Santa Baby

This, being our first Christmas with Ollie, has been the best holiday of my life. I realized it with Halloween and the excitement I felt with showing off my beautiful little chili pepper....holidays will never be the same! Ollie is a blessing and I find myself loving her more everyday.

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas! My family (myself included) went just a little overboard on the Christmas presents (Lesley was the worst of all, outdoing Santa!). Although Ollie LOVED every minute of opening presents, she most of all enjoyed the wrapping paper.

Second to the paper, she loves this new pink car her sugar and pops got her. We take walks (drives) at least once a day. O is a serious little driver and keeps her hands firmly on 10 and 2. Although she doesn't smile much, she does squeal with delight during her drive. O also received a HUGE Dora doll, which she loves, a princess rocking horse, a glow worm, a choo choo train, an Ernie doll, and a barking dog, just to name a few. It is apparent that the adults had more fun than she did!

With this new, but small, addition to our family, we all have changed....me especially. I always knew I would make a good mother, but never in a million years realized the impact that becoming a "ma ma" would have on me. I guess, with the 2009 year ending, it's got me all sentimental. I now understand what one means when using the term, "time flies". It truly does. Before I could even grasp the concept that someone actually "looks up" to me, I find myself looking up to her. Even though she stands (well, on her knees anyway) a mere foot off the ground, I look up to her! She has thoroughly changed me and my family....for the better!

With all that gushy stuff out, let's get down to Santa. I'll put it so everyone understands- "Toys R Us threw up in my living room!"! Ollie now has just about everything a child needs to survive. Actually, that's a lie. She really needs none of these things to survive. I, on the other hand, need them all! The more entertainment she has, the more I can achieve, therefore, the happier I am, and, everyone knows the old saying, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". SO TRUE! If you need a toy, or if your child receives a slightly used toy in the future for their birthday, just know these 3 simple words, reduce, reuse, recycle.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love to all!

I'll post again next year!

For the Crazies in the Keys

Ollie's Sugar and Pop along with good friends Larry and Sue are currently hanging out in Key West (apparently dad took this picture). I get a phone call from them at least once a day asking how Boogie is doing. I also get a text message/picture from Larry everyday letting me know how/what they are doing. We'll just say they are very entertaining! :) Even though they are having an awesome time chilling on the beach and riding bikes around the keys, they miss Ollie bunches. Well, she misses you too and so do we. This video is for you mom, dad, Larry and Sue. Come home soon and help us keep up with this little one. The name Boogie has never meant as much as it does now! We love you!

P.S. We have the perfect name for Ollie to call Larry. Since Sue is Suenomi, Larry can be Larebear! Love it! Let me know what yall think.

Big Crawler

Ollie is finally crawling! Watch out world. She has been able to pull herself around the livingroom for a while but can now venture ALL over the house via crawling. SCARY! Time to purchase those baby gates. She is still a little shakey and those hands slap the floor with every move. She totally cracks me up cause I can see in her eyes that she is totally proud of herself. I am too! Below is the first video of my baby crawling. Enjoy!

Bye Bye

Ollie has said very few words and mostly it's just babble. Once she learns a new word/sound she says it over and over again. The word of the week is bye, bye. Last night she was in some sort of mood. She absolutely would not go to sleep. Instead she played on our bed, babbling and giggling at herself. It was defiantly past her bedtime and we were exhausted but hearing her and watching her cracked us up so much we allowed it...for a short while. Of course as soon as the camera came out the talking stopped but we did manage to get a short little bye bye. She's just too silly!

Christmas Times A Coming...

And every kid needs a cute little Christmas T-shirt. I am taking orders for these little t-shirts now. The price is $15 and this includes monogramming. I am open to working with you to get the exact color, style or size you need. The more you order the more you save. Spread the word!

More styles available.

Thankful

Before I became a mom, I was thankful. I was thankful for life and most all that came along with it. Before Ollie was born, I had no idea just how thankful I could be. I am beyond thankful. My cup runs over with thanks. I thank God everyday for my Ollie and everything she does. She is my little hero, my sweet angel and my funny boogie baby! Life cannot be much better (well, unless there was a cure for CF, but I think you all know that)! I would like to take a moment to list the things in which I am thankful for.

Ollie-Just a smile from this small creature brings joy to my heart.
John-My husband, my best friend, the world's best daddy.
Family-without them I would be lost.
Our Home-A house is made of boards and beams but a Home is made of love and dreams.
My Friends-all my friends and for the new friends I have made.
My community-who comes together to give support and strength in times of need.
Children's Hospital-who finds a solution even when you think the battle is lost.
Singer/brother-what can I say, I love to sew!

