tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42940977883015537532024-02-19T04:49:49.384-05:00Clothed in Scarlet"She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet." Proverbs 31:21 (ESV)Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.comBlogger263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-36099762672837480262013-08-28T14:05:00.001-04:002013-08-28T14:05:22.321-04:00Yes, I know it's been a while......but I wanted to let anybody still looking for posts on this blog to go check out a group blog that I started with two dear friends:<br />
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everythingtosomeone.com<br />
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We will be tackling issues of mothering in today's world, and occasionally throw up more personal posts. While the posts are not picture-centric, there are a few new pictures of the kids there. Today, my post was on homeschooling. I will try to occasionally throw up pictures here still, but it will probably only be as frequent as it was last year--sorry!!Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-26223455968835352432013-04-17T14:39:00.000-04:002013-04-17T14:39:01.508-04:00Hope turns 2! And pictures for the Grandmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hope turned 2 on Sunday. Between church and nap and small group, we actually had a really full day, and ended up squeezing in present opening in the 1/2 hour before small group. She loves books, although she likes the idea more than the actual reading. She's good at flipping pages.<br />
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She also got some trains, and some animals to add to our animal collection. Carver enjoys putting the train track together for her, but her favorite part is pushing the choo-choos on the floor.<br />
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We took cake and candles to small group, and let everybody sing to her. She was completely baffled by the candles.<br />
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Fortunately, she has older sisters who are happy to finish the job!<br />
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She continues to plug away at milestones, making steady progress, though a couple months behind her peers. She has started talking a little bit, and has about 10 words that she can say umprompted, and a huge list of words that she will try to say if you ask her to. She is even putting two words together sometimes, like, "Mama, nana," asking for a banana. She is also doing a few key signs more dependably, and can communicate when she needs a drink or more of something. We are greatly encouraged by her progress in this area.<br />
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She is a proficient crawler now, and does a lot of knee-walking, so much so that her little knees are always red. Her real walking is still assisted and very unsteady, and it seems to us that her ability to balance is one of the biggest factors here. She tips and falls easily, even just standing and holding on to somebody, if she turns her head too quickly, she will likely fall over. She does have little braces on her ankles now, just to keep all her loose ankle muscles and tendons in line as she strengthens all those muscles for walking. While I do think they have helped, they have not made the huge difference that maybe we were hoping for. David and I are hopeful that she will walk by herself someday, but recognize that it will be a long haul to get there. I was able to obtain a temporary handicapped parking permit, which will make parking our big Suburban in New Jersey suburbia a little easier :)<br />
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Hope continues to get all sorts of therapy every week through NJ's early intervention program. That will be ending here in a few weeks, since we will be off to spend the summer in Montana, and will have to discontinue the therapy for that time. While she would still be eligible when we return until her 3rd birthday, I'm not sure we will continue with it. It is a lot of hours in the week for me, and I'm not 100% convinced that it has made a huge difference for her. She seems to do things when she's good and ready to, and not a minute before, no matter how much pushing and prodding the therapists do. She no longer needs to be followed by our neurosurgeon, and is pretty much out of the danger window for hydrocephalus. We know the signs like the back of our hand, though, and can always take action if we see any of those. She continues to be followed by a neurologist (although we don't go as often as they want us to :), a physiatrist (a new word for me, but he is by far our most helpful doctor), and an ophthalmologist.<br />
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As we prepare for the birth of her baby brother this summer, we are realizing that there are changes ahead for her, some already happening now (I can't pick her up as easily as I could a few months ago!). We pray that being pushed into big-sisterhood will help her continue to develop and not remain the helpless baby of the family <br />
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David and I are completely dumbfounded by her progress. God has been so faithful to us, when we in no way deserved it. As I have ached in the past two years with friends and acquaintances who have lost babies or have children with more severe handicaps, I do sometimes wonder why God spared us one of those tragedies. But, in His providence, He did, and our job continues to be to care for, protect, nurture, and train Hope so that she will bring Him glory.<br />
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<br />Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-48719007403210759832013-02-14T14:35:00.000-05:002013-02-14T14:36:07.985-05:00Flash Card Clean-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-63596370107575804772013-02-14T14:32:00.000-05:002013-02-14T14:32:32.292-05:00South Street Seaport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We really love the city. There is so much to see. At first, it was very intimidating for me. But I've found, as we explore it in small sections, that I'm really enjoying a lot of the different areas (although, we don't go hang out in Harlem.)<br />
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We have figured out that if you want to look more like natives, throw the kids' razors in the back of the car before leaving, and your kids will blend in like pros. They have ridden their razors down Wall Street and around the statue of G. Washington at Federal Hall. We blended in so well that David was asked directions for the nearest subway. <br />
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I mean, I can't really take pictures like this in my backyard. On the other hand, I don't feel a compulsive need to wash my hands after playing in the back yard, either.<br />
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<br />Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-31900018199775492872012-12-10T21:39:00.001-05:002012-12-10T21:40:13.929-05:00Donuts Some of you may know that I got a sweet find at a garage sale this fall: a brand new, still-in-packaging DeLonghi deep fryer. The original sticker said $20, the sticker below it said $10, so I offered $5, and she looked relieved to have it gone. Between morning sickness and the initial fear of using a deep fryer, it has been sitting in our basement for over a month now. No longer!<br />
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We broke in our fryer with donuts. And they were yummy. I made a very simple recipe that I won't post the link for. The measurements are all in ounces, which is very annoying, and I ended up changing it pretty drastically by the end. But it still worked.
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The dough was rolled into small balls, then fried for 2-3 minutes. Just as in the description in Farmer Boy, the donuts really do flip over when one side is done cooking. Watching them sizzle was really cool. The amazing part was that they came out of the fryer almost dry. There was no big grease stain on the towel after we let them sit. I don't know why that is, but it sure doesn't speak well for McDonald's fries.<br />
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We rolled half of them in cinnamon/sugar mixture, and I attempted to glaze the other half. I need a little more practice in donut glazing, but I'm sure the kids won't mind.<br />
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They tasted amazing. They were not Krispy Kreme's, they were much more home-made tasting, and it was an improvement. They had a weight to them that made you not want to inhale the entire plate, which seems like a pro rather than a con. But they weren't heavy-gross, either (which is how I generally view cake donuts, though others in my house disagree.) That said, the plate was gone in about 2 minutes, and the kids begged for more.<br />
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After a maiden run, I think that was $5 well spent! Next on the list: coconut shrimp, chocolate glazed donuts, and cannoli!Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-78544930555850671842012-10-16T20:48:00.002-04:002012-10-16T20:48:33.408-04:00Hope update!Hope had her 18 month half-birthday on Sunday. I know it's been a while since I've given you an update, so I took some pictures of her during one of her sessions with a therapist today to give you an update with.
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Hope is doing very well. She is continuing to make forward progress, although it's slow. She learned to crawl this summer, right around 15 months. Because her muscles are so low-tone, the quality of her crawling is not great. Her legs do the splits more than the should, and she has a hard time lifting her head while crawling to see where she's going. That said, she is a master of figuring out shortcuts for these problems. She will crawl a little ways, then sit up so that she can remember what she was aiming for, go back down on all fours and keep going. She has also mastered this funny little swim-with-her-legs move, which the physical therapist hates. It involves putting her legs in directions they should not be able to go, and pushing with them, so that she really looks like she's swimming with her legs. It's hilarious, unless you're a therapist. Then it's alarming.
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She can now pull up on furniture, and is working on her balance on her feet. We are hoping that she walks sooner rather than later, as that will put an end to her swim-crawl, which really is not good for her ligaments and joints. She has not needed any intervention other than therapy to this point to help her mobility. She wears these funny constricting pants (or she's supposed to, but mom is sometimes lax in enforcement) that help keep her legs in the right position while crawling and climbing. In the coming months, though, it looks like she will need little ankle and lower-leg braces to help her walk. Her muscles are just so loose that her ankles kind of fold over on themselves. A brace will help build those muscles up correctly, so that hopefully she would not need braces forever.
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Cognitively, she is also doing well. Her receptive language (meaning her ability to understand and respond to us) is very good, almost up to her age-level. She can obey commands, and understand a lot of what she says. Her communication back, though, it severely delayed. It is actually her area of biggest delay, and it has kind of snuck up on us the last few months. We have been so focused on her gross motor skills, that nobody was too concerned about her speech. Now, we're concerned. She does not make any sounds other than grunting. She grunts with a lot of inflection, though, and is able to make her desires known. Our attempts at teaching her signs have been unsuccessful, as well. She was recently evaluated by a speech therapist, and that hour was very informative for me. The part of her brain that's damaged is her cerebellum, and one of the things that is affected is her ability to plan. With gross motor, this means that her brain can't really figure out all the steps needed to crawl--she's had to be taught them and her brain trained to know what's supposed to happen. We think this is what's happening with her speech. She understands us, her hearing is fine, and she can move her mouth and make noise, but somewhere, all the steps to make the sounds come out in the right order, with her breath behind them, at the right time, got lost. It's called a motor-planning deficit, and that explanation really fits with the way she communicates (or doesn't), along with the other problems she's had. In addition, because her motor skills are poor, it will be hard for her to learn to sign. She one sign she has consistently is "bye", where she will wave. We will probably continue to do some signing just as another way for her to understand us (both visual and aural), but don't really expect that she will be able to sign back. All that to say--we will be starting weekly speech therapy in the next few weeks. The therapist will work with her facial muscles and the motor planning to try to get her to speak, and will work with us to figure out alternative means of communication. In addition, when she does learn to speak a little more, there is a high probability that her speech will be a little slurred, simply because her muscles overall are so low-tone.
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So that's the quick version. I feel like that is really a lot of bad news, though, and the reality of life with her is that we are all still completely enamored with her. She so stinkin' cute, and she does the funniest things. She will squawk at Rose for taking a toy or getting too close to her personal space. She'll give kisses. She'll wave bye-bye when she wants to be done eating. She plays peek-a-boo. She greets Dad when he walks in the door. When she wakes up in the morning, she spends a few minutes in bed with me, looking at a book. Then Ellie will come in and get her to go play in the school room. Ellie will pick her up, and wait for Hope to pull the door open so they can leave my room. Hope will wave to me as she goes.<br />
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We continue to be so thankful for her life. We will face the challenges in the upcoming months with her, and look for solutions, all the time knowing that she is a gift from God to us, in ways we can see now, and in ways we may only know in heaven.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-15500245503640559882012-10-16T19:54:00.002-04:002012-10-16T19:59:35.553-04:00MontanaWell, I've got a "Hope is 18 months" post for you, but first I'm going to subject you to other pictures I found when clearing off my flash card today.
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As some of you know, we traveled a lot this summer. David and I went to Israel, by ourselves, for 10 days. Someday I might get around to putting up pictures from that amazing trip. 2 days after getting home, we started off on a whole-family adventure across the United States. We went first to Indiana, then to Montana, via Michigan, Missouri and Colorado (I know--they're not even close to each other). We spent 3 1/2 weeks at the cabin in Montana, and then returned to New Jersey via Indiana and Michigan. Along the way, my amazing husband defended his dissertation, earning the title "Dr." Pretty awesome.<br />
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Needless to say, while at the cabin, we spent a lot of time in the lake.<br />
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We also did some al fresco art on the deck. This was one of my favorite activities. We would go and find pinecones and other objects and bring them back and draw them. So cool.
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Hope gained a lot of mobility at the cabin. She started crawling, and while she was not pulling up herself, she could hang on if you put her somewhere. She loved watching the kids from the deck. They'd jump in the water and yell her name, and she'd yell back at them.
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The big kids all took turns tubing. After Carver, Laura was by far the most adventurous, until she got bounced around a little too much. After that, it was only slow for her.
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Home sweet home.
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And Carver caught his first fish! Montana is nobody's fool, and if you're not a resident, they charge you an arm and a leg for a fishing license. That was, by far, the most gourmet fish we'd ever eaten. Too bad Carver thought it was gross.
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So there's a pictoral fly-by. Hope update coming next!
