Happy First Birthday, Sarah (and other events)

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

So, This blog post is a long time coming but, oh my goodness, was October busy! I want to spend a minute to reflect on my little Baby Sarah and her first birthday that we celebrated on October 4. 

It was such a beautiful day and a perfect party! My parent’s allowed us to use their home since ours can get a bit cramped with lots of people inside.  We were so blessed to have so many of our family members there and so thrilled that my best friend, Puja and her husband Shu could make it, too.  We were surrounded by so many of the people we love the most and who clearly love Sarah and we enjoyed every moment of the event.  

We had a taco bar for food, which was very appropriate since Sarah woke up the morning of her birthday repeating a new word, “taco! taco!” She said it all day long.  Haha! We had cake, professional cookies made by a friend of mine, chips and salsa and my mom made a delicious rice and beans casserole. 

But, more about Sarah: on her first birthday, she had 4 teeth (three on the bottom and one on the top), stick straight blonde hair that is beginning to curl at the base of her neck and that covers her eyes in the front, and a smile that can slay any heart. 

she is such a happy baby and talks much more than any one would expect. She says probably 10 or so words already (taco, Luka, good boy, daht “that”, dada, mama) - so many that I can’t even recall them all - and is picking up new ones all the time. 

She loves to sing and, although she doesn’t know all the words, babbles out the recognizable melodies of songs as Maddie and I sing.  She is very clear with the melody of Frozen’s “let it go” and she really draws out the last word.  She is always telling us to “go go go”, giving us “mmmmwah!” kisses, announcing, “ta da!” and claps in excitement. She is a fast little crawler  and keeps up pretty well with her sister, but she is still only at the cruising stage of walking.  She has yet to take her first unassisted step, but she’ll get there. 

Sarah is a snuggle bug and loves to lay her head against your shoulder and sigh with comfort. And I can’t get enough of the way she giggles and leans in for kisses.  She is so affectionate and loves to be held and touched.  But don’t hold her too long! Because, like I said before, this baby likes to go go go! She will definitely let you know once she’s had enough and is ready to play again.

She loves to chase around our cat and crawls on top of Luka, our dog, to snuggle against his soft fur.  She is so gentle and loving with him and I really think they are going to be the best of friends. She also loves to point at everything and asks, “daht” — translation: “what’s that?” So, I tell her what everything is called before she then points to the next thing and repeats the process.  She is soaking it all in and learning for sure. 

She terrorizes her sister, but only because she ADORES Maddie.  When I drop Maddie off at pre-school, Sarah always points to Maddie’s seat and asks me in a cadence that I understand as, “where did Maddie go?” She plays well on her own, but would much rather sit along side her sister, whether Maddie likes it or not, and play with her toys. So, when Maddie isn’t around for a while and then she appears (like after nap time or when I pick her up from school), Sarah claps and smiles and immediately tries to crawl to Maddie.  And then, Maddie looks at me and says, “She’s happy to see you,” (she means that Sarah is Happy to see Maddie), which is what I tell Maddie every time we reunite.  

Maddie had been super busy this month with Awana Cubbies, preschool, Halloween festivities, the library programs…. It has been nonstop fun all month!

Maddie receiving an award for memorizing Bible verses at Cubbies

Maddie in her Awana vest

Maddie is really developing her personality, speaking more and more clearly, loves to sing and dance all the time and twirl if she’s wearing a dress/skirt.

Dressed up at school! 

At school, a few weeks ago, she was “special person” and had the opportunity to bring in her favorite toy for show and tell.  She was supposed to allow the class to guess what it was that she brought in, but she was too excited and yelled out, “mama minnie!” before bringing it around to shove in her classmates faces.  

It was adorable.  She also got to lead the pledge of allegiance while holding the flag and report what the weather was that day. 

Pledge of allegiance

Weather report

The next day, she got to bring home Dumbo, the class mascot, so we could have adventures with him and then report back about all of the fun stuff that Dumbo did with Maddie.  

Maddie is soaking everything up like a sponge and will repeat and remember everything you say! My favorite example of this was when we got in the car to go to Target and she said to me, “where are we going? We’re going shopping.” Then, in the same drawn out way I list things off, she said, “we have to get miiiiiililk, chicken nugeeeeetts…” It made me laugh.  And then, while at Target, yes in October, Maddie points and says, “look mommy. It’s Christmas over there. Silly Target.”  Hahaha! 

