Back to the Grind

Well my last week at home with Addy was a great one. We kept ourselves busy with some shopping in the US and then just hanging at home and with friends. To prepare both of us for the transition I had Addy go to the babysitter's for a trial run, and as I expected she faired very well.

It was hard to get myself in the mindset to return back to work, I hated thinking about the fact that I would not be home with her and enjoying every little thing she does. I (like probably every other parent in the world) dread the fact that I will miss the little things; her smiles, her talking and her cute little expressions. But it will be the hardest to miss the milestones she will accomplish while we are not there with her. It is so hard to believe that the time has finally come, and that a full year and a bit has gone by so fast. To think back (which I find myself doing a lot these days) and reflect about where we were a year ago today just blows my mind.

So sadly, I returned to work last Monday, and it was a very long and hard day. Mentally it was like being on vacation (just a really long one) and trying to re-adjust to being back, after being away or and extended length of time. Your mind is all foggy and still back at the resort where you were enjoying the sun and relaxation; except my resort was home with Addy. I found myself sitting in front of my computer, mind drifting quite often, but at least on this day I knew she was home with daddy, which was a bit more comforting for my first day away from her. The rest of the week proved interesting as I tried to balance getting both myself and Addy ready for the day, and off to work on time. Addy is still quite the night owl and still staying up late, which means mommy is up late too. So far the mornings have not been too bad, but I am sure it will catch up if this pattern stays. For the most part we faired okay. As most of you who know me I am late for everything so add a baby to the mix and I am done. I suppose it will get easier with time.

I know it is only the first week and we still have a long way to go, but our babysitter seems wonderful. Very kind and sweet person and you can tell that she genuinely loves kids. Addy seems to be enjoying it alot. She has smiles everyday as we walk in the door as Jana says good morning. The other kids our keeping Addy extremely entertained and I believe she will be learning alot from them. She is the youngest one there, but she is fitting into the mold of everday routine quite well. So with one week under our belt, we trudge on to begin what our new life routine will be.

Addy is still doing new things everyday, I guess that is what it will be like from now on as we watch her grow. She is eating like a big girl now, just some things have to be pureed for her now and again. She has really caught on to the finger feeding method and tries this everyday. She is not always successful at getting it in, but she is pretty determined to try. Fergus and Tal love this of course, and have taken up shop under Addy's high chair at each meal. Addy thinks this is wonderful too and I have even caught her feeding the boys on the sly as my back is turned. Our therapists are pleased with Addy's progress and say that she is definitely an analytical thinker and processes everything in front of her. She has shown signs of problem solving, as she continues to learn this whole transition from sitting to crawling. We actually place her in a crawling stance and she seems to tolerate this well, but then her little arms and shoulders get tired and down she goes. She wants to go quite bad but just can't get her body to do that quite yet. She is rolling with such ease that she now manages to get herself to the sides of her bed and playpen and is attempting to pull herself up. It is quite hilarious to see her in there at night when she is refusing to sleep, she piles her blankets up to push herself up higher and she peeks out over the top and smiles and laughs. I have yet to get this on video but it is priceless.

ITSY Fundraising Event

This past weekend we had huge success with the second annual fundraising event for families in the St. Joseph's NICU unit, under the new umbrella of ITSY. Greg and I were so happy to be able to join this committee to help give back and support current families in the unit, and what a wonderful group of people to work with while doing it. The event was amazing and we had so many supporters through donations, auction items and those that were able to attend the event. Greg and I had the honor of being asked to speak at the event about our journey. I did the talking for us, which really didn't amount to much under all the tears and blubbering I brought to the stage. But I was very proud to be able to tell a little bit of Addy's story. It is amazing how after a year, the memories are still so fresh and difficult to remember and deal with. It was hard to go back and think where we were a year ago today. It was hard to stand up and thank those that helped us get through a difficult time by their unselfish kindness, and to those that cared for Addy and helped bring her home to where she is today. We have met some wonderful people along the way through this new leg of our journey, wonderful people that I gladly now call friends and others I hope to get to know better. It is odd to meet people you don't know but have an immediate connection with because of the simple fact of what we have gone through. I cannot wait to see what ITSY will bring next year. Thank you to everyone for your support for such an important endeavour. Stay tuned for the final numbers, but if our quick tally on Friday evening is any indication, we well surpassed our $10,000 goal. Fantastic!!

Well this is my last week home with my little angel and then it is back to the grind. We have a big week planned with lots of activities and some shopping States side for Black Friday. Then we will kick back and relax the weekend out, as I am sure the nerves will be setting in on Sunday! I know Addy will be fine, she is such a wonderful, even tempered little girl. It is me that will be having the issues of leaving her and not being able to be home with her everyday. Wish me luck!!

Feeling Better and Prepping for ITSY Fundraiser

Thankfully Addy has been back to her usual jovial self after these past few weeks of sickness. She is eating again and putting on some of her weight that she lost. It is so horrible to see your little ones sick like that and you can do very little for them. Addy came through like the star that she is though and tackled yet another hurdle.

Greg and I have been keeping ourselves busy renovating around the house and putting stuff together for the 2nd annual ITSY fundraiser that is coming up on the 20th of November. We are so excited about it and yet nervous at the same time. Greg and I are speaking at the event, (well I guess I will be speaking at the event) about our journey with Addy and how we benefited from ITSY's endeavours last year. It will be nice though because we will be speaking to a group of people that understand the journey or have lived through it themselves. We have been able to get some great silent auction items and I know that we are going to have great success and raise at least the $10,000 that we have set as our goal!!!! We are so proud to be a part of this committee, thank you Laurel and Matt Lunnen for asking us to come aboard.

So as we keep ourselves busy, Addy is blossoming before our very eyes. She is doing so well and really reaching some success after all of the hard work we have been putting her through with physio, occupational and speech therapy. She is sitting up so well on her own and has even less curvature in her spine; she sits up so nice and staight. She still has some slight head tilting to the left, but this is disappearing more each time she gets taped up with her kinesotaping. She has really developped some strong tummy muscles and has managed to pull herself up now in her swing chair, when she gets tired of lying back. You can see by the smirk in her face in the picture that she is very proud of herself and this accomplishment. A friend of ours has lent us this wonderful bath chair, which allows Addy to spend hours in the tub splashing around. She definitely loves the water and this chair makes bath time that much better. She is eating wonderfully and really has developped a love for solid food. A girl after her own dad's heart. She is learning to feed herself with her hands, but still has not had the desire to feed herself her bottles. She will hold it for a bit and then it quickly gets thrown down, or the milk spills all over her face. It is quite funny to see and watch her explore new things around her each day. Addy has finally tackled the task of rolling over and now gets around with ease on the floor going from side to side. She now realizes that this also gets her closer to her big brothers Tal and Fergus and I think now she often falls over on purpose so she can roll over and play with them. They are both so wonderful with her, but Tal easily has the patience as she sits there and pulls on his fur and plays with his paws. So cute to see!!!! She really has an attraction to animals and loves when we go to visit at Mim's place and she can see the kitty. She gets so excited, she actually shakes a bit and then scrunches up her face in the biggest smile as she gets to pet him. I can just imagine when she asks daddy for her first kitty!!!! She has developed some really cute little facial expressions, and is developping quite the personality. She talks up a storm, or should I say yells up a storm and wants to be part of the conversation all the time. She takes her little tongue and rolls it around in her mouth and now makes a clicking sound to try and get our attention. So many new things I know that I have forget to mention something, just so wonderful to see and I am soaking up every minute of it!!!