Giving Thanks

Looking back at last Thanksgiving we are even more thankful & grateful for our blessings this year. Emma is a healthy, happy 2 yr old with no heart problems to speak of, she is growing & thriving just as she should. Her left hand looks amazing & she is using it as if nothing was ever done. She still doesn't eat as much as she should but we have gotten used to that part & just roll with it. Hopefully over time her appetite will increase, especially once she is off Pediasure.

For those who may not be aware, Chris has the shingles. I must say he is quite miserable. There is very little chance that he can give chicken pocks to me or Emma but he is still keeping his distance, drs orders. Poor Emma just doesn't understand, but she know Daddy is sick. We are hoping he is about 1/2 way thru even though it wasn't diagnosed until Thanksgiving Eve, he felt bad since the beginning of last week. The drs he has seen have told him it should only last a few weeks, we are hoping only 2. Then to top it all off, today we think he is having reactions to all the meds they gave him. He called the nurse but nobody returned his call, hopefully he will hear something in the morning.

Emma & I headed to the beach (as planned minus Chris) with my Mom, sisters & neices on Friday & had a great time. The car trip to/fro was much better than past trips since I borrowed a tv/vcr for Emma to watch videos. She hardly made a peep. We spent all day Saturday shopping at the outlets & came back home Sunday evening. It was a short trip but we all throughly enjoyed it. The ride home was a little shaky since the vcr decided to eat one of the tapes & would not eject so the last hour or so Emma wasn't too happy but is eager to go back anyway. She is already asking to go back to "Nana's beach house".

Then on the adoption front, we have had several bites on our online profile (which we are thrilled about), but nothing has come from them so far. We know God is in control & things happen in His time, not ours. We can't wait for the day the phone rings & its Lifetime calling to say we have a birthmother for you or better yet a baby. God is good & blesses us everyday.

Not so terrible 2's

I think Emma is really enjoying being 2 (aka big girl baby) except for her restricted pacie usage suggested by her pedi. The first day of limited pacie time was tough, lots of tears but she learned quickly its only for "night night" but she still asks for it constantly just minus the tears, most the time.

She is cutting 2 teeth (of course, she always does it in twos) which is making her want her pacie more. She is talking, singing & dancing all day long. Trying new foods all the time. she tried salsa recently which made her cry, "too hot." She has turned into quite an emotional toddler. Anything will bring her to tears - good, bad or indifferent. Thank goodness its only a phase, or at least that is what her pedi says. So is saying "No" about everything, which doesn't bother me as much as the constant tears for no apparent reason.

She is starting to make friends in the neighborhood which thrills me to no end. There are several 2-3 year olds down the street & she has been watching them play from afar but in the last few weeks she has asked to "ride bikes" or "play little boy". The moms have asked me to join them on some outings too, which would be nice.

She just started crawling up on the furniture, so watch out hopefully she will not start climbing things. Her pedi said she can stay in her crib until she starts to climb out which she hasn't attempted yet + we are not ready for a mobile toddler at bedtime. I don't think she would ever sleep if she wasn't trapped in a crib. All she wants to do is play, play, play or watch Mickey Mouse and Sesame Street.

In her Minne jammas from Grammy & Paw Paw & her monkey slippers that are way too big (hand-me-down from cousin Caroline)

In "big girl class" with Aunt Karen & cousin Morgan

Look how old she looks her (if you look closely you can see her pants falling off her bottom, they are suppose to be capris & they are down to her ankles, poor baby)

Being silly, sitting on her pink ball

On her trike with her helmet like "little boy" (our neighbor, Carter, he's 2.5)

In her new rocking chair with Mickey (she hardly ever puts him down)

Update on Prayer Request

We spent the afternoon at the hospital with our friends the Connolly's while little Aleyna was in surgery & she was moved to the Cardio ICU around 4:30pm. She is doing well. Her blood pressure was a bit elevated, which is a normal response from heart surgery (it was really high before the surgery due to her heart condition). They are predicting she will be in ICU for 2 days & then in Progressive Care (step down unit) for 3 days. She she should come home by Sunday at the latest if all goes well.

An update on Julie the mom/wife who is 31.5 weeks pregnant with twins, she is doing great. The boys are both 4 lbs & from what they can tell their hearts look fine. They plan to schedule an induction on Julie in 4 weeks if she hasn't gone into labor yet. Here dr will not let her carry the twins past 38 weeks. Both boys are head down, but of course they can always flip. We are hoping the boys stay put for a few more weeks so they can get past the tiny premie stage & develop as much as possible.

Thanks for all the prayers & thoughts on their behalf. They have been very scared about Aleyna, especially since this all happened so fast. Our God is good.

Special Request

I got a call this morning from a dear friend of Chris's who just found out their 2 yr old daughter has a heart condition & they are in total shock. Her mother had taken her to the pediatrician because she was sick & they noticed a heart murmur. Before this, the toddler didn't show any "noticeable signs" on a heart condition, except not eating well (which can be a sign to many things.) They referred her to a local cardiologist hoping it would be nothing & found out she has narrowing arteries which will require surgery. They go tomorrow for more testing & her surgery will be on Tuesday. Please pray for this family. The mother is also 32 weeks pregnant with twins. Please say an extra prayer for her that this stressful time doesn't send her into pre-term labor.