I have a million other things to be happy for, I also have a million other things to do. So, moving on....

Here are a few pictures taken on Thanksgiving day. Of course Ollie was sporting her handmade turkey shirt, along with matching pants (handmade, might I add) and hair bow (yep, made it too). Me and the singer are tight!

Jump Start

I have decided to get a little jump start on the Christmas t-shirt orders. My turkey shirts were a huge hit and I hope that the Christmas shirts are an even bigger one. Above are the Christmas shirts I am offering. These shirts are still in the works. Completed shirts will have stitching around each applique, names, etc. All shirts a white (I do not have color shirts in stock at the moment), short sleeve and run small. Please order at least one size bigger than normal. Most shirts are $15 and this includes monogramming. If you live in Andalusia, you may place your order though e-mail or may obtain my e-mail address through comments. This will eliminate any shipping charges. If you will need your shirt shipped, please order through my Etsy store. You may visit my Etsy for more details. I am taking orders at this time, so order today and your child will have a Christmas shirt to wear all December. I am offering savings on multiple orders (within the same family). Prices are as follows: 1 for $15, 2 for $28, 3 for $40, 4 for $50. This is for shirts of equal value. I hope you all enjoy!

Dog Gone Dead Batteries!

A little funny to brighten your day....

As O drank her morning bottle I piddled around the kitchen, unloading dishes, cleaning counters and drinking coffee (yes, she has finally accomplished the holding of her bottle-due to my demanding practice regimen). I noticed she was getting quite upset and went to the dining room to investigate. Her bottle was empty and she was not happy. I assumed she was still hungry so I fixed her a few more ounces. She sucked those down as well. Next it was a little play time on her mat to let her food settle before treatments. At this point I go to my room to finish getting ready. As I came out I heard splashing. Hmmm? Low and behold my child is in the middle of the living room floor with a HUGE pile of milk (AKA spit up) surrounding her. As O moved her hands through this uh, spit up, in a circular motions only to be followed up with slapping and splashing, all I could do was laugh. I hope you have a visual. My camera was dead! Gross but funny!

Child Prodigy

Ollie has been working very hard on her crawling skills. She is able to move her knees a little but hasn't quite been able to move her hands along with her knees. She's quite the spinner though. She will turn all which a ways on her play mat to get to different toys. Her favorite toy lately has been this little piano. Here is O getting down- baby style.

It's Official:

I've become an Etsy junkie! I just love making things! Before Etsy, I just tucked them all away and really didn't know what to do with my creations. Lately, I have been trying to teach myself to sew and I am pretty proud of my accomplishments. I've decided to start with applique. You can view some of the things I have to offer by clicking on the Etsy button on the sidebar. If you are interested in ordering a "turkey" shirt, let me know via e-mail before purchasing. I can save you the shipping. These shirts are super cute and monogramming is available as well. Above are the "boy" colors, but these are cute for girls as well. I am about to do one for girls so you can see what those look like. The girls colors include, brown, pink and lime. 90% a fabric used is designer fabric and is absolutely gorgeous! Every kid needs a new Thanksgiving shirt. Order one today!

Good Friends = Good Times

The night before Halloween we hosted a party for newly engaged Meg and Chase. It was Halloween themed and so much fun. We had great decoration, delicious food and even better company.

This idea of a pumpkin bonfire came from a better homes and garden magazine. When I first saw the picture I loved it but figured it would be impossible. The hostesses all came over to the house the night before and dug into the pumpkins. I had no idea pumpkin carving took so much time and they stink pretty bad too. Anyway, with the help of some talented young ladies, we accomplished a bonfire that just may have been better than the magazine's.

The sweet couple themselves. Congats Meg and Chase! We love you both!

Teeny Halloweeny

Halloween was so much more fun with Ollie. This was her first Halloween and thanks to great friends she had the cutest little costume, warm too. O was a chili pepper! She was precious. We battled our way through all the trick-or-treaters on the square and made our way to see Vicki for a "professional" photograph of Ollie's outfit. She was a very serious chili pepper and would not smile no matter what we tried. Guess it's hard work being this cute. I know the pictures will be classic no matter if she smiled or not. If Halloween was this much fun, I can't even begin to imagine Christmas! Ohhhh, I am SOOOOO excited!! (Good thing cause it's just a few weeks away!)

