Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Busy Busy Busy!
Our little girl has become a very busy baby! Bella has certainly never been the sit around and lounge type, but she is even more busy now that she is on the move. She keeps pretty occupied by her toys, but then quickly notices that there are other exciting things she can mess with, including Mommy's Willow Tree angels, remotes, cell phones... you get the picture! Here are some pictures highlighting a typical day in the life of Miss Bella!
Bella's absolute favorite toy: her little tea set and play treats. Everytime those toys are laid out to play with, she ignores all others and heads straight to them. 
Bella's favorite game: playing peek-a-boo with Mommy or Daddy from behind the couch! She loves to come and find where we are, and thinks it's quite amusing. 
"I found you!"
"Now I'm going to get you!"
Bella also learned a new skill last week- pulling herself up on her own. Next step: scooting along the furniture. It's so fun to watch her continue to develop, but it definitely scares me to think of her on the loose...
When I was cleaning the hardwood floor, Bella decided to go exploring underneath all of the chairs! She has to be where the action is. 
She also knows how to get smiles and laughs- this silly smile is displayed many many times throughout the course of the day! The picture doesn't fully do it justice however, as she also has sound effects to go along with it. Such a show-off already!
I'm such a funny girl!
Bella does still have normal smiles too. :)
And at the end of the day, Bella is all wiped out. The only time we can get in some quality snuggling time! However, she does still like to get cuddle time throughout the day. Every so often, she'll come crawling in my lap just to get some love. Then it's off to play!
Bella's absolute favorite toy: her little tea set and play treats. Everytime those toys are laid out to play with, she ignores all others and heads straight to them. 
Bella's favorite game: playing peek-a-boo with Mommy or Daddy from behind the couch! She loves to come and find where we are, and thinks it's quite amusing. 
"I found you!"
"Now I'm going to get you!"
Bella also learned a new skill last week- pulling herself up on her own. Next step: scooting along the furniture. It's so fun to watch her continue to develop, but it definitely scares me to think of her on the loose...
When I was cleaning the hardwood floor, Bella decided to go exploring underneath all of the chairs! She has to be where the action is. 
She also knows how to get smiles and laughs- this silly smile is displayed many many times throughout the course of the day! The picture doesn't fully do it justice however, as she also has sound effects to go along with it. Such a show-off already!
I'm such a funny girl!
Bella does still have normal smiles too. :)
And at the end of the day, Bella is all wiped out. The only time we can get in some quality snuggling time! However, she does still like to get cuddle time throughout the day. Every so often, she'll come crawling in my lap just to get some love. Then it's off to play!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Starting a New Year with Sicknesses
Well, we have had a pretty crazy start to 2010! Hopefully the rest of the year doesn't proceed this way, or it could be a stressful year. So for those that haven't heard the full story, here is the details. Last week Sunday, I started not feeling very well. I had stomach cramps, but chalked it up to just some normal monthly pains. I felt better throughout the week, although I still wasn't 100%. Then on Thursday, the painful cramps started again during the night. They progressively worsened throughout the day and became quite awful during the afternoon. I called Derek to have him come home from work, and my mom volunteered to come over and help with Bella. My doctor is not in the office on Thursdays, so we decided to go to the emergency room to see what was up. I knew something had to be going on because I was laying on the floor crying because I was in so much pain- and yes, it was worse than labor!
So we got to the emergency room and ran some tests and bloodwork to figure out what was going on. One of the tests was an ultrasound to get a better look at what was going on in my stomach. Right after the tech got the picture up, she called in the radiologist, which was definitely not a good sign. The doctor then told us what they thought was going on: 1) I was pregnant (big shocker #1) and 2) it was an ectopic pregnancy, meaning the egg had implanted inside a fallopian tube rather than the uterus. He also said that it looked like my fallopian tube had ruptured since there isn't enough room for an egg to grow in a tube. This was causing a lot of bleeding inside, which was why I was in so much pain. I needed immediate surgery to remove all of the blood and tissue inside my fallopian tube. It was a relief to find out what was going on, but definitely quite scary as I was not exactly prepared to have an emergency surgery. I was familiar with ectopic pregnancies too, so I knew there was a risk of losing one or both my fallopian tubes or ovaries. Needless to say, we were freaking out! However, God was watching over us, and the surgery went very smoothly. They were able to get out all of the blood and tissue and didn't have to remove anything else. I was stuck in the hospital until Saturday because I lost quite a bit of blood in the surgery and needed to get transfusions throughout the day on Friday. But I have been home since then, and am feeling better every day.
