Nayeli Faith is 2

Nayeli turned 2 on the 22nd. We had her birthday party the week before. We are so glad we did because it rained this entire weekend. She had so much fun playing with her guests and meeting Strawberry shortcake. Her favorite was getting her face painted. When it was time for her nap she was out within a minute. We are so glad we got to see our friends we hadn't seen in a while it was a very special day. For her actual birthday we had a photo shoot with our photographer and took her to dinner to her favorite place Red Robin. They sang happy birthday to her and she ate a sundae.

Opening presents after her nap the day of her birthday party.Opening presents the morning of the 22nd.She made a table and chair out of her boxes that her presents were in. I guess I know what to get her next. Video of dinner at Red Robin

She is talking non stop. It's great that she is able to express what she wants and feels. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what she is trying to say but we tune in and after the third time she says something I understand. It's almost like a different language. I can see it in her face that she is so happy when I get it. She stopped breastfeeding at the end of Septemeber. She started by refusing BF during nap time then shortly it was bedtime. I was sad for a few days. I prepared myself ahead of time and new that day would come. I don't blame her since I was dry and nothing was coming out. She is very happy with getting milk in a sippy cup before nap and bedtime. It's great that she stopped and now I feel like I have a little more freedom for a short while before the twins get here.

My parents came up at the beggining of the month. We held our first bingo fundraiser for the foundation and it was a successful event. We showed the guests a video of our story and educated them about CDH. Nayeli would yell her name when she would see herself it was so cute. Nayeli left with my parents and it was nice knowing I didn't have to go home and BF. The following week we made plans to go out with some of our good friends. It was great getting a babysitter and not having to BF and put her to bed. I really had a hard time leaving her before but it's easier now that I am not BF. I had a Dr. appt on the 22nd. It went well. I had been nervous up to that day because of what someone said to me two weeks before that. I am sure they never meant to hurt my feelings but it sure bothered me until my appt. The Doctor told me again that it looks like baby A is a girl and baby B is a boy. We saw them and they are so active and look great. My Level 2 ultrasound is next Friday so I am sure I will be nervous and anxious as it gets closer. I am praying for a good appt.
Our cat Max always likes to keep us on our toes. A week ago he woke up and looked disoriented. He was bumping into things and was walking all over Twinkie and Molly and couldn't see them. We took him in after a $700 bill it turns out he has high blood pressure which caused his retina detachment. They gave him medication and he is alot better. We don't know how much of his eyesight he got back but he is looking out the windows again. He now has a heart problem, kidney problem and high blood pressure. You would never know there was anything wrong with him. He is one strong cat. His vet bill adds on to our bills that we can not afford but are struggling to get by since the Dr. took me off of work and my short term disability got turned down. I am appealing it so I am praying it will get approved. God always takes care of us and we are healthy which all that matters to us.

We went to UCSF ICN reunion yesterday. It was great seeing all the Doctors and nurses that helped Nayeli during her battle with CDH. We got so many ideas and input from them for our foundation. We hope to be able to accomplish all of it for them. Here are some pictures.

"Babies Open"

We are sad summer is over especially since we didn't have alot hot summer days. I guess today we got lucky and had a warm day. Looking back we had a great summer. We went to LA twice, Lake Tahoe, Colorado and Disneyland. Nayeli likes to travel. During the summer I had her enrolled in wee hoop a basketball class, gymnastics, swimming and kindermusik. She loved it all. For the fall I signed her up for Gymnastics, Kindermusik and the new sport Soccer. She thinks it's basketball and says "basetball". She loves all of her classes. Gymnastics and Soccer end at the end of October and Kindermusik goes through December. I can't believe we are actually going to take her into a room full of children during the cold/flu season. The instructor is really good about disinfecting everything and knows about Nayeli so I am not too worried. Nayeli was turned down for her RSV shot this season so she will only get her flu shot. A few weeks ago she kept coughing everytime she would take a nap or go to bed at night. She almost gagged a few times. It was scary to hear her when she would wake up cough and gag and then cry. She would immeidately fall asleep. When I spoke with the nurse at her Doctors office she said it was nasal drip and she was right. She had no fever and had a runny nose during the day. It lasted for 3-4 days. She showed us how her body can fight something. So we hope to make it through this cold/flu season.Nayeli was so happy to see Barney Live at the Kids Expo

I am enjoying my time at home with Nayeli. We have so much fun. Every morning when she wakes up she says "wake up" or will yell "hey". She is full of energy and sometimes doesn't want to take a nap and will fight it until she is in her bed. Then she is out within 5 minutes. She loves playing with her toys by herself alot more. She will come and grab my hand and say "sit" if she wants me to play with her. If I leave she gets really unhappy. So I basically leave everything that needs to be done until her nap time. She will call Twinkie "TOOTIE" and loves Molly and says her name right. She is glued to Barney when we put the DVD in. She likes Mickey Mouse in the morning for 30 minutes. and Barney and Yo Gabba Gabba at night for 45 minutes. She is fascinated with stickers she puts them all over her body, on me, teddy or anything she can stick them on. She loves going to the park. It's funny to watch her because she just stops and stares at the big kids and wants to participate with their games. When it's time to leave she will say "bye guys" I don't know where she got that from. It's very cute! She says hi to everyone including people that ignore her. She keeps saying hi until they respond. It's funny because I do the same thing.

