Where'd my LITTLE girl go?!

It seems like you turn around once and your child has aged noticeably...today Abigail has started the "W questions" in earnest. Example: We were driving home from the pharmacy today... A: "What are you doing?" Me: "Driving." A: "Why?" Me: "So we can go home." A: "Why go home?" ...etc ~ At lunchtime, she picked up her used napkin, wrinkled her nose, and said "Pee-yew! That's stinky!" And this afternoon, she wanted something but I wanted to finish the sentence I was reading -- so she impatiently tapped my shoulder and said, "Hey!" and repeated her request. It's like they wake up in the morning and have suddenly learned a month's worth of stuff during one night's sleep!

Being like Grandpa

I just love this picture and wanted to share it...

My new buddy

Everyone is picturing a big monster when I mention my new heart monitor, so I thought I'd post a picture so you can see what it looks like. It's pager-sized, but round. There are two leads, with one electrode on my lower left rib cage and one just below my right collarbone. I have to wear it 24/7 except to shower, when I'll snap the leads off and shower with the electrodes on! The kids really want to push the buttons for me...can you picture this?!

It felt rather weird to be sitting in a waiting room where I was at least thirty years younger than everyone else there...sigh! But I am glad to be doing something about figuring out what is causing these episodes, so I shan't complain...

My turn for adventures

Lest you think we have been sitting around behaving like normal people, I thought I'd post a quick update here...I was admitted to the hospital on Sunday afternoon because I was having an irregular heartbeat, lightheadedness, chest pain and pressure...this has happened off and on for the last year and I've been meaning to get it checked out (no lectures from anyone, thank you!) but Sunday's attack was much more prolonged and painful than any of the others have been. I popped over to urgent care, but my health history combined with an abnormal EKG got me an escort (i.e. ambulance!) to the hospital. Long story short, they admitted me overnight and gave me old-person things :-) like nitro and aspirin and kept an eye on me. CT scan and echocardiogram of my aorta came back normal and I go tomorrow to get wired up to a 24/7 heart monitor that I have to wear for a month or so to try to record one of these episodes and hopefully figure out the cause...I go to a hematologist week after next... Abigail's head, neck, chest, etc is currently covered with a fiery red rash that we got checked out today -- the doctor thinks it is related to the virus she just had and we have a steroid cream to rub on to try to relieve the rash...one of her ears has some fluid that we have to watch over the next couple of weeks... 'Boring' sounds really fun; I'd like to try it sometime!!! My parents, who were almost halfway home to Florida on Sunday, turned around and came back when I acted up...but they're headed back again today and I am being kind enough to let them get all the way there this time. :-) We had a great visit over Abigail's birthday, though, and it is nice to know we'll get to see them in a few weeks for David's birthday, too!

More of Abigail's 3rd birthday

Abigail's 3rd birthday

Abigail's birthday party

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Here is a video of Abigail with her cake -- in the video, she tells how old she is, sings her rainbow song, and signs "rainbow" and "colors". Unfortunately, she was sick and in pretty rough shape, which you can see on her face on several of the pictures, and which is why her voice is so hoarse on the video...but she still enjoyed all of the festivities!

She loved opening gifts, and every dress she opened got an "Ooooohh! A dress!"...she is our girlie-girl! She got two new "Winnie the Coo" videos (she can say "pooh" just fine, but according to her, Winnie is a "Coo"!), and several other fun things, all of which she thoroughly enjoyed! Thanks, everybody...

(More birthday pictures in our photo gallery)

Happy 3rd birthday, Abigail!

I can't believe my baby girl is three!!!

I will try to post more pictures later today...but this is one of her right after she woke up this morning, when we gave her a new bike...

Planting blueberries

...a picture of David and Abigail in front of the four blueberry plants we put in this past weekend (no, you can't really see the plants in the picture). It will be two years before they produce, but David, not to be deterred, checks them daily to see if they have blueberries yet! David also wanted me to make sure that I point out to everyone the new rake he got. :-)

Birthday presents from Peru!

