Just us - there’s a little of the before, but mostly it’s the after...: November 2007

Look Trish and Elizabeth!

Addie is drinking from a straw! I just told Trish at The Bell Center today that Addie had started drinking from a straw, but not consistently. Well, of course tonight at dinner she showed me exactly what she is capable of! As soon as I put the cup to her mouth, she started drinking without my help. I even put a "regular" straw in my cup and had her try it. She drank from it like a pro! We have been working on this for a while now and all the hard work has paid off! I am so proud of her!

First game of the season

The first basketball game of the season was tonight.
We won 27-15! It was a great game - full of energy and excitement! Julien did a great job and scored some points for his team. Addie (his biggest fan) was cheering for him the whole time!

Trying so hard!

Addie tries so hard to pull up! She is able to pull up and get on her knees, but still no luck with pulling up to a standing position. She is doing great! I am so proud of her!

Tooth number seven AND eight!

Whew! Tooth number seven AND eight broke through! Addie now has four on the top and four on the bottom! She has been so miserable; I hope some relief is on the way!

Happy 9th Birthday Julien!

I really cannot believe it has been NINE years! Time just needs to slow down!

Julien wanted a piñata , so I finally bought one for him. This thing would not break! He actually hit it off the rope twice (good job tying it, Chris) and the thing still kept going. Finally, Julien just had to beat it to death on the ground!

PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT!

Someone left a comment on the blog last week telling me about a website for hair bows. I thought I would give it a try and wow, they are perfect! They are made with a tiny little clip, really do stay put no matter what and are not too big for Addie! I was so thrilled when I tried them on her! I will be ordering lots more soon! These aren't the best pictures, but Addie is just miserable. She woke up this morning with a cold and doesn't feel like her normal photogenic self! Here is the website for the bows - they are perfect!

www.brilliantbows.com

Gobble, gobble...poor turkey!

We were so busy; I didn't get a chance to take very many pictures!

Addie is teething, so it was almost impossible to get the teething ring out of her mouth long enough for her to eat!

She was all about the mashed potatoes and green beans once I did get it past her teether!

We had a great day; it was just over too quickly!

Happy First Thanksgiving, Addie!

A visit with friends!

After our visit with Dr. Ness today, we went to visit our friends in the E.R.
Addie was so happy and we really enjoyed our visit! When we got ready to leave, Addie got ANOTHER prize from our friends (see turtle picture) and they sent Julien a prize as well (thank you!). He got a three-headed stuffed dog (Fluffy?) from Harry Potter. When he got in the car this afternoon and saw it, he was just thrilled! He thought it was cool and wanted to know where they got it! On the way to Publix, I heard Addie gnawing on and talking to something, but it was dark so I couldn't see what it was. When I got out of the car to get her, she turned to look at me with the tail of the dog in her hand and the tip of the tail firmly planted between her teeth! The tail of the dog was dripping WET and she was smiling from ear to ear - tail still held firmly between her teeth. Thanks again guys! You all mean so very much to us!

Neurology update - NEW HOPE!

GREAT, GREAT NEWS!

We had our appointment with Dr. Ness this morning. For those of you who don't remember, we last saw Dr. Ness in May. She told us that we didn't have to come back for six-months unless Addie developed seizures...well, six-months have passed. I don't even know where to begin, there was so much that was said and 98% of it was so positive! Dr. Ness said that seeing Addie just made her day. She was absolutely thrilled at how well she is doing! She wasn't concerned that Addie wasn't crawling or attempting to walk; she was quick to point out that not all children achieve this milestone at this age. She isn't going to be concerned about walking until Addie is 18-months (by then, I'll have Addie chasing after Julien and the cats). Dr. Ness was concerned about Addie's speech development and the fact that she isn't babbling. I have known from the beginning that this would be our biggest struggle, that's why I work with Addie on sign language so much. Addie was very cooperative and showed Dr. Ness her new tricks including her ability to feed herself Cheerios (Addie learned that trick while we were waiting for Dr. Ness to come in the room! Prior to now, Addie would get the Cheerio in her hand, but was unable to put it in her mouth)! We talked quite a bit about development and I finally asked Dr. Ness "my" question. I asked her if she thought "Addie would develop to the level of a ten-month old, four-year old or if she would be able to contribute to society?" Dr. Ness was quick to tell me that she really thinks Addie will be able to contribute to society! I can't tell you what HOPE that gave me. Dr. Ness went on and on about how well Addie is doing! HOPE and FAITH is what I live my life by now. There are a lot of days when it is just faith, but today was a day of pure joy. What a perfect time to give me this news, just one more thing to be thankful for! I pray each and every day that Addie continues to learn and progress. I have a very dear friend who had renewed hope for her son after seeing an adult with Down Syndrome working at Panera Bread in Vestavia. I fully understood why this restored her hope and today was my day. GOD is truly watching over Addie. He will continue to show the world his miraculous powers and I honestly believe it will be through Addie. She will achieve more than anyone could have ever HOPED. Please say a prayer and thank God for this blessing, this blessing of HOPE.

(Our next scheduled visit with Dr. Ness is July. Addie will have another MRI to see how her brain is developing. I will pray each day for continued brain growth and development. God will continue to be with us. The results will be nothing short of miraculous!)

BRING IT ON!

Addie has been cleared to have toys with lights and to be around flashing lights, as long as we don't have her in a dark room with lights flashing. Dr. Ness said that Addie is still at high risk for seizures, but she really thinks the whole issue with flashing lights can be dismissed (unless something happens and brings about a cause for concern). She reiterated that if we make it to one-year seizure free, her chances of developing seizures will decrease. Dr. Ness made certain to say that although it would decrease, the risk would still be there. All in all, it was WONDERFUL news and just in time for Christmas! I plan on getting her a special toy on Friday and this time, we don't have to cut the wires to the lights!

