If you're the praying type...

...I know a family that can use them.

Kayleigh Freeman was born June 23 weighing 1 pound. She's been in the NICU since then (177 days, I believe), fighting hard to stay alive. She's endured more than any child should have to, and unfortunately, it seems she's losing her battle. Please offer up your prayers, thoughts, vibes, whatever your "thing" is, to this family that they may find comfort, strength and peace during this difficult time. http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/

I don't want to this post to become about Adele and our journey, but I will say that it is days like this that I hug Adele a little tighter, give her just one more kiss at night, and thank God that our story had a happy ending.

Count your blessings, folks.

Sure is quiet around here...

No new posts in almost three weeks?? Woo! I rock! Bless you, dear reader, if you are still out there!

Things are going swimmingly here. Adele is adorable as ever, and getting smarter by the minute. Well, maybe she's not any smarter, but she seems to learn something new every minute. Her vocabulary is expanding, and she's signing more too. She can sign "milk" and "eat," and she must get it from daycare, because we've been terrible about teaching them at home. We are working on "please" and "thank you" now.

She is quite the helper, which is so cute! She loves to clean and wipe things up, and this is another thing she gets from daycare (because she certainly doesn't get it from us). The other day, Steve left a damp paper towel on a table in the living room. She proceeded to wipe up the table (nothing was spilled on it) and next thing we know, she'd taken the towel to the trash can and thrown it away. Nice! Fast-forward 15 or 20 minutes to when she spilled a few drops of milk on the coffee table. Off she goes, to the trash can, to retrieve the paper towel from before! Clever little thing. She comes back, wipes up her droplets of spilt milk and off to throw the paper towel away. Awesome! She likes to "sweep" too. Man--this child-labor stuff is great! No one told me about this parenting perk! I'm sure it will be short-lived, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

I really wish there was more exciting news to share! She's pretty much a regular old toddler these days, and that doesn't make for blog-worthy reporting. But hey, I'd gladly take that over the alternative.

Oh! I guess the other small news is that she got her first shiner the other day. She was protesting her morning diaper/clothes change, as is the routine these days, and flopped forward right onto the little knobby thing at the corner of her changing table. Ouchie! It was already bright red and swollen by the time we left for daycare, but it actually looked better by the end of the day. Now it's just a little bit red with a bit of a purple undertone. The best part was that happened on the day when I had to take her to the doctor for her flu shot. Luckily our usual nurse was there, so there were no suspicious looks.

One last thing that I remembered: we finally finished our kitchen!! You may remember that earlier this year we put in a new floor, which improved the look immensely. Well, we finally painted (spiced butternut) and got our new dishwasher (yes!) and a light fixture to replace the 90s era track lighting that was over the counter when we moved in. The difference is like night and day. We love it! It makes the dining room and hallway look even dingier now, so I guess that's next on the list...a long time from now.

Okay, now for pics!

Adele and her fresh shiner. You should have seen the other guy!
Our beautiful new kitchen!



I tried to add a video of Adele "sweeping" but it was taking forever to load. I'll have to try that again when I have more time!

Have a good week, everyone!

Happy Friday from Adele

It's cold here now, so we had to break out the winter-weather gear. Love these hats! (Sorry about the photo quality--I took it with Steve's camera phone!)

Okay, I have a question for all you tech-savvy readers. I really need to back up the photos on my computer, but I'm not sure how. I have several questions.

1. What's the best way to backup the photos? CD? External hard drive? Something else? Is there a particular brand or style I should look for in either case?
2. Should I also save a copy on a web-based photo site (Picasa, for instance)?
3. Ideally I'd like to dump some of them off the computer because they eat up so much memory, but I don't know if that's the smartest idea. Should I dump them once I have them backed up? (Ideally twice, which is why I was considering an external backup source (CD or drive) AND the web-based site.) Or should I leave them on my computer, dump all the terrible photos I know I don't want (because they exist--oh, yes, they do), and just buy more memory for my computer and hope THAT speeds it up?
4. Anything else I should know/do/use?

Feel free to email me directly if you can't fit your reply in comments. My email address is dburen @ gmail.com. (Without spaces, of course.)

Thanks, and Happy Friday!

18 months

Adele turned 18 months old on Friday, Nov 7. I know I say this everytime she hits a major birthday milestone, but GEEZ! How did this happen? EIGHTEEN MONTHS? Criminy.

She had her check-up that day (Nov 7) and the stats are

Height: 31.75 inches

Weight: 20 lbs, 9 ounces

Head: 18-something inches (I don't pay too much attention to this stat anymore.)

