Big Giant Owie

We've been pretty lucky so far with Gracie's health.  A couple of ear infections early on, a small cold here and there but that was about all until....today.  Today Gracie broke her elbow.

I got a call from my sister about 10:00 this morning letting me know that Gracie fell off the couch.  Usually pretty harmless but this time she kept saying her arm hurt and when my sister tried to touch it she screamed bloody blue murder.  She waited a couple of minutes to see if the shock would wear off but it became clear that she was hurt.  She thought maybe her shoulder was dislocated but by the time we met up at the pediatrician's office a short time later she was pretty sure it was her left elbow.  They sent us down for X-Rays and man, that was traumatic.  She was in so much pain and they made me hold her arm out straight so they could get a good picture and the look on her face just said, Really, mom, you're helping them make this thing hurt? I felt like a criminal but it had to be done.  They sent us back upstairs to the pediatricians and they told me she broke her elbow.  My poor sister burst into tears.  She felt terrible but really, it was an accident.  It could easily have been on my watch.  So they sent us off and we went home for a bit and then off to the orthopedist where we spent the next two hours.  I was fine for the most part until we saw the doctor and she told me she wanted to get another X-ray because the angle they had on the previous one led her to think she might need surgery.  Well I just about lost it.  It took everything I had not to break into tears.  Luckily she doesn't need surgery at least at this juncture but she might.  I guess they will know for sure in a couple of weeks but I am hoping for the best. 

After the new X-Ray we got prepared to have the cast put on. Gracie chose Orange as it's the color of Tasha from the Backyardigan's dress and her favorite flavor of jello. And no, I'm not making this up. I chose a waterproof cast for my sanity. She screamed for the first couple of minutes but once they put it back into position she started to feel better and stopped fighting them. All in all, she was a trooper. And she is rocking that orange cast. Her cousins have already signed it. She is feeling much better and I think I am too. Man, seeing your child hurt is the worst. I just wish I could have waived my wand and made it all better. Instead, she ended up with an orange cast, a bunch of stickers and a chocolate milk.

Big Girl Bed

Tonight we made the big leap from the beloved crib to the "Big Girl" toddler bed.  I have to say, it was a little emotional for me and I wasn't expecting that.  I was taking off the bumper pads and the bed skirt and it was hard to believe that just about two years ago I was putting those bumpers on in anticipation of the baby girl who would sleep in that crib.  It was such a happy time and it feels like it was just 5 minutes ago.  But here we are two years later and she is no longer that tiny baby.  She's a "Big Gurl" as she tells me daily. 

To be honest, I could have left her in the crib, probably until college, and she would have been happy as a clam.  She loves her crib and she's never even attempted to climb out.  But cousin Jakey has grown out of the toddler bed and into a twin bed and since his old bed was available now seemed like a good time to switch.  I talked it up for a couple of days but she didn't quite understand.  When I told her she was going to have Jakey's bed she said, "yes, I share Jakey bed, I talka him at nigh nigh".  Boy was she unhappy to learn that Jakey did not come with the new bed.  So we took down the old crib tonight and she cried for a couple of minutes but then we set the new bed up and added her blankets and "Big Gurl Pee-low(Pillow)".  When I put her to bed she complained for a minute but I haven't heard a peep yet.  We'll see where she is when I go get her in the morning.  There is a part of me that is nervous about her being more mobile at night but this is part of life. My punkin sure is growing up fast!

Two Years Ago Today

I saw this face for the very first time.

Everyone that I had talked to that had received a referral told me that the call always seems to come when you least expect it.  I thought that was impossible because I felt like I was expecting it just about every day for months.  But when it actually happened, it was a complete surprise.  As I posted here I really was not prepared for the call on that day.  I knew it was coming soon but it was a shock when it actually happened.  I remember it as if it just happened instead of two years ago.  After I got all the details from my caseworker and learned that she was a 4 month old, tiny baby girl, I went directly to my e-mail to look for the referral e-mail and sure enough, there it was.  I took a big breath and clicked on the first picture attachment and could not believe that after months of paperwork and 14 months on the wait list, I was finally looking at my child.  She was stunning.  I never heard of anyone else receiving a referral of an infant who had so much hair that they could put it in ponytails!  I remember looking at her and thinking, yes, you are exactly who I was waiting for and yet, I had no idea until I saw her picture.  It's the first time I really believed in love at first sight.

