Boring Baby

The nurses tell us that we have such a boring baby all she does is just lay there and hardly moves when they mess with her. I'm thinking it's a good thing. Heather was up there all day today and Corey took Brooke up at night to see Ashley. Brooke did really well a little shy at first, but opened up later in the night. Everything is looking good. Her blood work is coming back good and her lungs are starting to hear better. She had a little problem with breathing today. She was breathing to fast, but they got that problem fixed and she's back to normal breathing. They have turned her oxygen level down to 35 she only has to get to 25 before the breathing tube comes out. It sounds like another day or two with the tube in. That's about that's new on Ashley's end. She just keeps us hopping :) Thanks for all your prayers

Update

Here is is an update on Ashley as of this morning. Not much has changed she is still in critical care and on the ventilator since she still can't breathe on her own yet. She will most likley be on the ventilator for a couple days yet until she can breathe on her own. They still have her under to keep her calm so at this point all she does is sleep. The doctors say that she is doing good. Once they take her off the ventilator then they will move us to another floor for a couple days. So it looks like we will be up here for a week or so yet if every goes good. Here is a few pictures. Thanks for your thoughts & Prayers.

Please Pray

Ashley was taken to Holland Hospital last night with RSV. They transferred her via Aero-Med to De Vos Hospital last night around 10:00. They had to put a breathing tube in since she was not breathing on her own. I talked to Corey this morning and she's going well. Her vital were the best this morning that they have been since she's been there. She's breathing about 50% on her own so that's a good thing. It sounds like we might be there for a week or so. I will keep everyone posted on how she's doing. Please pray: for Ashley that she can fight this off, Corey and Heather that they may have peace and for Brooke and Kenzie as they are being shipped from one place to another and wont be able to see Ashley. Thanks

Finally Some Answers

We went to the doctor this morning and got the results of the biopsy. Ashley has a condition called Incontinentia Pigmenti in other words a rash that changes texture and will go away over the next 2-3 months or so and then will turn into pigmentation. There are 4 main side affects that we have to look out for.

1- Dental Defects - sounds like nothing major she will just have to go to the dentist on a regally bases.
2- Eye Problems - Sounds like we just have to make sure her eyes track together. She will be going to an eye doctor when she's 6 months old.
3- Central Nervous Disorders - Sound like we will have to worry about epilepsy. She will be going to a brain doctor at a year to do a scan to make sure everything is normal.
4 - When Ashley gets older and wants to start a family they will have to decide if they want to take their chances of having a boy. She is a carrier now so it will be pasted on to her children.

The chances that she will have any of these side affects is 25%. We are so thankful that all these problems are fixable if she would come down with any of them. We were also told that Heather is a carrier of this genetic and that our girls would have 50/50 chance of getting it and Ashley was the only one. If we were to have a boy with any of our pregnancies it would be fatal. We are so blessed to have our three girls and that we didn't have to go through that. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers during this time. Please pray that Ashley will not come down with any of the side affects.

Happy Birthday Brooke!!

Brooke turned 6 on Wednesday. Wow how time flies. We had a party for her last week with Grandma and Grandpa's and Aunt and Uncle's. Wednesday we did our own little party for her. She brought cupcakes to school for her Birthday treat. I think she had a great day.

ER Visit = An Overnight Stay

Ashley spent Sunday night at the ER with a terrible rash from head to toe. It looked like she was sun burned all over her body. Corey brought her in and they did a bunch of blood work. They pricked her little heel so many times. They couldn't figure out what it was so they wanted to keep her overnight and watch her and do more blood work on Monday. Corey stayed the night. I got a call in the morning that they ruled it was just a newborn rash, but hers was extreme they never seen it that bad. I went up to the hospital Monday morning and got to hold and feed her. They released her around 2:00 p.m. on Monday. I took her to the doctor this morning and it's clearing up, but it still looks bad. She weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces I still can't get over how tiny she is. Ashley has been through a lot for only being 5 days old. It's so nice to have the family all home again.