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-1119268415860216282012-04-15T16:07:00.004-04:002012-04-15T17:11:00.622-04:00Hope turns 1!Wow, what a year it has been.<br />We went from this (<a href="http://mrstalcott.blogspot.com/2011/01/victoria-hope.html">post here</a> for those of you who don't know the story):<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZVPLQYXxyA8dRqb8pHw8nuTa-ppmKeZ1tRevVjqF8JTTABRo8vL5o9qxzFtEVciQhW9hFygp3C-dyK__5IYpOWeJWc5V8Wqv36ZMjF-uAcGtgeQOw91UzjoOWgXSpyAjl_NXNivYjHI/s1600/Hope32Weeks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZVPLQYXxyA8dRqb8pHw8nuTa-ppmKeZ1tRevVjqF8JTTABRo8vL5o9qxzFtEVciQhW9hFygp3C-dyK__5IYpOWeJWc5V8Wqv36ZMjF-uAcGtgeQOw91UzjoOWgXSpyAjl_NXNivYjHI/s400/Hope32Weeks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731722694627520482" /></a><br /><br />To <a href="http://mrstalcott.blogspot.com/2011/04/successful-delivery.html">this</a>:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNxFhurMYsSS5bLe3DYgzUS_7Ai0usDaQ9EJl81OKCOvfgCPL9-8ZUwkVHQnuCsTV_FBjtz6Uw5lV-WfJP6ewdmmG6M0pY7WyBWnLdCXIyZ8W_LLIHyirCVcKqY4HFWmpIt6R4eiCB2c/s1600/IMG_6285.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNxFhurMYsSS5bLe3DYgzUS_7Ai0usDaQ9EJl81OKCOvfgCPL9-8ZUwkVHQnuCsTV_FBjtz6Uw5lV-WfJP6ewdmmG6M0pY7WyBWnLdCXIyZ8W_LLIHyirCVcKqY4HFWmpIt6R4eiCB2c/s400/IMG_6285.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731722537583117026" /></a><br /><br />To <a href="http://mrstalcott.blogspot.com/2011/05/night-in-picu.html">this</a>:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUu6VIU9udduXima05Wy8FNxkvkxwZPBklbs-Wn_UJVmpH0Ucl0iyHL1F1p0XP7ey4hORI7Ny1DTMi7La7X6WjvVksGIC9y3SU9Ya0zSJ4B42HKJmLmbx7BcuaWHpVA3-sBRZxHedX6A/s1600/IMG_6438.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUu6VIU9udduXima05Wy8FNxkvkxwZPBklbs-Wn_UJVmpH0Ucl0iyHL1F1p0XP7ey4hORI7Ny1DTMi7La7X6WjvVksGIC9y3SU9Ya0zSJ4B42HKJmLmbx7BcuaWHpVA3-sBRZxHedX6A/s400/IMG_6438.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731722546436461090" /></a><br /><br />And now, here we are, celebrating her first birthday! Such a miracle. What a gracious God we have!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapyb5T9itMxG7R08oVvLzCxmcc7-Ou5-yD4tjUDLU32IWF0JcbrfJjhVYv1-vj339Izkm7ayXQUYuI2hsEA343SfFmqbuCMUh-8z6R5vvDBrer7JKo2rWY1ujaT3V2rzZJgD35BxqnxM/s1600/IMG_9162.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapyb5T9itMxG7R08oVvLzCxmcc7-Ou5-yD4tjUDLU32IWF0JcbrfJjhVYv1-vj339Izkm7ayXQUYuI2hsEA343SfFmqbuCMUh-8z6R5vvDBrer7JKo2rWY1ujaT3V2rzZJgD35BxqnxM/s400/IMG_9162.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731735215567082370" /></a><br />(And yes, I did not have a "1" candle. She got Carver's leftovers from last year. She didn't mind, though, and Laura did a great job blowing it out.)Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-3869902082290558212012-04-06T18:05:00.003-04:002012-04-06T18:17:14.469-04:00Fun with WigsI've been playing with my camera in manual mode a lot lately. I am learning to love it, but there's a fairly steep learning curve. I'm deleting a lot of pictures.I'm pretty happy with this bunch though--maybe just a little on the bright side.<br /><br />The wigs were Wal Mart finds after Halloween this year. I think I got them for $1 each. They were a good thing to pull out to break up the boredom today. Unfortunately, we threw away the two that look like actual hair--they were shedding all over the place. Totally disgusting. The Pippi wigs will go into the dress-up bin, though--they should be fun for months to come.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO0Iuruv7JL3M3i785o18nSCG6q6B00i21Raa88Xe4HJ4cIdQ7GQg9A1HVWCRSeE3Eq4tCVa1SsZAUFgCEPJCarIMkLrTPMJfaNdJBX-TZYOmISKdkONqISGhAwUKk9gLy8k2Zm5MsD8/s1600/IMG_8657.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO0Iuruv7JL3M3i785o18nSCG6q6B00i21Raa88Xe4HJ4cIdQ7GQg9A1HVWCRSeE3Eq4tCVa1SsZAUFgCEPJCarIMkLrTPMJfaNdJBX-TZYOmISKdkONqISGhAwUKk9gLy8k2Zm5MsD8/s400/IMG_8657.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728414126348113954" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOQIve39YERav6O4pkxpLoqJPXa6lkYHdEX0Tw25LoQ5gSQg7Jxcc3P10jUUQBnFzCBZLJU_kSat5nhyj8kRv7R2vvxQuzdQGe2ItfHEAEa5ffecimvuNsSK3gZuu-obuB0wj8e8-IgI/s1600/IMG_8665.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOQIve39YERav6O4pkxpLoqJPXa6lkYHdEX0Tw25LoQ5gSQg7Jxcc3P10jUUQBnFzCBZLJU_kSat5nhyj8kRv7R2vvxQuzdQGe2ItfHEAEa5ffecimvuNsSK3gZuu-obuB0wj8e8-IgI/s400/IMG_8665.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728414121065516050" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4AOdqvJ9omNNY3cYw1WyPK_vVJHU2163zIu7YS7kSK1Kz7HdFMDKaqjcy5RarF9YGIJqsvj4waol6mWYQioZPk5E9GSragarFPwPyjjjnTsTMkrjvLWnW41dDXvywsMUIW4-KrTy9gw/s1600/IMG_8654.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4AOdqvJ9omNNY3cYw1WyPK_vVJHU2163zIu7YS7kSK1Kz7HdFMDKaqjcy5RarF9YGIJqsvj4waol6mWYQioZPk5E9GSragarFPwPyjjjnTsTMkrjvLWnW41dDXvywsMUIW4-KrTy9gw/s400/IMG_8654.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728414136605543186" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxceC-J1xoB99xYDHy82DTBR_UKzey2hksERWCE2aE666DWlVpbxAX_JtaY2cITdskHnEcfYyK5qe3rJdE6x-5b74WrhNrhRgtVddUlZGip9tMd6kgu6pPNFhmKJnJcdNfxYP-iPdWzbg/s1600/IMG_8712.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPn2EjS_lEengH6mK0v3H-jaOUGHmGR2MFO406NtgfW_UoZUF_Mr6EMoQ9iVtjMEV05NhyphenhyphencGuZSMm4VnNKkeOOo-1_c-3DzOja83G2q-kgJhwstfgLKHOLBsLYYAH629D28XemON2LrY4/s400/IMG_8730.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728413071131004578" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78qc0_lPcSdTCIJ2nbnVmQEeyiYgPuQ9acRaeznTq3bz3Gwl_HYDEMg9LpNk3B_dfNISTtHyppawDvjJ97M4gvhv_lPyJ0Pm-c4qqP_RJNig6DdS8RZdCsoxYfiymxMEsy23ahXPx7AU/s1600/IMG_8736.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78qc0_lPcSdTCIJ2nbnVmQEeyiYgPuQ9acRaeznTq3bz3Gwl_HYDEMg9LpNk3B_dfNISTtHyppawDvjJ97M4gvhv_lPyJ0Pm-c4qqP_RJNig6DdS8RZdCsoxYfiymxMEsy23ahXPx7AU/s400/IMG_8736.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728413061701190722" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIP1vZY8D-2j0t4_7jLWAD5BexAHIff5vW54djeYyj6KhNEkVqactnDyc-f13EwlEAKX1aJZ6scdeDsxGvc1vC_r9tG8_t2rofHaYUbzFYnZ-tcUdyVZiSPYwDx_iFMd0fLSjlRmdR6E/s1600/IMG_8680.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIP1vZY8D-2j0t4_7jLWAD5BexAHIff5vW54djeYyj6KhNEkVqactnDyc-f13EwlEAKX1aJZ6scdeDsxGvc1vC_r9tG8_t2rofHaYUbzFYnZ-tcUdyVZiSPYwDx_iFMd0fLSjlRmdR6E/s400/IMG_8680.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728413097342492066" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-38258059606364461162012-04-03T20:16:00.002-04:002012-04-03T21:08:42.423-04:00Hope update!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyeJS5JHISdT5LcfG4UJx7EpZwEJtyUrF2wURNVdSVjSpQKROGvYpHFBvA5lJktr5_VZ3Ald8M99nQESZ5dg6QY_tPDFRZSvVGUDyU-VsU6zSqVeTrwydu5PoubA2kgxaO7ICu-ngq40/s1600/IMG_8021.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyeJS5JHISdT5LcfG4UJx7EpZwEJtyUrF2wURNVdSVjSpQKROGvYpHFBvA5lJktr5_VZ3Ald8M99nQESZ5dg6QY_tPDFRZSvVGUDyU-VsU6zSqVeTrwydu5PoubA2kgxaO7ICu-ngq40/s400/IMG_8021.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727333106059713026" /></a><br />Hope and I went and saw her new neurosurgeon today, and I've got great news to pass along! I'll start with a little bit of the back story, and then you'll think the news is just as great as I do :)<br />Since having her encephalocele removed, the only complication that we're looking for with Hope is hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is the enlarging of the ventricles of the brain (the spaces in the center of your brain where fluid is stored) due to an excess of cerebral spinal fluid. When this enlargement happens, the outer parts of the brain get smashed up against the skull, causing tissue loss and brain damage, usually global damage (involving everything--both physical and mental damage). The way that you can tell if someone has hydrocephalus is by looking for several warning signs: crankiness or changes in behavior, headaches, sleeping a lot, memory loss, eyes constantly looking down (sunsetting eyes), and forehead bulging (frontal bossing). In babies, because their skulls have not hardened yet, the first warning sign is often an extreme increase in head circumference, sometimes with few of the other signs. The only real way to tell, though, is to have an ultrasound done, or an MRI, which is much more precise. Hope and I had an MRI done before she was born, and then she had one done the day she was born. Since then, we have had 3 ultrasounds done, the last one being in November.<br /><br />The treatment for hydrocephalus is to put in a shunt, a small tube that snakes between the lobes of the brain into those ventricles to drain the fluid. A tube then runs just under the skin of the neck and down into the abdominal cavity to drain that excess fluid. This surgery is life saving. A shunt will allow somebody who would otherwise suffer extreme brain damage and then death to have a long, normal life. But, the surgery itself is dangerous, with a higher mortality rate than the surgery Hope had to have her encephalocele removed. The shunt will also need care and replacing every decade or so. They can fail and they can become infected. Much like a lot of modern medicine, they are wonderful if you really need one, and a really bad idea if you don't.<br /><br />In the 4 weeks after Hope's surgery, her ventricle size remained unchanged, which is when Dr. Young in Indiana told us that it was very unlikely that she would develop hydrocephalus and need a shunt. He said at that time that if she had hydrocephalus, it would have shown itself in that first month after surgery. We thought it was nothing less than a miracle that she would not need the shunt surgery, and were elated.