This was obviously a very scary few days for us, but everything worked out according to God's plan, and I am now home and healthy. It still hasn't quite sunk in for either of us that we lost a baby in this as we had absolutely NO CLUE that we were pregnant. We were both focused on making sure that the surgery went well that we didn't really think about that aspect. I was also so scared on Thursday night that they would have to remove my ovaries, so that was a huge blessing to hear they didn't have to do so. There is an increased chance in the future that I may have another ectopic pregnancy, but chances are just as good that I will have more healthy ones. We are so thankful that God kept me safe throughout all of this as it could have been much much worse. This also made us so appreciative of living in a small town as we had such an amazing experience in the ER. Our nurses and doctors were sooo caring and sensitive to us. Our surgeon even prayed for us before I went to the OR. What a blessing to live in such a wonderful community!
So that was our crazy week! And of course, in the midst of that week, Bella developed her 2nd ear infection- poor baby girl! Thankfully she likes her medicine much better this time around and started feeling better instantly. That was also one of the worst parts of my hospitalization- I haven't been away from my baby for such a long time period! My doctor and nurses did let us sneak her in for a little bit on Friday night, even though right now the hospital isn't allowing any visitors under the age of 18. But I would have been crushed without seeing Bella for a day and a half! So now that I wrote an entire book, here are some new pictures of the little cutie. :)
Sucking on her bottom lip, as always!
Seven months old already! On her 7 month "birthday," Bella started to really master the art of crawling. She is now plowing around the living room with ease and getting into all of Mommy's things. :) 
This is how I found her one morning- all tangled up in her kitty's ballet slippers!
This is her pooping face- I was taking some pictures of her, and she apparently decided she had to go. She is concentrating very hard!
And here is a big smile! That smile definitely carried Derek and I through those tough days.
So we got to the emergency room and ran some tests and bloodwork to figure out what was going on. One of the tests was an ultrasound to get a better look at what was going on in my stomach. Right after the tech got the picture up, she called in the radiologist, which was definitely not a good sign. The doctor then told us what they thought was going on: 1) I was pregnant (big shocker #1) and 2) it was an ectopic pregnancy, meaning the egg had implanted inside a fallopian tube rather than the uterus. He also said that it looked like my fallopian tube had ruptured since there isn't enough room for an egg to grow in a tube. This was causing a lot of bleeding inside, which was why I was in so much pain. I needed immediate surgery to remove all of the blood and tissue inside my fallopian tube. It was a relief to find out what was going on, but definitely quite scary as I was not exactly prepared to have an emergency surgery. I was familiar with ectopic pregnancies too, so I knew there was a risk of losing one or both my fallopian tubes or ovaries. Needless to say, we were freaking out! However, God was watching over us, and the surgery went very smoothly. They were able to get out all of the blood and tissue and didn't have to remove anything else. I was stuck in the hospital until Saturday because I lost quite a bit of blood in the surgery and needed to get transfusions throughout the day on Friday. But I have been home since then, and am feeling better every day.
This was obviously a very scary few days for us, but everything worked out according to God's plan, and I am now home and healthy. It still hasn't quite sunk in for either of us that we lost a baby in this as we had absolutely NO CLUE that we were pregnant. We were both focused on making sure that the surgery went well that we didn't really think about that aspect. I was also so scared on Thursday night that they would have to remove my ovaries, so that was a huge blessing to hear they didn't have to do so. There is an increased chance in the future that I may have another ectopic pregnancy, but chances are just as good that I will have more healthy ones. We are so thankful that God kept me safe throughout all of this as it could have been much much worse. This also made us so appreciative of living in a small town as we had such an amazing experience in the ER. Our nurses and doctors were sooo caring and sensitive to us. Our surgeon even prayed for us before I went to the OR. What a blessing to live in such a wonderful community!
So that was our crazy week! And of course, in the midst of that week, Bella developed her 2nd ear infection- poor baby girl! Thankfully she likes her medicine much better this time around and started feeling better instantly. That was also one of the worst parts of my hospitalization- I haven't been away from my baby for such a long time period! My doctor and nurses did let us sneak her in for a little bit on Friday night, even though right now the hospital isn't allowing any visitors under the age of 18. But I would have been crushed without seeing Bella for a day and a half! So now that I wrote an entire book, here are some new pictures of the little cutie. :)
Sucking on her bottom lip, as always!