Welcome Ashley Joy De Vries

The De Vries family has added another little girl to the family. Poor Corey is so out numbered now, but enjoys all his girls! Ashley was born December 4 at 6:37 p.m. and weighed 5 pounds and 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. She decided to come 2 weeks early and big surprise to us. I was at the doctor that morning and he told me that nothing was really going on, but to all our surprise I was in the hospital at 3:00 that afternoon. She is healthy and happy and we are so blessed for that. Brooke and Kenzie love there sister. Brooke will be such a great big help around the house. I think Brooke and Ashley sat in the chair rocking for a half hour this afternoon. Kenzie well what can I say about her - she loves Ashley that is the only thing on her mind is baby and every time is makes a noise or moves she's right there. We have to work on the gentle part a little more. We want to say a big thank you to our parents for watching the girls and cleaning our house it was nice to come home to a clean house. We couldn't do it with out you guys - THANKS!! We are so blessed for everything in our lives.

Oh Christmas Tree

We went out and cut our Christmas tree Saturday with my family. The weather was great even though it would have been nice to have some snow. We set the tree up Sunday afternoon and it's our best tree we have ever had. The girls were so excited to decorate it. I tried to put white light on it this year, but got out numbered 3 to 1, so yes the colored lights are on the tree again this year. Kenzie likes taking the candy canes off the tree then carries them all over the house. I got all the Christmas presents under the tree what a great feeling to be done with my shopping and all wrapped.

Getting Ready

We are down to the wire with the new baby coming. Only 18 days left!! We got everything ready for the little one. We put the crib up and cleaned all the baby stuff and did a load of laundry. The girls loved helping out maybe a little to much. Now it's just a waiting game.

Together

Well we did it we moved the girls into the same room. The first night it took them about a hour to settle down and some firm talking to. It's been going a little better the last few nights. The bad thing that Kenzie wakes up when Brooke gets up for school.The room is a little tight with both beds in, but it works.

Missouri Bow Hunting

Here are a few hunting pics. from bow hunting this past week. I shot this 10 point the last hour of the last day of the trip. Also pics. of cooters deer & our friend Kevin from missouri.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Brooke was a witch and Kenzie was a ladybug. We went to both sets of grandparents, Uncle Brandon and Aunt Kristin's house and then to church. Every year our church puts on Trunk Treats in the parking lot. We also ate supper at church and got cotton candy. Now I got two girls that want candy all day. Kenzie woke up the next morning saying candy before she got out of bed.

Crazy Bounce

We celebrated Brooke's birthday a little early this year. Each year we let the girls pick something special to do for their birthday's. Since Brooke's birthday is the same time the baby is due we celebrated early. She picked Crazy Bounce and then we ate at Mc Donald's for supper. The girls had a great time. Corey was a little tired chasing Kenzie around. I just got to sit and watch them play this year.

Here is the nice 8 point my brother shot. Great job Ryan!

Monster 8

Here is just a few of the trailcam pics of last week. What a great 8 at the bottom, I hope to see him soon while sitting in the tree. 23 buck pictures on this scrape in 5 days.

Melt My Heart

Kenzie and I seen this rainbow outside this afternoon. I asked her who makes the rainbows she said "Jesus, Jesus also makes the rain to mom" It was so cute - words out of a 2 1/2 year old got to love them.

Carving Pumpkins

Here is a couple more trail cam videos first one is broken 8, hope next year it is a full rack should be a nice buck next year. Second is two Small bucks.

Build-A-Bear

We took Kenzie to Build-A-Bear over the weekend. We took Brooke after she was potty trained so we thought we better do the same for Kenzie. She didn't understand the whole process, but she sure does love her bear.

Mission's Accomplished

Kenzie's been on a roll with all the new things we are throwing her way. I have a list of things I want to get accomplished with her before the baby comes. We are well on our way 3 down and 1 more to go.

~Accomplishment #1: Big girl bed. She has been doing great in her bed and she loves it. She fell out one time during the night. I put her right back in bed and she fell right to sleep.

