Pink push buggy

Just yesterday we were at playgroup and the hosts surprised all the toddlers with a little post Easter egg hunt outside. I mean, amazingly they had at least 7 Easter baskets on hand and when we needed just one more, they went in the back and pulled another one out of (God knows where).  I found this hilarious because I pictured the egg hunt at my house and I'd be emptying out containers, flower pots and fruit bowls trying to give small children Easter basket hope.  Aside from this, the bunny hop was completed in about 7.5 seconds.  Then the kids sat around sneaking jelly beans and we oohed and aahed over the neighbor's cool yard.

Miss Iva June started wiggling around at this point and thrashing backwards (as she usually does).  She clearly wanted to get on the ground like the other kids....so I let her (against my true wishes).  I watched that little girl try to put her feet up in a V-position so that she could try to "walk". She became instantly frustrated and started crying...something she's been doing more of lately.  My heart saddened as I knew she wanted to join in all the bunny fun, but physically couldn't.  As she crawled around the yard, my sweet friend Mandy kept pointing out that she was eating leaves, pods and dirt again....dirt was everywhere....on my face, down my neck, and therefore down my shirt.  June had dirt all in and around her mouth.  See, this is what happens when I let her crawl around the earth.  It's a love-hate relationship, this dirt.

On the way home, we got sidetracked at another friend's house and I just happened to take June out of the stroller and let her ride in a little tikes car that was abandoned because it was "too easy" for all the other kids.  It was perfect for June. She smiled while she was riding and finally cried when it was time to go.  Her little hands gripped the steering wheel like she was a race car driver.  She sat up super-straight, as if to boast that she is a big girl now. 

As I dragged both kids home, my mind started reeling.  I HAD to get her that little tikes car.  So, after I put the kids to bed for a nap, I was on the internet, feverishly searching for a good deal on a push around buggy.  Found one on Amazon. It wasn't going to get here fast enough. I needed one for like, when she woke up from her nap.  Found one on Craig's List. Pink. Perfect.  Drove to the house after dinner and now I have one happy little girl who can actually do something when she's outside. 
So, this is what we did all day:

Walk or Ride?

So it's stroller time around here in good ol' Hampton Roads, and I'm supposed to be happy and excited to tote my kids around in their double jogger, or the  "umbrella" stroller or what my parents call the "cadillac" of strollers.  Usually I am thrilled to get some stroller time in, but lately it has been more of a guilt-fest than anything else for me.

You see, for most toddlers, stroller time is fun... a time to rest from running around, a time to look around, look up, listen to birds.  Well, lately, every time I put my almost two year old in the stroller, she looks up at me as if to say "Not this again...do you know how much sitting in restraint systems I do? Do you know how much listening I do (because I don't talk at all)? And do you know that you should really be holding my two little hands and practice walking with me? Mom, you can walk just fine."  I usually smile and she's always compliant. I put her in there anyway and my son walks or rides-whatever he chooses, but my June, she just rides and sometimes bends her body completely in half so she can giggle and eat her toes.

The zoo is about 1 mile from our house, so we go there quite often. Today was a gorgeous sunny day, so it was just calling for the zoo...and I headed there wishing I could be 100% excited, but I wasn't because I knew what this meant for little June. She'd be sitting all morning long.  So we went anyway. It really was wonderful. We rode the train. The tigers were even out.  It couldn't have been more perfect weather, or I couldn't have gone with a more perfect friend and her kiddos.  So we walked around oohing and aahing over the new exhibit and the new monkeys, the black bears....June squiggled around in her cadillac stroller, not interested in animals, completely giving up on getting out of her seat. I picked her up every once in a while to show her the animals that she was completely uninterested in. She was, however, fascinated with the cages. So, we touched lots of cages, wires and fences. 

At the very end, we were all staring, mesmerized by the tigers and she was smiling at the ceiling, her fingers dancing. I looked up and I swear they put those things up there for special needs kids. Two brilliant (fake) ginormous Japanese dragons were hanging on the awning above us. She smiled...took it all in like it was a supernatural phenomenon as they were blowing in the breeze.  After a snack, we headed home. 

