Happy Birthday Shayna!!! and Much, Much More!

Shayna had a wonderful, double (shared with her friend Maryn) birthday party complete with indoor jumpy house, blowup twin slides, balls all over, and a bubble machine.  It was quite a magical time for all the little ones there in fact.

Jumping with Addison and a ball-boat of girls.

Breaking bubbles and blowing out candles.

Super fast sliding and special guests our Pittsburgh Grandparents Gerry and Judy.

Shayna continues to be her spunky self even though we continue to be sick and get ear infections (Shayna had her fifth (1st with tubes) and Elijah his first last week).  We've had 5-6 colds running though the family and one stomach bug so it's been a rough winter.  However, her labs were AWESOME last month; the best they've been since the beginning of last August.  They were so good, we were given our first 4 week reprieve since last April!  She got ear tubes put in the Monday Grandpa Michael was here (one of the many reasons I flew him out) and they have made a world of difference.  The spunky, fun, mischievous Shayna replaced the winey, clingy Shayna once all the pressure was relieved.  She did get the one ear infection last week but it had been almost 5 weeks since the last one when we'd been going 1.5-2 weeks between infections since December 11th.  We'll do labs next on Monday and will see her pediatrician Thursday to get all her three-year-old statistics and for him to tell us how wonderful she is (something we have yet to tire of hearing).

Shayna loves to show her independence by doing many tasks on her own.  She's learning how to put on her own socks and shoes, she loves it when we ask her to take her dishes to the sink after eating or help put things on the table for dinner, she will even redo things that we absentmindedly do for her like hanging her coat up.

Elijah WORSHIPS his sister.  Nahum and I get big smiles but he's just beside himself with joy whenever Shayna shows up.  It's amazing the abuse he takes and keeps on laughing.  Shayna's favorite game is "knock the baby down" which he willingly follows her into my room to play.  As long as both kids are laughing and there are no odd thunks, I let them be.  His current favorite game is "empty all unlocked cabinets" which means pots, pans, and tupperware all over the kitchen, and sometimes the house.  It would be "throw anything I can in the toilet or just try to climb in myself" if Nahum and I weren't so well trained at keeping those shut after the first couple mishaps.

He's at an age now where little things he does remind me of little things that Shayna used to do, stacking bowls, playing in the shower, putting things in containers then taking them out.  It's fun to see the similarities and differences and the little reminders of Baby Shayna.  He's starting to mimic some of my sign language too.  He says "all done" or "more".  He's also enjoying learning to use a spoon and fork.  I hand him the spoon or fork with food on it, he puts it neatly (most of the time) in his mouth, once the food is removed he holds it out for me to take and fill up again.

Nahum is at a conference in Charlottesville, VA starting today and he'll be home late Tuesday only to go again the following Sunday to Berkeley then Chicago to give talks.  He's just finished several hectic weeks of work by submitting 5 proposals last Friday and finalizing the hiring committee's decision (he's the head of the committee).  It looks like we'll see another astrophysicist at Virginia Tech next year!

I'm plugging along.  Waiting to be finished being sick and taking care of sick kids so I can get back to real workouts and fitness goals.  My mom Melinda gets into town next Saturday.  I'm hoping I'll be well enough then to kick start my spring training while she's here to help with the kids.  I'm loving all the hard work I did last November in the garden watching all the beautiful crocuses bloom and anticipating all the snow drops, daffodils, tulips, and irises plus all the trees I've planted over the last three years.  It could be a glorious spring.

 Feb 20: our first real snow of the season.  Shayna thought it was great! Elijah wanted to go back inside.

Feb 21: I have two kitchen helper now as Elijah loves to see what's going on (and "help") these days too.

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Elijah was born at 10:55pm today.  It has been a beautiful year with some only a few minor medical challenges.  Elijah has been such a mellow, happy, and inquisitive little fellow that keeps us on our toes.

Year In Review

Feb 6, 2011 born at 9lb 9oz, 22", spends first 1.5 days in NICU due to SVT at birth

2wo:  goes into SVT at pediaticians office, we spend the next week in the PICU,

          Wolf-Parkinson-White (WPW) diagnosis 

2.5wo: first smile of recognition to his Ima

2.5mo: first laugh

3.3mo: first international trip (to Israel)

4mo:    rolled from belly to back (more than once)

6mo:    sits on his own

6.5mo: gets 2 bottom, front teeth

7mo:    crawling and pulling to standing

7.5mo: gets 4 top front/side teeth in one week

10mo:  first steps

11mo:  walking well, likes to say, "uh-oh" when dropping things or soiling himself and "I-Ma" or 

           "ma-ma" when distressed or wanting me

1yo:     runs after sister (she's still much faster)

We'll go to his cardiologist tomorrow to see if we can get a decent EKG reading (it's kind of hard to get a baby to lay still) to see how his extra circuit is doing.  On Thursday we'll get his growth statistics and our first "well" doctor's visit in the last dozen.

