15-11

Another basketball victory for our team! I can't say today was a good game, because the boys struggled through the entire time.
Regardless, we won and we move on to the last regular game of the season Wednesday night.

Another Happy Belated Birthday to me!

Chris, Monkey and I had dinner tonight with friends at Sumo. Monkey (and Jackson) loved watching the fish swim around in the little pond while we were waiting for our table. Mommy loved Daddy being on fish duty...it's nice to rest the back every once in a while!

We had a nice, relaxed time and was able to catch up with friends that we haven't seen in a very long time.

Thanks guys for the great dinner, we had a wonderful time!

Watching her Daddy

Monkey is taking it easy this morning by sitting at the window and watching her Daddy cut the grass. Every time Chris stops the lawnmower to empty the bag, Monkey turns to me and starts clapping.
What a good little cheerleader!

Year two

Today marks the second year since I allowed myself to make our lives public and introduce you all into our "Wait and See World".

I started to read back through that post so that I could give a complete update on where we are today. I couldn't do it. Some days I can read the post, other days I can't.

All I can say right now is that our family is blessed everyday with a joy greater than anyone can imagine. I am honored to have this life that I have and I am unbelievably fortunate for the prayers that continue for Addie and our family.

Our God continues to bless our family and heal Addie beyond what anyone could have ever imagined. I am meant to tell this story, a thousand times over.

As if I needed a reminder, while I was typing this, Addie called out for me - she was crying for me - "Momma". According to "them", she should have never spoken that word.

Thank God for each miracle, we see them every day!

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

My birthday was on Sunday, but we didn't get a chance to catch up with my family until tonight! Monkey and I were so sick on Sunday that we couldn't meet for dinner. I think we're all trying to recover from some kind of germ infestation or another! Thanks for the food, gifts and fun!

***Blog is under construction***

I think the blog is mostly finished with the minor changes that I wanted. Diana at Custom Blog Designs helped me get this all together. Which means, I told her what I wanted and she did all the hard work!

I am grateful that she lives in Illinois, because I have this nagging feeling that she would roll my front yard tonight for payback for all the nitpicky baby whinin' over the last two weeks!
:)
The view from our computer at home versus other places is a bit different as far as color and the look of the size of the template, so it may take a little to get used to the new look.

Diana was fantastically helpful (and quick) and I'm sure I will be contacting her again soon for more changes!

Monkey's photo shoot!

Monkey's big photo shoot for Birmingham Parent Magazine was this morning.

When we walked in, Monkey was all smiles. Totally using her sweet face and baby blue eyes to lure everyone into her web...and then she struck! As soon as I put Monkey down, she started fussing and crying and throwing a fit - in case you didn't know, there is an invisible shield that surrounds Monkey. As long as I am holding her, the shield is tougher than kryptonite, but when I put her down, the shield is destructively ruined and her mood just falls to pieces!

It took Chris, the photographer, the assistant and me to get Monkey through the session. We had to play with baby, puppy, maracas and bubbles. We had to feed her fruit snacks, sing, clap and give lots of praise, but by golly, we got the cover shot!

I was left apologizing profusly for Monkey's mood, but in the end, we accomplished what we set out to do.

I found out from the editor that the article has been submitted, but is longer than "allowed" (I guess) and so it will have to be shortened. I have no idea what the article says and I just pray that God grants the words for the article that will glorify HIM and educate as many people as possible about Monkey's diagnosis.

Everything is out of my hands now, I just have to wait for the March addition!

I can't wait to see the proofs of the session today. Monkey did look beautiful!

ENT update

We took Monkey back to see Dr. Davis today. After her really tough weekend, I didn't expect anything less than what we walked away with.

We changed to antibiotic number four (since December) to hopefully clear up this terrible cough and sinus infection.

We also are being scheduled for a sleep study in March. The nurse will call me soon to give me the exact date. I am not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.

Dr. Davis also brought another little fact to my attention. When "typical" children have their tonsils and adenoids removed, they pretty much see a world of difference - as I did with Julien. With special needs children, it is a completely different ball game. Monkey has a much smaller sinus cavity, mouth, throat, ears, etc...and we have no guarantee that we won't continue to have problems. It is a continuation of our never ending Wait and See World.

So, for now, I will focus on getting Monkey well and put the sleep study to the back of my mind. I'm not going to worry about it until it gets here.

Poor Monkey.

Monkey and Mommy...so, so sweet

One year earlier (click here)...




So sweet!

One year earlier (click here)...

I think this is my favorite Monkey picture!


Lots of lovin'


More Monkey!







More of Addie and her Daddy


Just more of us!



Can anyone else relate?

OTC cough medicine and I don't mix well together! Good thing Chris is driving for us this morning; apparently I didn't sleep off the 2 tsp of dextromethorphan polistirex in my system from last night! Being sick stinks!

My, what big eyes you have!

Finally...

back in Mommy's arms!