<br /><br />Then we moved and got a new doctor. We have spent the past 8 months being told something different every time we saw this woman. Based on her charting of Hope's head circumference, she was initially very concerned about hydrocephalus and encouraging an MRI to see what those ventricles looked like. Over the next few visits, she continued in this same vein, but each time the story was a little different. In December, I was told that Hope would likely need surgery in the spring, and that the doctor (in her brief office evaluation) saw sunsetting eyes and frontal bossing. She said that Hope's difficulty rolling and moving her head were due to the increased weight of having all that extra fluid in there. Then, in February, she said that the frontal bossing was mild, and hydrocephalus unlikely. All the while, Hope's head circumferences, which I was also taking at home every week, were hovering around the 90th to 95th percentile. <br /><br />David and I were very uncomfortable with her waffling, her quick office evaluations of Hope, and her brushing aside of my concerns. We saw none of the external signs of hydrocephalus. Her eyes looked fine to us. Her head is funny shaped, but that can be explained by the fact that she has a very flat side from being positioned on one side for a long time. She was not losing ground developmentally, she was sleeping a normal amount, and she was not cranky. Her head is hard to hold up because she had all the muscles across the top of her neck cut! We really struggled with the idea that we would jump into surgery just based on a head circumference. The doctor told us to plan on doing an MRI in April, which we were fine with--after all, that would provide us the numbers that we need to compare with the MRI done at her birth.<br /><br />After all this frustration, we also came to grips with the fact that she was not covered by our insurance, and that our insurance was not going to make an exception for us. That gave me the excuse to go out and find another doctor. I did some googling (since our doctor's office would not give us a name of another doctor, instead insisting that somehow, some way, our insurance must make an exception for us), and called a pediatric neurosurgeon at Columbia's medical center in the city. I explained our situation, and they got me in at a satellite office here in New Jersey that the doctor visits once a month. Hope and I went this morning, armed with reports from her birth and surgery, pictures, and copies of her MRI and ultrasounds on CDs.<br /><br />The doctor was wonderful. His name is Dr. Feldstein, and he's an older man. He came out into the waiting room to get Hope, and then carried my bag for me while I carried Hope back to his office. He sat me down, asked questions about her history, writing down the answers by hand on a piece of paper. He then pulled up her most recent ultrasound on his laptop and walked me through the pictures. Then he measured her head. I watched, and he got the same measurement that I had been getting. He sat down and plugged it into his head circumference chart. He looked up at me, took her head circumference again, and then asked a few more questions about where the percentiles have been in the past few months. I told him how they had been at 40 when she was born, but had jumped up to 90 at some point, and stayed there ever since. He looked at his chart again, and said, "My calculations say below the 50th percentile. There is no way I would do shunt surgery on a baby with a head that small." I tried not to let my jaw hit the floor while he explained that there are several different manufacturers of these head circumference percentile charts, and with numbers this small, sometimes the variation is just that much. <br /><br />I almost cried right there. I still feel pretty stunned. I asked him a few more questions, and he confirmed everything that David and I have been thinking. She is showing no signs of hydrocephalus because she does not have it. Dr. Feldstein even walked me through her ultrasound--showing me how her ventricles are large, but no larger than when she was born. They are not getting progressively larger. In fact, there is enough fluid around the exterior of her brain to indicate that there is no brain smooshing happening. He said that this is consistent with what he has seen in encephalocele babies--sometimes they just have a little bit more fluid in there.<br /><br />He explained that he wants to see her about every 4 months for the next two years, just to check her, but that it is extremely unlikely that she would develop hydrocephalus. At age 3, he would consider her out of the woods. He started to walk us out the door, but I stopped and asked if he would like to have an MRI done, since that is what our last doctor had been recommending. His response? "I see nothing to indicate that there is anything wrong with her. Unless you and your husband have a strong desire to have the test done, I see no need to subject her to the dangers of the sedation and cost to do the test."<br /><br />What an answer to prayer! I know that many of you were praying for us today, and I hope that God was glorified by showing Himself merciful to us. We have struggled to find doctors that we feel are actually concerned about Hope. More often than not, I have felt much closer to a cog in a machine than a person with a real, potentially life-threatening problem. I am so, so thankful for the visit today and the way God opened to door to find this doctor. David and I feel encouraged in our resolve to, in a sense, guard Hope from the medical profession. We are her parents, we know her better than anyone, and she was a heavenly gift to us. We may not have medical degrees, but we pray for wisdom regarding her and will continue to fight for her best interests. We thank God for our sweet baby!Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-46218495196148237652012-03-25T16:17:00.004-04:002012-03-25T16:29:20.966-04:00Day in Brooklyn<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkmqLxW6hQnON8OERkkPmO1m4pDzQuxnJqM6KCuQorSqarggQ4Uw3RHTp1PeMQVzjDQkSGJhQnvL2EXu_iCziCyjHXUhu3c4TeqAy8GNscjwRMynp4ERHa1cT72I6wC3e2wym0VRWYOs/s1600/IMG_8446.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkmqLxW6hQnON8OERkkPmO1m4pDzQuxnJqM6KCuQorSqarggQ4Uw3RHTp1PeMQVzjDQkSGJhQnvL2EXu_iCziCyjHXUhu3c4TeqAy8GNscjwRMynp4ERHa1cT72I6wC3e2wym0VRWYOs/s400/IMG_8446.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723934081804420978" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5JTDQGrs0-UAHlyVpj6J1h-tBO0rsYz1WC3hsgfOX2lTvSvApZmMSRpHgKjF73ZzyOuG5gGcJTt0nfWgPj14yrouZaVwq4LyE5vTDoWo0JAAx9bGplWCN7c-itte5p_nQHzsEox_WU8/s1600/IMG_8480.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaM2wUvf7iv4bX1-oZi8X3GR4RD_noDyLO6nN-kAbk7LmtEKyoh-5Q2j8YMBvZB4VENiSTK97xensCZbHncSeL7WOUJelSk-8mGBMNTP8XNvQfRJxQXzXa6HQBe3YEg1mgrUvWu3Ofnk/s400/IMG_8541.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723933100641774130" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvByM1Qmc4vPMDEhU5cWgYMKeslO7uAX7_8toCRVpVJygHjGcIvcajXWbWX94DGpbFuhVcUUgS_R7HMIHGAuh0BlEBaFBlTMaJ6iYznNmrWN3HJQfRTUqTlfZTbanTTru0iwri04aqXE8/s1600/IMG_8490.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvByM1Qmc4vPMDEhU5cWgYMKeslO7uAX7_8toCRVpVJygHjGcIvcajXWbWX94DGpbFuhVcUUgS_R7HMIHGAuh0BlEBaFBlTMaJ6iYznNmrWN3HJQfRTUqTlfZTbanTTru0iwri04aqXE8/s400/IMG_8490.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723933156694037922" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02C-KmSkof0ibNh_p1JZ_0m3cqt6veeB6vsktIGJqyrYkCCzJB_wqbll_BvSTK0vdmC1zv576no0Yhh0aHxr72HIeOFcvIANDrW7WsGuRCVSVBmNIndxw-OxhUzS2xSp6rzcOEakDbvA/s1600/IMG_8570.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02C-KmSkof0ibNh_p1JZ_0m3cqt6veeB6vsktIGJqyrYkCCzJB_wqbll_BvSTK0vdmC1zv576no0Yhh0aHxr72HIeOFcvIANDrW7WsGuRCVSVBmNIndxw-OxhUzS2xSp6rzcOEakDbvA/s400/IMG_8570.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723932376054548370" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqCGRgtfhy2QyOMjqYJwqAH42Sc5odumiq-Dujettm95lelUogXQBDshzn0ru02LuzdqaSvRPXGscN069rn5PS2a5LR5E0Iq-Q3fkIoEHZFKFucVunR-WpLGIYB8LMZlQZVUALZPwgOY/s1600/IMG_8578.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqCGRgtfhy2QyOMjqYJwqAH42Sc5odumiq-Dujettm95lelUogXQBDshzn0ru02LuzdqaSvRPXGscN069rn5PS2a5LR5E0Iq-Q3fkIoEHZFKFucVunR-WpLGIYB8LMZlQZVUALZPwgOY/s400/IMG_8578.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723932369328898898" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pRwaU-whTlJNIUkF3_qeymMwWmNYmoV6wKbzVaN6Cr6juMVhlTqWqmzdko36tkyzfgZUOrNGOI4Ff2Q4f2ttaQaU-qiWG03wIhESx1wkRrTwqX_JmJi8RFDjmhTSjyr_Kh5zw95n-vU/s1600/IMG_8591.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pRwaU-whTlJNIUkF3_qeymMwWmNYmoV6wKbzVaN6Cr6juMVhlTqWqmzdko36tkyzfgZUOrNGOI4Ff2Q4f2ttaQaU-qiWG03wIhESx1wkRrTwqX_JmJi8RFDjmhTSjyr_Kh5zw95n-vU/s400/IMG_8591.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723932359035395298" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48iiiVc7nkSblksZwRRFlRzXWpVVTayF1KmxHN5r85XwfxV7bZrFXorJC6jwOMS-_bDjkeBHvgqiJx8ZO7XSmvhqQveHWn81eSnNa7uHomqbuDx7NAs1kUfwf_yG2e54Li742xgDpOS4/s1600/IMG_8543.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48iiiVc7nkSblksZwRRFlRzXWpVVTayF1KmxHN5r85XwfxV7bZrFXorJC6jwOMS-_bDjkeBHvgqiJx8ZO7XSmvhqQveHWn81eSnNa7uHomqbuDx7NAs1kUfwf_yG2e54Li742xgDpOS4/s400/IMG_8543.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723932385760268178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaSkvmNDCl7G9cuM8TwLISgIVkQjFOGDxIFrvpWF1Zt-M9recnRDuuw2z1bQN4cnFz_fzs5SCp4JhoGDBF5SPP71edJuqA_JgYB7cPGe6oLWvP1SRhKUYNVAqBrpKPnLAjH0E_VunurA/s1600/IMG_8599.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaSkvmNDCl7G9cuM8TwLISgIVkQjFOGDxIFrvpWF1Zt-M9recnRDuuw2z1bQN4cnFz_fzs5SCp4JhoGDBF5SPP71edJuqA_JgYB7cPGe6oLWvP1SRhKUYNVAqBrpKPnLAjH0E_VunurA/s400/IMG_8599.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723932352123693218" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-81350272283327354242012-03-21T14:12:00.003-04:002012-03-21T14:28:15.350-04:00Flash Card Clean-UpThis is a random group of pictures, including ones from:<br />The weekend David and I had to ourselves (well, with Hope)in the city. We went and checkout out Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, among other things:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGPVBn_v_0mXQSX6BY5wpryXe7aEJFyu_o3dNuNCpPNxhD5O3W7J-GKkZzLGtvRCPS1M5FXtbelNaFQ_wEvxu6NW_784AO_qaubZ4dDcmH6oAyXBIZ-3jkqS8FxeLmBU4P0gzePO3EDg/s1600/IMG_8254.