One funny thing she did while we were driving in the car is she said "come on peoples lets go". I guess she is picking up on our vocabulary. She is such a fast learner. She will repeat everything you tell her. I have been trying to speak to her in spanish alot more. I think she understands. She loves her wooden puzzles and gets frustrated when she can't get it right. I am always right there telling her it's ok I will help you. My favorite thing I love is when she hears music and grabs my hand and wants to dance. She has this big grin on her face when you twirl her around. It makes me so happy to see her this way. She cracks me up when she grabs my belly and says "babies open". She wants everything opened so I guess my belly is included in this. She gives us so much laughter and happiness. We are grateful for her to be in our lives. I can't wait to see what she will do and teach the twins.

I went for my NT ultrasound earlier this week. I was a nervous wreck before going. I had sleepless nights. We prayed everyday and kept faith in God. The appt went well and we were so happy. My mom came up from LA to watch Nayeli while we went to the appt. I was so glad she was here. On my way to pick her up I was alone in the car and I just bursted out crying. I had to release my emotions. I am thankful for the appt going well and I pray the Level 2 appt goes the same way. They weren't for sure on what the sex of baby A is possibly a girl but the sonographer said baby B is a boy and she said she is 90% on this. Please keep us in your prayers.

* This note is for Sarah, Noah's mommy. Will you please email me nayelifaithfoundation@gmail.com thank you.

We have TWO BELLY BEANS!

It's taken me a week to try to finish this blog. I will sit down and start before Nayeli wakes up then I have to put it off until she is napping or asleep again. She is such an active little 22 month old. I love spending every momment with her. I find myself sometimes just staring at her while she is playing or looking at her book. We cherish every momment with her. We thank God for our blessings.

On August 20th we went in for our first ultrasound. I was nervous as the day approached. I am sure that will continue each time I have an appt. We took Nayeli with us. She was great the entire time. She looked at the screen and pointed to it. The NP said she would be checking for a heartbeat. We immediately saw one and it was a sigh of relief. I am holding my breath until NT ultrasound and Level 2 ultrasound are done. I asked NP if she could see my fibroid. I have a small one the size of a pinkie nail and it grew while I was pregnant with Nayeli so I was just curious if it was growing. She looked, started to smile, and said "oh wait you another heartbeat." The NP said you are having twins! I was laughing, she was serious. Shane and I were in shock. I am so excited! I now have to double worry. I have been praying everday for the twins. I worry about so many things. I drank chamomille tea thinking it was good for me later to find out it can cause miscarriage. I think I am going to stop reading the internet. I called the Doctors office. The nice NP we had on the 20th called me back and said to stop drinking any herbal tea. Herbal tea is like a drug and can cause problems. So I drank a total of 6 cups. I am freaking out! They won't see me until NT ultrasound on the 20th. Meanwhile I am wondering how the twins are doing til then.
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2)


I was put on short term disability at work because they don't have light desk duty for me. I was upset at first but realize what a blessing it is. I get to spend all this time with Nayeli and we are loving it. I also know God always has a plan and he knew I was having twins and knew I am at a high risk prenancy so took me off right away.

We decided to take a road trip to LA. This time we decided to go along the Pacific Coast Highway. It takes a little longer but the drive was worth it. Nayeli was so cooperative. We had Barney playing on a DVD the entire time so that helped. Thanks BARNEY! Our first stop was Big Sur. We ate dinner at River Inn. The patio had the best view of the river. It was such a nice place. The river was so calm and they had lounge chairs in the river so you can soak your feet while you relax. Nayeli loved playing with the rocks. We saw two whales and it was an incredible view. We finally made it to our destination, Cayucos. It was already night and couldn't really see the town. Nayeli fell right asleep, she was tired. I followed right after. Twinkie slept with us and Molly slept in her crate. We brought along a fan and used it as white noise. Nayeli slept right through my coughing. I had this annoying cough the entire trip. Shane and Nayeli were fine so I think I got it from stress. We packed up the car and we were on the road again. We stopped at Santa Barbara. I saw this taco place. It was the best tacos I have ever had. We notice Nayeli was getting tired. We thought she would fall asleep for the reamining of the drive. She only slept for 45 minutes. We were glad she did since the day befoe she didn't. When we arrived in LA the heat was on. It was hot! I was happy at first but then realized it was going to be in the 100's for the next 4 to 5 days. I guess my wishing for a warm summer finally came true.

