weigh in she was up to 8lbs 3oz! She's doing great! We can take her outside on nice days now, which is AMAZING for us. Now the llamas and dogs will get some more attention and we won't become crazy 'cabin fever' people. (Scenes from 'The Shining' keep going through my mind).
We had some amazing above zero weather, but now we've plummeted back to crazy cold. I need some global warming over here...

I have lots of exciting news that I can't share :) (I know, I'm awesome). Hopefully I can share soon because I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED!!! (NO, I'm not pregnant... if you ask me I swear I'll go ninja on your ass!)

I tried adding pictures today, but my computer/internet is being pissy. I'll try again soon - I have some great ones.

H'mmm at this point I could start making up news about other people for fun, but I'll refrain (for now)...

I'll update again when I have updatable news.

What's that smell????

Maren's official due date was January 31... its nice that she's now officially supposed to be born :)
At her last weigh in she was 7 pounds! (did I already share that??? I can't remember). She's doing great. She's a little poop machine... I'll spare you all the joy of my baby poop stories. Let me assure you that they're really gross.

The kiddos are great. Maren is a night owl (like me) and Nyla is an early bird (like Darryl). This translates into me going 'bbbba ba baba ba ba baba' a lot (you'll understand if you've ever seen 'Overboard'). I know the no sleep thing doesn't last forever, so I'm not going to curl into the fetal position and hum to myself... I will survive and I will remain sane(ish).

I don't really have any news. Just saying hi.

Birthdays are for suckers...

But since I'm getting so damn old I thought I'd share some of my amazing wisdom.

1. If you ever buy llamas, make sure to ask if there's a chance that any of them are pregnant... (chances are they ALL will be).

2. Don't invite that creepy lady into your house... she could possibly be a vampire after all.

3. If you choose to live way out in the sticks don't be ashamed when your directions include things like " Turn left at the old Scott farm... watch out for the moose that sleeps on that road... if you end up in a farmers field you haven't gone far enough..."

4. If you see crazy things hanging out of a llamas ass RELAX... its just a baby.

5. If you're outside when the snow plow dude comes by HIDE or you'll be stuck for half an hour talking about the weather and the price of animal feed.

Now, I realize that my wisdom lately revolves around rural living and llamas so you may not understand how you can apply it to your own life. All I can say is... try harder. It applies.

Now, in my elderly state I have some things to admit (or just share).

1. I hate potatoes and U2. I know, I know... you're gasping because I'm Irish and you can't believe my bravery in admitting this, but I'm ready to come out of the potato closet.

2. I have no plans to dress more conventionally... and yes, I'm going to dress my kids funny too. (At least until they're old enough to protest).

3. I plan to keep sneaking animals onto the farm when I find some that need homes. YES I KNOW we're going to have to move them all when we move... I'm not retarded.
(for interested parties... chickens and horses will be making an appearance this spring).

4. Gatorade makes me barf.

5. I hate reality TV with the fire of a thousand suns.
Why the hell would a crowd of women want to go on TV to vie for the affections of one man that they know nothing about??? I just don't get it.
Don't get me started on American/Canadian idol... that Kaylan Porter (sp?) kid makes me want to rip my eyeballs out and shove them in my ears. I want to shave his head so I can point and laugh.

6. Even though I'm supposed to be old and wise I'll still always take a dare.

7. I LOVE practical jokes. Sometimes I need someone to be my voice of reason or else I go too far. (Sorry Maria... I was too young to listen to voices of reason in college... you paid the price).
I pulled so many pranks on Maria, and I've never seen anyone react so well. She always saw the humor and even had the gumption to prank back. Good on ya Maria ;)

8. I have great friends and I miss them all like crazy.

9. I love my mother in law.

10. I think its disgusting that parents let their young girls dress like hookers. Come on people, show your kids what self respect is.

I could go on, but I'll stop there. I have many more things to admit but I'll save them for my next birthday. I'm going to rock 31... even if I'll stay 22 in my head forever.

Starting at the beginning

I talked about doing a beginning to present post, but didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to do. I still want to share because Maren is truly amazing, and I want to show how far she's come.

This is the hardest picture for me to see. This is how she looked when I first entered the NICU at Children's Hospital the day after she was born. Soon after they shaved a spot on her head to put in an IV. Remembering this makes my stomach hurt.

I'm so thankful to the nurses there who are used to comforting hysterical parents. They assured me that the first week was pure hell, but that it would in fact get better.
And it did get better...
A very special nurse took this picture for me. I didn't think I'd want to remember those days, (and I still don't), but I'm grateful because I can look back at how far Maren has come.
I don't have many pictures. Darryl's mom has some on her camera, so when I get copies I'll share some.

There's so much I'd like to say about my time there, but I don't know if I'd ever be able to stop, so I think its best if I don't start.

