Happy Birthday Eli!

My baby boy is no longer a baby!  He turned 4 on the 13th of this month and I still can't believe it!  We went to Mesa to celebrate because Isaac's sister was in town from Utah and we rarely get to see them.  Eli loves playing with his cousins and we love hanging out with Kim and Darin, so it's a win-win situation.  Here is how Eli spent his weekend - in the pool with Noella.  

 This is one of the rare shots with clothes.  In reality they spent the weekend stripping off their clothes and jumping in the pool.  Dressing them became pointless because within 5 minutes they were naked and back in the pool.  After a while we decided to not worry about clothes and just made a goal to keep underwear on him when he wasn't in the pool.

 We had a birthday party for Eli while we were there

 with an amazing Transformer cake. 

 And when we got back to Mesa he started Preschool!  He is so excited - he LOVES school! And the school bus.

 First day of school picture.

 This is him waiting for the school bus - seriously, he just sits in front of the door and waits anxiously for the bus.

 Happy birthday to my sweet, funny, energetic, crazy, loving little man.  We love you so much Eli!

The Adventures of Isabelle

When I left on my mission I went straight to the MTC in Brazil.  There weren't many missionaries their and there were only about 20 of us American Sister missionaries, so we all got to know each other really well.  I made lots of great friends, but the only one I really keep in touch with is my friend Becca.  It's been more than 10 years and we still talk on the phone almost weekly.  A few weeks ago we were chatting and she said she found a book that just described Isabelle and she had to send it to her.  How kind is that?  I love that she is the kind of person to be out and about and see something and think of my sweet baby girl.  Isabelle got the package in the mail this week and she's right, it is the perfect book for Isabelle.  Not just because of its name - The Adventures of Isabel, but even the storyline and dedication describes my tough little girl.

The dedication: For the real little girl named Isabel who grew up to be just as adventuresome and courageous as her namesake in the story. 

The whole book is about the adventures of Isabel and how she overcomes all the problems (a hungry bear, an evil witch and a scary ogre) that come into her life.  I wont write the whole poem, but here's the last stanza (tell me it wasn't written for my Isabelle!):

Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.
The doctor's talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctor's satchel bulged with pills.
 

 The doctor said unto Isabel,

Swallow this, it will make you well.

 Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,

Isabel didn't scream or scurry.

She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor. 

 My courageous little girl.  Thank you Becca for thinking of her!

Mesa, I Miss You!

So I've been wanting to write this post for awhile now.  Isaac and I moved to Mesa right before we got married, so that he could finish school there and somehow we have never left Arizona.  I really didn't like it there for a long time, but slowly, Mesa grew on me and the last few years I have been so grateful to live there, especially after Isabelle was born.  There are so many things that I miss about it, so here's to the city I grew to love.  My Top 6 things I miss about Mesa (in no particular order).

1.The People - Isaac and I made so many great friends in Mesa that I was so sad to leave behind.  Friends from teaching, friends from our ward, friends from my MOMS group, friends from our apartment complex.  So many great people who were so kind and helpful to us.  I have so many great memories of the kindness of people there - the Christmas we were surprised for weeks straight with visits from "The Ridiculous Rowdy Reindeer" who made our Christmas one of the most special Christmases ever.  Memories of Isabelle being born and people popping out of the woodwork to offer help, bring dinners, call, visit, babysit Eli. My friend Jen, a wonderful woman from our ward, who for over a year took Eli to her house every Thursday morning to play with her little boy and to help us out.  She was so sweet and kind to my son, when we moved she came to say goodbye and had tears in her eyes, telling me how much she had grown to love our little guy and how much she was going to miss him.  Eli still asks if he can go play at Jen's house.  Such special people that we got to know there, who blessed the lives of my small family and I really miss them.

2. The Doctors - Probably seems weird to have doctors be on our list, but there are 2 major Children's Hospitals in the valley and so doctors and therapists were plentiful.  Now that we have to travel so far to see them, I appreciate them even more.  Her doctors called  us at home to check on her, they were always willing to listen to my concerns and take time with her.  After being here for just a few months and switching pediatricians to a local doctor here, I am convinced that if she had been born here, she never would have been diagnosed, wouldn't have received many of the therapies and services that she receives now and many problems would have been overlooked or chalked up to me being a worried mom.  I am SO grateful for her pediatrician in Mesa and I know that her being diagnosed, finding out her different health problems, receiving therapy from such a young age which has made such a difference, most of that is due to her pediatrician and I am so thankful that for her doctors in Mesa.  Isabelle sees 8 different specialists and once when I was talking to Izzy's neurologist, she said that Isabelle's team of doctors were some of the best in the state and exactly who she would choose for her own kids.

3. The City - It is just nice living in a city.  There is so much more available there than in a small town.  So many things for Eli to do - water parks and splash pads galore, the train park, the Children's museum, the zoo, so many fun things nearby.  And there was so much more available for Isabelle, so many services that I miss, therapists galore that came to our home to work with her, Raising Special Kids, an organization that helped with so many things, and many services for her that just aren't available here.  I miss having such easy access to everything, especially now that I have to drive so far for anything.