Nayeli slept in a room separted from us. This was the first time we did this. We are glad we did. She slept longer and seened happy about her having her own room. We went to the beach, walked around Santa Monica, went shopping, and met with a few friends. I was really happy to be spending most of my time with my parents. It's always great to be with them. My mom spoiled us rotten almost every morning. She made huevos rancheros, chilaquiles and chorizo. She knows exactly what I need. The day before we were leaving the weather cooled off. We drove back home on Saturday morning and stayed at our favorite place in Cayucos again. This time they gave us a suite for the same price. It was great because we were able to put Nayeli to bed and Shane and I were able to stay up. We got dessert from accross the street and it was yummy!

Our little girl is growing up so fast. She is now saying
*tak you(thank you)
*please
*hold it
*take it
*Amen
She knows how to make the following animals sounds: horse, pig, elephant, lion, kitty, dog, bear, rooster and dolphin. We have a video of her doing this from the previous post. She loves music and dances when she hears her music CD which has all kid music. I have enrolled her in Kindermusik for the fall. I trust this class because the instructor knows of how we are and she also is very clean and disenfects everything. We are also brave enough to enroll her in gymnastics and wee hoop again for a month from September thru October. I am hoping it will be ok since it's right before cold/flu season. It's going to be hard to keep her under winter lockdown this year so we are going to try in getting her out more but being cautious. I think we will all go stir crazy if we don't.

I told her we are having a baby a few weeks ago. She amazes me because she has a great memory. I haven't said anything since then and she will say baby and hold my belly and say "Open" then she will kiss it. She just recently started to double kiss my belly. Then sometimes I laugh because she will say "baby" and start smacking my belly. Funny girl!

She is starting to voice her opinion if she is not happy. I stopped breastfeeding her in the morning two weeks ago. I am only doing it for nap time and at night. I will be dropping the nap time one soon. She is still asking for it in the morning and gets a little upset with me when I don't comply. It really hurts to do this to her but I am trying to do what is right while I am pregnant with the twins. I was told that I can start having contractions and that I should stop BF soon. I was hoping to go until she is 2 years old.

We are planning her 2 year birthday party. I still can't believe it. She is growing in a blink of an eye. I am just so happy that I get to spend all this time with her.

The Nayeli Faith Foundation is having it's first Bingo fundraiser on October 1st. We are excited and have alot of planning left to do since it's only a couple of weeks away. We hope it will be a great turnout and a fun event for everyone. Go to the "Nayeli Faith Foundation" website for more details on this event.

Shane is also doing great (minus some ankle issues) with his NYC Marathon training, which he is running to raise money for UCSF's CDH research program. He has run around 140 "training" miles so far in about 5 weeks time and plans to at least double that amount by race day. For more details or to donate to Shane's efforts, please go to the Nayeli Faith Foundation website. Thank You.
A few weeks ago we took Nayeli to a wildlife rehablitation center. She met Ashley who is a oppossum I rescued in October 2010' from a garage that burned down. She is blind and lives there since she will not be able to return to the wild. So happy to see she is doing well.

Belly Bean!

I am pregnant! I found out a couple of weeks ago. I am seven weeks and we are so happy! I also find myself worrying and getting nervous. We have been through so much that I guess it would be normal to feel this way. I am trying really hard to focus and be positive. Please pray for us that our pregnancy will be a healthy and a smooth one.

Grandma Dar came to visit and stayed with us. We had so much fun. We went to Sulphur Creek a center that rehahilates wildlife, Tahoe, Tilden Park, Lindsey Wildlife Center and San Francisco.
While we were in Tahoe Shane was playing in a hockey tournament with the Police and Fire Games. His team came in 2nd place. Nayeli had so much fun watching her daddy. I snuck in Molly twice and even took her inside the ice rink to watch a game. Nayeli would yell hockey hockey hockey. It was the funniest thing. She also got so excited when she would see the players come out with all their gear on. She would say WOW and Wo. She cracks me up. We stayed at our friends cabin and it was so relaxing.

Nayeli is mastering eating with a spoon. She gets upset if we try to help sometimes. She likes to do things on her own. If she is playing with something and drops it she gets so upset. I try to tell her it's ok and then she forgets. She loves to dance and listen to music. She loves listening to her favorite CD and will say ABC ABC until we put it on. She will clap and go in circles. She will then try to grab my hand and wants to me dance with her. She likes alot of attention and when she is awake I pretty acomplish nothing since she wants all the attention. I don't mind at all. I usually wait until she is asleep. She loves to chase Twinkie around and calls him Tutu. She is always asking for Debbie who takes care of her. She calls her Nina. I am so glad she is so fond of her. Sometimes I will come home from work and she will not even care or come up to me to hug me because Nina is still around. My baby is growing up!