Fast forward two years and here is how that tiny baby has changed.

She is smart, sassy, stubborn,dramatic,sweet,loving,independent and the joy of my life.  And I thank my lucky stars each night that I get to be her mommy!

Braids

Today Gracie got braids, real braids, not the ones mommy does, or at least tries to do.  The end product...delightful.  The road to getting there...paved with disaster.  She was great while we waited and kept talking about getting her hair done and looking at the ladies in the salon.  Then the second the stylist touched her hair is was like bride of chucky replaced my beautiful daughter.  She screamed like they were pouring acid on her and not just combing the hair. I tried every trick I had.  I brought an old cell phone for her to play with.  That worked for a couple minutes.  Well, long enough for her to pretend she was calling her grandfather to tell him she was "ready a  go!" I tried a little hand held video game and that worked for a minute.  I tried the game she loves where we sing a song but I mess up the words and she corrects me.  I tried a lollipop which was a bad idea.  It was great at first but then she got a second wind and her lollipop hand was flailing all over and she covered herself, and my hair in it. I tried promising her a chocolate milk on the way home if she stopped crying.  I tried talking about every toy we would play with when we got home.  Again, it distracted her for a second and then she was worse.  Finally, I held her in a bear hug facing me, I hummed to her and about 9 minutes before it was done she surrendered.  In hindsight, I should have waited until she was closer to three.  In my mind, the prize was getting the hair braided so we 'd have a couple of weeks of not fighting every morning over the hair.  Unfortunately, I didn't foresee that the prize would be so hard fought for. She was so upset and while I love the braids, and it will make our lives easier, it wasn't worth the panic it caused her. As soon as it was done I stood up to go pay and she saw a glance of herself in the mirror and said "oh Mumma, Look a me! Look a me! Gracie have braids, Gracie nice braids".  If only she could have processed this earlier on in the appointment.  So while I'm still traumatized by it, she is delighted with the final product.  When we saw my sister she walked up to her and did a little dance and sang, I love my hair, I love my hair, just like the little girl in the Sesame Street Clip. She loves it s much that she agreed to wear her sleep cap to keep her braids pretty, which is a small miracle.  I felt so badly about how hard it was for the stylist that I gave her a 45% tip.  I figured that will at least help cover some of her future hearing damage. 

I know she's skittish about the hair, I just thought she would cry for a minute and then we'd be on our way. I actually felt pretty badly when we first left.  I felt like I put my need not to fight over hair over her anxiety.  I didn't set out to do that but I obviously miscalculated what she was ready for.  And now I learn from it. 

Here are the before and afters:

While she didn't stop screaming, she still got the chocolate milk and a victory bagel.  To be honest, we both needed the treat for having survived it!

