Okay all blog readers, I have a problem that I need your opinion on:
Costco or Sam's?
Wednesday Night Wives
Once a month, on Wednesdays, our husbands go to a leadership meeting with the pastor at our church and we get together with the kids:
The following night our husbands were at church again learning how to hold a giant inflateable for a parade so Ashley came over again. She's getting practice since she's due in June!!
The following night our husbands were at church again learning how to hold a giant inflateable for a parade so Ashley came over again. She's getting practice since she's due in June!!
Sibling Snack Time
Ella decided she needed one of Will's graham crackers so she took one...and fed it to herself. Then Will fed her one and she bit his finger. They are so funny together.
Sara's 28th Birthday
My sister, Sara, celebrated her 28th birthday over at our house last week. Here are some pictures of her and Micah, her makeshift candle, and Makenna Paige.
Distructive
Will decided to rearrange the place settings for Sara's birthday dinner:
Will cleared off his bookshelves:
He also decided to move everything (water bottles, Gatorade, paper towels) that were on the shelves in the kitchen:
Will cleared off his bookshelves:
He also decided to move everything (water bottles, Gatorade, paper towels) that were on the shelves in the kitchen:
Returning to Work.....
I have been asked by several people how my adjustment to going back to work (as a new mom of the cutest baby in the world--- I believe mine is the cutest!) has been. This is for all my blog followers that are going back to work rather they want to for their own reasons or have to because of financial reasons or for whatever reasons. This is my personal journey and it might not be your case or what you went through so if you don't agree then we need to agree to disagree on this topic.
Okay, back to the post: First off, It's HARD! The hardest thing I ever had to do was leave her at daycare. I have done some hard things in my life (Hey..I'm in HR. I have fired people that I know have nothing but the job they just lost). This took the cake. My heart was being ripped out of my chest by the teacher who reached out her hands for my daughter. To take her away from me. For a whole day. It was awful. My daughter, who has always been independent since day 1 chose the moment I took her out of the car seat to snuggle with me. She rarely ever did this. She always preferred to see what was happening around her then to snuggle with someone. She did snuggle occasionally, but really she likes to know what is going on and snuggling makes that difficult. Anyway, so as I clutch my daughter to me and start to cry in the parking lot saying I couldn't do it, I couldn't leave her, my sweet husband hugged us both and said that we had come this far and to stick with our plan and give this new path a try. He reminded me gently that I was the one who wanted to try going back to work and if after a trial period of honestly giving it a fair shot, I discovered that it was not what I wanted then I could resign. So I have been back to work for 3 short and long weeks now and I still don't know where I stand. I like being back at work. I like doing something with my day besides wash bottles, change diapers, and talk baby talk. I don't like not knowing what my daughter is doing all the time. I don't like not being able to see her sweet smile during the day. I miss her. Terribly. My days do fly at work and I love the fact that when I pick Audrey up she smiles at me. She looks up at the sound of my voice. That is what I love about daycare. I also like that she interacts with other kids or she will soon. She is on a schedule. She doesn't nap much at daycare (too much going on), but she sleeps great at night (8:00 pm-6:00 AM). Her teacher has been with the daycare for 15 years! She is a grandmother type who loves children and I see it in how she cares for Audrey. Still it is hard. I feel torn in two. I am leaning more towards staying at home though. I am waiting to see if a telecommuting schedule will be approved at my work. If it is approved then I will probably stay working full time. This way, I can work and be with Audrey during some work days as well as give her daycare interaction.
So I know that is not a clear answer, but there you have it. It's hard. I don't feel at all how I thought I would feel returning to work. I miss her more then I ever thought possible. I have become more selfish of my time with her on the weekends (I don't do nearly what I did on the weekends before she came along). I stay at home with her and B on the weekends and we just play. Weekends are my favorite time!
I don't know what I am going to do. I am going to give myself until the end of this year to decide. Pray for me during this time. I want to make the best decision for Audrey AND my sanity.