4. Oreganos/Joe's Farm Grill - Yes, Oreganos and Joe's Farm Grill made their own spot on the list!  Ah Oreganos, just thinking about your Boom Dip makes my mouth water.  Joe's, your Fontina Burger made my day. I  miss you both!

5. Sarah - Sarah was Isabelle's respite worker in Mesa and when I went back last week, she came to help me with Isabelle.  I hadn't realized just how much I miss her!  She has been amazing with Isabelle and is just so good to her and to our family.  We have been looking for a respite worker here and honestly I have been a little scared of the people that keep interviewing.  No one I would want to leave my baby with.  I guess I was just expecting another Sarah to show up, but I don't think I am going to be that lucky here.  I really miss having someone I trust so much and who is so responsible, caring, diligent and loving taking care of my sweet girl.

6. Our Ward - Our ward in Gilbert was amazing and I miss them a ton.  They were so kind to our family.  So many people participated in ward fasts for Isabelle, little children in the ward who could barely talk would come up to me and tell me how they were praying for Izzy.  We had members come to our house at midnight to 3 AM to help with Isabelle when she was a newborn and I was trying to get sleep and navigate more doctors appointments than I ever thought possible.  We had so much food brought to us, our fridge was overflowing.  I even miss my calling, I love teaching Relief Society and I loved our Relief Society there - an amazing group of woman.  Sunday lessons were always full of comments and I learned so much there.  Such a great ward that taught us so much about kindness and service.

Just writing about all these things makes me miss Mesa so bad.  It really became home to us and I really miss it.  Although we get to go back often, it isn't the same (it would be nice to go back for more than just appointment after appointment).  It's going to be a long few years here.

On the Road Again

After a long week of specialists appointments for Isabelle in Phoenix, we're back home.  We crammed  in 8 appointments in 4 days and a whole lot of driving.  Isabelle is pretty exhausted and so am I and I'm grateful for Eli's cousin Hannah, who keep him occupied while I spend the day driving to appointments.  I think the biggest disappointment of the trip was discovering that moving all of her specialists to Tucson really isn't an option.  What the doctors explained to me is since Phoenix has 2 major Children's Hospitals in the area, there is a huge selection of pediatric specialists working there and available - people come from all over the state to go to these children's hospital, so pediatric specialists who go there know that they will have a large client base.  There is no children's hospital in Tuscon and so there isn't as many pediatric specialists willing to go there.  The few that are in Tucson are either completely booked and scheduling out as far as Dec. of 2012 (yes, I had 1 secretary tell me should could see Isabelle Dec. of 2012) or they aren't taking new patients are are referring people to Phoenix.  Moral of the story, it looks like we're driving to Mesa  (3 hours 1 way) for all of her specialist appointments and Tucson (1 1/2 hours 1 way) 1-3 times a week for all of her therapy.  I feel like the theme song of my life should be "On the Road Again".  Most of the lyrics don't actually apply, just the one phrase -  on the road again.  

The good news is that the majority of her specialists are really pleased with how she is doing and are ready to move her to biannual visits and just keep monitoring her, which is wonderful.  Opthamology was the only one who needed to see her earlier, which I already expected.  We'll be going back in Sept. to Phoenix Children's Hosp. for eye surgery again and then back monthly for him to monitor the progress.  So at this point we'll be heading back to Mesa about once a month for the next six months.  Hopefully after that we'll really be on a every 6 month schedule.  

 Although I didn't take any pictures this week, people have been asking what Isabelle's braces look like, so here's a few I snapped quickly to kind of give you an idea.  They aren't too big and mostly covered by the socks that go with them.  It's the enormous shoes that come with them that are probably what is hardest for all of us to adjust too.  They are big, bulky, heavy and make it much harder for her to move.  But her developmental pediatrician watched her move without them this week and assured me they really are necessary and will save her a lot of muscle damage.  

My baby is 18 Months old

I cannot believe it but tomorrow this sweet baby girl is a year and a half old.  What a year and a half its been.  Over 300 (yes folks, 300) doctor appointments and therapy visits.  We've had more appointments, tests, hours and hours spent on the phone dealing with insurance drama and more problems than I ever could have possibly imagined.  We've also had more joy and seen more kindness and love for our family and sweet baby than I ever could have imagined. I wouldn't change anything about this amazing girl, she is so full of sweetness, love, happiness and joy, she is the greatest blessing.  I've probably overloaded this post with pictures, but I can't believe how much she's grown and changed in the past year and a half.  

Starting out in the NICU, I wasn't even allowed to touch her at first.

6 weeks old

2 months old

4 months - love those eyes 

5 months

 7 months - 1 of many EEG's

 Even more EKG's and Izzy at 9 months

 10 months old and rocking the helmet head - she had the helmet for 4 or 5 months

 and got it off right before Christmas

1 year old

 My favorite squishy face

 swim therapy

 February

 15 months old

 Turning into a blondie

18 months old

What would we do without this beautiful baby girl?