Posts filed under 'Milestones'
We can’t believe you’re four years old today!
Four long and too short years ago you were born into this world. Our firstborn, our much beloved daughter, and our favorite girl in the whole world.
This past year seems a blur, filled with so much activity. You’ve spent your time this past year learning to ride horses and having fun learning gymnastics. So much energy! Naps have become a thing of the past this past year. It wasn’t too long ago when we were worried if you’d ever learn to run and jump, and now it seems that running and jumping are all you ever want to do. Which makes us as proud as we are tired.
You’ve done a great job in preschool this past year, and we’re amazed you’re already learning to read. Soon you’ll be reading to us and your little brother whom you alternately adore and despise, in roughly proper measure.
Two casting camps and a trip to Alabama were highlights of the year as we continue to work to make your left side stronger. Thank you for putting up with all that, and with the constant reminders and exercises we make you go through each day.
Four going on fourteen, your parents frequently say. Precocious and demanding and joyous and laughing and screaming and kicking and beautiful and snuggling and saying such grown-up things.
Thank you, Anna, for being part of our family, for letting us love you, and for giving us so much love in return. Happy birthday, little one! We love you!
March 15th, 2010
One year ago today you were born, little boy, and what an amazing year it’s been!
You arrived a little early, eager to meet your momma and daddy and your big sister and your beloved Max, and to start to get to know the world. Like your sister you were strong and vital from your very first moments, and you remain so to this day — such an active, curious, rambunctious little boy.
What an amazing person you are. There is such a sense of peace and presence about you. And joy! A basic, fundamental happiness. Your smile is a weapon you wield quickly and eagerly, and to devastating effect alongside your beautiful blue eyes. Together, they melt hearts and seem to solve any hurt.
In your constant learning, you teach us new things every day. Your enthusiasm and optimism and curiosity bring us all such joy. More than anything you constantly remind us to relax and see the world through your new eyes and enjoy these first learnings once again. It is such a joy to embrace you and your sister and each other and appreciate each new moment together.
Thank you, Noah, for joining our family and for and teaching us so much. Happy birthday, dearest boy. We love you, and are so very proud.
January 15th, 2010
No time for a big update, but I did just manage to post some photos on our Flickr site. Have a look!
October 24th, 2009
I’ve been remiss. Much has happened since my last post.
Anna’s Casting Part II: Our last post ended with Anna having her leg casted to help stretch her tight Achilles tendon. Almost 2 weeks post casting and we can say that it was a real success! When Anna had her first cast removed the following Monday, we already saw improvements in her flexibility. They measure flexibility in terms of degrees past neutral (think of neutral as your toes pointing up to the ceiling if you are sitting with your legs out in front of you) with both a straight leg and a bent knee. When we started Anna was minus 10 degrees with a straight leg and neutral with her knee bent. After the first cast she was almost neutral with a straight leg and 10 degrees past neutral (good!) with her knee bent. After the second cast, Anna was 10 degrees past neutral with a straight leg and 20 degrees past neutral with her knee bent. “Normal” flexibility is defined as 20 degrees past neutral, so we were very excited with the outcome. We’re getting a new brace within the next week or so that will hopefully help to maintain this new flexibility.
I re-read my post from the night before the initial casting; it turns out I was worried about nothing. The process was actually not bad at all (of course, I’m not the one who had a cast on her leg). Anna did everything she would normally do without a cast (some stuff she even did better with the cast than without) – climbing, running, jumping, etc. On the first couple of nights after she received a new cast she complained a little about leg pain. We were told by her PT that this was normal, and that we should give her Tylenol/Motrin to help the pain. After that she didn’t complain at all. Anna was completely freaked out by the cast saw the first time the cast was removed, but didn’t shed a tear during the removal of the second. I’d have to say the one drawback to the entire process was the inability to bathe. Three year olds are stinky beings, and I swear Anna played in the dirt more during those 2 weeks than normal. She left a definite ring around the tub when we were finally able to take a full-fledged bath after 2 weeks of sponge baths!
This past week Anna has been attending a “Helping Hands” camp at the Mapleton Center in Boulder. This is basically a constraint therapy camp where all the campers wear casts on their unaffected hands in an attempt to encourage increased use of the affected hands/arms. This is the first year that the Mapleton Center has offered this camp, and the turnout was a bit lower than they expected. I hope that they continue to offer it in the coming years because Anna is LOVING it! The low turnout has been great for us. There are 3 kids at the camp – 3 little girls ages 3-5 – and 4 adults (2 OTs and 2 volunteers) to manage them. We get the best of both worlds – the benefits of a group setting while still getting the one on one attention from the therapists! Anyway, they practice dressing in the mornings, do all sorts of crafts, spend time outdoors, bake, and play with one another. All the activities are designed to work on particular fine motor skills with the affected hand. She’s had such a great time, and I know she’s working hard by the simple fact that she falls asleep on the way home (it is a rare day when Anna falls asleep in the car). For Mom, it is nice to meet other parents whose children have hemiparesis. We’re planning on getting together after the last day of camp to compare notes!