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGPVBn_v_0mXQSX6BY5wpryXe7aEJFyu_o3dNuNCpPNxhD5O3W7J-GKkZzLGtvRCPS1M5FXtbelNaFQ_wEvxu6NW_784AO_qaubZ4dDcmH6oAyXBIZ-3jkqS8FxeLmBU4P0gzePO3EDg/s400/IMG_8254.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722417473447018930" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWcUpdDhU7L3zRggzbpTn1EFXfUGtBZgtdqoulMZPx3yHe7xJ4a6aBETECX2Ik0j_RnXi9gVaagHSI7o0-2QhKJyxPC1qchaQGMkwgxndWqRYU5d9zMPDmuUyz14f7mXt0WHw1DDL14c/s1600/IMG_8216.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWcUpdDhU7L3zRggzbpTn1EFXfUGtBZgtdqoulMZPx3yHe7xJ4a6aBETECX2Ik0j_RnXi9gVaagHSI7o0-2QhKJyxPC1qchaQGMkwgxndWqRYU5d9zMPDmuUyz14f7mXt0WHw1DDL14c/s400/IMG_8216.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722417450775507570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpTb2-2bjoW0jkC1R0Rp8I9NBRuAcGfpQZw0hSIKaBTb_jL-zfJRwr_hTAy-olF8_zBlooMx4tcJ_XOfYZktInqpK2yEQEda3b_hnzpmz9gwsjPDmb-eGruAtPptNoJgPHALRAPwoK2w/s1600/IMG_8210.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpTb2-2bjoW0jkC1R0Rp8I9NBRuAcGfpQZw0hSIKaBTb_jL-zfJRwr_hTAy-olF8_zBlooMx4tcJ_XOfYZktInqpK2yEQEda3b_hnzpmz9gwsjPDmb-eGruAtPptNoJgPHALRAPwoK2w/s400/IMG_8210.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722417443791665170" /></a><br />Rose, doing her absolute favorite thing in the world:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPJhgn6elMlI1WMu6YZcR-P6G_L1bnKgWftR_-SR_qycDvKJQKIT2J7i0OOO6xU7vdj23WK_h5ooowEH7sHFLdw2_bsVLyGxRA8To54acyNq5Qj2JKXL9HFG5-0YNByR7tnR4Rvl6HVk/s1600/IMG_8272.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPJhgn6elMlI1WMu6YZcR-P6G_L1bnKgWftR_-SR_qycDvKJQKIT2J7i0OOO6xU7vdj23WK_h5ooowEH7sHFLdw2_bsVLyGxRA8To54acyNq5Qj2JKXL9HFG5-0YNByR7tnR4Rvl6HVk/s400/IMG_8272.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722417477422263890" /></a><br />A trip we took with the kids into the city. We drove to Staten Island and then took the (free!) ferry into Manhattan, ending up down in the Wall Street area. The ferry goes right by the Statue of Liberty, so they got a kick out of that:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSefUAAPmP3obE51x8FPLnxxcw447gQZLcmFoMCRrYNWQ0LAHZ0X_fI7BNbBcupjq8oigq6Juqvab-xpLU3VYn0Or0mwnZ78M9tPGyvq8mx8mnFVAblODnuzULh-xMm2yHvjrqJOnnEqU/s1600/IMG_7820.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSefUAAPmP3obE51x8FPLnxxcw447gQZLcmFoMCRrYNWQ0LAHZ0X_fI7BNbBcupjq8oigq6Juqvab-xpLU3VYn0Or0mwnZ78M9tPGyvq8mx8mnFVAblODnuzULh-xMm2yHvjrqJOnnEqU/s400/IMG_7820.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722417432632308482" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhsn7vOd48gUaD_dwKI2JYXJNhrDeAKWviSb2EqxiL2SSIWceQEOMTLofP45DpRluW29Bv3qPUoTyHFwsxwfuvmyktbY9VpQdc3Ea5J9cszUIAXaLlIPVVb5qIW6LBgyIBlF4Oi5x3hU/s1600/IMG_7839.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhsn7vOd48gUaD_dwKI2JYXJNhrDeAKWviSb2EqxiL2SSIWceQEOMTLofP45DpRluW29Bv3qPUoTyHFwsxwfuvmyktbY9VpQdc3Ea5J9cszUIAXaLlIPVVb5qIW6LBgyIBlF4Oi5x3hU/s400/IMG_7839.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722415757009775122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ivv1ZxWCyNcVErL8Yvw47wRog7MPUn_GiEvbTHjlkjLFtdavbA4IHE2aPpDjfDckxoQtB4_jbX5_YYVqLEFpUSGygG5VqHqesxu635hRWriskg35CXh5Bny4vXDhq9Xc_4jHVhWnKcI/s1600/IMG_7853.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ivv1ZxWCyNcVErL8Yvw47wRog7MPUn_GiEvbTHjlkjLFtdavbA4IHE2aPpDjfDckxoQtB4_jbX5_YYVqLEFpUSGygG5VqHqesxu635hRWriskg35CXh5Bny4vXDhq9Xc_4jHVhWnKcI/s400/IMG_7853.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722415764753205698" /></a><br />Carver, on a hike in a park close to our house. The hike goes pretty high up, and at the top you can see the Manhattan skyline.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pNBhMr4rA3VTAtdz9xkfeM4o3_pJ3LmTY6Ar7uy4GSjb5_UfPsDrGPB4sfx1q7X4h3nTDFaAV8YwOo7329eoDESDN1nYmSWekAGCnAeMe_CPuVXZfSn0B-8sEwzm3q_TG52nNHAqV9g/s1600/IMG_7812.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pNBhMr4rA3VTAtdz9xkfeM4o3_pJ3LmTY6Ar7uy4GSjb5_UfPsDrGPB4sfx1q7X4h3nTDFaAV8YwOo7329eoDESDN1nYmSWekAGCnAeMe_CPuVXZfSn0B-8sEwzm3q_TG52nNHAqV9g/s400/IMG_7812.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722415752222466082" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-60456086581106414862012-03-21T13:39:00.001-04:002012-03-21T13:49:13.537-04:00Park Trips<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95yPglK7sB6KcEWJK6i8Th7dy6RJJvgNPFzvVc7pKkt6PNdvxoCn52N9Q3VFu4WNckXvoRC-Jo_CaJC0tHeim1P3EgmBDdKYd10cY40iVEn8oNVPgUBPzlAQUBaLAQDfOa4_-y3LhKRU/s1600/IMG_8413.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95yPglK7sB6KcEWJK6i8Th7dy6RJJvgNPFzvVc7pKkt6PNdvxoCn52N9Q3VFu4WNckXvoRC-Jo_CaJC0tHeim1P3EgmBDdKYd10cY40iVEn8oNVPgUBPzlAQUBaLAQDfOa4_-y3LhKRU/s400/IMG_8413.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722408520806275250" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAhffZG-MsllkwEfkfs6qwpfHH83tpj2qJLCmFsAS2sh13EjxJnX78weXFnsm_sXeteYreZ-QVqw5qVyhjG9dUFmOlZVbskvR69Jv-_8n4kvq7WwyhEE-V4lZP18Y8kux3GipPPgs610/s1600/IMG_8423.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAhffZG-MsllkwEfkfs6qwpfHH83tpj2qJLCmFsAS2sh13EjxJnX78weXFnsm_sXeteYreZ-QVqw5qVyhjG9dUFmOlZVbskvR69Jv-_8n4kvq7WwyhEE-V4lZP18Y8kux3GipPPgs610/s400/IMG_8423.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722408514955369938" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIabQq7lkH_yhyCzcUwqR_tntz-l2B0g6wJQwpgnGVYzTcfb-3G4ulC02M-SS6km6nUv9ovDL4_MveFcgTdiBhF74IJWnoElEwRk_zsZ0FwRbF8QoCX0sKBNRqhl7V1VMI_DKTUIqcWxw/s1600/IMG_8437.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIabQq7lkH_yhyCzcUwqR_tntz-l2B0g6wJQwpgnGVYzTcfb-3G4ulC02M-SS6km6nUv9ovDL4_MveFcgTdiBhF74IJWnoElEwRk_zsZ0FwRbF8QoCX0sKBNRqhl7V1VMI_DKTUIqcWxw/s400/IMG_8437.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722408503586154514" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9_PkYWvfFPrMOOK7ATYxSz8zjFdUmEJavm1aelavLvovj_hbW0G76BGDmSUpJW-ubudaTeIuVnSXD14tDMPhHEkOXyEGyorhVg29VB5QpCScwaVxDF4H5kdYbREMSerL_Ajs-p9uySg/s1600/IMG_8441.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9_PkYWvfFPrMOOK7ATYxSz8zjFdUmEJavm1aelavLvovj_hbW0G76BGDmSUpJW-ubudaTeIuVnSXD14tDMPhHEkOXyEGyorhVg29VB5QpCScwaVxDF4H5kdYbREMSerL_Ajs-p9uySg/s400/IMG_8441.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722408495873305714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXoKDRey-OkMx73y-F16aYl6l-xjPsp8ryO-BStg7Vx09mePdXCJYtWznYjM8IRRY7dTI33s_V6fn1jycvDvAqSDwsQg3pzL2OT-eZaD_Vg8zeoEXkTxt_KVE1q8Cjhvfspgbl4KK3iU/s1600/IMG_8305.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXoKDRey-OkMx73y-F16aYl6l-xjPsp8ryO-BStg7Vx09mePdXCJYtWznYjM8IRRY7dTI33s_V6fn1jycvDvAqSDwsQg3pzL2OT-eZaD_Vg8zeoEXkTxt_KVE1q8Cjhvfspgbl4KK3iU/s400/IMG_8305.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722408542578879826" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-70922155977876910652012-03-07T17:36:00.000-05:002012-03-07T17:40:15.366-05:00Hope gets read toHope loves books:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplyE4kcPuYGC-M7RAot304HsAeqs2EYd0Rb0NsjHv9XqXQGO2GSb9kR6vuXlRrWfwGIC-CgboLNrNBC-3sVKSZ9htYoe8hs435TglN3bbLXLIWX10ByW5_k9z1xDs5Ci1CLUlHbyBPj0/s1600/IMG_8133.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplyE4kcPuYGC-M7RAot304HsAeqs2EYd0Rb0NsjHv9XqXQGO2GSb9kR6vuXlRrWfwGIC-CgboLNrNBC-3sVKSZ9htYoe8hs435TglN3bbLXLIWX10ByW5_k9z1xDs5Ci1CLUlHbyBPj0/s400/IMG_8133.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717288389931278946" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPZKad1CfNieOoJkhdbYX32jluQF76EnWACpBbC-2Niat78z92oOw2OhxiTJQ0eknaXBByDsbuab3cCcURffyIBD9MtGnYMV1cxQH0HPEB5uBTQO608jW_MV9GrzYNrVwqupVsW3qoj0/s1600/IMG_8159.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPZKad1CfNieOoJkhdbYX32jluQF76EnWACpBbC-2Niat78z92oOw2OhxiTJQ0eknaXBByDsbuab3cCcURffyIBD9MtGnYMV1cxQH0HPEB5uBTQO608jW_MV9GrzYNrVwqupVsW3qoj0/s400/IMG_8159.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717288378358102258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZcn7KNsIbn1y6UXJCudeYL_TbGUZe-Vt8sSWsX2Uyuv4ggfFlN9dN-x-RgqDxY51sQ-JbhOsfcugkBN5hoqIrEg1SZr9iSCmwUOkDcYcjUcSkyhyN66t8b5uxf5JEQ3qnkPWKFGAiBo/s1600/IMG_8169.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZcn7KNsIbn1y6UXJCudeYL_TbGUZe-Vt8sSWsX2Uyuv4ggfFlN9dN-x-RgqDxY51sQ-JbhOsfcugkBN5hoqIrEg1SZr9iSCmwUOkDcYcjUcSkyhyN66t8b5uxf5JEQ3qnkPWKFGAiBo/s400/IMG_8169.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717288376145917650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlS-PYkJXwaq1tGE4WFarIILH5fGCs5zHmnWG7p4WjA-ejmHp3ILjatCukDRE-qQZQlZf_61fLYJr-33fwL8eSnpmE0wuwK-V0kkQMZwQQ30Mp8nflhWGXeWa2gusjG4pqu7uiAp4aYo/s1600/IMG_8031.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlS-PYkJXwaq1tGE4WFarIILH5fGCs5zHmnWG7p4WjA-ejmHp3ILjatCukDRE-qQZQlZf_61fLYJr-33fwL8eSnpmE0wuwK-V0kkQMZwQQ30Mp8nflhWGXeWa2gusjG4pqu7uiAp4aYo/s400/IMG_8031.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717288398936687362" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-22500436737500932372012-02-14T16:40:00.002-05:002012-02-14T17:00:44.024-05:00Hope:10 months!Hope had a big day today--she's 10 months old, it's Valentine's Day, she saw the neurosurgeon, and she got glasses!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFvMRHn4HKrMbd1caXuZ-bz3X8A01uZWjScmRUGrfnERWxAxZzVb5yet1H0yadMmIU8ZaaTJ5X2CQpDd23wUyDATgv8GFJ9cR59VDTjiV8J2C6VwBdaKR9CnDBByPjjnD6kzQS7FxGhA/s1600/IMG_7913.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFvMRHn4HKrMbd1caXuZ-bz3X8A01uZWjScmRUGrfnERWxAxZzVb5yet1H0yadMmIU8ZaaTJ5X2CQpDd23wUyDATgv8GFJ9cR59VDTjiV8J2C6VwBdaKR9CnDBByPjjnD6kzQS7FxGhA/s400/IMG_7913.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709110759181255778" /></a><br />Now she and Rose match.