It Was The Summer Of 2012

Today marks the last day of summer vacation.  Bailey and I have once again had a summer filled with family, friends and fun, fun, fun.  Here are some of our summer highlights.

Celebrated Hope's 30-something and Graham's 3rd Birthdays in Des Moines

Spent a night out on the town with my Panther friends celebrating Sue Krapfl's bachlorette party.  Regrouped on August 10th to witness Sue's marriage to Jeff Shaul and celebrate once again. 

Took a short vaca to Kansas City.  First stop had to be the American Girl store.  Also went to Schlitterbahn Waterpark and the Kansas City Zoo.  The waterpark felt great on one of those 100+ degree days in July, but the zoo was just too hot so we'll have to get back there another day to check out the rest of the zoo.  We did see a really cool bird show in the air-conditioned auditorium at the zoo.

Heath and Amy moved in July from their home in Cedar Rapids to an acreage north of Dunkerton.  We were able to swing by a couple times this summer for 4-wheeler rides, swimming in the pool, jumping on the trampoline and lots of fun with the cousins Lauren, Alli, Austin and Kate.  We did manage to slip in some cupcakes for Austin's 5th birthday too.

Hope took the bar exam July 24th and 25th.  The weekend before the exam, I picked up Graham and he spent some time at 'HeidiBailey's house'.  He must have had fun because he keeps asking his mom when he can go to HeidiBailey's house again.  We also spent a couple days at Grandpa and Grandma Seegers house and stopped over to play with the other Seegers cousins.  

When Bailey heads back to school this fall, she'll be sporting some new red highlights and pierced ears.  Yes, she's growing up fast.  And speaking of growing, she measured 5' 5" tall at her most recent doctor's appointment.  

 The finale to our Summer 2012 was the Iowa State Fair, capped off with the Big Time Rush concert.  We had a blast dancing, singing and jumping around with Carlos, Kendall, James and Logan.  When the concert was over, Bailey said this birthday present was worth the wait.  Another highlight of the day was when Bailey was picked for a Minute To Win It Farm Edition game.  She had 20 cards upside down and had to match them to either the hen or tom turkeys on tables placed on opposite sides of the stage.  She definitely got a workout and was down to the last 2 cards before the minute ran out. 

We are looking forward to more memories as Bailey starts 5th grade tomorrow and I enter my 7th year at Iowa Wesleyan College.  

 

My Sister, The JD Graduate

My sister Hope has been a goal-setter for quite some time.  For the past couple years she has even gotten me into goal setting, serving as a client during her wellness coaching certification and holding me accountable with my New Years Resolutions since 2009.  One of the highest goals she has ever set was reached on May 12th when she was awarded her law degree from Drake University.  It was a special day celebrating Hope's accomplishment and we look forward to celebrating her completion of the bar exam July 23 and 24.

 

 She Did It!

Graham loves big cookies.  As a special treat for Hope and Graham, I made a big cookie for the special event.

March for Babies 2012

On April 14th, Bailey and I walked in our 7th March for Babies.  My dad walked with us again and my mom came along for moral support.  We ended up raising $545 which will assist in March of Dimes' efforts to bring more babies to full term pregnancy and assist those in the NICU who are born too soon.  A heartfelt thanks goes out to our supporters who donated to Team Bailey and have helped us raise $3466 over 7 years. 

    Can you believe that this miracle baby was 14 inches long when she was born and is now 5' 4" tall? 

4th Grade Wrap Up

Bailey wrapped up 4th grade three weeks ago.  Once again many memories were created throughout the year with accomplishments, special honors and new activities. 

School Picture Day

Van Allen handed out PRIDE Awards this year, recognizing students for Practicing Responsibility, Respect and Safety, Integrity, Doing Your Best and Empathy.  In checking Bailey's take-home folder, I would find these little golden slips.  By the end of the year she had accumulated 45 tickets.  I'd say she showed her PRIDE well this year.

Homecoming Friday

Bailey's color wheel art project was selected for the Mount Pleasant School Art Show.  This was the 3rd year she had a piece displayed at the show.

Other pieces to add to the Bailey Seegers Art Collection

Van Allen Carnival Salon Makeover

Bailey participated in Chorus this year.  These pictures are from her final performance. 