Her height is now in the 50th percentile for her ACTUAL AGE. That means she is perfectly average height for normal, full-term 18-month-old!! Holy cow. If we adjust that for her gestational age it's somewhere in the 90th percentile (I think--I don't have the chart with me now). Her weight is still on the low side, coming in around the 5th percentile for her actual age. The doctor looked back at Adele's charts and noticed the highest percentile she hit was 25th right around when she was 5 or 6 months old. The doctor isn't concerned, really, since developmentally she's fine. She doesn't think it's a nutritional deficiency or any sort of metabolic issue, so that's good. It's probably a combination of genetics, catch-up growth, and the fact that she's an on-the-go toddler. She looks healthy, though, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.

She finally sprouted her two top eye teeth, so that makes a grand total of six. Sigh. Poor kid. Someday she'll catch up in the dental department.

Here are the most recent pictures:

Because I am THE cheapest and laziest mom on the planet, Adele's "moose" Halloween costume consisted of her brown pants, inside out brown sweatshirt and "antlers" from Target. Next year I'll do better. I promise. Hey, she still looks cute, right?


Skeeter wanted in on the action.Her "Mummy Loves Me" Halloween shirt. And I posted this pic mostly because of her sweet, sweet face.
A few weeks ago, my friend Joanne and her daughter, Maggie, came over for lunch. Maggie was born 2.5 weeks before Adele. Maybe she can loan Adele some hair.
Adele and Daddy enjoy one of the last nice fall days.
The Foot Book is always a favorite.
We made a trip to Wichita last weekend to help Steve's mom with some work around the house. Here she is with Adele during our Pei Wei lunch. Mmmm!

For the Grandmas

I've been thoroughly scolded by Grandma Van Horn for not having posted anything since late September, and probably more importantly, no PICTURES since Sept. 16. Bad Mommy! Bad! So, with my tail between my legs I humbly beg your forgiveness. I come bearing gifts--LOTS of new photos!

But first, just a quick catch-up on what she's up to these days.

• Walking everywhere--not quite running yet, but I'M not complaining!
• New words: "no," "bye-bye/bye," "hi," "shoe" (although sometimes it's more just shhhhhh), "gimme" (lovely), "more". She also signs "more" and "all done." She has been saying "uh-oh" and "mommy" and "daddy" for a while now. If your remember pictures of her nursery, I put little dot applique thingies all over and some are right by her changing table. We've been using them as distractions during diaper changes and once in a while we hear her say something that sounds like a garbled version of "circle." Probably only recognizable to us, but since she only says it in relation to the dots, we're sure that's what she's talking about. We're trying to teach her "drink" and/or "milk" in both words and sign language. Hope she picks that up soon, as the "gimme" has got to go, and she says "gimme" most often when she wants her cup.
• She's really good at following directions and understanding what we're saying. The other day she was on her way to the living room and I said, "let's change your diaper first," and she turned around and walked straight to her changing table! Just now, Steve told her she needed socks and she found her socks lying on the footstool and picked them up and tried to put them on her feet! She'll also get her shoes if I ask her to find them, or bring a book if I ask, etc.
• Speaking of books...she loooooooooves books. We read probably 10 books a day (sometimes it's the same book 10 times). We're also trying to teach her how to say "book" but no luck so far. You'd think she'd have picked it up by now, as often as she hears us say "do you want to read that book?"
• One slightly disturbing trend is that in the past week or so, if she is scolded or is told "no" she'll start hitting herself in the head and repeating "no, no, no". It's really sad and very upsetting to us. She doesn't cry or anything, but I'm wondering why she's doing it! We certainly don't hit her and I'm 100% confident in her daycare situation, so I really don't know what's going on. It might just be her way of venting her frustration, but still...we have to get that one to stop.
• We finally got her report from CMH after her developmental screen. Her scores/ranges were 8-10 months for language (which is low, I think, but we knew they'd score her low since she didn't talk much at the appt); 11-12 months for motor skills and 14 months for cognitive development. She was around 16 months actual/13 months adjusted at the time, she's right on par for her adjusted age!
  

I know you're really here for pics, so I won't make you wait any longer!

From mid-September, KU Band Day, Adele devours a good book ("Pat the Bunny," I believe). This is one of the few photos of Adele where I think she actually looks like me!


October 5, we all went to the pumpkin patch!





No one we know in the photo below, I just thought it was a nice picture of a beautiful Kansas farm!

*Here is where I add my political disclaimer. I'm usually not one to vocalize my political views, although if you really know me, you probably know which way I lean (and after this post, you'll definitely know). If you want to discuss politics or express your views, please email me. If you're looking to debate or argue, you can skip it entirely, as I don't find that to be fruitful at all, and I like to stay on good terms with my friends and family. :) *

Having said THAT... Saturday, Oct 18, Adele and I joined 75,000 of our closest friends and went to see Barack Obama speak at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. It was an awesome day (although my legs and back were killing me after standing for 4 hours) and we had great weather. Adele was a trooper and charmed everyone around us. She fell asleep just before Obama took the stage, though. Oh well! At least she could nap in the stroller and I could enjoy the speech without having to hold her the whole time. We weren't terribly close to the stage, but not way in the back either. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!