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF9GcR7S1HjpoQHjhfyF5erAVHwZj05WRK27UBzgzbzYdcum2D9SKlzreJdXPQbDctEA_VOB0XCxnU6dyYoTTsPXDYGPqXSnzw0BNnb-pLZIn8BRDFoAP8sSTWlmV41fbioE0hfHqqBs/s1600/IMG_7934.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF9GcR7S1HjpoQHjhfyF5erAVHwZj05WRK27UBzgzbzYdcum2D9SKlzreJdXPQbDctEA_VOB0XCxnU6dyYoTTsPXDYGPqXSnzw0BNnb-pLZIn8BRDFoAP8sSTWlmV41fbioE0hfHqqBs/s400/IMG_7934.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709110342272159794" /></a><br />Fortunately, Carver has a dress code at school so he doesn't dress like this all the time--<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNVbnDGFVGMKtfxsDQK-RrRtGSjAl0Bt2slVQPCghf8P_zmvu3h3TbtGmEIO3MgKNNuC4B6v5orFdwfrnm_zUw04eYqolQWVVkVyBZl2MEnZm9lzRmUkSG9Puu9aBm2Lh5PwfDbXC668/s1600/IMG_7964.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNVbnDGFVGMKtfxsDQK-RrRtGSjAl0Bt2slVQPCghf8P_zmvu3h3TbtGmEIO3MgKNNuC4B6v5orFdwfrnm_zUw04eYqolQWVVkVyBZl2MEnZm9lzRmUkSG9Puu9aBm2Lh5PwfDbXC668/s400/IMG_7964.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709110326958057602" /></a><br />But Hope sure thinks he's entertaining.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-r4rjgTTa9u8ZyzLhNpGGdupZxDk6_KrUay0VIwFrK5ikaDV-JWtz0wtyjMfsvNY9-zs38yHUbEKjLGqxLrsUfLOTCbe_EGh13R32172vqj3jywGUKRxT-V7SFlZOaWK10N3gI15gpw/s1600/IMG_7982.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-r4rjgTTa9u8ZyzLhNpGGdupZxDk6_KrUay0VIwFrK5ikaDV-JWtz0wtyjMfsvNY9-zs38yHUbEKjLGqxLrsUfLOTCbe_EGh13R32172vqj3jywGUKRxT-V7SFlZOaWK10N3gI15gpw/s400/IMG_7982.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709110321464369810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YxuJRufRpsfNTH-9CXmc9kKPOZ0EzgmaSIi3Bq9SMGNq51i5zVAFTZbmjJmmI1Kg3kIoUVG239qe4ka4yiOrvpppZg_MtZZJQb0h0TE1BEprB4x1UOHoqArKMVHOgzoq0tSEnPfWNsE/s1600/IMG_7999.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YxuJRufRpsfNTH-9CXmc9kKPOZ0EzgmaSIi3Bq9SMGNq51i5zVAFTZbmjJmmI1Kg3kIoUVG239qe4ka4yiOrvpppZg_MtZZJQb0h0TE1BEprB4x1UOHoqArKMVHOgzoq0tSEnPfWNsE/s400/IMG_7999.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709110312580065698" /></a><br />The report from the neurosurgeon was very good. After a bad appointment in December, when Hope's head circumference was really large and the doctor pretty much assured me we'd be doing shunt surgery in the spring, today was welcome relief. Her head circumference is back down to the 90-95th percentile range, and she is still showing none of the signs of hydropcephalus. In fact, when the eye doctor examined her last week, he said that her optic nerve is showing absolutely no sign of increased pressure in her head. But he did put her in the glasses for farsightedness. The plan right now is to do an MRI in about two months and see what that shows as far as her ventricle size is concerned.<br /><br />Physically, she continues to progress at a steady rate. While she still hates being on her tummy, she is learning to move around from a sitting position, and I'm still hopeful that she'll crawl in a few more months. She is very interactive--she laughs now, and plays games (like drop-the-toy-off-the-highchair-to-see-Rose-laugh) and babbles up a storm. We feel like she's even trying to imitate the sounds that we make, which is really amazing. Up next in the physical therapy queue is starting some baby sign language with her. We have been doing the PT for almost 6 months now, which means that next week she'll have an official review by the physcial therapist to evaluate where she is developmentally. It will be interesting to see what that says. While I continue to be somewhat frustrated with some of the doctors we have, the physical therapists have been wonderful, and their visits every week are fun and encouraging.<br /><br />Hope is such a sweet blessing to us. It is a joy to care for her and watch her grow. She is evidence of the goodness of God in our lives, and we love her dearly.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-69247643840063096302012-02-10T15:34:00.002-05:002012-02-10T16:05:07.205-05:00House Tour: Master Bedroom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWYEIYb_Yi54aOtIIujXlrUoy-DV-aC6ekXJaa45emoQS8SRUDdEdRN0-QnOtDmPjfn4dJf1M5QVRalT1-wp1y2cc8i3wqY0_b1wrdon7aa5daSg2tAlFLMH2Itz96f8LtokuT8IRWO0/s1600/IMG_7738.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWYEIYb_Yi54aOtIIujXlrUoy-DV-aC6ekXJaa45emoQS8SRUDdEdRN0-QnOtDmPjfn4dJf1M5QVRalT1-wp1y2cc8i3wqY0_b1wrdon7aa5daSg2tAlFLMH2Itz96f8LtokuT8IRWO0/s400/IMG_7738.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707609205727050962" /></a><br />The master bedroom has been a work-in-progress since we moved in. The bed has come together slowly. I needed tables that would fit in the small spaces beside our large bed, and these Wal-mart folding tables fit the bill nicely. I've got some spraypaint in the basement that I'm going to use to paint them in the next week or two. The picture above the bed is Manhattan in the 30s, an Ikea find that David and I both loved. And it's the perfect size for the bed. Since our bedside tables are too small for lamps, going with the hanging lights was almost a necessity, especially since the large fan/light combo in the ceiling has never worked. The tufted velvet headboard was a craig's list find last fall, as was the bench at the end of the bed.<br /><br />These two doors are his- and hers- closets. In this old house, it's almost the only room that actually has closets, and we're loving it. 'Course, mine is currently the baby nursery, but I have high hopes that when Hope moves out, I'll have my own closet :) In between is my little vanity. The drawers hold all sorts of junk, though, from computer cables to jewelery to kids' hair things. I had thought that a little bench would be cute there, but there just isn't enough room--I can sit on the side of my bed and see into the mirror just fine. The ship picture was a garage sale find by David last year just before we moved (I hope the garage sales on the east coast are as good as what I got used to in Bloomington!).<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkew18bPTYZZyoJZKg75kZE76XknwCNocf3baimKHVkUCvTlWLfMUxre-sIPgYkcbob36PcWYtxi_4TQDxq58qf7qvPhq42kq9yxCyfZAHJuBCWTFvbDaHYe546bSr6ePTDQnIh-2CUI/s1600/IMG_7732.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkew18bPTYZZyoJZKg75kZE76XknwCNocf3baimKHVkUCvTlWLfMUxre-sIPgYkcbob36PcWYtxi_4TQDxq58qf7qvPhq42kq9yxCyfZAHJuBCWTFvbDaHYe546bSr6ePTDQnIh-2CUI/s400/IMG_7732.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707609234501082562" /></a><br />Opposite the bed, the have the wall-o-books. The old owners had a TV here, but this is clearly a much better use of space :) We're actually outgrowing the shelves, but I've got a plan to put a few more downstairs. To the right is our little reading nook, complete with a leather chair (that doesn't recline-a plus for little fingers!) that I found on....craig's list! For a while, we had a long Ikea desk and two chairs here, but it really didn't fit with my style, even though it was great for computer stuff, printers, etc. So now the printers lives on one of the bottom shelves of the bookcases, and the office supplies are hidden in the dresser. I like it much better this way. My husband teases me that the chair isn't actually for sitting--just to look at with the pillow and throw taking up all the seating space. The three gold pictures on the wall are a set of antique maps that I found at a garage sale right before we moved.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPPewOFSricGarA5txB9XAmL9nSWYzBPMlaVnOLY2ixTm8whmo9XpXvoCNUwLjAYiSZy90UgvhSBOMTXYFAbopvV9lBhKJPSVKVbs9bnKxyJzcphOOQ0GHzV0lwTIMDJSh6eGy38Jbec/s1600/IMG_7744.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPPewOFSricGarA5txB9XAmL9nSWYzBPMlaVnOLY2ixTm8whmo9XpXvoCNUwLjAYiSZy90UgvhSBOMTXYFAbopvV9lBhKJPSVKVbs9bnKxyJzcphOOQ0GHzV0lwTIMDJSh6eGy38Jbec/s400/IMG_7744.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707609216726371794" /></a><br /><br />Hiding behind the door as you walk into the room is my bookcase of random stuff. It holds some of my books, crafting supplies, fabric, games, and a few boxes of important office stuff that I need to get to pretty easily--Hope's medical records and things like that.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPjyUSRLmYQ0PQ2kmB2xdLcecl3RUd-IDgUTLwm9tig_vo7g5X7IXLapIILPwVWj9ZkL8e2309OF7TfEvgjZT5Z4EKs8PIDnXniWYzQV8IbYMQQ_EQDBeQz8olGMjRfZP9sdZrESL86Q/s1600/IMG_7733.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPjyUSRLmYQ0PQ2kmB2xdLcecl3RUd-IDgUTLwm9tig_vo7g5X7IXLapIILPwVWj9ZkL8e2309OF7TfEvgjZT5Z4EKs8PIDnXniWYzQV8IbYMQQ_EQDBeQz8olGMjRfZP9sdZrESL86Q/s400/IMG_7733.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707609242602152018" /></a> <br /><br />And here's Hope, who was happy to drool on my phone while I took pictures:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYt_Eg20yYsErDxP1inRUXc0iItFXtN6_jw9hWLi3WMpXrMKngMAgppWKkTwaxGI3qnsiTWv39ZU_uF_e9A1ST88qN8oYWP4NP4cQ6_atFPe9RbEsKLcLBogx9Sa39hf0sqfrep_j47Og/s1600/IMG_7748.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYt_Eg20yYsErDxP1inRUXc0iItFXtN6_jw9hWLi3WMpXrMKngMAgppWKkTwaxGI3qnsiTWv39ZU_uF_e9A1ST88qN8oYWP4NP4cQ6_atFPe9RbEsKLcLBogx9Sa39hf0sqfrep_j47Og/s400/IMG_7748.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707609248260814370" /></a><br />She's still got a little bit of work to do on sitting up straight. Her little muscles get tired pretty quickly, but the forward progress she has made thus far are truly a miracle! When I look at her, I'm pretty much convinced she's the cutest and sweetest baby ever. Ever.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-42714652286388343702012-01-28T17:11:00.001-05:002012-01-28T17:11:00.694-05:00New Year's Hike<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvyAQEWUQV3RIe1ilhdwVUd4OoUFLQwySuRcDRNz1_qo5GU0NLQAjfYduv1OupHZsjj8M5UJrfpdt57mSxMNpvye8IM83bzNKYclFE_yXnoT1qKD99OXH_jEHLTyQwMpZEzbvoloOn_4/s1600/IMG_7536.