Tiny Dancer started 1st Grade!
Next year, we are going to see about homeschooling. I'm nervous and excited. But enough about that - my little baby is a first grader. Say what?!
She's picking up reading, though she doesn't quite have the passion about it that I do. She definitely loves math. Maybe she will be my little math & science geek. ;)
I did a little interview with her. Here it is:
My favorite food is: Candy & Cauliflower
My favorite sport to play is: Baseball
The best show on television is: Spider-Man
The coolest person on Earth is: Addy & Aubrey & Makenna
My favorite thing about school is: Playing with my friends on the field
The thing I do the most awesomely is: Play with my friends
If I could change my name, it would be: Addy
If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d go to: Colorado (Addy’s house)
My favorite color is: Pink & Purple
My favorite toy is: Figurines & Barbies
When I grow up, I want to be: A teacher
My favorite movie is: Aladdin
My current favorite song is: My God’s Not Dead
My favorite book is: Aladdin
Three words that describe are: Girl, Redhead, I like dresses
When I was little, I used to: Play in my little brother’s bathtub
My favorite season of the year is: Spring
The snack I could live on is: Fruit snacks
One food I really don’t like is: Canteloupe
My best friend is: Aubrey, Makenna & Addy
If I had one wish, it would be: I want to be a princess
My best memory is: Going to Oklahoma
A lot of her answers are similar to her answers from 2012. She doesn't change too much! She is excited for school and being with her friends.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Strong Fighter
I haven't updated this blog since May 13th.
A lot has happened since then. A lot that I couldn't even begin to write at the time it was happening. School let out, and to celebrate some of us girls went to the Dine-In Theater to see The Fault in Our Stars. We had a really great night... but the next day, my sister (24.5 weeks pregnant) was hospitalized at Barnes Jewish Hospital due to the baby having Hydrops fetalis.
If you want to read Jonah's entire story, you can do so at my sister's blog here.
He was born on June 27, 2014 at 28 weeks gestation.
Jonah Donovan Naylor went to be with Jesus at 1:51 pm on July 4, 2014.
I have a hard time still accepting it. At times, it feels like a dream. Sometimes I'm just sad. Sometimes I'm angry. Sometimes the emotions are so much, I can't even pinpoint one. I know that I want my sister to stop hurting. I want Jonah back with us. I almost said "where he should be." Where I want him to be is more accurate. Where he should be is where he is. In heaven, with our creator. Whole and healed. Not struggling to breathe, or struggling to live.
This is the worst thing that has ever happened to our family. I miss a baby that I only knew for one week, but that we had all thought about, dreamt about, wondered about. I saw him move and open his eyes. I saw him try to cry when the nurses bothered him. I saw him in pictures, being held by his mommy & daddy, completely surrounded by love. I saw a miracle.
Sometimes it doesn't feel like a miracle. Sometimes I see babies or pregnant women and think why do they get to be healthy? Why couldn't Jonah be healthy too? Why didn't we get a miracle that saved his life?
I'm beginning to see we did experience a miracle. It just wasn't the miracle we wanted or prayed for. You see, Jonah was given a death sentence from the moment we arrived in that hospital on June 7th. That first night there, we heard the words "stillbirth" more than any pregnant woman should ever have to hear. They said there was nothing they could do. They'd monitor her. Hope she delivered a live baby. We prayed. Hard.
Things changed to "Well maybe we can try this... Maybe we can see if a intrauterine blood transfusion would work." We still heard bad things. "We will try this..... IF Jonah makes it through the night." "We will try this..... IF Jonah makes it through this procedure."
Well, Jonah made it through the night... and he made it through that first transfusion... and he made it through 5 more. Yeah, he was pretty much a rockstar. My sister is one too. And on the day they told us Jonah was coming, we heard a lot more negativity about draining fluid (very painful) and breathing tubes (that may not work). Jonah defied it all. He did it. He was born. He lived for 1 week... 9859 minutes he was here with us on Earth. They told my sister she may be able to hold him, MAYBE, at the end of his first week. She held him after just a few days.
