Gobble gobble...birthday party!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, one of my most favorite holidays. One ENTIRE day dedicated to the best things in life: devouring insane amounts of fabulous home-cooked food, sharing the table with family, lots of hugs, happy conversations, stretchy pants and naps on the couch.


PP especially enjoyed herself because the spotlight was shining on her for a very large portion of the day. Well, I'll be honest, she stole the show! She showed off her glasses and cute new hair cut. PP practiced going up stairs and playing foosball. She made a bit of a mess with her meal and probably ate too many sweets, but whatever. She made everyone laugh by doing all sorts of cute PP things. She was a little sweetheart! We all had a wonderful day and I hope everyone else did too!

Tomorrow is the day of PP's big party! I have been patiently waiting for this party for a very long time. I can't wait any longer! Chris and I went Black Friday shopping last night. We were out until about 2:30AM. So I should be tired, and I'm at work for an overnight shift, but its about midnight and I don't feel tired! I'm just THAT excited! I really want to bake her cake! Yay!

I should probably make my bed and hit the hay tho. Maybe I am a little tired.

Full bellies and snore worthy sleep! XOX

All play and no work makes a happy stay-at-home mom!

Being a stay at home mom is my most favorite job! I also have a job that pays me. I work in a group home assisting disabled adults.

When PP was born, I was jobless. My main focus back then was to make sure that PP survived. She was a very sick baby. As her mom and main care giver I spent a lot of time in the hospital while she was sick. Many of the countless visits to the ER turned into hospitalizations, which would turn into extended stays lasting a couple days or even 2 weeks. If we weren't admitted to the hospital we would go there often to see specialists and have checkups with Dr. Melchert. We also were going through the grieving process for Christopher's mom, Mary. She passed away April 2010 in the midst of PP's health problems. A job was the last thing I wanted to get into! 

As PP got older her health improved dramatically. It wasn't quite so frightening to put her to bed at night anymore. I felt like it was a good time to try to get back into working, slowly. A part time job working only weekends seemed great! I found a job at a group home after searching for a few months. It fit my criteria and I got hired! I think she was 7 or 8 months old, but PP was still pretty small and at this point she couldn't move around very much on her own. Finding a baby sitter would be easy! As I started getting settled into a routine with mom-work during the week and group home-work during the weekend, I didn't notice any big impact on PP with our schedule change. It made me feel good because I could contribute to the family in more ways than before. Eventually, my hours at work increased and now I see a difference in the way PP acts during the week. I work a lot, averaging 30 hours a week working Friday through Sunday. I know her new attitude is not just because I got more hours at work; she just turned two so she's a bit more sassy than she was when I started working! PP is definitely not always negative, but I don't want my job to interfere with my family life so much. It's a tough situation! Things will change even more in January 2012 because I am going back to school! I am going slowly for now, but I have every intention to finish my degree in Nursing! I know that these things can be hard on us. I also know that in the long run these choices will make our lives wonderful! My family will always be going through changes so I am currently, and always, in the process of finding new people and alternative options to help us weather these impending challenges. It's a slightly odd, scary, but very good feeling to be a part of something that is growing in unison. We are like trees going through the seasons together and every year we grow bigger with more branches of people in our extended family. I like it. 

I am incredibly happy with the choices Christopher and I have made. I love our life! We are so lucky to have our amazing PP. We are lucky to have this cute lil' pad under our feet and a spunky wagon to drive around in. Our families are so sweet, it makes me smile just thinking about them. PP and myself are very lucky to have a person like Christopher who can support us like he does. I am excited for the new adventures next year will bring our way! I smell a New Year's Resolution coming...

Sending wishes of hot tea and leg warmers to all! XOX

Its a whole new world!

Wednesday was the day to get PP's glasses. I had been fretting the entire week leading up to this day. Was she gonna keep them on her head? I really didn't think so! Regardless of what I thought, I should have reminded myself that PP loves to surprise me. After charming the helpful staff at the optical store, we had the rubbery pink glasses and they were on PP's head! They even stayed on her head! Actually, they are a hit! She loves her glasses, and I couldn't feel better about the decision to get them. I personally think the reason she likes them so much is because she can FINALLY see! Her prescription is worse than mine. That's really bad. I can't see a clock from across the room if I don't have something on my eyes. So her eyes are terrible! Yay for glasses!

