Dax Learns to Crawl - FORWARD NOW!!

Well after a month of going backwards or twisiting on his belly - Dax FINALLY did it... he is crawling everywhere.

First, Dax wants to blow you a kiss... and yes, he will Cry for Food - Aunt Janet got this for him and it is one of the few things he cries for! He is such a good baby - unless he is tired or hungry he almost never cries... he even made it through ear infections and RSV without being fussy.

My new Throne - and toy box! Thanks Nana!!! (Bella has one too - we will get a picture as soon as she is home!)

Dax's second mode of transportation - ELMO! He loves to play on his plane. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Brenda got this for me when I had my first sleepover without Mommy or Daddy.

And here it is! He is on the move and loving every minute of it. He can squeeze between the couch and table to get out of the living room -even with the gate. It is soon cute to look down and see him coming right to us - at least for now!

Bella after Brain Surgery

There are so many pictures we are happy to show family and close friends from Bella's surgery and recovery, but we didn't want to publish too many on the blog. We want to be sure you all know we appreciate all the loving thoughts, prayers and help during this tremendously difficult time.

While it has been hard to understand why it happened, we are a much stronger and grateful family because of it.

Below are a few photos from well after surgery that we want to share so you can see how well she is doing. We still have a long way to go, but each day gives hope for a full recovery!

God Bless and Love to you all! David, Lisa, Dax and Bella

This is Bella at Therapy. She has really gained a lot of strength back - but again, still has a way to go... it looks more like play in this photo, but getting her to do something other than lay down or sit in one place is a challenge right now...

Bella on her "trach collar" time with no ventillator. She is happy for a few minutes at a time... then gets a little restless and fussy. But each smile like this makes it worth the wait for the next one!




See what I mean!

Oops - this was actually before surgery, but it is cute so I left it in. They have therapy dogs who come to the hospital a few times a month. This is either Jordan or Bella! Yes the dog is Bella too - and she loved getting to see a puppy. We hope to be able to take her down to see them next time they are here since she can get off the ventillator for a few hours at a time now.

Bella and Daddy - this is from the 2 days they did EEG testing to make sure her breathing spells were not seizures caused by something else. We also did another MRI this same time frame that was all clear. She will have another in August to check again... then every 3 months after for awhile.

Dax at Play and Bella's Trip to the Zoo: Before Brain Surgery

Dax Hard at Play at home.... Who knew the jumpers could provide so much fun for him?? Her nearly jumps to the moon!

Bath time has become one of Dax's favorites times of day. He loves to chew on the his letters while he splashes enough water to save a forrest... then of course he loves to have me sing "Rubber ducky" when he grabs it and throws it at me!

Bella the day after we found out about the tumor. We got a 4 hour pass and took her to the Zoo. Just her Daddy and Mommy. She was a little too young to understand, but she did like the birds, petting zoo and the bigg plastic cow!

Bella and Mommy after the Zoo... (that is a feeding tube on her face)

Ahhh - the big cow... this was more exciting than any of the "real" animals!

Little Angel Bella and her Daddy... her first special day without Dax - it was nice, but would have been better to go without the medical equpiment...