Overall 2010 was a great year for our family. It will always be tough to beat 2009 as that to date is the best year of my life but 2010 was still pretty amazing.
So much happened in this last year some of it wonderful and some of it totally unexpected.
We started the year with a 13 month old that had yet to learn how to walk on her own and was in physical therapy.
We hit mid year with an 18 month old that had still yet to walk on her own, was in more physical therapy and was diagnosed with scoliosis.
We hit the end of the year with the most amazing 2 year old who is walking like she is a pro and is officially done with physical therapy.
So while 2010 threw us some major curve balls, it came with a tremendous surprise too. I gained this second family really. All of the wonderful moms I met through Shriner's Chicago are a true blessing. So the roller coaster ride that is progressive infantile scoliosis came with these amazing women, their kids and their families and while I don't wish scoliosis on anyone, I am so lucky to have these wonderful people in my life to endure the ride.
2010 also marked the one year of waiting for Little Man. We are now 13 months into the wait and hanging in there. I can hardly believe how fast the year went.
So what's to come in 2011.
Well for Kiya there will be more casts, more fun, new classroom at daycare, fingers crossed she will be potty trained :), lots of time at the park, zoo and on her new Dora tricycle.
For us as a family, we will hit our 2 year referralversary here in just a few days and 2 years as a family close to mid year. We will have another year of trying to figure out this parenting a spirited and lively toddler who is ridiculously smart and full of energy and opinions.
We might if all things align and get worked out be blessed enough to see our Little Man's face by years end and therefore get to plan our next trip to Ethiopia.
I am looking forward to all that lies ahead. There will be some unknowns and some bumps in the road I am sure but we as a family faced a lot this year and we are still standing due in large part to our spunky little girl who just never gives up.
I know I said watch out world, Kiya is coming last year but given the strength, determination, attitude and focus I saw develop and grow in Kiya this last year, the warning still stands. Kiya is mobile, active and has a lot to say and do and I frankly can't wait to see what she conquers next.
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas Joy
I am convinced that there is nothing better than being a parent at Christmas time. Watching Kiya's eye's light up at the sight of her Dora tricycle on Christmas morning or just truly enjoying ripping wrapping paper and bows off of everyone's gifts. It was amazing and warmed my heart.
We were so blessed to be able to spend the holidays with all of our family and still sneak in some special just the three of us time too. It was truly a special time.
I did sneak some special time to think about what next Christmas might look like. We won't have our Little Man home yet but we might just maybe know his name and have a picture to cherish. We might not but it is nice to dream and think about him.
I hope that all of my blog readers had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year.
I did sneak some special time to think about what next Christmas might look like. We won't have our Little Man home yet but we might just maybe know his name and have a picture to cherish. We might not but it is nice to dream and think about him.
I hope that all of my blog readers had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Kiya's 2 yr. pictures
I know I don't post often anymore so to make it up to whoever is still checking in, here are a selection of photos from Kiya's 2 year picture shoot. She did so great. I was so proud of her. She did have a meltdown while we waited for the pictures but overall did really well.
We tried to take pictures with Santa and that didn't go well at all. She was terrified of him. It was definitely a common problem with all the kids that were around Kiya's age at our mall this year so Santa was used to it. Oh well at least her 2yr pictures were a success.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Where oh where have I been?
Let's see....I started working full time. Yup. It isn't fabulous but it is necessary for now. There is an end in sight once Little Man comes home in 18 months or 2 years or whatever it may be. For now I will adjust. We will adjust.
I work full time as a bank teller. I know you are jealous... It isn't the worst thing in the world but definitely not something I am super passionate about. I do though really enjoy the people I work with and that is the main reason I took the job was because of the people. It is hard to stand on your feet for 8 plus hours a day but I bought some new shoes today which should help :)
So what else is new...I have zero free time since my job is 8-6 hours most days and Kiya starting next week will be going to daycare 4 days a week. She is thriving. This change in schedule so far hasn't been an issue. She is doing better than great. Her daycare teachers just love how her big personality is really starting to shine and just how much she loves to sing. She even went pee pee on the potty at daycare twice in one day. We are nowhere near being fully potty trained but she is definitely starting to really get it.
Kiya is talking more and more in actual sentences. It is too cute. She can be quite bossy with these sentences but still nice to hear. She is loving sleeping in her big girl bed and is getting better about staying in bed. Apparently she does great at naptime for grandma and grandpa and we get about 2 times a night before she just crashes. We haven't had too many more 2am-4am periods where she decides to sing, play, etc. So maybe it was night terrors, teething or just a phase who knows, I just hope whatever it was stays away.
We also hired our first babysitter. I was really nervous but I didn't need to be. Kiya did great. She clicked instantly with the babysitter and they had a great time together. It was a huge relief. The played with stickers and crayons and had a lot of fun.
So as for blogging....may not happen hardly at all during the week but I will try. I miss it but we are all still adjusting to our new lifestyle.
What's in the future...well Kiya was supposed to have her 2 year pictures tomorrow but we are under a blizzard warning so that may or may not happen. We hope at the very least to put her sleigh from last Christmas to good use. No worries we will take pictures :)
I work full time as a bank teller. I know you are jealous... It isn't the worst thing in the world but definitely not something I am super passionate about. I do though really enjoy the people I work with and that is the main reason I took the job was because of the people. It is hard to stand on your feet for 8 plus hours a day but I bought some new shoes today which should help :)
So what else is new...I have zero free time since my job is 8-6 hours most days and Kiya starting next week will be going to daycare 4 days a week. She is thriving. This change in schedule so far hasn't been an issue. She is doing better than great. Her daycare teachers just love how her big personality is really starting to shine and just how much she loves to sing. She even went pee pee on the potty at daycare twice in one day. We are nowhere near being fully potty trained but she is definitely starting to really get it.
Kiya is talking more and more in actual sentences. It is too cute. She can be quite bossy with these sentences but still nice to hear. She is loving sleeping in her big girl bed and is getting better about staying in bed. Apparently she does great at naptime for grandma and grandpa and we get about 2 times a night before she just crashes. We haven't had too many more 2am-4am periods where she decides to sing, play, etc. So maybe it was night terrors, teething or just a phase who knows, I just hope whatever it was stays away.
We also hired our first babysitter. I was really nervous but I didn't need to be. Kiya did great. She clicked instantly with the babysitter and they had a great time together. It was a huge relief. The played with stickers and crayons and had a lot of fun.
So as for blogging....may not happen hardly at all during the week but I will try. I miss it but we are all still adjusting to our new lifestyle.
What's in the future...well Kiya was supposed to have her 2 year pictures tomorrow but we are under a blizzard warning so that may or may not happen. We hope at the very least to put her sleigh from last Christmas to good use. No worries we will take pictures :)
Friday, December 3, 2010
The missing piece
I have been thinking about how to write this particular post for a while. This one is solely about our Little Man whoever he is. We have been officially waiting for 1 year well over that now but still. We got Kiya's referral in 11 months, 2 weeks and 1 day. We are likely still 11-12 months possibly more away from experiencing the joy that is seeing our child's face for the first time.
That said this wait isn't on my mind daily. It is there just not the same way it was the first time around. Don't get me wrong, I definitely feel the tug and there is definitely a piece missing in our family but I can't focus 2 years of my life on waiting for a phone call. I honestly don't know how first time parents are surviving the wait. Waiting for the phone to ring the first time around was VERY challenging for me. I can't go back to that place.
Some days though while driving I just can't help but think about Ethiopia, about our Little Man, about the unfortunate circumstances that will lead to him being our son. My heart aches to see his face and to know his story. I pray for his first family. My joy when that phone rings is coming with tremendous loss half way around the world.
From here on out it is possible that our son could be born at any time. His mother could be pregnant right now. He could still be just a glimmer....we just don't know. I was talking to a mom today at the store. She had a little boy and I was buying a dress for Kiya. She commented how she has all boys and couldn't buy those adorable girl dresses. I said it was likely easier on her budget. We laughed and I told her we were going to have a son too. She immediately congratulated me and asked when I was due. I laughed. I explained that we are adopting a son and hope to have him in our arms forever in early 2012. She didn't really know what to say other than good luck.
I don't really think there is luck involved in adoption. Adoption stems from a want on our end to have a son and an unfortunate set of circumstances on the other whether it be death, illness, poverty, rape, or all of the above. It isn't luck at all. It is quite sad really. We will shed tears of joy while family in Ethiopia are shedding tears of extreme sadness.
That said there is definitely a piece in my heart ready for my Little Man. I am holding it there for him when he is ready to take it. I will continue to pray for him, his mother, his family and hope that when it is supposed to be it will all go as smoothly as it can.
For now and the next year or so, I will keep my Little Man in my heart. I am ready for the missing piece to be filled and I know the heaviness that comes with that piece falling into place. Who knows maybe next year at this time my heart will be filled as just maybe I will be blessed enough to have his picture in hand and story to sort through and can begin to prepare for life as a family of 4.
That said this wait isn't on my mind daily. It is there just not the same way it was the first time around. Don't get me wrong, I definitely feel the tug and there is definitely a piece missing in our family but I can't focus 2 years of my life on waiting for a phone call. I honestly don't know how first time parents are surviving the wait. Waiting for the phone to ring the first time around was VERY challenging for me. I can't go back to that place.
Some days though while driving I just can't help but think about Ethiopia, about our Little Man, about the unfortunate circumstances that will lead to him being our son. My heart aches to see his face and to know his story. I pray for his first family. My joy when that phone rings is coming with tremendous loss half way around the world.
From here on out it is possible that our son could be born at any time. His mother could be pregnant right now. He could still be just a glimmer....we just don't know. I was talking to a mom today at the store. She had a little boy and I was buying a dress for Kiya. She commented how she has all boys and couldn't buy those adorable girl dresses. I said it was likely easier on her budget. We laughed and I told her we were going to have a son too. She immediately congratulated me and asked when I was due. I laughed. I explained that we are adopting a son and hope to have him in our arms forever in early 2012. She didn't really know what to say other than good luck.
I don't really think there is luck involved in adoption. Adoption stems from a want on our end to have a son and an unfortunate set of circumstances on the other whether it be death, illness, poverty, rape, or all of the above. It isn't luck at all. It is quite sad really. We will shed tears of joy while family in Ethiopia are shedding tears of extreme sadness.
That said there is definitely a piece in my heart ready for my Little Man. I am holding it there for him when he is ready to take it. I will continue to pray for him, his mother, his family and hope that when it is supposed to be it will all go as smoothly as it can.
For now and the next year or so, I will keep my Little Man in my heart. I am ready for the missing piece to be filled and I know the heaviness that comes with that piece falling into place. Who knows maybe next year at this time my heart will be filled as just maybe I will be blessed enough to have his picture in hand and story to sort through and can begin to prepare for life as a family of 4.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Kiya is 2
It is official. Kiya turned 2 today. We had a family party on Thanksgiving with a Dora cake. Kiya dug right into the frosting and yet still wouldn't eat the cake. She loved the Dora, Diego and Boots figures though so it was still a success.
So today we are celebrating all things Kiya and yet we are taking a pause tonight to honor and remember a very special woman. 2 years ago some 7000 miles away, Zinash went into labor while at school taking her exams and she gave birth to Annakiya Yewibdar at a clinic in Angacha, Ethiopia later that night.
I have really no words. We are truly blessed and honored to be able to parent Kiya. I wish I could hop on a plane right now and go to Ethiopia and find Zinash and let her really see just what an amazing little girl she gave birth too. I know Kiya gets her fight and drive from her Mama Zinash. Some day we will make this happen. We have to.
Someday when Kiya reads this I want her to know just how much I love her and just how much she inspires me. She is a remarkable kid that just won't let anything stop her. She has fight and drive and silliness and sassiness. She lights up any room and can be shy or the life of the party. She loves all things music. She loves to sing and dance sometimes in the middle of the night. She loves to talk. She gives the best hugs. She loves the park and to count. She loves her dogs and her tee tee (blanket).
Her current favorite foods are bread and butter, peanut butter cups, bananas, all things chicken, fish sticks, ranch dressing, ketchup, sweet corn, cheese, mac n cheese, pizza, turkey dogs, oranges, peas and pasta.
She is a princess and tomboy. She loves jewelery and dolls and to play with cars and rocks.
Kiya is truly a rock star and I am just so proud of her. She has been given a big plate of stuff to deal with this year and she is tackling it like a champ with grace, attitude and pizazz. Look out world, Kiya is on the move literally this year and nothing is going to stand in her way or slow her down.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thankful
I am taking a pause to truly appreciate all that I am thankful for as we approach Thanksgiving.
First and foremost, I am thankful for my daughter. Kiya is truly the most amazing kid. I am just so proud of her. She just takes things as they come and bounces back stronger than ever. I am so honored to be able to be her mother. She is teaching me a lot.
