Lazy Day at Home

It was ridiculously cold today.  And yes, I mean really cold, not just cold by Floridian standards.  I'm pretty sure we barely saw 50* and the thermostat in my car said it was 37* this morning when I went grocery shopping.  So, other than a trip to the store, we spent the day in the house.  It was declared as pajama day, and I even took Kennedy to the store in her nice cozy, fleece sleeper. 

I've been slacking a little on my videos lately, so here is one of Kennedy eating her grilled cheese sandwich.  Yesterday, she clapped when she was finished.  Of course, because I was recording it today, she didn't do it.

Mom, you didn't even wash my hair today, please don't put this online.  And give me more food.

'It's not very often that daddy is home, and we don't have something fun planned out and about, so it was a nice treat for Kennedy and daddy to get to play.  

Are you serious dad?

Mama, I'm going to show daddy how my ball popper works.

Ready? 1...2...3...

This ball tastes yummy...

Daddy you are so silly!

You have to get it at just the right time dad, watch.

Mom? I think dad lost interest in the ball popper.

See dad, this is how it's done.

I don't care if this toy is almost as big as me, I can still pick it up.

Mommy?  Why don't you act so silly when you play the piano with me?

Hey peeps, this is how I'm going to hold my baby brother.

It's sort of surreal looking at these photos.  I cannot believe that one week from today, I'm going to have a one year old.  It just doesn't seem possible.  One year ago I had absolutely no clue just how much this sweet little girl was going to change my life.  When we got her diagnosis I knew that our lives were changed forever, but I had no idea how much better it would be.

Kennedy's Surprise!

Today was our appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist.  I went into this with a lot of anxiety.  It went much better than I expected.  For one, I don't think she ever realized that I see a group of midwives or that I was planning a home birth.  She just kept telling me that she would send a report to my OB.  Let me tell you, today's visit made me even more appreciative of my midwives, and I'm really not sure that was possible!  We waited forever.  It was freezing cold in there.  And although the doctor was nice, she most definitely was not very personable.  Long story short - the ultrasound looks perfect.  I won't go into all the anatomy and measurements, but most importantly there's four heart chambers.  Although it's too early to see many heart defects, she said any of the truly major ones would show up now.  (For what it's worth, Kennedy's heart defect is not considered major in their eyes.)  She said that there was nothing on the ultrasound that would indicate the potential for Down syndrome, though it's still kind of early to tell.  This was a relief to hear!  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Although Down syndrome doesn't scare me, the idea of having a child with health problems did concern me - regardless of how many chromosomes he or she has.  So knowing that as of now, baby looks healthy, is a relief!

I was given a referral for the MaterniT21 blood test.  However, that could not be drawn today.  It has to be scheduled, and drawn first thing in the morning due to the way that the blood is handled prior to shipping it to California.  I'm not thrilled about driving two hours each way (again) - but it will be worth it.  It then takes 7-10 days to get the results.

I have to admit, it was a pretty neat ultrasound.  I never saw anything that detailed with Kennedy, and we didn't have one until much later with her.  Baby was bouncing around, pushing off my uterus and doing flips and turns.  Now I can just imagine what is going on in there when I feel all the squirming.  There was one thing that was very evident on today's ultrasound.  This baby was DEFINITELY not shy about showing off!  Kennedy wants to be the one to tell you though.

 Oh, you want to know my secret?

What, you can't read it?  It's blurry?

What mom?  I'm holding it in the wrong direction?

I give up.  Is this better? You're lucky I'm not eating it.

 

Yes - you read that right.  Kennedy is going to have a little brother!! (And it only took 100 pictures to get something that could be read as well as that!)  We are so excited to see Kennedy and her brother together and watch them become best friends.  Here is a picture of our little boy!  

Almost One...

It's hard to believe that Kennedy's first birthday is in less than 2 weeks.  It's surreal.  Exactly one year ago I was texting with my Doula, trying to decide if the contractions I was having were real...obviously they weren't, but it seriously feels like yesterday!  I just don't understand how I'm going to have a one year old soon.  All of the fear and the emotions surrounding her birth, are fresh in my mind.  I wish I had known then, what I know now.  It would have made for a lot less stress those first few days.

I look back over the past year and I am amazed at what we have overcome.  A shocking diagnosis that changed our lives forever.  We struggled to get Kennedy to gain weight.  We fought and fought to get assistance and services.  We made it through open heart surgery.  And then we got to truly start to enjoy life with our daughter.  Not that we didn't enjoy her before, but things definitely were different once her surgery was over.  Since then, we've taken vacations and we've watched Kennedy grow into a little girl and explore her world.  We no longer have the struggle with her eating.  The girl likes to eat.  She clearly takes after her mommy and daddy with her love for food.  And soon, she's going to be a big sister.  Now THAT'S hard to believe.  We still have our challenges, and even some of our fears.  But who doesn't?  Ours are just a little different than most people.  I still spend countless hours fighting for services that Kennedy deserves.  I don't think that's a fight that will end any time soon.

