Lil sick baby bird

not feeling so well

Our little bird has caught a bug.  I know that kids get sick, and fortunately she has not been sick really AT ALL in her wee life, but this past week she has been under the weather.  Coughing, congested, little fever, little fussy, and vomit 2x :(  .  One throw up was last week and today she had a big one in the car (her first time to get sick in the car)  When she was just 1 month old we were given strict instructions..use the nebulizer, inhaler, vibrating compression vest, suction machine, all 2 or more times a day, and then we have her oxygen and feeds..  We followed those instructions for a little while and then made the decision they weren't necessary all the time.
Today, we had a regular check-up with her pulminologist, the fabulous Margarita, and she got to hear Lucia cough and not look her usual self...needless to say, Margarita gave me the beat down and told me to get on the routine while she is sick.  So, tonight we got after all the business and we'll continue doing so until she is well.  That includes oxygen during the day, sigh.

visiting Margarita with a stern look.  

As I dusted off the medical equipment and brought it out to Lu, I was so thankful this wasn't our everyday routine.  I was also thankful we do have all this expensive sh*&-... to use during sick times and hopefully prevent the sickness from getting worse.  I've also been dabbling in some alternative holistic meds, essential oils, and she is getting those too.   We are giving her all the bells and whistles to rid her from this bug.

When she gets sick, I get a sick feeling in my tummy and start wondering... are her lungs ok, have her oral feeds been safe, a whirlwind of questions buzz through my head and then Jason either assures me that she's fine, or I think it through and realize that she IS fine.  
Kids get sick, and Lucia has been a ROCK STAR so far..just a little bump in the road.  I'm sure next year around this time, I may be tending to 2 under the weather girls (can't help but smile as I write that),  and it's just a part of life.

under the weather but still so sweet (in her boy cousins snazzy pj's)

Lucia, let's shake this bug and get you back to your therapies, and un-coughing, good oxygen level self.    Sweet dreams little girl (she's nested up next to me since daddy is gone on business this week).  I love you so much my sweet, sometimes fragile, but maybe not as fragile as I my think,  baby bird!

morning cuddles w/ dogs in mom and dads bed

We miss you daddy, good bye to my dad from his visit and hello to my mom if you're reading this on your pura vida trip!  And Anna, hello in Thailand!

We're having a ......!!!!!!

We know it doesn't matter, girlie pink or boy blue.  

We know they will love our little lady Lu.  

A brother or sister, it was out of our hands

We just knew we wanted a sibling for Lubird land 

We're halfway there...in June a new baby will be here

to have, to hold, and to love- another blessed year!

And now, five months in, we know what it will be 

watch the video, of our "gender reveal party"

the inside of a cake was baked to be pink or blue

only the baker and the ultrasound Doctor knew..

Jason thought he KNEW but that turned out to not be true!

(warning: scrolling down further will reveal the sex)











It's a GIRL, It's a GIRL!
Hip Hip Hooray Little Lu
We know you will love her and she will love you SO much too.
Sisters!!!  Something I never had, growing up with four brothers..Jason and I are so excited!

Thank you family and friends for sharing this special occasion with us! We are so happy that my brother Phillip and his wife, Anna, could also be here from Ohio.  Thank you Cake Crumbs Bakery for making the special and VERY delicious cake! And thank you Darren and Colleen O'Donnell for donating your WINNINGS (bets were placed and raffle was drawn for guessing the sex) to PKS Kids!

SISTERS!!!! I LOVE PINK!

Aunt Anna & Uncle Phillip

Sweet Dylan

It's been a little while since I've written on Lucia's blog.  I have wanted to write, to say I'm sorry, to say how sad we are, but I also was a bit speechless.  Our new friend, the one with the PKS child, that found Lucia's blog, and wrote to us about hope, they lost their son.  Dylan was just a little over a month old and he lost his fight with Pallister-Killian Syndrome.  I know that PKS has many, many complications, from head to toe, but I honestly forget sometimes, how lucky we are that Lucia is, at this moment,  so healthy and happy.
I was strolling Lucia and walking our dogs when I received the email from Dylan's mom, Amy Beaton.  I was shocked, speechless, sad, even mad at myself for thinking that everything would be ok with their son.    I'm not sure what he exactly passed from but I just didn't expect it.  When I saw Dylan's picture he looked so much like our Lu at that age, so angelic, so beautiful.
We are so sorry Beaton family, from the bottom of our hearts.

