Excerpts from the blog Letters to Catherine” what the ultrasoun.docx

Excerpts from the blog “Letters to Catherine”
what the ultrasound showed
catherine-
hey sweet girl=) you are quiet right now-must be sleeping. do
you know how happy it makes me when you flip flop around in
there? i sit there and stare at my belly, watching it morph into
weird shapes, laughing as you punch my bladder=) you are
precious and perfect and i love you so much. your daddy makes
me lay certain ways at night so he can get his hands on you too-
i feel sorry for him, you know…i always ask him if he’s jealous
that i get to carry you around in my belly for 9 months and he
doesn’t. he always says no he’s not really jealous, which i guess
is the answer i would think is appropriate…it would be weird,
huh? if he said he wished he could carry you around in his belly
and be pregnant??? i still can’t help but ask-i can’t believe how
lucky i feel to have you inside me and i just figure everyone
else is jealous=) you have the best daddy though-can you tell
that from in there? he can’t wait to meet you. i feel bittersweet
as the pregnancy progresses and it gets closer and closer to
september 4-i want to keep you in here as long as i can-maybe
it’s part of my control issues (your mommy has control issues!)-
but i just know you’re safe now and while you’re in there you
don’t need those silly lungs which might not be growing like
they should. do you know what i’m talking about? i always
wonder if you have any idea that something’s wrong inside your
sweet little body.
on april 2, at 17 weeks and 6 days pregnant, we got great news!
it was a sweet little girl growing inside of me and we would get
to buy lots of pink and frilly things! but we also got some very
sad news. on the same ultrasound we saw that your heart was on
the wrong side of your body, and that your stomach was up in
your chest next to your heart. this means you have a congenital
diaphragmatic hernia. silly diaphragm not closing like it
should…there is a chance more things in your belly could slide

up there into your chest, but that’s actually not the biggest
problem-that could be fixed with surgery pretty easily once you
get out here and meet us. the problem is that your heart is now
taking up the right side of your chest and your stomach is taking
up the left side of your chest, and your lungs might not ever
have a chance to grow without anything in their way. this could
cause congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension and
all kinds of things, but the point is that your lungs might not be
able to work at all when you’re out here in the world. we were
told that it could be linked to chromosome abnormalities, so
they immediately did an amniocentesis-do you know what that
is? they stuck a huge needle down into mommy’s belly next to
where you are-they watched it on the ultrasound to make sure
they weren’t going to poke you-and they took out some amniotic
fluid and ran some tests on it. we got to see all your
chromosomes! and we also saw that all of them were normal=)
that means you don’t have any other syndromes, like down’s
syndrome or trisomy 18…nothing like that. good news for sure,
but it didn’t really change the prognosis…i guess it was just
good to know that, however long your sweet little life is, there
won’t be any other problems like that for you. it also means that
any little brothers and sisters you have one day don’t have any
increased risk for defects or chromosomal abnormalities. i can’t
wait to tell them about you-of course i hope they just get to
meet you themselves, but just in case you get to go to heaven
quickly, we’ve been collecting tons of ultrasound pictures of
you (we have an ultrasound every 4 weeks since
officially you and i are high risk now), we’ll get some pictures
of daddy and me with you in my big belly, and then we’ll make
sure we get pictures of you once you come out-however long we
get you=)
i love you my sweet girl-
mommy
finding out you were sick
catherine-
hey precious girl=) i wanted to tell you more about the day we