I don't focus on that though.  I don't focus on the things Kennedy can't or doesn't do.  I focus on what she can do.  She's rocking it the past two weeks when it comes to meeting milestones, and as I've always said, we celebrate all of them.  Big and small.  Today she really shocked me.  She somehow managed to take my contact lens out of my eye.  Talk about some fine motor skills!  Forget mastering the pincer grip to pick up Cheerios, this girl is removing contacts!  My husband recently tried to wear contacts.  He found out rather quickly that he wasn't cut out to be a contact lens wearer, but Kennedy has already figured it out.  Okay, okay, I know.  She didn't do it on purpose, and it will likely never happen again.  At least I hope not for the sake of my eyes and my vision.  But she was really darn proud of herself when she was holding it in her fingers.

The outfit that she's wearing for her birthday party arrived yesterday.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I tried to blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but the truth is, I know I'd be crying even if I weren't pregnant.  I cannot believe my baby is turning ONE.  We have received so much love and support since Kennedy was born and it means the world to us.  We cannot wait to celebrate her first birthday with so many of the people who have made such a difference this year.  We are truly grateful for our friends and family.

Weekend Fun! (And a Therapy Update)

I love all the weekend family time, especially now that Kennedy is getting older and can really appreciate the things we do. 

She had mixed feelings over the splash park at Busch Gardens yesterday.  Had there been less "big kids" I suspect it would have been a better reaction. 

Mom...don't let go.  What is this?

It's kinda chilly mom...

This is fun!!

I'm gonna get it mom!

I'm exhausted after that mom!

I'm up, snack time?

Okay, let's go.  I'm ready to see more animals.

Kennedy also wanted to show off how hard she's been working on standing.

Oh monkey you crack me up!

 We're ready to watch the game with daddy.

I've also been meaning to update about therapy all week, but apparently the second trimester didn't bring my energy level back.  Wednesday's Early Intervention did not go well.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it was the worst ever.  Kennedy saw Amanda walk up the sidewalk and was screaming hysterically from that moment on.  It was horrible.  The last 15 minutes Amanda ended up laying on my kitchen floor, between the wall and the table and peered around the wall and observed her.  This worked.  Kennedy sat and played with me, smiled, giggled, etc.  

Fast forward to Friday.  PT day, and boy oh boy was I dreading it.  Kennedy woke up an hour early and was already yawning when we got there.  I was pleasantly shocked.  She rocked it.  She stood, she crawled and she showed off all her skills.  For 50 (yes fifty) minutes!!!  She was over it at the end.  She was clearly ready for a nap.  11am is her usual nap time, and that's not accounting for waking up an hour early, so I was very happy to have made it to 10:50 with out a meltdown.  Fortunately, Anna, our therapist, was thrilled with what we got, and she called it quits.  Kennedy was passed out in her seat before I made it out of the parking lot.  

So, that really leaves me questioning the current situation.  Does she dislike Amanda that much?  Am I better off asking for a new therapist?  Or does she not like people coming into her "space?"  Maybe I'll try another round of EI at the park, and see how things go, and make a decision from there.  My fear, is asking for a new therapist, and them not being able to find one.  Or asking for a new therapist, and getting one that Kennedy and I BOTH don't like.  Decisions, decisions.

Random Photo Bomb

It has been a busy week, and we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.  So while I have an important topic I wanted to write about tonight, I don't have the energy.  I'm sure you all don't mind, but you're stuck with lots of adorable pictures of Kennedy.  You know, the park, the Thai restaurant, pulling up on the arm of the chair, and eating a popsicle for the first time.  (Oh - by the way, I think she really does have a tooth coming through soon.)

Mom?  Food?  Please?

Is that my lunch???

Are you kidding me?  Just rice?

Fine....I'll take it.

At least it's fun to play with too.

Can you pass the hot sauce?

Lunch out and the park in one day!  What more can a girl ask for?

Grandma even took me down the big slide.  Don't I look thrilled?

Hey, I wonder what that is over there.

Oops! Busted!

Well, this is interesting.

WHAT is this?  Grandma what is mommy giving me?

I'll try it again.

This is weird mom.

I just don't understand why it's so cold.

Help me understand Grandma.

WHAT am I supposed to do with this?

Give me more, I want to try it again.

I think I might like it?

Yes, I definitely want more mom. 

It's SO cold Mommy!

But it feels SO good on my teeth.

Milestone Madness

It seems like Kennedy decided this week she'd start hitting all sorts of milestones.  This weekend it started with the Cheerios.  Today she started clapping!  We've been working on this for awhile now, and she's been putting her hands together, but tonight it all started to click, and she did it over and over again, and even when we asked!  Then she was sitting on the bed next to me, and she decided she would use my legs to pull herself to a stand!  Of course, standing on the bed isn't all that easy and she plopped down on her butt pretty quickly, but she still did it - and completely on her own!  She tried again, but only made it to her knees.  Either way, I'm so incredibly proud of her.  And did I mention that her smiles and giggles melt my heart more and more every day. 

Here's some pictures from our trip to the park today.

Mommy I really love to swing!! 

Can I have a park in our yard for my birthday?

I guess mommy's letting her guard down with germs.  She never used to let me lick poles.