I am grateful for my husband. He through all of this craziness that we call parenthood has stood next to me and encouraged me and supported me. I couldn't have done half of this without him.
I am thankful for my family. I have amazing parents and in-laws. I am one lucky girl and Kiya is blessed with truly wonderful grandparents.
I am thankful for my lucky cast friends. These women, children and families have been in my life for a few short months yet they are the most amazing friends. They pick me up when I am down. The send me kind words and cyber hugs and offer support when I need it. I have made lifelong friends and so grateful for that.
I am grateful that I finally have a job :) The interview I thought went so well did in fact go that well. They called me back today and offered me a job. I have to pass a background check first but I am pretty sure that won't be an issue :) The plan is to do that and have me start in early December.
I am grateful for Shriner's Hospital, for Dr. H, Linda, Gwen, Robert and everyone else that works with Kiya. They are amazing and have made this journey manageable and I can tell they truly care about each and every kid that walks in those doors.
Lastly, I am going to take the time to be thankful for my squishy hugs, messy bathroom floor and the bonus cast free time.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
***Update in Kiya's Kare Korner***
First and foremost, I am thankful for my daughter. Kiya is truly the most amazing kid. I am just so proud of her. She just takes things as they come and bounces back stronger than ever. I am so honored to be able to be her mother. She is teaching me a lot.
I am grateful for my husband. He through all of this craziness that we call parenthood has stood next to me and encouraged me and supported me. I couldn't have done half of this without him.
I am thankful for my family. I have amazing parents and in-laws. I am one lucky girl and Kiya is blessed with truly wonderful grandparents.
I am thankful for my lucky cast friends. These women, children and families have been in my life for a few short months yet they are the most amazing friends. They pick me up when I am down. The send me kind words and cyber hugs and offer support when I need it. I have made lifelong friends and so grateful for that.
I am grateful that I finally have a job :) The interview I thought went so well did in fact go that well. They called me back today and offered me a job. I have to pass a background check first but I am pretty sure that won't be an issue :) The plan is to do that and have me start in early December.
I am grateful for Shriner's Hospital, for Dr. H, Linda, Gwen, Robert and everyone else that works with Kiya. They are amazing and have made this journey manageable and I can tell they truly care about each and every kid that walks in those doors.
Lastly, I am going to take the time to be thankful for my squishy hugs, messy bathroom floor and the bonus cast free time.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
***Update in Kiya's Kare Korner***
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Big change of plans
Today was a very LONG day. I had a job interview that seemed to go really well. Then we had Kiya's 2 yr check up in which we were planning for a routine visit and 3 vaccinations.
Yeah things didn't go as planned. Let's start with the good news.
Kiya is hitting all developmental milestones and as expected a little behind in gross motor. She is nearly perfect in all ways. She weighed in at 29.5 lbs with her cast on so about 26.5 lbs. She is 35 inches tall. She is in the 83rd percentile for height.
As we were discussing just how resilient Kiya is and such a trooper, I mentioned that her cast was starting to stink. I noticed the smell just a couple of days ago. Well, Kiya was sitting on my lap and I was rubbing her neck and looked down her cast.
I look down her cast a lot. I rub a baby wipe where I can to get whatever grime I can off. We are always checking for sores etc. Well, we majorly missed this one. Kiya has a pussy infected quarter size keloid right smack dab in the middle of her back. We found the smell.
I made a panicky phone call to Shriners hospital to talk with our nurse. She said get Kiya out of that cast ASAP as in now. So we started untaping, unpadding and scrambling trying to figure out what we were going to do. We were finally able to convince the ortho department to cut off her cast with the saw. Yeah not fun. Really not fun. Lots of screaming but really she did great.
We then peel off her cast shirt and wow. Seriously GROSS. Poor kid. The plus side is keloids don't hurt, it is a scar that spreads beyond the original injury and is essence becomes a separate growth.
So the plan for now is to put Kiya on antibiotics for 10 days to rid her of infection and allow time for the skin to heal. Then we have no idea. I sent pictures of the keloid to our nurse at Shriners and she is going to consult with our doctor. It appears we will have two options. Remove the keloid, allow that to heal and cast again with extra precautions or leave the keloid, cast and use extra precautions. We are in a holding pattern for now.
Kiya is cast free for at least the next 3 weeks which means we get baths, squishy hugs and some extra worrying. I am trying not to think about all of this time out of cast. We took her out 2 weeks early.
I have such mixed feeling about this whole thing. I know we had no choice and I know everything happens for a reason. So I am going to try and enjoy this bonus time with Kiya cast free. I am loving the hugs and seeing her walking cast free and I will try not to worry too much about her curvy back.
Yeah things didn't go as planned. Let's start with the good news.
Kiya is hitting all developmental milestones and as expected a little behind in gross motor. She is nearly perfect in all ways. She weighed in at 29.5 lbs with her cast on so about 26.5 lbs. She is 35 inches tall. She is in the 83rd percentile for height.
As we were discussing just how resilient Kiya is and such a trooper, I mentioned that her cast was starting to stink. I noticed the smell just a couple of days ago. Well, Kiya was sitting on my lap and I was rubbing her neck and looked down her cast.
I look down her cast a lot. I rub a baby wipe where I can to get whatever grime I can off. We are always checking for sores etc. Well, we majorly missed this one. Kiya has a pussy infected quarter size keloid right smack dab in the middle of her back. We found the smell.
I made a panicky phone call to Shriners hospital to talk with our nurse. She said get Kiya out of that cast ASAP as in now. So we started untaping, unpadding and scrambling trying to figure out what we were going to do. We were finally able to convince the ortho department to cut off her cast with the saw. Yeah not fun. Really not fun. Lots of screaming but really she did great.
We then peel off her cast shirt and wow. Seriously GROSS. Poor kid. The plus side is keloids don't hurt, it is a scar that spreads beyond the original injury and is essence becomes a separate growth.
So the plan for now is to put Kiya on antibiotics for 10 days to rid her of infection and allow time for the skin to heal. Then we have no idea. I sent pictures of the keloid to our nurse at Shriners and she is going to consult with our doctor. It appears we will have two options. Remove the keloid, allow that to heal and cast again with extra precautions or leave the keloid, cast and use extra precautions. We are in a holding pattern for now.
Kiya is cast free for at least the next 3 weeks which means we get baths, squishy hugs and some extra worrying. I am trying not to think about all of this time out of cast. We took her out 2 weeks early.
I have such mixed feeling about this whole thing. I know we had no choice and I know everything happens for a reason. So I am going to try and enjoy this bonus time with Kiya cast free. I am loving the hugs and seeing her walking cast free and I will try not to worry too much about her curvy back.
Monday, November 22, 2010
The next 3 weeks
I think it finally hit me today. The next 3 weeks around here are going to be really intense, really emotional and sometimes even a lot of fun.
I am officially one week away from having a 2 year old. I am slightly in denial about this but it is happening ready or not. I did finally order her birthday cake and yes it is Dora and chocolate. And no I don't feel bad for not making her a cake as we are celebrating on Thursday (Thanksgiving) and I will be slightly busy cooking all day.
We host Thanksgiving every year since we became home owners that is. So like the last 6 years or so. We will have 11 people in our house and 2 pugs. It will be great to have the family together to celebrate Thanksgiving and Kiya's birthday a little early.
We are also 2 weeks away from being able to cut of cast #1. I can't believe it has been 10 weeks already. It has flown by in a weird way but I am ready to say sayonara to this purple cast. It is starting to look icky and smell a little funky. And I am more than ready for a week of squishy hugs.
So we get 1 week to enjoy baths, hugs and cast freedom. Then back to Chicago for cast #2 11 days before Christmas. Sigh.
And while I am super excited to cut that cast off, I am also terrified. First, she learned to have balance and walk in that cast, what is going to happen when we take it off for a week? Second, I am going to try my darndest to keep her healthy that week so a silly sickness doesn't stop us from getting cast #2. Third, knowing me I am going to obsessively look at her back and compare to old pictures and see if it looks better, worse, the same. That week full of hugs and baths is going to be so emotional.
We did find out that we should have one friend at Shriner's with us on cast day so that is always helpful to have someone there who gets it.
So as you can see I have a lot on my emotional plate right now and it is slowly starting to seep into my reality. I almost cried when I ordered Kiya's birthday cake....it is going to be a long 3 weeks.
On another note, since I posted about our sleep issues we haven't had any. She has woken up and put herself back to sleep. I haven't had to climb in bed with her. She even slept in the pack n play at a hotel this last weekend. I was shocked as she is way too big for that thing but we were in a jam and so it was and she did great. We were off schedule all weekend with late bedtimes Friday and Saturday and still she slept great. We are thinking part of the issue is her over active imagination along with nightmares/terrors being common at this age. We are headed to the doctor tomorrow for her 2 year check up and will mention the sleep stuff to her as well. And I so know that because I wrote this paragraph, I am jinxing everything and will likely find myself in bed with Kiya at some point tonight. Fingers crossed I am wrong.
I am officially one week away from having a 2 year old. I am slightly in denial about this but it is happening ready or not. I did finally order her birthday cake and yes it is Dora and chocolate. And no I don't feel bad for not making her a cake as we are celebrating on Thursday (Thanksgiving) and I will be slightly busy cooking all day.
We host Thanksgiving every year since we became home owners that is. So like the last 6 years or so. We will have 11 people in our house and 2 pugs. It will be great to have the family together to celebrate Thanksgiving and Kiya's birthday a little early.
We are also 2 weeks away from being able to cut of cast #1. I can't believe it has been 10 weeks already. It has flown by in a weird way but I am ready to say sayonara to this purple cast. It is starting to look icky and smell a little funky. And I am more than ready for a week of squishy hugs.
So we get 1 week to enjoy baths, hugs and cast freedom. Then back to Chicago for cast #2 11 days before Christmas. Sigh.
And while I am super excited to cut that cast off, I am also terrified. First, she learned to have balance and walk in that cast, what is going to happen when we take it off for a week? Second, I am going to try my darndest to keep her healthy that week so a silly sickness doesn't stop us from getting cast #2. Third, knowing me I am going to obsessively look at her back and compare to old pictures and see if it looks better, worse, the same. That week full of hugs and baths is going to be so emotional.
We did find out that we should have one friend at Shriner's with us on cast day so that is always helpful to have someone there who gets it.
So as you can see I have a lot on my emotional plate right now and it is slowly starting to seep into my reality. I almost cried when I ordered Kiya's birthday cake....it is going to be a long 3 weeks.
On another note, since I posted about our sleep issues we haven't had any. She has woken up and put herself back to sleep. I haven't had to climb in bed with her. She even slept in the pack n play at a hotel this last weekend. I was shocked as she is way too big for that thing but we were in a jam and so it was and she did great. We were off schedule all weekend with late bedtimes Friday and Saturday and still she slept great. We are thinking part of the issue is her over active imagination along with nightmares/terrors being common at this age. We are headed to the doctor tomorrow for her 2 year check up and will mention the sleep stuff to her as well. And I so know that because I wrote this paragraph, I am jinxing everything and will likely find myself in bed with Kiya at some point tonight. Fingers crossed I am wrong.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sleep issues
To date we have been really lucky in terms of sleeping. Kiya had nap issues when first home and we are working through some nap issues now but night time sleeping was never an issue.
Kiya slept through the night from the time she came home until about a week or so ago unless she was sick or teething. She has been going down to bed just fine even in the new twin bed. She mostly stays in bed at night maybe on a rare night gets up once but then goes right back down.
She is a good self soother and we always put her down awake and she puts herself to sleep. She has never needed rocking and when first home she wasn't a fan of that much contact as we built up trust. Life was really easy. Kiya was a very easy baby. She would sleep 12-13 plus hours straight through every night.
Well not so much nowadays. She still goes to bed well but like clock work around 1 or 2am she is awake. She isn't crying or screaming. She doesn't usually get out of bed unless she needs a new diaper then she will. However she doesn't go right back to sleep. She is often awake for 2-3 or more hours at a time in the wee hours of the morning. She is singing, talking, testing her vocal range. She isn't upset just awake. And this momma has a hard time sleeping through it.
I last night did something I swore I would never do. I climbed into bed with Kiya at about 4am after 3 hours of hearing multiple verses of wheels on the bus or head, shoulders, knees and toes. Yup. I caved. And you know what within 10 minutes or less Kiya was sound asleep. I stayed with her for another 10 minutes or so and then went back to bed. She stayed asleep until just after 8am.
I have no idea if it is the new bed, the potential for freedom, the testing of limits or what but I miss my good sleeper. So if anyone out there in blog land has any suggestions I am more than willing to listen. I don't want to start something (me climbing into her bed) that is going to be really hard to get rid of later but right now it is my best option. I only wish I had done it at 2am instead of 4. Then we all could have had more consecutive hours of sleep.
