Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

(That's Alan, my father-in-law)

I'm so grateful that we were able to celebrate today with this pretty little face:
She was a good little girl today (even though she missed her nap!).
We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her!!!
I was talking to my mom several days ago, and told her about all the crazy things Lolly has done lately- she is such a WILD child!!!  Every day for the past several weeks, during nap time, she loved to get out EVERYTHING in her room that wasn't bolted to the floor- diapers, clothes, her purses, tights and socks, books, blankets, etc. (I've since gotten smart and put everything in her closet and put her in the top bunk bed- without a ladder to get down).  I recently painted a few pieces of furniture white, and within a few hours, she'd drawn all sorts of pretty things on them with marker (thankfully, I only keep washable markers...but the boys never wrote on furniture or walls, so I hadn't thought to keep the markers out of reach).  She also found some nail polish one day and painted her nails (and the bathroom counter) herself.  She rubs Desitin all over her baby doll, rips the velcro tabs off of new, unused diapers, and thinks of about 1,000 things a day to do to keep our life interesting.  She is definitely our most crazy child yet.  

In some ways, it was a big blessing to have her so very sick- every time she does something naughty or crazy, I do take a minute to pause and remember how grateful I am to have her here.  I remember years ago, when we lived in our apartment in Tremonton, Tyler was three and Trey was one.  They found my spices, took the lids off, and ran through the house, shaking spices all over, giggling with delight.  My mind flashed back to Trey, a newborn baby, lying in the hospital, being prepped for his first heart surgery- at that moment, I would have done ANYTHING to be able to raise him up to a child, old enough to make messes with his big brother.  Now, I have FIVE huge mess makers, and I'm so very grateful for each one of them.  

Life has been so very crazy since returning from the hospital in October.  A friend asked me the other day how I was doing now that we're finally home.  I told her that things had just been nuts- I was still trying to play catch-up in every area of my life.  I told her that I was behind on paperwork, housework, laundry, and stressed because the holidays were coming so quickly.  My friend is a little bit older and a whole lot wiser, and she reminded me to JUST ENJOY IT.  Rather than be stressed and frustrated, I am trying to just enjoy it.  Life was crazy before Lolly got sick, and since we got home, it seems to be so much more crazy.  We've added in a lot of doctor's appointments, frequent blood draws, daily medications, and are having to find a lot of patience as we get everyone back to our normal routine, but I really am trying to just enjoy it and to be grateful for every little thing. 

For those who have asked, Lolly is doing amazingly well!  Her latest blood draw showed almost perfect numbers!  She still takes anti-seizure medication (which we hope she'll come off of after her check-up with neurology in January), and is such a good girl about taking her meds (she's always been a little jealous of all the meds Trey gets to take every day).  She is actually really good about getting her blood drawn, and is a gem (most of the time) when she has her blood pressure checked (this news will be shocking to any nurse who had the pleasure to taking her blood pressure while we were at Primary's).  Her kidneys are working well(!) and she's showing some interest in potty training again (possibly due to the jar of M&M's we have for "potty treats").  She is the most spunky, opinionated, funny little girl I have ever met.  We love her so, so much!!!

P.S. Hi from Sammi!