2 yr check up

This morning Emma went in for her 2 yr check-up & she did pretty good, all things considered. As long as the nurses & Dr. K kept their distance from her she was fine & would even talk to them but as soon as they stepped her way she burst into tears, poor thing.

Dr. K was very pleased with how Emma looked, her growth, her speech (she thought it was very advanced = 3 yr old, go Emma) & that she has stared potty training. She weighs 25 lbs (26%) & is 33" tall (25%) which is great for Emma. Dr. K is putting her back on Prevacid for a few months, due to Emma sipping up again. She thinks it may be linked to the little stomach bug she had Labor Day weekend. She said GI drs say that a child who has had reflux & then gets a stomach bug after the reflux is gone can have a relapse of reflux so she is going to treat her for a few months which should take care of it.

One of the most exciting things (to me at least) is we get to take her off Pediasure. YAY!!! That stuff is so expensive & she loves it. We have been weaning her off slowly but now we can pick up the pace. We just have to go back in for a weight check in 6 months to make sure she is still on track.

Emma's 2nd birthday

Emma had been ready for her birthday party for weeks, ever since she said she wanted a Mickey Mouse cake. For the last week or so every morning when I got her out of bed she would say, "have Mickey Mouse birthday party." Finally on Saturday I was able to say yes, its today. I was wondering if we were going to have to have another Elmo birthday, like last year but within the last month or so Mickey Mouse has become a huge hit, thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon. She loves that show & asks to watch it all the time.

I was a bite afraid that we were going to have a very grouchy birthday girl on our hands since she didn't want to take a nap. She was so excited & didn't fall asleep until after 3pm, which normally her nap is almost 1/2 over by then. She did wake up very weepy & hungry, so we had to feed her before most of our family arrived then all was good.

Thankfully Emma's 2nd birthday was much different than her first. If you remember, it was about 2 weeks after her second heart surgery & much to our surprise was soon followed by her third. There was a lot of tears last year (not only from Emma but cousin Morgan too) & quite stressful. This year's party was very pleasant & fun was had by all.

We had hamburgers & hotdogs (of course, Emma's fav), homemade ice cream & a Mickey/Minnie cupcake pull-apart cake. The cake was really good, although a bit pricey (when did they raise the price on birthday cakes - need to look into making my own) but it caved in before we got to eat it. Thankfully I took pics of it when I brought it home.

As for Emma's gifts, she is overflowing & I am having to put more stuff in storage. I thought we did pretty good in not purchasing a lot of things but ours plus all the gifts for our families, wow was our living room full. She got a rocking chair, baby doll + many accessories, books, puzzles, Elmo Live, rocking horse (she's not real sure about yet - "its noisy") clothes & the big hits of the night her small Mickey & Mickey Mouse's playground. You just never know what they are going to cling to the most but Mickey won. She is even carrying around the Mickey gift bags like purses.

Emma is already asking for a Minnie too & we told her to ask Santa, which is mentions several times a day now. So it looks like we will be moving straight to Christmas shopping from here.

Just got up from her nap & so happy to have her Mickey Mouse balloon.

Not the best decorations, but Emma loved it.

Opening an Abby Cadabby card from aunt Beverly & Morgan.

We actually got her the same card.

She loves this Minnie bag & carries it everywhere like a purse.

Elmo shoe string clips from Grammy & Paw Paw.

Texting teen cousins

Baby stroller from Mama & Daddy

Trying to carry the baby stroller & baby swing

Taking Mickey for a ride on the rocking horse from uncle Shawn

She hardly puts her new Mickey down. She even sleeps with him.

Look at the loot. Chris assembling the baby cradle & Me opening her baby

Singing happy birthday

She's not liking the candle, "too hot".

If you look closely you an see that Mickey & the #2 is sinking.

Getting impatient with me having great difficulty opening the Mickey plates with my hurt hands. (note my new brace)

"yummy"

"washing hands"

"A done"

Halloween 2010

Sorry for the delay in posting but it has been an odd week for me. I may give details later.

Emma's first Halloween/Trick or Treating experience (if you remember we were in Charleston last Halloween with Emma's 2nd heart surgery) was great for all who could take part in it. We actually went to my sister (Karen's) neighborhood to trick or treat. I knew she would want to see her all dressed up as a strawberry, so we just stayed there.

Karen & Mama tagged along & we all had a great time. Emma was a hoot. She so got into, more than I ever could have imagined. We had been trying to get her to say "trick or treat" for days and all she would say was, "no". Finally right before we headed out she started saying it. She would ring the door bells & say "tick or teat" before anyone ever answered the door & said "thank you" every time. Before long she was saying "ring door bell", "get more candy", "put in punkin" (not misspelling, her word) "tick or teat".

The morning after Halloween she asked for her pumpkin & she took all the lollipops out & lined them up in a row. I would have taken pics but of course all our batteries were dead. Now she is saying, "have lilipop" all the time. She has tried one, but quickly wanted to put it back & try more "lilipops".

Emma & Daddy coloring her pumpkin

Ready to go with her pumpkin in hand

Lets go

So excited

Walking the streets with Mama

The back of her costume, "strawberry kisses"

Emma & aunt Karen

What a cute little strawberry