Kiya slept through the night from the time she came home until about a week or so ago unless she was sick or teething. She has been going down to bed just fine even in the new twin bed. She mostly stays in bed at night maybe on a rare night gets up once but then goes right back down.
She is a good self soother and we always put her down awake and she puts herself to sleep. She has never needed rocking and when first home she wasn't a fan of that much contact as we built up trust. Life was really easy. Kiya was a very easy baby. She would sleep 12-13 plus hours straight through every night.
Well not so much nowadays. She still goes to bed well but like clock work around 1 or 2am she is awake. She isn't crying or screaming. She doesn't usually get out of bed unless she needs a new diaper then she will. However she doesn't go right back to sleep. She is often awake for 2-3 or more hours at a time in the wee hours of the morning. She is singing, talking, testing her vocal range. She isn't upset just awake. And this momma has a hard time sleeping through it.
I last night did something I swore I would never do. I climbed into bed with Kiya at about 4am after 3 hours of hearing multiple verses of wheels on the bus or head, shoulders, knees and toes. Yup. I caved. And you know what within 10 minutes or less Kiya was sound asleep. I stayed with her for another 10 minutes or so and then went back to bed. She stayed asleep until just after 8am.
I have no idea if it is the new bed, the potential for freedom, the testing of limits or what but I miss my good sleeper. So if anyone out there in blog land has any suggestions I am more than willing to listen. I don't want to start something (me climbing into her bed) that is going to be really hard to get rid of later but right now it is my best option. I only wish I had done it at 2am instead of 4. Then we all could have had more consecutive hours of sleep.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Proof that a big girl officially lives in this house
I set up Kiya's brand new twin size bed today. I took apart the rest of the crib and it is now official. Sniff Sniff. There is no longer a crib in this house at least for now :)
And here she is reading one of her favorite books :)
We have been home 18 months today. We came home with a less than 6 month old 12lb baby. Now we are 2 weeks away from a full fledged 2 year old that weighs close to 27lbs and has more spunk than I know what to do with sometimes. She is keeping me on my toes and in the last week I have gone up and down the stairs more times than I can remember returning her to bed at nap time.
That said she is the light of my life spunk and all and I am so proud of my big girl. She loves being a big girl. Last night she was just beaming with pride when she went pee pee on the potty before bedtime and got to flush the toilet. Now if we could just convince her that the hours between 3am and 5am are meant for sleeping and not singing/talking that would be helpful.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
18 months ago
18 months ago yesterday I walked up 4 flights of stairs and saw my sweet baby girl on the floor. Seconds later her nanny handed her to me and my 6 year long dream of being a mother had finally and really come true.
Here she was this tiny little almost 6 month old piece of perfection. She weighed 12lbs and couldn't hold her head up straight when she was sitting. She couldn't sit up unassisted and she couldn't really bare any weight on her legs. She was so tiny and sweet and well beautiful. I was in love. The feeling was definitely not mutual at first.
Kiya didn't really like or want to be held a lot. She was very independent and very cautious with her eye contact. Sh didn't trust me. To her I was merely a meeter of needs. Food, shelter, clothing, etc. I wasn't yet truly her mother.
Now 18 months later, Miss Kiya loves to snuggle and give hugs and kisses. She can be a little on the clingy side more recently but that is age appropriate. She is a walking, talking, independent and lovely little girl.
We have come a long way in 18 months. She is coming into her own in this new role of being a big girl. She was never much of a baby baby. She never really liked bottles and she still likes to do things or try them by herself. We saw her strength in her referral picture. We knew she was one tough and cautious cookie. Cautious in the who are you and what do you want way. She is a little bit of a daredevil otherwise. She was more so before her cast but that doesn't stop her from trying to climb on the couch or out of bed.
She is smart, funny and really very sweet. These 18 months have not always been easy and she has faced some obstacles but has bounced back and is truly a resilient kid. She never ceases to amaze me.
We have developed this wonderful relationship that I hope nurtures and grows. She listens to me and I to her. We don't always agree and well since she is almost 2 you can imagine the meltdowns but either way our relationship is beautiful. It took time and will always need work but the big thing is she trusts me. She needs me. I need her. We need each other. She has taught me so much and I look forward to teaching her and watching her grow.
And while I rely on 4 shot lattes to get me through toddlerhood, I am so in love with this amazing little person. She challenges me and tests me and sometimes that is hard but it comes with being a parent. And I LOVE being a parent.
Here she was this tiny little almost 6 month old piece of perfection. She weighed 12lbs and couldn't hold her head up straight when she was sitting. She couldn't sit up unassisted and she couldn't really bare any weight on her legs. She was so tiny and sweet and well beautiful. I was in love. The feeling was definitely not mutual at first.
Kiya didn't really like or want to be held a lot. She was very independent and very cautious with her eye contact. Sh didn't trust me. To her I was merely a meeter of needs. Food, shelter, clothing, etc. I wasn't yet truly her mother.
Now 18 months later, Miss Kiya loves to snuggle and give hugs and kisses. She can be a little on the clingy side more recently but that is age appropriate. She is a walking, talking, independent and lovely little girl.
We have come a long way in 18 months. She is coming into her own in this new role of being a big girl. She was never much of a baby baby. She never really liked bottles and she still likes to do things or try them by herself. We saw her strength in her referral picture. We knew she was one tough and cautious cookie. Cautious in the who are you and what do you want way. She is a little bit of a daredevil otherwise. She was more so before her cast but that doesn't stop her from trying to climb on the couch or out of bed.
She is smart, funny and really very sweet. These 18 months have not always been easy and she has faced some obstacles but has bounced back and is truly a resilient kid. She never ceases to amaze me.
We have developed this wonderful relationship that I hope nurtures and grows. She listens to me and I to her. We don't always agree and well since she is almost 2 you can imagine the meltdowns but either way our relationship is beautiful. It took time and will always need work but the big thing is she trusts me. She needs me. I need her. We need each other. She has taught me so much and I look forward to teaching her and watching her grow.
And while I rely on 4 shot lattes to get me through toddlerhood, I am so in love with this amazing little person. She challenges me and tests me and sometimes that is hard but it comes with being a parent. And I LOVE being a parent.
Monday, November 8, 2010
My oh my...what have we done
Some how we managed to survive the weekend of change. Kiya did great with the potty training. There were a few times that she resisted and we just left the bathroom and went on with our day. She did have multiple successes though and she seemed really proud of herself. It for sure hasn't all clicked yet but it will.
Today will also be the first time at daycare that they will take Kiya to the potty. She says potty, knows that other kids go in there so we figured let's go for it. We do have a rule at home though that she can't flush the toilet or have toilet paper unless she goes pee pee or poop in the potty. I know some may say that is mean but otherwise she would just keep asking to go potty just so she could flush and wash her hands.
We also took the crib apart. It converts to a toddler bed. In my state of denial, I thought for sure Kiya would stay in bed. She stays on her mat at daycare at naptime so it didn't seem like a stretch. One loud thud heard from downstairs and we both ran up the stairs faster than the speed of light. Apparently she found a way out of her toddler bed. She either climbed over the bed rail or squeezed through the gap. Not fun. We put her back in bed and within minutes she was out again.
For safety reasons, we put the mattress on the floor for the rest of the night. Mommy foiled two other attempts over night to get out of bed. We are using the super nanny approach so first time she gets up we tell her it is bed time and put her back in bed. Second time she gets up we gain return her to bed and say good night. Third and subsequent times there are no words, we just return her to bed. I have seen this routine go on for hours on the TV show so our 30 some minutes until she fell asleep didn't seem that bad. We shall see how tonight goes.
Then there was this morning....my sweet, curious daughter got out of bed and decided that playing with diapers would be a good idea. She went to the cabinet and started to take diapers out and put them in the diaper pail. I heard a noise and went and saw her standing in the middle of the room with a diaper. I thought at first oh maybe I should change her. It was about 5:45am. So I changed her diaper and then realized there were 3 other clean diapers in the diaper pail. Sigh.
I put Kiya back to bed only to hear about 20 minutes later a very loud "all done". She was standing at the baby gate at her door. Dave was up with the dogs and it freaked him out. He wasn't expecting to see her there but there she was. He put her back to bed but again that didn't last long. She was up and out of bed again by about 6:30am, a full hour before she used to get up. I HATE daylight savings time by the way.
So needless to say I was up super early this morning with Miss Kiya. We are marching forward and will be purchasing a twin size bed for Kiya this weekend. The toddler bed thing isn't working out. We will make it work for the week but it has to go. We fully expect that she will get out of bed no matter what size bed she is sleeping in but the whole using the headboard to stand up and try to climb out of the toddler bed is so not safe. I don't want to hear anymore thuds so the mattress will stay on the floor.
I went shopping this morning for twin size bedding. That was more of a task than I thought it would be. I wanted something girlie, childish and that kind of went with her yellow walls. A lot of the bedding I saw was way too old looking or just plain ugly or covered with some cartoon character, etc. I wanted to stay away from that. 3 stores later and T.arget had what I was looking for. I will post pics after her room transformation this weekend.
Life with a curious, smart and super mobile toddler is exhausting but at the same time I wouldn't change a thing. She is a spunky little girl and while it is challenging at times she is super fun and life is never dull when you spend the day with Kiya.
Today will also be the first time at daycare that they will take Kiya to the potty. She says potty, knows that other kids go in there so we figured let's go for it. We do have a rule at home though that she can't flush the toilet or have toilet paper unless she goes pee pee or poop in the potty. I know some may say that is mean but otherwise she would just keep asking to go potty just so she could flush and wash her hands.
We also took the crib apart. It converts to a toddler bed. In my state of denial, I thought for sure Kiya would stay in bed. She stays on her mat at daycare at naptime so it didn't seem like a stretch. One loud thud heard from downstairs and we both ran up the stairs faster than the speed of light. Apparently she found a way out of her toddler bed. She either climbed over the bed rail or squeezed through the gap. Not fun. We put her back in bed and within minutes she was out again.
For safety reasons, we put the mattress on the floor for the rest of the night. Mommy foiled two other attempts over night to get out of bed. We are using the super nanny approach so first time she gets up we tell her it is bed time and put her back in bed. Second time she gets up we gain return her to bed and say good night. Third and subsequent times there are no words, we just return her to bed. I have seen this routine go on for hours on the TV show so our 30 some minutes until she fell asleep didn't seem that bad. We shall see how tonight goes.
Then there was this morning....my sweet, curious daughter got out of bed and decided that playing with diapers would be a good idea. She went to the cabinet and started to take diapers out and put them in the diaper pail. I heard a noise and went and saw her standing in the middle of the room with a diaper. I thought at first oh maybe I should change her. It was about 5:45am. So I changed her diaper and then realized there were 3 other clean diapers in the diaper pail. Sigh.
I put Kiya back to bed only to hear about 20 minutes later a very loud "all done". She was standing at the baby gate at her door. Dave was up with the dogs and it freaked him out. He wasn't expecting to see her there but there she was. He put her back to bed but again that didn't last long. She was up and out of bed again by about 6:30am, a full hour before she used to get up. I HATE daylight savings time by the way.
So needless to say I was up super early this morning with Miss Kiya. We are marching forward and will be purchasing a twin size bed for Kiya this weekend. The toddler bed thing isn't working out. We will make it work for the week but it has to go. We fully expect that she will get out of bed no matter what size bed she is sleeping in but the whole using the headboard to stand up and try to climb out of the toddler bed is so not safe. I don't want to hear anymore thuds so the mattress will stay on the floor.
I went shopping this morning for twin size bedding. That was more of a task than I thought it would be. I wanted something girlie, childish and that kind of went with her yellow walls. A lot of the bedding I saw was way too old looking or just plain ugly or covered with some cartoon character, etc. I wanted to stay away from that. 3 stores later and T.arget had what I was looking for. I will post pics after her room transformation this weekend.
Life with a curious, smart and super mobile toddler is exhausting but at the same time I wouldn't change a thing. She is a spunky little girl and while it is challenging at times she is super fun and life is never dull when you spend the day with Kiya.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Big girl room, potty training and more
Change is a coming to our house in the form of all things big girl. It makes me happy and sad to see Miss Kiya growing up. It is happening so fast but she is ready to be a big girl. I kind of think she has always wanted to be a big girl. She wasn't much in to being a baby until she figured out that she got more attention that way. So we battled that for awhile especially with daycare but not anymore. (Before she walked they would carry her places instead of putting her down and making her hold their hand and walk from point a to point b. The Mama Bear stepped in an a former teacher of Kiya's to make sure that wasn't going to continue and it hasn't.)
First up, the removal of the crib from Miss Kiya's room. This weekend we are transforming her crib into a bed. Bed rail and gate have been purchased. Room has been cleaned. 4 bags of baby girl clothes were donated. It is time. Time for the crib to go.
