Thank-full Day 3

Oh Lizzie and Enzo. I am so thankful that God chose me to be your Mommy. I know it’s still hard to understand why you couldn’t grow in my belly. You both are even more special than that. You grew not just in my heart, but in your Daddy’s and Kuya Ethan’s too. You’ve made our family complete.

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Click here to view the Ormeo’s Thank-full 2011 edition
Click here to view the Ormeo’s Thanksgiving Challenge 2009 edition

Little Lady


She is growing up too fast! It’s funny how she wanted to pose herself and act silly in front of the camera. It’s crazy how she’s sooooo girly (and I’m so opposite of that) and always has to put on make-up and lip gloss before she even eats breakfast! Her voice lately has gotten stronger and a little louder the last few months. She doesn’t seem to be worried that she will probably lose her voice again when she goes in for another surgery in August. Oh to be this age again and to be so brave and fearless like this little lady of ours!

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First (Easter) Dress

I never thought I’d ever be able to make a dress for Lizzie, much less an Easter dress that she can wear in public! After searching the internet for tutorials and videos. I decided that I needed to keep it as simple as possible since I can’t really sew anything but straight lines.

So the YouTube videos and blogs lied. They said that for a simple dress like this, it would take 30 mins tops (15 mins for a baby dress). Ummm yeah..no! It was more like 3:30pm till almost 2am (off and on because I had to keep rewatching the videos and rereading tutorials and remeasuring everything). Oh but it was so worth it because it turned out sooooo cute!

We forgot to take pictures of the dress before and while she was wearing it.
But I promise it was all nice and ironed!

T-Ball fun starts!

Enzo is so excited that he gets to play t-ball again this season! Not sure if it’s the play he’s excited for or his social hour with the cousins ;)

Lizzie is so nervous about being able to play. This is her first year we’ve been cleared to play sports. In the past, her trach was always an issue with any contact games. But since she got her new tube put in, we don’t have to worry about her trach being knocked out. Look at her confused face..”What do I do with this?…You want me to do what??”

Look at that focus on Enzo’s face! Now if I can just get him to hyper-focus like that on other things ;) Lizzie is just a nut and she runs like a girl! ;)


These 4 crazies are so excited to be playing t-ball this year….Let’s play ball!

Our God is Healer

There’s nothing like hearing your child sing songs of praise as you’re driving in the car. But even more so when just two weeks ago, she couldn’t “sing”.

Lizzie was singing,
“Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God you are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power
Our God! Our God”

I wonder if she understands, in her own way, what those words mean for her?

Operation Pip Squeak (Part 3)

Silence is not always golden. So when she lost her voice again two weeks post Operation Pip Squeak Part Deux, she was really disappointed and frustated at having to start over again. But of course God is good and Dr. Maddern isn’t ready to give up and is still hiding a few tricks up his sleeve.

No matter how nervous she gets before going in for surgery or any procedure…she knows that she can always look forward to the goodies they give her!


By the time they get her checked-in, she forgets her nerves (and goodie) because her eyes are glued to her DS.


They always have the coolest gadgets at the hospital. Although I think only a family that have daily medical equipment in their home can appreciate the latest medical gear ;) Besides, if we really have to have equipment, they might as well be cool right??

This time around they put a Montgomery t-tube in place to keep her airway open and free from over-growth of scar tissue and granulomas. There’s pro’s and even more con’s to having a semi-permanent tube vs a regular trach in place but it did double her airway from 5.0 mm to 10.0 mm and allows her to talk!

Fortunately, this was a short trip! Hopefully part 4 won’t come too soon because I think we’re all tired for a little while. Oh and she was making sure to reprimand me for almost forgetting her DS in the hospital room….oops!

Before (with a regular trach):

After (with a t-tube and NO trach ties!):

Dr. Maddern and his team even worked on her bear’s trach. It’s got a bandage to prove it ;)

Operation Pip Squeak Part Duex

We finally got her stent out that was put in when she had her LTP with rib graft back in October. Taking the stent out meant complete access to the airway that Dr. Maddern had repaired. When he went in for the original surgery back in October, he found some scarring from being trached for so long but he also found a rare birth defect that would have eventually required her to be trached regardless of her preemie complications (She was born at 26 weeks, well really at 25 weeks and 3 or 4 days). He found she had complete tracheal rings in her lower airway that he had to slice open and repair in addition to his original planned rib graft procedure. The next few months of healing will really be important in determining success of the rib graft, repair of the tracheal rings, and future deccanulation (complete removal of the trach).

But in the mean time, we wait. We are so grateful and so thankful that God gave a beautiful voice to a beautiful little girl! The hubby took this video the day of the removal of the stent. Her voice quality today is different because there’s less swelling internally and she’s really having to learn ‘how’ to talk. Enjoy!