Angels Watching Over Us

Most of you who read our blog know that when my Mom came to visit us, the end of March, that she fell at the airport the day she arrived.  When she fell, it basically was caught by her face/head.  It was very scary for me at the time because she became a little confused.  So, she was taken to the ER for a CT of her head to make sure that there wasn't any blood on her brain.  It came back negative and she was fine the rest of her trip. 

Last week, at home, Mom wasn't feeling great.  She ended up falling and hitting her head again at home.  That was Friday afternoon.  She woke up in the middle of the night, not feeling quite right, and went ahead and called my sister Beth to take her to the ER.  There, they did another head CT and found old blood and some new blood on her brain.  Now, Mom was on blood thinners, because of her previous heart attack, so, anytime she falls or cuts herself, etc. there will be more bleeding than normal.  Due to the fact that she was on blood thinners, the doctors did not want to do any surgery until Monday or Tuesday.  The surgery would entail drilling burr (sp??) holes in her head and then the blood drained out of the holes.  Doctors say it is a pretty simple surgery and she would be fine after that. 

Saturday, Mom was doing OK, holding her own.  She could speak, but any questions asked to her, she couldn't answer.  Saturday evening, she seemed a little bit better.  Through the night, things changed drastically.  On Sunday, hour by hour, Mom started to deteriorate quickly.  She lost feeling on her right side.  She was barely speaking and she would look right through you.  That evening, she couldn't feed herself and could barely chew her food.  All day, her nurse Holly and Beth, my sister, kept telling the Dr. that she should have another CT because things were not good and not getting any better.  Thankfully, her nurse (an angel watching over Mom) was doing her job very well and got the Dr. to come back in and assess Mom.  He then ordered another CT of her head and that one showed that she had active bleeding in her head and it was pressing on her brain, which in turn was causing all of these changes.  It is said, that if the Dr.'s would have waited until Monday or Tuesday for surgery, like they wanted, she would have died.  Mom went into surgery Sunday evening and is now recovering very, very well!  We will be forever grateful for Beth and most importantly, nurse Holly!  Holly, you saved our Mom's life!! 

I then flew home with Gianna to spend the week with Mom and the rest of the family.  It was so hard to be so far away while Mom was first in the hospital and then during surgery.  I was glad I was able to be there and see how well Mom was doing a couple of days after surgery!  She continues to get better each day, now that she is in rehab. 

We just Praise the Lord that the surgery took place when it did and we continue to thank God for her fast recovery!  We thank EVERYONE for your prayers over the last week.  We love you Mom!!

Easter 2011

This month of April has gone by so fast!  Spring is here, but before we know it, it will be summer!! 

Here is a picture of Gianna, now 8 months old, sitting in her chair, playing with her "computer".  She really can't sit in that chair without being pinned in by the "computer" table.  I think soon after this picture was taken, she slid down underneath the table.  She really enjoys playing with it!  Before we know it, she will be standing and walking around that toy!  She is getting even closer to crawling...on her knees.  Right now, she can scoot along on her arms, pushing with her feet.  If she sees something she wants, she tries her best to get to it.  Something exciting happened tonight too.  She was laying on the floor, playing.  All of the sudden, she was sitting up.  We missed seeing her do it, but she did it all by herself!  She definitely is a strong one.  :)

On Saturday, our neighborhood had the annual Easter egg hunt, which I was in charge of this year.  It was the first year that Isabella went to it and she had so much fun!  We section areas off according to age group, so that the little ones have a chance to get an egg or two.  It was a great success! Here she is before the egg hunt...ready to go. (Oh, of course it was a cooler day, but luckily the rain stayed away.)

Isabella loved seeing the Easter bunny (AKA Uncle Nicholas), but she didn't want to really touch or be near him.  So, we took a family photo...minus Gianna who was napping during this time.  Thank you Uncle Nicholas for dressing like the bunny!!  Someday, the kids will get a kick out of knowing that it was you.

After the egg hunt was done and naps were over, we colored some eggs.  This was the first time Isabella has done this too.  She had a fun time with Daddy!  Again, Gianna was taking a little nap.  She was worn out from her week of travel....I'll explain that later.

Finally, it was Easter Sunday!  We are so thankful for Jesus rising from the dead for all of us!!  We started the day at church for their great Easter service with lots of singing and a great message.  Then we went to Jill and Alex's for a little bit so that the girls could get their Easter baskets from Gammy & Gampy.  After that, all of the Martini family went out for brunch with family friends, Dave and Nancy!  It was great food and company!  After that was naps, and then we went to Doug and Sharolyn Hohulin's (Jill's cousins) for Easter dinner.  There we able to spend time with Jill's cousins from Iowa, whom we haven't seen in such a long time!  It was so great to be able to spend time with family.  It was a busy day, but it was a great day!! 