found out about how you’re sick, and what the doctors have told
us. our first ultrasound was at 9 in the morning, and the doctor
wasn’t at that office. so when the ultrasound tech saw that
something wasn’t quite right, she called the doctor at the other
hospital, we talked to her on the phone, and she had us come
right over so she could look at you. we did that, and as soon as
she saw you she explained that you had a congenital
diaphragmatic hernia and what that meant. it was very surreal.
she was telling us all these things and i just couldn’t quite
comprehend at first that she was talking about you, the little
person in my belly, and that it was your daddy and me that
would be dealing with this, making these decisions, etc. she
looked at me halfway through the conversation and said “are
you ok? i’m sorry to be telling you this.” i quickly responded
“it’s ok” like on autopilot, and she just looked right back and
said “no it’s not.” i guess that’s when i realized how big of a
deal this was and that there was no getting around the sad
reality of it all. one of the first things she said was that this is
too much for some couples to handle and termination of the
pregnancy was an option, but we knew that wasn’t for us. then
she explained the process of what would happen after you were
born. she also said she wanted to send us to talk with a pediatric
surgeon who would give us a better idea of what they do and
what their experience has been with this diagnosis. i didn’t cry
until we got back out in the waiting room and had to sit there
for a few minutes, and daddy didn’t cry until we were in the car
after we left that office. we were talking about the possibility
that you wouldn’t live very long after you were born, that it was
so sad but we would be ok, and daddy said yes we would be ok
but he sure wished you would live. and he started crying then.
and of course i can’t handle seeing your daddy cry so i lost it
too=) it was the first time that, the way he was handling this
situation with you, reminded me of how he was when his
mommy was dying of cancer 3 years ago. i can’t wait to tell you
about her-she was the best. so we went to longhorn for lunch
(that’s mommy’s favorite restaurant and they had just opened a

new one in richmond!) and then headed over to mcv for the
consult with the pediatric surgeon. it didn’t feel right going to
talk to a pediatric surgeon about the child that wasn’t even out
of my belly yet. all of this makes me feel homesick in a weird
way…not a typical homesick, but just that none of it feels
comfortable or familiar-i feel out of place dealing with any of
it, so in that way i feel homesick. anyway, talking with the
pediatric surgeon helped us get a better picture of what would
happen, and what his prediction was for you. he said that
typically a baby with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia has
about a 60-80% survival rate, but since this was happening so
early in my pregnancy that he gave you about a 25% chance of
living more than a week or two. this is because
your lungs basically will never have a chance to grow with
nothing in their way since the stomach was already up there and
the heart was already pushed over. so he didn’t tell us any good
news, but in a way it was good for him to be honest, but gentle
with it at the same time. since then, we’ve also talked to the
neonatologist who will be your doctor in the delivery room and
as long as you’re in the hospital. he kind of gave us a different
picture of what might happen. he said it was more of a question
of whether or not you’ll make it out of the delivery room. that if
you have enough lung tissue to make it out of the delivery
room, there’s no reason you couldn’t live longer than a week or
two. but if you don’t have the lung tissue, we’d know it right
away and you might not live to even get to the NICU. he said
that if you had enough lung tissue we would just do what it took
to get you stable and that if you did indeed stay stable, you
could have surgery at that point. super complicated-lots of
different factors playing into itthe possibility of ECMO
(heart/lung bypass for babies) which presents a whole new set
of complications like brain bleeds, etc…i don’t like any of it my
sweet girl=)
daddy and i handle this differently-i need to be prepared for the
absolute worst so i’m trying to expect to only have you for a
brief period, and daddy doesn’t want to necessarily deal with

