SUCCESS!!

I am so proud of Hannah!  She took a bath tonight without mommy in the tub with her! I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but after a month of pitching some major fits about bath time she finally got in the tub willingly and had a ball by herself.  Here are a few pictures (**don't worry, I've censored the photos a bit just in case there are some weirdos out there reading this)!

Circle Circle, Dot Dot...

Hannah has learned to identify and say her first shape!!!  I don't know if she is a little behind and should already know this, but we've been working a lot lately on identifying different shapes.  Tonight she was looking at this book and she pointed to the first page and said "circle, circle"!!!  She traced the outline of the circle with her finger, too.  She really enjoys this book because it is also a puzzle, with a different shape puzzle piece for each page.  

This puzzle is also a new favorite of Hannah's.  She loves trying to catch the bugs with the magnetic net.  She is also able to put the pieces back with very little guidance!  Or maybe she has just memorized where each piece goes!

Here is a silly picture from this past week:

a mommy moment

I realized something tonight that made me very sad.  While changing Hannah's diaper, I noticed that the chunky thighs and fat rolls on her legs are GONE!  How did that happen and how come I haven't noticed it before now?  Just another indication that my little girl is growing up way too fast...

Video Update

I have uploaded some video clips of Hannah. If you are on facebook, then you have probably already seen them. This is primarily for my parents because I know they will love it!

Here is Hannah showing off some of her animal sounds. She knows TONS of animals sounds, but these are my favorites. I think the cat and lizard are my favorite!

Did you notice the look she gave me when I asked her to sit down? She obviously had no itention of following my directions! 'Tis life with an almost-two-year old!

Hannah and Mark made popcorn last night and decided to "pop" like a kernel of popcorn. Boy do we do crazy things to entertain our children!

I hope you enjoyed the videos!

I can't win for NOTHIN'

All I can say is that I am so glad this day is almost over! The day started out just like any other normal day. I set up my laptop at the kitchen table and was ready to start working by 7am. I left the house a couple hours later to go to a doctors appointment (more about that below). When I returned home about an hour and a half later, my internet was down. AGAIN! After 30 minutes on the phone with someone in who-knows-where, they said it would be 24 hours before they could fix anything. WTH?!?! (translation for those not up with the crazy acronyms we use these days, that means "what the heck") TOTALLY unacceptable for someone who works at home 3 days a week. So, I hopped in my car and made the commute to the office. Well, Mark FINALLY got everything fixed this evening. The tech support person even hung up on him...how's that for customer service! So I'm updating the blog now because I may not be able to tomorrow.

Okay, now about my foot. A few posts back I mentioned that I was going to start training for a 5k. Well, that is on hold indefinitely. I have injured myself. AGAIN! I had a good first few weeks of running, never any pain while running. But after a 2 mile run I developed severe pain in my left foot. I decided to go see a podiatrist and I'm glad that I did. I have several bone spurs and tendonitis in my achilles and the peroneal tendons (on outside of foot). The injury is pretty bad. The doctor gave me a cortisone shot in my foot...holy cow...OUCH! He also took molds of my feet so that I can have a pair of orthotics made. The hope is that the cortisone, along with the orthotics, lots of ice and heat therapy, and stretching will eventually help me heal. Otherwise, the only other option is surgery. And as far as I'm concerned, that is NOT an option right now. I can't do any physical activity for the next couple weeks. I'm still hoping to run in the race on March 8th, but I don't know if there will be enough time to train. I have learned a really good lesson through this...do not push yourself too hard, even if your body is feeling okay. I knew I wasn't physically conditioned enough to run 2 miles, but I did it anyway.

And now I feel like a complete goober because I committed myself to something that I don't know if I can do. I hate feeling like a failure.

Well, it's time for bed and I'm ready for a new day!

Silly Hannah Claire

Here are a few silly pictures of Hannah from this week.  She's really developing a sense of humor and is constantly cracking me up with her silliness!

I've been having trouble with my foot/achilles again now that I've started running, so I'm trying to ice it once or twice a day.  And of course my little mimic (aka Hannah), insisted on having her own ice pack for her foot.

Hannah pretending to be a pirate and playing little army men!