Today the kids had hearing checks (both kids were pretty much stable) and so we got to see RaDora, who just returned from a week of hiking in the mountains of Peru. Since the kids' birthdays are both imminent, their beloved Miss RaDora brought them each a baby-llama-wool hat from Peru -- they are so cute! And as you can see from the looks on their faces, the kids love them and were very happy to show them off for the picture. We are glad RaDora's back safe and sound, and very impressed that she made the whole hike carrying her own pack -- this lady is no wimp. :-)

Below is an up-close picture of the hats -- all of you knitters would love to examine them --

they are very intricate and well-made!

Double-date

Last night Bruce and I went with our dear friends Rodney and Greta to a Josh Groban concert -- we had an awesome time! Besides the concert being great, it was wonderful to spend time with friends and even get to finish whole conversations. :-) Thanks for going with us, Rodney and Greta -- we love you guys!

Pizza and popcorn night

We try to have Friday nights be our pizza and popcorn night -- David helps me make the pizza and the kids and I eat it; then when Bruce gets home, he makes the popcorn for the rest of us to have while he eats his pizza (he doesn't like popcorn...can you imagine life without popcorn?!). We all watch the kids' choice of a video, do lots of snuggling, and let the kids stay up a little later than usual. The kids look forward to Friday night all week long (so do the grownups :-)! Just thought we'd share some pictures of this special night.





...Can you guess why Baker gets so snuggly with the kids on popcorn night?!

Our little gymnasts

Here are a few pictures of David (learning how to do a cartwheel, learning a trick on the bar, and doing a straddle roll all by himself) and one of Abigail and David out in the lobby "practicing" together in between their classes. I didn't get any pictures of Abigail because I ended up going out on the floor to spot her so that the teacher could give other kids the attention they needed when it was their turn...but Abigail did great, even better than I expected. It sure was a left-side workout for her -- GREAT therapy! -- it took tons of concentration on her part, but she even managed to do the monkey trick on the bar (holding on with both hands and both feet and then hanging there) all by herself! When she got down, she did "Ta-da" and then turned around to see my reaction -- the look on her face was absolutely priceless -- she knew she had done something amazing! Her eyes were sparkling and her smile was huge. She was beautiful!

What a gift...

It is overcast this morning and is supposed to start raining soon...but it's bright and cheerful (though not always peaceful!) inside our home. My heart has been full this morning -- full of gratefulness and joy over the gifts I have been given, those of my husband and children and home...it brings me such fulfillment to be buzzing around here tidying up and tending to those I love most. I am so grateful for what I have been given...and thought I would share it!

Happy birthday, Shannon

Happy 30th birthday, Shannon!

...and I haven't even sent a card...what a delinquent friend I am!

Sorry to have dropped the ball --

I seem to be functioning a week or two (or more) behind lately...

Anyway, happy birthday!

(I hope I'm not in trouble for posting the number -- I don't know about you, but I'm excited about hitting this milestone! No more "spring chicken" cracks from people!)

Viruses, physical therapy, and pillowcases!

Well, it has been the week of the virus for us. David had it over the weekend, then I came down with it, then Abigail...today is the first day that I think we are finally headed toward better instead of worse! At least we got the cold virus and not the throwing-up virus -- both are going around and I much prefer runny noses!

Abigail had her PT evaluation today and has "graduated" from weekly PT -- how far this little girl has come in the last year! She will just go back in six months for a "check-up". It's always exciting to have her improve so much and yet a little sad not to see our friends every week -- because our therapists do become like our extended family!