(Still more pictures to come...my CRNP and I had a nice little chat today that involved three Rx's and a much needed shot. I'm exhausted. I'll get the rest of the pictures uploaded soon.)

I surrender!

Fine, take another 200 pictures, just pick me up already!

"Pat the Bunny"


Why so serious, Monkey?

Monkey was not amused. :)

The magic bunny

The bunny must have magical powers that induces large amounts of static electricity upon a Monkey's touch!

My Baby Boy

Julien was skipping stones on the water while he was waiting on us to finish a few shots with Monkey. He didn't know that Kim took this picture. I love it!

Squishes!

Man oh man, does he love her!

Always the protector!


Rotten little Monkey!


Addie and her Daddy


We're baaack!

We are back and absolutely exhausted!

We came home to my Baby Boy who was absolutely perfect while we were gone and to one very sick little Monkey.

My sister called as we were nearing the end of the festivities yesterday to tell me that Monkey had a really high fever and was sick. One more dance, a bite of cake to keep from being rude, a hug for the bride, a change of clothes and we were on our way back home.

No sleep for us last night, but Monkey is resting now. Thank you all for your prayers for our safe trip! It is so good to be back home!

A little look

into our pictures from Kim. Once again, she has managed to take some beautiful pictures! Thank you for all you do Kim! More to follow...

For those so dear to my heart

over at Loading Dock South

A selfish little prayer

Chris and I will be traveling without our babies for the first time. We are just absolutely sick over the decision. I would go into all the details, but it really doesn't matter. We made the decision and know that we have to put our faith and trust in God to watch over our family.

I'm not a Mom that needs time away from my babies. I cherish the time with them and know that all too soon, they will be grown and I will have all the time I need to myself. I don't know how I will actually get in the car without them. This is driving me just crazy!

Please keep us in your prayers this weekend. Please pray for us to have a safe trip and to come home safely to our babies this weekend.

We will have a whole army full of people watching over our babies and kitties. I know they will be well taken care of until we get back.

I am so not ready for this...

25-10

Yet another win for our team! Since we are undefeated, we have officially made it to tournament. These boys are just fantastic!

Another awesome gift!

Jackson and Kelly made this amazingly cute painting for Monkey for her birthday. They came by tonight to hand deliver it. This is perfect, thank you!!!

Pictures of the day!

We are blessed beyond words!
In response to my post about the slip covers for Monkey's walker, a perfectly, wonderful co-worker offered to make them for Monkey. Since I do good just to sew a button on, I don't have a clue how to make things. I went into the fabric store, picked out a few different fabrics, grabbed a few odds and ends, threw it all into a bag and pitifully took it to this amazing lady!

I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out! There really are no words at how truly grateful I am for her generosity. God definitely puts people in my path to bless us and help us along.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your hard work to make these perfect for Monkey! I can't wait to show off the other two!

Omnicef

is our friend!

So, this makes round three of antibiotics since December. Good grief. We go back to see Dr. Davis early next week to see if we are still going to continue with the waiting game or what our other options are.

Apparently, Chunky Monkey can't be off antibiotics without getting a miserable URI. I'm hoping the Omnicef kicks in fast and brings some relief, to both of us!

Loving every minute of it!

So, Monkey embarrassed me terribly during dinner at Jim N Nicks. She fussed, she threw her food, she dropped her crayons, pulled her shoes and socks off and was just a little mess.

Monkey embarrassed me while shopping at Sew What Graphics when she reached over and pulled dress after dress off the rack.

Monkey had to let everyone at dinner tonight know that she was in the restaurant. She wanted to say "hi" to everyone and expected everyone to say "hi" back. She talked constantly with the man in the booth behind us, then insisted that she get out of her highchair so that she could get closer to his family. She stood up on the seat and showed them E.R. Baby, she gave Baby to them to look at and said "hi" again and again until I finally had to pass her over to Chris just so that the family could eat in peace.

You know what all this means? Anyone?

Monkey - MY Monkey - is acting like a typical two year old. Isn't that "functioning like a normal child"? Not like I'm trying to be snarky or anything...

It's even too cold

for Thomas. Normally, in the mornings, our kitties like to go out to the sun porch to look at the birds and "play" with the neighborhood cats through the glass. Uh-huh, not today. Thomas refused to go out. Instead, he claimed the kitchen chair, right over the vent.

Little vampire

Warning! Hey Mom, yes, I'm talking to you Mother...skip over this post!

Ugh, Monkey had an unexplained vampire moment. Chris, Monkey and I were out trying to take care of some of the last wedding errands. In order to keep Monkey happy, I was giving her Chex to snack on. I would hand her a piece and wait for her to "ask" for more. A few pieces into the routine, she was making a different sound unlike her "more" sound. I turned around and looked at her and coming out of both sides of her mouth was blood. I swear she looked like a little vampire after a feeding! I quickly threw my seat belt off and told Chris to pull over. I grabbed a wipe to clean off Monkey's hand and face and did a thorough search of both. I even told Monkey to open her mouth - which she did - so that I could examine all possible body parts. NOTHING. Hmmm. I'm not sure if she bit her cheek or if maybe a corner of the Chex caught on her gums, but there was quite a bit of blood.