Next up, potty training I think... This one is tough. She is definitely showing a lot of the signs that she is ready but not all. We know exactly when she is going poop and if we ask her if she is she says yes. Last night we asked her if she was and she said yes and we asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty and she said yes. So diaper on we went over to the potty and she sat down. So I kind of think we could get her to go poop on the potty but not sure about the other. She drinks A LOT of milk and water throughout the day....she is sometimes dry after nap but not usually. She wets A LOT at night. Do we go for it? Wait a few more weeks until she is officially two?
I am going to talk to her teachers at daycare about it today and see what their process is like. If we are doing it we are all doing it together and I don't really want it to be a long drawn out 6 months of sort of potty training. I know night time potty training will take longer and I am okay with that but I don't want to rush things if it means it will take forever to get her daytime potty trained. I would rather wait and still change diapers.
Kiya has fully entered the terrible twos. Sigh. She can throw a tantrum like no other. They aren't frequent so when she does throw one boy is it a good one and usually over something very trivial. We are just rolling with it. We know it is a phase and will pass. We ignore as best we can and take breaks when needed.
She has also decided that whining is the best way to get things. Wrong answer in this house. We have a no whining policy. If she wants milk, to sit on the couch, her book, her blanket or whatever she needs to use her words not just point and whine. So the plus side she is learning a bunch of new words but the downside is that sometimes mid whine she starts to meltdown and needs a break.
We are working on manners so if she wants a book it is book please or in Kiya speak book peas :) And if she wants her milk and says please and we get it for her with some prodding she will say thank you. She is getting better at saying thank you but sometimes we ask her, Kiya what do you say? And her answer: say with a grin. Sigh. We have a spirited one on our hands for sure.
So that is where we are for now...phasing out all things baby and getting ready for our big girl to shine like the superstar that she is.
First up, the removal of the crib from Miss Kiya's room. This weekend we are transforming her crib into a bed. Bed rail and gate have been purchased. Room has been cleaned. 4 bags of baby girl clothes were donated. It is time. Time for the crib to go.
Next up, potty training I think... This one is tough. She is definitely showing a lot of the signs that she is ready but not all. We know exactly when she is going poop and if we ask her if she is she says yes. Last night we asked her if she was and she said yes and we asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty and she said yes. So diaper on we went over to the potty and she sat down. So I kind of think we could get her to go poop on the potty but not sure about the other. She drinks A LOT of milk and water throughout the day....she is sometimes dry after nap but not usually. She wets A LOT at night. Do we go for it? Wait a few more weeks until she is officially two?
I am going to talk to her teachers at daycare about it today and see what their process is like. If we are doing it we are all doing it together and I don't really want it to be a long drawn out 6 months of sort of potty training. I know night time potty training will take longer and I am okay with that but I don't want to rush things if it means it will take forever to get her daytime potty trained. I would rather wait and still change diapers.
Kiya has fully entered the terrible twos. Sigh. She can throw a tantrum like no other. They aren't frequent so when she does throw one boy is it a good one and usually over something very trivial. We are just rolling with it. We know it is a phase and will pass. We ignore as best we can and take breaks when needed.
She has also decided that whining is the best way to get things. Wrong answer in this house. We have a no whining policy. If she wants milk, to sit on the couch, her book, her blanket or whatever she needs to use her words not just point and whine. So the plus side she is learning a bunch of new words but the downside is that sometimes mid whine she starts to meltdown and needs a break.
We are working on manners so if she wants a book it is book please or in Kiya speak book peas :) And if she wants her milk and says please and we get it for her with some prodding she will say thank you. She is getting better at saying thank you but sometimes we ask her, Kiya what do you say? And her answer: say with a grin. Sigh. We have a spirited one on our hands for sure.
So that is where we are for now...phasing out all things baby and getting ready for our big girl to shine like the superstar that she is.
Monday, November 1, 2010
2 weeks and boy am I tired.....
Kiya has been a full time walker for 2 weeks now and I am exhausted. The whining and walking has seemed to stop. Sometimes she still wants to hold a finger but more and more she just takes off.
We were in a bookstore with my mom and she was EVERYWHERE and doing it all by herself. She would walk up this aisle and down this one and wouldn't touch a thing really to adjust her balance. Sometimes she would stop a little and adjust or take a couple steps backwards and then off she went again. I was so glad to have my mom there to help me keep an eye on her. And so proud of Kiya for not tossing all the books on the floor. She actually behaved very very well.
Our Birth to 3 therapist wants her to practice walking on all sorts of surfaces. Kiya does sidewalks fine, and the playground okay but grass not so much so we are going to work on it. Our therapist let Kiya borrow a shopping cart and she LOVES it. She pushes it all over the house turning and steering and running into stuff and backing up and then off again.
We had this great (?) idea to bring Kiya to a local grocery store and let her push this little cart through the store by herself. Again so glad Dave was with me. He followed her and I tried to shop. She went so fast and was again all over and loving it. She even wanted to put stuff in her cart. The first thing she grabbed was sun dried tomatoes, ICK. So those went back and we gave her some lettuce instead and then she wanted bananas and in the lunch meat area she just reached out and grabbed a package of honey smoked turkey breast. We didn't really need it but when we tried to put it back she grabbed it again so we let her keep it. She ate it for lunch when we got home.
She kept wanting to do her own thing and went to the check out line a few times before we were ready. I missed a bunch of stuff that we needed so had to go to the store again today but it was so worth it. She had such a smile on her face. Sure we had a meltdown or two when she wasn't allowed to go a certain way but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I wouldn't necessarily take her by myself unless it was a small trip for just a couple of things and I could focus on her.
I am so excited to see her new found independence but it is tiring this mama out and I am having a second cup of coffee mid afternoon to keep up with her.
We were in a bookstore with my mom and she was EVERYWHERE and doing it all by herself. She would walk up this aisle and down this one and wouldn't touch a thing really to adjust her balance. Sometimes she would stop a little and adjust or take a couple steps backwards and then off she went again. I was so glad to have my mom there to help me keep an eye on her. And so proud of Kiya for not tossing all the books on the floor. She actually behaved very very well.
Our Birth to 3 therapist wants her to practice walking on all sorts of surfaces. Kiya does sidewalks fine, and the playground okay but grass not so much so we are going to work on it. Our therapist let Kiya borrow a shopping cart and she LOVES it. She pushes it all over the house turning and steering and running into stuff and backing up and then off again.
We had this great (?) idea to bring Kiya to a local grocery store and let her push this little cart through the store by herself. Again so glad Dave was with me. He followed her and I tried to shop. She went so fast and was again all over and loving it. She even wanted to put stuff in her cart. The first thing she grabbed was sun dried tomatoes, ICK. So those went back and we gave her some lettuce instead and then she wanted bananas and in the lunch meat area she just reached out and grabbed a package of honey smoked turkey breast. We didn't really need it but when we tried to put it back she grabbed it again so we let her keep it. She ate it for lunch when we got home.
She kept wanting to do her own thing and went to the check out line a few times before we were ready. I missed a bunch of stuff that we needed so had to go to the store again today but it was so worth it. She had such a smile on her face. Sure we had a meltdown or two when she wasn't allowed to go a certain way but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I wouldn't necessarily take her by myself unless it was a small trip for just a couple of things and I could focus on her.
I am so excited to see her new found independence but it is tiring this mama out and I am having a second cup of coffee mid afternoon to keep up with her.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween 2010
We took Kiya trick or treating today for the first time. She was hands down the cutest little cat ever :) I don't think she really understood it all at first but once we got going she was so into it. She would grab her bucket and walk up to the doors. She didn't always say trick or treat but she definitely said thank you and very loudly said it.
She was a total pro about all of it. She wasn't scared of the people, the other kids or the one kind of scary house. Everyone thought she was just too cute for words and we couldn't help but agree. It was a huge success.
She ate her first Peanut Butter cup tonight and LOVED it :) That was the only piece she ate tonight since it was close to bedtime. We had planned on going to just a few houses but she was having fun and our street was kind of lame so we went around the block. She loved every minute of it :) And so did we. Can't wait to do that again :)
Here are some pictures of our super fun night.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Pumpkin Patch
We took Kiya to the Pumpkin Patch today. It was a little muddy but she seemed to not mind at all. In fact she was WAY more excited about the chickens, rooster and duck then anything else. She pretty much wanted a chicken. I think she would have preferred to bring a chicken home than a pumpkin.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Pajama Drive
So I know I mentioned this briefly before and some of you are my friends on facebook so you have seen it and some of you have sent me pajamas already... thanks Stefani.
But here is the official info.
The Lucky Cast Club is holding a Pajama Drive. Check out some cutie pies in their casts here.
The Lucky Cast Club will be collecting New Pajama's to send home with our little cast friends this fall/winter. Casting is uncomfortable for many of our little friends so we thought it would be fun to add a little soft sunshine to their casting day's. You can help us reach our first PJ drive goal by donating a new pair of fun PJ's size 12/18 months to 5t. Lucky Cast Club members will be collecting PJ's until our next cast dates.
Ours is December 14th, but we can ship donations that arrive after that date! Thanks for your support. Here we grow Lucky Cast Friends! The plan is to collect over 150 pair of pjs and then divide then between our hospital in Chicago and then also to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Salt Lake City Shriner's hospital and others as well.
We are well on our way. My nutty idea was to collect 52 pairs of jammies, one for each degree of Kiya's curve. Why? So that each one of those degrees will represent a smile on another child's face.
So if you are so inclined to want to help, leave me a comment with an email. Thanks for all of the support you have shown to us during this journey.
But here is the official info.
The Lucky Cast Club is holding a Pajama Drive. Check out some cutie pies in their casts here.
The Lucky Cast Club will be collecting New Pajama's to send home with our little cast friends this fall/winter. Casting is uncomfortable for many of our little friends so we thought it would be fun to add a little soft sunshine to their casting day's. You can help us reach our first PJ drive goal by donating a new pair of fun PJ's size 12/18 months to 5t. Lucky Cast Club members will be collecting PJ's until our next cast dates.
Ours is December 14th, but we can ship donations that arrive after that date! Thanks for your support. Here we grow Lucky Cast Friends! The plan is to collect over 150 pair of pjs and then divide then between our hospital in Chicago and then also to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Salt Lake City Shriner's hospital and others as well.
We are well on our way. My nutty idea was to collect 52 pairs of jammies, one for each degree of Kiya's curve. Why? So that each one of those degrees will represent a smile on another child's face.
So if you are so inclined to want to help, leave me a comment with an email. Thanks for all of the support you have shown to us during this journey.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
WALKING :)
KIYA WALKS!!! That's right. Kiya is finally officially a full fledged walking toddler. She just let go and did it while we were are my parents house this weekend.
She was walking here and there between one piece of furniture to another before this weekend but my parents house has lots of open space. I honestly thought she was going to crawl a lot this weekend. Boy was I wrong! Now she will walk across the room. ALL BY HERSELF. You can set her down in the middle of a room and she will stand there and then just take off walking. She will pull herself up to a stand and then off she goes.
We are finally there :) She is a tad dramatic about all of it and can sometimes be caught fussing and walking at the same time. Such is the life of an overly dramatic, teething, almost two year old.
Some serious obstacles have been presented to Miss Kiya and she has stared each one down and conquered it. She is truly an amazing kid. I so did not give her enough credit. I thought after the cast she would be so mad and just give up. She was the opposite. She bounced back bigger and better (and straighter) than ever.
So thank you Mehta/EDF cast and Sure Step ankle braces, you helped make my 22 1/2 month old a full fledged toddler. I am so proud of Kiya and just love to watch the joy in her eyes as she walks across the room all by herself. You can see she is just so proud of herself and so are we.
She was walking here and there between one piece of furniture to another before this weekend but my parents house has lots of open space. I honestly thought she was going to crawl a lot this weekend. Boy was I wrong! Now she will walk across the room. ALL BY HERSELF. You can set her down in the middle of a room and she will stand there and then just take off walking. She will pull herself up to a stand and then off she goes.
We are finally there :) She is a tad dramatic about all of it and can sometimes be caught fussing and walking at the same time. Such is the life of an overly dramatic, teething, almost two year old.
Some serious obstacles have been presented to Miss Kiya and she has stared each one down and conquered it. She is truly an amazing kid. I so did not give her enough credit. I thought after the cast she would be so mad and just give up. She was the opposite. She bounced back bigger and better (and straighter) than ever.
So thank you Mehta/EDF cast and Sure Step ankle braces, you helped make my 22 1/2 month old a full fledged toddler. I am so proud of Kiya and just love to watch the joy in her eyes as she walks across the room all by herself. You can see she is just so proud of herself and so are we.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Where to start.....