the dread of that until he absolutely has to. we have been very
understanding of the other’s need to deal with it in our own
particular way, no matter how different it is from each other.
i’m thankful for that=) have i mentioned that daddy’s getting
his PhD in psychology? he’s very smart-you would be so proud
of him. anyway-his degree is coming in handy right now=) he’s
very patient with mommy and i can’t imagine going through this
with anybody else. oh i wish so much you would be able to
know him-you would be crazy about him just like a little girl
should be about her daddy=) ok so that was the bulk of april 2-
after that we came home and packed (we were going to visit
your uncle matthew and aunt amy and cousin anna cate the next
day in phoenix!) and to take a load over to our new house (we
were also moving that week! talk about a crazy week…).
the trip to phoenix was so perfect in its timing. i think God did
that on purpose for us=) daddy had a conference out there and
was planning on staying at matthew’s house with us just one
night, but his first day of the conference was a pretty sad one
for him so he decided after he presented that day that he would
just stick with us for the rest of the time-I was very thankful for
that=) we figured out quickly that this was making us very
clingy to each other-i actually noticed i got lonely really
quickly and needed to be talking on the phone to somebody if i
was by myself, but what i really wanted was to be with your
daddy. it was beautiful weather and we got to relax and sleep in
and go to bed and wake up with each other and talk a lot about
you…i realized there that we were trusting God together more
than we ever had before. God was becoming a part of our
relationship in a new way for us, which i am very thankful for,
but i just wish it didn’t take something like you being sick to
get us there=)
we have some wonderful friends that are believing so strongly
in a miracle for you, little one. they will call and pray with us
and tell us how they’re feeling and what they believe God is
doing and what they believe His heart is for situations like ours.
these are wonderful people and encouraging conversations we

have with them. but at first it made me wonder if i should feel
bad for not praying more diligently for a miracle. i quickly
realized that guilt had no place in this situation, and that more
than anything, i feel God telling me to just hold His hand and
walk with Him through this. (i just got so excited thinking about
you getting to know Jesus-even if daddy and i don’t get to
introduce you to Him, i know that means you will get to meet
Him yourself well before us…maybe you’ll get to tell us all
about that once we get to heaven!) we know that God can and
sometimes does perform miracles, but all our hope is not placed
in the possibility of that happening with you. He is so good-He
always has been and there’s absolutely no reason to think that
will change just because we have been given such a difficult
thing to deal with. one of my first thoughts after being told
what was going on with you was that God is so much bigger
than any of us or any of this and there is a much bigger picture
that we can’t see. i’m ok with that. i’ve never been the kind of
person that had to know why God did certain things. i just know
that He’s bigger and operates on a totally different realm than
me and that He is absolutely trustworthy without question. i
pray that attitude continues. i also noticed that, in that first
ultrasound when they told us what was going on, i felt angry. i
couldn’t figure out who i was angry with, and i knew that it
wouldn’t do any good, but that’s still how i felt. i thought about
how i’d never been angry with God before, no matter what
sadness or loss i’d felt, and i realized it wasn’t Him that i was
angry with this time either. the anger quickly subsided, but a
few weeks ago i was talking with your daddy about how i would
occasionally get a glimpse of WHAT IF God did perform a
miracle and just completely fix you! that’s an amazing thought,
but i found myself very afraid to think that way because of the
extreme devastation i’d feel if i got my hopes all up. (i think
i’m fooling myself, sweet girl, if i think i won’t be feeling
extreme devastation anyway no matter what i expect and we
lose you…) but anyway, i was telling your daddy how i was
afraid that i would finally get mad at God if i got my hopes up

and you still died, and i really didn’t want to deal with being
mad at God. he quickly told me that God could handle me, and
that He wasn’t at all afraid of me getting mad at Him…that’s
one of my favorite things your daddy has ever said to me. but i
still don’t want to deal with it=)
sometimes i would think that having a miscarriage would have
been “easier”…it makes my heart hurt now when i think about
that. we are so thankful that we get to meet you, even if for 5
minutes, and that we get to see what your fingers and toes look
like-your daddy wants to see your eyes so bad-and i can’t wait
to kiss all over your face. i can’t imagine how strange that day
will be…it’s weird to even try to think about. so i’ll stop=)
i love you sweet girl=)
mommy
target
i have been much sadder lately. i guess i expected that-that as
you got bigger and it came closer to time for you to be born and
maybe die that i would have a harder time being joyful. i found
myself not writing to you because i felt so sad, but then that
made no sense to me. if i had you out here with me, i wouldn’t
quit talking to you or hanging out with you just because i was
sad, so i decided to tell you about this part too.
we have another ultrasound tomorrow. we now have ultrasounds
every week instead of every
four, and they’ll start running tests on you tomorrow-the tests
are called NST’s (non-stress tests) and BPP’s (biophysical
profiles) to basically just see how you’re doing in there, if your
status is deteriorating at all-the perinatologist told us that
babies with defects often start doing worse toward the end of
the pregnancy, so i’m a little afraid of what we’ll see. up until
this point you’ve been doing great, my little dear one. your
stomach has always been in your chest and your heart has
always been pushed over, but nothing else has been wrong with
you at all. all your growth has been on track and you’ve been
moving like you should and “practice breathing” like you
should-no congestive heart failure or “hydrops” as they call it

