Sweet Angelica

Angelica passed away peacefully this morning.  Here is a link to my sister's blog.  Her husband wrote about the incident.

peterandcandice.blogspot.com

Thank you to everyone who have been praying for them throughout this experience.  The Lord really answered our prayers.  This has turned out to be such a beautiful and tender experience for our family.

We love you little Angelica.  I look forward to meeting you someday!

Updates on Angelica from my parents

Candice and Peter took Angelica home yesterday afternoon.  Yesterday, I talked to Candice on the phone and she said that the Dr had come in before they were released to answer questions on how to take care of Angelica on their own and what to expect.  The Dr began explaining how there may come a time when Angelica starts turning an ashy color and that this means she's not getting enough oxygen and may even stop breathing all together.  While the Dr was explaining this, Candice said she looked down at Angelica and noticed that she was starting to look sort of ashy right then.  She alerted the Dr and the Dr said that was exactly what she was talking about.  Then Angelica started turning more ashy, losing all pink, and turning sort of blue, and then stopped breathing entirely.  After just a short time, Candice said that Angelica suddenly gasped for air and resumed breathing again. Candice really felt comforted that this first scare came when the Dr was right by their side explaining what to expect.  She had been nervous to take Angelica home, but now that she sort of knew what to expect, she felt more confident.

Late last night, I got this text from my Dad:

"Mom and I are at the Denver airport.  We just heard from Candice and Peter.  It seems they had two more incidents where Angelica's system went into pause.  That would be the third time today.  Each time after a few minutes, she breathes again and color comes back to her complexion.  The last two times occurred after they left the hospital.  It is surreal in a way -- a somber yet peaceful scene.  The Lord has given them glimpses and moments of happiness and preparation for the ultimate separation.  Whenever it now comes, only the moment but not the event will catch them by surprise.  The tender mercies with which the Lord has tempered this most traumatic and unusual family advent are sweet to contemplate.  Candice was heard to say yesterday that she had just experienced the greatest day of her life.  Who would have thought it so?  Certainly we have witnessed miracles from the Lord.  We can be assured that the Lord is mindful of each of us, loves us, and desires to bless us.  His blessings will often come disguised, I suppose as a mortal test.  I hope these and other experiences help each of us grow in faith and trust in God as a result.  There will be other tests for each of us.  You can count on it though you would not seek them out, nor should you.  Peter probably did well on his annual finals but he and Candice have really shined where it mattered most.  I am so proud of each of them.  I know that whatever happens from here on out will be the will of the Lord."

My Mom texted me this this morning:

"We spoke with Peter this morning and Angelica had a good night.  No more episodes.  She drank from her bottle, filled some diapers and kept the shift of loving caregivers awake like all newborns do.  She is pretty and pink this morning.  She continues to amaze us all by beating the odds.  As the doctor said, 'There must be some higher power that is part of this family.'  Thanks for all your prayers.  Her parents have treasured every minute with this special angel."

More pictures of Angelica and family

As of 9:00 this morning when I spoke with my mom, Angelica is still alive and well!  She started getting fussier in the night and everyone took turns holding her so Candice could get at least a little sleep.  They have a big decision to make this morning -- they are considering taking her home.

Here is a link to the some beautiful pictures taken by Candice's photographer friend, Abbie.

http://abbierufener.com/blog

Angelica update

Angelica was born alive at around 10:00 this morning (EST that is...it was just before 9:00 Nashville time) and is still doing well!   She is a beautiful little angel.  We're overjoyed that they are getting some time with her.  What an emotional day it has been!

Candice said Angelica has hardly cried and is very peaceful.  She is not showing any outward signs of struggling or imminent crisis.  The Dr. has come in several times to check her heart and he said it's surprisingly strong.  We're all so grateful!  Thank you for your prayers!

A lot of people have been telling me that these pics did not load in the last post.  Here they are again, posted from Stephen's mac instead of my dell.  Let me know if these ones load or not.

Candice and Angelica

Angelica with her Mommy and Daddy

She's here!

Angelica's here and alive!

Angelica and her Mommy

Angelica with her Mommy and Daddy

Of the Angels

My sister Candice (eight months pregnant) with her daughter Laura 

I am the youngest of seven children.  The sibling just older than me, Candice, has been my closest friend for as long as I can remember.  We talk on the phone daily.  I have always looked up to her and wanted to be like her.  The older we get, the more I feel that way.  Her compassion for others and strength inspire me.  I have never felt more that way than now.

Candice and her husband Peter are expecting their second daughter.  She will be induced tonight at 9 pm.  At the 20 week ultrasound, they learned that they were expecting a very special little girl.  She has Trisomy 13, which means she will be born with numerous defects that will make survival outside the womb unlikely.  The doctors say they do not expect her to live more than a few days, maybe even hours, or maybe not even survive delivery.  