On a happier note, Nyla has been doing great. She's so freaking funny and still as stubborn as ever. If Maren starts to cry she'll run over and say "Awwwww, its ok Maren" and pat her back. She loves to hold Maren (with help of course) and is happy to sit beside us on the couch and hold her hand. She tells us that Maren is her best friend (how cute is that???).

She's really into hats right now. She has a dorky hat that she calls her 'hunting hat'. She even wears it to bed (or tries to). This bucket is her 'party hat'. She purposely puts it on like that when she feels like having a party.
Maren loves getting her hair washed. She's not so fond of the rest of the tubby experience.

I love moments where you look around you and realize how much you love the people surrounding you. I feel like we've been through hell, but because of that have been drawn so much closer as a family. Darryl is my hero. I can't begin to tell you how amazing he is and how much more I've grown to respect him. He was my rock when nothing else seemed steady. Seeing him care for our kids, even simple things like making peanut butter toast, or doing goofy dances to make Nyla laugh, or singing softly to Maren while he feeds her, or tucking both of them into their beds at night shows me what a great man he is.

We are happy, we are healthy and we are blessed.

WE'RE HOOOOOOOME!

Introducing Maren Perry!!! Here are a few pics. I'm going to do a big beginning - now post next week.

The two most beautiful girls on the planet.
hee heee heeeee
cute little baby bum (I know I'm not exactly at my best in this pic, but I wanted to show how big she is now).



So, Maren made lots of progress in the last week. She did end up rocking her carseat challenge so here we are!
That was probably the longest trip from PG home in history, (it usually takes 4 hours but this time it took 9 1/2). Maren can only be in a carseat for an hour at a time because her muscles aren't developed enough to be able to breathe in that position for long. So we'd go for an hour and stop for an hour... it was LOOOOONG but definitely worth it to get her home.

Its a little bit scary being away from the safety of the hospital, but I know everything will be great. We have a team here set in place to make sure she grows and develops properly... it really does take a village to raise this child :) Its nice to know we aren't completely alone.
We found out before we left that her sight and hearing are normal wooooo hooooo! Mentally she's going to be completely fine, we just need to work on her motor skills so that she's hitting her milestones when she should be (corrected age and all that confusing stuff).

I'm going to do a big post with pictures from beginning to end in the next week or so. Some of the pictures from the beginning are hard for me to see and harder for me to share, but I think its important to see how far she's come. She's been a fighter from day 1. I'm already proud to know her.

Wow, its soooo great to be home!

PS: if you ever need some great happy music you should listen to Scissor Sisters, they're a great mood lifter. I only have Ta Dah, but I'm sure their other stuff is great too.

Its the final countdown... (come on, sing the song).

December 27 was Maren's one month birthday. Its insane how fast time flies... and how slowly it goes at the same time.
The difference in this little girl in the past 5 weeks is absolutely incredible. As of yesterday she was off everything - feeding tube, meds... everything. She has vitamins and Iron (lucky for her she inherited my anaemic tendencies).
She is just an ounce under 5 pounds and steadily gaining. I'm telling you she's a superstar.
The doctor mentioned the words HOME yesterday!!!! We were gearing up for at least 3 more weeks but if she continues to rock her world we're looking at next week. I swear I almost kissed the doctor... we've been away for faaaaar too long.
So, there are a few things that have to happen before we can officially go home. She has to go 5 days in a row without any bradycardia or desats (drops in heartrate and oxygen saturation), then she has to be off her monitors for a couple of days. AND she has to pass her carseat test (sit in a car seat without bradys or desats for an hour). She came sooo close today but desatted with 10 minutes to go. I'm guessing it won't be long til she rocks that test too. That's one I don't want to rush since we do have a bit of travel time when we do get released.

Nyla went home with Darryl on the 27th. I cried like a baby, but she's doing great. Darryl has had a few extra days off so she's settling into normal home life. Apparently she went all around the house saying hi to all her things (she was especially happy to see her tubby).
I know its the best for all of us, but its hard to be away from that little pinkyponk (Imelda's little name for Nyla).

Christmas was nice. We got a little tree and Darryl brought decorations with him. Nyla decorated the tree with a tiny bit of help from us... I can't wait to share pictures. She's so freaking funny :)
She was floored that Santa came to leave her presents :) Even the NICU 'Santa' left a present for her (have I mentioned how amazing the NICU nurses are here???).

I'm staying in Maren's room with her now, so I'm finally getting the quality time with her that we both needed. I can't wait to share pictures of this whole journey.
I have great friends and family who have been an amazing support to me. Thanks for listening to the sobbing phone calls (or emails) and rejoicing in all the progress, no matter how small it was.
Thanks to Diane and Imelda for coming to help watch Nyla. Thanks to Hollie and Tracey (and Chloe) for everything you did to help us.
I love you all.
Stay tuned for great news in the near future!