It's hard because he was doing so well his first week here. But I see that now as time that was given to 2 parents that just prayed and wanted their baby to be here so badly. That went through a whole lot for a month to get him where he was.
So, you see, we did experience a miracle. He never should have been here. He never should have been held. He never should have had his first meal, he never should have opened his eyes. And that, my friends, is a true miracle. 1 week doesn't seem like enough, but oh is it so much sweeter than it could have been.
We will see you again one day soon, Jonah. Love you so much, strong boy.
A lot has happened since then. A lot that I couldn't even begin to write at the time it was happening. School let out, and to celebrate some of us girls went to the Dine-In Theater to see The Fault in Our Stars. We had a really great night... but the next day, my sister (24.5 weeks pregnant) was hospitalized at Barnes Jewish Hospital due to the baby having Hydrops fetalis.
If you want to read Jonah's entire story, you can do so at my sister's blog here.
He was born on June 27, 2014 at 28 weeks gestation.
Jonah Donovan Naylor went to be with Jesus at 1:51 pm on July 4, 2014.
I have a hard time still accepting it. At times, it feels like a dream. Sometimes I'm just sad. Sometimes I'm angry. Sometimes the emotions are so much, I can't even pinpoint one. I know that I want my sister to stop hurting. I want Jonah back with us. I almost said "where he should be." Where I want him to be is more accurate. Where he should be is where he is. In heaven, with our creator. Whole and healed. Not struggling to breathe, or struggling to live.
This is the worst thing that has ever happened to our family. I miss a baby that I only knew for one week, but that we had all thought about, dreamt about, wondered about. I saw him move and open his eyes. I saw him try to cry when the nurses bothered him. I saw him in pictures, being held by his mommy & daddy, completely surrounded by love. I saw a miracle.
Sometimes it doesn't feel like a miracle. Sometimes I see babies or pregnant women and think why do they get to be healthy? Why couldn't Jonah be healthy too? Why didn't we get a miracle that saved his life?
I'm beginning to see we did experience a miracle. It just wasn't the miracle we wanted or prayed for. You see, Jonah was given a death sentence from the moment we arrived in that hospital on June 7th. That first night there, we heard the words "stillbirth" more than any pregnant woman should ever have to hear. They said there was nothing they could do. They'd monitor her. Hope she delivered a live baby. We prayed. Hard.
Things changed to "Well maybe we can try this... Maybe we can see if a intrauterine blood transfusion would work." We still heard bad things. "We will try this..... IF Jonah makes it through the night." "We will try this..... IF Jonah makes it through this procedure."
Well, Jonah made it through the night... and he made it through that first transfusion... and he made it through 5 more. Yeah, he was pretty much a rockstar. My sister is one too. And on the day they told us Jonah was coming, we heard a lot more negativity about draining fluid (very painful) and breathing tubes (that may not work). Jonah defied it all. He did it. He was born. He lived for 1 week... 9859 minutes he was here with us on Earth. They told my sister she may be able to hold him, MAYBE, at the end of his first week. She held him after just a few days.
It's hard because he was doing so well his first week here. But I see that now as time that was given to 2 parents that just prayed and wanted their baby to be here so badly. That went through a whole lot for a month to get him where he was.
So, you see, we did experience a miracle. He never should have been here. He never should have been held. He never should have had his first meal, he never should have opened his eyes. And that, my friends, is a true miracle. 1 week doesn't seem like enough, but oh is it so much sweeter than it could have been.
We will see you again one day soon, Jonah. Love you so much, strong boy.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Oops!
Yes, here it is, the end of the school year... and I haven't blogged since before Halloween!! Bad Mommy.
Quick recap:
- Halloween was awesome. We had a giraffe (The Baby), Jake from Jake & the Neverland Pirates (Little Monster) and Mulan the Princess (Tiny Dancer).