where there’s fluid all around in your body where it shouldn’t
be. you’ve been doing so great=) i’m sure it’s probably because
i tend to get anxious anyway, but i’ve just had a sinking feeling
lately. i’m so afraid you’re not doing as well now. but i still
can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
we also picked your birthday. you will be born august 21, 2008.
we have to actually plan when you will be born because so
many people will need to be there right when you come out to
see if you're doing okay, and if you're not, to try to save your
sweet little life and see how we can help you. right now it looks
like you will be born via cesarean section, because you seem to
like the “breech” position better (you stay bottom down and
head up) which means you can’t come out the typical way.
that’s ok with us-however you like it in there is just fine. your
daddy likes it best when you're breech anyway because it's
easier for him to feel where your head is! does that bother you?
when we play with your head a little bit by pushing on my
stomach? i hope not-and i doubt it-if you resilient babies can
handle the labor and delivery process, i know you can handle a
gentle push every now and then=) i wish you could see your
daddy out here-he gets so excited when he knows that’s your
head, and also when you start kicking at him-he says “oh hi!”
really loud when you start interacting back with him…you are
both very cute=)
i bought you clothes today. that’s been one of the hardest things
for me-walking by the baby clothes at target and not stopping-
acting like i have no reason to be interested in that section.
today i just stood there about to cry, staring at all the clothes
wanting so badly to imagine you in these dresses and cute
things-and i finally decided i should buy you some. for no other
reason than i wanted to. i know the odds are you probably will
never get to wear them, but i felt completely at peace with
buying them for you. i don’t know if i just wanted to go through
the motions of getting ready for you and being your mommy,
having all these things you would need one day (you really
would look so cute in them my sweet girl! i can’t even

imagine…). it just made me feel really happy and mommy-ish
and connected to you to buy them and bring them home, so i did
it. most of the cutest stuff didn’t come in little newborn girl
size, so you have all these 24 month outfits now, which i think
is kinda funny=) i only bought one newborn outfit, and it says
“I love daddy” on it, so i figured even if that was the only thing
you got to wear it would at least make your daddy happy.
we get to take you in my belly to the lake next week-gigi and
granddaddy have a lake house and it is my favorite place to be-
your daddy and i actually got engaged there=) i think you will
love it and i can’t wait for a peaceful week with you on the
water.
i love you so much catherine-i don't even know how to put it
into words-when you start moving i just sit there and rub and
pat you because that’s what i would want to be doing if you
were outside of me. i wish you were laying on my chest
sleeping and i could hold your little head and
pat your cute behind=) you are so precious to us sweet girl…
mommy
almost there...
catherine-
hey my sweet girl=) it is 5:40 in the morning and we have not
been to sleep tonight. i can't decide whether this is real labor or
those wretched things they call "practice contractions".
regardless, this isn't the most fun we've had together, is it? it'll
be over soon my love. 2 more days until our induction, unless
you have plans to come before that=)
tonight has, however, given me a chance to gather some of my
final thoughts for you before you come into this world. i've
been thinking for the past month or so about that in particular-
bringing you into this world. i don't know whether i'll be
birthing you into a life on earth, or into life eternal, but either
way i am honored to do so. being your mother has been the most
amazing journey, and while i hope with every hope in me that
the journey continues, i've learned so much from you being
inside me and i know i'll keep learning from this season for