And here we are...

We have had an incredibly busy couple of weeks. We were transferred from the Children's Hospital in Vancouver to Burnaby General, then 5 days later to Prince George. So yes, we are now in Prince George :) Its so nice being closer to home. We just got here so things are a bit up in the air, but we're looking forward to getting into a routine here.

Maren is doing really well. She's now up to 4lbs 3oz :) They found a little heart murmur but I don't think that's an issue at all. She was on oxygen last night because we're at a different altitude here so she had to work a bit harder to breathe, but was off early this morning.
We won't be home by Christmas :( and probably won't be home for another month, but we can't really complain because she really is doing well, she just has to grow.
There are a few little issues that are common with these tiny little ones, but nothing that seems to be worrying the doctors.

Nyla is doing really well. She's getting tired of being away from home, but she's making friends everywhere we go :) She's definitely a charmer.

Some of you wonderful people have asked for our address but we don't have an address yet. We're staying at a hotel for a few days and then will eventually be in the Easter Seal House here... so I'll pass on an addy when we know what it is.

We're sad about being so far away from everyone this Christmas, but we are also so grateful to be in a place where they obviously care so much for Maren. The PG NICU is amazing... we love it here and know that she is in great hands.
Darryl will be arriving on Christmas eve and will stay for a few days, so we're very excited about having our family together for Maren's first Christmas.

We hope you're all happy and healthy. Merry Christmas from us! We miss you all.
Lots of love

She's a superstar

Maren is doing so well its absolutely unbelieveable, she continuously blows me away. She's so tiny but otherwise completely fine. When we first got here she was covered in tubes and wires, but now the only thing left is her feeding tube. She's already putting on weight and is almost back to her birth weight (3lbs 8 oz). One nurse made a comment about us being home by christmas!!! We're very hopeful for that.

Darryl went home today. He needed to get back to work :( Nyla is still here with me (Darryl's mom is here to help). I think one of the most difficult things for me is balancing time with both girls. I know how much they both need me and its been heartbreaking not being able to be with both 24 hours a day. Now that Darryl is gone it makes it a bit tricky,but I think we're going to be ok. I keep trying to remind myself that this will soon be a distant memory. Soon we'll be together at home and we can catch up on all the time we've missed.

Nyla met Maren for the first time. She absolutely LOVES her. She constantly asks if she can come to the hospital to see her,and begs to bring her with us when we leave. I can't wait til they can actually play together.

We're waiting for a transfer to PG. The NICU there is apparently awesome and its closer to home so we're pretty excited about that. We have to wait for a bed, and when a bed is available we can only go if the transport team is available. I have an idea we'll be here for a little while because coordinating both is not proving to be easy. The care she's getting here is so amazing I definitely can't complain about being here.

So, that's the update for now. It couldn't be going better! We're so proud of Maren and her incredible strength, and we're so proud of Nyla for handling this so well. We have two amazing little girls :)

I'll update again when I have a few minutes. Pictures will have to wait til we're home.
Lots of love from us!

Happy Birthday Maren!

Well, it appears that baby #2 was a bit impatient ( 9 weeks impatient) to enter this lovely world.
Maren Laurie Perry was born on November 27. She weighed 3 lbs 8 oz and is absolutely beautiful.
I'm really impressed with how the whole situation was handled... we live in a very small town, so when the doctor realized that Maren needed to be born he called in a team from Vancouver to take care of her as soon as she made her appearance. They were amazing. They swooped in made sure she was stable and had her ready to be air lifted in an incredibly short amount of time. I was unfortunately not able to go with her because I didn't have a superstar team from Vancouver swooping in to get me ready... (Ok, I'm still upset that I couldn't go with her, but I'm here now).
So, the basic update in a few words:
She is really doing great. She's off morphine, and today she was taken off the ventilator. So far she's breathing room air (still with tubes up her nose, but its a zillion times better then a ventilator) and hasn't needed any oxygen. If her oxygen levels stay good for a week she will be ventilator free for good (barring any craziness that I won't even say could happen because it won't).
We could be here until her original due date (Jan 30th) so it could be a long haul... I'm choosing to believe that it won't take that long. I'm thinking she'll want to be home for Christmas :)
Darryl and Nyla and Darryl's mom got here today. I can't describe how great it is to have them here now.
I can't remember everything I wanted to update on.
I'm doing well. I'm very tired and completely overwhelmed most of the time, but I'm happy to have our little family together at least for a little while. I'm hoping that I'll stop bursting into tears at the drop of a hat... it does get annoying.
Thanks to all of our great family and friends who have been hugely supportive. We love you! (I still owe most of you a phone call. Soon I promise).
Sorry this is a bit scatterbrained. I only have a few minutes online.
I'll update again (hopefully with pics) when I can.