Noah is now 6 months old! I cannot believe that so much time has passed. It seems like such a short time ago since he was born, but at the same time it seems like forever. The little man is really progressing! We believe it won’t be long before he’s mobile. He’s holding himself up with his arms and tucking his knees under him. We should probably get busy with the childproofing now! YIKES!
Noah had his 6-month check up last week. He weighs 17 lbs. 10 oz. (75th percentile) and is 27 1/2″ long (90th percentile). I was rather surprised that his weight earned him a ranking in only the 75th percentile. He’s a heavy guy!! He’s apparently fallen off his growth curve a little, but the doctor didn’t think it was anything to be concerned about. Anna did exactly the same thing at 6 months. Noah is teething like a madman; he chews on everything in sight and drools all over. For the last couple of weeks hee also seems to have had some sort of GI infection that, when mixed with the teething, has made us go through diapers, wipes and A&D ointment like they are going out of style.
Oh, I almost forgot! Noah has been sleeping in his own room since June 29th. Although we’ve had some ups and downs since he moved from our room, he’s been sleeping much better (and longer)! Last night he slept from 7pm to 6am, and then went back to sleep until 6:45 (when I had to wake him). Sleep does amazing things for his disposition too. He’s a much happier little guy when he gets enough rest! Naps remain a challenge for us, but he’s been doing much better at home in his own bed. If only we could get him to sleep at daycare.
T minus 30…our trip to Alabama is rapidly approaching! I’m a little more relaxed about the trip this time around, but I’m sure I’ll turn into a complete basket case soon. We find out about housing at the end of this month, which makes me a little nervous. I’d much rather know earlier that we have a confirmed place to stay. We’ve been prepping Anna for our trip to AL. We have the same therapist we had when we were there last year. Anna keeps telling us that she just really misses Reggie. I hope she still feels that way when we cast her for a month and make her do difficult things with her left hand. Anna was a very different little girl the last time we were there. She’s definitely come into her own over the past year, and I hope her independent streak doesn’t affect the therapy program (and ultimately, the outcome).
July 22nd, 2009
And congratulations to my brother, Colin, on landing a new job with GE just days after graduating with a shiny new MBA from Columbia Business School.
Enjoy D.C., bro!
May 23rd, 2009
Congratulations to my cousin, Pat Steadman, who just won a special election to become Colorado State Senator for District 31. The swearing-in ceremony is this coming Friday. Visit http://patsteadman.com for all the details.
We’re so proud of Pat, and know he’s going to do great things!
May 23rd, 2009
Happy Mother’s Day momma! We hope you have a great day.
Anna says:
Thank you mommy for all that you do for me. Thank you for playing with me, especially princesses. Thank you for letting me watch Diego and Dora and Ariel videos, and for helping me with my stretches.
Thanks for taking me to ride Doodle the horse, and to visit Susan and Lisa, and my friends at preschool and daycare (except that one boy I don’t like). Thank you for my baby brother — he’s not so bad even though I wish he was a sister. Thank you for taking me to Old McDonald’s and making me smoothies and for making sure the Big Bad Wolf doesn’t get me. Thank you for playing raincloud and for singing songs and reading books to me. And for giving me just one more hug every night. And a kiss. And a hug.
I love you momma. You are a very good momma.
Noah says:
Smile! SMILE! Gaaaaarrrr. Aggle, flaggle klabble. Snurp. Rumpy flappy. Gaaaaaa, brrrrrrrr. SMILE! SMILE!
(Momma! I love you momma! Thank you for boobies! And snuggles. And holding me when I’m tired. And boobies! Momma! Love! Love!)
Neal says:
What she said. And he said.
Thank you for being so damned amazing, hon. Thanks for keeping this ship afloat, for keeping the kids happy, putting up with me, and somehow managing not to go crazy(er) from all the stress and lack of sleep. I really don’t know how you do it.
You are an amazing momma. And we love you so very, very, very much!
May 10th, 2009
We’ve been a little busy lately and have failed to post some of what’s been going on! Anna is now a big 3 year old, and has wasted no time in her desire to be a “big kid.” She wants to do everything that the “big kids” are doing. Today Neal took her sledding for the first time on a pretty big hill near our house. She did great sledding by herself and wanted to sled down the big hill just like the “big kids” were doing, which necessitated her climbing up that huge hill many times! Neal was really proud of her, and I’m sad that I missed it!!
