My Video Diary

Dress-Up

2008-08-24T23:23:00.004-05:00

Today I learned how to put clothes on all by myself! I couldn't just pick one pair of bloomers, as you can see in this video!

Dance!

2008-08-23T22:30:00.003-05:00

Uncle Jeremy Stories

2008-08-23T17:38:00.004-05:00

2008-08-23T01:59:00.002-05:00

Horses, Horses, Horses, Horses

2008-08-19T14:46:00.002-05:00

Blast from the Past---Pacie Game at 9 months

2008-08-16T01:04:00.003-05:00

Fun at the Fair!

2008-08-12T23:08:00.003-05:00

The Paci Game

2008-08-08T23:47:00.002-05:00

Doggie Kiss

2008-06-29T22:25:00.004-05:00

Woops!

2008-06-27T10:53:00.002-05:00

My First Boo-Boo!

2008-06-27T10:44:00.002-05:00

Where's Alix?

2008-06-27T10:37:00.003-05:00

"No"

2008-06-27T01:45:00.002-05:00

GOTCHA!

2008-06-27T01:36:00.003-05:00

Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool...

2008-03-06T01:55:00.002-06:00

I even make the "aaaahhhh" sound when I lean back to relax. (Daddy taught me). I got a new dress this week for Auntie Lora's wedding! It's so pretty. I got to wear it around the house. But my favorite new purchase is my shoes! I LOVE shoes. I take after my mommy that way.

My Birthday Blog

2007-12-15T22:29:00.001-06:00

I have SO much to tell you. I can't just choose one, but it's time for bed so mommy told me I could only show you ONE picture tonight! I am ONE! Clap, clap, clap. And now I am pooped!

50 WEEKS OLD!

2007-11-12T00:41:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it? I am turning one in two weeks! Mommy decided to show you some pictures from last week! I had some fun in my new toy...the laundry basket! And I sprawled out on the couch to have some cheerios and juice. Someday, Grammy, will you make me popcorn??? I have been entertaining mommy and daddy by showing them how I can go "night-night"! I even went night-night on Rudy.

Road Trip!

2007-11-12T00:25:00.000-06:00

I took a road trip today with my mommy and my Gammy and Grandpa Stoltenow. We drove for four hours to Fergus Falls, Minnesota. It was my first time in Minnesota and also my first wedding ever! My mommy's cousin Beth got married to Jimmy. My grandpa did the ceremony and I got to see some of it and for some of it I played in the hallway with Mommy. I also got to play with the flower girl, Claire, who is also mommy's cousin. I met LOTS of cousins. Then I got to hang out with my mom's best friend from High School, Mel! She "crashed" the wedding reception and I can't wait to see her again!

Quack, Quack!

2007-10-31T23:24:00.000-05:00

It was my first Halloween tonight and besides being sick with my first head cold, I had a really fun time. My friend Anna came over to visit and she was dressed up like clown. Then we went to the Fall Festival at church and saw lots of fun costumes. After that we went over to Gammy and Grandpa's to play. Here are some fun pictures!

My busy weekend!

2007-10-09T15:10:00.000-05:00

My friend Cathryn Feikema came over to play on Saturday night. She is four days older than me and really likes to climb. My mommy was worried she would teach me how to climb out of my play-yard. We had lots of fun and I'm excited to play with her again.

On Sunday I took my first trip to North Dakota. I got to meet my great-grandma and great grandpa Stoltenow and see my auntie Caren and lots of other relatives and friends. We drove there and back the same day but I did ok! Here's a picture of Caren, daddy and me and my great-grandma. And one of my mommy and my great-grandpa. They had their 60th wedding anniversary and it was lots of fun!

I'm 44 weeks old!

2007-10-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

I was very excited to hear that the Huskers won this week. I hate it when daddy is sad. I wear my Husker outfit every Saturday.

I let them take ONE picture of my vampire teeth! I'm sure it will come back to haunt me someday!

Daddy loves to make me laugh.

Gammy and Grandpa move here tomorrow! I can't wait!

On my tippie-toes lookin' for Rudy!

Mama...........Dada

2007-09-19T22:36:00.000-05:00

Mommy and daddy were feeling sad about leaving me for six days to go to Boston. To make them feel better, I TOLD them what they wanted to hear. Of course I've known how to talk all along, I was just saving it for a special occasion. Tonight we were all hanging out in the living room and I let 'em have it. Here's what I said, "Mama.........Dada", and that's it! Mommy had to be first since she would probably have cried if I would have said daddy's name first! I think that will hold them over til they get back! My gammy is going to take care of me and my Grammy is coming too! Now I suppose I'll have to say their names. So much work to be a baby! TALK to you later!

THAT (vaccuum) REALLY SUCKS!

2007-09-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Mommy & Daddy bought a little something for themselves, but they said it's kind of for me, too.

