Quick update....We had a fabulous morning!!! You had to get your blood taken for blood count this morning. The team of doctors and everyone agreed that you look great and doing so well, so they are moving you out of the PICU and onto the children’s floor, and tomorrow HOME!!. Your swelling is down so, so much and your eyes are totally open... You are finally disconnected from all of these machines and IV’s .You love the new freedom to move around on your own!! We are ready to go!! No more needles!!!! I am SO SO happy and relieved all this is over, you have no idea what a load this is off my shoulders.

Monday !3, 2012 10:00 a.m.

Sorry that I did not send an update this weekend, but I wasn’t in the greatest mood to blog Anyway, We made it through yesterday. You woke up and were pretty swollen still but, both of your eyes opened all the way today, and you are clearly very excited to be able to see again. Oh baby I had to cut your hair today.. You had knots all over there was no way possible to comb your hair. Doctors from the neurosurgical team came in to check on you and they were thrilled with how your incision looks, and how much your head has gone down. At this point, you’re on just Tylenol for pain. You are in much better mood today and did a great job nursing and napping. We had so much fun snuggling together in the chair. Quite honestly, we sat there for so long that my butt imprint will probably still be there for weeks after we leave!! Anyway, it was worth it...You were so happy sleeping in my arms and I did not want you anywhere else!! Such a long day.....although, all is well that ends well. Then, you closed your eyes and passed out...all snuggled up in your bed with your favorite teddy bear. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we will be going home today. I am going to go and get a nice cup of coffee.

Friday 10,2012 12:00p.m.

Alright, nothing really has changed besides the fact that your face has went down, but your eyelids look like grapes big and swollen. As the hours go by i miss you more and more =(, and i feel mysef getting exausted and lonely from doing nothing, but waiting for you to wake up =/. You wake up every four hours screaming on the top of your lungs from the pain. The nurse gives you morphine and tylenol, which usually knocks you out for another four hours. Man i havent had this much time to myself to think, sleep, and do my work since before i had you. I kind of forgot how it is just to have time to myself. Honestly, I'd rather spend my time with you and daddy. that's all for now im going to go take a nap now. =)

5-7 months

3 months - 4 months

Its been a while since i updated and a lot has happened in four months....so i will try to bring everything up to date.... 3 months

Thursday, Feb. 9 2012 5:30 p.m

We made it through the first night, i could actually get some rest even though doctors and nurses were coming in and out throughout the night. This morning your face was a little bit more swollen but no bruising on your face =) so that was a plus. You just looked like a pumpkin. (period) Doctors came in to check on you

and they were thrilled with how your incision looks. They also told me that yes, you would in fact become more swollen as the day went on, that it would get worse before it got better. Boy, were they right!! So, by late morning and mid afternoon, both eyes were shut and a little bit purple. you looked very comfortable throughout the day, until grandma and uncle max dropped by. Thats when you started to get all excited which forced the doctors to take the breathing tubes out.(You showed them that you can breath on your own and you dont need help from that stupid tube =))once they left, You started crying and acting very irritable, and was just down right unhappy. So grandma and uncle max came back and that made you so happy you just fell right back asleep. So as of right now you are off of morphine, bcause you just woke up screaming in pain so i made the doctors give you some kind of pain medicine. I cant bare to see you like that. Its been one whole day of quiet and i dont really like it. As much as i wish for quiet most of the time, i realize i actually miss the screaming, yelling and laughing. i feel empty and sad sitting here watching you sleep and get more swollen each hour.

Wednesday 8, 2012. 6:15 p.m.

Ok so Aliyah you came out of surgery at 6:15p.m. And the wait was long and scary, everytime a doctor called to update us my heart would start pounding. When you finally came out it was a little bit shocking my heart dropped when I saw you laying there in the bed your  head was still a little bit bloody, swollen, and the stitches were raw. It was a lot to take in at one time. Everything I prepared myself for Had gone out the window, I can't explain the hurt and relief that I felt inside when I saw  you. Then they had to pick you up and move you into your new crib, your body looked so lifeless  and small that broke my heart. When they finally got you settled into your crib they hooked you up to all kinds of machines and monitors, your eyes open, dazed and confused, moaning and unhappy with doctors EVERYWHERE! I just wanted to push them all aside and scoop you up in my arms. I think that the biggest surprise to me was that there were no bandages. The incision was what I had expected, from ear to ear across the top of your head. It was very bloody and looked so sore! I think I was expecting a smile or one of your sweet coos at this point....no, just a lot of unhappiness, grogginess, not knowing what was going on...."what the heck just happened mom" kind of look. I was stronger than I thought I was going to be, I didn't really cry I teared up more than anything. Daddy on the other hand started crying, it killed him to see you liked that. The swelling is something that is hard to deal with. I know that it is not painful, but your head is just so puffy and swollen!! Unfortunately, the swelling is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We were told to expect that your head will look bigger and your eyes will be swollen shut by the morning. Then, in about another day or so, it will start going down. As long as your not in any pain then I will be happy! Ok, that is about it for now!

Wednesday 8, 2012. 12:00p.m

Ok well today is the day, Aliyah is all ready for surgery. We arrived at the hospital two days before, so they can run some tests and get all the iv's in before her surgery. Aliyah was as happy as she could be laughing, playing, and sticking her tongue out at the nurses. Before they took her in she then started to get cranky. Then the anesthesiologist came and told us to say our goodbyes and she will be out in five our more hours. I was stronger than I expected, for aliyah's sake I had to be. Watching her be carried away broke my heart, the further he went the more I wanted to run after him and take her back. Aliyah is In good hands so im not that worried. But I already miss her
Now we wait....