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvyAQEWUQV3RIe1ilhdwVUd4OoUFLQwySuRcDRNz1_qo5GU0NLQAjfYduv1OupHZsjj8M5UJrfpdt57mSxMNpvye8IM83bzNKYclFE_yXnoT1qKD99OXH_jEHLTyQwMpZEzbvoloOn_4/s400/IMG_7536.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702440010029311458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJL3_qCg5_sfEHTBYyBkRDswVdKnbLMJdmmbYqW3nenMKiC32pzVuYxVCjD_RoyrqR-C_xXhCbkDUmqzswfFjJ0pQ-OTtDf3DR1lPa3n4BQ_hvWIVb9DerLeUWdQdR9BIoSI1JfE7gtZg/s1600/IMG_7542.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJL3_qCg5_sfEHTBYyBkRDswVdKnbLMJdmmbYqW3nenMKiC32pzVuYxVCjD_RoyrqR-C_xXhCbkDUmqzswfFjJ0pQ-OTtDf3DR1lPa3n4BQ_hvWIVb9DerLeUWdQdR9BIoSI1JfE7gtZg/s400/IMG_7542.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702439998357563458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawk2TO-c4zafepLw4DBe7DlyvG6jZxc2h3xlUoQbuxNDV2RvX6LojBkfP5qB6M9E_FhoU1o882rauDWEeuB-Op_K3LFgOA0PHW3cu1SjPAtKpjraCVn8y6z2vP_hx01mGB1uv5ptDc9U/s1600/IMG_7553.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawk2TO-c4zafepLw4DBe7DlyvG6jZxc2h3xlUoQbuxNDV2RvX6LojBkfP5qB6M9E_FhoU1o882rauDWEeuB-Op_K3LFgOA0PHW3cu1SjPAtKpjraCVn8y6z2vP_hx01mGB1uv5ptDc9U/s400/IMG_7553.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702439992169091570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBqGibHQwk8_kDzNxyIdst59bY97uZitSVD6XQBpPplQuclOqglE_LrZKMNOUNsUoWmqaA57hwggoKtqySfVrmbeU5qNaQFNrxMxbd-I7FsRvGsYqFj_FVAvXbjwQ_6ANMwbFnHawmw0/s1600/IMG_7586.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBqGibHQwk8_kDzNxyIdst59bY97uZitSVD6XQBpPplQuclOqglE_LrZKMNOUNsUoWmqaA57hwggoKtqySfVrmbeU5qNaQFNrxMxbd-I7FsRvGsYqFj_FVAvXbjwQ_6ANMwbFnHawmw0/s400/IMG_7586.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702438854436064178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhlWNaBhCKXqpQD92UaXYzibPfA5M1Om5yXo20C-1QqgtTdoD14RGfnlQNLaKLVaBhsLOWAMG6rQTeEyAladgpSVK26XdGS6W44CgsTG2e4qFYKQIwgZOdfH6zxuhBJE97qjbriA-330/s1600/IMG_7604.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhlWNaBhCKXqpQD92UaXYzibPfA5M1Om5yXo20C-1QqgtTdoD14RGfnlQNLaKLVaBhsLOWAMG6rQTeEyAladgpSVK26XdGS6W44CgsTG2e4qFYKQIwgZOdfH6zxuhBJE97qjbriA-330/s400/IMG_7604.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702438848787897538" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraED60VFeZBtp22Bk_7s4PKuDIddxDVRkrBS9Iy98NpOnRSn-vqiKwIrLRPe0noSHjbYcfCvygLway0kcZYbgXpWSnvNlW8zOXifRsTMGxAY9Y7T2wBQEx-eJLBHhGwOuQDSoZae2WKc/s1600/IMG_7621.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraED60VFeZBtp22Bk_7s4PKuDIddxDVRkrBS9Iy98NpOnRSn-vqiKwIrLRPe0noSHjbYcfCvygLway0kcZYbgXpWSnvNlW8zOXifRsTMGxAY9Y7T2wBQEx-eJLBHhGwOuQDSoZae2WKc/s400/IMG_7621.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702438835013548850" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJC_L0JRnrf2Z24To7Iu7bXykqB9i2hCqB6PK4JaavqlOAqIkoDXRhS7K8FcHnoLPmolLV8KQAZY_oY_1rFmFTw7BxjWDo8WTWCiA3f96TSsllGrd10dFdjuyL0phitkwHvz54OYBjrc/s1600/IMG_7627.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJC_L0JRnrf2Z24To7Iu7bXykqB9i2hCqB6PK4JaavqlOAqIkoDXRhS7K8FcHnoLPmolLV8KQAZY_oY_1rFmFTw7BxjWDo8WTWCiA3f96TSsllGrd10dFdjuyL0phitkwHvz54OYBjrc/s400/IMG_7627.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702438828480523794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sd3R9hZBbq7MZ7H8MvfUBxyZZwL1AK9YVtK1F6yxUbLhZB3mWvp6hytXnms77GNEHyqgDnEKW2Ok5P914CR9tLJ-tSfvFoIDEDNsfSYWnS2v1paVyKKbsxzbz026iZGHHWfa38xxUgI/s1600/IMG_7577.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sd3R9hZBbq7MZ7H8MvfUBxyZZwL1AK9YVtK1F6yxUbLhZB3mWvp6hytXnms77GNEHyqgDnEKW2Ok5P914CR9tLJ-tSfvFoIDEDNsfSYWnS2v1paVyKKbsxzbz026iZGHHWfa38xxUgI/s400/IMG_7577.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702438864661991106" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-76599868435118118922012-01-27T21:49:00.000-05:002012-01-27T21:49:00.071-05:00Games in the afternoonThe kids and I had a mellow school day today. Carver had to stay home from school sick, and I've been dealing with sick Hope in the middle of the night for the past week. So we did the necessary things, but then spent naptime playing fun games.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXatLIgDzldlkHkmgc-Kr5aoAk8SbnMv_TR911si7y9XFNkUqkbewbAVqYf-9ivkmKRBupHAZChAHGQSSNP5v6Zau5CSCed-6-a_b6J4DmSCkmYd6DlUevGSLQczNHWNXbiJ3LgcNts4/s1600/IMG_7637.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXatLIgDzldlkHkmgc-Kr5aoAk8SbnMv_TR911si7y9XFNkUqkbewbAVqYf-9ivkmKRBupHAZChAHGQSSNP5v6Zau5CSCed-6-a_b6J4DmSCkmYd6DlUevGSLQczNHWNXbiJ3LgcNts4/s400/IMG_7637.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702448845938783170" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJtFXVjUplVX0-e94fIVsjrxzGcQp_QuKXlJLtY8rHvHc2qkiBEO8hFbTTegjMvVY-gqP-AtplAUcu4_3rHwLN7cm6X_-fu0vHjdwUBLrBtV6YwBiXWXBbXwZJl6FSlSQajWS7of7VRM/s1600/IMG_7649.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJtFXVjUplVX0-e94fIVsjrxzGcQp_QuKXlJLtY8rHvHc2qkiBEO8hFbTTegjMvVY-gqP-AtplAUcu4_3rHwLN7cm6X_-fu0vHjdwUBLrBtV6YwBiXWXBbXwZJl6FSlSQajWS7of7VRM/s400/IMG_7649.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702448837115274818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpowWu1dzfRh-QUvbDGf47BuxQQb8DlDI2zzoOZiCMt2a2UYynZz8USGY264UJUnZX92BUDD6S2Cw3XDlSh0MCH_z7lTTKvH2h178AETW4USnT2DD3EAyV6gNWCRlv4AbL58EnGf16g0M/s1600/IMG_7658.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpowWu1dzfRh-QUvbDGf47BuxQQb8DlDI2zzoOZiCMt2a2UYynZz8USGY264UJUnZX92BUDD6S2Cw3XDlSh0MCH_z7lTTKvH2h178AETW4USnT2DD3EAyV6gNWCRlv4AbL58EnGf16g0M/s400/IMG_7658.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702448822882480258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-sPJMAhWnFoYG0pqaKiN2uosr4y_gHN7zaP_cknaeuJD11nJV5pbZs-_gOom4_vJvrRQ9KUOUixgt7B1E2mtNMNf8vl-aqh0i8IbctSTd9Ww1KG3SraDalM1gCPwD2ns8WdP5iFi-D0/s1600/IMG_7669.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-sPJMAhWnFoYG0pqaKiN2uosr4y_gHN7zaP_cknaeuJD11nJV5pbZs-_gOom4_vJvrRQ9KUOUixgt7B1E2mtNMNf8vl-aqh0i8IbctSTd9Ww1KG3SraDalM1gCPwD2ns8WdP5iFi-D0/s400/IMG_7669.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702448810193165506" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X5D8ZLBSM4e4Iqy50WBr9lG99k3638IijRfYUCzVysbos7bvYZtHq3Cc0qmV2eQwLtGLBnJkXgamUoSfm8CXlDmCL1OY-ARUpnP-efs33w_zkFc8j46R224wVapxu6hPCf-QpDgAceo/s1600/IMG_7692.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X5D8ZLBSM4e4Iqy50WBr9lG99k3638IijRfYUCzVysbos7bvYZtHq3Cc0qmV2eQwLtGLBnJkXgamUoSfm8CXlDmCL1OY-ARUpnP-efs33w_zkFc8j46R224wVapxu6hPCf-QpDgAceo/s400/IMG_7692.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702448801744500802" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-4087983188167118872012-01-27T17:06:00.002-05:002012-01-27T17:09:30.559-05:00Goodbye, Sweet Baby JamesIt will be fun to take a similar picture when James is 8 and Carver is 16.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvBPZRfLdVYrVYkzRQlewJJSNsNqaF2EkE29bkeHVxWETWpfchclkyD55NCZBJdaY2a-cCNXazgjnKFXEsjEN5Typ8mC31yArhM8B0bkGo4QOunFhgUHsZqHI6byFy8i_VaIInSmXLP4/s1600/IMG_7519.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvBPZRfLdVYrVYkzRQlewJJSNsNqaF2EkE29bkeHVxWETWpfchclkyD55NCZBJdaY2a-cCNXazgjnKFXEsjEN5Typ8mC31yArhM8B0bkGo4QOunFhgUHsZqHI6byFy8i_VaIInSmXLP4/s400/IMG_7519.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702436914771354818" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-17857353361475013322012-01-27T16:45:00.004-05:002012-01-27T17:02:07.444-05:00Christmas Morning<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8b-xs7gKMi2RPI2nTv1yF1Ct6BaEvhxdxLVR4sA9EiOnOH4TUYNusvxncGqcbPat52wP-2orwKj-nl0BK_pvCZEQFUIKQ3f5HypmsWyy3Pe0h_XnpapOhXKAIBrM1DJ2AHSs599lCMLQ/s1600/IMG_7297.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8b-xs7gKMi2RPI2nTv1yF1Ct6BaEvhxdxLVR4sA9EiOnOH4TUYNusvxncGqcbPat52wP-2orwKj-nl0BK_pvCZEQFUIKQ3f5HypmsWyy3Pe0h_XnpapOhXKAIBrM1DJ2AHSs599lCMLQ/s400/IMG_7297.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702435011692949938" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W11xOeIGvzEsbzyy-cyqYYMAA1BdlS4wzsNp0gbIFWrBfl_Ze376njOrQy-HW9CSVyYarEp-K_YUhgBNzOcGrkFy8F26SpzqmLfJccnROjf6hH0ymF4RsrdN0t9iStChLsbUWi6amvU/s1600/IMG_7305.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU8UAs8vpGzSzKAq3GPMx2SKQiiJp-SYd0949QeDdA-hIPHaak_tw9BA8mqC93LT4K1yJMFCW1HwZB-Fs7tgQ-WEKSS8MrE7zAQ_7Y-wTzdQ-YsxH5myYQFg6-w5qpR7beEDLph-4lhsw/s400/IMG_7432.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702434115946852962" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3_FT5AMrXK58XUN_mSerEJfdt8pYS_a0rfoI5OW1HOnDlle9w4u3oMpTsi6DFjfJ_3d-9RZTdSQxZz7XhfdNkZGu0e-XpHmTgh30qnt2buGcUB6q5l1DL8aLdBqg4gD_SPeNhKNJkAY/s1600/IMG_7358.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3_FT5AMrXK58XUN_mSerEJfdt8pYS_a0rfoI5OW1HOnDlle9w4u3oMpTsi6DFjfJ_3d-9RZTdSQxZz7XhfdNkZGu0e-XpHmTgh30qnt2buGcUB6q5l1DL8aLdBqg4gD_SPeNhKNJkAY/s400/IMG_7358.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702434154189440034" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcudonuV8aOycOC8QQhBDcWN7rEeIUugYphoKBK8vK9FwGWJF7qcBilhM6SyxYKIFujXHsabPflCtoMyXsAznx1JdlCX8u-na35_YmLFgbtmxr9WyLnmw_LF1rbJtGaQcCDlS0bbAxXk/s1600/IMG_7449.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjJYkQghSuGa4YofV5iKO2oKbCZS_7sNRkiCR0AOZ12DoyKJwofmUBudou1j7FhaM0VN4Dn_8HTJAAfRKEp1V2YcRqIltwJ4UydcXaoHMSZY3gVbZxpocNblfuu2jVpc_hw9AYkZOHMo/s400/IMG_7484.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702432296711410514" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-39620637445389846082012-01-27T16:36:00.002-05:002012-01-27T16:45:18.371-05:00Christmas Game Playing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FOpDQ26oYVs7tEewTGWvP3GVuFIO12h3j4Sm5-DQ269BJuCl0zM7_VgUBPOAmNMzpK994nt6fz_3bBaTq4g5g7AwOGpScjVLE3CNrR-wSNFAq5aOqT6Uuru_ruOorsHfVkQZWuyevsQ/s1600/IMG_7232.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FOpDQ26oYVs7tEewTGWvP3GVuFIO12h3j4Sm5-DQ269BJuCl0zM7_VgUBPOAmNMzpK994nt6fz_3bBaTq4g5g7AwOGpScjVLE3CNrR-wSNFAq5aOqT6Uuru_ruOorsHfVkQZWuyevsQ/s400/IMG_7232.