And Just Like That...

Somehow it's been months since I last posted an update. It feels like I blinked and we went from the summer to February. On the one hand, no update is good because it means there hasn't been any major news, but then again, Amelia is always progressing and I haven't shared it! 

Today I will take advantage of the fact that I was sick in bed with a stomach bug all day yesterday and slept about 7 hours during the day and another 9 last night.Usually I nap during Amelia's nap but today I feel better enough to not sleep but not well enough to actually be up and working around the house. Perfect timing to write a blog post!! 🤷 As a mom you take what you can get, right??

This post I'll update by season.

Fall: Natalie started kindergarten in the fall at Faith Heritage School! She has been really enjoying spending time with friends, learning how to read, and is growing in how to be respectful and kind to all around her. She's also made huge progress in transitioning from one activity to the next and is learning how to turn a bad situation into a better one. She is very honest with me and admits any time she's gotten in trouble at school which gives me the opportunity to work with her and help her. I'm very thankful for this rare truthfulness and praying it keeps up for awhile!! 

Amelia started a 3 year old program at a special integrated preschool and she has blossomed over this year. She has amazing teachers, aides, and therapists. I can't begin to explain all the progress she's made. I'll post pictures and go in depth at the end of this post. 

We did as many of the fun fall activities as we could - apple picking, leaf piling, leaf jumping, leaf throwing, all the leaves?? Natalie made a fall bucket list and we checked off as many things as we could including drinking hot cider, getting donuts, LEAVES, and carving pumpkins. In November we celebrated Amelia's 3rd birthday! We had some friends over for dinner and sang happy birthday to a very excited little lady. She loved watching all the kids play and Natalie was able to be an awesome big sister helper.

To end our fall season, I went and got myself  appendicitis... just to jazz things up apparently. The Sunday after Thanksgiving I was up all night with searing abdominal pain. It somewhat subsided partway through the day Monday so I figured I had a weird stomach bug. After being nauseous and unable to eat all week I went to the doctor on Friday and she sent me for a CT scan. I had an appendix double the diameter it should be!! Went into the ER but the odd thing was my bloodwork was all normal and I wasn't in excruciating pain, just slightly nauseous. The surgeon said I would be a good candidate for antibiotic therapy and they admitted me on IV antibiotics to wait and see how I did through the weekend. Matt joked that it was an all expenses paid mom vacation getting to spend the weekend in a hospital... however having an  IV in the crook of my arm so I couldn't bend it to hold a phone, text, play games, etc. coupled with a roomate who was also on round the clock antibiotics (that IV machine is super loud when it's letting you know it's done with a treatment!).. made it so there was very little sleep and ability to laze away on my phone. By Sunday I still wasn't able to eat without stomach pain so I asked the surgeon if he could just take the darn thing out. He agreed and I went into surgery later that afternoon. Monday I was finally sent home with instructions to rest up and not lift anything bigger than 10 lbs for 3 weeks. Amelia is 25 lbs. Yup, this was going to be fun. Thankfully we have a wonderful support system, our framily (friends+family = framily) the McBride's took our kids throughout the weekend I was in the hospital, my mom flew up from VA to help for the week and my cousin Jess picked Amelia up from school everyday and put her down for a nap. Matt was able to take some Family Medical Leave time to cart kids around for school. It all worked out. Phew! Glad that's done and over with! And, I found out at my post op that it's good I got my appendix out because I had chronic appendicitis and even if the antibiotics had worked, it would've come back anyway!!

Here are some pics of the girls at the Mcbride's. They had a blast while mommy was gone. 

Winter: 

For Christmas this year we went to stay with my parents in Virginia where my dad was doing an interim rector position at an Anglican church in Woodbridge. We were able to explore DC a couple of the days, see the capitol Christmas tree, and have a nice chill time with family. This Christmas, being in a small apartment, transplanted away from all of our normal Christmas things, was helpful for all of us to remember that the joy of Christmas does not rely on our traditions and decorations. It's about family being together and most importantly God fulfilling His promise of salvation by sending Jesus as a baby. 

The rest of this winter we've been doing everything we can to stay warm. Which means I'm usually under a blanket with a cat on my lap anytime I possibly can be. 

That comic pretty much sums up my winter existence. Natalie has been reading everything she can, making art at her new art desk, and is always asking questions trying to learn new things. I really enjoy spending time reading with her, playing games, and that when I snuggle up with a blanket on the couch, she's guaranteed to join me. 

Now, onto Amelia updates. Amelia is now sitting independently for up to 5-10 minutes. Guys, this is HUGE. The fact that she has reached this milestone is amazing. I'm so thankful for the connections God is creating in her little brain and for helping us to rejoice over these kinds of milestones. 

She is babbling constantly. When she sees or hears Matt she says, "dada!!" or " dadadadada" and gets all excited! She says, "hiiii!" occasionally when she sees someone new walk into a room, and I'm pretty sure she says "babababa" when she's hungry and wants her bottle. Again, this is so exciting for us because it's showing progression towards speech!! 

She is starting to push up on her feet in a standing position. The school that she attends has a harness system that helps kids learn what it feels like to be upright and bounce or walk depending on their developmental level. Right now we are just getting her used to standing and bouncing. But I notice her push to a stand when I'm just holding her now. Something she never used to do. 

She is also becoming much more aware of what's going on around her. She notices the cats more often. Especially because they've learned that it's advantageous to them to sit next to her during mealtimes since she drops lots of good food. One of Amelia's favorite foods to finger pick is lunch meats and soft pulled chicken. A cat's dream!

Her OT at school programmed her button to talk about her cat Isaac and she had conversations with her classmates about Isaac using her button. Again, this school is just so amazing, I'm beyond impressed and so excited to see what more she learns over the next couple of years!

That's about it for updates. As always we are trusting in the Lord for our daily sustenance and perseverance. We recognize how much good He is bringing through this little lady's life. The changes He's creating in myself, Matt, and Natalie are amazing. We've been learning in church this month about how God is creating us to be more like Christ. Many times this is done through suffering. We see the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control) being created in us through the suffering of processing having a child with a disability, in the midst of questions that don't have answers, in the beauty and compassion of loving those with differences, and rejoicing in what matters most - God's salvation. 

A song that's been on repeat in our house that I've been telling everybody I know about is Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call by Matt Boswell. We sing this song at our church and it's beautiful to be on worship team and to look out and see our congregation, our church family, singing this song at the top of their lungs. Especially knowing that most are going through some kind of suffering. I hope it blesses you like it blesses us. In fact, the whole album is amazing. I definitely recommend taking a listen. 

Thanks for following along! Hopefully I'll update sooner than later!!