Thursday, December 13, 2012

Thankful


Of all the things we're thankful for this holiday season, one of the biggest is the absolute explosion of Gianna's vocabulary both spoken and sign language.  After her breakthrough with saying "wa wa" (for water), In just a few short months, she's gone from saying about 5 words that she's known for quite a while (DaDa, MaMa, Bye Bye, This, That), to now having a list of over 50!!  Here she is on Thanksgiving Day showing off her brand new word "Thank you" (which sounds exactly like she's saying "tattoo"!)

Sunday, November 18, 2012

No Tricks, Just Treats

Prince Charming and Cinderella

Prince Charming, Cinderella....and Zombie Hunter

Prince Charming, Cinderella, Zombie Hunter and "Nerd"
I think GiGi is wondering what happened to her cousin Haley!

Spooky Night

Loving this hat!

GiGi was a fairy princess for her school party

Gianna had a ball dressing up this year!  Angelo was so sweet and agreed to dress up as Prince Charming to match her Cinderella outfit.  I think his strategy was to be as charming as possible to get as much candy as he could!  Gianna didn't go out Trick-or-Treating, but loved the excitement of seeing all the kids dressed up and coming to the door.  

Monday, October 8, 2012

Saturdays are for Soccer

GiGi is getting used to spending her Saturdays at the soccer field with her brothers.  Not satisfied to sit on the sidelines and just watch, she's been trying out the sport for herself!  I swear she seems to have better balance kicking the ball than just walking on her own!  I'm pretty sure she would have had a goal in the first video if that chair hadn't gotten in the way......

And she got more practice this weekend...

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Pumpkin Patch

I love this time of year!  We took the kids out to our friend Brigette's family's farm to pick out pumpkins today.  The boys picked pumpkins big enough to carve a large design, and we even found a pink one for Gianna. 


Yes, I'm already starting with the Halloween outfits! 




Sunday, September 23, 2012

Happy 2nd Birthday GiGi!!


GiGi was SO excited to see her cake and presents at MiMi and Granddaddy's house!! 

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!  We love you so much!!!

"Happy Birthday Baby Girl"
 - Jamie Stidwell

Covered in cake and icing,
Your smile stretched ear to ear.
Two candles celebrate
The joy of your second year.

We sing Happy Birthday,
You play midst wrap and bows.
We marvel at how you touched our lives,
Just two years ago.

I remember the first time I held you,
whispered your sweet precious name.
You've changed our lives forever,
Our hearts will never be the same.

As a child you'll love this day,
For all the sweets and presents too.
As parents we'll love your day,
For the gift we got was you.

Each year we'll add another candle,
So proud to see you grow.
But always with the memory,
Of your first day long ago.

On your birthday, special one,
I wish that all your dreams come true.
May your day be filled with joy,
Wonderful gifts and goodies, too.

On your day I wish for you
Favorite people to embrace,
Loving smiles and caring looks
That earthly gifts cannot replace.

I wish you fine and simple pleasures.
I wish you many years of laughter.
I wish you all of life’s best treasures.
I wish you happily ever after!





Saturday, September 15, 2012

Neonatal Nurses Day

I couldn't let September 15th pass without recognizing National Neonatal Nurses Day.  Our weeks spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit with Gianna seem like a blur now, but one thing I remember distinctly was the helpfulness, kindness and expertise of the nurses there.  Anyone who has spent time in a NICU knows it is like stepping into another world, and the "interpreters" of the machines, monitors, routines, medications, tests and treatments are the nurses.  24 hours a day, 7 days a week monitoring and watching over countless babies, even when their parents can't be there for them. 

Here's GiGi in her "Make Your Dreams Come True" shirt from her Aunt Adria.  Thanks to the UK NICU nurses who helped keep our dreams for Gianna alive and well!!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Water

Have I mentioned lately how much I love GiGi's school?  Her teacher Leah is working on her degree in early childhood special education (how perfect is that?!) and is working on a research study on early childhood communication (again, how perfect?!).  Every morning when I drop G off for school, the first thing she does is go to the little sink to wash her hands.  Yesterday morning, Leah helped her put on the soap and then asked GiGi, "what do you need now?".  GiGi hesitated for a minute (she knew I was watching her...) and then pointed to the faucet and said "Wa Wa!".  I've never ever heard her even say the "W" sound, let alone say water!  Leah has been working with her on this as a part of her research study and I can't believe how quickly she was successful!  I know this seems like such a minor achievement, but what seems like a small thing is usually a huge accomplishment for Gianna.  Of course it immediately reminded me of the story of Helen Keller and how learning the word "water" was a breakthrough for her.  GiGi has been diagnosed with something called apraxia of speech.  Children with apraxia of speech "have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech".   I've read guidelines that children with apraxia should have one-on-one speech therapy 3-5 times per week.  That's not possible for us right now, but she does get speech therapy once per week and her other therapists and teachers are very supportive of carrying through on her speech goals.  Gianna is LOVING learning sign language, but verbalizing sounds and words is much much more difficult for her.  So hearing her try to say "water" made my week!!
Here's a little video of Gianna that I love.  We got her this "rollercoaster" as an early birthday present.  It was listed as a toy that would be helpful to kids who are working on increasing their balance.  And, probably more importantly, she thinks it's a blast!  Also, it shows her using 3 of her favorite signs: "more", "yes" and "please". 