Dylan Andrew Beaton

Lucia has been cruising along so far this New Year and no news is good news.  I would like to say congratulations to a good friend on the birth of their 3rd daughter this weekend! Jennifer Goggin Welch was a dear friend and roommate in college and although she now lives in Hong Kong with her family, she has been an amazing friend and support since learning of our Lu.  Thank you Jenni for your friendship, your words of encouragement, your most generous donation to PKS Kids and for all you are.  I love you Jenni!

The Welch Family w/ 1 daughter...now a family of 5!

Mario, we are sorry for the loss of your close family, Janie, although she beat the odds and put up such a fight, it just didn't seem long enough.
Giacomo, Giacomo, where for art thou, Giacomo! Our family is so proud of your latest accomplishment of STANDING unassisted! Although Giacomo and Lucia are less than 2 years old, they are deeply in love, and one day, I know they will tie the knot, be it in the USA or Italy..  I can visualize Lucia's strong husband by her side...no joke!!!

Giacomo from Italy standing!

This week we also saw a video of a sweet PKS girl saying 'I love mama' to her mama for the first time at age 7- a DREAM come true to hear your child say those words!

We are forever praying for health & happiness for Lucia and her friends...and we are so proud of many accomplishments-big and small-they bring us so much joy.

Beatons, We can not begin to imagine what you are going through and pray for peace for your family.

Love,
The Dawkins

Hope INDEED!

our beautiful angel

Happy 2013!  Jason, Lubird and I had a wonderful family filled blessed Christmas and rang in the new year with friends and our kids. I have missed my Lucia so much in the past week because I was one of many to catch the cold/flu bug that has been going around.  I am so used to kissing my sweet Lu all day long, taking baths together, putting her hands on my face, cuddling together every morning in bed and we have not done that for a whole week (so nervous I'll get her sick) and it has been TORTURE!  But other than that it was a wonderful, love filled White Christmas and beginning of a New Year!

Christmas and Lu's fabulous fancy dress from her nanni

Since having Lucia,  I have mostly felt that time has not flown by..but now that she's 20 months, close to 2 years old, had her 2nd Christmas, has a mouth full of little sweet teeth, a head full of hair, I will say that the time is going faster.   She is getting bigger, almost 26lbs, and as I've told Jason, keep increasing your weights at the gym, because we need to stay strong for our bird!  Thinking back at her first year, things seem so much different.   The first year of Little Lu's life was slow, but also a bit of a blur at times, and full of so many emotions.  Although she is still small I think we know our Lucia so much more.  I feel much more aware of the person she is and will become.  Last year at this time our calendar was full of Dr visits, and tests, and many scary unknowns.  This year, I take each day as it comes and don't have any immediate worries of outcomes.  Little Lu, our Beautiful Light,  has a path, a journey that is so different and so special than any I ever dreamed and I know, as Jason said, that God has a plan.  I want to continue to open doors, and to push our Lucia up her path with my whole heart and soul, but I feel more confident, more grounded, lighter than I did last year.  She has shown us her sweet, inspiring, spirit and Jason and I are here to water and carry her as much as SHE wishes.  I have fallen in love with our girl named Lu over and over again, she has made me have a deeper love for my husband as I see the daddy he has become, and she has spread her wings around us to show the world as a brighter place.

daddy and his daughter

I'm so excited to continue this journey with our Lu, with my husband, and her new brother or sister in the upcoming year.  I pray for her happiness, her laughter, her strength, her health, and her love.  As I logged on to Lu's blog tonight there was a message, it read:  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Your blog gives me hope, our son was diagnosed on October 16 with PKS while I was 33 weeks Pregnant . We are just beginning our journey . Is there any way I could email you some questions I have. Thank-you ...

The message brought back a tidal wave of emotions.  I pray for Lucia's friends and for families that are just beginning their journey of having a child born with PKS.  We are so thankful for our family, our friends and our network of PKS Kids families, as they too have shown us, there is hope INDEED and a love that was never imagined has been born.  Thank you for messaging us, we CAN'T WAIT to get to know you and your special son!

My friend Raina shared this beautiful picture with me-it's perfect