Grandpa Michael came out to help me get my sanity last week so I could try to write a post on Elijah's first birthday (and enjoy life in general).  He tidied toys, folded clothes, washed dished and wrangled kids all week plus took care of Elijah while I went with Shayna for ear tubes last Monday.  It was such a wonderful week, we all wish he were here for another.  Here are the kids helping Michael workout.

Sick of Being Sick

Shayna's been sick, I've been sick, Nahum's been sick, both kids have been sick, I've been sick again twice, both kids have been sick again, and Nahum went to Austin, TX for a week.  We've had 3 types of cold/flu, Shayna's had 3 ear infections, and Elijah's getting over a viral pink-eye.  We're all finally starting to get better.  Shayna and I are well and will go to a birthday party today while Nahum stays home with Elijah as his eyes were just slightly gunky this morning.

Needless to say, I've been exhausted and, while many amazing things have happened, I've only had to energy to watch in amazement and wish I had the energy to write.  Here's a video of the most amazing thing of all: Elijah learning to walk during his 11th month of life on his own.

I hope to do a real update in the next week once I've recovered from caring for sick kids.

Watching Elijah

It is an absolute joy to watch Elijah and I have been fascinated by him these last three months more than I am normally.  He is learning and doing so many new things each day.  He picks up a new skill one day, practices it and the next day has incorporated it smoothly into his repertoire of play.

12/25/09

When Shayna was Elijah's age (9m 4w), it was Christmas day and our 2nd full day home from the hospital post transplant.   I was finally feeling like we had a normal child but I was still terrified of medicine time.  When I recall that time, this is the picture I think of.  I had just collected the clean laundry from the basement with Shayna, carrying them both upstairs in the basket.  I never noticed before but that yellow piece of paper on the floor is her daily medicine schedule that'd I'd been discharged from the hospital with.  At the time, just that smile was an amazing miracle to see.

With Elijah, I've been able to watch a baby who can solely focus on discovering his world because his daily needs are always being met and there is little question of survival.  Learning to feed himself at 7-months to now refusing to let me feed him at all.  He figured out how to tip a sippy cup up to get more water in only 2-3 days.  Scooting to crawling to crawling away and getting stuck under things.  He crawled under a friend's coffee table to get a toy and got stuck.  He crawled under his crib to explore a box and got stuck.  Most recently, he crawled down the grassy hill in front of our house to our neighbors' yard and under their car just to see what was was there and got stuck.

10/22/11

12/4/11 (car noted above is not in this picture)

10/21/11

 I like it when he tries to take toys from his sister because he's so passive when she takes things from him.  I can only remember 2 times when he's yelled about toy taking.  Usually, he just finds something else with which to play.  He longs to be fast enough to play with her.  I can easily see them chasing each other around the house in a couple months as he already tries so hard to run after her.  They recently found a game they can play together: crawling between the couches chasing each other.  The carpet keeps thing from getting too slip and the crawling slows her down a bit.

10/9/11

We finally had to put the plants up high because he had taken to crawling over to them, looking one of us in the eye as we said, "no", then digging a fist full of dirt out of the pot and stuffing it into his mouth.  He likes to do this outside too except he's a little pickier as he'll dig out a pile of loose dirt before selecting the tastiest looking specimen.  My favorite is when he finds dirt clods to chew on.  I'll have turned my back for two seconds and the next thing I know he has a clay-coated mouth and smile.

His walking has progressed from wanting both hands held to only one.  Last Tuesday he took his first steps on his own but still prefers to hold our hands to walk.  What he really wants to do is run and as he just can't on his own he flatly refuses to walk without assistance by sitting and yelling in protest.

10/28/11

He loves the water and shows no fear.  A recent trip to the pool which has a wide ramp entrance had him crawling into the water up to his eyes when I would fish him out and put him back at the top only to watch him do it again.  If I run a bath in either house bathtub, he stops whatever he's doing, listens, scrambles to the side of the tub, and squawks in delight at the great treat we have obviously created for him.

Most of all I like his smile. It lights up his whole face and lights up the room. It's one more way I can see how he enjoys everything in his life and it's a joy to watch him live.

11/26/11

Happy 2nd Liver-versary

It's actually the 3rd Liver Day for Shayna since it seems like one should count transplant day as the first.  Last year it was easy to remember that night I spent holding my feverish (due to meds) baby girl before her father and her would be linked in the most unusual way: a shared liver.  This year so many good things have happened that the memory is starting to take on the fog of time.  She's also growing up as each day makes it harder the see the baby and more evident of the beautiful little girl coming into her own.

Here's this year's liver postcard.  I sent the first batch out Tuesday and will be sending more tomorrow.  If you don't get one in the next week and want one let me know.

The back says:

"December 1st marks 2 years since transplant and Shayna is doing wonderfully well.  This latest year of healthy living has brought many new things to Shayna's life.  In February, she got a baby brother whom she adores.  In the spring, she went to Israel to meet Saba, Savta, and the rest of her Israeli family for the first time.  She spent many happy hours at the park with Saba and the beach with Aba and still talks about playing with her cousin Ben.  This summer she learned how to peddle a bike and now enjoys riding in circles in our garage. She stated pre-school in the fall and is making many new friends.