Later this evening (on another walk) my husband asked me if I had done any "walking" with June today. "No", I said. "Tomorrow" is what I'm thinking.

Song for Iva June

Today a sweet gift was given to us from our friends James, Matt and Zach.  They've been working on a song for Iva June and this afternoon it arrived on our doorstep with a cute little case cover and a professional looking burned copy of the CD that they will enter in a contest to C.R.E.A.T.E. Songwriter Search in cooperation with CCM Magazine and Provident Music Group in Nashville. We would like to thank them for capturing Miss June's personality so very well....musically and lyrically. This was an unexpected gift for us and a little piece of heaven.

Have a listen:
A love so strong

She better twirl

My dear friend Meryl is 8 months pregnant and is waiting to give birth to her precious baby girl. Meryl is the type of friend who is always there when you're crying, who seems to call you to go on a walk just when you need it, who's always up for a last-minute adventure and who gives you a manicure while you watch a movie, while SHE'S pregnant.  She's a sweet Southern Belle and "giving" just happens to be her gift.  To top it all off, she's absolutely gorgeous with long hair like your Barbie doll.  It is only natural that I would want to give her some of my most favorite baby clothes. 

Today I went through all of my daughter's 0-3 month clothes...reminiscing, remembering, wishing....I quickly packed them all up in a bag in case I changed my mind because I'm so emotionally connected to them all. It was time...I was running out of room in the closet. You see the other great thing about Meryl is she is just 5 houses down from my house, so I quickly trotted down there, peeked in the window and saw her with her precious son (my son's bf) and her wonderfully supportive husband eating peacefully...these last few weeks before the BIG arrival.  I quickly dropped the bag of clothes on the doorstep, turned around, and it happened...my eyes started welling up with tears, I started crying a little harder and wondered what in the world I was crying about.  There was something about that moment I remembered too clearly...just 21 months ago.... My son, my husband, and my pregnant belly all looking forward to the bright road ahead, visualizing the first meeting with my little bundle of love who would gaze into my eyes, cry when I left her with strangers and curiously explore her world. I was so wrong. 

But, God was so right.  You see, I'm finding just how really selfish I am. I want to go to the Zoo and the Botanical Gardens every day, walking and chatting with friends while our kids bounce around our feet and we share stories of bumped knees and hurt feelings. I don't want to sit through therapy session after therapy session and go to doctor's offices so they can tell me to run down the hall and get a few blood draws and order large contraptions so she can see better, breathe better, live life better.  I don't want to squish her food up anymore.  I don't want to carry her anymore. I don't want to pretend I'm fascinated with straws, lights and razzberries anymore. You see? I'm selfish.  And this precious little June bug pulls me out of that world, and into hers, and once in a while I mourn all that could have been.  Every ballet class, every sleepover, every Hello Kitty sticker, every twirling flouncy skirt. 

So I made a deal with God.  I bought her a dress the other day. It was on sale at Hanna Andersson for $20. Christmas Red Love to Twirl Velour Dress.  I am praying she will be able to wear it this next December. She will. And she'll twirl. 

Whine

 

Today was one of those days that started at approximately 4:00 am with a loud wake-up call from my son barfing up his chicken soup from the evening before.  I had been waiting for it for days, but I honestly thought we were in the clear.  My daughter had gotten the virus about 4.5 days earlier and was in recovery mode...on the brat diet and only drinking almond milk because I fear what regular milk will do to her system.  

I can't help but giggle at this video.  It just about sums up my day besides all the blog reading I got to do, the reading of Genesis 1 to my vomiting son, and the many loads of throw up laundry I got to wash and reuse and reuse.  I finally put diapers on my son because I got tired of the you know what coming out.  

So I had quite a day planned for us.  James was going to wake up and go to school while June bug and I headed back to the house and had not one, but two therapy sessions with the vision specialist and physical therapist.  After that we'd go get James, rush home to have chicken soup left overs, take a nap and wake up and go to my lovely friend Bernadette's birthday party and eat gourmet cake and cupcakes made by my friend Lindsay of Apple Blossom Bakery (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=572740213&sk=info#!/pages/Apple-Blossom-Bakery/190142917673857)Then we'd whiz home and drop the kids off with a babysitter and head out to our evening appointment at 7:00 pm.  Guess God wanted me to stay home today....