Happy Easter from the Martini's!

PIctures #2

I was told that on my last blog update, the pictures didn't show up. So, I have added them again. I hope it works this time.



Playing in big girl bed after naps

Enjoying the beautiful day

Watching a video...Isabella explaining

Isabella reading to Gianna





Grandma's Vacation to Colorado

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been having fun with Grandma H. visiting. Some of you may know that there were a couple of hiccups to her "vacation", but all is well and we are enjoying the few hours we have left together. Grandma has been enjoying the girls so much! Isabella is good entertainment and has been getting spoiled by Grandma, because she will sit and read book after book to her. She has loved how sweet our little Gianna is and has been the best bottle feeder and baby food feeder. I will miss having her help with the girls everyday!  I know that Grandma will miss Gianna's constant smile and Isabella's craziness...and smiles too.

It has been a good time of year to visit.  The weather has been pretty good, with the exception of snow yesterday/last night.  The sun is out today and melting all of the white stuff away.  Tomorrow is going to be in the 70's!  Just what we want and a good way to end Grandma's trip. 

We have been keeping busy going out for lunches and some dinners.  We've shopped, watched Isabella's gymnastics, enjoyed the sunshine, stuffed Easter eggs, met a new baby girl and visited a couple of hospitals.  But, we won't discuss the later...
Last week we met with Natalie Moser and had lunch.  We also had a visit from Doug and Sharolyn Hohulin and she got to visit with Bryce. 

I made this collage of photos that we have taken over the last couple of weeks.  The girls are definitely having fun.  My favorite is the one of Isabella reading her little book to Gianna. (on bottom right)

We will miss you Mom/Grandma!! We love you!

Zoo Fun/Isabella at Gymnastics

Last week the girls and I and Gammy went to the Denver Zoo.  It was the first time for Isabella and Gianna.  We purchased a family season pass that will pay for itself in no time!  We only saw half of the zoo before having some lunch and heading home for naps.  (That's the beauty of the season pass)  It was a beautiful morning and not too crowded, which was so nice.  When I told Isabella the morning of, that we were going to the zoo, she became very excited.  The first thing she said was that she wanted to see the elephants.  We saw them and lots of monkeys, which was her second favorite. Oh, if you ask Isabella what the apes were eating for lunch, she will tell you a salad.  And that is correct!!  We all took a little train ride and Isabella and I rode on the merry-go-round.  It was a fun day!

Love the apes!!

Has to be the old one of the group.  Looking for food.

Getting ready to ride the train!

Fun on the merry-go-round!

I have been taking Isabella to gymnastics every Friday.  It is a very basic class where they children just play on the equipment for awhile before circle time.  Circle time is when the teachers sing songs and show the kids how to stretch, etc.  Isabella doesn't really like circle time, because all she wants to do is play.  I can't blame her, because as a child, I would have loved to do all of the things there too!  I caught Isabella on video while she was walking along the balance beam. 

Big Bed Excitement

Over the weekend we rearranged the girls bedroom so that we could set up Isabella's big girl bed!  As you can see from the picture, Isabella was very excited!  As of today, she has only slept in it twice for nap time.  We are working on sleeping there all night so that little Gianna can move into the crib and out of the pack-n-play.  I know Gianna knows no different, but I feel bad.

Gianna is doing well!  She just keeps growing and at times tries to get up on her knees to move.  I'm sure it will be soon!  She continues to be a very happy baby.  I thank the Lord for that everyday!!

We have been enjoying the spring like weather.  We still haven't had our big "spring snowfall".  I'm sure it's yet to come!  As I write this blog....the ice cream truck is driving up the street playing it's little jingle.  The sign of warm weather! 

Gianna at 6 months

Our sweet little baby Gianna is now 6 months!  It is hard to believe!  I was just thinking today of how truly fast the time has gone.  Some days you wish they would be older so that they can help themselves, but then other days I just cherish this time of being able to hold and kiss and hug them as much as I want!  Everyone says how fast the time will go.  I'm realizing that everyday!

Gianna is doing great!  She weighs 13lbs 7oz and is 25 3/4 inches.  She is about 2 pounds heavier that Isabella was at 6 months.  So, to us, Gianna seems pretty chunky.  To others, she still looks small in comparison of others her age.  I think she will grow bigger by the day the way she is LOVING her baby food.  So far, she has liked everything I have fed her and eats it up fast!  I'm thinking we might have a good eater on our hands here....unlike her older sister.  Gianna is also trying to best to start crawling.  She likes to be on the move and we have started to see her lifting her leg to try to go.  So, I'm sure it will be soon that you will see a video of her crawling.  Isabella doesn't know what she is in for.  ;)
I was playing around with photos today and made a collage.  It is of the most recent photos taken of Gianna. 

I loved how Gianna was staring down the monkey.  The others were taken this week at a studio.