Speaking of other big kids…we have a rather large baby in our house. Noah had his 2 month appointment a couple of weeks ago. The little man tipped the scales at 13 lbs (97+th percentile) and measured 23.5 inches in length (95th percentile)! What can we say…we have large children! Other than his size, he is healthy and doing well. As Neal posted recently, Noah has started smiling and talking a lot. He’s really such a happy baby. Anna’s 3 year appointment saw her measuring at 39 inches tall (95th percentile) and 33.5 lbs (75th percentile). She’s fallen off her growth curve a little in weight, but she had been sick the week prior to her appointment. We aren’t terribly concerned about it and neither is the doctor.
March was a very busy month for us. We did another round of constraint therapy with Anna down at Children’s Hospital. Anna was so cooperative with it all, and gained quite a bit of strength in her left hand/arm during this round. At about the same time, she transitioned from early intervention therapy services to therapy through the school district. She started district-based preschool the Tuesday after her birthday, and seems to like it. I guess I should say we *think* she likes it, but honestly she doesn’t like to talk too much about it, which makes Neal and me a little nervous. We’re also not sure how much “therapy” time she’s receiving and what the level of quality is. The other day I asked her if she’d seen one of her therapists that day, and Anna told me that she had and that they watched a movie. Huh? What’s the therapeutic value of a movie? Having been so incredibly hands-on during Anna’s therapy sessions in the past, not knowing what’s going on while she’s having therapy at school is more than a little frustrating for me. I’m thankful we are able to augment her district-based therapy services with private OT and PT sessions.
This week marks the end of my maternity leave. I’ve got mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I will very much miss my shadow that’s been with me 24-7 for the last 11 weeks. On the other hand, I’ve not had a moment to myself in 11 weeks, so work will be somewhat liberating. I feel less angst about leaving Noah at daycare than I did when I left Anna. Noah will be attending the same daycare as Anna, so the surroundings are familiar to us. We know the caregivers in the baby room (they took care of Anna when she was wee), and have a very good relationship with the center’s director. Still, it’s hard to leave your baby with others because no one can care for him like us. I hope his first day is not too stressful – I imagine mine will be.
March 30th, 2009
Just a quick note to let folks know I just posted some new photos on the Flickr site, including a short movie of Mr. Noah smiling!
Oh, and Anna’s been doing just great with her new cast (which is very, very pink!). Seriously. We’re all amazed at her positive attitude and she’s getting some really good therapy done. Her new therapist said that the cast might just make it all simpler for her, in a way, by removing the constant conflict in her mind about which hand to use for each and every task.
March 7th, 2009
So it has been awhile since we last posted. Pretty much everyone in the house has been sick! Anna had a suspected case of pneumonia and Neal, Noah and I have had colds. We’ve been using hand sanitizer like crazy, but I’m not sure how effective it is when the preschooler is running around sneezing and coughing on everyone and everything. Anna has yet another cold that has turned her into a sloppy, runny-nosed, weepy-eyed monster. I feel so badly for her, but the whining does grate on the nerves after awhile. She’s so generously passed this most recent cold on to her father, who is battling it with copious amounts of vitamin c and coldeeze lozenges.
We took Noah in to the doctor shortly after his 5-week milestone to make sure that his cold hadn’t turned into something more serious (namely, pneumonia). He weighed in at 11 lbs. 13 oz! Looking at him, it is hard to believe he is only 7 weeks old. He’s now wearing some 3-6 month clothing! Anyway, his cold hadn’t turned into anything more serious, but it certainly has proved to be long-lived. He still has a stuffy nose 2 weeks later!
We’re starting another round of intensive constraint therapy for Anna this week. Starting today we’ll be wearing a cast on her right arm to encourage her to use her left. I know it sounds strange to say it, but we are actually looking forward to this session, as Anna’s been more and more stubborn about using her left hand. We think she is in need of a “cognitive reset” that the casting seems to provide. Unfortunately, she’ll be casted on her birthday again this year (we were in Alabama last year at this time).
Speaking of birthdays, Anna will be 3 this month! It is so hard for me to believe that 3 years have passed since she was born. Lately we’ve been looking at lots of pictures and videos of when Anna was Noah’s age (Anna’s been curious about what she was like when she was a baby), and that has been a true walk down memory lane. With her third birthday comes the end of our early intervention home therapy services. She’ll be receiving therapy through the school district now, and starts at our neighborhood preschool two days after her birthday. We’re hoping that she fits in there and enjoys her two mornings per week.
Other than those developments, things are pretty “normal” (if you call having zero control and limited sleep “normal”). We’re learned a few things:
- You can sleep just about anywhere, and do so on a near nightly basis.
- You can sleep through just about anything if you are tired enough.
- You cannot please everyone all the time, so please the one that is screaming the loudest first.
- Bouncy seats, swings, and anything else that keep the baby quiet and sleeping are gifts from God.
- Changing diapers doesn’t seem nearly as critical and urgent for the second child as it did for the first.
We hope to post some pictures and videos in the near future. Noah is actually smiling now, which is such a joy to see.
March 4th, 2009
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