Things about Gracie

I know that Gracie is getting taller.  What I didn't consider is that would mean she would now be able to reach things that can cause some extra work for mommy.  On Saturday I spent an hour and a half looking for my phone charger.  It had been on the counter in the hallway where I always keep it and I thought it was far enough out of reach.  Gracie is fascinated by it so I was pretty sure she played a part in the great phone cord disappearance of 2011.  I finally gave up and resigned myself to getting a new charger but when I talked to my dad that evening he suggested I look in her toy box.  I did and it wasn't there but then I thought, could she had hidden it under her crib?  Of course, the answer was yes!  There it was all the way against the wall.  She crawled under and got it and I said Gracie did you hide mommy's phone charger?  She said "yes, I naughty?"  I said yes, a little bit!  Then about an hour later she was playing in her room as she often does and I walked into the living room.  It was quiet for about 3 minutes and I went back in to check on her (her room is right off the living room) and she was rubbing something into her little princess chair.  I touched her hands and they were sticky.  I said Gracie, what did you do?  She said "I wash chair's hair."  Turns out she was able to reach the hair detangler which I thought was too high for her to reach (she must have really stretched to get it off the changing table) and "washed" her princess chair.  I dabbed it with water but honestly, what else can you do about that.  I've had that chair since my niece Meghan was a baby so it we need to toss it we can.  So on Sunday we walked around the house and I pushed back or moved just about everything I thought she should reach that I would prefer for her not to.  Well, if nothing else, she keeps me on my toes.

We have had a great weekend.  I was off on Friday so we have 4 days together.  It's mostly been the two of us which has been so much fun.  She's gone from a baby to a little girl so quickly and her speech is changing rapidly.  A couple of weeks ago if she dropped her sippy cup and spilled a little on the floor she would say "oh no, cup fall down".  Now she says, "oh, sorry mumma.  I dropped the cup.  I clean up."  Yesterday I went in to get her out of her crib when it became clear that a nap was not in her future.  I walked in and she was in the corner of her crib talking but none of her babies were there.  I said Gracie, what are you doing?  She said "oh, the Backyardigans come Gracie crib, come play Gracie."  Then she named them all and sang their little song. 

Now that we've skipped spring and gone directly to summer here in New England, we got a little wadding pool.  We blew it up on Friday and she and the cousins had a fantastic time.  They played for two hours in it and I had to pull her out kicking and screaming.  Yesterday she was running around saying  what I thought was "I want baby youp".  I could not figure out what she meant and every guess I made sent her into hysterical laughter.  I finally asked where the "baby youp goes and she said "my belly." So I think oh, of course, she wants some kind of soup so I go take out a can of Dora soup thinking that must be it and she yells "no,no,no!  No youp!  I want baby youp!" It takes me another 2 or 3 minutes before I realize she is saying bathing suit.  Yeah, I'm a quick one. 

I'll close with some pool and dancing pictures.  Gracie is a dancing beach baby.  Among the things I like least in life are beaches/pools and dancing.  I guess I'm going to have to develop a new respect for each. 

Update

It turns out that I am not a good blogger.  I have plans to write something daily and yet, it never quite happens.  I'd like to say I'll post more frequently but really, who knows.  I do enjoy blogging because it feels a bit like keeping a journal for Gracie but man, time goes by so fast and before I know it it's been two weeks.

Grace is doing great.  We had a follow up visit with the International pediatrician a couple of weeks ago and that was great.  They hadn't seen her in about 6 months and they were blown away with her progress.  Developmentally she is doing great and in every area she is measuring 4-5 months beyond her age.  For cognitive ability she is measuring close 10 months ahead.  She went in and dazzled them with all her tricks and her language skills.  She still freaks out about getting weighed in but she is starting to improve and bribing her with a tootsie pop hasn't hurt either.  They were also happy about her weight gain and thought she would be on the growth chart for weight in a couple months.

Last week we had a follow up appointment with GI doctor and that was the best appointment we've had.  I usually get very anxious for those appointments and I was OK for this one, but then they kept us waiting for an hour and a half before we were seen so that got my anxiety up.  But honestly, it was all for nothing.  She gained a pound and a half from her visit to the International doctor which was just about a month ago.  She is now almost 22 pounds and 33 inches.  He was really thrilled and actually called her progress great and if it continues we can take her off the appetite stimulant in the next couple of weeks.  What a relief to see that aspect improving.

She is very much in the "I do myself " mindset. She climbs the stairs herself with a little help from the wall or railing.  She climbs into the car seat on her own, takes her coat off (well, she is to impatient to pull the zipper all the way down so she gets it most of the way down and then shimmies out of it). 