Mommy and Gammy went shopping today and bought me a Fall jacket, a halloween costume and some new clothes! Mommy has a really hard time going shopping and not buying anything for me. I don't mind though!!!

Today was a very good day for daddy, a little stressful, but with a good ending! The Huskers beat Wake Forest by 3 and that was a little too close for him, but I was happy that they won so that I could clap for them (I am learning how to clap).

My Great-Uncle Rocky and My Great-Aunt Lyn came to visit me and I got to play with his glasses. I think that's why he left them here for me...I like to bite on them. When you all come to visit me, you'll have to seem my crib. I like to bite on the railing too. Yum!

Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya...

2007-09-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

When daddy asked me if the Huskers would be the National Champions this year, I made him proud by saying "ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya". Of course they will! I even have a Husker outfit and will get to be a Husker Cheerleader for Halloween when I'm a big girl! Mommy and daddy are trying to get me to say "Mama" and "Dada" but I'm saving it for a special occasion! I also got lots of laughs by doing my impression of Gammy Stoltenow coughing!

I got to spend the weekend with Grandpa & Grammy Bill! They came to visit JUST to see me (and to go to LifeLight, I guess). Grandpa took a break from farmin' to play with me and Grammy brought me my first football! It says "HUSKERS" on it, so I'm sharing it with daddy. I pulled myslef up on a couple of pieces of furniture for the first time and went to my first concert. LifeLight was fun, but it was too hot to stay all day! While they were here I had my first taste of meat! Famous Daves makes gooooooood chicken! Aunt Lora & Uncle Todd came to visit me too and went to lots of LifeLight concerts. In between them they played with me and I got to hear Todd play the piano! Maybe he'll teach me someday! I am excited to go to their wedding and can't wait to play with my new cousins, Lauren & Tyler again!

Busy Sunday!

2007-08-28T02:04:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of me at 39 weeks old! Sunday was a really fun day (besides my gums hurting). I got to wear my "Pooh" outfit from Grammy & Grandpa and daddy put a bow in my hair for church. At church my mommy played the keyboard and I danced and really like loud music. I hope I get to go to LifeLight this weekend! If I'm crabby from teething I might not get to go, so I'll try to keep more teeth from coming in! I got to play with Rudy in the afternoon. She layed down and I had fun petting her feet and grabbing her tail. She had fun sniffing my diaper. Then at night my friend Anna came over to play. She is 1 year older than me and called me "baby". We played with block, dolls, my baby swing, my go-around, sippy cups and balls. I hope she can come over to play again next week, she is the best!

A Dog Bit My Mommy!

2007-08-26T00:11:00.000-05:00

Mommy and daddy took me for a ride in my stroller on Saturday. We were having so much fun. I liked watching the shadows and also my mom's shoes as she walked along side me. All of a sudden, three little dogs ran at us and they were barking and growling. Then a really bad doggy like the one in the picture jumped up and bit my mommy on the leg! Boy was I mad at that doggy. Daddy went to the doggy's house to make sure his shots were up to date so that mommy didn't have to get checked for rabies. They were. The dog bit left quite a print on her leg and one of the doggies teeth dug into her leg, so it's a deeper cut. She said it stung for a while but now it's doing better. Daddy and Mommy think they learned a good lesson to teach me someday: not all dogs are friendly! Duh, I think I learned that one today! I think more teeth must be coming in because I have been doing my scream-crying and want to be cuddled a lot. Wonder which ones these will be. Does the tooth-fairy give money when you GET a new tooth? I'll have to ask dad about that. He seems to know a lot about money. Goodnight!

9 Months Old!

2007-08-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

Today I turned 9 months old! I got two new teeth today! You know those ones like in the song, "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"? Well, I didn't get those, I got the ones on either side of those! It hurt, but it's helping me to chew my brownies better (Barley Teething Biscuits). I got to celebrate my special day by going on a date with mommy and daddy to Lonestar!

Computer transition

2007-01-18T21:34:00.000-06:00

Don't worry, we haven't forgotten to take the weekly pictures of Alixandra! We've been incorporating a new computer into our network, so that's taken most of my time.

Fortunately, Susan has been updating a different website with lots of great pictures. Here is the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9585561@N07/

Merry Christmas (a little late)!!

2007-01-07T21:49:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Chirstmas celebration for Alix's first Chirstmas.

We were excited to have all of Susan's immediate family here for Christmas Day. Rudy even got to play with her "cousins" Duke and Eight.

Jeremy's family also came and we were able to celebrate with them on Christmas day as well. Needless to say, it was a house-full!

Alixandra had a great Christmas outfit that she wore for most of the day.

We had a lot of fun opening presents with both families, but I think it's easy to see from the following picture who received the most presents!!

A few more weeks

2006-12-30T20:54:00.000-06:00

Here are the weekly pictures from the last few weeks. I'll plan to add some additional pictures from Christmas.

