Packing on Pounds

I weighed Kate this morning and noticed that this little gal has put on more than half a pound since we started her on her high calorie diet a few weeks ago. Twice a day she takes a supplement in her bottle that has 330 calories each. It's definately making a difference, the doctors and nurses will be pleased about that.

I'm looking at her today and wondering what happened to my baby? I'm not sure I'm ready for her to grow up so quickly! I cancelled all the doctor appointments for this month and I'm putting them off until January, because I want to be able to enjoy her this holiday season and not think about everything else, so she will just work with her Early Intervention therapists this month. She's doing well and has been so happy and sweet.

Holiday weekend

The weekend has been wonderful, relaxing, and a lot of fun. Here's Ry and Kate relaxing after the big feast on Thursday. We had dinner at my parents' house and dessert at Ryan's mom's house.
On Friday Ryan had to work, so the girls and I picked him up and we had a yummy lunch at Baja Cantina. Maren loved the salsa, the hotness didn't faze her at all.
Friday and Saturday were spent decking the halls at our house.

Ryan braved the tall ladder to get up on the roof and put up Christmas lights. Our roof is very steep and it was a stressful few hours for me while he was up there!
No fear of heights for Ryan.
All that needs to be said about the game on Saturday is that we all felt the way Maren's face looks in this picture! It was a wonderful weekend and got us excited for the upcoming holiday season.

Thankful

Thanksgiving is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. I love that it is a day filled with gratitude, family, and together time. It makes me think back to the many ways that we are blessed. And our blessings are abundant. Even through the trials we have experienced this past year, I am constantly reminded of all of God’s tender mercies towards us. So if you’ll bear with me, here are a few things that I am thankful for.

I am so thankful for my family. I have been blessed with the best husband and children. Having spent many holidays when I was younger as a single woman, I remember how much I wanted to have my own little “brood”. I think I appreciate them so much more because I wanted them for so long. God has provided me with exactly what I need to help me grow. I hope that we can expand that family in the future and bring more little ones into our lives.

I am also thankful for the amazing support we receive from other family and friends. There are so many kind acts that are given towards us, a phone call when someone just senses that I need one, a friend who comes and takes Kate for an hour or two so I can get some work done, a neighbor who loves my kids like her own grandkids, doctors and nurses whose passion is to help my child grow and develop, parents who help us so much with our kids, and those who pray for us. It’s overwhelming how much love we feel from these people. I can’t thank them enough.

I am thankful for my job and for my employer’s flexibility that they have given me with Kate. Some weeks I have up to 3 or 4 appointments, either at the hospital or here in my home, and they have given me the flexibility to make up time I miss and take care of Kate’s needs. They trust me to get my work done and continue to let me work from home so I can be with my kids. That is a huge blessing.

I am thankful for my testimony of the gospel. Without it, so many things just seem tragic and don’t seem to make sense. There is so much suffering going on in the world, I can’t bear to hear about it sometimes. But underneath it all, I am satisfied knowing that God is in charge, and will only allow those things to happen that are in His plan. It’s easy at times to question that, but without my testimony, I’d be lost.

Hope you all have a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Froggy

Poor little Kate has been fighting the cold and the flu for the past couple weeks. She has been miserable and is just seeming better today now that she has some antibiotics in her. Poor baby. My mom got Kate this frog puppet for her birthday, and it is a hit! Every time we make the puppet sing at Kate, she cracks into a huge smile. In fact, earlier this week it was the only thing that would make her smile. I had to show this cute little video clip.

Primary Program

On Sunday, our ward had it’s annual Primary Program. I was feeling a bit emotional that day, and I truly was unable to hold my emotions in during the program. Our ward is huge, we have so many little children in the Primary and it was so touching to hear them singing. Their voices were powerful and beautiful. But this week was a little difficult because I got thinking into the future a little bit. Maren was thrilled. She loved hearing the kids sing and I know she will love singing with the Primary. I can just see her reading her line and singing with her spunky little voice. Then I started to think about Kate. In 8 months she will be the age that is eligible to go to Nursery. I don’t know how our ward will accommodate Kate because they don’t have anyone with a situation similar to Kate’s. Also, I started to think about what her singing voice would sound like and it made me a little sad. I wondered if I would get to hear Kate sing in this life. She has the sweetest little voice that is pure magic to me. But singing will be a challenge for her.

I was talking to a friend tonight and I told her that I am so thankful for my faith. Without it, I don’t think there would be any comfort for the unknowns we face. I know that I will get to see my daughter sing and dance and run and play like a normal child one day. One thing I have struggled with is whether Kate will
be able to experience in Heaven the opportunities that she will miss here in this life. I have been told by Priesthood leaders that no answer to that question that has yet been revealed. But I am comforted by the words of Joseph B. Worthlin when he said “The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredth fold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.” I can’t imagine how beautiful that day will be when we get to see Kate in her whole and perfect state. It makes me want to live a more worthy life so I can be sure to see that miracle.

I know I shared a clip of this video before, but I saw the full music video for this song on my friend’s Facebook page and it summarized my feelings exactly. Colin Raye wrote this song about his granddaughter who suffers from a degenerative brain disorder. It truly touched me, so I wanted to share it here.

Cutest

I was digging through some pictures and copying my favorites into a folder and I came across these pictures. Does it get any cuter than these three people? :)

Slow but steady

It has felt like a whirlwind of a week. We just finished today with our 5th appointment of the week. Kate has seen all three of her Early Intervention therapists, her pediatrician, and we had a visit from the Head Nurse of Early Intervention today. The appointments have been pretty positive for the most part. The appointment with her physical therapist last night was great, she had some positive and encouraging words for us. She said that she thinks Kate is very close to sitting on her own unsupported, although I don't really see it. But I felt good after that appointment. She assured me that Kate's progress is slow but steady, but it's there. So I'll take that.

The visit with the pediatrician yesterday was just her twelve month wellness visit. Kate's weight and height have both fallen off the charts. She now weighs 16.7 lbs, which is a little concerning. Apparantly children with high spasticity in their muscles burn twice the number of calories that a normal child does, and we are having struggles with feedings. So today the Nurse from Early Invervention told me she is going to start coming once a month to check on her. They gave me a scale so that we can check her weight at home, but she told me not to let it stress me out because Kate can sense my stress. They are going to have me start putting olive oil or heavy cream in Kate's baby bottles to fatten her up, and we're going to start feeding her a special formula that is really high in calories. They are confident that we can fatten her up and help her start growing quicker. They also did an H1N1 vaccine on Kate today at our home, which I am really thankful for. They are going to come back in 30 days to give the second dose.

So on we go with our journey to help our little sweetheart. I'm glad we're not on this journey alone. She has been so blissfully happy and sweet lately, which is one of my biggest sources of joy. Love, love, love this baby girl!

Birthday Letter

November 8, 2009

Dear Kate,

I can’t believe that you are turning one today. You have been such a blessing to our family. When Daddy and I found out we were pregnant with you, we were so excited; you were a complete surprise to us. Your big sister Maren was only 5 months old and we didn’t think that we would get to have you for another couple of years. But we know that Heavenly Father wanted you to come to our family and our lives have been better ever since.

When I was pregnant with you, I had a feeling that you would be a very special little girl. And you proved that you were such a wonderful, amazing little spirit. I had a bit of a rough pregnancy and was on bed rest for the last several weeks of my pregnancy with you. I remember resting and feeling you move inside me and knowing that you were a miracle. When you were born, the doctors were a bit worried that you might have some kind of infection. The first couple of days they kept you in the nursery and watched you but you were able to come home with us on time. One of the first things I noticed about you were your big blue eyes, lovely skin, and your beautiful, thick hair. Oh, how I envy your hair!

When you were a couple of months old, we began to worry a bit as your eyes weren’t focusing as quickly as Maren’s had. We had a few moments here and there were you would look at us with a big smile. Your smile is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. When you were four months old, you had an MRI and we learned that you were, in fact, the very special girl that we had sensed you were. You are so perfect that Heavenly Father placed you on this Earth in a state that you won’t need to be tested. You are a very lucky girl.

We are so honored to have you in our family. I sometimes get overwhelmed at the sacred and perfect spirit that is inside you. I know that we were dear friends before this life and that we loved each other even then. You are an inspiration to others and you try so hard to do things that are easy for others. You have made us better people and more loving. You have touched the hearts of many others and you inspire us. Quite simply, I am so humbled at the amazing gift it is to be your mother.

I love you, Kate. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.
Love,
Mommy

Maren's first haircut

Maren had her first haircut last week. I had to share this picture because she is so stinking cute. She has the redheaded personality that keeps me on my toes, but she's so fun! She was scared of sitting on the high salon chair (she has a terrible fear of heights) but was fine once I sat with her and they gave her a lollipop.

Kate's Birthday Party

We held Kate's first birthday party tonight at our house with our families. Kate doesn't turn one until the 8th, but we decided to have the party tonight. On her birthday, I want to spend the day together as a family and reflect on the blessing that Kate is to our lives. I will post my birthday letter to Kate next week on her birthday, but had to share some pictures. My sister and brother in law made this beautiful cake for Kate. It turned out beautiful and I was so touched they would spend so much time on it. Here's Kate and Daddy while we sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Ryan helped her blow out her candle.Since Kate couldn't feed herself her own cake, Ryan helped her taste her cake and put her hands in it. I couldn't control myself, I cried. It was so touching. This is our amazing support group. We are blessed to have such a big family. I know Kate has been sent here to bless our lives. She has already made us better people and closer as a family. I am so grateful for the support we got tonight. It made me feel so wonderful to know so many family members would drive such distances to celebrate our perfect little angel.