Maddie's first field trip to the pumpkin patch! 

We had a great time carving pumpkins together the day before Halloween

In other news, Phil recently ran a 5K race!!! Woohoo!! I am working on weaning Sarah from nursing, which has been emotional but going well.  Phil and I were able to spend a very nice afternoon together at the elgin symphony orchestra while Phil’s dad and some of his siblings babysat for us. 

We shared a really sweet moment and the music turned peaceful and we held hands. We took a sigh as the lights turned up for the intermission and a sweet old man leaned over to us and told us a story about his wife.  He told us to always remember the reasons we love and appreciate one another.  He was married to his wife for 54 years before she passed away 14 months ago and the only thing he never forgave her for was throwing out his nice hangers and buying cheap plastic ones.  I truly believe God sent him to us to lift us up in that moment.  It was so special, romantic, sweet, emotional, funny, heartbreaking and beautiful.  

Halloween night! 

Maddie's Minnie Mouse dress

Dressed up to go to a kid's Halloween party. Snow white and an apple

Alone time with Sarah; Maddie is off to school!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Today is Maddie’s 3rd day of school.  I can’t believe she is so grown up! She did such a good job last week when I dropped her off.  She went right in, put her backpack in her cubby, and sat down at the table and waited patiently for class to start.  And, when I checked on her a couple minutes later through the double sided mirror, she was participating: singing and dancing to head, shoulders, knees and toes.  I was so proud! And then came the moment when I turned around to walk out the door and leave her behind.  I held back tears (a few may have escaped), but I was overcome with emotion, thinking about how independent my little girl is. I thought about how she doesn’t need me as much as she used to and the fact that a season in our lives has passed.  She is no longer the little baby she once was, always home and playing with mommy, but she is now a pre-schooler, learning things from people other than me and experiencing life out of the confines of our home. I am so happy, proud and sad at the same time.  I tried so hard not to let time pass me by, but it did anyway. 

Maddie's first day of school!

She went right in and started playing.  She loves her classroom! 

I had a good plan, though, for the first day of school.  I kept reminding myself of how nice it will be to just have alone time with Sarah, so I said to Sarah, “It’s just you and me, now,” and I took her to the park for a solo run with her in the jogging stroller. The run really helped to take my mind off of Maddie not being with me, which also helped me keep the tears at bay.  Then, on Thursday (Maddie’s second day of school), Sarah and I went to Baby Story Time at the library alone together for the first time! It was so nice to be able to experience Sarah and be fully attentive to her smiling, clapping and excitement for the music.  She was such a little show-off. She kept crawling away from me to sit at the front of the class, turn around, and raise her hands up in the air with a big smile as though saying, “here I am!” She loved the attention and clapped and “talked” throughout the class.  

We spent a day apple picking a couple weeks ago.  It was a blast! 

Sarah loved all of the trees and Maddie really really loved picking the apples. 

She has become so talkative, just like her big sister! She mimics so much of what we say and it sometimes sounds like she says full sentences in her baby talk.  

They love each other...

...so much! 

Maddie is also excelling with her talking, too.  She thinks she is so funny.  Every morning when she wakes up, I ask her what she wants for breakfast and she’ll say, “mac and cheese,” or “a sandwich,” and then wait for me to react.  She knows these are lunch items, so she pauses then says, “ nooooo.  that’s silly.”  She is picking up so much from other places that I’ve never even said to her before.  The other day, I told her we were going to get coffee and she said, “swell. that’s wonderful.”  haha! 

Sweet Maddie in her new homemade skirt. 

Sarah is getting around and navigating tough terrain. She finds ways to crawl over, around and through all kinds of obstacles that I have in place to prevent her from getting to certain areas.  It makes keeping track of her very difficult.  She also just started pulling herself up this past week and does it in her pack n play and crib a lot.  EEK! She’s going to be walking around in no time and then I’m going to really be in trouble.  I can’t believe she will be a year old in just under 2 weeks! 

What a big, tall girl! 