The pictures of the kids are of them with their new pillowcases from their Grandma Minota and Great-Grandma O'Gorman -- each one has their name and a coordinating picture embroidered on the border edge -- they were SO excited to get a package that said "To: David and Abigail" and also to have new pillowcases. They had to use them right away for rest time on the couch, and Abigail actually fell asleep on hers (it was while she was sick -- that's the only time she will sleep anywhere but bed!). On a side note, the quilt she is covered with was made by Abigail's great-great grandmother, made for me when I moved to a "big-girl bed". Cool, huh?! ...and David is just pretending to sleep on his. :-)

Sunday school verses

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Abigail has started getting excited about memorizing her Sunday school verses, and we think she's very cute! :-) We especially love her southern-belle pronunciation of "good"!

(Translation: "Jesus went about doing good" and "The Lord is good")

Spring yardwork begins

David came down with a respiratory virus on Friday, so we had to cancel yesterday's dinner plans with friends of ours, which was a bummer. But the weather was gorgeous and so we had a nice day nonetheless -- lowkey and puttering around outside. Bruce got our two big leaf-piles transferred to the garden and spread lime, fertilizer, etc, on the yard. I washed both vehicles, filled birdfeeders, etc, and the kids just played, "helped", and lazed around nearby.

This picture is of a big moment for Abigail -- unlike her brother, who loved anything with an engine since his earliest days, she has always been petrified of the lawn tractor, but yesterday she consented to her first ride on my lap and then spent a while riding in the trailer. Every time I suggested stopping, she would tell me "Again! More tractor rides!" (...on a side note, I rode in the trailer with that same stars and stripes pillow when I was a kid...now my kids are riding with it...what fun!)

Molly's hibernation

For those of you cat-lovers out there (and surely even you non-cat people think this picture is cute), here is a picture of Molly in her winter hideout, which happens to be the beanbag chairs stacked behind the entertainment center. In her cozy nook, she is safe from marauding children and dogs!!!

Is the picture the essence of 'feline' or what?!

Something new and fun for David

Yesterday David had his first gymnastics class -- we enrolled him in a short-term class -- and he LOVED it! His LVAS has affected his balance since our earliest memories (long before we knew he had LVAS), and many with LVAS have found gymnastics to be really beneficial in regards to the related balance difficulties. And besides, it's something fun and physical for the kid who stands on his head and then walks up the wall at least a dozen times a day, and whose favorite video-watching position is upside down on some part of the couch!

It was good for me to be able to observe how he interacted with the teacher (he far exceeded my expectations as far as paying attention and following instructions -- does he ever listen to me that well?!) and with the other kids in the class.

After seeing what it was like and being very impressed with the teacher, we went ahead and enrolled Abigail for the rest of this month as well -- although her LVAS doesn't interfere with her balance, it will be great therapy for her CP issues. And besides, she is very into prancing, twirling, jumping, etc, so she'll love it. When David's class was over, she announced, "Now Abigail's turn on that!" (i.e. the mats and equipment) She'll be pleased to have her very own class next week, and I will be sure to share pictures.

Today's characters

Today they are SuperPig and Bunny Rabbit...

I am so enjoying watching their imaginations soar!!!

They wanted Baker to be dressed up as a cat,

but Baker just pulled off his costume and tried

to eat it...so he's not allowed to play anymore!

3/2/07 Hearing update

Just realized that I didn't post Friday's hearing check update -- David's hearing was pretty much stable and Abigail had an across-the-board loss in both ears. Next hearing check in a couple of weeks.

David and Abigail say "Happy birthday, Olivia!"

"Elmo"s and "Eyebrown"s

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Abigail recently added a few new body parts to her vocabulary

and two of them are pronounced very uniquely --

we thought you might enjoy hearing them!

Two adorable ballerinas

Yesterday was the first time that David and Abigail really played together using their imaginations -- they both dressed up in ballet outfits (I should have gotten a picture of them showing the costumes -- it was a riot) and played for almost two hours, dancing, taking naps (that's what's happening in the picture), going shoe shopping, and calling each other "Julia"...it was so much fun to listen to them!

~

...David told me that he wants to wear his beautiful dress for Uncle Jared's wedding...I suggested that perhaps U. Jared would want him to wear a fancy suit to match the other guys...! :-)