I'm learning to really enjoy the quietness of home.

Have you tried straws?

Just recently we took a long trip to Connecticut to visit my family and successfully made the long trek back....I am convinced we would not have survived the trip without one simple invention...THE STRAW.  It started in Chick-fil-A.  I was at the table trying to ward off boredom blues with my twenty-one month old when I finally ripped open a straw and gave it to her. To my advantage, my daughter's obsession with lines and bendy objects led her to at first, smile at the straw, then tentatively chew, then ferociously gnaw on the straw.  She bent it into a million positions with graceful agility while I sat back and wondered why I never thought of this before, why this isn't stated in the Mommy handbook of all handbooks...SO, I did as any other mother would have done.  I grabbed three dozen straws (without the management seeing), threw them in my purse and headed for the car like a woman who just robbed a drugstore.  The whole way home, I just kept chucking straws in the backseat.  One by one they dropped to the floor.  No biggie. It's on Chick-fil-A.

Our obsession continued...was in the super market the other day when I spotted a package of 100 bendy straws with all different colors and stripes. How could I pass them by?  Swept those up without a second thought. I have simply come to the conclusion that every mother should be buying straws by the hundreds.  Why aren't they selling them at Babies R Us, Target and the local baby boutique at the register?  They should be handing them out instead of candy and popcorn. I'm convinced that this is the secret thing that needs to be in every mother's purse. Mandatory if you have toddlers...

If, however, you need a more durable straw....maybe one, that your child could use for therapeutic chewing, go to the hardware store and pick up refrigerator tubing. It comes in long ten foot portions.  June REALLY likes the refrigerator tubing.  AND my speech therapist even endorsed it, saying it was really good for her to chew on...especially those back teeth.  I give her that as an extra special treat. Who knew my child could be so motivated by a straw? Try it yourself!

June wishing she had a straw

Breath of Life

Last night was the first night that June wore her CPAP all night long.  I am happy to report that she did remarkably well and after Rich arranged the head gear correctly (I failed the night before by myself), she peacefully slept with only two faint cries in the middle of the night.  

For those of you who are wondering, a CPAP machine goes over her nose to push air through her airways so they remain open and don't collapse at night.  This helps her sleep apnea issue.  In June's case, she doesn't have oxygen deprivation, she has REM sleep deprivation because she's gasping for air at night, thus waking herself up.  Without REM sleep, the brain could have trouble functioning properly, leading to learning difficulties and tiredness.  We believe this could be why June falls asleep in random places on some days.

Thank you for your continued prayer during this time. I do have one small miracle to tell you about.  June has a rather long frenulum which rests in between her two front teeth (this is the piece of skin connecting the upper lip to the gum).  It is very painful for her and it bleeds when we brush her teeth. Dentist has said we may have to have it snipped.  I've read that this piece of skin contributes to all sorts of feeding and speech problems.  On Saturday, February 5th at 12:00 noon, June had a horrible fall on the edge of our bed.  Her mouth bled for quite some time and she cried hard.  By the end of the day, we were happy to see that it had healed up quite nicely, and her frenulum was no longer there.  Tonight, little June ate steamed broccoli for dinner with rice and small bites of pork.  This was extremely encouraging to us after months of mashing up her food.  I am hoping this is the start of many dinners with the family....She also has been enjoying teeth brushing time and has been letting us get near her mouth/face more. 

Today, June also had her yearly developmental evaluation with Early Intervention.  She scored as low as a 4 month old for social issues, and as high as a 12 month old for self-help skills like feeding.  No surprises there...

Well, it is now 9:30 pm, and so far, so good.  No little cries coming from my baby girl.  I guess the CPAP machine is doing its job well.  Breathing new life into those precious airways....


Thank you God for the gift of peaceful sleep.