Other quick updates (before I have to run off to pick Maddie up from school): 

• Sarah’s EEG came back normal!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!! The test itself went really well. She fell asleep and stayed asleep right when she was supposed to and Phil and I had a nice quiet time of reflection and prayer (and later a little light so we could read) while we waited for the test to be over. 
• Maddie started Cubbies through our Awana program at church last week.  She loves it and has been doing a really good job memorizing her verses.  She earned her vest and a green patch this week. 
  
• I finished my 20 mile race on Sunday! I am so grateful to Phil for his support and all the time he spent watching the girls while I trained.  

Well, Sarah is trying to get me and is telling me to get off the computer! So, I’ll have to end here.  

Another sewing project of mine: ready for the cooler weather (I guess....) 

Maddie's 3rd Birthday, Our Growing Girls, and Sarah's Seizure

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

My two little girls are growing up! Last week, I went to the park district to register Maddie for pre-school.  It was a surprisingly emotional experience for me as I worked through the excitement of having a few hours of time alone with just Sarah while Maddie is at school and sadness as I realized that Maddie is becoming more independent and won’t always be by my side every moment.  I know my job is to raise her up to go out into the world on her own, but I just didn’t expect her to be branching off so quickly.  

We had a picnic outside the Park District building the day that we registered Maddie for school

It was such a beautiful day, that I wanted to capture the moment

I wanted to capture this cuteness, too

Maddie turned 3 just a couple of weeks ago. We celebrated her actual birthday by taking a trip to Brookfield zoo. We had a lot of fun! Then we had cake and opened gifts back at home.  Maddie wanted to blow out her candles so badly that after every break in the birthday song, she leaned in to do it.  Haha! Poor Maddie didn’t know that we sing a million birthday songs! 

"...Fingers in the frosting, blow out the candles...."

My little lady on her 3rd birthday

She loved watching the dolphins swim

Daddy pointing out the monkeys to our 3-year-old. 

We also celebrated with a BBQ at Auntie Danielle’s house again this year. Danielle set up a couple of blow up pools and we had tons of food.  Family on both sides came and we had just a wonderful time. 

Celebrating 3 and 33 at the second annual joint birthday party extravaganza! 

And, it’s official, this three-year-old is potty trained!!! That was an experience… I must say that,thus far, potty training is my least favorite parenting duty. It was  eight days of pure torture while Maddie figured out what to do. She would hold her pee as long as she could (for hours and hours!) and just when we thought she was about to burst, she’d hold it longer.  We would wait with her next to the potty until finally!!!!!!! she would pee on the floor. right.next.to.the.potty.  ::sigh:: I swore off having more children so I wouldn’t have to go through this three times, I was about to throw my hands up in the air and give up when, all of the sudden, one day, it clicked! Maddie was all of the sudden a proficient pottier.  A few days later, she became comfortable going in public, too. and she has been doing outstanding ever since! We’ve had an accident here and there, but she’s a rockstar for the most part.  I’m so proud of her! 

Enjoying our time at the pool while it's hot. It's been such a short summer, but we were able to go a couple of times with Auntie Danielle and cousins, Menia and Brandon. 

It is just so fun to watch the different stages she goes through as she is growing up.  Right now, she loves to role play with dolls. Her favorites are her Minnies and Mickeys and her pluto. She plays with them for hours pretending one is sad, and giving it a hug, or that one is falling and needs help, or they simply need to have “rest time” and get under their blankets.  She also likes to have them go potty and “now they get a candy!” All day long, we hear, “Mommy? Daddy? Do you want to play?????” How can I say no to that sweet girl? She shares her toys well with Sarah, when she’s not trying to tip her over (hopefully this is a short phase), and I just love watching those two interact.  They love to mimic one another and see who can scream the loudest.  My poor ears. 

Attack of the sister!

Sarah, too, is growing by leaps and bounds! She is still a little girl at only around 17 pounds, but her brain is growing bigger and bigger every day! She repeats back new words all the time! She says “daah” when she sees our dog, Luka, and “dat” when she sees the cats.  Her clearest first word, though, is “baby”.  She was playing with one of Maddie’s baby dolls when I heard it slip out of her mouth and now she repeats it all the time. Last night, Phil was holding her and asking her to say all kinds of random words and she was actually repeating them (until I took out the camera, that is). And at Maddie’s birthday party, she said, “grandpa”!  My favorite thing she does, though, is what she says when she is having fun. I first witnessed this at the grocery store. Every time I would start pushing the shopping cart from a stop, Sarah would exclaim, “weeeeeee!” She does it in the swing, too, or just when having fun in general. She really is a talker and an all around happy baby! 

