The biggest pound...

I know a lot of people that have been checking the blog lately are family and friends, looking for updates on the littlest, strongest love of our life... so here you go, a few of the pictures of our sweet girl. There are a couple from her first days, when she had the horrible mask and tube in her, which really was one of the hardest things to see. The nurses and doctors / residents at CHOC have all been amazing, with a huge thank you to Kelly & Amanda, her primary nurses. They have been so great for Charlotte and for us too!

There are a couple of pictures where you can just see Charlotte saying the following...
"Holler!"
"My feeding tube is this big"
"So he's my dad huh... man am I going to give that guy some trouble..."
"Dad, seriously, no more pictures"

And the title is "the biggest pound..." because as of last night, she was 3 lbs 8.5 oz, gaining a full pound since her birth a little over a month ago. She is doing phenomenal, very few if any brady's, very few desat's (only when she's getting ready to blow out a diaper for Jess :) ) and looking ever so cute in her clothes, asleep and awake. She looks so adorable when she's awake, starting to smile and keep eye contact with everyone. And she's really starting to go to town on her pacifier, as evidence by her holding it with two hands.

There is also a picture of a little memorabilia that Charlie will always have with her. It is the staple that they used in her PDA surgery (again, terminology I wish I never knew). Basically, her valve that was supposed to close when she was born (and did) but opened again because she is a premie, needed to be repaired. So this was the item that was used to close off that valve, her heart surgery was done on August 1st and she was extubated a few days later. But that little staple type thing was used to close off the valve, and our little super star has been doing great since!

The doctors say their timeline is two to three weeks, assuming Charlie plays along with it. We are praying she plays along, but we're taking it one day at a time. It's been rough to say the least, an emotional roller coaster that we pray none of you have to go through this.

Thank you all for your prayers and support, it has been overwhelming and amazing, and so appreciated! We can't thank you enough, but we'll keep trying!

I hope you enjoy the show! Oh, and sidenote: Imagine the slideshow to a song that I heard and instantly thought of Charlie, it's "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat, I emailed her to ask permission to use it for the slideshow, but no response... bummer. It is a great song and a great album, I recommend purchasing it. But if you just play the song in the background, it's kind of the same...

And now, I'm proud to present the first (of I'm sure will be many) slideshows with my girls in it... I love you both!!