Dedication Video

Here is the link of getting Belle dedicated a few weeks ago at Fellowship Bible Church in Nashville. Marley and 2 of her kids got to come and several of our friends had theirs dedicated that same day-it was very special! Belle-I can't wait for you to see this one day! Mommy

http://gallery.me.com/carissapereira#101577/belle_dedication

China Video

Here's the link to a short video of our time going to get Belle and bring her home! Makes me cry!

http://gallery.me.com/carissapereira#101577/belle3&bgcolor=black

Belle's first time to the beach! Prayer Request

We spent a wonderful week of Thanksgiving in Naples, Fl. Belle felt the sand for the first time and loved it. She also loved the pool and getting beat by the waves in the ocean-salt water did not bother her one bit! She is developing so well except for her speech. Please be praying for her surgery this coming Friday, Dec. 16 at Vanderbilt. They will be doing tubes (and can hopefully get one in her small ear) and doing an ABR test to see if she can hear. Right now-the fluid is blocking her from hearing thus delaying her speech. We are hopeful that this is all that it is but there is also a chance she could be partially deaf. I hate that I have waited so long to update the blog! I hope to capture her first steps soon on here-she just started last week and she is a busy busy girl around the house AND eating like a horse these days!

The Pereira clan soaking in the rays!

Luke is an amazing older brother-he truly loves her!

Meeting Aunt Maggie and Uncle Carl for the first time!

Mama with her 2 baby girls! She loves the water!

All girl-accesorizing already!

The lifesize gingerbread house at the Ritz!

Belle's Crab Crawl

Wednesday, Aug. 17-Summer winding down!

Wow-lots has happened in the last 10 days! We went to see her plastic surgeon for the first time on Aug. 10. She has microtia-a term meaning small ear. About 1 in 5,000 children at born with this condition. He suggested we wait until about 5 years of age before we do the surgery. That way-she will have grown more into her ears and it is a good time before they start school. It is a 4 part surgery. The first two are more painful because they have to take cartilage from her chest. The last 2 surgeries are out patient. Dr. Kelly would put the final touches on her ears and pin the larger ear back. Thankfully-we wont have to worry about that for several more years. We go next month to the inner ear doctor. We will see how her inner ear and bones are formed and check her hearing. We are praying that her small ear is fully formed internally but if it is not-we have the best doctors that will help us navigate hearing issues. So far she seems to follow noise and sounds very well.
Belle has also been a part of helping us celebrate Anna Caroline turning 5 and Luke turning 8! She loves watching us eat dinner at night as a family from her bouncy seat. She continues to love the pool as you will see from the photos that follow. She loves watching her brothers ride a bike or play basketball from her stroller chair we keep out by the garage. Belle is just now starting to get the sensation of putting weight on her feet. She is getting so strong and is starting to hold herself in a seated position for longer periods. She is also breaking a third tooth! I continue to marvel at how much the kids truly enjoy playing with her and trying to get her to laugh. I am most thankful that she has attached well to both of us so far. She reaches for me often and my heart just fills up because she knows I am her mama! Thank you friends for helping us "make it over the hump" of being home a month now-your food, e-mails, prayers, and dropping in on us has made us feel very loved. Luke, Meyer, and Anna Caroline start school tomm so we are off for a big drop-off in the morning. The kids have asked if they can bring their new pride and joy for "show and tell!"

enjoying the last few days of summer as a family! 

Luke is smitten with his sister!

Belle likes watching all the activity outside!

Aunt Rebecca comes for a visit

Huths get to meet her for the first time

Hannah Huth has the touch! She loves those babies! 

Belle is flourishing and getting strong!

We have started Belle on a 90 day low strength dose of antibiotics for her kidneys. She has put on close to 2 pounds in the month we have had her! Our gotcha day was July 4 so we are celebrating having her one month now! She is slowly learning how to sit up on her own-she will sit up for several seconds and then start to topple over. She is getting her top two teeth in full bloom and her hair is growing out quickly. She is starting to get very attached to mommy and loves to be in my arms. Michael has been so sweet to her which is an answer to prayer-we knew it could go either way-being very jealous or very loving-they are only 15 months apart. Luke, Meyer, and Anna Caroline are really enjoying her as well. Anna Caroline brings her dolls all day long that she wants her to learn to hold. She will bring piles of blankets and lovies and put them beside the bouncy seat. It is amazing to see the built in nuturer that she has become! One very big highlight this past week has been having our cousins Tatum and Chloe from Tampa in town for almost a week! We took them to the lakehouse and had fun playing around the house and in the pool with Belle. They were a welcomed set of extra hands to help with all the kiddos!

Her shirt says "southern Belle"

Belle with Livy-a precious girl who was adopted from china

Working with siblings on trying to sit up

Meyer and his baby sister-we love her smiles!

She loved the boat and being at Rock Island!

daddy and his first mate!

Chloe and Anna Caroline on dock with Belle

Tatum and Chloe in pool with Belle-she loved it!

Belle in her pink tutu suit! 

All the girls-with the Jeansonne girls! 

Piling on the trampoline with cousins!

Pin Wheel Pic! 

Belle is loving the action! 

Most Results are In!

I am up late tonight (thursday night) just rejoicing in the many prayers we have had answered.
This morning we saw a pediatric urologist for her enlarged kidney. He was able to show us on the ultrasound where the fluid was building up. He seemed to feel fairly confident that her condition-this hydro nephrosis-will go away eventually on its own. They do want to keep an eye on it every 3 months so we will repeat the ultrasound and see if she is better or worse. In the meantime-he wants to preventatively get her on some low dosages of antibiotics to help prevent a bad kidney infection possibly. Surgery is an option down the line but it is not necessary right now. Next-we went to the pediatric cardiologist and found that her heart is perfectly normal and healthy! We are so thankful! We will go to the inner ear specialists and plastic surgeon next month but as far as we can tell-she is hearing really well and responding to us! Our pediatrician called yesterday and said that all of her bloodwork can back normal...we are super grateful for that as well! TEIS (tennessee early intervention service) came out today and did an evaluation for us. It is a free service offered to those kids who are "delayed" and they help with all kinds of therapy-several people have told us they are great people who do their work well. She will have a customized plan for her in the coming months BUT I think main therapy will be engaging with all her siblings around the house! It will be good for me to learn some of their therapy techniques so I am eager to learn. She is already doing better trying to sit up on her own and she is holding toys on her own now. She has put on a full pound in the 3 weeks we have had her and we can tell that she is changing so much from the nourishment. She just seems stronger to us overall even though she is still so small.