She continues to amaze me with her language.  Last week I was leaving for work and she said "Have a super great day mumma, OK?  If there is writing on her shirt she will look at it and say "mumm, that's a name, What name dat?"  She is starting to identify colors on a regular basis and she can count to 15.  I give credit on the counting to her cousins and the endless games of hide and seek they play with her. 

Her personality continues t come alive.  I got glasses a couple of weeks ago and when I wear my glasses she has to wear hers.  Her glasses belong to her Mr. Potato head but she loves to put them on, giggle and say, "Gacie have gasses tooo! 

I decided to try to be a little more adventurous with her hair style.  Well, at least it's adventurous for me.  I decided to try putting in fur pony tails.  The parts aren't perfect but I was pretty proud of my finished product for a first attempt.  It only took me about 40 minutes and two episodes of the backyardigans. 

Happy Mothers Day!

In celebration of my second Mother's Day, I am going to celebrate Gracie.  She's the reason for the extra happiness in my life, the extra noise and chaos and laughter in my house, the reason I'm a mommy.

I could spend a week telling you all the things I love about her but I have a toddler so I don't have that much time.  So instead, I'm just going to give you some snippets of what I love most about my girl.

I love that each morning when I go to get her out of her crib she smiles at me like she has just been waiting for me to come and get her. 

I love her sense of humor and that she has the most adorable laugh I have ever heard.  it's infectious. 

I love that her favorite part of the day is sitting on my lap before bedtime making faces at me and silly noises and then laughing hysterically.

I love that she has combined the names of her two cousins Meghan and Jacob and she now refers to them as MeggieJakey.  Kind of like Brangelina. 

I love that she walks up to my computer and says Hey Mumma, I talk Auntie Amy, Sarah, Nate on puter.  And when she asks at 4:00 am their time in California and I tell her we can't because they are sleeping she repeats her request but says it very quietly because they are nigh nigh. 

I love that she will be doing something and will suddenly run up to me with her lips all puckered and says Mumma, I need kisses!

I love that when we leave to do errands she always says Gacie come too and Gacie help mumma! 

I love that every morning when I leave for work I get kisses, hugs, a pat on the back and a later gator! 

I love that she will just randomly announce to me that she's happy. 

I love that she breaks into song whenever the spirit moves her.  It could be while we're brushing her teeth, at Target, in her car seat, at the dinner table.  You never know when the music will hit her but she has to respond and it delights me.

I love that she loves to dance and that she has rhythm in her feet.  We were at my step-mom's surprise party last week and Gracie started dancing the minute the DJ started playing and she didn't stop until we left after 10:00.  And she even tried joining in on the lines dances.  I'm amazed at how musical she is and how quickly she picks up dances and songs.

I love when I ask if she is a big girl and she says yes and then says but Gacie is mumma's baby.

Her favorite kids show is the Backyardigans,  The penguin's name is Pablo but I love that she pronounces it palmlo. 

She is without question my greatest joy and I feel so lucky to be her mommy.  And when I celebrate with Gracie tomorrow my thoughts will be with the woman who gave birth to her and loved her before me.  And so now I do it for both of us and I hope when she looks down on us she's pleased with how well Gracie is doing and knows that she's never far from from our thoughts. I never have, and I never will take for granted the gift of raising her daughter, my daughter....our daughter. 

Happy Mothers Day to my sisters Amy and Kate who keep me sane in my first years of mommy hood.  To my Aunt Wendy who is without the question the best aunt on the planet and was my role model for the kind of aunt I wanted to be.  To my step-mom Judi who came into my life after I was an adult.  She knows the secret that you don't have to give birth to a child to love them as your own.  How lucky we three girls were that my dad was smart enough to choose two wonderful wives.  To my mom Dorothy, who passed away nine years ago this week.  I miss her every day but I know she is proud of me for making my dream of being a mother come true.  She once told me that being a mother was the only job she ever really wanted.  Me too, mom.  Me too!