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702430455836373410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzXz-LgDKFAgClU5rotPkTkT-E5QYiimMZBfns5MmVGgmpo_pEu8xo6StnZNqo52487Ai0MTxR6dg0bsouBEniImd1e2STeGFEBqatIAp-pqVkjL4sapLdCXHrjKjoZyH5O8YJPRnbYw/s1600/IMG_7245.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzXz-LgDKFAgClU5rotPkTkT-E5QYiimMZBfns5MmVGgmpo_pEu8xo6StnZNqo52487Ai0MTxR6dg0bsouBEniImd1e2STeGFEBqatIAp-pqVkjL4sapLdCXHrjKjoZyH5O8YJPRnbYw/s400/IMG_7245.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702430461065036770" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYrmuyztEYqyYeeQ97ICvkfLIwiM8DlztvUcXHDrfnY3eF5H39ti9FkOjhl-9iuM8MDEcqTx8WvPcVso0fBfSchpgqkNJVz9ALwTgsE0OWBr7gRxvyabZvO1jjd5prjhLFDZx0v9ZMGk/s1600/IMG_7250.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYrmuyztEYqyYeeQ97ICvkfLIwiM8DlztvUcXHDrfnY3eF5H39ti9FkOjhl-9iuM8MDEcqTx8WvPcVso0fBfSchpgqkNJVz9ALwTgsE0OWBr7gRxvyabZvO1jjd5prjhLFDZx0v9ZMGk/s400/IMG_7250.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702429847801693410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wjvqPNWavWR5K2903ZriTmiI5KCgo7vjbR0yJrUhPlISMXSo9VNoNVb3g4K2IMqQGFjmkZZBGa96-vx6TvYxqvh0Y_bFQDe7SwHS7ewyA9s50VCvPddzUo7K-fwjqXQo8sVQ03TCOwU/s1600/IMG_7271.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wjvqPNWavWR5K2903ZriTmiI5KCgo7vjbR0yJrUhPlISMXSo9VNoNVb3g4K2IMqQGFjmkZZBGa96-vx6TvYxqvh0Y_bFQDe7SwHS7ewyA9s50VCvPddzUo7K-fwjqXQo8sVQ03TCOwU/s400/IMG_7271.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702429835371628210" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHOAFw-xUpckeATqkHHSfxknmhkA-1peJa402l68VP4G8d5BeoBSS3Z8Q_LcgNphbc65pvpv0BocWz1OMFrqpAUc-Q98Dj6BgXV5xBfXIg3LO7Yo31FUw0WfgsurqDcfavV2qkoJQJDQ/s1600/IMG_7279.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHOAFw-xUpckeATqkHHSfxknmhkA-1peJa402l68VP4G8d5BeoBSS3Z8Q_LcgNphbc65pvpv0BocWz1OMFrqpAUc-Q98Dj6BgXV5xBfXIg3LO7Yo31FUw0WfgsurqDcfavV2qkoJQJDQ/s400/IMG_7279.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702429823504945442" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4H0o1FQPVRlg4QD5arj_jPH76iY2KH4Wzww6gfAiMG0bnf9eLwIAAuT8SiEijRuKZHE6eYhRBx7UGA4nmrmMM3HJDdQtxYPmb2URbDJZG4rcE2dp4IyQyAA0iVSFghxoED02PwfZ2JgY/s1600/IMG_7290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4H0o1FQPVRlg4QD5arj_jPH76iY2KH4Wzww6gfAiMG0bnf9eLwIAAuT8SiEijRuKZHE6eYhRBx7UGA4nmrmMM3HJDdQtxYPmb2URbDJZG4rcE2dp4IyQyAA0iVSFghxoED02PwfZ2JgY/s400/IMG_7290.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702429817606081794" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-79050669279674856432011-11-29T19:42:00.002-05:002011-11-29T19:46:20.943-05:00Blast from the pastSpending Thanksgiving with old friends was wonderful. Isn't it great how you can immediately pick up where you left off 5 years ago?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPgNW6vs12-sBrdH71oFsSBJJnITSzen5UfUFQszvWX1eNcIDBMoq3_haRiX5_h39JRWP6a6an6Gseh-0BVit6ECk0sgFWfnK3sXrl6KCLhuYRzWFUMKfdVFlqwUX0DzZA5z0Cha6RI4/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPgNW6vs12-sBrdH71oFsSBJJnITSzen5UfUFQszvWX1eNcIDBMoq3_haRiX5_h39JRWP6a6an6Gseh-0BVit6ECk0sgFWfnK3sXrl6KCLhuYRzWFUMKfdVFlqwUX0DzZA5z0Cha6RI4/s400/IMG_1550.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680583434886573522" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Cbvy62m8IFXYwypEwr541EBsBpA-3VQY8YRD90GU3pfj6wEXDU27Y6-90g3xryq-0xyOt908zpD9JoOc7v7vh6d-OjKjXRKwsme_HU3FhEHSy2kZ3f6wOUDzKlXH-FCEIFGM-nOWePI/s1600/IMG_7081.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Cbvy62m8IFXYwypEwr541EBsBpA-3VQY8YRD90GU3pfj6wEXDU27Y6-90g3xryq-0xyOt908zpD9JoOc7v7vh6d-OjKjXRKwsme_HU3FhEHSy2kZ3f6wOUDzKlXH-FCEIFGM-nOWePI/s400/IMG_7081.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680583167779040210" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-4484148272165106312011-11-29T19:08:00.009-05:002011-11-29T19:27:08.486-05:00Yep, asking for a raise after this one...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8RwUYwTIeJ59lSPKEJJvxneX3HsDAEzCBpWqjAUhDzcZ_zIbfB0LVofWHC9t8mGpRslxLM2D9kFU9Y58AVQA2aTOl_4XT3OvqCSWldr_Ep6Krnwx4EhZXTde1DjmZXZCHCa6Ge8P8zI/s1600/IMG_7086.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8RwUYwTIeJ59lSPKEJJvxneX3HsDAEzCBpWqjAUhDzcZ_zIbfB0LVofWHC9t8mGpRslxLM2D9kFU9Y58AVQA2aTOl_4XT3OvqCSWldr_Ep6Krnwx4EhZXTde1DjmZXZCHCa6Ge8P8zI/s400/IMG_7086.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680576558240834322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-qu7T0wRUlSX1DMGFOGjXYLFsHMSpQucZ_NqtjLmn3B5TEsu7dT_dDthx4eF7RZZMncdyzdp4bTFIRjoJZQyN7D6uGyJwXU-POJCjToz3ErDSOC0LGtjIBrh8o_QvORYJatjCocnpjU/s1600/IMG_7093.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-qu7T0wRUlSX1DMGFOGjXYLFsHMSpQucZ_NqtjLmn3B5TEsu7dT_dDthx4eF7RZZMncdyzdp4bTFIRjoJZQyN7D6uGyJwXU-POJCjToz3ErDSOC0LGtjIBrh8o_QvORYJatjCocnpjU/s400/IMG_7093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680576330266966738" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUxxa1EAE09UtyLIZfj5FZUkeHEraWI0ge-Fi-zfAC5BNmN2L75pDaYb37eLF-iU5RMMYPx0jILAelr2hcEEZ1WTQtNVifusEiXvOGBDPD8FHwSWsOCvSPp6U669MhUN3dv_tELk53ks/s1600/IMG_7094.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUxxa1EAE09UtyLIZfj5FZUkeHEraWI0ge-Fi-zfAC5BNmN2L75pDaYb37eLF-iU5RMMYPx0jILAelr2hcEEZ1WTQtNVifusEiXvOGBDPD8FHwSWsOCvSPp6U669MhUN3dv_tELk53ks/s400/IMG_7094.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680576078363288098" /></a><br />It took me about 2 hours to notice, and only then it was because I couldn't figure out why there was hair all over the upstairs.<br />Sorry for the poor picture--but all of a sudden she looks like me!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx2Hw6-H6NNAKzsaMqfyBeNjYEx9f6xKoXzlCTJe1YdWGSndZX25Jwf_b9QFZhJYFgMsrv6fyTQmPhHWzoN_dOr6J2bSTX2TCqz0NtXnw8ZKCaoPdsrDTz1J4sES467ZL4d7c9Ykft2E/s1600/IMG_7095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx2Hw6-H6NNAKzsaMqfyBeNjYEx9f6xKoXzlCTJe1YdWGSndZX25Jwf_b9QFZhJYFgMsrv6fyTQmPhHWzoN_dOr6J2bSTX2TCqz0NtXnw8ZKCaoPdsrDTz1J4sES467ZL4d7c9Ykft2E/s400/IMG_7095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680575857265331634" /></a><br />Ellie didn't want to be left out of the hair chopping action, so we took a few inches off hers, too.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKepES5LF6rX-RqBLQwMwK-hu11Od3I4BU2qfKCM0IDegXJjMlHrsdXR6IeJw4BB4Q7EFD2g4UtZdmyH8rLenZ8-LsGx0Jo6B-udScctsxUm3DTfU8lAFhTAJcOLNiJxkSsDygc81Uak/s1600/IMG_7101.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKepES5LF6rX-RqBLQwMwK-hu11Od3I4BU2qfKCM0IDegXJjMlHrsdXR6IeJw4BB4Q7EFD2g4UtZdmyH8rLenZ8-LsGx0Jo6B-udScctsxUm3DTfU8lAFhTAJcOLNiJxkSsDygc81Uak/s400/IMG_7101.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680575461005334002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cj3sKYudJ8NiIb9Rl84WM3-bez4HO9KVSq22-dXgp7MLvk7HgcY-uU7DbY4SmNcYsUqfzIOgtpU9oEBRVUH9KM8Vx7r4uXInw24QHBX4ohjSymXi862zl_EyIwTpllc-51W6hipi3gY/s1600/IMG_7108.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cj3sKYudJ8NiIb9Rl84WM3-bez4HO9KVSq22-dXgp7MLvk7HgcY-uU7DbY4SmNcYsUqfzIOgtpU9oEBRVUH9KM8Vx7r4uXInw24QHBX4ohjSymXi862zl_EyIwTpllc-51W6hipi3gY/s400/IMG_7108.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680575227499924914" /></a><br />I figured as long as I had the scissors out and there was hair all over the bathroom, I might as well trim the little girls up as well.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CmO1BQn8N47Q8ZR6fFkx2v5m-Kc8wUNS1MtxCos7JQyPv8FUx2t3puX3N8McmrCAMEQ9X0I81pORVNDXsQKIS_23Pqa3HRMCXDWcepOuf0xB-P9ZDUssVu2h3ore2MGlkFqrjdKKB1M/s1600/IMG_7110.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CmO1BQn8N47Q8ZR6fFkx2v5m-Kc8wUNS1MtxCos7JQyPv8FUx2t3puX3N8McmrCAMEQ9X0I81pORVNDXsQKIS_23Pqa3HRMCXDWcepOuf0xB-P9ZDUssVu2h3ore2MGlkFqrjdKKB1M/s400/IMG_7110.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680574969466322722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46aDXu5w9tX-1ItUc7XuMDHhGZle79NuepOF5ImDmKzGijPfi2-LTmPYNNPPY2dxzadzrdHDdsCHpeMEXJf_duzMQhhgvfOQUliTLcGjCdPXfSpQHQtGSFwN3BlJiUEvH2KgWD2ih6-c/s1600/IMG_7127.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46aDXu5w9tX-1ItUc7XuMDHhGZle79NuepOF5ImDmKzGijPfi2-LTmPYNNPPY2dxzadzrdHDdsCHpeMEXJf_duzMQhhgvfOQUliTLcGjCdPXfSpQHQtGSFwN3BlJiUEvH2KgWD2ih6-c/s400/IMG_7127.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680574719003286466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F6g6c0-llI5PqutPrp7ECNLwGvXBHs5UETW6aVcy4m3iE7RKBm2nEji35VY1Zuu6OVjOYlI_9sikReZcsc0iGiV7QtD95oofdhFWSc4srWSa4GOlQz_-dbFIPqgjzjwHGvDxAs2pzzc/s1600/IMG_7136.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F6g6c0-llI5PqutPrp7ECNLwGvXBHs5UETW6aVcy4m3iE7RKBm2nEji35VY1Zuu6OVjOYlI_9sikReZcsc0iGiV7QtD95oofdhFWSc4srWSa4GOlQz_-dbFIPqgjzjwHGvDxAs2pzzc/s400/IMG_7136.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680574388386432050" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-74208680615085857892011-11-23T20:24:00.005-05:002011-11-23T20:42:38.003-05:00Hope picsI'm cleaning off my camera's flash card before Thanksgiving, and I found some good ones to show you! They're all out of order, but I'm sure you guys can figure that out :)<br />This is Miss Nancy working with Hope this week. Can you believe she's on her hands and knees? She did not like it. Otherwise, she's doing so well. Every week she makes noticeable progress, and her sitting up is getting so much better.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyIGdunBMFV0gVUpAUmcw7PuMzHkq2X_UMbsWRGkdvmeo5SI8olMSnLVgclqdbdnfzUJC3bueGFqRu-Xn0uCAPgK-1A4ekv-XAt2gk_N-mhzCQeX3qI3Q-iip6dORD4rxDcfnvrLKPe4/s1600/IMG_6982.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyIGdunBMFV0gVUpAUmcw7PuMzHkq2X_UMbsWRGkdvmeo5SI8olMSnLVgclqdbdnfzUJC3bueGFqRu-Xn0uCAPgK-1A4ekv-XAt2gk_N-mhzCQeX3qI3Q-iip6dORD4rxDcfnvrLKPe4/s400/IMG_6982.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678368229799676946" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1ra4KPrj9IJ2gKvNUDNYB0bH7nIsu6LeT5FYRgkXh7sTH1zMCaMWXpEmfmqR3yrpvh0AT3A4x2igF-vqoOeZKFehXxXOH_kLOySgGypCFLGbDnLuJy9reGTUJnsG5ve8ydzqzeDwq2A/s1600/IMG_6948.