I'm going to have to keep an extra eye on her during daylight hours...just to make sure she doesn't start having sensitivity to sunlight!

I don't know who was prouder!

I don't know if it was Monkey or me.

Monkey wants so much to push her babies in the stroller and we have attempted this many times before. This afternoon, she did a fantastic job! As long as we were on the carpet, she slowly made her way along. We found out quickly that if we made it to the tile or hardwood that things turned ugly fast! I would just help Monkey back up, turn around and try it again.

I thought my heart was going to explode, I was so happy for Monkey, she is so proud!!!







Happy Birthday C'Jay and MK!

Today we celebrated C'Jay and MK's Birthdays! We met family at Pump It Up and had a really good time! C'Jay and MK appeared to have a fantastic time and from the look of all the other sweaty little kids, a good time was had by all.

Julien missed this party. :(

I wasn't sure if Monkey would play or not, but as soon as we walked in, Brian took Monkey into the jumpy thingy and that's all it took! Next thing, Monkey wanted to go on the slide again and again and again and then back into the other jumpy thingy to play basketball with Brian. Whew!

Monkey showed off her walker and did an amazing job walking and was on the verge of running! I was so proud of her, she wanted to just get in on the fun with everyone else!






















And so it went a little something like this...

This conversation took place between a husband and a wife.


Wife: All of our friends are having another baby.

Husband: I know.

Wife: So...

Husband: Do you really want to have your stomach all smooshy and fat again after having another baby?

Do you think the husband will ever find his way out of the doghouse? I'm sure he meant it in a way as to say that his wife now has a lovely flat stomach, but seriously!

So we were both wrong...

Big deal. I may be a brat about a lot of things, but when I'm wrong, I'll admit it.


Remember way back when...I got the letter in the mail from the geneticist? They were so kind as to go ahead and lay out Monkey's future for us. Remember?

The lovely geneticists and I both missed the mark when it came to Monkey walking. Their prediction was between 18-21 months, I was hoping for sooner.

I don't know why I thought of this, it was just one of those light bulb moments while in the shower. It didn't upset me, it was more of a, "wow...months have passed and it didn't occur to me" moments.

Had I known two years ago that Monkey wouldn't be walking by her second birthday, I think it would have devastated me. At this point, I'm fine. It hurts to see her sit by and watch as all of her friends run around, but I'm just so grateful and blessed to have Monkey...just the way she is.

Woo hoo!

Julien made honor roll...again, of course.

I left work in the freezing cold, drove like mad, braved the ice in the parking lot, finally managed to get a parking spot in the grass by the playground, went inside to sign in and get my "approved" sticker and parked my bottom on the oh so comfy lunch room chair right before the assembly started. Whew!

I love my Baby Boy and he makes me so incredibly proud!

(What doesn't make me proud is my inability to take a good picture inside the lunch room - I think they have some sort of alpha ray Canon blocker)


Raising my blood pressure!

In the midst of my incredibly busy schedule, I forgot to mention that Julien's basketball team won their game last week 30-11. It was a good game and Julien helped his team out by scoring 6 of the 30 points. Woo-hoo!

BUT

Tonight, their basketball game was just awesome! They ended up walking away with a 21-20 win and they had to fight for every last point they got. Julien, once again, scored 6 of the 21 points and did a great job. Everyone on our team did a great job and as much as I don't like to admit it, the boys on the opposing team did awesome as well. It was just one of those games where you walk away so proud, knowing that we didn't run all over someone...we earned the win!

Great job guys! I'm so proud of you Julien!

(No pictures. Yes, I'm a bad Mom, but it's really hard to juggle a camera and a snack-eating Monkey while watching my Baby Boy play ball. Next time...)

Sneak peek...

Bless Kim for tolerating my harassment, I'm not very good at the waiting game, so she sent me a little sneak peek.... :)

I like this picture and my husband looks really hot. This is a good visual reminder of why I agreed to marry him in the first place!

Notice that Addie never passes up a moment to give lovins'?

Julien was in a great mood and willing to do whatever Kim ask him to. Man, I love him!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kim for all you do!

I should have the rest of the pictures soon...

Could it be any cuter?

We came home to a little surprise waiting for Addie!

Matt, Jenn, Graham, Isabelle and Owen bought Addie the cutest t-shirt in the entire world! I can't wait to see Addie in it for the first time. Isabelle even picked out the card for Addie - a musical card that plays, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Addie loved it and danced and danced to the music!

Thanks for the perfect gift, we appreciate it!


Celebrating Nine Years!

My sweet girl had a very busy day! We spent the day by having lunch at one of Addie's favorite restaurants, then I took her s...