100% BOY

When we picked Julien up from school today, he was so excited! He got in the car, put his seatbelt on and as we were driving away, he said, "Mom, I want to show you something". I look back and he has an empty water bottle turned upside down and is taking the top off. My fearful, motherly instinct kicked in and I immediately asked him what he had. Before I knew it, he opened the bottle and pushed the lid forward so that I was eye to "eye" with a mouse skull (writing this just gave me chills...). Apparently, they dissected an owl pellet in science and what would happen to be inside the pellet but a mouse head! No need to worry 'Mom', it was soaked in formaldehyde and is all clean! Ok, so boys will be boys. I agreed to let it stay in the house so that he could show the family at Thanksgiving (I have to share the fun). What I didn't agree to was allowing the skull to take up residence in my good storage container in the kitchen! It all happened before I knew what he was doing. UGH! Needless to say, the uninvited guest will be leaving after Thanksgiving!

Look what Addie got!

I found Addie some new hair bows (thanks Jamie!). They are still bigger than I would like and she still doesn't really have enough hair, but I bought them anyway!

Working, working, working!

I am still trying to get Addie to play in different positions other than just sitting. She enjoys playing on "tall knees" and we're working on getting her to consistently pull up to this position. It's a lot of work for her, but she is trying so hard!

The moment that forever changed my life

I was going through some pictures and found these.

Before now, I didn't want to share them.

It honestly was too hard for me and such an incredibly private moment.

I know most of you remember this moment in your life.

The moment in which you first saw your new baby.

For me, this moment of joy was replaced by fear and confusion.

This was the exact moment when the nurse placed Addie next to me and said the words that I will never forget, "there appears to be a problem".

When the nurse brought Addie to me, she was crying.

The nurse placed Addie next to me and walked away.

I was unable to reach out to hold Addie.

The only thing that I could do was move my hand so that I could rub her head.

I wanted so badly to take her in my arms, kiss her and tell her that everything was all right.

I wanted her to know that it didn't matter what had happened in the moments preceding the first time that I touched her.

It didn't matter what others might have said, it didn't matter what was done and it didn't matter that the nurse didn't congratulate me, she only let me know that this angel that was next to me exhibited "a problem".

I couldn't take Addie in my arms, but I reached over to her and I touched her head.

This picture was the exact moment in which I did that.

This picture captured my thoughts and my love for my baby because the moment that my hand touched Addie, she stopped crying.

That was all captured in this one picture.

That private moment was captured for all the world to see, the only thing that is not clearly visible in this picture is the hand of God as HE held my baby close to me for me to touch and whisper to and to tell her that I loved her.

There was no nurse standing there with us, there was only our God and my husband watching as this moment unfolded.

I knew then that I would always be there to wipe away the tears and to take away the fear.

Addie completed my life.

This was the moment that forever changed my life.

I thank GOD for trusting me to take care of one of his most special angels.

Julien's Ninth Birthday Party!

Julien's birthday isn't until November 24th, but as we all know, that is the day of the Auburn/Alabama game. Since I couldn't convince the SEC to schedule the season around the celebration of the birth of my baby boy, we had to celebrate early! Last year, Julien had approximately 30 kids at his birthday party. I just couldn't take it this year. I had him pick a few of his classmates and we went to Game Zone for laser tag! I remember seeing him for a few seconds here and there and then he was off again, so he apparently had a great time!

Addie update

This virus has really taken a toll on Addie. Thursday, Friday and today until dinner, she refused all solid foods and has been just a miserable little baby. Luckily, the worst part of the little bug ended on Thursday night, but we've continued to battle with getting it all out of her system. She hasn't been her normal, happy self but I'm hoping she will be back to normal soon! She was a trooper and managed to tough it out through Julien's party...as any good little sister would do!

Oh Yuck!

Addie got sick on the way home from The Bell Center yesterday and continued vomiting for six straight hours. She wouldn't take anything and even ice chips made her sick. Finally around 10:00, she was able to nurse a little and keep it down! She made it through the night without any problems, so hopefully this little bug is making it's way out of her system! Now, if I can just keep the rest of us from catching it! Thanks to Lysol and Clorox we should be o.k.!

Poor baby all snuggled in my bed. (Don't fret - between the video monitor, Julien, Chris and Me, Addie can't move without us seeing her...snuggling her in between the pillows is the only way to get her comfortable when she's not feeling well.)

Cookie Monster

My Auburn Fans

Julien and Chris are on the way to the Auburn game today. I really hate that I'm missing out. I tried to think of every way possible for me to go, but when it came down to it, I didn't see how I would get around nursing Addie in the middle of 80,000 screaming football fans. So, Addie and I are sitting this one out.

Oldie but goodie

Julien came running up the stairs with this toy in hand. He had dug through some boxes to find it for Addie. It was his when he was a toddler. He was so excited to show her how to stack them up and then knock them down...of course!

All done!

Julien was thoroughly excited about how much fun the night was. We went through the ritual of checking the candy (which will magically disappear from the house) and Addie (all refreshed from her nap) sat and watched intently...perhaps waiting for another M&M?
We had a great time tonight!

That's it?

Addie apparently was not impressed with the whole trick or treating business. She was happy just to have a nap. Right before she fell asleep, I let her try a mini M&M...Hmmm....wait a minute - could that be the magic sleeping pill I've been searching for?