Sunday, August 26, 2012

August Update

When Gianna gets sick it's always an extra worry in the back of my mind that the problem could be something related to her shunt.  Whenever she has a fever, throws up, etc. I find myself Googling again for the signs of shunt failure.  To help me stop driving myself crazy as well as to give some info to her daycare providers, I came up with this one-page educational sheet this week.  I thought this idea might be helpful to other parents who want to inform caregivers, babysitters, etc. of important info about their kiddo's medical condition.


So as you can see from the picture above, GiGi has new glasses!  She graduated from her first pink glasses this summer, and we updated with new purple ones.  I think they make her look older!  The good news is that she likes them and keeps them on better than she did at first.  The bad news is that her vision is getting worse for some reason (more far sighted).  She goes back to the opthalmologist in another month, so hopefully everything will be stable at that time with no more decline.  I can't believe she's almost 2!!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sweet Celebration

 

I got to take the day off and celebrate my big Four-Oh (yikes..) birthday today with the family!  I haven't had a GiGi's cupcake since the baby shower my friends held before Gianna's birth, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce the kids to this treat!  Gianna is also showing off her new favorite activity with her brothers in this video - the dump truck rolls so easily that she can push them all around the house. They get a huge kick out of being pushed around by their baby sister!!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Bug's Life


I know it's way early, but I couldn't resist picking up this Halloween costume for Gianna today.  Of course we had to try it on and she LOVES it.  And I mean loves it so much that she doesn't want me to take it off her!!  She's walking around the house looking at herself in the mirror and smiling and showing it to her brothers.  I bet she'll out grow it by Halloween, but it looks like she's going to have some fun being a little ladybug the mean time! 

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Resiliance

There is a Japanese proverb about resiliance that translates in English to, "Fall down seven times, stand up eight."  I think of this all the time with Gianna as she learns to walk.  She is taking steps all around the house now.  She is so incredibly determined - she takes a just a few wobbly steps, falls, and just gets right back up and tries again, and again, and again.  She will actually get upset now at times when I try to carry her places, because she'd rather try to walk while I hold her hand.  I admire her determination so much!  I was away on a work trip last week and Matt sent me this video - I couldn't believe it!!  So proud of this little girl's resiliance (and the boys for cheering her on!)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Matt - we love you!! 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Small Steps and Big Leaps


The past couple of weeks have been just amazing for Gianna!  Friday the April 13th ironically turned out to be one of our luckiest days ever.  At physical therapy that morning Gianna took her first step (2 steps, to be exact, and towards me!).  It was a moment I'll never forget...I'm actually still getting tears typing about it now!!  We continued with the rest of the session, and just as we were about to leave and Julie was handing her to me, GiGi reached out to me and said "Mama" for the first time ever!!!  Leave it to Gianna to completely blow me away by reaching not only one, but TWO big milestones in the same day!  We took all the kids out for burgers and ice cream to celebrate that night.  Dominic and Angelo have since then taken it on as their personal mission to teach GiGi to walk.  Every night after they get their PJ's on, it's walking practice time where they sit on the floor facing each other and help her try to take steps in-between them.  She's even learned the sign language for "walk please" and signs it over and over (and over) for them to keep practicing with her.

And another big milestone this week - Gianna moved up at school from the infant room to the toddler room.  She's the only "non-walker" in the room, but I think so far she's holding her own, learning to wash her own hands in the little sink and eat at the small table and chairs (no more high-chair!).  She's exhausted by the end of the day, but I think she's loving her new room to grow.
The thing that touches me the most about all of Gianna's progress is how pleased and proud of herself she is.  She's developed this whole new smile during the past couple of weeks.....tilts her head to the side, crinkles up her eyes and nose, and just absolutely beams from ear to ear.  Self-confidence is something we all hope for our children.  To see GiGi start to develop that confidence at 18 months old is truly a dream come true. 
 
Easter Sunday 2012






Saturday, April 7, 2012

Good Hare Day

We've been bunny-sitting our niece Haley's cute rabbit Penny this week, so she made the perfect "prop" for some Easter pictures!  Gianna's been interested in Penny but always gets nervous when we take her out of her cage.  She warmed up to her though playing outside today and enjoyed petting her by the end.    






Monday, April 2, 2012

Kentucky Girl


 

March Madness may be over but it's still Big Blue Madness basketball time in KY with the Wildcats in the final game for the first time since 1998.  Our little cheerleader has been rooting for Kentucky, but with a 9:23 pm game time tonight, I'm hoping she'll bring us luck even while asleep!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Sure Steps

GiGi has hypotonia (low muscle tone), which prevents her from being able to stand up for long without her feet turning in and falling down.  Her PT recommended that we have her fitted for foot orthotics which would help give her a lot more stability. We took her to Kenny Orthopedics to get her feet measured and order her little foot braces (called Sure Steps).  Of course I picked the ones covered with flowers and butterflies to make them "girly"! We got to pick them up in about a week and they fit perfectly.



The hardest thing was finding shoes to fit over them! 
None of the velcro shoes fit over the braces. 



We finally found the perfect pair of white tie-up shoes.
Here she is standing up and playing at Physical Therapy



Here's G on her first day with her new braces and shoes.
I think she looks so confident!

I'm so happy for her!  I can tell she's thrilled with being able to stand up, play and explore more.  The boys are now determined to teach her to walk.  D was so proud of helping her take these steps!!




Monday, January 2, 2012

Cheers to a New Year





Here's some pictures from New Years Eve - partying Gianna-style (hats, glasses and wigs = a good kid party!).   I always love the new year - like opening a book with blank pages to fill.  I look forward to filling those pages with good times with our family and friends and watching our little ones grow.  Health and Happiness in 2012!!