2014 Review

I can easily say that this has been the absolute hardest year of my 30 years.  I am happy to see it go, and look forward to all that 2015 has to offer!  Here is a look back at the major events of 2014 for this Fleisher family of four!

1.  Mike and I celebrated 6th wedding anniversary in January!  I honestly can't remember if we did anything because everything before April quickly vanished from my mind.  I'm sure we at least went out to eat, but I do know that we were still thrilled after sharing the news that we were expecting baby #2!

2.  It's a BOY!  We found out in early March that we were expecting another little boy and we were so excited!  We gathered both sides of the family at a local restaurant, and had them choose either a blue or pink balloon.  I had poked holes in the pink balloons, so once they were blown up they would immediately start to deflate.  At least, that was the idea.  Everyone blew up their balloons at the same time, but it took the pink balloons forever to start deflating!  Thankfully, everyone figured it out pretty quick!  I some how managed to not get any pics from the gender reveal, but here are some that we had my doctor take :-)

3.  Perdido Key, Florida - we went with my family to the beach over Spring Break and had a blast!  Unfortunately it was too cold for swimming, but we still found fun adventures.  We took Matthew to a zoo where he was able to feed the animals for the 1st time.  We even went to an air show and he absolutely loved it!  

4.  Bunco with my girls!  This has become a monthly highlight and I am beyond grateful for this time with great women!  We had our first Hot Springs Bunco in March and we can't wait for our next Bunco trip!  

5.  Samuel James Fleisher - our sweet 2nd son was born at 24 weeks on April 7, 2014 weighing 1 lb 15 oz.  Needless to say, this was the start of a roller coaster that I never would've chosen to get on.  That roller coaster got even more scary when Samuel was sent to ACH and we were facing the possibility of losing our sweet boy.  The miracles that were revealed to us were absolutely amazing!  I still think often about Samuel's birth day and the month that followed.  I know one day, it will seem like a distant memory, but for now all of the emotion, fear, hope, saddness, etc are still very close.

 

6.  Happy 30th Birthday to Me!  I turned 30 on May 7th, the night we didn't think Samuel would make it.  I spent the whole day holding him - I could've cared less about my birthday.  Several weeks later, my family and friends threw me an amazing SURPRISE birthday party at my sister's new pool!  It was exactly what I needed and I loved having everyone there to celebrate with!

7.  Quality time with Matthew - while Samuel was in the NICU, we tried to keep life as normal as possible for Matthew.  We spent many Saturdays at the zoo, the park, or at Aunt Lala's pool.  I cherish each of those special trips with Matthew before Samuel came home!

8.  NICU - the majority of my time during the week was spent sitting next to Samuel's bedside in the NICU.  Before he was off of the ventilator, I spent my time updating his NICU calendar, getting to know his nurses, and writing in my journal.  After he was extubated, I spent a lot of my time snuggling with him.  

9.  Matthew turns 2!  I cannot believe Matthew is already 2 years old - how did this happen???  We had a relaxed pool party to celebrate and it was perfect!  I see many pool parties in our future with him having an August birthday.  Of course, I managed to not get any pictures (ugh!), but we got a cute one of him in his crib before changing his room over to a Big Boy room!

10.  Eye Surgeries - In September, Samuel had to undergo 2 major eye surgeries in order to try and repair his detached retinas.  He already had laser surgery on both eyes, but with how much oxygen he'd been on, his little eyes just weren't strong enough.  It was so hard on both momma and daddy to see him be so miserable after each surgery, but thankfully the right eye has taken well to the surgery!

11.  Samuel comes home!!!  After 205 days in the NICU, we were able to bring Samuel home for the very first time.  Words cannot describe how amazing it felt to walk out of NICU with Samuel right by our side.  I didn't have to leave him there by himself anymore.  It has been a rough transition, but we are making it and Samuel is doing well.  I'm just happy that he's home!

12.  Adventure as a Family of 4 - bringing home a preemie is no easy task.  Things have been completely different than they were in the NICU.  It has been so much fun to see Matthew's love for his brother grow and to watch Samuel smile & laugh when he hears his brother.  It's absolutely precious!  We are busy with doctor's appointments and therapies, but we are figuring out our new normal.  Thankfully, this "normal" won't be around forever and we'll be able to adjust to whatever real "normal" is.  

I think I'm just as happy as Samuel to see what 2015 has in store for our family.  Happy New Year!