Amelia's first snow

On the afternoon of January 16th, we had a brief snowstorm. This was Amelia’s first snow. Dressed in her “snowman” outfit, we headed to the backyard for photos. Placing her down on a lounge chair and with her looking up into the falling snow her contentment with the situation was very short lived, but just long enough for pictures.

In medical news from us, test done at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta showed that the surgery that Amelia had to correct an obstructed kidney worked. Hopefully we can stay away from the hospital for awhile now.

First Christmas and a busy New Year

Amelia had a busy first Christmas filled with gifts and travel. Her “Mimi” Witte came to visit from Louisville, KY on December 21st and stayed till the 28th. On Christmas Eve we all piled in the Honda CRV and headed down south for Christmas in Waycross, GA at the Gillis home. While in Waycross, we stayed at the Pond View Inn in downtown.

As always, Amelia was the star with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and of course with her grandparents. At the annual family Christmas night gathering at the Gillis home Amelia’s young cousins took turns holding her while posing for pictures with her. Amelia seemed to have the largest stack of gifts that evening. It is wonderful to be under one year of age! Christmas evening ended at the annual large family gathering at Wanda and Tandy Morton’s Waycross home. It was a late night for Amelia, 9:30 PM.

The day after Christmas it was time for more adventures in travel with Amelia as we headed down to Amelia Island for the day. This was Amelia’s third trip to her namesake island. A dinner at the restaurant PLAE (People Laughing And Eating) wasn’t really her thing as she was fussy during our meal. The next morning it was back to life on the road to Atlanta. Amelia spent her last Friday of the year at the High Museum of Art. This was her first trip to an art museum.

New Year’s Eve was a normal bed by 7:30 PM for Amelia. She entered her first new year asleep while we sipped wine downstairs.

Early in the morning on January 2nd Amelia had a quick surgery to remove a Stent from last month’s surgery. Hopefully for now our major medical stories with Amelia have ended.

Check this link for photos from the Christmas season: http://www.flickr.com/photos/switte/

Amelia is now home

We could say that was easy! Amelia did really well in the hospital and returned home today in the late afternoon. She was smiling at the doctors and nurses this morning as they checked her over. She hasn't really cried in pain since yesterday. She seems to be back to normal as much normal can be given that she just had surgery. We have our instructions and will be watching her closely over the next few days.

Amelia resting after surgery

Amelia is resting at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta after having surgery Monday morning to correct a blockage of her left kidney. She will be spending the night in the hospital and may return home tomorrow. Anna and myself will be staying in the room with her overnight. Anna's mother Ann Gillis will join us here in Atlanta sometime today to help in Amelia's recovery. Check back for details as Amelia returns to being a happy baby. Thanks to everyone for your concerns and prayers.

Amelia to face surgery

Amelia will have surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston Campus on Monday morning (12/3/2007). This surgery is to correct an obstruction of one of her kidneys. This surgery is unrelated to her pyloric stenosis surgery she had at one month of age. The kidney issue was seen before she was born via ultrasound technology. We have been consulting with a pediatric urologist since around the ninth month of Anna’s pregnancy. Recently following a series of test the urologist advised us to have the surgery. In the past before the advent of ultrasound, such minute issues such as this kidney obstruction were not seen and therefore often lead to a kidney condition later in childhood.

We are not certain how long we will be in the hospital. It is possible that a two day stay may be required. Luckily this trip to the hospital will be closer to home. The Egleston campus of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is about a mile and a half from our home. The hospital is also across the street from my office on the Emory campus. Interestingly enough, through a series of buildings and tunnels one could walk to my office from the children’s hospital without going outside.

I will post information on Amelia’s recovery on this blog when I can. Amelia is basically a healthy baby. She hasn’t been in any pain. This surgery is to keep her healthy.

Amelia's First Thanksgiving

Amelia had her first Thanksgiving on Amelia Island, Florida. She can only eye the apple pie as formula was her meal. She was joined at the meal by her grandparents, (Big Momma and Big Daddy to her), her uncle Tot, friend AJ and her parents. The trip included walks along the beach, a trip to Jacksonville for a boat parade and dinner, and she was the star attraction at restaurants like the Cracker Barrel in Dublin, GA.

See the flickr.com site for more pictures. The link is on the right sidebar of this page.

Amelia goes hiking

Amelia went on or rather was taken on a brief hike this past weekend at the Gold Branch unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area near Roswell, GA. We used the infant carrier that you strap on like a backpack, only she was in front of my chest for this trip. She was busy looking around at the trees and sky for awhile, but then the motion of walking put her to sleep. After the hike we went into old town Roswell for lunch.