I Love The Popwells!

As you see there is a new picture of Ollie courtesy of Vicki Popwell Photography! Her work is magnificent! Ollie was actually in a terrible mood that day and cried and cried. With the assistance of Ninny, some beautiful photographs were captured. Thank you Popwells for the wonderful work you do! I look forward to receiving my new prints as well as Ollie's 6 month pictures!

Two Weeks in Hospital Equals:

NOTHING! I am so upset! I received the phone call this morning to confirmed that the 2 weeks of IV antibiotics was a dud! The pseudomonas is still there. How in the heck is this happening?! Up until now I was so confident that we were getting somewhere. That we were beating CF. Boy was I wrong. It is so frustrating that with everything we have done and continue to do, this stupid little bacteria will not go away. UGHHHH! O will continue with inhaled antibiotics on and off for the next 6 months. She will also be adding yet another medicine to her long list of daily pills. Hopefully this will do the trick. Did I just say hopefully? I am so out of hope. There is no more light at the end of the tunnel. All I see is black. Please pray for Ollie. I can't even find strength in that anymore.

So Happy to Be Home

Just a word from the experienced-Do not take your home for granted! My family made it back safely from Birmingham today. We have spent the last 2 weeks cooped up in a little hospital room. Ollie has been receiving antibiotics through an IV to kill the bacteria that WAS residing in her lungs. No longer! I say this with great faith that the treatment was successful. We should know in a week if the pseudomonas is gone. Even if it has left the building for now, we must pray that is has left for good! It could come back at any point forcing O to take inhaled antibiotics to rid it once again. Our hope is to steer clear of that vicious cycle for a long time. The following video is of our precious, sweet, angel baby in her tub the first night back home. She has been an extremely happy baby today. Just the sight of her fan, bed, bouncy seat and extended family has had this kid jumping for joy all day! Thank you again for all the prayers and support. We hope to see you all very soon (like at the foot ballgame tomorrow night).

*Just a warning: This kid is VERY happy!

You might need to adjust your volume to avoid a headache!

In 24 Hours....

We're going to:

Make like a tree and leave!
Make like a banana and split!

Today is our last full day here. We all woke up in a little better of a mood today cause come tomorrow we are out! Yay! Free at last! Ollie really doesn't know any different but I'm sure she misses her always visiting family and friends. She misses being outside. Swinging. Bouncing in her jumpy seat. Her bed. Her home. She just doesn't realize it yet. I hope we don't have a lot of trouble getting her back in her old routine. We have all been cooped up in a small room together and she is always right under our noses. Maybe she will not be traumatized being alone. Our stay her at Children's has not been terrible but I miss my life. The time has kinda flown by and I am thankful for that. I'll just be thrilled to wash clothes, clean my house and enjoy the Fall (my FAVORITE season of all). I will also enjoy kissing the right side of my baby's head. It has been covered in tape for 2 weeks. Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout our stay. Please keep Ollie in your thoughts as she continues to fight off this mean bacteria. Pray it is gone and stays gone!!! See you all soon!

In 24 hours we're going to make like a family that has been locked up in a small hospital room for 2 weeks and GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!!!!

Update & Ollie "Fix"

It seems my parents and my sister are having a very hard time being away from Ollie. They have all expressed their desire for an "Ollie Fix". Apparently my mom & dad visit the blog at night to see little O and my sister watches videos on repeat throughout the day. I have been a bit of a slacker on posting but there is not a whole lot to get excited about around here. An update on our current situation is: 1. We will be discharged on Thursday. I don't know what time but I am hoping for the AM. I have been very pleasant and have not complained but come Thursday the staff here on the 5th floor might just get a true "dose" of Lynsey if they don't get us out ASAP. 2. Ollie is still taking antibiotics through an IV. Luckily her picc line has stayed in place and has worked very well for these past 2 weeks. (The tape that holds that line in place better not pull out her hair-if so that true "dose" might come into play!) 3. We will not know if this treatment was successful for at least 2 weeks. Ollie's normal doctor's appointment with her CF doc is a week from Friday (yes, we have to come back that soon). At the appt. they will get a culture and see if the pseudomonas shows up. We should know the results by the following Friday. If the test comes back negative for a stretch of 6 months, the treatment will be considered a success. If it comes back positive within that time, they feel that the bacteria will have colonized and be impossible to kill. All we could do is suppress it with inhaled antibiotics-FOREVER. However, we do what we have to and we will cross that bridge when we get there. (Keep in mind that O is not sick-bacteria, that healthy people cough out, sticks to the lungs of Cfers.) 4. We will be sent home with an arsenal of new drugs. Ollie will be back on inhaled Tobi (she is getting this drug now through IV) twice a day. She will also begin pulmazyme. This helps to break things up in the lungs. If you do the math, O takes 20 pills a day, 4 breathing treatments (2 in the morning and 2 at night) and chest PT's twice daily. Yeah, sorry about your cold. Here is Ollie expressing her aggravation for hospital stays. Mom, Dad & Sammi-ENJOY!