Well, at this very moment, I am trying out a new way of blogging. I figured I should get with the times and write on my iPhone! So far, so good!

Happy days and snowball fights! Tis the season! XOXOXO!

Hey, stranger!

The past month has been a roller coaster ride!

I don't know where to start, so I'll go from where I left off. The last entry I wrote was on Oct 17. I had just received a letter saying that PP's health insurance was back in order and things were going very smoothly. School is going great, we added a Speech Therapist to the mix, and we brought her orthotic leg braces into the specialist to adjust them. PP now walks with an orthotic boot that only goes up to her ankle, not her knee. She is allowed a larger range of motion and it forces her to use her own core to balance instead of relying on the brace to hold her leg straight. It's really exciting! The main goal is to get her walking by herself without braces, and through planned adjustments we will chip away at them until they are gone! 

Speech Therapy (ST) is interesting. I am not quite sure where it will take us, but I am excited about it. It seems like PP is concentrating more on walking than talking right now. Kids usually do one big thing at a time, so it's ok for her not to be very interested in it. However, starting this therapy right now is still a good idea. The therapist gives me tips and tools on how to get PP to make different sounds. I like using sign language with PP because it's a very short, basic way of communicating with her, but I know that she understands much more than she can say. When PP starts to walk her attention could switch to talking and I want to be ready to jump on the opportunity to teach her new things when she is ready. It's like doing orientation for a week before you start a new job, it's just stretched out over a few months. It also gives PP time to get to know her therapist, Lauren. She only sees Lauren once a month, but that's also how all of the other teachers started out. Over time, we increased the number of sessions per person every month and so far the system works beautifully. 

Anyways, so she started Speech Therapy. Cool. She's been busy with other things too!

During the week between visits, we focus mostly on the homework given to us by the Physical Therapist. With newly adjusted orthotics we are able to do more walking, so the therapist got a new walker for PP this past Thursday! It's metal, it goes around her back and it has handles on the front. It also has wheels on the front and rubber stoppers on the back. She loves it! PP tells us when she is ready to use it and she likes to use it a lot! It's amazing to see her in such a way, so grown up! I am a very proud momma!

That brings me to the most important thing as of late...PENELOPE IS TWO YEARS OLD! On 11/11/11, my girl turned two. I can't say it enough! It seems unreal! We had a nice, relaxing day. We played lots of games, opened presents, ate lots of cake, and went out for a pizza dinner with the family. I had to postpone her birthday party the following day, 11/12, because I chose to attend a funeral instead. My grandpa passed away from lung cancer and he was a very important person to me. I can celebrate my daughters birthday every day she is alive, but there is not always a chance to get the physical and emotional closure that a funeral can provide. Although it was difficult for me to do, I am very glad I made that decision. I can now celebrate my daughters birthday with a clear head and a happy heart! 

We went through the motions, which were unusually exhausting, to get PP some eyeglasses! She is farsighted and slightly cross-eyed. The glasses are a very flexible plastic with a head band that goes around the back of her head so they (hopefully) stay on. They will be in the store ready for pick up tomorrow, so we will see how that goes!

PP has been showing us more and more of her sassy personality every day! She is two, I am hoping she won't be terrible, but she is very driven and almost never takes 'no' for an answer. If you say no she finds a different way to get what she wants, by doing something that you haven't said no to yet! She's smart, she's sneaky, she's freaking hilarious. PP is giggly, flirty, loves to play games and dance. She is NOT a fan of realistic baby dolls. She's energetic and likes to explore her world.  My little girl is definitely not a baby anymore. That makes me happy and sad at the same time. I always kind of liked the fact that she was developmentally delayed because I got to have a baby for a little longer than most parents. I got to go through the developmental stages at a slower, more relaxed pace. It's nice because when she does something new it doesn't seem so drastic and I have a lot of time to prepare for what comes next. I didn't have to baby proof my house until she was about a year old because that's when she started to crawl! On the other hand, I am definitely ready to raise a toddler. Growing up is such an adventure! 

It has been a topsy-turvy month, but my bunch can handle it! We are family (just like the song says)! The three of us will head-butt and triumph over the obstacles life throws at us! 

So, until next time, sweet kisses and fuzzy feelings!