This last week she has been waking up once or twice at night. I am thinking the last of her molars are growing in. I don't know what else it could be. I think it's still to early but you never know. She is still BF. I don't think she is ever going to stop. I am just glad she doesn't bite me.

I can't believe I haven't posted letting all of you know that the Nayeli Faith Foundation is now NON PROFIT 501(c)3. We are so happy with the news and are going to have events coming up soon.

Shane is joining with Global CDH team to run in this years NYC marathon. All the money he raises is going to be going to UCSF for CDH research. He is training really hard for this and is so excited about it.

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I LOVE YOU!

There is always something new that Nayeli does everyday. If I don't write it down right away I forget. She is so smart in figuring things out. She will get a container and put the lid on it and seal it tight. I amazed on how easily she is pleased. She loves water and will go outside and ask for water from the hose so she can put her hands and face over it. She can sit there for a while playing. She is using more words to communicate to us on what she wants. When she is fussy she forgets to use her words and just cries or yells. So I usually know what she wants. Either a drink or a snack. She also loves to be picked up. Shane said that one day a few weeks back he had to put the carrier on so he can do work around the house while I was at work. She loves to grab your hand and have you follow her where she wants you to go. She will say sit if she wants you to sit. If you don't she gets upset. She is getting a little bossy but all she really wants is for someone to play with her. How can we say no to her?

Last week she started to say Amen during dinner prayer and lunch. She held her hands almost through the entire prayer. She says mommy here when she is giving me something. If she really doesn't want it she will say here until I take it away. She will let me know to stop something she doesn't like by telling my "Stop it". She started to say ABC and will keep singing it over and over again. She said Hi How are you? to herself while she was looking at herself in the mirror last week. Her favorite toy is her Dolly. She puts her Dolly in her little stroller and will put a blanket on her and say cold. Every night before going to bed she has to give Daddy, me, Twinkie and Molly a hug and a kiss. She never fusses when it's to go to bed. We have a routine and she likes it.

We have her enrolled in Gymnastics, Swimming, Basketball and Kindermusik. I hope we are able to keep taking her to one or two classes during the winter months. She loves all of her classes. I think my favorite is Kindermusik. They disenfect everything plus the teacher is so creative. She sat on the teachers lap for the first time last week. I was shocked. I am so happy she is being more sociable. The classes have helped.

My parents came for a visit last weekend. We went to Monterey and Carmel. We had so much fun walking around and smelling the ocean air. The annual Dachshund gathering was held on Sunday. Over 175 dachshunds were there. Nayeli loved having all of them approach her. She had a few of her chips taken away by them. She didn't mind.







Shane's mother arrived yesterday and is visiting for a week and half. Nayeli and Grandma Dar are having a great time with each other.

Tonight was a very special night. Nayeli said I love you to me as I was putting her to bed. I had a few tears as I walked away. Not a day goes by that we don't thank God. She is 21 months today and it's amazing on how in 3 months she will be 2 years old. There is no slowing down.

Nayeli's favorite dance moves

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Colorado

On June 22nd we flew to Colorado for five days to visit our family and friends. We thought of driving and then decided to fly. As soon as we got on the plane we disenfected our seats and window. Nayeli did great on the flight there. We bought a car seat for her since the two that we have were too big to go on the plane seat. We had the carseat out for two weeks in the family room so she would get used to it. She loved sitting on it while watching her favorite TV shows. She was great on the flight there.

As soon as we arrived Nayeli took a nap. She slept for over 2 hours. Shane's mom and step dad Jim flew in from Buffalo to visit us. They stayed at Great Grandma Gerry's house while we stayed with our friends. We stayed in their basement which looks like an apartment. We loved it! Nayeli loved that there was toys for her to play with. She would wake up and go straight to the doll house. She was so happy to have other kids to play with. Everyone got to meet Nayeli for the first time it was so exciting. She immediately bonded with Grandpa Jim. We also noticed that she was very comfortable in going up to everyone and receiving hugs and kisses. When it was time to go to bed she would give everyone a hug goodnight. It was so cute. One night when we were all praying before dinner. She held her hands in front of her too. Not as good coming back she was tired from waking up at 6am. so we could make it to the airport on time for our flight.

We met two other CDH families while we were there. We met Ella's family and decided to go to the zoo. It was great meeting them. We have been following each other's blog. It was nice to connect and talk about our CDH experiences.

We met John's family at the park. They flew in to visit family and friends from Alaska. We were so happy to finally meet. We have been talking to each other while we were still pregnant. Our little one's played and laughed. It was a little emotional too. I thought of the babies that were born with CDH and didn't survive. I pray for those familes and think of them often.

We had a great time visiting our family and friends and having BBQ's. We wish we all lived closer. Here is a video of our trip.

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