Okay, back to the post: First off, It's HARD! The hardest thing I ever had to do was leave her at daycare. I have done some hard things in my life (Hey..I'm in HR. I have fired people that I know have nothing but the job they just lost). This took the cake. My heart was being ripped out of my chest by the teacher who reached out her hands for my daughter. To take her away from me. For a whole day. It was awful. My daughter, who has always been independent since day 1 chose the moment I took her out of the car seat to snuggle with me. She rarely ever did this. She always preferred to see what was happening around her then to snuggle with someone. She did snuggle occasionally, but really she likes to know what is going on and snuggling makes that difficult. Anyway, so as I clutch my daughter to me and start to cry in the parking lot saying I couldn't do it, I couldn't leave her, my sweet husband hugged us both and said that we had come this far and to stick with our plan and give this new path a try. He reminded me gently that I was the one who wanted to try going back to work and if after a trial period of honestly giving it a fair shot, I discovered that it was not what I wanted then I could resign. So I have been back to work for 3 short and long weeks now and I still don't know where I stand. I like being back at work. I like doing something with my day besides wash bottles, change diapers, and talk baby talk. I don't like not knowing what my daughter is doing all the time. I don't like not being able to see her sweet smile during the day. I miss her. Terribly. My days do fly at work and I love the fact that when I pick Audrey up she smiles at me. She looks up at the sound of my voice. That is what I love about daycare. I also like that she interacts with other kids or she will soon. She is on a schedule. She doesn't nap much at daycare (too much going on), but she sleeps great at night (8:00 pm-6:00 AM). Her teacher has been with the daycare for 15 years! She is a grandmother type who loves children and I see it in how she cares for Audrey. Still it is hard. I feel torn in two. I am leaning more towards staying at home though. I am waiting to see if a telecommuting schedule will be approved at my work. If it is approved then I will probably stay working full time. This way, I can work and be with Audrey during some work days as well as give her daycare interaction.
So I know that is not a clear answer, but there you have it. It's hard. I don't feel at all how I thought I would feel returning to work. I miss her more then I ever thought possible. I have become more selfish of my time with her on the weekends (I don't do nearly what I did on the weekends before she came along). I stay at home with her and B on the weekends and we just play. Weekends are my favorite time!
I don't know what I am going to do. I am going to give myself until the end of this year to decide. Pray for me during this time. I want to make the best decision for Audrey AND my sanity.
RESULTS...
Ella had NO seizures during the EEG last Friday!! Praise God and thank you all for your prayers...see, He really does answer prayer!! She had a couple of starring spells, but they were not seizure induced. Feel free to ask any questions...I think I'm still stunned so I can't think of what else to write!
She's growing up!!!
Yep! It was that time again! 4 month shots. They were actually done a little early, but it worked out. She had a much harder time getting over these shots then the 2 month-ers. Screaming fit! It took me 15 minutes to settle her down. B has to take her for her 6 months. I shouldn't always be the bad guy! Here are her 4 month stats:
Wt.: 13#'s & 12 oz (50-75%)
Ht.: 2 feet & 1/4 inches (50-75%)
Head: 40 (25th%)
Wt.: 13#'s & 12 oz (50-75%)
Ht.: 2 feet & 1/4 inches (50-75%)
Head: 40 (25th%)
Exhausted after her shots and crying fit (don't blame her one bit!)
Side note--- look at her chubby little legs!!!!
OUCH!!! 
Poor baby!!
EEG
Wanna know what and EEG is...click here. We should know results this week. She was in a great mood the entire time...around 10 hours. She had two episodes so it will be interesting to hear the doctors interpretation.
SHHHH...Daddy's sleeping!