Hope you had a great Christmas!!

Weekly Ritual

2006-12-10T21:55:00.000-06:00

We got a really neat idea from our friends, Mike and Jodi. When their daughter was born last year, they took a picture of her each week on her "birthday" to document her progress.

We decided to do the same thing with Alixandra, so here are the pictures from her first two weeks.

Week 1 (still in the hospital)

Week 2 (At Home)

Homecoming Christmas

2006-12-06T19:40:00.000-06:00

Oh the Happiest Christmas,
Is a Homecoming Christmas,
With the Snow Flitterin' Down
To the World seems new.

Bright Candles Burning,
Old Friends Returning.
The wishest of Children
Coming True.

And the Happiest Wishes
Are Just Old Fashioned Wishes:
May your days be Merry,
May your sorrows be small.
May the ones you love,
Be near you.

That's the Happiest Chirstmas Of All

On Friday night, December 1st, Susan and Jeremy were blessed to attend the Michael W. Smith concert in Sioux City, Iowa. We had fantanstic seats, as shown in the picture above (taken from our seats in the second row). We loved hearing the Christmas music and enjoying a great date night. Since Alixandra is coming home tomorrow, we felt comfortable leaving the NICU for a few hours while Grandma Stoltenow stayed with Alixandra in the hospital.

On Saturday, we got to enjoy the Homecoming Christmas that Michael sang about. We brought Alixandra home from the hospital!! It was so great to put her into her own clothes and to strap her into her car seat. We even stopped to take some pictures on the way out of the hospital.

Mom, Dad, and Alixandra in the NICU room

A cute tree outside the NICU decorated with baby supplies

Riding home in style in a Pink Cadillac!!

It's great to be home now as a family!!

Meet the (Grand)parents

2006-12-03T11:33:00.000-06:00

Battling an unexpected ice storm, Jeremy's family was able to come to visit Alixandra on Sunday. The drive took longer than expected so they didn't arrive until late on Sunday night. Needless to say, they were anxious to get to the hospital on Monday morning!!

Because she was born almost 5 weeks early, Alixandra had to stay in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for her first week of life. This meant that only 4 people could visit her at one time. We also were required to "scrub in" for 3 minutes each time we entered the NICU. It sure makes for a long 3 minutes when you're waiting to see your grandchild!!

Auntie Susan (pictured above) was super excited to see her new niece and really enjoyed holding her. It was neat that she and Aunt Lora were able to come up to Sioux Falls after the Thanksgiving weekend.

For a few days, Alix needed some special treatments, like an IV to make sure she was getting enough nourishment. She also had a little bit of jaundice, so they put her under a "billi" light. To protect her eyes, they had her wear some cute purple glasses, shown below. She was already working on her tan, but she won't be able to got topless ever again :o).

On Wednesday morning, Alixandra was removed from nearly all of her cords. It was much easier to hold her and to cuddle her without worrying about disconnecting a wire. She sleeps for most of the time, but when her eyes are open, it's quite a treat.

More to come . . .

Alixandra the Great

2006-11-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

Alixandra Grace Bill

A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. We enjoyed our first full day with her and are trying to savor every minute.

Currently Alixandra is in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so that they can monitor her growth and development. Since she was born at just over 35 weeks, they want to make sure everything is going well before they send her home. She is quite jaundiced and has some respiratory distress and low blood sugar. At this point, she is doing very well and hopefully will be able to go home sometime next week.

Susan is recovering well from her C-Section, and is working through the pain and discomfort from her incision. They will likely send us home on Tuesday, but we'll probalby still spend most of our time at the NICU with Alixandra.

We also got to introduce Alixandra to one set of grandparents today. Susan's parents (Terry and Sharon) got to hold her and they were in heaven!! We also were visited by several friends and even got to spend some "alone" time with Alixandra.

Please continue to pray for Alixandra's health and development. We are so thankful for all of you and your words of encouragement.

Love,

Jeremy, Susan, and Alixandra Bill

Pretty in Pink

2006-11-24T15:30:00.000-06:00

Friday, 3:30 p.m.

It was all a whirlwind adventure this morning and we're still recovering, but we're the proud parents a new baby girl!!

Born: 7:59 a.m.
Weight: 6 pounds 7 oz.
Length: 19 inches

We'll share the entire experience when we have more time, but for now enjoy the pictures.

We are so thankful for God's newest blessing on our lives.

Won't be long now

2006-11-24T07:31:00.000-06:00

Friday, 7:30 a.m.

Water Broke. Another Placental Abruption. Emergeny C-Section coming soon.

Not long now. Very exciting!!

--Jeremy

Goodbye to Pain

2006-11-24T06:40:00.000-06:00

Friday, 6:00 a.m.

Epidural is in. Life is Good.