years to come. thank you for that, my dear=)
one of the most familiar verses has been giving me comfort
lately. it's jeremiah 29:11, and it says "'For I know the plans I
have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not
to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" the part that
means the most to me right now is for I know the plans I have
for you...i keep reminding myself of that-that God does indeed
know what's going to happen on Thursday. He has prepared a
way for it, and He did it on purpose, very intentionally, without
accident. He will continue taking perfect care of both of us
throughout everything that plan entails. you will be ok, much
better than ok even, and so will your daddy and i, and everyone
who loves you.
our family and friends start arriving today. we are so thankful
for how much they love all three of us, and that they want to be
here when you are. part of me is looking forward to the
distraction
of having the people closest to us here-i know it will make the
next couple of days go by fast, and the other part of me just
wants to slow time down and keep soaking up every bit of time i
have left with you in my tummy. regardless of my jumbled
thoughts and emotions, you have amazing grandparents, aunts
and uncles, and pseudo-aunts coming in to welcome you. you
are so loved, and i pray that brings a richness to your little life
in some way.
i love you my sweet girl-i will kiss your face soon=) mommy
you are here=)
catherine-
hi precious girl=) i'm sitting here crying as i write to you
because you are in the next room doing more than we could
have ever expected. it hasn't been easy for you to get here, and
your little fight isn't over sweet girl. but our hearts are happy
today=)
you opened your sweet little eyes for us! today was the first
time we saw them, and your daddy and i are both so giddy
excited we don't know what to do with ourselves. we just want

to stand there staring at you, holding your little hand or cupping
your head to see if you'll wake up just a tiny bit for us to get
another peek=) your daddy actually does that every second he's
beside you-touches your leg or arm or head-you usually will
wiggle back at him or give a tiny squeeze on his finger and he
loves it. they actually had to give you more "calming" medicine
yesterday after he left because he got you so riled up=) he loves
you so much catherine-it's the most amazing thing to watch. we
are convinced you just like it when he holds your hand and
that's why you start moving around-that you remember him from
when he would touch your little leg when you were in my
tummy, and you would always move around then too. either
way, we want to keep you nice and comfy now that you're out,
but we can't help ourselves sometimes and just want to give you
lots of kisses and see you respond to us...you are our hearts'
delight my sweet girl=)
so daddy told you a little about how you came into this world,
but i wanted to give you my version as well. do you remember
that last letter i wrote to you? that was around 5 in the morning
last tuesday, and i had been having contractions since 1:30am.
at 6:30 or so your daddy woke up and realized i hadn't been
sleeping-we weren't too worried at that point. we decided to go
get him breakfast at chick-fil-a and get a body pillow for me at
target-that's something i wanted for the hospital. it's a very cute
pillowpink polka dots and everything-you would like it i think=)
we thought about calling the doctor after that but tried to lay
down instead. i was able to take little naps between
contractions, and then we went to pick up your silly auntie
shelly from the airport at 12 that day. i remember having to stop
and sit down during contractions while i was walking into the
airport to get her-it makes me laugh now looking back at it.
what was i thinking?? i've decided i was completely in denial
that day because i was so scared to bring you into this world-not
knowing what would happen and how you would do (and my
contractions were never regular-that's my other
excuse;))...anyway-your daddy and shelly and i went home and