I just couldn't resist taking this picture when I walked into the den and saw the two of them. B is just dead to the world asleep and Audrey was just hanging out like she always does. She is such an easy baby. She just goes with the flow. She only cries when she is wet, hungry or something really scares her. Sometimes if she doesn't take good naps during the day then she cries at night because she is too tired. This doesn't happen too often though!
Audrey had her 4 month shots Friday. I'll post on that soon!
Audrey had her 4 month shots Friday. I'll post on that soon!
The Brain Project
I watched this segment on The Today Show yesterday, it was a very interesting idea, I also linked on the side bar if you are interested in the website.
Diagnosis
I thought it was interesting when I read our sheet by the developmental pediatrician it gave me Ella's actual diagnosis:
Cerebral Palsy, unspecific; Abnormality of the nervous system; feeding difficulties; Hypotonia; Lack of coordination, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia; Speech Disturbance.
Poor kid. So glad she is full of joy.
Cerebral Palsy, unspecific; Abnormality of the nervous system; feeding difficulties; Hypotonia; Lack of coordination, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia; Speech Disturbance.
Poor kid. So glad she is full of joy.
My favorite thing
Not the greatest picture in the world. I took it while shopping at Kohl's with my cell phone. She was such a trooper. Kohl's was a mad house b/c they had a super sale last weekend and everyone wanted to take advantage of it! Anyway, here is baby Audrey (one of mommy's favorite things!).
Rescheduled
We had a CRAZY day yesterday and because of the schedule we decided to postpone Ella's EEG to NEXT Friday the 14th. Details to come.
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's off to work I go.....
Well today was my first day back to work after a WONDERFUL maternity leave. It was incredibly hard leaving Audrey behind. Even though several of my co-workers take or took their kids there and said wonderful things about the daycare, I was dying inside and crying outside. It was a good thing B was there b/c as I was taking her out of her car seat, I burst into tears and said that I couldn't do it and started to put her back in the car seat and go home. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I hated it, but I promised myself I would give working a fair try to see if I liked it and if it was what I wanted to continue to do. If it is not, then B and I will take the steps to allow me to be a stay-at-home mom. I do like my job and the interaction with people that it gives me, but on the other hand is the cutest face ever that I could also just stare at all day...... that might be a slight exaggeration. Anyway, we made it and Audrey actually took 2 decent naps, something she would never do at home.
For all those who prayed for me today, THANK YOU! I felt them and it helped me make it through.
For all those who prayed for me today, THANK YOU! I felt them and it helped me make it through.
Catching Up
Ella and Will have both been very busy. Will never stops moving and Ella follows him as much as possible...we are slightly concerned since E has bruises all over and W has already had two bloody mouths...the price you pay for being a risk taker.
William decided to get in the cabinets and get out some metal mixing bowls. Ella thought they were great to talk into because she could hear herself echo. After we realized that Will could get stuff out of the cabinets we decided to put child locks on all of them. Twenty cabinets later, we are watching him try his darndest to get into all of them.
Katherine Kramer (and Judah pictured above) came to a very important doctors appointment with Ella and me this week. A few weeks ago I wrote that she would be seeing a neuro-opthomologist. He concluded that there are some major issues with her vision as it relates to her brain. One of his concerns was that she might be having stareing spells, brought on by seizures. We had an appointment with our regular neurologist on Friday and he concluded that we would do another EEG. It is scheduled for next Tuesday from 2p-10p. Anyone to would like to stop by while they are out voting please feel free to come visit. We talked a lot to Dr. Owen about her brain damage and found out that it's not really in one spot, the seizures at birth caused an all over impact having to do with the fluid pockets in her brain...who knows what all that means?! So we are just to continue the route we have been going on and keep being proactive on checking in with the doctors. THANKS KATHERINE!!
Ella has a new speech therapist at Our Children's House. Jennifer is great, although we do miss our Sarah. Here she is chewing on a tube to help with her cheek and jaw strength...she has to have a good chew before she can have anything other than baby food. We have also been working on more language skills, eventhough she and Will have their own language.