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1ra4KPrj9IJ2gKvNUDNYB0bH7nIsu6LeT5FYRgkXh7sTH1zMCaMWXpEmfmqR3yrpvh0AT3A4x2igF-vqoOeZKFehXxXOH_kLOySgGypCFLGbDnLuJy9reGTUJnsG5ve8ydzqzeDwq2A/s400/IMG_6948.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678369992460189154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHT5Mxhq0KjeeZGutKQKb8_GepLypXA0i9hgSuJbB2vxQG0LgVZlHC07tbKHIIbExMzP2M1IR50iY-xli9zIC4IEsUUO-Go4H_fztmErMClV1Ksut0zgD8koJhSF2E9hk7sTKFnmx-A0/s1600/IMG_6952.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHT5Mxhq0KjeeZGutKQKb8_GepLypXA0i9hgSuJbB2vxQG0LgVZlHC07tbKHIIbExMzP2M1IR50iY-xli9zIC4IEsUUO-Go4H_fztmErMClV1Ksut0zgD8koJhSF2E9hk7sTKFnmx-A0/s400/IMG_6952.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678369971654498962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDW1kX2DeywLeASt5YyZieKSRjCBFANqOqlteNouvTomSl-NKSnrrQPIrGVkJ0HbPb9jXv_GKImXFlZ2bbuwZgExqWsAc30HRQqHwoe0G62VRsSh5vfUB_cmEWLYoK1fcsBGb38-fpXD4/s1600/IMG_6953.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDW1kX2DeywLeASt5YyZieKSRjCBFANqOqlteNouvTomSl-NKSnrrQPIrGVkJ0HbPb9jXv_GKImXFlZ2bbuwZgExqWsAc30HRQqHwoe0G62VRsSh5vfUB_cmEWLYoK1fcsBGb38-fpXD4/s400/IMG_6953.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678369964682999842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4NSGaVTMNLpzGOVIpyNXNxRb1YvNVcJc73IjKS4x68GUwIxSTfNZJrJnYmJrTpcz3erDrfTzDj70iPcJbx0y4itPobH5X3cGSJ1NTZY41Hy40c7VZH3JG-IZZkk9CJqonLLRbSSSp0M/s1600/IMG_6981.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4NSGaVTMNLpzGOVIpyNXNxRb1YvNVcJc73IjKS4x68GUwIxSTfNZJrJnYmJrTpcz3erDrfTzDj70iPcJbx0y4itPobH5X3cGSJ1NTZY41Hy40c7VZH3JG-IZZkk9CJqonLLRbSSSp0M/s400/IMG_6981.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678369959694521746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pOfPcU30AaZeC61V3MLFGiiIOWSwUMs3BrTNi3GNqh95ZkCvacNTIhfhqhXmbuk7gbka05LZq2j1e3HeJ9TF6LjRmvlEHolBGq36UUJzzWvYcEmL54gLsG4APqKlafIyMQDhAqF9MjE/s1600/IMG_6935.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pOfPcU30AaZeC61V3MLFGiiIOWSwUMs3BrTNi3GNqh95ZkCvacNTIhfhqhXmbuk7gbka05LZq2j1e3HeJ9TF6LjRmvlEHolBGq36UUJzzWvYcEmL54gLsG4APqKlafIyMQDhAqF9MjE/s400/IMG_6935.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678369995995611170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRtmqqxUmjLqdv-w9LWjG359Xo6A64IjX9ojjiU3J5rDcxMwMhOXR1MohxuxfArkYFgTR3Qs31y0XOJ9ptsDQh9vjXxMGkoMvUttClcMUCjhK-m3tys0Yh_0rGCuF6d22GBAJ1uEQNtk/s1600/IMG_6984.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRtmqqxUmjLqdv-w9LWjG359Xo6A64IjX9ojjiU3J5rDcxMwMhOXR1MohxuxfArkYFgTR3Qs31y0XOJ9ptsDQh9vjXxMGkoMvUttClcMUCjhK-m3tys0Yh_0rGCuF6d22GBAJ1uEQNtk/s400/IMG_6984.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678368210644890162" /></a><br />Isn't this a nice picture? If only I'd given her a haircut first...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTAg4UMBhlIxlPCK17a4WsfEyLzBXHHHbNNLPdEhvBWC0-Nd5sITOvPSOqrRz_PKGtmpchievVMIOKFQtln3RA5XnsJUvdNtxpXdp9tG2EfJAp1gcZ6xDm-8LFOLgA6mud4gfi9s9Eyw/s1600/IMG_6990.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTAg4UMBhlIxlPCK17a4WsfEyLzBXHHHbNNLPdEhvBWC0-Nd5sITOvPSOqrRz_PKGtmpchievVMIOKFQtln3RA5XnsJUvdNtxpXdp9tG2EfJAp1gcZ6xDm-8LFOLgA6mud4gfi9s9Eyw/s400/IMG_6990.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678368201092958466" /></a><br />When you're the fifth child, you have to put up with a lot of shenanigans.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oD71AHwGfq3oyjgO0vYpierwzeq72qzYUevM7AYNRlOSiodc-Chycxhj-uPGSeO74Fhyu8qOl_yrqFrG2L6K38YKvgaFxJFypZuBM8spF9C8bR2RObboKQsWQ9Jjxvur3Y4oFp8T3bY/s1600/IMG_7004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oD71AHwGfq3oyjgO0vYpierwzeq72qzYUevM7AYNRlOSiodc-Chycxhj-uPGSeO74Fhyu8qOl_yrqFrG2L6K38YKvgaFxJFypZuBM8spF9C8bR2RObboKQsWQ9Jjxvur3Y4oFp8T3bY/s400/IMG_7004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678368182934973698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4sZUVlaeovvMfyQnXW4gSYIxQb7zt99qPJlD2IxPF0cYyYLAxiSfavyTmeAAIL0Vc8H8GSBaRxxszvXx0I7P6ajAKXhizxtI-SGdl47ih5DciIDwzjnYzh2da_xnC1hrgUza6TwQIf4/s1600/IMG_7014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4sZUVlaeovvMfyQnXW4gSYIxQb7zt99qPJlD2IxPF0cYyYLAxiSfavyTmeAAIL0Vc8H8GSBaRxxszvXx0I7P6ajAKXhizxtI-SGdl47ih5DciIDwzjnYzh2da_xnC1hrgUza6TwQIf4/s400/IMG_7014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678368175622037906" /></a>Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294097788301553753.post-28978194285879131452011-10-31T12:07:00.002-04:002011-10-31T12:33:39.703-04:00Look who's sitting up! (kind of)We have been doing PT with Hope for about a month now. I have to admit, I was not convinced that they knew anything I didn't, but it has been such a huge help! Two different women come, once a week each. Miss Kim works with Hope on fine motor skills, and Miss Nancy works more on gross motor stuff. Hope will now reach for a toy and grab it, with either hand. She's not putting them in her mouth yet, but that's what we're working on next. <br />And as for gross motor, look at this!<br />This was about 2 weeks ago--her first few days in the Bumbo. She gets tired quickly, and her body position isn't quite how Miss Nancy would like it (she's curled over a little too much in the bumbo, not have to use her back muscles), so we don't use it too much anymore.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tl-Cta2YpO8brWtyMqGB7KjAbAAz41hU2lNLoTJ7IuOqPllgIEkYncImqJy98RXyVifYEU_CTWBNe7p-a5W6T5Z8m3rGL0QqkJckz2IOP93plhTzLHCJ8uCGcgSFvVWS_o3cAeJELkY/s1600/IMG_6818.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tl-Cta2YpO8brWtyMqGB7KjAbAAz41hU2lNLoTJ7IuOqPllgIEkYncImqJy98RXyVifYEU_CTWBNe7p-a5W6T5Z8m3rGL0QqkJckz2IOP93plhTzLHCJ8uCGcgSFvVWS_o3cAeJELkY/s400/IMG_6818.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669689476126885458" /></a><br /><br />This was last week, transitioning to the high chair. It turns out our high chair is ideally suited to her--it curves around her sides, giving her floppy arms the support they need. In the high chair, she can play with toys while having her arms supported by the tray. This gives her longer eye- and hand- interaction with the toys. If she drops one, she can still see it to pick it up. Getting her eyes involved is key--we want her to learn the connection between hands and eyes. In the high chair, she doesn't have to work so hard and sitting up, and can concentrate on hand movements with toys.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MoP1E0NBWtrg0RJlzTthVj62ogolhFH6_2SqJf1hywisf6erovz6pvBK-zeWhA2CzYa7ZgPd61Z0JbQwDUNzqWU24Qh5Q3OMVj-srmOkEVu1pW2BLD5RojkboNQc1vK4bUbjfw1s1wk/s1600/IMG_6826.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MoP1E0NBWtrg0RJlzTthVj62ogolhFH6_2SqJf1hywisf6erovz6pvBK-zeWhA2CzYa7ZgPd61Z0JbQwDUNzqWU24Qh5Q3OMVj-srmOkEVu1pW2BLD5RojkboNQc1vK4bUbjfw1s1wk/s400/IMG_6826.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669689465182179218" /></a><br /><br />And here's sitting in a tripod position this weekend! This is so huge!! When we're working on posture, we give her toys that aren't quite to interactive so that she can concentrate on holding her back straight and head up.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5B9SiKpG6kfNyPD0gdFVivR_EVldkiAVC2VnPavuEJ4m7mI82DlbSYNwLtp0oHpEehwoTWdpxUKosDjF-_DkTe9wRLaHDJ9CpUocsy2jtQYn9oL7-gq97OolMTHvhLribNN9kULWZTnU/s1600/IMG_6842.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5B9SiKpG6kfNyPD0gdFVivR_EVldkiAVC2VnPavuEJ4m7mI82DlbSYNwLtp0oHpEehwoTWdpxUKosDjF-_DkTe9wRLaHDJ9CpUocsy2jtQYn9oL7-gq97OolMTHvhLribNN9kULWZTnU/s400/IMG_6842.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669689460565433714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisfqwXUC1VNCGlxFIzzCLuntVNXlPauRPxhYRIARdK-wSc8AV_t-OyaxNfpKOSq7b-FuHAvEzU0APWxHFZayiMqG0tBhkO2sPJ2lxhrAqzGvKbNYyCQPeQ7vUgw92VwOD87uU055tYnws/s1600/IMG_6843.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisfqwXUC1VNCGlxFIzzCLuntVNXlPauRPxhYRIARdK-wSc8AV_t-OyaxNfpKOSq7b-FuHAvEzU0APWxHFZayiMqG0tBhkO2sPJ2lxhrAqzGvKbNYyCQPeQ7vUgw92VwOD87uU055tYnws/s400/IMG_6843.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669689441596128546" /></a><br />Isn't she cute? I like these pictures because her eyes are straight. She really doesn't cross all that often--mostly when she's tired, and it seems, for the camera. But here you can see her looking at you!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAp86087hOw_hoBeMgwccqbmqIrT1Z3mfbWdetd-VAeF7XJVG66YkDBxLYkfR2dkiUcEFXDSWsMSTepZ0yNRHiCMFsuQQJinY6-cIbmSoGO83-x8quL65ooGRo474kh0_tEvvm25-mOM/s1600/IMG_6845.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAp86087hOw_hoBeMgwccqbmqIrT1Z3mfbWdetd-VAeF7XJVG66YkDBxLYkfR2dkiUcEFXDSWsMSTepZ0yNRHiCMFsuQQJinY6-cIbmSoGO83-x8quL65ooGRo474kh0_tEvvm25-mOM/s400/IMG_6845.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669689440507775378" /></a><br />Her weakest muscles are across her upper back and shoulders. She tires quickly lying on her back and holding toys in the air. Her neck is also very weak, and she hates tummy time. She will tolerate it for about a minute. My mission this week is to get her doing more tummy time, even if it's only for a moment at a time to try to build up some more of those muscles. The therapist and I also worked on carrying her facing out in the Moby wrap. While facing out is not ideal for most babies (it encourages a reverse curve in the back), Hope needs to strengthen those muscles. So we will be doing it for short spurts to encourage her to get her head up and off her chest, and to be looking around and compensating for my movements.<br /><br />Her progress in the past months with the PT has been huge. It is a very good indicator for her future development. When we started PT, she was so wobbly that she couldn't grab a toy, and she couldn't really hold her head up without wobbling. Now she can do both those toys without wobbling. Just imagine what the next month will bring? Maybe rolling over, maybe sitting up all by herself!Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15968404527198326115noreply@blogger.com3