turned on movies-again i took little 6-15 minute naps between
contractions until about 6pm and daddy
convinced me that dr lucas really should at least know what's
going on. i called him and he said that he agreed with me-it
sounded like it was early labor and probably i could just meet
him at the hospital, get some medicine to help me sleep, and
then go home. (he later told me that i was one of the few people
who have ever fooled him...) well we got there around 7:30pm
and the unit was so busy!! they finally were able to check and
see if i was dilated at a little after 9pm, and dr lucas had the
strangest look on his face...and then he said "katie-you're 8
1/2"..................all those dots represent the madness going
through my head over the next few seconds-kristen my sweet
nurse honestly didn't believe him. she kept saying "dr lucas-
that's not funny! what are you doing!" well he was serious my
girl. you came about an hour later at 10:18 that night and it was
the most amazing experience. you came out and gave your
attempt at a little cry and then the nicu team took over-they
intubated you and were able to successfully give you breaths-
that means your lungs weren't totally hypoplastic and there was
a bit of hope for you my love=) they put you in my arms for a
second and let me kiss you, then took you to the nicu to figure
out just how much help you might need. our friends and family
got here all within a couple hours of your birth-God was very
sweet with that my girl-our family wasn't supposed to arrive
until the next day but many of them (without knowing i was in
labor) got on a plane a day early and were able to see you being
taken down the hall after delivery=) i remember being surprised
that i felt so happy and peaceful after you were born and they
had taken you to the nicu-i don't even know what else to say
about that but i think Jesus was just giving us a little gift of
celebration with our friends and family. daddy and i went to see
you that night and you were unbelievably gorgeous (and you've
gotten only more gorgeous each day since then my little
beauty=)). to speed the story up a bit, you did great for about
12-14 hours. we went to see you in the nicu-let our friends and

family see you a little, and then around noon on the 20th they
discovered you might have a little problem in your heart too-it's
called a coarctation of the aorta, and basically that means that
your big vessel that takes blood to the lower part of your body
is super skinny. that, combined with the potential for you
needing ecmo, got you a trip to UVA for more specialized
treatment. it was a good decision my sweet one because your
status just kept deteriorating all afternoon-your oxygen
saturations kept decreasing and it became pretty clear you
would need ecmo as soon as you got to uva. i waited till the
transport team got there, watched them take you out of that
nicu, then daddy and i got on our way to charlottesville to meet
you. we got a phone call around 2am that night getting
permission to start ecmo, and off you went on that. over the
next few days daddy and i spent the night at a hotel next door to
the hospital-it was a very scary but sweet time-we got to hang
out with each other in the morning and at night-and we would
always talk about what the scariest part of the day was and what
we were most thankful for that day. i found that hope is a scary
thing for me my girl. not that we were surprised by that-i think
we discovered that while you were still in my belly, but it's all
the more intensified now that you're out in the world.
that was our routine for 3 nights, then came the night we were
to go home and just drive an hour and a half to see you in the
morning. that was not fun for me my sweet girl. i didn't want to
leave you. i couldn't imagine being that far away from you and
it taking so long to get here if you needed us. but we made it,
and after a couple nights of that, we get to today. they trialed
you off of ecmo today=) that means they just give it a trial run
and see if your body can oxygenate itself with only the
ventilator...you did great=) i got to stand there beside you the
whole time and "cheer you on" as the nurses were saying=) you
were so peaceful and wonderful during the whole time-just
holding your own and giving
them all the numbers they wanted-your nurses keep calling you
things like "pistol" and "soldier"-you are definitely a fighter my

little girl and i'm so proud of you. i stand there staring at you
unable to understand what all's going on. how are you really
here??? it's more than we ever imagined and we have fallen
madly in love with you=)
so their plan is to test a few more things tonight, and take you
completely off ecmo in the morning. what! i can't even believe
it as i type it=) then surgery would probably be a week later for
your diaphragm and then a few weeks after that for your sweet
little aorta. lots of things are playing into this plan, and i
honestly can't even keep up with it sweet baby-but i'm so
thankful we're where we are and i can only trust that you are in
good hands-that God is holding you near as always and
breathing His life into you. we were listening to praise and
worship music this morning driving to charlottesville and i
realized that when i closed my eyes to sing all i saw was your
sweet little form on your hospital bed-like i'm seeing Jesus
when i look at you and i'm so proud of you for that-and thankful
to Him...i have no idea what He's doing-but it is good and i am
blown away by it all. part of me was singing to God when i
would sing along, and then another part of me felt like i was
singing for you-that you are praising Him and glorifying Him
with everything that you are doing right now-i don't understand
all of this my dear but it was a great experience there in the car
and i liked it=)
you know what's funny? i'm starting to love the "hospital smell"
because it is your smell right now. when i lean down to kiss
what has become my favorite little knee in all the world, i smell
that smell=) and when i'm home and using the breast pump to
prepare food for you to eat one day-i smell that smell then too=)
yesterday they gave us a blanket that had been in your bed for a
couple days-it doesn't quite have that smell but i just want to
rub my face all in it=) you are the most precious thing and we
love you more than i know how to explain. your daddy is
getting antsy because he wants to go see you again, so i'll wrap
this up and go join him=)
keep fighting my sweet girl=) mommy