- The Baby turned ONE. Mustache party ensued.
- Thanksgiving was a fun time with family. We ate a lot. We ate too much.
- Christmas was wonderful. The kids got a lot of toys, but we got rid of a lot of toys too.
- Tiny Dancer was awarded the 110% Student Award at her school. Kind of like "Kindergartener of the Year" award...
- Tiny Dancer is READING books all on her own now. She was reluctant at first (she's like me, we like things to come easy to us because so many things do), but I found her some LaLaLoopsy Dolls phonics books that have really piqued her interest and she loves to read to everyone now.
- School is nearing the end... hard to believe she will be in First Grade next year.
- We made the decision to start homeschooling starting in 2nd grade. I'm really excited and nervous. Which is why I wanted to get my blog back into shape so that I can start sharing our adventures in homeschooling.
Our summer is going to be so much fun - I have tons of things planned for everyone. We are going to do all of the usual things, and maybe some new and exciting things. First: I'm coaching Avery's coach pitch team. So that will be interesting. Next up: Our first visit of the year to the drive in!
Quick recap:
- Halloween was awesome. We had a giraffe (The Baby), Jake from Jake & the Neverland Pirates (Little Monster) and Mulan the Princess (Tiny Dancer).
- The Baby turned ONE. Mustache party ensued.
- Thanksgiving was a fun time with family. We ate a lot. We ate too much.
- Christmas was wonderful. The kids got a lot of toys, but we got rid of a lot of toys too.
- Tiny Dancer was awarded the 110% Student Award at her school. Kind of like "Kindergartener of the Year" award...
- Tiny Dancer is READING books all on her own now. She was reluctant at first (she's like me, we like things to come easy to us because so many things do), but I found her some LaLaLoopsy Dolls phonics books that have really piqued her interest and she loves to read to everyone now.
- School is nearing the end... hard to believe she will be in First Grade next year.
- We made the decision to start homeschooling starting in 2nd grade. I'm really excited and nervous. Which is why I wanted to get my blog back into shape so that I can start sharing our adventures in homeschooling.
Our summer is going to be so much fun - I have tons of things planned for everyone. We are going to do all of the usual things, and maybe some new and exciting things. First: I'm coaching Avery's coach pitch team. So that will be interesting. Next up: Our first visit of the year to the drive in!
Friday, October 18, 2013
School
Well, kindergarten is going exceptionally well! We are well into the school year (halfway through the first semester) and it's almost Halloween! Cold temperatures are creeping up on us... or more like, jumping out at us. The midwest... ah, when you can have your air conditioner and heater on in the same day, amirite?!
Tiny Dancer is doing great with her morning routine and kindergarten. She is such a good girl, smart, but overall she is just GOOD. She follows the rules, like, always. She gets this from me. Number One Rule Follower, right here.
We had her first parent/teacher conference, which went well. No surprises, went over what she can work on. She's really picking up on writing her letters and memorizing sight words. She's beginning to read parts of books all on her own. And she still loves books! I can't wait for our future Barnes & Noble visits together. :)
The Baby's birthday party is in 2 weeks. I've been good at picking up what's needed here and there, and making things that need made... I can't believe he will be 1 in 2 weeks. It's unbelievable how fast time flies!
Tiny Dancer is doing great with her morning routine and kindergarten. She is such a good girl, smart, but overall she is just GOOD. She follows the rules, like, always. She gets this from me. Number One Rule Follower, right here.
We had her first parent/teacher conference, which went well. No surprises, went over what she can work on. She's really picking up on writing her letters and memorizing sight words. She's beginning to read parts of books all on her own. And she still loves books! I can't wait for our future Barnes & Noble visits together. :)
The Baby's birthday party is in 2 weeks. I've been good at picking up what's needed here and there, and making things that need made... I can't believe he will be 1 in 2 weeks. It's unbelievable how fast time flies!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
...and she goes.