If you read my last post, you will note that I was talking about everything happens for a reason and life throwing curve balls at me. Wow....boy when it rains it pours.
I am officially unemployed. Yeah kind of came out of nowhere. I mean I knew in the next 12 months sometime I would lose my job but this happened very suddenly. We had a plumbing emergency at the store last Friday night that didn't get fixed until Saturday and well due to the damage we couldn't open for business. I spoke directly with the CEO on Monday and he assured me that the damage would be fixed and we would reopen for business later in the week. Well on Wednesday he called to tell me that they decided not to reopen the store. WHAT????
So Thursday I get a call from the controller and confirm I do get my 30 days severance pay but they are retroactively cancelling my health insurance, effective last Saturday. CRAP! We had prescriptions called in for my husband that weren't filled until Monday/Tuesday of this week. I picked them up and had to pay to co-pays but now fear that we will get slammed for the rest. His meds aren't cheap. We could be facing a bill of over $1000. UGGHHHH. We could pay for COBRA for 30 days which in essence will cost us an arm and a leg and then some. Can we say nightmare?
So I have spent the better part of the last couple of days looking for a job and figuring out our health insurance. I think we have insurance figured out. It is manageable, we just need to see if hubby gets approved with his pre-exsisting condition.
As for a job, I was finishing up some details for the coffee shop and had to stop at the bank. I have been in this bank at least twice a week for the last 3 plus years and we bank there as well so I know a lot of the staff. Well, the Service Manager came over and told me she just posted a full time job with benefits if I was interested and that I should go online and apply. I did just that. Fingers crossed I hear something soon!
It would be more stable hours, with a few Saturdays but doable. We would need to make some adjustments in our childcare but we could figure it out.
And so it goes....I just keep telling myself there must be a reason this is all happening. I definitely don't understand it but I am working through it. In the meantime I am enjoying some quiet time at home with the dogs. (We don't want to pull Kiya out of daycare because as soon as I get a job we will need it again and we don't want to lose our spot to one of the many families on the wait list. )
I am officially unemployed. Yeah kind of came out of nowhere. I mean I knew in the next 12 months sometime I would lose my job but this happened very suddenly. We had a plumbing emergency at the store last Friday night that didn't get fixed until Saturday and well due to the damage we couldn't open for business. I spoke directly with the CEO on Monday and he assured me that the damage would be fixed and we would reopen for business later in the week. Well on Wednesday he called to tell me that they decided not to reopen the store. WHAT????
So Thursday I get a call from the controller and confirm I do get my 30 days severance pay but they are retroactively cancelling my health insurance, effective last Saturday. CRAP! We had prescriptions called in for my husband that weren't filled until Monday/Tuesday of this week. I picked them up and had to pay to co-pays but now fear that we will get slammed for the rest. His meds aren't cheap. We could be facing a bill of over $1000. UGGHHHH. We could pay for COBRA for 30 days which in essence will cost us an arm and a leg and then some. Can we say nightmare?
So I have spent the better part of the last couple of days looking for a job and figuring out our health insurance. I think we have insurance figured out. It is manageable, we just need to see if hubby gets approved with his pre-exsisting condition.
As for a job, I was finishing up some details for the coffee shop and had to stop at the bank. I have been in this bank at least twice a week for the last 3 plus years and we bank there as well so I know a lot of the staff. Well, the Service Manager came over and told me she just posted a full time job with benefits if I was interested and that I should go online and apply. I did just that. Fingers crossed I hear something soon!
It would be more stable hours, with a few Saturdays but doable. We would need to make some adjustments in our childcare but we could figure it out.
And so it goes....I just keep telling myself there must be a reason this is all happening. I definitely don't understand it but I am working through it. In the meantime I am enjoying some quiet time at home with the dogs. (We don't want to pull Kiya out of daycare because as soon as I get a job we will need it again and we don't want to lose our spot to one of the many families on the wait list. )
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Perfect?
I got into a conversation today with an employee at my favorite local coffee shop. She knows a little bit about what is going on with Kiya and asked how she was doing. I told her she was great of course and she asked me, "don't you wish you could make it all go away, poor thing?"
I didn't really know what to say. I actually think my life is perfect just the way it is. I have a wonderful husband, two adorable dogs, a great family, amazing friends and this perfect little girl and hopefully someday in the future an equally perfect little man. Sure my husband works too much, my dogs are kind of nutty, Kiya has a curvy back and the wait for my son is getting really really long but I wouldn't change a thing.
I can't imagine my life any different. Sure there have been some curve balls thrown at me but I have always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I may not always understand the reasons but if it is meant to be it is meant to be. When I tell someone that they look at me like I am crazy, why wouldn't I want to change the things that aren't perfect in their eyes? I guess if I could wave a magic wand and make Kiya's scoliosis go away that would be great but that isn't reality. The reality is she has scoliosis and because of that we have met some amazing kids and families that are really like our extended family. So does this casting stink? Sure but it is doable. Kiya is thriving and we know we aren't alone.
We had a follow up appointment yesterday at Shriner's and were fortunate enough to meet 3 more amazing kids and their moms and dads. It was such a blessing to meet them. They have been such big supporters of Kiya and have helped us through our journey. We saw the doctor and all was well with the cast. No sores, skin breakdown, etc. We went and visited with Nurse Gwen and cast tech Robert and they were so thrilled to hear how great Kiya was doing.
And I thought, you know what? Kiya really is great. She is lively, sassy, bossy and well all the things almost 2 year olds are supposed to be. She is way too smart sometimes and she is loud and she is silly. Since her cast, she has become so much more independent. Her balance has improved. She can stand up without holding on to anything. She can stop and pause while she is walking. Heck she is walking. She walks way more than she crawls. In fact the other day I had to stop and think if I saw her crawl. Sure she has good days and bad but she is truly incredible. Why would I want to change that? Watching her, I have learned so much. Sure life has thrown me some curve balls but it has thrown big ol' boulders at Kiya and every time she bounces back with strength, attitude and laughter. It is a remarkable trait and one I know will serve her well in life.
So to life I say, bring it on. I may not like what you bring, but I know it is supposed to happen and I know that it can be managed. Heck I sure don't like scoliosis but I love my extended scoliosis family and I would never have met these amazing kids and parents. So keep on throwing those curve balls, we are getting pretty good at hitting them out of the park. And with each curve ball comes another amazing revelation or gift.
++Brief update in Kiya's Kare Korner
I didn't really know what to say. I actually think my life is perfect just the way it is. I have a wonderful husband, two adorable dogs, a great family, amazing friends and this perfect little girl and hopefully someday in the future an equally perfect little man. Sure my husband works too much, my dogs are kind of nutty, Kiya has a curvy back and the wait for my son is getting really really long but I wouldn't change a thing.
I can't imagine my life any different. Sure there have been some curve balls thrown at me but I have always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I may not always understand the reasons but if it is meant to be it is meant to be. When I tell someone that they look at me like I am crazy, why wouldn't I want to change the things that aren't perfect in their eyes? I guess if I could wave a magic wand and make Kiya's scoliosis go away that would be great but that isn't reality. The reality is she has scoliosis and because of that we have met some amazing kids and families that are really like our extended family. So does this casting stink? Sure but it is doable. Kiya is thriving and we know we aren't alone.
We had a follow up appointment yesterday at Shriner's and were fortunate enough to meet 3 more amazing kids and their moms and dads. It was such a blessing to meet them. They have been such big supporters of Kiya and have helped us through our journey. We saw the doctor and all was well with the cast. No sores, skin breakdown, etc. We went and visited with Nurse Gwen and cast tech Robert and they were so thrilled to hear how great Kiya was doing.
And I thought, you know what? Kiya really is great. She is lively, sassy, bossy and well all the things almost 2 year olds are supposed to be. She is way too smart sometimes and she is loud and she is silly. Since her cast, she has become so much more independent. Her balance has improved. She can stand up without holding on to anything. She can stop and pause while she is walking. Heck she is walking. She walks way more than she crawls. In fact the other day I had to stop and think if I saw her crawl. Sure she has good days and bad but she is truly incredible. Why would I want to change that? Watching her, I have learned so much. Sure life has thrown me some curve balls but it has thrown big ol' boulders at Kiya and every time she bounces back with strength, attitude and laughter. It is a remarkable trait and one I know will serve her well in life.
So to life I say, bring it on. I may not like what you bring, but I know it is supposed to happen and I know that it can be managed. Heck I sure don't like scoliosis but I love my extended scoliosis family and I would never have met these amazing kids and parents. So keep on throwing those curve balls, we are getting pretty good at hitting them out of the park. And with each curve ball comes another amazing revelation or gift.
++Brief update in Kiya's Kare Korner
Friday, October 8, 2010
Yucky food combos?
Okay so I have seen some gross food combos in the last almost 18 months and have decided it is time to write them down. Why? Well, I don't want to forget so I can tell Kiya all about what she used to combine together. Her combos fall into 2 main categories. Things she dips in ranch dressing and things she dumps into her yogurt and then eats.
The following items have been dipped in ranch: (I am not listing the normal foods, just the weird ones)
--chocolate teddy grahams
--cinnamon teddy grahams
--banana
--pretzels
--pasta with tomato sauce
--raisins
--peaches
--apples
The following have been dumped into her yogurt doesn't matter which flavor:
--cheese pizza
--pasta with sauce
--hot dog
--cheese
--raisins
--chicken
--fish sticks with ketchup already on them
--peas
This all seems really gross to me but doesn't seem to bother her in the least. On the plus side she eats pretty well it is just gross to watch a chocolate teddy graham being dipped in ranch or hot dogs in banana yogurt really got me the other day.
Silly girl.
The following items have been dipped in ranch: (I am not listing the normal foods, just the weird ones)
--chocolate teddy grahams
--cinnamon teddy grahams
--banana
--pretzels
--pasta with tomato sauce
--raisins
--peaches
--apples
The following have been dumped into her yogurt doesn't matter which flavor:
--cheese pizza
--pasta with sauce
--hot dog
--cheese
--raisins
--chicken
--fish sticks with ketchup already on them
--peas
This all seems really gross to me but doesn't seem to bother her in the least. On the plus side she eats pretty well it is just gross to watch a chocolate teddy graham being dipped in ranch or hot dogs in banana yogurt really got me the other day.
Silly girl.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
What am I up to?
Too much really. Stretched a little thin but loving it.
Kiya is keeping me on my toes for sure. She is trying to be sneaky but given that she is set to loud all the time that hasn't really worked. Add to that that she is just too darn cute and let's just say the next couple of years are going to be interesting. We are headed to Chicago for a follow up appointment at Shriner's. She is approaching one month in cast and they like to check on the kids after the first month in their first cast. Her appointment is Monday Oct. 11th. I am super excited because some other amazing mom's will be at Shriner's that day and I can't wait to meet them in person.
We also got Kiya's 2nd cast date. It will be December 14th. We can cut her cast off up to two weeks prior to that which would be very close to her 2nd birthday. We are opting for about one week/8 days prior as it makes me nervous to take it off. I don't have to worry right now about her back getting worse. No cast means her back could get worse.
The rest of life is also keeping my busy. I now occasionally blog at
http://www.luckycastclub.blogspot.com/
Okay, I have only posted once so far but I am a new author. It is a joint blog with multiple authors who are moms with kids with infantile scoliosis.
You can also check out this cool website, set up by a friend I hope to meet on the 11th.
http://www.luckycastclub.com/
Basically both ventures are there to empower and reach out to families dealing with scoliosis. Our ultimate goal is to set up a non-profit organization to raise funds and gather supplies for families and kids dealing with this condition. We are starting small and dreaming big.
First up, a Pajama Drive. More details will follow but ultimately, we are trying to collect comfy pajamas size 12 month to 5t to distribute to kids on their cast day. We got Dora pajamas for Kiya from a dear friend and it was really neat. We want all kids to have that.
If that isn't enough, I may be joining forces with an old friend from grade school who now works for Project C.U.R.E to see if we can get some more medical supplies headed to hospitals in Ethiopia.
Add to that that I still work full time, am a full time Mom and have two crazy pugs who don't get nearly enough attention and my plate is FULL. I wouldn't change a thing though. Busy is good. Keeps me out of trouble.
Kiya is keeping me on my toes for sure. She is trying to be sneaky but given that she is set to loud all the time that hasn't really worked. Add to that that she is just too darn cute and let's just say the next couple of years are going to be interesting. We are headed to Chicago for a follow up appointment at Shriner's. She is approaching one month in cast and they like to check on the kids after the first month in their first cast. Her appointment is Monday Oct. 11th. I am super excited because some other amazing mom's will be at Shriner's that day and I can't wait to meet them in person.