What Ollie is Up To....

This kid has been amazing me with the new stuff she does everyday. She is a wild one and moves all around her crib. We've nicknamed her Boogie cause she is always moving and shaking. The nurses have even started calling her Boogie. It's so cute! The following video is what Ollie has been practicing lately. It's so crazy that she is already trying to crawl and getting pretty good at it. She can't even sit up unassisted and really doesn't care to. Yikes! I'm never gonna catch little Boogie!

Just a Little Funny...

This will brighten your day!

Last night when we finally got settled down (meaning finally getting O to sleep, our lovely cots all dolled up, and ready to catch some Zs), I decided to watch a little TV. It was close to 11 and Paranormal State was on. For those of you who are weird and don't enjoy Ghost stories (I love em), this show is all about scary stuff. Last night was about an exorcism. I was all into the show and decided to sit up and take a quick peek at O to make sure she was good. Well, to my surprise, the little booger was on her belly with her little head held up watching TV! She is a sneaky little girl. When I called her name and said she wasn't allowed to watch scary shows she began laughing and put her little face down in the covers. She cracks me up. I swear the child can understand everything I say. John and I laughed for 20 minutes, and she laughed right along with us. I told you the world ain't ready for this little monster! ;)

X-ray, Smex-ray

Ollie had an X-ray this morning. Her Doc wanted to see if anything had changed since her visit on Friday before last (this was the initial x-ray that made him decide O needed more meds). According to him, they still appeared to be pretty much the same. He did say that it looked like her lungs were clearing up a bit. He also said that her chest sounds to be moving more air. He thinks that there were some mucus plugs that appear to be breaking up. This is good news. Hopefully now that things are clearing up, the antibiotics can get to the source of the bacteria. He has added a few things to our already busy daily rituals. Ollie will now be receiving an inhalant called pulmozyme once a day. This will be given to her right before her chest Pt's (pat pats). Pulmozyme helps to liquefy the mucus in her airways helping the patient to cough it up. Although Ollie cannot quite cough things up, it will help to keep the lungs clearer so that other inhaled antibiotics can get to any bacteria (this was the problem and why we are here now). She is receiving Tobi through an IV and will also be receiving Tobi for 28 days through and inhalant once we get home. Also, judging by the great job her respiratory therapist have been doing, John and I need to hit O a little harder during the pat pats. It is so hard to "beat" a baby, but I now realize how important it is to do these properly in order to keep her as healthy as we can. (I'm not blaming myself or John for this and I could be completely wrong-it's just an observation) We did find out that we will definitely be here for the entire 2 weeks. Hey, as long as it is helping O, I'm down. Lucky for us, we have great friends and family to lend a helping hand. The worse part so far has been when they needed a blood sample from Ollie. They need these to get her antibiotic levels just right. It is very important because these meds could have serious side effects if they are not at the right level. Well, they have been at the wrong level twice so far and O has been stuck 3 times and they plan to stick her again tomorrow. I've said it a few times and I'll say it again-She is a trooper. When the needle was inserted in her little hand, she cried for a total of 2 seconds and then preceded to watch the nurse draw the blood. What a tough little cookie. Beware Andalusia, we've got a little Lynsey on our hands and I'm not sure our little town can handle two! Oh well!

One Picture Says it All...

Yep! That about sums it up!

