Newell Family

Happy Birthday Hunter

2009-03-25T19:55:00.001-04:00

It is so hard to believe Hunter is two already. Every year, it is such a bitter sweet day for us as it is a reminder of what we went through and what we could have lost, but it is definitely a reminder of how fortunate we are. This year we celebrated Hunter's birthday at Chuck E Cheese. At Chuck E Cheese, we actually ran into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) nurse who held Hunter and walked him to the NICU just minutes after he was born. It was such a wonderful moment. She was able to see Hunter running around and healthy as can be. She told us how wonderful it was to see him, because she usually does not get to see the children after they leave the hospital. We also had a chance to tell her how grateful we are for her and for what she does. We are still so appreciative of TMH, Shands, and all of the many nurses and doctors who helped to save his life. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER

Family Time

2009-01-20T20:30:00.003-05:00

We had my sister and her family spend the weekend with us while my brother-in-law painted our house. Yes, I said painted. I have been asking for only 6 years now for it to be painted and it has finally been done. I think Nathan finally caved in. What a difference it makes. I can't wait to finish the floors. I wish I had a before and after pic. I will have to post the after's later once I get the furniture back in order. Here is a picture of Nate and Hunter with my sister's children, Blake and Skydra. Skydra helped out so much with the kids. We were so thankful to have her come help. Hunter just loved the baby and wanted to hold him all weekend long.

Santa Clause is comin'

2008-11-30T18:15:00.003-05:00

Today we took Nate and Hunter to see Santa Clause at the mall. Nate was so excited to go with Hannah and Grace (his cousins). They looked so cute all dressed up in their Christmas outfits and their Christmas lists. Nate was a little scared at first, but then he warmed right up to Santa and told him all of the toys that he wants for Christmas. He told him he wanted big boy toys, a big train, a rescue helicopter, a fire truck with a ladder, a light saver and I didn't hear what else, but he rambled on. Hunter sat on Santa's lap wondering what in the world is going on. I was surprised that we actually got a pretty good picture.

They were also excited to pick up the Christmas tree. We are letting it dry out and hopefully will put it up tomorrow. I can guarantee it wil probably be down tomorrow as well.

2nd Annual Hospital Visit

2008-11-20T20:08:00.001-05:00

It must be the hospital food that Hunter can't resist. He just can't keep away from these places. For those of you that may not have been aware (and sorry for not telling you, we have been with Hunter in the hospital), we got a call from Hunter's daycare on Monday telling us that his lips were blue and he had been gasping for air. When we picked him up his lips where still blue and his skin was off color (toward a gray color). Hunter could have fooled us all with his strength, because he didn't act as sick as he was. See the last pic below at the doctor's office. You can see his coloring in his skin is darker than his normal pale skin. When we picked him up from daycare we took him to the doctor and they admitted him to the hospital. Hunter's oxygen levels where very low, partly due to bronchiilitus and no thanks to his confirmed diagnosis of asthma. We spent a long three nights at TMH (two nights shy of his last visit), but the nurses took great care of Hunter and he loved all of the attention (not to mention the one-on-one with Nathan and I). Thankfully, Hunter came home today. Nate and Hunter were so excited to be back together they tore the house up with excitement. You would have never known that Hunter was so sick.

Disney 2008

2008-11-12T22:22:00.003-05:00

Hunter and Nate loved Disney and Sea World. What an exhausting two days, but we had so much fun. Nate was so excited about the train and of course that was the first thing we did. We could have ridden the monorail and the tram all day without even paying to go in and Nate would have been happy. Nate and Hunter did enjoy giving Buzz Light Year a high five.

Halloween

2008-11-05T20:17:00.003-05:00

Nate and Hunter enjoyed Halloween this year. They were eating the first bits of candy that they received before they left the neighbor's driveway. Thanks Ms. Ronneise and Mr. Dykart! Hunter was a Monkey, but the costume can be mistaken for a bear or lion (the tail is hidden). Nate was a cowboy riding a horse. Hunter and Nate loved sharing the costume and taking turns riding. I only got a video of Nate on Halloween though. Hunter you are too hard to catch.

Nate's Turning 3

2008-08-07T21:00:00.005-04:00

Nate will be three years old next weekend and with that in mind, it reminds me of how fast he has grown. Just yesterday he was a round little baby rolling on the ground, and now he is a tall skinny toddler. He is so thoughtful and is always thinking of others. Here are some pictures of just a year ago and from now. My has he changed.

We have decided to take the boys to Valdosta to Wild Adventures. I keep asking myself if I am crazy to take a 17 month old and a 3 year old in this excrutiating heat, but we will bring our bathing suits in hopes to take a few laps on the lazy river.

Nate and Hunter both start school on the 18th, so we are taking them for a practice round next week. It is bitter sweet. We have two babysitters that have been taking care of the boys while I am at work, and the boys absolutely love them and I know will miss very much. Nate gives them a kiss as they leave each day. Hunter tells them Bye Bye, with his wide eyes and sweet smile, and now crooked tooth. But I know the boys need to be around other children, and we can only hope that Hunter will stay healthy while being exposed to new germs.

Hunter's One

2008-03-21T17:27:00.002-04:00

It is hard to believe that Hunter is finally one. I can't believe how fast this first year has gone. However, some days did seem to go by very slow. Hunter has been walking for a month now, so he is a pro at getting around. We just had his final session for his baby plan with Linda Long. You can view the pictures at http://www.longsphotography.com/blog.htm. He would not stand still. I can't believe she even got one good shot in and based on the blog, it looks like we will have several to choose from. Hunter is huge as you can see. He now weighs 23 lbs 10 oz and is 30 3/4 inches. He only needs to gain 4 more lbs and he will be as heavy as Nate. This morning Hunter tackled Nate and knocked him down. Nate had better start being nice to Hunter.

Congratulations DANCE MARATHON 2008

2008-02-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend FSU held its 11th Dance Marathon. This is where FSU students dance/stand for 32 hours straight to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network and especially Shand's Hospital. Shand's is where Hunter was treated after he was born. We went Saturday to see over 900 dancers participating. This was amazing. I believe when I participated 10 years ago there might have been 200 (not really sure). On Sunday night at the closing ceremonies they played a slideshow of Hunter's pictures (which are below) and I gave a speech about Hunter's stay and what we went through. I also talked about being a dancer for FSU's dance marathon 10 years ago. 10 year's ago they didn't have the equipment that saved Hunter's life, so we are so thankful for FSU's Dance Marathon and the Children's Miracle Network. I believe I am the first FSU Dance Marathon participant to become a miracle family. After that they announced that they raised $406,000. That is truly amazing.
This is Hunter being baptised at Tallahassee Memorial when he was 1 day old. He was completely sedated and paralyzed by medications. Here was Hunter's home at Shand's for three weeks. He stayed in this position for two weeks without being held. We were allowed to touch his feet and head.
These are all of Hunter's machines that kept him alive.
This is the first time Hunter opened his eyes. I believe he was 8 days old. His face was so swollen from medications that it was difficult for him to open them.
Here is Hunter (3 weeks old) on the C-Pap, this was a "downgrade" from the ventilator. He looks like a little alien.
After almost a month, Hunter is ready to come home from the hospital.

Hi Grandma and Papa

2008-02-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

Nate can't wait to go to Venice next weekend. Here he is saying hello to Grandma Suzy and Papa.

Who Says White Boys Can't Dance?

2008-01-29T09:15:00.000-05:00

Natalie this ones for you. Since I know you are off of BOTH feet right now, I thought I would entertain you. We all hope that you get better REAL soon. Hunter says he is going to teach his Aunt Natalie how to walk next time he sees you.

Nate just loves to pick up his guitar everytime we have music on and Hunter can't resist to shake his little booty. As you can tell in the video they didn't practice too much, but who needs to when you have such great talent as the Newell boys. American Idol here we come...

Hunter and Nate

2008-01-17T12:21:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of Hunter and Nate. This is what they do on rainy days....besides make me crazy. The weather has been bad the past few days, so needless to say, we have not gotten out much. We did go to Chick-Fil-A for kids eat free night. Poor Hunter was not able to eat the chicken that he wanted. He settled for his puree chicken pasta instead. He did enjoy watching Nate and the other kids play in the play area. Nate tries to keep up with the older kids, but he still isn't tall enough to climb some of the areas.

My Name is Hunter

2008-01-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

Hunter is learning so many new things. One of his favorite words, next to dadda and mamma is Hunter. He loves to say his name. Here is video of him saying his name and waving hi. Sorry it is sideways, so just turn your head to the side and you can see it.

Congratulations

2007-11-29T13:14:00.000-05:00

YESSSS!!!!! I passed my insurance license course and am on my way to taking the state exam. I am exploring the possibility of selling health and life insurance, and possibly mortgage protection insurance. It is something that I can do part time, be my own boss, and schedule my own hours. Whoever thought there could be a job less exciting than being a CPA? Of course it would interest me. A part of me is excited about exploring this new opportunity, however, a part of me is scared for putting a huge part of my life behind me. I studied so hard in school and worked even harder for 7 years and now I feel like I am starting over. I guess I can always go back to being a CPA if insurance does not work out. So for those of you looking for Health/life/mortgage insurance, be on the lookout for me when I pass the state exam!

What's going on

2007-11-29T13:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I have been really bad at blogging. I get a little creeped out at annonymous blog surfers. But I guess it can't be too bad as long as you don't stalk my house....

Well, we have had a lot going on this past month. Hunter was in the hospital with RSV for 6 days. See the pictures below. Good thing he had diapers on because his little but would have flashed everyone with those baby sized hospital gowns. I should have taken one with me, they were darn cute. For you Auburn fans, there was a cute one with Tigers on it. We were finally able to put normal clothes on him once they removed his IV. Well, I think Hunter actually pulled it out. He knows when he doesn't need those darn IV's anymore. Are you wondering how Hunter got RSV if we stay at home. Well Nate was going to school 2 days a week (which he loved) and brought home the RSV. Unfortunately, that is a part of preschool and the doctor told us to take Nate out of school. Hunter's little week lungs can't handle another cold right now. We give him breathing treatments when he needs them. (The purple dinosaur on his nose is his mask for the breathing treatment.) He does not always act this good. It is really a 30 minute battle with Hunter and I (or daddy) and Hunter seems to win the majority of the time.

Poor Nate now has to stay home with me all week. Occasionally Nate asks about his friends at school. I remind him that his friend Diego is just accross the street and he can play with him. I feel like a hermit at home. I have now realized how many people touch your children and how many potential germs there are out there. I try to go to the park when there are no kids there, but amazingly the sickest kids coughing all over the playground and rubbing their snotty noses seem to be there. And they all want to touch Hunter. Once the cold season is over, hopefully we can come out of our 1400 square foot shell. It seems smaller and smaller each day.

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-09T11:11:00.001-04:00

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last night. Nate was so excited and wanted to take home all of the pumpkins that he could fit in the wagon. We were amazed at his strength of being able to lift the heavy pumpkins and place them in the wagon. Hunter loved the pumpkin costume, but was happy to be out of it as well.

2007-10-08T13:16:00.001-04:00

Dance Marathon

2007-10-08T12:57:00.000-04:00

Wednesday night Hunter and I went to FSU to meet the representatives for Dance Marathon. I spoke about Hunter's story and Hunter flirted with all of the college girls. It is so amazing what the dancers and representatives do to help save the lives of the little ones. I know I am so grateful for Dance Marathon and the Children's Miracle Network (CMN). For those of you who are unaware, FSU's dance marathon raises money for CMN. The Dancer's dance/stand for 32 hours straight to help raise money for CMN. The local CMN hospital is Shands in Gainesville. This is where Hunter was lifelighted to when he was two days old. Hunter truly is a miracle baby. I often remember back to when he was in the hospital and the only thing I could do was stare at him and touch his tiny feet. How it seemed impossible for his lifeless little body to become such an active child and full of personality as he is today.

Nine years ago I was a dancer for FSU's Dance Marathon. Back then Shands did not have the equipment that played a key role in saving Hunter's life. I knew that what I was doing was going to help save babies lives, but little did I know it was going to help save my own baby's life. Sometimes I truly believe in Kharma and what goes around comes around.

Happy Hunter

2007-09-28T14:54:00.000-04:00

Little Hunter enjoyed the Tallahassee Museum just as much as big brother. Of course I could not put a video of Nate without putting one of Hunter.

Turkey

2007-09-28T14:43:00.000-04:00

Today we went to the Tallahassee Museum to see the monkeys. However, when we got there, the monkeys were no where to be found. Nate was just a little dissapointed, but understood that it was time for them to return home. We did see bobcats, panthers, turkeys, otters, alligators, bears, and many other animals. Here is a video of Nate looking at the turkeys. Nate also got a chance to be trampled by a slew of elementary kids on a field trip at the playground. It was a great way to tire him out. Of course Hunter enjoyed all of the animals as well...

Nate's 1st Day of School

2007-09-24T14:19:00.000-04:00

Nate went to "big boy school" last Thursday. He was so excited and could not wait to get there to play with all of the toys. I guess he was bored with the ones at home. He played with Mattie and Davis. He was exhausted Thursday and Friday night, which was great, because he went to bed early. Uncle Ricky and Papa think Nate is running away in this picture. But how could he ever leave his mommy and daddy?

Nate is talking so much now and he can put together sentences. He loves to boss Jake around and drag poor Jake around the house.

Baby Hunter 6 Months Old

2007-09-24T13:36:00.000-04:00

It is so hard to believe that Hunter is already 6 months old. We are so thankful for Hunter! We had his 6 month pictures on Friday and Hunter just loved the camera. Although, as you can see, he did get upset towards the end. (He is famous for that middle finger.) Here are more pictures on Long's photography blog. http://www.longsphotography.com/blog.htm

Thank you Hunter for finally sleeping through the night! Yes, it took 6 months for him to finally sleep 9 hours straight. We are working on going at least 11 hours. Hunter had his 6 month checkup last week and he weighs 20 lbs 4 oz. He is in the 90th percentile. He sure didn't need to be waking up in the middle of the night to eat.