Some things have stated the same.  Shayna still loves to swing, the higher the better. On warm fall afternoons we still like to feed the ducks at the duck pond.  Saturdays still bring our ritual farmers market visit with running, playing, climbing, and tasty treats.

Life continues to be good for Shayna and the rest of her family. We hope this celebratory note finds you near the end of another beautiful, healthy year as well.

Much love,
Shayna, Patricia, Elijah, and Nahum"

Facebook has some fun Thanksgiving pictures and here's a great video to show you just how much life explodes from Shayna.

First Parent-Teacher Conference

We had our first parent-teacher conference for Shayna today.  We heard about how Shayna developed from a shy kid with a constant deer-in-the-headlight look to someone who is helping bring out the goofy side of another shy kid who has been there a year longer.  The teachers are still working on getting her to stay with tasks to the end (eg. painting for 4-5 minutes instead of 2 brush strokes, putting the "work" back on the shelf exactly as she found it for the next "friend").  One of her favorite things to do is clean so she's  dusting the shelves frequently, scrubbing the walls, tables, and chairs, and was even caught polishing her friend's belly.  They said she's quite a little ball of energy. They try to get the little ones out early so they can run around the big grassy yard before the big kids are out for recess because, when they don't, Shayna will run laps around their little wood-chipped play yard.  We also were told they have never seen a child get dirtier than Shayna.  "You guys must think we lay her down in the dirt and roll her around."  And she does look like that most days but it's how I measure how much fun her day was.  The dirtier she is, the more fun she had.  It was nice to just sit with Ms. Elise and Ms. Nancy for half an hour talking about our great girl.

Elijah had his 9-month appointment yesterday.  He weighted in at 25.5lbs (98%-ile), is 29" tall (75th-ile), and has a 18.75" sized head (95%-ile).  His favorite thing to do it jump on the bed with Shayna (while I hold him around the middle) and walk around the house holding someone's fingers.  His crawling is getting much faster and he's even started letting go of things to stand on his own.  He only lasts 2 seconds before he falls on his bottom and he's only done it 3 times but I'm so proud of him.  My walking bet is for Thanksgiving as he's still quite wobbly.

Halloween was fun.  Shayna loved getting candy from everyone but promptly forgot about it once I put her bucket up.  Shayna used some of the sugar energy to push Elijah around the house in their little car.

Last week we had a great visit from Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Joe (my dear friends from Pueblo).  We all loved having them.  They're the easiest people to get along with, helped a ton with the kitchen,  and played with the kids all day so the kids worshiped them and I got a mini vacation.  I took Elijah over to Kathy after feeding him and he about leaped out of my arms to get to her.  Shayna asked for 2 days after their visit, "when is Grandma Kathy coming back?"  Here's some pictures from our duck pond outing.

Triathlete

I finally did my first triathlon since getting married and having kids on October 9th.  It was a little sprint down in Richmond, VA that I went to sans family but with the triathlon group I'd been training with.  It was an exhausting trip but in a self sufficient way not a mom way and that made for a wonderful change.  The event itself was great.  400m outdoor pool, snake swim (my first), 11mi bike over rolling terrain, and a 5k run through neighborhood trails including a little pond and forested area.  The swim was wonderful as almost all swims are for me. One person passed me and I passed a few people but didn't knock into anyone and no one knocked into me.  The bike was cold in the shade of the tall trees and my hands went numb (need to work on my position) so I pretended I had tri-bars for a mile or so while they regained feeling. It was more painful than anticipated but that helped my run just by making me look forward to it.  I had been most intimidated by the 5k but it ended up being enjoyable and I jogged the whole thing.  It wound downhill to a trail going around a pond, though a forested area to neighborhood streets back up the hill to the grass field finish.  The little hills were painful at first but easy to handle by the end and I made 2 of my major goals for the event: jogging the whole run and doing it in under 1hr30min.

Event    Time   Rank of 351
Swim    7:58          65
T1         1:15          60
Bike     41:37        204
T2         1:15         178
Run      35:48        314
Total   1:27:50      238

I'd like to find 2 sprints and an olympic to do next summer but have a long way to go to be in that kind of shape to make them fun and to not make the training be a strain on the family.  Luckily, I've got all winter to work on it and have already started.  I've just been doing weights twice a week for 3 weeks but have already noticed a difference when I rough housed with Shayna this morning.  It used to be difficult to throw her around.  This morning I was finally able to have fun with it making both of us happy.

The other thing I like about triathlons: It brings out the deeply hidden extrovert in me.  I love talking to all the other people around me.  I wore my CU tri shorts so met another CU grad who studied Aerospace Engineering at the same time I was in the Civil Engineering program. We even graduated the same year and are both now stay-at-home moms.

I'm in the middle with the gold cap.  There were only 3 other adults in our group.  The kids were 10-15 years old.

Finishing strong.

Watching the kids come in off the bike with one of the coaches Kelly (the lady who reminds me of Tristen) and her 8yo daughter Molly.