Seven months old already! On her 7 month "birthday," Bella started to really master the art of crawling. She is now plowing around the living room with ease and getting into all of Mommy's things. :) 
This is how I found her one morning- all tangled up in her kitty's ballet slippers!
This is her pooping face- I was taking some pictures of her, and she apparently decided she had to go. She is concentrating very hard!
And here is a big smile! That smile definitely carried Derek and I through those tough days.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Christmas Part 3
The Saturday after Christmas, we celebrated Christmas with the other part of Derek's family. We went out to eat at Happy Joe's as a birthday celebration for Matthew and Cayden, then we went back to open presents at Derek's parents house.
Bella received more fun presents to play with, including a learning piggy bank, a walker shopping cart, a block set, and a Baby Einstein story book. I'm not sure where I am going to put all these new toys; we are running out of room in the living room!
We attempted to take a picture of an almost 2 year old and a 7 month old baby- this is the best shot we captured. :) It's still pretty cute, even if you can't see their faces!
I took some more pictures of Bella in her Christmas dress at my parents house the Sunday after Christmas. These turned out much better than the last set!
Bella is thoroughly examining her Little People Baby Jesus. So much fun to chew on!
That night, we had our next Christmas gathering with the Zylstra family. Here is Bella in her new "snow bunny" outfit from Grandpa Doug and Grandma Sheri, complete with furry boots. :) Dressing a little girl is too much fun! 
Thankfully this Christmas didn't bring as many toys. Here is Bella chewing on her new animal parade set!
Bella did so awesome through all these various Christmas gatherings, especially considering that she wasn't at home very much and didn't always get the best naps. She was even passed around to many people at the Zylstra Christmas, and it didn't faze her in the least! We are so blessed with such an easy baby! She is definitely our best Christmas present. :)
Bella received more fun presents to play with, including a learning piggy bank, a walker shopping cart, a block set, and a Baby Einstein story book. I'm not sure where I am going to put all these new toys; we are running out of room in the living room!
We attempted to take a picture of an almost 2 year old and a 7 month old baby- this is the best shot we captured. :) It's still pretty cute, even if you can't see their faces!
I took some more pictures of Bella in her Christmas dress at my parents house the Sunday after Christmas. These turned out much better than the last set!
Bella is thoroughly examining her Little People Baby Jesus. So much fun to chew on!
That night, we had our next Christmas gathering with the Zylstra family. Here is Bella in her new "snow bunny" outfit from Grandpa Doug and Grandma Sheri, complete with furry boots. :) Dressing a little girl is too much fun! 
Thankfully this Christmas didn't bring as many toys. Here is Bella chewing on her new animal parade set!
Bella did so awesome through all these various Christmas gatherings, especially considering that she wasn't at home very much and didn't always get the best naps. She was even passed around to many people at the Zylstra Christmas, and it didn't faze her in the least! We are so blessed with such an easy baby! She is definitely our best Christmas present. :)
Christmas Part 2
So our next Christmas gatherings began on Christmas Eve. We ended up going to my parents house that afternoon to avoid the huge snowstorm- even though that never actually happened around here! Oh well, Bella got to have a sleepover at Grandpa and Grandma's. :) We spent Christmas Eve day relaxing and playing, just as Bella always does! We went over to Shawn and ChyAnne's that night to have soup. 
Playing with her new table and apparently talking to it!
Bella also got to see her good friend Tommy again. :) She was very much liking him and wanted to pull on his fur and tail! I think maybe she needs a kitty at home....
On Christmas, my mom and I spent the day cooking, and we had supper and opened gifts that night. Bella was apparently very excited about the festivities!
A picture of the whole Huyser family, which actually turned out amazingly well for 8 adults and 4 kids!
A picture of our family- however, Bella was getting mighty sick of pictures at that point. 
Bella got many more presents to play with, including a Little People Nativity Set, a Learning Purse, a few books, blocks, and some adorable clothes to add to her wardrobe! It was a very fun first Christmas Day for Bella.
Playing with her new table and apparently talking to it!
Bella also got to see her good friend Tommy again. :) She was very much liking him and wanted to pull on his fur and tail! I think maybe she needs a kitty at home....
On Christmas, my mom and I spent the day cooking, and we had supper and opened gifts that night. Bella was apparently very excited about the festivities!
A picture of the whole Huyser family, which actually turned out amazingly well for 8 adults and 4 kids!
A picture of our family- however, Bella was getting mighty sick of pictures at that point. 
