Christmas and changes

I hope everyone's Christmas was good. Ours was great! We spent practically the whole week with my parents in West Jordan. It was nice to be with family for the holidays. Taylor is the only one living with my parents right now and it was great to be with them. I never thought I would say this but one of the highlights this past holiday weekend was the Wii my parents got for the family. It has been soooo much fun to play. And they have an amazing television to play it on. I even beat my husband Michael once in golf :). That felt great. Noelle got a few fun toys and a darling dress. I can't wait until she can actually play with them. She's starting to make cute baby noises. Sometimes it looks like she has so much to say! She's getting so big and the newborn clothes are fitting her perfectly now.

Me and Michael went and saw a movie while my family watched Noelle. It was weird leaving Noelle but it was great spending time with Michael. I'm so grateful for my family and how much they have done for us and have helped us with. I can't even express it. We owe them so much and I really don't know what we would do without them.

This Christmas was different because two people from our family weren't there, Eric and Alyson. Whenever Eric was around for the holidays he always had so much fun and was a blast to be around. It was hard not having him there. We miss him so much. It really made me think about the true meaning of Christmas and the sacrifice of our Savior. Without Him I wouldn't know that I will see my brother again and that families can be together forever. Nothing is even possible without him. I know Eric was there with us.

Alyson is in the MTC in Spain. We got to talk to her on Christmas for about 40 minutes. It was great to hear her voice and know that she is doing so well. It also put in to perspective what Christmas was all about. God loves all of his children and we are each important to him. This is a gospel of happiness and everything about it will make us feel joy if we let it. Alyson is doing great and will go in to the mission field really soon.

One last thing... We are moving to Ogden, Utah this Saturday! Michael will be starting school at Weber State on Jan. 5th where he will finish a bachelor degree in German (commercial emphasis) and a minor in Criminal Justice. We are so excited for this change in our lives and know it is what we are suppose to do. We've known for a while that we are suppose to go up there we just haven't worked out all the details. It seemed that everything got put on hold when Noelle was born. Everything has just recently fell in to place and so now we are rushing to get everything ready. I am very excited for our new little apartment because it now has two bedrooms and counter space in the kitchen. (I know it seems like something silly to be excited about but our little cottage right now is tiny! And there is no counter space whatsoever.)

We love you all and hope you have a very Happy New Year!
(Pictures to come)

Our 7-pounder

We are so enjoying having Noelle home. She makes our days so exciting and happy. Even with the crazy sleep schedule. My friend/old roomie Cassie gave me advice before Noelle was born, something along the lines of: "Get as much sleep as you can now, because you won't get much when she is home. " Wow, was she right! But I love every moment I have with her, even when it's 3 am. :)

Noelle is continuing to grow a lot. She is now 7lbs 3oz, with clothes on that is and on my parents scale. So I'm sure it's a little off, but we don't care. Half of her preemie clothes are way too small and some fit perfectly. Which means in a week (if that) she won't be able to fit in them any more. She has successfully made two trips to Grandma Fullmer's house and is the center of attention when she is there. I'm sure she'll appreciate that more in the next few months. Me and her are hermits in our little Springville cottage. Before we left the NICU we were advised that we need to stay away from crowds, sick people, and children until late March, early April. (End of the RSV season) As a preemie she is a little more susceptible to germs and viruses so we're trying to follow what the doctors say as much as possible. Even though winter has just begun I'm honestly looking forward to it being over.

I have to say that I sure miss ALL of my in-laws. They are in Indiana and Texas. I wish we were closer or could visit more often. I wish Noelle could meet all of them. I just want them to know how much I love them and appreciate all they do for us.

Here are a few random/cute pictures of our little Noelle:

Home at last!

First and most importantly, NOELLE IS HOME! So much has happened in the last week that has led up to us bringing her home. She made such great progress and so quickly. Noelle started eating so well and one of the requirements to bring her home was that she needed to take all 8 of her feedings orally. Well she started doing this amazingly. Sunday, Nov. 23, the nurse that was attending Noelle told us that she doesn't expect us in the NICU (newborn intensive care unit) for longer than a week. This came so unexpectedly. We knew she was doing well but didn't realize how well. As the week went on she kept taking more and more feedings all on her own. And Noelle's pediatrician told us to expect her to come home on Saturday or Sunday (Nov. 29 or 30). We were so excited! But this meant that we needed to get A LOT done in a short amount of time. So as me and Michael started running around like chickens with our head cut off to get prepared for the arrival of our daughter, Noelle continued to grow and progress at an amazing rate. She was doing so good but she struggles a little with her oxygen still, mostly while she is eating. She still needs to get the whole "suck, swallow, breathe" action mastered. Babies born full term, for the most part, know how to do this but premature babies need to learn it all on their own. So this meant that we would be going home with a monitor (to monitor her heart rate and breathing) and oxygen. So Friday some people came in to train us on the monitor and oxygen. After this we got to do what is called "rooming in." That's where we spend 12 hours in a room with Noelle and her new monitors and take care of her all on our own. Well we obviously did a good job because we got to take her home on Sat. Nov 29 at around 10:30am! She left the hospital at 4lbs 9 oz and is still growing :)! We are so happy that she is home and feel so blessed that she is doing so well and is so strong. We just wanted to let everyone know the happy news and want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers.