Lily's First Day

 

I can not believe that this is her last year of preschool!

Where has the time gone? Why does it go so quickly?

Looking back to the past couple of first days I can see how grown up our girl really is...

2 yr old, take one, 2 yr old take two, 3yr old class

 

 

 

She was a bit nervous but only due to having new teachers, Mrs. Dailey and Mrs. Tietjen. She knows every single child in her class which makes it easy to walk in on the first day but still doesn't get rid of those butterflies. I still get the butterflies for my girls on the first day :) Just one of those things.

 

She was really tired when we picked her up as well. So glad that she is going 4 days to prepare for next year, she definitely needs to build up her stamina :). Daddy gave her flowers, a first day tradition he started back in Sept of 2010 and is always a big hit. She also received a mini art studio which has been wonderful for our girl to occupy her during Emma's naps.

 

Here's to a wonderful year!!

Summer Photos

Lily

This video was taken a week and a few days after her surgery.

Voice Dec 2011 for comparison :) there are a few more if you want to search for "video".

Ok, so now that it has been a few weeks since Lil's surgery her voice is now the "norm". I even forget how much it has really changed! I forget how loud of a sleeper she was and how really loud she breathed while doing simple things like coloring or doing a puzzle. She no longer sounds like someone is pinching her nose closed or as if a clothespin was on her nose all the time.

We thank God that this issue was solved by a very simple procedure and her quality of life has improved so dramatically.

Love you Lily and you sweet, little voice :)

Bye-bye Adenoids!

Today, was the day.

We had to be at the out-patient KD hospital at 740 and her surgery was at 910.

Since we had Emma, Mike and I had to split up our Lily time.

I am NOT good at pre-op stuff, so Mike stepped up.

He helped her with her pre-op check-up, her "jammies" and met with the doctors. Luckily, Emma and I were able to join them in the patient playroom to await her turn. (the part I don't like).

She was great. She was more than great, she was calm and just fine. Me, not so great. I knew that it was going to be quick, that we were in a great place, but man...ugh.

The nurse came in to get her at 900, she chatted with Lily and we went into the hall to give her kisses and watch her walk off. She took the nurse's hand and calmly walked off with Coconut.

Half hour being in the main waiting room, Dr, Derkay came to chat with us.

He's the Chair of the ENT drs at CHKD. He actually trained the dr that removed Lily's dermoid cyst when she was 8mths old. Anyway, he's wonderful and Lily's surgeon.

He said that Lil did great! Minimal bleeding, that her adenoids were extremely large and that we would see a drastic difference in her breathing and speech.

:)

Ten minutes later, I was called back to the recovery room.

We were here for about two hours. She had to have extra fluids through her IV since she wouldn't wake up enough to drink anything. So, I sat with her on my lap and watched tv. Once those were done, her IVs were removed and we could get her dressed.

I tagged Mike and he helped her. (Emma was definitely not allowed in the recovery area so we had to trade off). Five minutes later, Lily came rolling out in a bright red wagon that Emma jumped in the empty seat for a ride and we got to go home.

We got home at noon and she slept until 3 when she woke up and called for us.

Mike checked on her and she would do nothing but whisper.

Her first words to Mike, "My voice sounds weird"

She was a bit hoarse due to being tubed but her voice was sooo clear because she was not stuffy!

She sat on my lap and her first words to me were, "I love you, Mom" and of course, with her sweet voice and clear sound...it made me cry.

She slept on and off the entire day, got sick once from all the meds and didn't eat much until the next day. She took a total of 2 pain med doses from the dr and 1 dose of tylenol and that's it. She been on amoxicillin to speed up the healing process and help fend of infection.

She has been skipping nap due to such great sleep at night now. She is very aware of her sounds and articulation. She no longer breathes heavy when concentrating and can breathe through her nose! I'm so thrilled this was the issue and she no longer needs an army of allergy medications!

We are so happy for Lily to have this behind her!

One Week

Our Sweet Lily.

One more week til you begin a life in which breathing will be easier.

One more week til you can sleep sound at night without snoring.

One more week of horrible stuffiness and possibly horrible allergies.

A nurse called today from KD to ask pre-op questions, lots of questions.

I found out some important info...

1. Emma can not be with you before or after surgery.

2. Even though you'll be able to eat normal, you'll be pretty swollen for a few days.

3. Your face will be numb and feel kinda weird and we hope this doesn't scare you.

4. You are the Drs 3rd surgery of the morning and as of today, your time is 845.

we really hope this doesn't change.

One more week.

You can do it our sweet girl.

Oh, and your post-op presents came today in the mail :)

Lily's Reading

So... Lily's reading.

Yes...she's reading. Really, really reading.

And, she's reading everything and anything.

She reads books all the time, she reads signs and labels. She reads things that we don't even realize she notices. She likes to look at the newspaper, magazines and always asks what words are if she doesn't know them. Funny thing is, we only need to tell her once and she remembers the word!

She started reading leveled books, then moved to the Step books. They are all really different on how they level them but she's mostly on Step 2 and 3. She really does amaze us. We have books that we read to her and she'll look at the words while we read, ask questions so that she understands and after we read it twice to her, she can read it.

She reads like a teacher. I tell her that when she reads by herself a good reader puts it in front of her. But, that doesn't seem to satisfy her. She likes to read like her teacher, Mrs. Johnson, read to her class. The other day I found her in some of my heels, sitting on one of her small blue chairs, reading to her "friends".

Right now, Lily is loving Cynthia Rylant books :) Particularly, Mr. Putter and Tabby. I'm glad that there's an entire series. The other afternoon she didn't take a nap so she asked Mike if they could read. She chose a Mr. Putter and Tabby book and told him that she wanted to read together, you know, I read a page then you read a page. :) All her idea. And, so they did. They read two books like that and she did awesome and comprehended everything.

So very proud Miss Lily. Keep up the great work! Hope your Dad and I can keep up with you!

I believe the title of the book in the video is Lola Visits the Library.

July 18th

So...Miss Lily.

Lots has been happening in the past few months with you. Mostly, since you're 4 yr check up even though I've been asking, researching, suspecting for about a year or so.

Finally, we got a kick in the pants and acted on it.

First, let's back date. December of 08, when Lil was 8 months old, she had surgery on her nose to remove a dermoid cyst. Some people have these and never realize it and are located in various places in the body. Lily's, however, was in the bridge of her nose and could have had a root so deep that it reached into her brain. Luckily, it was a simple removal and God blessed us immensely. But, going through this also made us aware of the appointments and surgery. We weren't willing to do it during school and wanted to be sure there were no other causes, we wanted it to be the last straw.

My problem and concern has been that Lily can not breathe through her nose. She never has been able to. She breathes really, really loud. She snores. When she's sick, she really can't breathe. She has horrible allergies and I hate being told "Welcome to Hampton Roads". We have tried every single allergy medication available and nothing has taken that stuffiness away. It's very difficult for Lily to make nasal sounds, hear sounds, and say some letter sounds due to this.

So, at her 4yr appt. in April her dr said that we should have her speech evaluated along with seeing the ENT to get to the bottom of the problem.

Speech evaluation concluded that she has an articulation problem. She has been going to a private speech session every Wed this month to help with it, but not sure.

BUT, today we saw the ever so lovely ENT, Dr. Derkay at CHKD.

We first saw a resident, since it's a teaching hospital, and he was very, very thorough with the questions. It actually made Mike and I question if Lily was really that bad. Once the head dr came in, he said he wanted an x-ray to see what we were dealing with. He also stated that the adenoids have to occupy more than 50% to do anything. (started to panic) After a quick trip to radiology, Dr. Derkay had the x-ray images by the time we returned.

By this time, Mike and I were ready to rip up carpets, shave Maci and do whatever else to get rid of her allergies and help our girl breathe. Until, Dr. Derkay brought us to his computer screen!

As I was shaking, trying to figure out what I was looking at and trying to conclude his findings by myself, I saw it. Her adenoids. They are sooo large that her passage is 90% blocked by them.

NO wonder she can not breathe!

Her nasal passage is a tenth of what it should be.

So, she's having them removed in mid-July.

Tonsils are fine, so they stay. So it should be a relatively easy procedure and easy recovery.

We also have suspended all speech lessons to give our girl a taste of life with breathing

through her nose. I'm hoping that she'll figure out the sounds by herself and if not, we know

where to go to get help.

Here's to a month from today...

July 18th :)

surgery for Miss Lily.

Starting Off the Summer

smiling, sick and matching jammies.

Lily had "a horrible, really bad" ear infection quoting her doctor.

Was put on meds and an inhaler for bronchial spasms.

Emma had fevers on and off, as high as 103 and as low as 99.

She didn't want to eat and quoting the doctor had a "really gross looking" throat.

Every test negative, so we waited it out.

Me...I waited waaaay too long to go to the dr.

I ended up having a whopping of a sinus infection, fluid on my ears and

bronchitis :) Nothing a week or so of naps and a zpack can't take care of.

Since, I'm backdating...we are all really happy that this upper respiratory sickness

 thing has passed and is out of our house.

And, nope, Mike came out of all of this with nothing.

Last Day of School

Wow. Another whole school year done.

This year was absolutely fabulous for Lily.

She grew in every way possible especially socially. This class was a very close group and it showed every time they were together. If one of them was absent one day, they would have the most dramatic reunion the next time they were together. They would yell, "Group Hug" and all would gather around Mrs. Johnson and hug. They would hold hands just going down the hall and greet everyone with smiles.

Our baby Lily grew up this year!

Lily began the year with smiles and joy and ended it the same exact way. I almost teared up quite a few times through the class' last day ice cream party. Mrs. Johnson has been nothing but wonderful and Lily as gotten so much from her, we will really miss her!

Emma had no problem joining the class for the last day.

Can't believe I'm going to have two girls in preschool next year :(

But, first, as Lily would say...

"It's Officially Summer Vacation!!!"

A Month In...

Actually, a little more than a month into this and I was a little reluctant to post it but...

We are DONE, mostly, with diapers :)!!!!

Woooo Hooooo!!!!

The week Emma turned two in April I finally just bit the bullet and let her wear undies. Yes, I was hesitant and not at all ready but she was. She had been ready since January and February and I was nervous. And, she did it! It was really easy. We went cold turkey and did not do the one to two week at home stay like we did with Lily. She was out and about and I was prepared for anything but needed nothing. The only times she wears diapers are at nap and bedtime which now she is fighting since she does NOT like wearing baby diapers.

And, Lily. She is out of nighttime diapers!!

She's had a few accidents here and there but nothing we can't handle and definitely worth it to be done with those huge diapers.

Gotta love being diaper free!

Although now, we are attached to the travel potty.

Guess there's always a trade off :).

Soccer and Swings

Today was Lily's last Soccer Shots session at school. She has had so much fun and will probably do it again in the fall. They had a certificate and medal "ceremony" that the kids loved at the end. Lily has been attached to her first medal, so proud of you Lil!


A few nights ago after we roasted marshmallows, Emma surprised us (once again) on how fearless she can be. We've never seen her do this, Lily just started to do this a bit ago and Emma caught on pretty quick.

Placemats

Since Lily began school we have a ton of placemats that have come home that she has made. She loves to use a different one at each meal, which is fine, until Emma wants one. Lily is wonderful in sharing them with Emma but I feel bad that she doesn't have one of her own, so we made some.

I got a posterboard pack of 5 different colors perfect size for placemats. I wrote their name in the middle and their entire name at the bottom. They got to draw and put stickers all over the front to decorate it and they loved every second of it.

But, I wasn't done. I did some teacher stuff on the back. Simple stuff for Emma, just pictures and words to help identify and expose her to the words. Lily, though, I did little matching blocks. And, she loves, loves, loves it. I think it's due to her using a dry erase marker, but who cares. She wanted to skip bath with Emma tonight and take a shower because she was so busy doing her placemat.

Love how she is tracing right over the letters of her name! Hopefully we can transfer to paper and the practicing will help stay in those lines on the paper. She loves this so very much that I'm in the process of making her a little book using page protectors :) Gotta love the dry erase markers!

Together Once Again

Lily and her friends Ava and Audrey all met this morning the field in front of the school. They all ran to one another like they were in a movie being reunited after a long separation.

We all laughed and had to get a picture of them. They also held hands, welcomed Emma into their group and walked into school. Mrs.Johnson seemed to be thrilled to have all of her little friends back together once again. I think the end of May is going to be kinda sad.

Familiar Territory

Well..it was double appointment time once again.

We also attempted to get the same picture as last year, but this was as good as it was going to get.

Not much to report, everything is pretty status quo.

Their stats and measurements are a tad bit off, in my opinion, so we'll be doing a bit of our own measuring in the days to come. But here are their measurements as of now...

Lily is now in the 85/90th% in most all categories.

39lbs (which I believe is waaaay off) and 41 3/4"tall (off again).

Emma is in 25th% for weight at a whopping 25 lbs (generous weight :) )!

and measuring 34" tall (waaaay off).

They also had shots and a finger prick today. :(

We decided to separate them so that they wouldn't be too scared watching the other one as they waited so Emma was first. I took Lily out to the waiting room so Mike could hold Emma down. She's tiny but super strong and difficult to hold on to. But, as Lil and I walked back into the room, there were no tears, we heard no screams and Mike said she just sat there and watched the entire thing.

Lily on the other hand, well that's a different story.

She screamed. She cried. She was ok but she did not enjoy this as much as Emma did at all. I had to hug/hold her down on the table. Gosh, what a gut wrenching feeling watching your girl's eyes well up with tears and absolute fright and there's nothing you can do about it because she needs the shots. Ugh. Didn't like that at all.

When we all got into the car on our way to get our treat Lily said, "You know, that wasn't that bad. I had my mommy and she gives me hugs when I need them. Thanks Mommy."

**brought tears to my eyes** My sweet Lily.

Egg Hunt and Easter Party

This morning, the coolest morning of the week, Lily and her friends at school had their Easter Egg Hunt and Party afterwards. While waiting for it all to start Emma and I joined Lily and her class on the playground. Then we heard Mrs. Johnson's speech to the kids before they went egg hunting. I now know why Lily talks to us the way she does and how she developed her "teacher tone and voice" :) It's from Mrs.Johnson! She explained to them that there was one class basket and they had to work together to gather all of the eggs. Once inside, the teachers would give each of them 8 eggs. Why 8, dunno. But the kids were fine with that :).

The kids had so much fun. This group of kids have become so incredibly close and the parents really get along well too. So nice that most of Lily's friends will be in her class next year too!

After a quick bathroom and water fountain trip they had their special snack. Lily and I made bunny rice crispy treats with marshmallow tails, m&m eyes and pink sugar ears. While everyone was eating, Lily looked at me and said, "Mom, I think all my friends like my treat!" She and AJ also had their own special table for 2 at this party :) With some time left over, Mrs. Johnson read the Golden Egg and they did the Bunny Hop. These kids are too cute!

Presents!

Thank you Nana and Pa for the huge box of presents!

Lily totally forgot that she asked for a jet to hang in her room

and now she has an awesome Blue Angel to play with a great poster to hang up.

Love you!

Our Lily is Four!

I think Mike and I have delayed writing this post, maybe because we are in a bit of denial that our baby girl is four years old. And, we know that when she's turning 10 or even next year when she turns 5 this won't seem so monumental but for right now, it is.

Our Lily is so grown up. She talks grown-up, she can walk and have movements that seem like she's already a pre-teen. She can give us looks, wide eyes while rolling them and all we can do is chuckle and think it's cute. But, man. Girls grow up really, way too fast.

I have seen tons of birthday interviews floating around and compiled a set of 20 questions that I believe will be appropriate this year and for years to come. I really would like to make a book out of it, just not sure how to tackle that yet. A simple notebook with page protectors seems outdated now while a picture book or book from blurb seems that I may be a tad crazy.

So, far right now...here's her interview.

This is truly an interview that gives great insight into our Lily.

And, I think that the best answer is the last one :)

I'm going to have Miss Lily point this college out to me because if it's near us, I'm all for it!

Lily had school today so it was a normal, routine kinda day.

She did have special chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and took brownies to school to share with her friends. I escaped making what she really, really wanted...Octonaut cupcakes!

And, she got to choose where we went out to eat...Uno's.

Why? Simply because she wanted to go to the restaurant that Mommy and Daddy went to on date. And, since they didn't have quesadillas, like the ones Mommy makes, she got to make her own pizza.

Lily,

Daddy and I are so very proud of you. Everything you do comes from such an innocent, pure, loving place in your heart that it makes us see a better world through your gorgeous, brown eyes. As you say Grace at dinner and talk to God, you bring tears to our eyes in how sincere and gracious your words are. Oh, how we wish for you to always keep these qualities. To keep your heart open, your thoughts and intentions sincere and always let God lead you down the right path. We know that you will do GREAT things and we are so excited to watch you succeed and conquer all of them. Daddy and I are so very blessed to have you as our daughter and we cherish every single day we see your smiling face and get those wonderful bear hugs only you know how to give.

We Love You,

Mommy and Daddy

It's A Party!

That time of year for Lily's Birthday Party. And, this has by far been the biggest party yet. Lily invited her entire class and other friends which ended up being a party of 13 kiddos. Not too intimidating until you see everyone pour into the Build-a-Bear store.

Mike and I had a date night a few weeks ago for a quick dinner but we also took the opportunity to do "party logistics" at the mall food court. So, in my head, all the plans were great and all we had to do was carry them out. Thankfully, Uncle Mark came down to help once again and made this part relatively easy. We arrived at the mall about 20 minutes early and claimed a recessed gazebo area in the upstairs food court. Mike printed out "Reserved" signs that looked very official (and fooled everyone), we moved around tables to create one long table for the kids and covered it with pink tablecloths. (Those mall tables are nasty) Mike tied a few balloons everywhere and off we went to greet everyone.

A little after 12, Tommy, our Build-a-Bear party host, took the stage. He was wonderful. He had all the kid's attention, he had the very classic, well used bell for transitions and talked very clearly so that all kids and parents knew what was coming. He made Lily feel very special since she was the Birthday Girl. She led all of the lines, decided whether or not to jump or skip to the next location and got to do everything first. Of course, Emma was right in the mix as well.

One of my favorite parts, for Lily, was the little heart ceremony in the back of the store. Tommy had all of the kids and their unstuffed bears or dogs make a circle. They chose two hearts out of the bin and proceeded to hug them, rub them on their hearts for love, on their bellies so their friends never go hungry and clutched on to them to make a very special wish. Then he helped Lily go around the circle so that her friends could put one of those hearts into Lily's bear. So Lily's bear, Sparkles, has a total of 13 hearts with 13 very special wishes and lots of love from all of her friends.

Then the fun of everyone getting to stuff their own animal friend and naming them. The kids also took it upon themselves to wash their friends and get them all spiffy. As this was going on, Jenna's mom, took Lily shopping for her birthday gift. Sparkles, Lily's new bear, now has a very pretty ballerina outfit. It was very sweet!

Cute and very patient kids while we wait and every one's bear

received either hair bows or bow ties.

Lily also received a group picture in a card-like frame and a bear in which everyone signed! She is loving the bear and looking for every one's names.

This next part of getting pizzas, stuff from the car, keeping everyone entertained, fed and happy was the most tense time of the party at least for me. Everyone made it up to the food court with their bears and took over this gazebo (which was left totally alone, yay!) It seemed really short but in reality it was probably an hour or so that we ate Pizza Hut pizza (yep, we ordered it to have it delivered to the mall haha), a fruit tray and of course cake! Chocolate cake. Not many pictures since we were all pretty busy. As we were cleaning, Amy took our kids to the play area :). Much easier to get things done when you don't have to worry about someone falling down steps.

Thank you Uncle Mark for always making these parties! These two little girls are so lucky to have you! Next visit must be longer though!

Return to Routine

Today was a big day. After missing the last two school days due to being sick (which is a week when you go only three times a week), Lily was finally able to get back to school. Need less to say, both girls were in a much better mood.  Lily got back to her friends and Emma got her morning "Mommy time" back.

Today was also a big day because it was soccer day.  Lily's school runs an afterschool program through a company called Soccer Shots. A quick, 30 minute soccer clinic that is held on the field behind the church.  Last week, we watched from a distance since we didn't want to distract Lily on the 1st day.  This week, Sara and Emma hung out on the sidelines to see our little girl in action.

A little "action" shot ...

... and being the line leader on their way back in ...

... and telling her friend AJ all about it afterwards ...

Stomach Virus Goin' Around

It seems like these two little girls have had something going on for the past two months.  First it was strep floating around, then the colds, then the weather changed and on came the allergies, and the latest is a stomach virus. We seek some solace in the fact that mostly everyone with kids are experiencing similar issues, but still doesn't help. Pediatrician said the mild winter failed to kill off the germs and they have seen an unusually high amount of traffic through the office.

Well, the latest stomach virus first hit Emma on Thursday and then hit Lily on Friday night. I'll save you all the gory details, but lets just say the Popsicles and B.R.A.T. diet for us. Emma tends to take full advantage of being sick. First thing to go is the shirt, followed by her onslaught of "pop-eekle peeasse, pretty peeasse".