18 Month Check up... Finally

Amelia finally had her 18 month appointment. It had to be rescheduled until this week. She is doing great ... healthy, healthy healthy! But short short short :) Not sure there is anyone surprised by that! Her weight still lingers on the 25th percentile level while her head still is a bit above 75th, which is the same as her 12month stats ... height however as dropped a bit... HA! Every time she has to be measured, they measure twice to make sure. I think they haven't gotten that she is small. Don't they see me standing right next to them? This child is short. We all have come to grips with that. Anyway... she has dropped between 10th and 20th percentile in height. I've told to her embrace her short legs ... :)

As for everything else, she truly has both beauty and brains. The nurse and Doctor were amazed with all she knows. I even overheard them talking outside the exam room about how impressed they were with all Amelia is doing and saying. You know I didn't want to be one of those parents who claims their kid to be the smartest, I'll reserve that right for grands and great-grands to proclaim, but hearing the Doctor's amazement too only confirmed our thoughts... Amelia is quick, she has a great memory, and very smart. I won't say 'the smartest'. After her shot, she whined once and said "hurt." She amazes me.

We left the hospital and decided to go have a little fun since we had been in the house all week long. I thought Amelia would love a trip to the pet store. She loves looking and talking about animals and points out every bird she sees. This would be a hit.

She loved running up and down the aisle watching the birds. They were her favorite. I think she didn't understand why she couldn't hold the kitties, and she didn't know what to think about the lizards. And the fish were cool but not like the birds. So there we stood for awhile watching them talk, fly about, and play.

My Ebenezer

“Samuel took a stone and…named it Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.’” 1 Samuel 7:12

Yes, this is a coffee pot (not a stone) but a reminder nonetheless of the great faithfulness of our God. Shall I start from the beginning?

Some of you know about the health issues that have plagued James over the past few years. If not, lets recap: going on almost 6 years now James has had headaches and not just occasionally or often , but always. Everyday, all the time, terrible bad headaches. Years, literally, of going to see all kinds of doctors, getting tests run, drug after drug, led to not much information except that he had headaches and not much helped but hardcore, intense pain meds which still didn't eliminate the pain, just lessened it. He would go through times where he just decided that was going to be the norm and nothing was going to help. Frustrated and clearly in pain, it effected all areas of his life. I am not going to lie, I had a hard time dealing with it all as well, going from feeling sorry for him, wishing to do something to help to feeling sorry for me that I didn't have help around the house, or with Amelia, or a husband who wanted to hang out and have fun. Oh how I feel terrible for those selfish thoughts.

Finally, we both decided to get serious about figuring this all out. And James returned to his Doctor. What a blessing he has been with fresh ideas one after another. But more drugs, more tests, more guesses: we tried ADD meds, a gluten free diet, nerve blocking injections, just to name a few. And then! After years and years of prayer, tears, confusion, anger, and still more prayers, The doctor stumbled upon it while performing yet another test. Heighten pressure in his spinal fluid... his brain is reacting as if he has a tumor, but he doesn't or, technically speaking, pseudotumor cerebri, which is most common in young, pregnant, overweight, women. Doesn't really scream James, does it?

There is an easy fix. What? After all of this time, an easy fix? A pill. Yes, more drugs. After some time it will help decrease the pressure helping his headaches. WOW. Oh, and the coffee pot? These new pills make pop taste horrible, his preferred drink of choice. Supposedly, it tastes metallic and flat. Blah! So, the former coffee hater has tried several different methods of the coffee drink, cream, black ... creamer. Now though, the man drinks a giant cup in the morning and always makes a pot at night. He's hooked. And I am thrilled I have a friend now to sip coffee with or stop in at Starbucks but more so than that... I am thankful for what the coffee pot means.

Every morning it is a reminder. The Lord is with us and His grace covers us. I don't know why it has 5+years for this to be figured out, maybe to teach me a lesson in what a godly wife should look like, maybe a lesson in prayer, or maybe so God could show up a in very big way. They don't really know what caused the high pressure ... no other weird issues or underlying causes. Praise God.