For a while our line butted up to a grassy knoll, so I let Adele wander around and play in the grass.


The view from our spot in line. The entrance is past that building at the top of the photo and around the corner. When we first arrived it was half as long as it is here, but foolishly we decided to go get lunch thinking it wouldn't grow TOO much in an hour. Sigh...
The line continued behind us, around the corner, to the end of the next intersection and halfway up THAT street. CRAZY.
Obama 08 sign
We played several rounds of "Spot the Secret Service"

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius:
Finally, the main event, Barack Obama! (This is with quite a zoom effect on, and unfortunately things get rather blurry when I'm using the super zoom.)

El fin

Today we had what turned out to be our LAST Tiny-K visit! WOOOOOOOOOO!!! We're so very happy because it means Adele is a-ok. Steve and I already knew that, but it's nice to be released from the program and have it be official. The OT is going to speak with Adele's doctor about whether or not we NEED to have another swallow study done. Staci, the OT, and Steve and I are all on the same page that we don't feel it's necessary. Adele has been on all unthickened liquids for more than a month, and is doing just fine. I hate to expose her to more radiation for something that isn't a "must" and we all agreed that kids tend not to perform as well in these tests since they're anxious about being in a new place, different environment, etc. We'd hate to have her "fail" simply because of the surroundings, when we're fairly certain she's fine. Make sense?

Anyway, it's alllll good news. We're going to transition over to their Ages and Stages program insstead. They'll mail us a sheet every so often that we'll use to mark her development, and if they see any red flags they'll schedule something.

Even though she's still not technically "caught up" to her actual age, there are absolutely no concerns about her catching up eventually. So, no more Tiny-k, no more Children's Mercy, no more thickener. It's all "normal" kid stuff from here on out! YAY!

Sentimental Fool

As fall quickly approaches, and as Adele quickly outgrows all her clothes, it's become apparent we're overdue for a clothing purge. Every day is a struggle to find something that fits her AND is weather appropriate. (When it's 50-something in the morning and 80-something in the afternoon, it's very difficult to know how to dress your kid for the day.) Adele has two drawers and a closet full of clothes, but only 25% of it fits right now. This morning, I got sick of the digging and finally pulled everything that was too small or too summery.

A few weeks ago, my friend at Goddess in Progress blogged about packing up her twins' clothes, and how she didn't feel much of a desire to keep anything. She wrote, "I don’t find myself with any real pull to keep any of it. Maybe it’s because we’re most likely done having kids..." The opposite is true for me. I got misty a few times as I was packing up the last of the onesies today. Part of the sadness/wistfulness is knowing that Adele isn't a baby anymore, the other part is knowing that there likely won't be another baby later that would make it necessary to keep anything. It's hard for me to let go of the one and only baby experience I'll have.

I am sentimental by nature, no doubt, but I'm sure my sadness is magnified by how I still feel like I was cheated out of the Full Pregnancy Experience. Everything ended too soon--it all went too fast. While I know being a one-kid family is the right choice for us, I still can't help but wish I could do it one more time, just to prove I CAN. Just to experience those things I didn't get to the first time (like the third trimester). Just to have, maybe, a normal labor and delivery. Just to know what it's like to be discharged from the hospital WITH your baby. But Steve and I are no spring chickens, and soon I'll be in Advanced Maternal Age territory. AMA means higher risk pregnancies, and I just can't take that chance again. So, one kid it is. At least we hit the jackpot the first time! AND I get to live vicariously through my fellow Preemie Moms who are brave enough to try again, like my friend Jessica (mom to a 25-weeker), who is almost 35 weeks along in her current pregnancy and cruising toward her Oct. 21 c-section date. Or my friend Jen (mom to a 30(?) weeker), who bed-rested her way through most of her second pregnancy, but was rewarded with a gorgeous, healthy, Take-Home Baby, Caleb.

Back to clothes: I did keep most of her first outfits, the tiny preemie onesies that she wore in the NICU, and the outfit she wore home from the hospital. And I kept certain items that were meaningful in some other way (her first Easter dress; the little red hooded sweater she wore in her first professional photo; favorite shirts and receiving blankets). But everything else is boxed up, ready to be passed on to someone else who can actually use it.

Now, I just need to find homes for the baby carseat, baby bathtub, Bumbo tray, Boppy, mobile...