--Jeremy (for Susan!)

Dealing with Pain

2006-11-24T04:04:00.000-06:00

Friday, 4:00 a.m.

Susan continues to progress through her labor over the last several hours. She's been trying to find ways to deal with the pain, so we have tried walking and sitting, and other various strategies.

Fortunately, she found quite a bit of relief by sitting in the whirlpool, so she's been "soaking" for the last 2 hours or so. That's allowed Jeremy to get a little rest, although not a lot.

Currently, Susan is receiving 4 different treatments through her IV: Insulin (to control her blood sugar), an Anti-biotic (to protect against infection), Pittossen (to help produce conctractions) and fluids (to keep her hydrated).

Depending on the pain, Susan will likely get an epidural at some point in the next few hours. When that happens, she'll be confined to bed until after the baby is born.

We'll update you when anything changes.

A Labor of Love

2006-11-23T20:52:00.000-06:00

Thursday, 8:55 p.m.

We're continuing to progress about as expected. The first pill helped to thin the Cervix and start the contractions. At around 8:30 p.m. the doctor gave another pill to help continue the process. Since they don't want Susan to eat much (and they need to control her blood sugar), they are going to start some fluids and insulin through an IV.

In around 4 hours they will start to administer some Pitossen through the IV. This should make the contractions more intense, which will increase the pain level.

The doctor is staying at the hospital tonight and will check in every few hours. It looks like Susan's labor will continue to progress throughout the night and we will reach the delivery stage sometime in the morning. Of course, that could change as the night goes on.

We appreciate your continued prayers and thoughts.

Hurry up and wait

2006-11-23T17:52:00.000-06:00

Thursday, 6:15 p.m.

We finally got everything moved out of our "old" room and we've settled in to our new room.

At about 4:30 p.m., they gave Susan the pill to help thin her Cervix. After 4 hours they will determine if the pill is working and then will evaluate the next steps.

If the pill does work, then they will give her Pitossen, which helps start the contractions. If not, then they will give her another pill and wait for 4 more hours. Overall, it could be 12 hours before they see any results.

If at any point the baby is in distress, they will do a C-Section.

We'll keep you posted.

The Green Light

2006-11-23T15:51:00.000-06:00

Thursday, 3:47 p.m.

And we're off . . . .

We just got the results back from the second test and the baby's lungs are developed enough that we're going to proceed.

We're in the process of packing up our stuff and moving rooms to the "Labor and Delivery" section (just down the hall). It's amazing how much stuff we've packed away in the last 21 days here! We'll only stay in the Labor & Delivery room until the baby is born, then we will move to "The Birth Place."

We're very excited to move on to the next stage, but it will likely be another day or so until the baby is born. Jeremy just hopes that it arrives before the Husker game kicks off :o) Just kidding.

Inconclusive

2006-11-23T11:43:00.000-06:00

Thursday, 11:45 a.m.

The initial tests results just came back and they were "borderline." Thus, we'll need to wait for a few more hours before we know whether we will proceed today.

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Thanksgiving - Morning

2006-11-22T21:22:00.000-06:00

Thursday, 10:00 a.m.

Surprisingly, we both had a pretty good night's sleep considering the anticipation for today (Thursday). That may be the last full night's sleep we'll have for a while!

The doctor just completed the amnio and is sending the sample to the lab. It will probably be one to two hours before the initial results are back. If the initial results are inconclusive, it will be another 3-4 hours before we will have the "final" results. If the baby's lungs are developed, they will then start the process of inducing Susan.

The first step in the process will be to give Susan a pill that will help to soften the cervix. The pill takes 12-24 hours before it takes effect, so we will likely have some waiting to do. Eventually, they will give her medication that will start contractions and (hopefully) move her to delivery. If they find that Susan is not progressing, they will stop the process and do a C-Section.

We'll keep you posted as we get additional information.

The Waiting Game

2006-11-01T20:55:00.000-06:00

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.

The clock in our hospital room continues to tick away the seconds.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.

It's been a long road the last 4 weeks here in the hospital, but the time is drawing near.

So how have we filled the time? Well, there have been LOTS of visitors. We've been blessed by so many wonderful friends and family members who have spent time with us. We have been reminded just how much we are loved.

Susan even got to enjoy a special 4-legged visitor last week. She was thrilled to see Rudy and to get to spend some time with her. Don't worry, Rudy just stayed in the lobby and Susan came down to visit.

The nurses and workers have been extremely friendly and have done a great job of taking care of us. They even let us bring in some "real food" from time to time.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.

The clock continues to run, but the weeks have turned into days, and now into hours before we get to meet our new child. We are excited, nervous, scared, and relieved, all at once. We appreciate all of your prayers and the encouragement you have given to us.

We will keep this site updated throughout the day on Thursday (Thanksgiving), so be sure to check back often.