We also got Kiya's 2nd cast date. It will be December 14th. We can cut her cast off up to two weeks prior to that which would be very close to her 2nd birthday. We are opting for about one week/8 days prior as it makes me nervous to take it off. I don't have to worry right now about her back getting worse. No cast means her back could get worse.
The rest of life is also keeping my busy. I now occasionally blog at
http://www.luckycastclub.blogspot.com/
Okay, I have only posted once so far but I am a new author. It is a joint blog with multiple authors who are moms with kids with infantile scoliosis.
You can also check out this cool website, set up by a friend I hope to meet on the 11th.
http://www.luckycastclub.com/
Basically both ventures are there to empower and reach out to families dealing with scoliosis. Our ultimate goal is to set up a non-profit organization to raise funds and gather supplies for families and kids dealing with this condition. We are starting small and dreaming big.
First up, a Pajama Drive. More details will follow but ultimately, we are trying to collect comfy pajamas size 12 month to 5t to distribute to kids on their cast day. We got Dora pajamas for Kiya from a dear friend and it was really neat. We want all kids to have that.
If that isn't enough, I may be joining forces with an old friend from grade school who now works for Project C.U.R.E to see if we can get some more medical supplies headed to hospitals in Ethiopia.
Add to that that I still work full time, am a full time Mom and have two crazy pugs who don't get nearly enough attention and my plate is FULL. I wouldn't change a thing though. Busy is good. Keeps me out of trouble.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
llama llama again!
Kiya loves to read. She will sometimes be content just flipping through her books by herself or she will insist that you read them to her. She has some very clear favorites and those change over time. It used to be Princess Baby and Good Night God and then her Dora books and well now it is all about Llama Llama.
There are a total of 4 Llama Llama books. We own two. The other is only in hardback and the holiday one is a pre-order only right now. So this means that we read these same two books multiple times per day and I am not talking about twice each. Try more like 4 or more times each book everyday. She can't say llama so she screams for mama. She calls me mommy and the books mama. Very cute really.
These books are a little longer and she actually pays attention to them. She will sit or stand for the whole book and usually each time we read it. She loves them. We get a little tired of reading them but they are cute books and it is a guarantee we will have the others. I am hoping they pop up on her daycare book sale list. That is how I got the other two and they were only $3 a piece.
So until then we will read llama llama and enjoy all of the baby llama drama. :)
There are a total of 4 Llama Llama books. We own two. The other is only in hardback and the holiday one is a pre-order only right now. So this means that we read these same two books multiple times per day and I am not talking about twice each. Try more like 4 or more times each book everyday. She can't say llama so she screams for mama. She calls me mommy and the books mama. Very cute really.
These books are a little longer and she actually pays attention to them. She will sit or stand for the whole book and usually each time we read it. She loves them. We get a little tired of reading them but they are cute books and it is a guarantee we will have the others. I am hoping they pop up on her daycare book sale list. That is how I got the other two and they were only $3 a piece.
So until then we will read llama llama and enjoy all of the baby llama drama. :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Walking?
So tomorrow we hit two weeks in cast and 1 week in her ankle supports and guess what....we have a sort of walker :) She would take independent steps before but usually only after much coaxing and really only to me or to Dave.
Now that is not the case. On more than a few occasions today did I spot Miss Kiya taking off walking all on her own. She even stopped a few times even and just stood there not holding on to anything. She would walk from her toy box to the coffee table to get her sippy cup. She walked from the window to the couch to try and get the remote control. She walked from the couch to her table to play with her puzzles. I could go on but that would be boring. In the past Kiya would crawl to get to these things but it appears she might be leaving the crawling behind.
I am not going to say she is a full time walker yet but we have a solid part time walker. The best part is she will walk with her shoes and supports and without :)
My baby girl is going to be running soon...pray for us.
Now that is not the case. On more than a few occasions today did I spot Miss Kiya taking off walking all on her own. She even stopped a few times even and just stood there not holding on to anything. She would walk from her toy box to the coffee table to get her sippy cup. She walked from the window to the couch to try and get the remote control. She walked from the couch to her table to play with her puzzles. I could go on but that would be boring. In the past Kiya would crawl to get to these things but it appears she might be leaving the crawling behind.
I am not going to say she is a full time walker yet but we have a solid part time walker. The best part is she will walk with her shoes and supports and without :)
My baby girl is going to be running soon...pray for us.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Life with a frustrated, determined and loud toddler
Kiya is doing fantastic. In fact her physical therapist was just so impressed with her. She couldn't believe how well Kiya was walking, bending, etc with her cast on and her ankle supports. She doesn't think it will be all that long before Kiya takes up walking full time. Right now it is a part time activity but standing is much more comfortable and as she gets used to her ankle supports that will help too. She also commented on how great Kiya's hand/eye coordination are, her verbal skills and just how well she will imitate sounds, words etc. The two of them had fun yesterday.
That said there are times when Miss Kiya gets frustrated. And her frustration leads to screaming. Sigh. Bring on the terrible two's. If she tips over and is in a corner somewhere she has a hard time maneuvering herself to be able to get out. Also since she still crawls at times and wears a lot of leggings, she slips and falls a lot on the carpet and the linoleum floors. Both of these require a scream and usually mommy asking if she needs help. If she says yes I help her otherwise I encourage her to try again and do it herself.
She also really wants to try to climb the stairs again. This Mama is not ready for that one. She is top heavy and only been in her cast a little over a week. Maybe in a few weeks....maybe....or not. Sounds scary.
She is very determined to do things herself yet sometimes she just can't, hence the frustration. She has a great vocabulary so we are encouraging her to use her words and not scream and if she is to whiny/screamy/frustrated we take a break. A break includes her sitting in her chair with her blanket (also known as tee tee thanks to a girl her age at daycare) and calming down. She gets up when she is ready and is usually in a better mood after that.
Volume control is an issue in that she doesn't have one. She is set to LOUD all the time doesn't matter if we are inside a store, at home or outside at the park. Screams of "hi, bye bye, nigh nigh" are all common.
We also hear a lot of "Mommy, Daddy, r you?" (as in where are you). Or my favorite, "Mommy, now or Daddy, now." She also repeats everything and since Badger can be a tad naughty at times and is told no a lot, she has been yelling at him. Poor guy. So we are also hearing, "Doggie, no. Sit." Doggie is Badger, Bassy is Sebastian. She rarely yells at her Bassy. Though I was calling for Sebastian to come inside and she was behind me saying, "Bassy, Bassy, r u?" We are working on not saying no to Badger but that is tough. He has issues but we are trying to praise him and teach Kiya "Good Doggie".
Yesterday we were at the grocery store and she was singing which she does all the time and when she finished "wheels on the bus" she screamed "yeah". I told her she was being loud and she repeated "loud, loud, loud" to the tune of "wheels on the bus". Sigh. And no there was no inside voice at all. She is just loud and loves to hear herself and wants to make sure everyone can hear her too. It always cracks me up when a former teacher at daycare says that she doesn't hear Kiya talk much. I was like, really, try spending 30 minutes with her in the car.
So life has returned and we are settled into our new normal. Kiya is just a remarkable kid and I am truly in awe of her. Nothing is going to stop her and I think that is a great quality. Next week she starts her transition to her new room at daycare. I am not super thrilled about it as we will have brand new teachers that she doesn't know and will now have to deal with her cast. I foresee this Mama Bear having to step out and set up some guidelines but we shall see. I am trying to be open minded about it but I know what they are going to want and it isn't what I want. For example, Kiya falls asleep on her own. She doesn't need to be rocked and while I complain about nap fail she does just fine if she chooses to skip one. Apparently these teachers want all the children to sleep. Kiya sometimes sleep 13+ hours a night and therefore doesn't necessarily need a nap. In fact even in her current room on her daily sheet there was a frowning face because she only napped for a little over an hour one day. Sigh....sorry she is a curious kid and just can't be bothered with sleep.
That said there are times when Miss Kiya gets frustrated. And her frustration leads to screaming. Sigh. Bring on the terrible two's. If she tips over and is in a corner somewhere she has a hard time maneuvering herself to be able to get out. Also since she still crawls at times and wears a lot of leggings, she slips and falls a lot on the carpet and the linoleum floors. Both of these require a scream and usually mommy asking if she needs help. If she says yes I help her otherwise I encourage her to try again and do it herself.
She also really wants to try to climb the stairs again. This Mama is not ready for that one. She is top heavy and only been in her cast a little over a week. Maybe in a few weeks....maybe....or not. Sounds scary.
She is very determined to do things herself yet sometimes she just can't, hence the frustration. She has a great vocabulary so we are encouraging her to use her words and not scream and if she is to whiny/screamy/frustrated we take a break. A break includes her sitting in her chair with her blanket (also known as tee tee thanks to a girl her age at daycare) and calming down. She gets up when she is ready and is usually in a better mood after that.
Volume control is an issue in that she doesn't have one. She is set to LOUD all the time doesn't matter if we are inside a store, at home or outside at the park. Screams of "hi, bye bye, nigh nigh" are all common.
We also hear a lot of "Mommy, Daddy, r you?" (as in where are you). Or my favorite, "Mommy, now or Daddy, now." She also repeats everything and since Badger can be a tad naughty at times and is told no a lot, she has been yelling at him. Poor guy. So we are also hearing, "Doggie, no. Sit." Doggie is Badger, Bassy is Sebastian. She rarely yells at her Bassy. Though I was calling for Sebastian to come inside and she was behind me saying, "Bassy, Bassy, r u?" We are working on not saying no to Badger but that is tough. He has issues but we are trying to praise him and teach Kiya "Good Doggie".
Yesterday we were at the grocery store and she was singing which she does all the time and when she finished "wheels on the bus" she screamed "yeah". I told her she was being loud and she repeated "loud, loud, loud" to the tune of "wheels on the bus". Sigh. And no there was no inside voice at all. She is just loud and loves to hear herself and wants to make sure everyone can hear her too. It always cracks me up when a former teacher at daycare says that she doesn't hear Kiya talk much. I was like, really, try spending 30 minutes with her in the car.
So life has returned and we are settled into our new normal. Kiya is just a remarkable kid and I am truly in awe of her. Nothing is going to stop her and I think that is a great quality. Next week she starts her transition to her new room at daycare. I am not super thrilled about it as we will have brand new teachers that she doesn't know and will now have to deal with her cast. I foresee this Mama Bear having to step out and set up some guidelines but we shall see. I am trying to be open minded about it but I know what they are going to want and it isn't what I want. For example, Kiya falls asleep on her own. She doesn't need to be rocked and while I complain about nap fail she does just fine if she chooses to skip one. Apparently these teachers want all the children to sleep. Kiya sometimes sleep 13+ hours a night and therefore doesn't necessarily need a nap. In fact even in her current room on her daily sheet there was a frowning face because she only napped for a little over an hour one day. Sigh....sorry she is a curious kid and just can't be bothered with sleep.
Monday, September 20, 2010
How is she doing?
GREAT!
Check Kiya's Kare Korner for more details :)
I love this kid. She is a super star!
Check Kiya's Kare Korner for more details :)
I love this kid. She is a super star!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
The depths of motherhood
This post has been in my head for awhile...not sure I am really read to write it but I am going to take a stab at it.
Motherhood was not always my dream. When I was 18 I was pretty sure I didn't want to have kids. When that changed I wanted a boy for sure no girls. Like I could have a say in that. Then I met my husband and I knew for sure that some day I wanted to be a mom and it really didn't matter if it was boy or a girl. I just had this gut feeling.
My journey to motherhood was challenging and full of heartache at times. There were needles and tests and drugs and waiting and more waiting and lots and lots of tears and stress. Then we decided to adopt. And with that there came waiting, heartache, tears and finally one cold day in January a call forever changed my life. I saw my daughter's face that day and I knew deep down in my soul that we meant for each other. I knew she had gone through so much and that she was so so tiny and so vulnerable and that somewhere 7000 miles away a dear, loving woman made a very difficult choice deep seated in her love for that little girl. The little girl I call my daughter.
All along my journey to motherhood, I am not sure I really got what it meant to be a mother through and through. Sure there is the day to day meeting of basic needs but it is so much more than that. Motherhood runs deep through me to my very core. I wasn't really prepared for how intensely you can love, nurture and advocate for a child. I didn't get it. I get it now.
My sweet Kiya is truly a gift from God. She is a force of nature and I have learned in these recent months that there is nothing I wouldn't do for this little girl. Nothing. A dear friend said on Tuesday, cast day, that she forgot for a moment that Kiya was adopted. She saw pure love, connection and family that day. That really touched me. I don't think too much about it but to know that someone looking in at our family saw just that a family formed by pure love...well there are no words to describe how that makes me feel. It is what I always hoped and dreamed about but to know that it shows through to others unfamiliar with adoption tugged at my heart.