My baby started kindergarten this week. She just finished up her first week there... I still haven't really processed it yet and I haven't shed any tears over it yet (surprisingly).
We met Tiny Dancer's teacher Monday night. We LOVE her! And then she went for her first day on Tuesday. She got a little teary-eyed and she told me she was scared, but we left. She told me later that she loved it. And everyday she continues to love it. She likes the cafeteria food too, which is good since she's so picky!
I pulled out some baby toy's that were Tiny Dancer's for the kids I babysit. I specifically remembered picking this particular toy out and buying it for her. Back when it was only her. She was the only child and the only grandchild. I started reminiscing about when we only had 1 child. We had money and we had it easy. We went and did whatever we wanted with Tiny Dancer in tow.
But I stopped that train of thought and thought about NOT having Little Monster and The Baby. I didn't like that feeling.
Those 2 have rounded out our family in ways I could have never imagined.
Sure, we don't have a lot of money. But I get to stay home all day with my babies. I hope eventually that includes homeschooling them. I don't even know if I would have ever entertained the idea of homeschooling if I was still working. And I wouldn't be a full time stay at home mom if I hadn't had more kids. One kid's childcare was easy, but after that... Little Monster is most of the reason why I am a stay at home mom right now.
And sure it's cause for celebration if I can make a trip to the grocery store with all 3 kids in tow and nobody gets lost or seriously injured, and I come home with at least half of what we needed.... but once they get a little older, that will get easier. And we will have 3 times as much fun as we would have had with only one child.
I don't want my kids to completely define me as a person. It's not fair to me or to them. But when I imagine a life without them, it's a life not as full. Not as beautiful. Not as rich with love and laughter. I thank God everyday for giving them to me. And my goal is to make them the 3 best things that I've ever done in my life.
We met Tiny Dancer's teacher Monday night. We LOVE her! And then she went for her first day on Tuesday. She got a little teary-eyed and she told me she was scared, but we left. She told me later that she loved it. And everyday she continues to love it. She likes the cafeteria food too, which is good since she's so picky!
I pulled out some baby toy's that were Tiny Dancer's for the kids I babysit. I specifically remembered picking this particular toy out and buying it for her. Back when it was only her. She was the only child and the only grandchild. I started reminiscing about when we only had 1 child. We had money and we had it easy. We went and did whatever we wanted with Tiny Dancer in tow.
But I stopped that train of thought and thought about NOT having Little Monster and The Baby. I didn't like that feeling.
Those 2 have rounded out our family in ways I could have never imagined.
Sure, we don't have a lot of money. But I get to stay home all day with my babies. I hope eventually that includes homeschooling them. I don't even know if I would have ever entertained the idea of homeschooling if I was still working. And I wouldn't be a full time stay at home mom if I hadn't had more kids. One kid's childcare was easy, but after that... Little Monster is most of the reason why I am a stay at home mom right now.
And sure it's cause for celebration if I can make a trip to the grocery store with all 3 kids in tow and nobody gets lost or seriously injured, and I come home with at least half of what we needed.... but once they get a little older, that will get easier. And we will have 3 times as much fun as we would have had with only one child.
I don't want my kids to completely define me as a person. It's not fair to me or to them. But when I imagine a life without them, it's a life not as full. Not as beautiful. Not as rich with love and laughter. I thank God everyday for giving them to me. And my goal is to make them the 3 best things that I've ever done in my life.
Friday, August 16, 2013
We Are Food Allergy FREE (well, almost)
At The Baby's 9 month check-up, we got The Baby's and Little Monster's food allergies tested. Hers for eggs and his for dairy.
We were so excited to get the call - Little Monster's egg allergy is GONE. GONE!!! She can eat anything with eggs! This was AMAZING! We had done really great at cutting out eggs and I'm so happy we experienced it because I think I've learned a few ways for the whole family to eat a little better. But not worrying about anaphylactic shock is amazing! We don't have to carry around Benadryl and Epi pens anymore! Yippee!