Hannah is obsessed with all things hot and cold.  Here she is feeling the cold fireplace.

Hannah has realized this past week that she has really been missing out on chicken nuggets.  She pretty much refuses all meats, she always has.  We constantly offer it to her, but she always refuses...until last night.  She ate EIGHT chicken nuggets!  I'm so glad the she tried something new!  You should have seen her belly after eating all that!

Hannah's most recent big accomplishment is understanding the concept of "two".  She knows that she has two feet/eyes/ears, wears two shoes, etc, and can recognize when two items are present.  I'm really amazed at how fast she is learning now and how her vocabulary is increasing!  Yes, I'm a proud mom :)

Thank YOU!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind words of support and continued prayers.  I appreciate all the comments, emails, and cards more than you'll ever know. I'm blessed to have you in my life!

Love to all!

Reflecting on one year ago...

Please bear with me...this post will be long, but I feel I need to put it out there for a bit of closure on a very difficult and challenging time in our lives.  Some of the pictures are difficult to look at, but they show the life we lived for almost a month...

I will never forget the phone call I received one year ago today. It forever changed our lives. Every parent has to deal with a hurt child at some point in time. This was our time. For those who may not know the whole story, here is a brief version. I won't discuss how it happened because it is irrelevant. What matters is that our baby girl is still with us today.

We had no idea just how seriously Hannah was injured, until we picked her up from school. She was completely lethargic and unresponsive. That night we went to the ER just to make sure everything was okay, but it wasn't. I remember the doctor coming into our room and giving us the results of Hannah's CT scan and telling us that she would be transported by ambulance to Egelston; the scan showed a bruise on her brain. I immediately broke down in tears. This can't happen to my precious 9 month old baby...she's so innocent, it's not fair. This was just the first of many long nights in the hospital.

Hannah was discharged after 4 days of observation at Egleston. I remember Mark and I thinking that it felt too early to go home. Hannah slept the first 48 hours straight and had not returned to her normal self yet. How can they possibly send us home so soon, she has a brain injury! We knew in our gut that it didn't feel right, but we returned home anyway. Hannah even started to improve over the first two days. But by the end of the week she started refusing all foods and liquids and did not have any wet diapers. She would just lay in her bed or in our arms for hours. The slightest movement of her head would leave her crying in pain.

This time we listened to our instincts and returned to the ER at Scottish Rite. Within 45 minutes Hannah was seen by the doctor and had another CT scan. I could never have been prepared for what the doctor told us next. She needed brain surgery, immediately. She was diagnosed with acute post-traumatic hydrocephalus. One of the ventricles in her brain was blocked due to the bruise on her brain which prevented the reapsorption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF had been building up for 10 days, placing an immense amount of pressure on her brain. An external shunt was placed in her brain and it remained there for 14 days in order to keep the excess fluid draining and to re-train her brain how to absorb the fluid. When the nuerosurgeon said we saved her life that night, I broke down again. Those words still bring tears to my eyes today.

For weeks, Mark and I spent every night sharing a tiny twin sized bed in Hannah's hospital room. There were days when we never stepped foot outside the room. We spent countless hours standing over her crib trying to keep her happy and occupied. With the drain in place, her head had to remain at a certain level at all times. Not an easy task for an active baby who doesn't understand what is going on. After almost a month, we returned home and returned to normal life. Three months after her discharge, Hannah was cleared by the neurosurgeon and made a 100% recovery.

We were blessed to have MANY friends and family around to support us everyday. There were times when her hospital room was so full of visitors, that it overflowed into the hallway. They brought us food, coffee, books, and most importantly, LOTS of prayers and love. We received emails and cards from people we'd never met, but who had heard Hannah's story.  I will never forget the way you all touched our lives and I will carry it close to my heart forever. We never could have made it through without this support and our faith in God. It was through prayer and God's will that she is with us today. I know He has great plans for her!

Not a day goes by that I don't relive the fear and pain of what happened. But I have finally come to peace with everything and am able to focus on raising our little girl. I will never again take for granted the blessings I've been given.  I learned just how quickly and easily they can be taken away. 

So today and every January 10th we will celebrate our miracle. Hannah was given a second chance and so were we.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. -Isaiah 41:10