Motherhood has forever changed me in ways I never dreamed possible and while my path to motherhood was long and difficult I wouldn't change a thing. I can't envision it any other way. We truly were supposed to be mother and daughter. I can't thank dear Zinash enough...she did something I could never have done. Her love for our little girl is so amazing. The depths of motherhood ran deep through her as well. They had to. For her to willingly place her daughter in the hands of strangers. Wow. She is a pillar of strength and part of my heart will always belong to her.
Being a mom is the best and hardest job I have ever had. I love my sweet girl more than I ever thought possible. I will fight for her when she can't and I will stand by her always. I don't think I fully understood this until we had to face the reality of her scoliosis. It has made our bond run deeper. It had too. She was scared. I was scared. I had to tap into a reserve of strength I didn't know I had. Why? Because my daughter needed me. I wouldn't have found this strength without her. She is my motivation. My driving force. She is my daughter and it became all to real that the world better not stand in her way or mine.
Motherhood was not always my dream. When I was 18 I was pretty sure I didn't want to have kids. When that changed I wanted a boy for sure no girls. Like I could have a say in that. Then I met my husband and I knew for sure that some day I wanted to be a mom and it really didn't matter if it was boy or a girl. I just had this gut feeling.
My journey to motherhood was challenging and full of heartache at times. There were needles and tests and drugs and waiting and more waiting and lots and lots of tears and stress. Then we decided to adopt. And with that there came waiting, heartache, tears and finally one cold day in January a call forever changed my life. I saw my daughter's face that day and I knew deep down in my soul that we meant for each other. I knew she had gone through so much and that she was so so tiny and so vulnerable and that somewhere 7000 miles away a dear, loving woman made a very difficult choice deep seated in her love for that little girl. The little girl I call my daughter.
All along my journey to motherhood, I am not sure I really got what it meant to be a mother through and through. Sure there is the day to day meeting of basic needs but it is so much more than that. Motherhood runs deep through me to my very core. I wasn't really prepared for how intensely you can love, nurture and advocate for a child. I didn't get it. I get it now.
My sweet Kiya is truly a gift from God. She is a force of nature and I have learned in these recent months that there is nothing I wouldn't do for this little girl. Nothing. A dear friend said on Tuesday, cast day, that she forgot for a moment that Kiya was adopted. She saw pure love, connection and family that day. That really touched me. I don't think too much about it but to know that someone looking in at our family saw just that a family formed by pure love...well there are no words to describe how that makes me feel. It is what I always hoped and dreamed about but to know that it shows through to others unfamiliar with adoption tugged at my heart.
Motherhood has forever changed me in ways I never dreamed possible and while my path to motherhood was long and difficult I wouldn't change a thing. I can't envision it any other way. We truly were supposed to be mother and daughter. I can't thank dear Zinash enough...she did something I could never have done. Her love for our little girl is so amazing. The depths of motherhood ran deep through her as well. They had to. For her to willingly place her daughter in the hands of strangers. Wow. She is a pillar of strength and part of my heart will always belong to her.
Being a mom is the best and hardest job I have ever had. I love my sweet girl more than I ever thought possible. I will fight for her when she can't and I will stand by her always. I don't think I fully understood this until we had to face the reality of her scoliosis. It has made our bond run deeper. It had too. She was scared. I was scared. I had to tap into a reserve of strength I didn't know I had. Why? Because my daughter needed me. I wouldn't have found this strength without her. She is my motivation. My driving force. She is my daughter and it became all to real that the world better not stand in her way or mine.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Learning Curve
We are adjusting to our new normal. We all have a lot to learn. Just about everything is different now. The one constant is Kiya's super silly, sassy personality. She is back and full of attitude.
We gave her a sponge bath in the laundry room sink. That was a little interesting but went okay. It will get better. We haven't attempted hair washing yet but will this weekend.
Diapering is going okay. She isn't a big fan of it but is getting a little better with it. It just feels different and we have to tuck the diaper up under her cast in front and back.
The two biggest challenges we have had have been eating and sitting. When Kiya was sitting in her high chair with the tray on, she couldn't really see her food and she couldn't reach her sippy cup in the cup holder. It was a little better when we took the tray off and pushed her up to the table. We have now moved on to the booster seat right up to the table and that appears to be the best option. Her arm span is a little shorter now with the cast on so she can't reach as far.
Then there is sitting up. She really can't sit up all that well by herself. She needs to be leaning up against something. She has sat up without support but not for long and it appears to be uncomfortable for her.
So we still have some little kinks to work out but we are all moving forward and learning and adjusting. Kiya is a total rock star and has been amazing. Sure she is whiny, demanding and full of attitude but I am pretty sure that isn't all cast related as she is almost two and well has always been full of drama :)
I am pretty convinced that we have the most adaptable, accepting, loving, sweet and sassy little girl.
**Updates on Kiya's progress in Kiya's Kare Korner
We gave her a sponge bath in the laundry room sink. That was a little interesting but went okay. It will get better. We haven't attempted hair washing yet but will this weekend.
Diapering is going okay. She isn't a big fan of it but is getting a little better with it. It just feels different and we have to tuck the diaper up under her cast in front and back.
The two biggest challenges we have had have been eating and sitting. When Kiya was sitting in her high chair with the tray on, she couldn't really see her food and she couldn't reach her sippy cup in the cup holder. It was a little better when we took the tray off and pushed her up to the table. We have now moved on to the booster seat right up to the table and that appears to be the best option. Her arm span is a little shorter now with the cast on so she can't reach as far.
Then there is sitting up. She really can't sit up all that well by herself. She needs to be leaning up against something. She has sat up without support but not for long and it appears to be uncomfortable for her.
So we still have some little kinks to work out but we are all moving forward and learning and adjusting. Kiya is a total rock star and has been amazing. Sure she is whiny, demanding and full of attitude but I am pretty sure that isn't all cast related as she is almost two and well has always been full of drama :)
I am pretty convinced that we have the most adaptable, accepting, loving, sweet and sassy little girl.
**Updates on Kiya's progress in Kiya's Kare Korner
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Cast Day
So yesterday was the big day. It was overwhelming and long to say the least. We had to be there at 6am and we walked out the doors about noon.
I am not even really sure I can accurately put into words what yesterday was like. It just was. However, I can say that I really feel like we had the best first cast day ever. Why? Well so many reasons really. First, we got to share it with two amazing families that have been with us on this journey the last few months. Their sons were there for cast #5 and the hugs, words of support and encouragement meant the world to us. I have life long friends in these women. Their husbands and parents are pretty amazing too. And the kids, well I think we had the 3 cutest, bravest and most amazing kids in that hospital yesterday.
Where there tears? Oh yeah. I cried a good number of them.Where there screams? Oh yeah. Kiya post anesthesia screaming was really tough. Really really tough but once we were able to be with her it helped. Yes we could here her screaming from the waiting area. I am not sure I could have prepared myself for that. I was warned by my new friends and Nurse Gwen (who is a saint in my opinion) but wow that was the worst part of the day for sure.
We were with Kiya up until the rolled her back to surgery. We even got to gown up and watch cartoons in pre-op with her. They gave her some medicine to help ease separation. Kiya LOVED it and wanted to more. Instead of settling she was all over the place. The nurse bought out this crazy singing/dancing super annoying monkey and she finally sat and watched that and settled. They rolled her back just before 8:30am.
We went and had some breakfast and waited. We sat with one of the other families and just chatted while trying to pass the time. Finally, the doctor's showed up. We got to meet her new Doctor also and he is GREAT. They told us her pre-cast x-ray showed a curve of 50 + degrees (she was previously around 40) and that they were able to hold her curve at 15 degrees in cast. I think I teared up and would have fainted had I not been leaning on a desk. I was never expecting to hear such a low in cast number. That doesn't mean when we take the cast off in a few months that her curve will be 15 it just means they were able to manipulate her spine and hold her at 15 for the next few months. I so wish I would hear 15 for her next x-ray but that is unlikely. We were assured that this was fabulous news for a first cast so we went with that.
Next up was taping, trimming and a little more trimming. The cast saw was not Kiya's favorite nor was Nurse Gwen and her tape. Did I mention that Nurse Gwen is a saint. She just loved on sweet Kiya and she could see that she was a spunky, spirited kid. She wished us luck with her :) She was just the best and didn't even mind when Kiya flung yogurt all over all of us really. She just laughed and said at least she didn't puke on me :) Robert had to trim a few places on the cast and really he is a gentle soul with all the kids as well.
So here we were with Kiya in her freshly taped and trimmed purple cast and kind of like now what. Our new normal was starting to set in. We had to change her diaper and that was challenge but some kind words from a sweet grandma helped. Now I feel like I could do it in my sleep. We had to adjust. We all did.
Kiya really did great. Much better than I had anticipated. I was preparing myself for the worst. All the nurses, techs, doctors, parents, etc kept commenting that Kiya really did do fabulous for it being her first cast. I was prepared for a long 3 hour drive with a grumpy toddler but I got a quiet peaceful ride. She asked for teddy grahams, pretzels and her dolly and then she slept. So sweet. She spent the afternoon on the couch where she watched her favorite shows. I fed her some yogurt. She did ask for a hot dog so of course she got one. She did manage to eat some of that by herself in the high chair. We are still working on the feeding situation as she can't see her food as well.
She can't really sit up by herself and as of last night couldn't stand up, roll over, crawl or really do much of anything. She did walk a few steps holding our hands but not much. I don't blame her really. She was in full traction and pulled every which way possible to get that 50 down to 15. She was sore and top heavy.
She went to bed at 7 after some Tylenol. Woke at 9:30ish and we gave her some Ibuprofen. She slept until 1am. I changed her diaper and gave her some tylenol and she slept the rest of the night.
Kiya is a truly amazing kid. She surprised us yesterday again with her resilience. I don't think I give her enough credit. I have a lot to learn from that little one. I am proud to be her mother. And if I ever doubted (which I don't) that we truly attached and bonded as a family, I got complete confirmation in that yes in fact we are. She needs us. She calls for us. She settled down for us. And we need her to keep us grounded and to keep on trucking. Nothing is going to stop Miss Kiya and I love that about my daughter.
***Update in Kiya's Korner also and will post updates about day to day there as well
I am not even really sure I can accurately put into words what yesterday was like. It just was. However, I can say that I really feel like we had the best first cast day ever. Why? Well so many reasons really. First, we got to share it with two amazing families that have been with us on this journey the last few months. Their sons were there for cast #5 and the hugs, words of support and encouragement meant the world to us. I have life long friends in these women. Their husbands and parents are pretty amazing too. And the kids, well I think we had the 3 cutest, bravest and most amazing kids in that hospital yesterday.
Where there tears? Oh yeah. I cried a good number of them.Where there screams? Oh yeah. Kiya post anesthesia screaming was really tough. Really really tough but once we were able to be with her it helped. Yes we could here her screaming from the waiting area. I am not sure I could have prepared myself for that. I was warned by my new friends and Nurse Gwen (who is a saint in my opinion) but wow that was the worst part of the day for sure.
We were with Kiya up until the rolled her back to surgery. We even got to gown up and watch cartoons in pre-op with her. They gave her some medicine to help ease separation. Kiya LOVED it and wanted to more. Instead of settling she was all over the place. The nurse bought out this crazy singing/dancing super annoying monkey and she finally sat and watched that and settled. They rolled her back just before 8:30am.
We went and had some breakfast and waited. We sat with one of the other families and just chatted while trying to pass the time. Finally, the doctor's showed up. We got to meet her new Doctor also and he is GREAT. They told us her pre-cast x-ray showed a curve of 50 + degrees (she was previously around 40) and that they were able to hold her curve at 15 degrees in cast. I think I teared up and would have fainted had I not been leaning on a desk. I was never expecting to hear such a low in cast number. That doesn't mean when we take the cast off in a few months that her curve will be 15 it just means they were able to manipulate her spine and hold her at 15 for the next few months. I so wish I would hear 15 for her next x-ray but that is unlikely. We were assured that this was fabulous news for a first cast so we went with that.
Next up was taping, trimming and a little more trimming. The cast saw was not Kiya's favorite nor was Nurse Gwen and her tape. Did I mention that Nurse Gwen is a saint. She just loved on sweet Kiya and she could see that she was a spunky, spirited kid. She wished us luck with her :) She was just the best and didn't even mind when Kiya flung yogurt all over all of us really. She just laughed and said at least she didn't puke on me :) Robert had to trim a few places on the cast and really he is a gentle soul with all the kids as well.
So here we were with Kiya in her freshly taped and trimmed purple cast and kind of like now what. Our new normal was starting to set in. We had to change her diaper and that was challenge but some kind words from a sweet grandma helped. Now I feel like I could do it in my sleep. We had to adjust. We all did.