~Accomplishment #2: Sitting in church. She no longer wants to go in nursery. She does pretty well for a 2 1/2 year old. She loves to color so we bring lots of paper and crayons for her. I was in nursery Sunday night so she went with me. Half way through she got sad and asked for dad and church.

~Accomplishment #3: Potty Training. This one was so easy I can't believe it. She pretty much trained herself in 2 days. It took Brooke a while to figure it all out, but Kenzie not a problem. I don't even have to ask here or tell her to go she does it by herself. She also stays dry for naps and most night. YEAH!!!

We have one more accomplishment to complete and I'm not looking forward to this one. We have to put Kenzie into Brooke's room. They already fight between there rooms now and they are in separate rooms. Nights at the De Vries household could be tough in the next 2 months.

Oh Deer

Here is Corey's first kill of the year. The girls loved seeing it and getting their pictures taken with it. They both went with him to bring it away to get processed. I think I might have some hunter's in the near future.

Pumpkin Fest

While Corey was out hunting on Friday night the girls and I decided to head downtown Zeeland for the Pumpkin fest. They went on a pumpkin hunt, pet the animals from the Critter Barn, got their face painted, and searched for money in sawdust. It was a great out for the night and the girls had fun.

Food Plot

Brooke worked so hard on planting a food plot by Grandpa & Grandma's house. It turned out great. The deer & turkeys love it.

Big Girl Bed

We put Kenzie in a big bed lastnight for the first time. She loved it!! She will soon be joining Brooke in her room, but one step at a time.

Random

As you can see Corey got hold of the blog and now thinks that deer hunting is more important than anything else - tis the season. He just got home from another trip to Missouri on Sunday only 2 more to go. We stayed pretty busy around home while he was gone. Grandma De Vries had the girls Friday while I worked. Saturday we just spent the day at home and got some good cleaning done around the house. No naps for the girls on Sat. so it was a long day for all of us. Brooke wanted to go to Wolfies for supper so my parents joined us. Sunday was church and Sunday School. We all got some good naps in and Corey came home around 7:00. The girls sure do miss him when he's gone. I get my weekend away this weekend. This will be the third year that I take the trailer out to Holland State Park and scrapbook all weekend by myself. I can't wait. I almost forgot we got an offer on the house last week and I don't know what people are thinking when they put in offers, but we just laughed at our offer. We countered offered on Thursday, but haven't heard back. I guess they need to decide if they want to buy a smaller house now and then move again in a few years or get a house they can grow into. It's a no brainer to me, but we'll have to see what the next couple days hold. I so want to move before the baby comes and not have to worry about showing the house and moving with 3 kids. I'm not getting my hopes up because we've been through this before.

Trail Cam Pics

Two small bucks top is a 6 & lower is a broken 8.

And She Did It!!!

Well we got Brooke on the bus with no problems :) She didn't want to ride the bus the day before school so we hyped it up a lot. For those of you that know Brooke she is very shy and doesn't like to do new things so this is big for her. I took she to the bus stop in the morning expecting her to cry and hang on my leg and not get on, but she surprised me she got on with no problems and made it to school and back home in one piece. Mom on the other hand still has a little hard time putting her on - it's getting better.

Trail Cam Pics

Picture is of 3 bucks on new food plot, one decent 8 that needs a couple years to grow. The 8 in the video is a nice young buck, also look at the buck in the background. Lower video is a large coyote.

Tunnel Park

On Sunday we took our lunch out to Tunnel Park and then let the girls play. We had no intention of swimming, but somehow they got wet and not just a little wet ALL wet. They had fun and that's all that matters.

First Day of Kindergarden

7:30 came awful early this morning. I had to get both girls out of bed and ready to go by 8:20. Brooke was excited and ready to go and Kenzie I think was still half sleeping when we dropped Brooke off. She had a half day today and I think she had fun. She played on the playground by herself because she couldn't find her friends she told me (almost crying). She did say that was a long time at school today mom and I just think you wait until tomorrow which is a full day. No busing this week for her so next week she'll start that. I think me and her need all the prayers for that she does not want to ride the bus and I'm afraid she won't find her bus. She has to transfer at Quincy school a little scary for both of us.