The Baby's test came back good too - he has a VERY mild dairy allergy. So mild, the told me to not give him straight up milk and cheese, but not to worry about limiting it from his diet. We'd also discuss trying whole milk at his 1 year appointment. So, the other day, I gave him some stuff that had milk as an ingredient and wouldn't you know it, he broke out in hives immediately around his mouth.
At our follow-up visit with our pediatrician from The Baby's ER visit, I asked her about it. She said that was strange because it is really so mild, but we are just cutting out all milk for the next 3 months and after his birthday we will try the milk stuff again.
So, even though we do have a food allergy lingering around, it's so minimal that we don't need to worry about Epi pens. And since he still only eats a handful of things (mostly fruits and veggies anyway), it's not a big deal to keep that from his diet.
I'm so excited that we don't have to worry about it anymore... after we found out about Little Monster's non-allergy, we took her for a milkshake, homemade cookies, donuts, pancakes and actual eggs the following weekend. She's gonna gain about 50 pounds now. ;) Oh, well, she could probably use it!
We were so excited to get the call - Little Monster's egg allergy is GONE. GONE!!! She can eat anything with eggs! This was AMAZING! We had done really great at cutting out eggs and I'm so happy we experienced it because I think I've learned a few ways for the whole family to eat a little better. But not worrying about anaphylactic shock is amazing! We don't have to carry around Benadryl and Epi pens anymore! Yippee!
The Baby's test came back good too - he has a VERY mild dairy allergy. So mild, the told me to not give him straight up milk and cheese, but not to worry about limiting it from his diet. We'd also discuss trying whole milk at his 1 year appointment. So, the other day, I gave him some stuff that had milk as an ingredient and wouldn't you know it, he broke out in hives immediately around his mouth.
At our follow-up visit with our pediatrician from The Baby's ER visit, I asked her about it. She said that was strange because it is really so mild, but we are just cutting out all milk for the next 3 months and after his birthday we will try the milk stuff again.
So, even though we do have a food allergy lingering around, it's so minimal that we don't need to worry about Epi pens. And since he still only eats a handful of things (mostly fruits and veggies anyway), it's not a big deal to keep that from his diet.
I'm so excited that we don't have to worry about it anymore... after we found out about Little Monster's non-allergy, we took her for a milkshake, homemade cookies, donuts, pancakes and actual eggs the following weekend. She's gonna gain about 50 pounds now. ;) Oh, well, she could probably use it!
The Baby is 9 Months Old!
I cannot believe he is 9 months old... it just doesn't seem possible!
He went to the doctor for his 9 month check up - sweet boy is in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. Good thing his head is in the 50th! He's got a big noggin on a teeny tiny body... He's so much smaller than the girls were at his age - and that includes a 6 week premature baby! He's just the tiniest thing. Must take after Daddy.
The Baby also thought it would be a fun time for his first ER visit. The week after his check up, he cut his 2 front top teeth. Yes, top teeth! It was so funny to me because the girls got their bottoms first, which I know is more common, but this kid gets his two front teeth first. Silly boy. On Wednesday/Thursday, the girls each ran a really random, yet quick, fever. Pretty low grade, went to bed with Tylenol and woke up feeling fine. On Friday, my parents took me and the kids and my sister and her baby to Tuscola, about 2 1/2 hours away from here, to hit up the Tanger Outlet Malls for some back to school shopping.
The Baby was fine the whole day... he didn't whine or cry too much and he liked being pushed in the stroller. We go home and once Daddy got home, he noticed The Baby felt warm. His temp was almost 102! So we gave him some Tylenol, looked in his mouth and saw 4 more teeth trying to push through. I thought 102 was kinda high for teething, but he had no other symptoms.
