May 2011

Zoey Elizabeth

May 2,2011

8lbs 13oz 20 3/4 long

Zoey is such a sweet addition to our family. She is such a happy baby! If Zoey is crying it is 1 of 2 things: 1 she is in her car seat or 2 Hannah is invading her personal space :) I was so worried about how Hannah would respond to another little person in the house... I dont know why I was so worried, she loves her! Zoey was my biggest baby thus far and I am so glad they took her early :) Zoey had jaundice so she got to sleep with a billy light for about a week. She was a our little glow worm.

Zoey is usually content to be on the floor as long as Hannah isn't around to attack her!
I love it when they are this small and can sleep in any position :)When we first brought Zoey home I was up with her every 2 hours and then my mother-law came to help for a week , laid her on her tummy one day and it was like magic...she has slept through the night since then. Zoey is a snacker when she eats. I feel like am feeding her all the time but I love it! Such an amazing feeling to be able to nurse your child :)
First time having a baby carrier and I love it! So nice to have your hands free and much nicer on the back. Zoey is our chunky monkey! She has roll after roll on her legs! She is so yummy...I could eat her up! We weighed Zoey and Hannah last night to see how they compared... Zoey weighed in at 16 lbs and Hannah weighed in at a big whopping 19lbs. LOL! Hannah is going to be getting Zoey's handme' downs..so cute!
Zoey with her friend Adric...he is 4 weeks younger and super cute! We love you Zoey and feel so blessed to have you as apart of our family! You are such a joy to be around and we love your smiles..keep them coming sweeterpeters!

Bone Age

We went to the endocrinologist yesterday for Hannah and we learned a lot of interesting things about the human body. A couple of months ago we took Hannah into the hospital to get a bone age scan. I was expecting a large x-ray of the entire body, but that isn't what they did. They took her right hand, layed it down on the table, and took an x-ray. I was puzzled, how can they determine the age of one's bones by an x-ray of their hand? Well, I found out how today. Back in the 1930s they followed a several people from their infant stage on through their adulthood and every year they would take an x-ray of their hand. The results were compiled and they were able to determine that the average age of the bones by which bones started to develop in the hand.

2 months ago Hannah had a bone age scan which showed her bones to be that of a nine month old when she was 18 months. She is short in stature so this is could be a good thing. It will allow her body to grow over a longer period of time.

It has been forever since I last blogged! I feel like winter dragged on forever and that we would never stop getting sick. I am happy to report that spring is in the air :) We have been super busy, who isn't these days?
I am 39 weeks pregnant and I go in on Monday for a c-section. We are really excited! After tearing my house apart a month ago I am pleased to say that as of last night it is all in order and clean again.I love a clean home!
Ricky has been staying busy with work, church, being super dad, and an amazing husband! He is the best :)

Caleb is so much fun! He is the best little boy ever. He amazes me every day and find my self wondering when he got to be so big. He will do or say something and I don't even know where he learned it. He loves to play outside and has become a pro at riding his bike.

We were able to attend an event for our local TARC where they had tons of fun activities for the kids one being taking a ride on a horse or pony. I thought for sure Caleb would freak out once he got up and change his mind but he didn't, he loved it! One of those moments where I stop and realize just how big and brave he is getting. He plays soccer on Saturday mornings, he is so fun to watch. He has been potty trained since the first of April.. I am loving it! We tried on and off for quit some time but he just wasn't ready.... we decided to try again one weekend and he has been in underwear since. Love it!

He has such an imagination! He will go from being a dog one day to a super hero the next. He cracks me up! He has been asking for a small dog, the answer is no but he keeps asking. I wonder when he will figure it out ;) He makes me laugh everyday! He reminds me to be kind and loving towards all... he has the sweetest, purest spirit!

Hannah! Where to begin? She has been through a lot lately and is still making leaps and bounds of progress! We are blessed by this sweet girl who always keeps us close to the spirit. She also got to ride a pony and was smiles the entire time. We are going to see if we can get her into hippo therapy. It is supposed to help her balance. We also started water therapy with but have not really been able to go much due to her surgeries and how busy we have been. That to should help her balance as well.

We decided in February to go ahead and start the process of opening her right nasal passage so she could breath better, eat better, and have more stamina overall. We scheduled the 1st surgery in March knowing that there would be a few more to follow but somewhere communication was lost and we failed to really understand how closely spaced the surgeries need to be. We thought 3 months apart...nope more like 3-4 weeks apart. What a mess! The 1st one was so hard on her body and we were there for 5 days. The second went great, and the third I canceled due to how much we had going on and the baby coming. So pray that the hole will stay open and she will only have to have one more surgery :)

Hannah also loves to be outside! She can walk and stand with assistance. This is huge! She is so close to doing it on her own but she has to learn confidence in her surroundings and abilities. She doesn't have a sense of balance so next you would use your vision to balance but since that is weaker than the average person as well it has been a more difficult process. She can pull her self up in crib... this is huge as well! She gets stronger each day and I am so excited for her to walk on her own. She is one sassy frass of a girl! I could give those cheeks of hers kisses all day if she would hold still long enough to do so. She is amazing!