Ella LOVES being in the pool on Mondays and Wednesdays. Here she is having PT and OT by Julie, Katie, and Laura...yeah, it takes 3 of them to keep her attention and to not flirt with the older men at the rehab location. Everyone talks about her curls, especially when her hair gets wet. She is learning to reach better, more with her right hand/arm since it's tighter and struggles more than her left. Everything go straight in here mouth as you see her chewing on a green ball here. On Wednesdays it's just Kimberly in the pool for OT with Ella so I've been able to get in a few times and do therapy with them, mostly to keep Ella's focus on therapy.
So, all in all we are doing pretty well. God has blessed us beyond belief with our great kids. They are both happy and LOVE to be outside. We have been spending more time as a family, just hanging out at the house, and I think it's what we've all needed. I have been saying "no" to more social activities because it's so hard to take Ella, or to leave Joe home alone with both kids. We really love our life and are loving life with 2 kiddos.
William decided to get in the cabinets and get out some metal mixing bowls. Ella thought they were great to talk into because she could hear herself echo. After we realized that Will could get stuff out of the cabinets we decided to put child locks on all of them. Twenty cabinets later, we are watching him try his darndest to get into all of them.
Ella is entertained by just a box where we store our toys!!
Katherine Kramer (and Judah pictured above) came to a very important doctors appointment with Ella and me this week. A few weeks ago I wrote that she would be seeing a neuro-opthomologist. He concluded that there are some major issues with her vision as it relates to her brain. One of his concerns was that she might be having stareing spells, brought on by seizures. We had an appointment with our regular neurologist on Friday and he concluded that we would do another EEG. It is scheduled for next Tuesday from 2p-10p. Anyone to would like to stop by while they are out voting please feel free to come visit. We talked a lot to Dr. Owen about her brain damage and found out that it's not really in one spot, the seizures at birth caused an all over impact having to do with the fluid pockets in her brain...who knows what all that means?! So we are just to continue the route we have been going on and keep being proactive on checking in with the doctors. THANKS KATHERINE!!
Here is our man getting around the house. He loves to crawl, walks holding on to fingers, can pull up on anything...and pull anything off of a shelf that is lower than 3'. He is cruising along the couch and climbs, even stairs (good thing we don't have any). He loves his sister, but isn't thrilled when she tries to pin him down for kisses. He sleeps GREAT and eats pretty good (the cheeks tell the story there).
Ella has a new speech therapist at Our Children's House. Jennifer is great, although we do miss our Sarah. Here she is chewing on a tube to help with her cheek and jaw strength...she has to have a good chew before she can have anything other than baby food. We have also been working on more language skills, eventhough she and Will have their own language.
Ella LOVES being in the pool on Mondays and Wednesdays. Here she is having PT and OT by Julie, Katie, and Laura...yeah, it takes 3 of them to keep her attention and to not flirt with the older men at the rehab location. Everyone talks about her curls, especially when her hair gets wet. She is learning to reach better, more with her right hand/arm since it's tighter and struggles more than her left. Everything go straight in here mouth as you see her chewing on a green ball here. On Wednesdays it's just Kimberly in the pool for OT with Ella so I've been able to get in a few times and do therapy with them, mostly to keep Ella's focus on therapy.
So, all in all we are doing pretty well. God has blessed us beyond belief with our great kids. They are both happy and LOVE to be outside. We have been spending more time as a family, just hanging out at the house, and I think it's what we've all needed. I have been saying "no" to more social activities because it's so hard to take Ella, or to leave Joe home alone with both kids. We really love our life and are loving life with 2 kiddos. It is hard to have a child with Cerebral Palsy, but I would say that it would be nearly impossible without the hope that our Lord provides we are so thankful every day. I think I look more forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas season this year because we have more to be thankful for and more to celebrate as we reflect on God sending His son to earth.
I'll try and be better about updating.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)