We went out to eat and hung out at an arcade for a while and when we got home, The Baby started crying and we noticed he was retracting a bit in his chest. I gave him a breathing treatment and nursed him and once he calmed down, it look a lot less like retractions. We put him to bed and at 1am, he woke us up, crying and really struggling to breathe. Retracting a lot, but no nose flares, no blue tinged fingernails... but I thought he was acting really lethargic and his fever was back. I gave him Tylenol and he puked it up and then a breathing treatment, but he still was not really responding to us and his breathing sounded awful.
This is the point where I started freaking out and my husband had to get me to calm down. I begged him to take him to the ER. He said fine, but he'd go alone and call me if he needed me. I was up the rest of the time until 3:30 when they got home. They gave him more Tylenol, got his fever down and gave him a steroid shot. His pulse ox was 97 when he got there and 97 when he left, so nothing too crazy there but his pulse rate was in the 190s when he got there! Poor little guy... when they left, it was back in the 130s. Well, once he got home, he was hopped up on steroids so he didn't want to sleep and Daddy's alarm went off an hour later. He just stayed home and took him so I could sleep. Our day was all messed up. But The Baby was totally fine the rest of the day!
He does have a cough now and we went to our pediatrician for a follow-up from the ER visit where she ordered a chest X-ray. Thankfully, it came back normal. He's still got a junky cough, but we're hoping that's the end of this nonsense. Oh, yeah, he also started crawling the same week and his 2 bottom teeth popped through. 2 more on the top are close!
He went to the doctor for his 9 month check up - sweet boy is in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. Good thing his head is in the 50th! He's got a big noggin on a teeny tiny body... He's so much smaller than the girls were at his age - and that includes a 6 week premature baby! He's just the tiniest thing. Must take after Daddy.
The Baby also thought it would be a fun time for his first ER visit. The week after his check up, he cut his 2 front top teeth. Yes, top teeth! It was so funny to me because the girls got their bottoms first, which I know is more common, but this kid gets his two front teeth first. Silly boy. On Wednesday/Thursday, the girls each ran a really random, yet quick, fever. Pretty low grade, went to bed with Tylenol and woke up feeling fine. On Friday, my parents took me and the kids and my sister and her baby to Tuscola, about 2 1/2 hours away from here, to hit up the Tanger Outlet Malls for some back to school shopping.
The Baby was fine the whole day... he didn't whine or cry too much and he liked being pushed in the stroller. We go home and once Daddy got home, he noticed The Baby felt warm. His temp was almost 102! So we gave him some Tylenol, looked in his mouth and saw 4 more teeth trying to push through. I thought 102 was kinda high for teething, but he had no other symptoms.
We went out to eat and hung out at an arcade for a while and when we got home, The Baby started crying and we noticed he was retracting a bit in his chest. I gave him a breathing treatment and nursed him and once he calmed down, it look a lot less like retractions. We put him to bed and at 1am, he woke us up, crying and really struggling to breathe. Retracting a lot, but no nose flares, no blue tinged fingernails... but I thought he was acting really lethargic and his fever was back. I gave him Tylenol and he puked it up and then a breathing treatment, but he still was not really responding to us and his breathing sounded awful.
This is the point where I started freaking out and my husband had to get me to calm down. I begged him to take him to the ER. He said fine, but he'd go alone and call me if he needed me. I was up the rest of the time until 3:30 when they got home. They gave him more Tylenol, got his fever down and gave him a steroid shot. His pulse ox was 97 when he got there and 97 when he left, so nothing too crazy there but his pulse rate was in the 190s when he got there! Poor little guy... when they left, it was back in the 130s. Well, once he got home, he was hopped up on steroids so he didn't want to sleep and Daddy's alarm went off an hour later. He just stayed home and took him so I could sleep. Our day was all messed up. But The Baby was totally fine the rest of the day!
He does have a cough now and we went to our pediatrician for a follow-up from the ER visit where she ordered a chest X-ray. Thankfully, it came back normal. He's still got a junky cough, but we're hoping that's the end of this nonsense. Oh, yeah, he also started crawling the same week and his 2 bottom teeth popped through. 2 more on the top are close!
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