We all had it. Me, Russell, my mom, my dad, Emma. All of us. The nasty, debilitating, energy-sucking, ice-pick-on-your-temples-headache-inducing, good-thing-we-have-more-than-one-bathroom stomach flu. Not THE flu. Oh, no. This is an evil creation of the devil for which there is no vaccine. And apparently no one is safe. It's going around.
My mom and dad, wise in their years (read: 60+), even said it's one of the worst they've EVER had. Luckily for me and Russell, the absolute worst of it started almost immediately when Emma was asleep last Wednesday night. I do not believe that God sends these things to torture us, but I do believe His presence is there - proven by the fact that there is absolutely no way that I or Russell could have changed some of these horrendous diapers while we ourselves were sick as dogs. All said and done, it pretty much takes you out of commission for a full five days. If Montezuma's revenge is something you contract in Mexico, this must be Sitting Bull's revenge, taken out on American civilization. Enough with the illness now - the only things left to discuss are the gory details. Oh, actually, I will say that Emma has been an absolute charm during the whole thing. Again, what a blessing in the midst of a storm.
Emma's speech is really taking off. Well, taking off for her, still really delayed for her age. This morning Russell got her out of her crib. When I walked in, the first thing she said to me was, "No!" I leaned in and she pointed to my nose. Then she pointed to my teeth - "Teeth!" "Eye!" Maybe she'll be a doctor...the first thing she wants to do in the morning is discuss anatomy. I should mention this to Dr. Troup; perhaps he could get her on a fast track to med school! We see him on Thursday to follow up on Emma's MRI. I'm not all that scared about this appointment because nothing's actually going to happen on Thursday...and if he had seen something that required immediate attention, we would already know it. I know that he won't recommend anything until at least April, so I feel like I can relax for a little while. Or maybe I shouldn't...isn't that when Hurricane Bad-Things-Happen-When-You're-Not-Looking usually hits?
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Piddly little MRI
Emma had her MRI on Friday afternoon, and she, of course, dealt with it all like a champ. We did our best the night before to stuff her like a little pig and keep her up as late as possible because she couldn't eat past midnight until the MRI was over around 3:00 Friday afternoon. Emma slept late and didn't fuss once about being hungry. She even went back to sleep for a 45 minute morning nap. I can't even remember the last time she took a morning nap - this is how I know God is watching over our little girl. Not just the big things, but the little things like lulling her to sleep so that she doesn't feel the hunger.
Anyway, Emma came through the MRI just fine, even with the breathing tube down her throat. She fared much better than she did after her last MRI in June - no choking, coughing, gurgling. Just kinda scared and not wanting to let go of Daddy. I fed her in the recovery room, and we were home by 5:00. It took some convincing to get the anesthesiologist to let her go home. Hospital protocol states that any child with sleep apnea must be admitted for overnight observation if he or she has been put under anesthesia. Thankfully, Emma's sleep specialist called in when he was paged late on a Friday afternoon to put the anesthesiologist's fears to rest...otherwise, we would have had to come home Saturday morning.
The hospital staff let Emma take Bun back with her. She loves on Bun when she goes to sleep, and he's very comforting to her. When we got back to Emma in the recovery room, Bun had apparently received an IV as well.
We will get the results of Emma's MRI on Feb. 2. Dr. Troup will tell us then when he's considering doing Emma's Chiari decompression. Unless her symptoms get drastically worse, the earliest she will have the surgery is probably April.
Emma continues to amaze us with her language development. Her most recent words are key, tools, three (or something similar), Leigh (my coworker), uh-oh, more, and bot (bottle). When I say recent, I mean in the last 4 days.
God has truly blessed us with answered prayers. Thank you to all of you who were praying for our baby girl on Friday. Our church family has simply been amazing in supporting us. Stephen, our pastor, came to the hospital on Friday and hung out with us during the MRI. Words just don't express the respect and adoration I have for that man. He feels like part of our family. Russell and I joke around with him like family, too - dangerous territory! Let's hope Stephen sticks around for another 40 years or so - his wisdom, humility, relatability, and, most especially, love for Christ, are exactly what I want my daughter to experience in a pastor as she grows up. And if we ever move away from Greenville, we fully expect Stephen and his wife Sylvia to move with us!