Catherine Marie, 10:18 pm, 6 lb 15 oz 19 1/4"
Excerpt from 1st Birthday post
…as much as i tried to plan the day you were born, i could
never dream of that day going as perfectly as it did. there is no
doubt in my mind that He did that on purpose. what a sweet
gift=)
here you are a year later laughing and playing and crawling
around on my living room floor. =)
i still can't really wrap my head around this last year. or the 9
months before that. and i honestly don't know if i'll ever be able
to wrap my head around the magnitude of what your little life
means. i want to so badly. i pray that God will never let me
celebrate one of your birthdays without remembering what it
means that you're here. that He revealed Himself to us more
intimately than ever before. that He provided for us a peek into
the depths of His heart-that He desires to delight us and delight
in us. that His ultimate goal for us is to reflect Him. i can't
imagine knowing another little life that radiates Jesus so much
as yours. i believe that God will blow us away with the ways He
reveals to us more of Him through each of our children. i can't
wait for that, and i can't wait to meet these little brothers and
sisters of yours. but i can't possibly express how the past 21
months has changed me. i am so grateful that He let us be a part
of whatever He's been doing in bringing you into the world and
making sense of your insides. i'm sitting here shaking my head
in disbelief-who am I that He chose daddy and me to be your
parents? to witness His hand at work in forming you, healing
you, growing you to be this perfect little 1 year old? i'm
completely amazed and forever thankful. i love you sweet baby.
words can never express...
happy 1st birthday=) mommy
excerpt from birthday party...catherine is 2!!!
hey sweet princess=) here are some pictures and videos from
your elmo birthday party at gigi and granddaddy's house. we
had lots of fun! you weren't so sure at first about everybody
singing happy birthday to you...you got so scared!! but you got

over it quickly and realized the cake was worth it and the icing
was delicious!!!!! before i show you the pictures and videos, i
wanted to tell you a few of my favorite things you're doing
lately:
~when you see pictures of penguins, you say "pennies" ~you
found our old baby einstein videos and you call them "baby
fine-fine" ~we were looking at some pictures of our cousin's
sweet new girlfriend...when we got to one looking at her from
behind while she was looking out at the ocean (in a bathing
suit) you said "HINEY!" and got really excited=) ~we finally
gave in and bought you your own little potty. you sit on it and
grunt and push and it's hilarious. you tee-tee in it once or twice
a day and are very proud of yourself! we are proud of you too!
~pillow is "pedal" and yellow is "yadow" ~you know the game
"pee-pie" kinda like peek-a-boo? when we play it and you say
"POO-PIE!" ~you call diapers "boppers" and i can't get enough
of it. you always tell me who's on your diaperit used to be elmo
and you got upset when we started buying mickey mouse
diapers instead...but you're on board now and tell me "MEE-
MOUSE!" when i tell you it's time to change your diaper=)
there's the update for now=) you were a sweet sweet girl at your
party-my grandmother kept saying she didn't know another 2
year old who was so patient opening presents one by one and
not playing with them until the end. i think she's biased, but i
am too, so i'll take it=)
i love you my sweet 2 year old girl=) enjoy your pictures!
mommy

Excerpts from the blog Letters to Catherine” what the ultrasoun.docx

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Excerpts from the blog Letters to Catherine” what the ultrasoun.docx