I love being a mom! It is one of my greatest joys in life :) They teach more about life than I could ever learn else where. I understand why Heavenly Father says to be as a child. They are loving and kind towards all and so forgiving. They bring Ricky and I happiness and peace each and every day! Enjoy your sweet children... they grow so fast!

With love,
Sam

Thank You

Thank you to all for supporting Sweets for Hannah. We had a successful bake sale at Wal-mart on Saturday where we raised over $900. We baked about 90 dozen cookies for the event, which was extremely exhausting, but well worth it. We sold almost everything except for some snicker doodle cookies (which are Ricky's favorite).

Between the two fundraising sources we were able to raise a lot more money than we had ever expected, $2,700 in total. We will treat this money with great respect and appreciation and we will make sure that it will be used for its intended purpose.

One thing that is critical when caring for a child like Hannah is that parents need to be proactive instead of reactive. We have already seen a huge improvement in her overall health because of our efforts. Her vision is a great example of why we need to be proactive. She has one weaker eye that use to wander a bit, but because we noticed it and worked with her ophthalmologist we were able to correct this potential impairment with daily eye patching of the stronger eye. Her balance (vestibular dysfunction) is much more complicated, and it will take a lot more work to help her live with no sense of balance. Because we learned about her vestibular dysfunction early on we have been able to start early with certain therapies to help her walk and cope with this impairment. If we can manage these two impairments properly then her abilities to learn and receive a normal education will be extremely high. Many people hear the word “syndrome” and correlate mental development issues, but that is not the case with CHARGE and that is why we are working so hard with Hannah in these early years. We have no doubt as parents that she will surpass all other expectation and have a higher than average learning ability.

CHARGE Syndrome affects each CHARGEr differently and has numerous possible physical and health disabilities that accompany the syndrome. Some of the funds will help us attend the International CHARGE Syndrome Conference. This conference brings together many of the professionals that research and work with CHARGE Syndrome to teach parents about the advances that have happened over the last two years. This is still a fairly new syndrome and there is a lot happening in the field of CHARGE. It wasn’t diagnosed as a syndrome until 2004 when they discovered a gene that plays a major role in why many of the symptoms of CHARGE occur in a child.

You have made a great difference in Hannah’s life! We feel so grateful and overwhelmed by the generosity and love from others!
Thank you!

With much love,
Ricky, Samantha, Caleb, & Hannah :)

Sweets for Hannah

We are organizing a fundraiser in Hannah's behalf. The proceeds would go towards her educational and medical costs that we will be incurring this year. Hannah has a rare health disorder called CHARGE Syndrome, which affects all of the major senses and gross motor skills. Fortunately CHARGE does not affect the cognitive ability if she receives the correct interventions.

Hannah has faced many obstacles in her life and has already overcome more than a person should ever face in ones life especially a child. She is always happy and never complains. Some of the things she has had to endure include open heart surgery, ear tube surgery, hand surgery, and the most current nasal surgery. At 19 months she is currently learning to walk and she is almost there. We work daily with her on language skills and sign language. Due to her complex disorder overcoming the communication barrier is only half the battle. The other half is for us to learn as much as we can about Hannah so that we can provide the best treatments to help her achieve her highest potential. We love our little Hannah! She brings love, hope, and pure joy to our family every day.

The fundraiser will be a bake sale on April 23 at the Wal-mart on Wanamaker.

There are several ways that you could help us have a successful bake sale:

1.Donate items to sell

2.Let us use your oven a day or two prior to the event. We are planning on making large batches of cookies or brownies and we could use additional ovens to bake them.

3. Let us borrow some equipment such as: folding tables, money boxes, or money bags.

4.A babysitter for Caleb

5.A volunteer or two to help man the tables

6.If you are not able to help in any of the ways listed above or you live out of town you may contribute to our “Bakeless Bake Sale”

What exactly is a bakeless bake sale you might ask...

A bit of news we have today... A BAKELESS BAKE SALE is on the way. In these busy days, who wants to bake, A pie or cookies or even a cake. You’d be surprised if you counted the cost, of ingredients, heat, and the time you’ve lost. Baking for sales is extra work. Yet nobody really wants to shirk. So we’ve thought of a plan that’s really grand, and feel quite sure you’ll understand. In an envelope, if you like, please include the price... of a pie or cake or anything nice. Without fuss or bother, you’ve done your part. We hope you’ll give with a willing heart. Wishing success for our BAKELESS BAKE SALE, This is the end of our little tale.

Please email or call us if you able help in any of these ways.

sammyteed@hotmail.com

richardteed@hotmail.com

785-272-2391 (Home)

563-299-8867 (Cell)

Thank you and we appreciate all the support and prayers offered in our family's behalf!

With Love,

The Teed Family