In closing, let's take a stroll down memory lane at how Emma was doing this time last year:
December 21, 2010
January 1, 2011, #1
January 1, 2011, #2
January 1, 2011, #3
January 1, 2011, #4
January 5, 2011
January 9, 2011
January 10, 2011
January 12, 2011
Anyway, Emma came through the MRI just fine, even with the breathing tube down her throat. She fared much better than she did after her last MRI in June - no choking, coughing, gurgling. Just kinda scared and not wanting to let go of Daddy. I fed her in the recovery room, and we were home by 5:00. It took some convincing to get the anesthesiologist to let her go home. Hospital protocol states that any child with sleep apnea must be admitted for overnight observation if he or she has been put under anesthesia. Thankfully, Emma's sleep specialist called in when he was paged late on a Friday afternoon to put the anesthesiologist's fears to rest...otherwise, we would have had to come home Saturday morning.
The hospital staff let Emma take Bun back with her. She loves on Bun when she goes to sleep, and he's very comforting to her. When we got back to Emma in the recovery room, Bun had apparently received an IV as well.
We will get the results of Emma's MRI on Feb. 2. Dr. Troup will tell us then when he's considering doing Emma's Chiari decompression. Unless her symptoms get drastically worse, the earliest she will have the surgery is probably April.
Emma continues to amaze us with her language development. Her most recent words are key, tools, three (or something similar), Leigh (my coworker), uh-oh, more, and bot (bottle). When I say recent, I mean in the last 4 days.
God has truly blessed us with answered prayers. Thank you to all of you who were praying for our baby girl on Friday. Our church family has simply been amazing in supporting us. Stephen, our pastor, came to the hospital on Friday and hung out with us during the MRI. Words just don't express the respect and adoration I have for that man. He feels like part of our family. Russell and I joke around with him like family, too - dangerous territory! Let's hope Stephen sticks around for another 40 years or so - his wisdom, humility, relatability, and, most especially, love for Christ, are exactly what I want my daughter to experience in a pastor as she grows up. And if we ever move away from Greenville, we fully expect Stephen and his wife Sylvia to move with us!
In closing, let's take a stroll down memory lane at how Emma was doing this time last year:
December 21, 2010
January 1, 2011, #1
January 1, 2011, #2
January 1, 2011, #3
January 1, 2011, #4
January 5, 2011
January 9, 2011
January 10, 2011
January 12, 2011
Monday, January 16, 2012
Get up, stand up!
Baby girl is learning how to stand on her own! (I had to take this video from my phone, so it's really small. You may want to click on the link at the bottom of the video that says "YouTube." It will take you to the video on YouTube. Once you're there, you can make it even bigger by clicking on the larger rectangle on the lower right hand corner right below the video or by clicking the icon with the corners outlined.)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Best Friends
Ok, well, maybe not BEST friends. But they're getting there. Lola and Emma are really enjoying each other's company more and more. And Lola is super sweet to Emma. Lola enjoys placing her toys on Emma's lap so that Emma can throw them. Lola then takes the 2 steps' distance to retrieve the toys that Emma has done her best to throw a long way and places them in Emma's lap again. I personally think this is really sweet of Lola because typically, the farther you throw a toy, the more she loves it. Her little doggie mind knows to humor Emma, though.
The next big moment that Lola and Emma shared was feeding time. We just leave Lola's dog food in her bowl all the time, but she only eats twice a day probably. One of these times just happened to fall when Emma thought the dog food bowl looked particularly interesting. Emma helped her eat (and tried to sample some herself), but she eventually got tired of it, hugged Lola, and went on her merry way. This video is a little long (3 minutes), so either don't watch it or have a seat.
The next big moment that Lola and Emma shared was feeding time. We just leave Lola's dog food in her bowl all the time, but she only eats twice a day probably. One of these times just happened to fall when Emma thought the dog food bowl looked particularly interesting. Emma helped her eat (and tried to sample some herself), but she eventually got tired of it, hugged Lola, and went on her merry way. This video is a little long (3 minutes), so either don't watch it or have a seat.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Fatigued Friday
Re: title of the blog - I was desperate for some alliteration.
Sometimes you're just so tired from dumping out all your toys that you have to take a moment to lie down on your buddy Betsy's lap.