Bella got many more presents to play with, including a Little People Nativity Set, a Learning Purse, a few books, blocks, and some adorable clothes to add to her wardrobe! It was a very fun first Christmas Day for Bella.
Christmas Part 1
So we have been incredibly busy these past couple weeks with all of the holiday gatherings! I decided to break up our various outings into different posts, or otherwise I would have uploaded a ton of pictures and written a book. :) So here is the first part! On the Friday n ight before Christmas, we went with my family to Build-a-Bear in Des Moines as that was part of my mom and dad's Christmas present to the grandkids.
Miss Bella is watching all of the action!
Since Bella is obviously too young to pick out her animal and clothing, I got the pleasure of doing so. :) And naturally, I picked an adorable kitty. What will I do if this girl doesn't like cats.... Here is her kitty getting filled up with stuffing! 
Bella with her new kitty- named Sophia the Ballerina! She actually was all excited about it when we showed it to her the morning after we went- she had a big smile!
The next day, we celebrated our little family's first Christmas with Bella! This picture actually turned out really well, especially considering we just stuck the camera on a table. 
As to be figured, Bella was more interested in the bows than the actual presents. :) Particularly the red shiny bows for some reason! 
Looking at her new activity table! She doesn't look too excited here, but she actually does like it a lot. 
Bella with her new ball bouncer! This one is still a little scary to her- she likes to play with the balls, but when we turn it on it kind of freaks her out. Maybe when she's a little older! We also gave Bella a little tea set, a picnic basket with food, and some little things in her stocking. I am so glad to have new toys for her- I was getting bored with her old!
Bella is all Christmased out. :)
On that following Sunday, we went on another road trip with Bella to see some of our friends in Cedar Falls. My friend Cassy and her husband Justin were back in Iowa from Colorado, so we spent an afternoon with them, along with our friends Jameson and Lisa and their baby Alice, Jake and Gwyn, and Loren. It was fun to be with my old college group again, even though it's now a little different with two babies! I forgot to take pictures though, oops!
On December 23, we celebrated Christmas with part of Derek's family. Derek's dad and sister were leaving for a Kenyan mission trip on Christmas day, so we did a small part of Christmas with them before they left. 
Derek and I also had our FIRST date night since Bella's birth before Christmas! We had tickets to go to see Transiberian Orchestra, which Bella could obviously not attend. So my mom came over to babysit her, and we went out to eat and saw the show (which was awesome). I was a little sad to leave her, but it was nice to have an alone night together again. But I don't need to do it again anytime soon. :) More Christmas to follow!
Miss Bella is watching all of the action!
Since Bella is obviously too young to pick out her animal and clothing, I got the pleasure of doing so. :) And naturally, I picked an adorable kitty. What will I do if this girl doesn't like cats.... Here is her kitty getting filled up with stuffing! 
Bella with her new kitty- named Sophia the Ballerina! She actually was all excited about it when we showed it to her the morning after we went- she had a big smile!
The next day, we celebrated our little family's first Christmas with Bella! This picture actually turned out really well, especially considering we just stuck the camera on a table. 
As to be figured, Bella was more interested in the bows than the actual presents. :) Particularly the red shiny bows for some reason! 
Looking at her new activity table! She doesn't look too excited here, but she actually does like it a lot. 
Bella with her new ball bouncer! This one is still a little scary to her- she likes to play with the balls, but when we turn it on it kind of freaks her out. Maybe when she's a little older! We also gave Bella a little tea set, a picnic basket with food, and some little things in her stocking. I am so glad to have new toys for her- I was getting bored with her old!
Bella is all Christmased out. :)On that following Sunday, we went on another road trip with Bella to see some of our friends in Cedar Falls. My friend Cassy and her husband Justin were back in Iowa from Colorado, so we spent an afternoon with them, along with our friends Jameson and Lisa and their baby Alice, Jake and Gwyn, and Loren. It was fun to be with my old college group again, even though it's now a little different with two babies! I forgot to take pictures though, oops!
On December 23, we celebrated Christmas with part of Derek's family. Derek's dad and sister were leaving for a Kenyan mission trip on Christmas day, so we did a small part of Christmas with them before they left. 
Derek and I also had our FIRST date night since Bella's birth before Christmas! We had tickets to go to see Transiberian Orchestra, which Bella could obviously not attend. So my mom came over to babysit her, and we went out to eat and saw the show (which was awesome). I was a little sad to leave her, but it was nice to have an alone night together again. But I don't need to do it again anytime soon. :) More Christmas to follow!
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