Our Precious Gift from God!

It has been pretty crazy around the Turley house lately. Lots of commotion due to our recent new addition to our family. Nathaniel Noah Turley, "Baby Nate" entered into our lives 2 weeks ago, on July 20th at 9:22 PM, weighing 7.8 lbs and measuring 19 1/4 inches. It was a very stressful pregnancy, but we are so thankful that he had a safe delivery. He was brought into the world via c-section a little early, but we are so blessed to get to hug and kiss on him 11 days prior to his scheduled delivery date. Big sister Tessa has been doing great with her new little brother, and loves to kiss and squeeze on him...sometimes a little to much. :-)

Following his delivery, our wonderful pediatrician made sure that Nate had all the needed testing completed at the hospital. Ultrasounds and blood work did show what we had feared...Nate's kidney's are smaller then they should be and his kidney functions were not showing good levels. While in the hospital, these levels got dangerously high, and he was almost taken to Phoenix Children's Hospital to be placed on dialysis; however, our little Nate didn't seem to want to be separated from his family. His little body kicked into gear and started doing exactly what the doctors wanted him to do. His levels began decreasing, along with him maintaining his weight and soaking many diapers! (All our family members think it is hilarious that we are so happy about a wet diaper!) Happily, we were able to go home as a family on July 25th!

Now we are working with a pediatric nephrologist (kidney specialist) at Phoenix's Children's Hospital. Nate is getting weekly blood draws, which isn't too easy for a little baby. Weight gain is the most important thing at this point. Once he gets to be about a month old, we will have more definitive details as to what we are looking at for the long term. Nate was also flagged in one of his newborn screens, which may mean he has a genetic order effecting his ability to break down proteins. Right now we are waiting for DNA testing to know for sure. Until then, Nate has to be on a special diet, just in case. We know that Nate has a long road ahead of him, and we are so thankful to have so much support and prayers coming from our family and friends. We continue to ask for prayer for our little one as well as our family. These past two weeks have been an emotional rollar coaster, but we are trusting God to get us through it. Plus, we have an amazing team of doctors working for our little boy, so we know he is in good hands.

Here are clips from Nate's birth along with his first two weeks of life. We will continue to keep you updated on Nate's progress through the blog. Thanks again to everyone for your love and support through this hard time.

Love,
Adam, Reagan, Tessa and Baby Nate

Welcome Nathaniel from rebturley on Vimeo.

Our Precious Little Boy is Here!

Our precious little boy is here! Nathaniel Noah Turley made it here safely on July 20th at 9:22 PM. He weighed 7.8 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. He had a chubby round face and lots of blonde peach fuzz. We are so happy to have our little boy in our arms. It has been an adjustment being home, so it is taking us a little bit of time to organize all our photos for a slide show. Stay tuned!

Happy 4th!

Happy Fourth of July! It is amazing to look back over the course of a year and see how much our sweet Tessa has changed. Here are some of her 2011 Fourth of July photos.





...and her are some of her 2010 photos. She is growing up so quickly, but it is so amazing to see her personality grow with each passing day. Hope everyone had a safe holiday!

Our New Family Member...."Mr. Noodle"

A little over a month ago, I reluctantly brought home a stray kitten found in a tree at my school. Due to the fact that we already have a houseful of furry creatures, we tried very hard to find a home for this little fella. However, not many people like cats, and do not want to take one in.....so, what's an animal loving family to do? We have become attached to this little guy, and Tessa walks around the house calling him "Baby". If we were to be approached by a loving family who was willing to take this guy in, we would be more then happy to hand him over. However, we do not see that happening, so it looks like he will be the newest member of the Turley family.




If you are familiar with the Sesame Street segment "Elmo's World", you will know where this little guy got his name. Officially, his name is "Mr. Noodle's Brother, Mr. Noodle", but for short we call him Mr. Noodle. (I know, this is Adam's humor shining through!) Elmo has become one of Tessa's favorite characters, so it was pretty obvious where this little guy would get his big name.




He likes to act like he is a hunter, catching Tessa's Beanie Babies and dragging them around. All the other animals seem to have taken to him as well. Oh well, the more the merrier...right?

A Special Present from Aunt Kamie!

I am so excited that I am going to be a big sister! The other day, we got to celebrate my mommy and soon-to-be baby brother and they got all kinds of presents. Well, I got a special present too! My Aunt Kamie made me a special purse. It was so pretty. My favorite part was when I opened it up inside and found one of my favorite things inside....a picture of a TURTLE! Boy, did I like that turtle. Thank you Aunt Kamie for thinking of me and making me something so special. I wish I could come visit you in Hawaii and see the Big Turtles you guys have on the beach!







Love, Tessa

More Cute Easter Photos!

We had previously posted a blog about Easter, but only were able to use the photos from our Aunt Shelby's camera. Well, we finally found the cord that connects our computer and camera and found some additional cute ones once they were uploaded, and we couldn't pass up posting them.








Here are some more at Grammy and Papa's House!

Deliriously Cute Tessa

Ok, I know we haven't posted in a while. Our family has been very preoccupied preparing for the arrival of our son. Before he gets here, we are going to try to squeeze in a few blogs about what the Turleys have been up to since Easter.

The last week of school in May, our sweet Tessa caught Roseola. She had four days straight of high grade fevers, and then developed the rash a few days later. She seemed to find some comfort sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed during this rough patch. Although, Daddy decided to see what "Delirious" Tessa could do, even when she was feverish and half asleep. She is so cute, it hurts. Enjoy! More posts to come...hopefully!

Sick Tessa from rebturley on Vimeo.