Sometimes you're just so tired from dumping out all your toys that you have to take a moment to lie down on your buddy Betsy's lap.
Monday, January 9, 2012
MRI Update
Just got the call - Emma's MRI is scheduled for next Friday at 1:00. This means that she can't eat for like, 8 hours prior to that. Does anyone want to trade mommy duty with me that day?
This means that there are 3 additional appointments associated with this MRI. Oh, and it also means that I feel sick to my stomach. I'm so scared of them putting that breathing tube down my sweet baby's throat and her having such a hard time breathing and swallowing for who knows how long when they take it out.
And then there are the MRI results. Something tells me that Dr. Troup is going to try to do Emma's Chiari decompression in the next six months. I don't know why I feel that way...Emma's symptoms are not getting any worse, she's progressing in all sorts of ways. But I just think that he's going to say, "It's time. It has to be done, and now's as good a time as any."
God watched over our precious one in June for her last MRI, and I know He will be in that room with her again. Trust, trust, trust is my mantra for the next two weeks.
Now for some pictures to cheer myself up. Emma snuggled up with me in the bed yesterday afternoon to wind down before her nap, and she fell asleep like this:
Once she woke up from her nap, we browsed for a new dining room table. Emma found a recliner (and it actually reclines with the footrest and everything) that's just right for her.
This means that there are 3 additional appointments associated with this MRI. Oh, and it also means that I feel sick to my stomach. I'm so scared of them putting that breathing tube down my sweet baby's throat and her having such a hard time breathing and swallowing for who knows how long when they take it out.
And then there are the MRI results. Something tells me that Dr. Troup is going to try to do Emma's Chiari decompression in the next six months. I don't know why I feel that way...Emma's symptoms are not getting any worse, she's progressing in all sorts of ways. But I just think that he's going to say, "It's time. It has to be done, and now's as good a time as any."
God watched over our precious one in June for her last MRI, and I know He will be in that room with her again. Trust, trust, trust is my mantra for the next two weeks.
Now for some pictures to cheer myself up. Emma snuggled up with me in the bed yesterday afternoon to wind down before her nap, and she fell asleep like this:
Once she woke up from her nap, we browsed for a new dining room table. Emma found a recliner (and it actually reclines with the footrest and everything) that's just right for her.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The really good stuff
Emma is a pro at unwrapping presents. She totally gets that paper is meant to be torn haphazardly and that every piece of paper must be removed from the item underneath. She totally gets that tissue paper must be pulled out of gift bags and that it must be tossed aside with gusto. She totally gets that presents are usually at the bottom of gift bags and all tissue paper must be removed first. My heart will forever be warmed by the memories of her second Christmas that was filled with so much hope and childhood fun.
A little bit at a time
So, so much has happened since the last time I blogged - what a busy Christmas season we've had! I may have to break everything up into smaller bits. I'll start with Emma's visit to see Santa. She waited in line like a champ:
Once we got to actually see Santa, Emma wasn't too sure about him...but he was the BEST Santa! We got some really great shots of her and Santa. She really looked like a big girl, and it made me a little sad.
In fact, Emma has done a lot of things over the break that have made me just a little bit sad yet VERY excited at the same time. Emma is now drinking out of a sippy cup without me having to cut a bigger hole or anything. It's a very specific type of cup, but I went ahead and stocked up on them. She now says "cute" when we ask her if she's cute. She has started a few new sounds (doe-doe-doe-doe and doo-doo-doo-doo-doo, which I'm sure will be repeated in a very inopportune place). Emma likes creamed spinach. Thank goodness, a vegetable other than green beans. When Lola barks, Emma occasionally holds up her pointer finger, shakes her head, and says (calmly), "No." The best is when she does this with a completely serious look on her face like she absolutely means business.
Ok, that's enough bragging for now. Our baby girl got only her second haircut ever! My mom is great about trimming her bangs, and we've been letting the rest of her hair grow out. I finally decided it was time for a haircut because the straight hair on the top of her head was covering up the stunningly gorgeous ringlets at the bottom of her hair. What was that I said about no more bragging? These ringlets couldn't be more perfect than if I had curled them with a large-barreled curling iron. Things didn't start out so well, but she was making faces at herself in the mirror by the end. I'm so thankful my mom was there, wearing all black and covered in blonde hair, to hold Emma while I took pictures.
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