In the past few months since finding out about their baby's condition, Candice has been so strong through it all.  She has had so much faith and optimism.  She feels this pregnancy is so special because while the baby is inside her womb, she feels like she's protecting her, knowing that as soon as she's born she will not live for long. 

We are all praying that they will at least have a few precious moments with their sweet baby girl before she passes into the next life.  Please pray for them, too.

They have decided to name her Angelica, which means "of the angels".  

Jonathan turns 1!

Jonathan turned a year old April 13th!...and I'm just getting around to blogging about it...

We threw him a little party.  We invited over some close families in our ward and had a great time!  We had dinner, pumped some Disney tunes since Jonathan loves to dance to music, blew bubbles with a mega-bubble blower(the bubbles get HUGE.  Jonathan loves it.), and of course opened presents and served cake and ice cream.  

Here are Jonathan's best friends.  Aren't they all just so cute?  From left to right --Jonathan, Ella, Henry, Jane, and Ayla.  You may not appreciate how Jonathan is actually looking at the camera in this one and not frantically trying to escape.

(Be sure to notice their adorable hats.  My sister Candice made them.  So cute.  She can sew anything.)

The following picture is how all the other pics we took looked.  

All the other kiddos were perfectly content to sit and even smile for a photo but not our little rascal.   

Welcome to my life :) 

Jonathan is SO much fun.  He has so much enthusiasm for life.  

But he can be a bit bipolar.  He laughs and gets hysterical with excitement over things he loves, and then a minute later he'll be screaming bloody murder out of frustration because he's not getting what he wants.  This baby does not have a mellow bone in his body.  We LOVE that about him, but are kinda hoping our next is a little more chill...

Here he is opening his presents:

He got a play phone (he's totally OBSESSED with Stephen and I's cell phones.  I hoped this would distract him for always trying to get ours.  It hasn't really worked, but he does love his phone)

This next picture were presents from his Aunt Candice.  Cutest presents ever.  Two matching corduroy vests with brown bowties, one for Jonathan and one for his baby brother due in two months.  

Here's his cake:  It took me forEVER to make.  The writing on the top is pretty messy, I know - that's not what took forever.  It was the SIX layers of multi-colored cake that took so long.  I only had one cake pan so I had to cook each layer one. at. a. time.  It turned out really cute, but frankly I don't think it was worth it.  

We decided to follow tradition and give him his own piece that he could eat all by himself. 

(Notice the colored layers of the cake.) 

(Oh, and btw you're not allowed to call it Rainbow cake, even though that's what it is, because Stephen insisted that his son would not being having rainbow anything.  I told Stephen that I love rainbows and am reclaiming them for straight people.)

 As you can see though, he was WAY more interested in his phone than the cake.  At first I was disappointed and kept trying to force him to try it, but then I realized there was something wrong with trying to MAKE your child eat fatty, sugar-saturated CAKE.  So sorry there are no great pics of him covered in cake from head to toe with only crumbs left on the tray.  It never happened.  

But I stuffed my own face full of cake for him.  

Sorry - no pics of that though.  

These next pictures are a few we took a few days after his year mark. 

You'll notice he's walking now!  He's been taking steps on his own since 10 and half months or so, but now (starting at about one week after his birthday) he's actually walking on his own.  I didn't realize the process would be SO LONG until having a child of my own.  Apparently first steps and full-fledged walking can be months apart.  It's taken him almost two months to feel confident enough to let go of things and just walk somewhere on his own.  Now he just walks around all the time, sometimes in circles, sometimes pacing in and out of rooms with no clear objective -- it's like he's so happy to be walking finally that he just doesn't want to stop.   It's so cute.  

Jonathan and his Daddy.  Love these handsome boys.

Oh, and remember my blog about the dent he got on his forehead a couple months back?  You'll notice it's still there.  Our Dr said it should go away, but it's not for sure.  Geesh.  Maybe I wasn't overreacting as badly as I thought I was if the dent ends up being permanent.  

Jonathan in the new suit that Grandma and Grandpa Fielding sent him for his birthday.  It looks so cute on him.

And now for his 1 year stats:

Head circ: 19 inches; 93rd %tile

Height: 33 inches; off the charts

Weight: 28.1 pounds; off the charts

The Dr gave me a chart that has lines representing the different percentiles for everything, and he is literally off the charts for his height and weight.  I asked if I should do anything about it --like start giving him non-fat milk instead of whole -- but she said it's nothing to worry about since his weight is proportional to his height (they're BOTH off the charts) -- he just weighs a lot because he's tall.  

Since then, we've been calling him Baby Giant.