Great Strides & Ollie's Army

This past Saturday a Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis was held in Crestview, Florida. My family, friends and I have been preparing for this event since Ollie was first diagnosed. As a parent, you want whats best for your child. Whats best for my Ollie is a cure and in participating in Great Strides, we are supporting the CF Foundation's efforts of not only searching for a cure, but for funding research for many new drugs that will help treat CF. I hit the ground running and formed a team, known as Ollie's Army-Fighting to End Cystic Fibrosis. We have been raising funds and raising awareness for the past 4 months. Our efforts paid off. By the time of the walk, Ollie's Army raised over $14,000. This was made possible by many GREAT family and friends along with alot of hard work. We organized a poker run on Gantt Lake to start the fundraising. The event, which was held in August, raised over $12,000 for Ollie's Army with $8,000 of that going to the CF foundation. We also sent letters online and through the mail to everyone we could think of, explaining our efforts. I am so proud of Ollie's Army. For the walk on Saturday, around 40 people came out and walked for Ollie. Some of our family took care of Ollie in Birmingham, allowing John and I to participate. I am so glad we could be there. We walked 3 miles total around Crestview High Schools football field. It was hot, but all of our Army walked the whole 3 miles. We did it for Ollie and for everyone that has CF. The total for all the teams on Saturday was over $25,000. What a difference that money will make in O's life as well as several others. To everyone that has supported Ollie's Army by either giving money, walking or both-Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are all angels in my eyes!!

The Women of Ollie's Army (and some little guys)

all showing O our love with the "I Love you" hand signal.


Sweet Everly

Cute Little Ocean (check out those shirts)

Caroline

Andrea & Amy


Meg, Ashley & Sarah

Neil, Reese, Deann & BethAnn

Gentrie, Laura, John & Hal

Aunt Essie & Uncle Mitch

Terri & The Mamas, Angie & Lindsey pushing their lil ones

Elizabeth, Megan & more walking it out

Gentrie, Me & Laura
Oldtime Buds. These 2 girls are awesome! Love yall!

Megan, Sarah, Meg & Ashley

Grover Jay

Ollie's cousin Drew-Ain't she adorable?!

Julie & Christian (Pushing Sawyer)

Megan & Lesley (Aunt Essie)

Justin, John & Mitch

Laura & Suzanne

All walking for one reason:

We Love you O!!!

It's Gonna be Worth It

I can tell! I have a feeling that this hospitalization is going to be so worth it. For some reason I am at peace with this. Ollie will come out on top! Pseudomonas is getting gone! Although we are uncomfortable in this little room, we are together. Our little angel is getting the best treatment possible and spoiled too. All her nurses LOVE her, but why wouldn't they. She smiles even when getting pat pats from a stranger and hooked to an IV. What a sweet baby we have. The doc said today that he thinks that this 2 week dose of antibiotics will hopefully be a success and the bacteria could possibly be killed and stay gone for a while. That would be AWESOME!!! Below is the lastest picture of O. She is sporting a headband and cute flower clip. This little headband covers up her "Frankinstien" ( picc line) and looks adorable at the same time. Maybe I should walk around looking for more kids with picc lines and offer them a band as well.

Anyway, speaking of headbands, I have taken the advise of my friends who suggested Etsy. I now have an Etsy store which can be visited by clicking on my sidebar Etsy ad. The store is Sassy Du Bows...I know, cute, right? Take a look, spread the word buy a bow! Your purchase will help me splurge on myself while hanging out in the Ham.

Love to all!!!

Day 3.....

Today makes day 3 of Ollie's IV hospitalization. She is a little stir crazy so we try to take her out strolling as often as possible. John and I made it back from our walk in Crestview around 4:30 this afternoon. We were so happy to see our baby and she was extremely happy to see us as well. She is my little sweetheart/slobber queen.

The Great Strides walk for CF went very well and I'll post more about it in a later post. I just wanted to take some time to add some pics of this little cutie that around 40 people came out and walked for. We are so blessed to have such a huge support system!

Ollie's main doctor is gone until Monday so we don't really have any news. Her weekend doctor put orders in that mitts be put over her hands because during his short little check up with her he thought she was pulling at her IV. Little does he know that when O is fussy, she plays with her right ear (her IV port is above her right ear). Those mitts came off before the nurse could even exit the room. I'll let him know tomorrow that Lynsey's orders are NO mitts and last time I checked I was her mama!!! She was fussy at the time he was here, but who can blame her...people are poking and messing with her 24/7. She is sleeping now but that will not last long. Her next antibiotic IV is scheduled for 8:00 PM (about 3 minutes away). Hopefully she can sleep through it. Anyway, here are some pictures of O in her massive and very cozy bed. Wish I could fit up there with her! You can see her little IV port on the side of her head. It flops around like a little pigtail and doesn't seem to bother her in the least.

We decorated her bed to look like it does at home.

(Her pink polka dot sheets wouldn't fit the mattress)