He still is not completely headache free, not yet, but they have been increasingly better with a bad day here and there. But it's working. And whether it takes one more week or more years to clear it all up, God has it. He's got it. And every morning I have a constant reminder of His sovereignty.

Come, Thou fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

While the hope of endless glory

Fills my heart with joy and love,

Teach me ever to adore Thee;

May I still Thy goodness prove.

Here I raise my Ebenezer,

Hither by Thy help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

A Few Things ...

1. We changed a few things around the house recently. Finally got some color on our walls and some new curtains.

We also painted our frames red to carry the red theme throughout the main area.
2. Amelia is crazy... What a joy it is to watch her grow, develop, and pick up new things daily... literally, each day there is something new she's doing. Today? Requesting to be held, sticking her arms up and sweetly saying, "hold you, hold you."

3. Like mother like daughter. I have this annoying this where I can't keep my eyes open during a picture... UGH! I think I anticipate to flash way to early... anyway, looks like Amelia is having the same problem.
4. I wish I could get a good picture of Amelia's hair. She has the curse... another thing inherited from her mother, curly, CURLY hair. 5. When all else fails (and by all else I mean a sorry excuse for a football team the Colts are), you root for the next best thing... Looking forward to another playoff week. Go, Pack, Go!

Visitors

This weekend we had company! Our first overnight guests. My cousin and her husband came down for a visit. We had so much fun doing nothing. In fact, Saturday we spent alot of time at my parents house watching football and sitting in the hot tub.

Here we are, robed up and ready for the tub.

Sure we were up too late and ate too much but we had a good weekend telling stories and catching up.

In other news, James passed his test he took in November! We are so excited to have this massive test behind us. With one more down and just one more left to go, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Looking forward to having an entire evening with my husband again, study free. And he not only passed but with flying colors, 9 out of 10, which a 5 is "passing."

We are praising God for the passing test. Here hoping May's test is a similar outcome.

Have a good week!

18 months.

Amelia's new year resolution was to FINALLY get rid of her Paci. My original plan was to have it completely gone by 12 months. But since it was only thing that seemed to calm the child who never holds still, I avoided the issue. But I knew it was a good time; one less thing we have to remember when we travel or she stays somewhere, she wasn't extremely attached to it ... it was time. It was only out of my own laziness that we hadn't yet ... Slowly but surely all baby things are coming to an end. Only diapers and the crib left.

So, she is now paci-free, with minimal pain too. It just took her about twice as long to fall asleep than normal, which is entirely too long but not many tears. Naptime remains the hardest ... It is just too hard to calm down.

She gets more fun with each day. She plays wonderfully by herself and I no longer feel I have to constantly watch her, just check in a few times. She is still an expert at destroying the house.

Her vocabulary is exploding and tries to say everything. It is amazing how being able to communicate a bit better makes things easier. When she is done eating, reading, napping, taking a bath ... she says "Amen!" Ha, not sure why, but it's so cute. Hands straight up in the air, "Ah-min, Ah-min!" She can identify anything football- helmets, pads, fields, when the TVs on and yells "football" until we respond. She can spot mickey mouse a mile away, she asks for help constantly, and she has mastered a cute little 'peas' (please). She loves to sing. Some of her favorites are ABCs, she sings the B,D, I, P, S, X . She likes My God is so BIG! actions included. and I've got the Joy, Joy ... and after anything fun, different, or a song is finished, she pleads to do it again ... "Gan, gan"

She has mastered the spoon and is trying her hand at the fork. She has become a great helper around the house too. She helps me load the dryer, she helps clean up her own messes, she loves to help unload the dishwasher, and she also has helped me dust.

She is so much fun these days. And it is incredible how much her little brain can just soak in. She has her 18month appointment coming up in the next weeks ... 18 months already, really?