Oh, my heart. 

Sarah is so close to crawling.  She is moving around really well on the floor by scooting, getting onto her tummy and pushing her self backwards and rotating in circles.  She gets onto her hands and knees but doesn’t know how to move forward, yet, but it’s coming! 

Smiley Sarah during our zoo outing

And her fine motor skills are fabulous! She loves to self-feed and does a little baby sign language, too. she knows how to ask for milk, freqently tells me with her hands that she is “all done”, claps when I say, “good job,” and waves hi and bye. She also can shake her head, “no,” which is adorable because she kind of tilts it to the side when she does it, too.  It’s super cute.  It’s amazing how much she can comprehend and very apparent that she wants so badly to be able to move around and communicate with us. 

So, another thing about Sarah, which a lot of people have heard about already, is her seizure a few weeks ago.  It was the most terrifying experience of my life.  She had fallen backwards from a seated position and hit her head on the tile floor, but we thought she was fine. The neurologist doesn’t think the fall was related, but still, it wasn’t long afterwards when Sarah started acting strangely.  Phil was holding her in the backyard and her whole body began to slump over and she was staring off into the distance in a daze.  I brought her inside to try to nurse her to try to perk her up, but while nursing her, she stopped and started to drool from the side of her mouth.  She started staring off into the distance again, and that’s when her right leg started to shake.  I just looked at her in confusion for a few seconds and that's when her whole body went rigid, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and my tiny 10-month-old little baby started to convulse uncontrollably.  I was screaming to Phil, who was in the basement with Maddie, “Phil, Sarah’s having a seizure!” He ran upstairs, called 9-11 and the paramedics were there within minutes.  As soon as they flooded my tiny living room, I started to cry hysterically.  How could this be happening?! Sarah had stopped seizing by that point (it lasted about 2 minutes), and they checked her vitals which all were normal.  They still instructed us to go to the hospital, though, which we did right away. 

At the hospital, they checked all her vitals again and ordered a head CT to make sure there were no signs of trauma from her little fall.  The CT came back normal, but I will never forget that experience, either.  When I walked into the room with Sarah in my arms and saw the huge machine her tiny body would be put into, I broke down and cried.  I just kept thinking, “we shouldn’t be here,” and, “I can’t believe this is happening.” I wanted so badly to trade places with her, but all I could do was comfort her.  When they pushed her into the machine and turned it on, I laid my hand on her chest and sang quietly to her, “It is well with my soul,” we gazed into each others’ eyes with a peace and calm I have never experienced before. It was a beautiful moment to share with my daughter and remind ourselves through a hymn that God is with us through the storm. 

Upon leaving the hospital, we discovered that we had hundreds of people praying for us from our church! It was so encouraging and overwhelming to see the amount of people reaching out to us and lifting us up to God. Such a blessing.  

Since the one incident, Sarah has been acting completely like herself.  We have had a follow-up with our pediatrician and the neurologist, which both went well, and we have an EEG test scheduled for early September, which will monitor Sarah’s brain activity to make sure there are no electrical misfirings going on.  We are praying that the EEG is normal and that this truly was a one-time event.  

In other non-children news, Phil and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary this year! Danielle came to spend the night with the kids for us so that we could spend an evening alone. We stayed at a nearby hotel and ate over a pound of crab and lobster at Shaws crab house.  We had a really nice time and are so grateful for Danielle’s gift to us! 

Auntie sure is fun! 

Maddie after her Auntie and Menia slumber party (on her birthday, too). 

The garden isn’t doing super well this year… oh well.  But, I am running like crazy! I did 17 miles this past weekend and will be running a 20 mile race next month. 

After my 17 miler

So, it has been an eventful summer, that’s for sure! Thank you all for your prayers and for being such an encouragement to us through our excitement and our turmoil.  :)