5th Grade is only 9 weeks away.  In the meantime we are enjoying our summer filled with swimming at the pool, clarinet lessons, volleyball camp, vacation bible school, time at the farm and getting together with family and friends. 

 



11th Birthday Highlights

Bailey's 11th birthday has come and gone, and with it came many wonderful birthday memories.  We celebrated a couple days early with a birthday party at The REC Center in Mount Pleasant.  It was a great place for kids to be kids, to run around, be loud and have fun.  For the past couple of years Bailey has said, 'This was the best birthday ever'!  Well, we must have topped the previous year because once again she said, 'This was the best birthday ever'!  The tween years have brought an obsession with all things Angry Bird and American Girl, along with a growing fondness for cranking her music and dancing to her favorite boy band, Big Time Rush, which we look forward to seeing in concert at the Iowa State Fair this year. 

  The BFF's at the Party

Grandpa and Grandma Seegers

Grandpa and Grandma Salow

Aunt Hope

Mom and Me

Happy 11th Birthday Bailey Hope!

Almost Time To March Again

We are just a little over a week away from our 7th March for Babies on April 14th.  Some of you may remember the rollar coaster of emotions we experienced when Bailey was born during the 26th week of my pregnancy and the ups and downs of her 85 day hospital stay in Mercy NICU in Des Moines.  Whether you were "along for the ride" back in 2001 or someone we have met along the way, I thought I would blog to show you why raising money for  March of Dimes means so much to us.  While Bailey was in the hospital, my wonderful sister Hope, along with her tech-savvy friend Eric, created a website to keep loved ones informed of Bailey's health.  This was before the days of blogs, Carepages and Facebook.  Today Bailey is a healthy, happy 11 year old.  Her determination, persistence and strong-will from her small start have definitely made her the spirited, spunky and still strong-willed young lady she is today.  So far with this year donations, we passed $3,000 raised for Team Bailey.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please go to our team page, http://www.marchforbabies.org/seegers .

  A couple hours old: 1 lb. 13 oz., 14"long

Most preemies born this early are born flat because they did not have time to be in the fetal position inside of the mother.  This also affected her muscle development so from the age of 1-3 she received physical therapy monthly to work on rolling over, crawling and walking.  The skin is also pretty transparent and red.  The headband is to block out sound and light so she can rest and get stronger. 





   The Bad Week

News Update 4/13/2001

Bailey has had a tough week.  Her blood gases were getting worse, which means that she was needing more assistance breathing.  Some days up to 100%.  So she got moved to a new respirator that was supposed to help this.  It is a lot bigger and louder, but it seems to be working.  She also got an art line in her left arm so nurses could take the blood more easily, rather than doing a stick every time.  She gets blood taken every 5-6 hours. Bailey also gets steroids to help relax her lungs, but causes her to retain water.  So she is up to 1 lb. 15 oz., but it is mostly water weight.

News Update: 4/20/2011

Bailey is back to her low pressure ventilator and the nurses are talking about trying a C-pap in a week where she breathes as much as she can and if she need assistance, she gets it from the machine.  This is the last step before she doesn't have any help breathing.  Her swelling has gone down so now she is back to what I like to call her "supermodel" weight.  She weighs 1 lb. 12. oz. and is taking in 1/2 an ounce of milk, twice as much as what she had last week. 

News Update: 5/7/2001

The last week of April was a banner week for Bailey.  She was moved to C-Pap (off the respirator and has a tube in her nose which goes to the back of her mouth).  This means she can make noise and facial expressions.  Smiling, crying, hiccupping, sneezing, you know, all those cute things babies do.  She also got her PICC line out (May 1).  And she is wearing clothes!  Cute little (I mean very little) t-shirts and onesies.  Last week she moved from C-Pap to a nasul canula which was very exciting!  Bailey is currently at 2 lbs. 4 oz.  Keep the prayers coming!

News Update: 6/17/2001

Bailey is coming home on Wednesday, June 20th!  After 85 days and 12 weeks of prayers, Bailey Hope Seegers gets to leave the caring arms of Mercy Hospital and enter into ours.

And now you know why we march....