Kiya really did great. Much better than I had anticipated. I was preparing myself for the worst. All the nurses, techs, doctors, parents, etc kept commenting that Kiya really did do fabulous for it being her first cast. I was prepared for a long 3 hour drive with a grumpy toddler but I got a quiet peaceful ride. She asked for teddy grahams, pretzels and her dolly and then she slept. So sweet. She spent the afternoon on the couch where she watched her favorite shows. I fed her some yogurt. She did ask for a hot dog so of course she got one. She did manage to eat some of that by herself in the high chair. We are still working on the feeding situation as she can't see her food as well.
She can't really sit up by herself and as of last night couldn't stand up, roll over, crawl or really do much of anything. She did walk a few steps holding our hands but not much. I don't blame her really. She was in full traction and pulled every which way possible to get that 50 down to 15. She was sore and top heavy.
She went to bed at 7 after some Tylenol. Woke at 9:30ish and we gave her some Ibuprofen. She slept until 1am. I changed her diaper and gave her some tylenol and she slept the rest of the night.
Kiya is a truly amazing kid. She surprised us yesterday again with her resilience. I don't think I give her enough credit. I have a lot to learn from that little one. I am proud to be her mother. And if I ever doubted (which I don't) that we truly attached and bonded as a family, I got complete confirmation in that yes in fact we are. She needs us. She calls for us. She settled down for us. And we need her to keep us grounded and to keep on trucking. Nothing is going to stop Miss Kiya and I love that about my daughter.
***Update in Kiya's Korner also and will post updates about day to day there as well
Monday, September 13, 2010
Infantile Scoliosis
So forgive me today but I am going to stand up on my soapbox and use this blog post today to better educate the people in my life and those that may stop by. Why? Well, first off I want family and friends to understand what exactly is happening with Kiya and maybe answer some of their questions or reassure them a little and second maybe just maybe someone will read this and pass along the info to someone else who might share it with someone else, etc. And frankly, I am tired of hearing stories about pediatricians that know NOTHING about infantile scoliosis and the seriousness of it. It has happened to us once and I have heard way to many other stories.
Here is a place with some basic info that answers a lot of questions:
http://www.scoliosis.org/resources/medicalupdates/earlyonset.php
Here is the place I first went to when researching on the internet.
http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/
Because of this website I found a Y.ahoo group for parents with kids with infantile scoliosis. It is because of this group that I met my Chicago sisters that have been beyond welcoming and amazing and I am so fortunate that 2 of them will be at Shriner's with us tomorrow for their children's casts. If you have a moment watch the videos. Kiya will be able to do everything she is already doing and more. This cast will force her to do things a little differently but she can still play, walk, run, jump, etc.
Here are some other good articles.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165856.php
http://nyp.org/enews/cast-correction-iis.html
Thanks to a dear friend that I am so blessed to meet, Catie, we found our way to Shriner's Chicago. I signed up for the Y.ahoo group and posted our story. Within a few hours if that, Catie personally sent me an email and shared TONS of info with me and got me connected with the other Chicago Sisters as they call themselves. I get to meet Catie and Chrissy tomorrow. I have spent a lot of time on the phone with Cara and Sarah has been great to chat with on Facebook and then Amy and Catie send me videos. I am sometimes amazed by the powers of the internet and am so grateful to these amazing women for reaching out to me and showing me the ropes. We all speak the same language and that is a huge comfort.
It is because of these women and others out there that we didn't opt for the wait and see approach. If we had Kiya would not be having this cast done tomorrow but her curve likely would have gotten worse as every expert that has seen her doesn't think it will resolve on its own. We would have sat and waited until the end of October for more x-rays and then maybe a brace. A brace is in our future but braces only hold curves they can't correct them. These casts could in turn with follow up bracing cure her of scoliosis and prevent her from having VERY dangerous and risky spine surgery. We can't say 100% that surgery isn't in her future right now but if we proceeded with the wait and see approach surgery would have been a guarantee no doubt about it.
So we deal with a series of plaster casts that are on 8-12 weeks at a time with a one week break in between for as many as two years (but very likely less). Will it be challenging--yes. Is it doable...yes. Is it necessary...yes.
Stepping off the soapbox
Here is a place with some basic info that answers a lot of questions:
http://www.scoliosis.org/resources/medicalupdates/earlyonset.php
Here is the place I first went to when researching on the internet.
http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/
Because of this website I found a Y.ahoo group for parents with kids with infantile scoliosis. It is because of this group that I met my Chicago sisters that have been beyond welcoming and amazing and I am so fortunate that 2 of them will be at Shriner's with us tomorrow for their children's casts. If you have a moment watch the videos. Kiya will be able to do everything she is already doing and more. This cast will force her to do things a little differently but she can still play, walk, run, jump, etc.
Here are some other good articles.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165856.php
http://nyp.org/enews/cast-correction-iis.html
Thanks to a dear friend that I am so blessed to meet, Catie, we found our way to Shriner's Chicago. I signed up for the Y.ahoo group and posted our story. Within a few hours if that, Catie personally sent me an email and shared TONS of info with me and got me connected with the other Chicago Sisters as they call themselves. I get to meet Catie and Chrissy tomorrow. I have spent a lot of time on the phone with Cara and Sarah has been great to chat with on Facebook and then Amy and Catie send me videos. I am sometimes amazed by the powers of the internet and am so grateful to these amazing women for reaching out to me and showing me the ropes. We all speak the same language and that is a huge comfort.
It is because of these women and others out there that we didn't opt for the wait and see approach. If we had Kiya would not be having this cast done tomorrow but her curve likely would have gotten worse as every expert that has seen her doesn't think it will resolve on its own. We would have sat and waited until the end of October for more x-rays and then maybe a brace. A brace is in our future but braces only hold curves they can't correct them. These casts could in turn with follow up bracing cure her of scoliosis and prevent her from having VERY dangerous and risky spine surgery. We can't say 100% that surgery isn't in her future right now but if we proceeded with the wait and see approach surgery would have been a guarantee no doubt about it.
So we deal with a series of plaster casts that are on 8-12 weeks at a time with a one week break in between for as many as two years (but very likely less). Will it be challenging--yes. Is it doable...yes. Is it necessary...yes.
Stepping off the soapbox
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Melkam Addis Amet!
Happy Ethiopian New Year! September 11th marks the beginning of the year 2003 in Ethiopia. Kiya was born in year 2000 in Ethiopia which was the year 2008 here in the US.
This date also marks the anniversary of when Kiya became a US citizen. The date on her COC is September 11th. Ironic that she lost her Ethiopian citizenship on Ethiopian New Year. Sigh.
We as per family tradition of 1 year will go out to eat at our local Ethiopian restaurant and have a family picture taken to mark the occasion. We will also share pictures of Ethiopia with Kiya and light our family candle and remember Mama Zinash.
September 11 has so many meanings in my life. It for the last 9 years brought a flood of emotion as I remember the horrific events of that date and the loss I felt when a student of mine was a confirmed passenger on Flight 93.
So it is a little weird to wrangle with the emotions behind 9/11 and what that means here in the US and the joy that is 9/11 in Ethiopia. I am doing best to be true to both. That said I will continue to pray for all the families dealing with the losses they experienced on 9/11 here in the US and I will pray for Ethiopia that this new year brings much good to the country.
This date also marks the anniversary of when Kiya became a US citizen. The date on her COC is September 11th. Ironic that she lost her Ethiopian citizenship on Ethiopian New Year. Sigh.
We as per family tradition of 1 year will go out to eat at our local Ethiopian restaurant and have a family picture taken to mark the occasion. We will also share pictures of Ethiopia with Kiya and light our family candle and remember Mama Zinash.
September 11 has so many meanings in my life. It for the last 9 years brought a flood of emotion as I remember the horrific events of that date and the loss I felt when a student of mine was a confirmed passenger on Flight 93.
So it is a little weird to wrangle with the emotions behind 9/11 and what that means here in the US and the joy that is 9/11 in Ethiopia. I am doing best to be true to both. That said I will continue to pray for all the families dealing with the losses they experienced on 9/11 here in the US and I will pray for Ethiopia that this new year brings much good to the country.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Big News!
WE GOT A CAST DATE FOR KIYA!!! There was a cancellation for Tuesday September 14th. Yup, that is 4 days from now. I can hardly believe it. I booked a hotel room. Two of my Chicago Sisters will be at Shriner's that day also so I am so excited I get to meet them.
I am slightly freaking out a little. 4 days of baths left. 4 days of squishy hugs left. 4 days until I have a ticked off toddler. I know we are doing the right thing but it doesn't make it any easier.
I am slightly freaking out a little. 4 days of baths left. 4 days of squishy hugs left. 4 days until I have a ticked off toddler. I know we are doing the right thing but it doesn't make it any easier.
Trying to find some patience....
So I know bad blogger again but really life isn't all that interesting right now.
I am not a patient person. I am better than I used to be but still not patient. We are waiting on Kiya's cast date. I know it has only been a little over a week since we were there but still. I want a date. I want to stop the what if's running through my head and just get started already.
I did check in with the nurse yesterday. Since Kiya's Dr. is leaving and he does most of the casting, everyone is trying to get in to see him before he leaves. Well, with the help of a friend talking me through it, I called the nurse to ask if we could just have Kiya's cast done by the doctor she will be seeing in the future. She agreed that it made sense. Right now we are waiting on Dr. S's schedule and that is pretty full. We are hoping to get in to see Dr. H maybe faster. Dr. H would be the one to do Kiya's follow up check up after 1 month in cast and then her future castings. We haven't met this Dr. but have heard amazing things about him so here's hoping.
On the adoption front, we got word that we will likely wait at least 24 months for a referral. Sigh...we knew that was coming but to see it officially written was a little tougher to take. The only thing that could slightly speed it up is whether or not we are more open to certain conditions than others and the fact that we would like to have a son. Either way we will wait it out. It gives us plenty of time to get Kiya out of diapers and if we are lucky out of casts too. It will all work out. I really don't even think about the wait for our son that much but when I got that email it all came rushing to the forefront. So when people ask me when we will have a son my stock answer right now is sometime in the year 2012 hopefully.
We are also waiting for the call that says Kiya's ankle braces are ready. I am hoping that one comes in early next week.
So kind of a boring post. To end on a happier note, Miss Kiya is a superstar. She loves all things related to her doll. She straps her in the high chair and pretends to feed her. She loves her new art easel and crayons. And since thanks to a dear friend it looks like a Dora toy store in my living room, she is loving all of that stuff too. She is saying more and more words every day and word combinations. She is unfortunately and fortunately waking up in the middle of the night if her diaper is wet. Good sign for future potty training bad sign for sleeping. She is developing this impy side to her where she is deliberately doing something she knows she shouldn't and then laughing. It is hard not to laugh with her as she is just too cute. So I have no doubt that this wait for our son will fly by as Kiya will definitely keep us on on toes and running around.
I am not a patient person. I am better than I used to be but still not patient. We are waiting on Kiya's cast date. I know it has only been a little over a week since we were there but still. I want a date. I want to stop the what if's running through my head and just get started already.
I did check in with the nurse yesterday. Since Kiya's Dr. is leaving and he does most of the casting, everyone is trying to get in to see him before he leaves. Well, with the help of a friend talking me through it, I called the nurse to ask if we could just have Kiya's cast done by the doctor she will be seeing in the future. She agreed that it made sense. Right now we are waiting on Dr. S's schedule and that is pretty full. We are hoping to get in to see Dr. H maybe faster. Dr. H would be the one to do Kiya's follow up check up after 1 month in cast and then her future castings. We haven't met this Dr. but have heard amazing things about him so here's hoping.
On the adoption front, we got word that we will likely wait at least 24 months for a referral. Sigh...we knew that was coming but to see it officially written was a little tougher to take. The only thing that could slightly speed it up is whether or not we are more open to certain conditions than others and the fact that we would like to have a son. Either way we will wait it out. It gives us plenty of time to get Kiya out of diapers and if we are lucky out of casts too. It will all work out. I really don't even think about the wait for our son that much but when I got that email it all came rushing to the forefront. So when people ask me when we will have a son my stock answer right now is sometime in the year 2012 hopefully.
We are also waiting for the call that says Kiya's ankle braces are ready. I am hoping that one comes in early next week.
So kind of a boring post. To end on a happier note, Miss Kiya is a superstar. She loves all things related to her doll. She straps her in the high chair and pretends to feed her. She loves her new art easel and crayons. And since thanks to a dear friend it looks like a Dora toy store in my living room, she is loving all of that stuff too. She is saying more and more words every day and word combinations. She is unfortunately and fortunately waking up in the middle of the night if her diaper is wet. Good sign for future potty training bad sign for sleeping. She is developing this impy side to her where she is deliberately doing something she knows she shouldn't and then laughing. It is hard not to laugh with her as she is just too cute. So I have no doubt that this wait for our son will fly by as Kiya will definitely keep us on on toes and running around.
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