Reese’s Story

Over 2 years ago I thought the pain in my heart would never go away. Then I remembered with my son, if we had not set the sadness aside and chosen to walk out into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in his life would have been pretty low. So we chose to do it again. To find enthusiasm and move forward. As you watch each video segment, there is a mother behind the camera with a heart slowly healing. So happy to be at this point in the journey and incredibly grateful for modern day miracles!

Click video to view.

happiness reigns

when you’re the youngest of 4

and wake up from an afternoon nap to find only mom and a fresh plate of cookies…

..happiness reigns!

the look of “can it be true, it’s only you and me?!

happiness dances.

happiness sings.

happiness is happy.

her drink of choice….

…you would think milk, or juice, or even water.

nope, it’s flour.

complete with a flour mustache.

i constantly find her drinking flour. no joke.

this is her third offense. busted!

mi casa es muy….busy!

skimming through the photos from the last few months was pure nostalgia with

multiple favorites.

this one is on top of the list.

“do you like my hat?”

“they even came with brown stripes.”

“now I will attempt to brush my teeth with z’s toothpaste slathered toothbrush.”

prepare yourself to be inundated with our life in photos from way too long ago.

it’s time to play catch up from the summer/fall. the posts will all come before this one. 

best distraction ever

this duo is what keeps me entertained during church Sunday school. 

bottom line, they are the best distraction ever.

work it girl

She was working the runway in her gray cardigan and leggings..

Then in her ballerina top and wide leg pants.

Thankfully she wasn’t too embarrassed to come home with her ol’ mom after the show. 

Maybe it was the smoothie that was promised to her…with ice cream this time please!

I’m a sucker.

To this day we have not had to purchase a thing for her , although I would like too.  Okay, maybe diapers and wipes, pacifiers, and food. She has some stylish cousins who know their ins and outs of trends.  We just keep pulling clothes out of the magic box.  Thank you!

she’s right on

watch out!

now that she is walking on two feet nobody can stop her. (I was sure not to crop this photo for fear I would take out the shoes, for they truly make this spring outfit the cutest!)

she’s talking up a storm. a few favorite words are “hat, all done, dad, wower (flower), hot, off, ball, baoon (balloon) and up”

she’s walking, no running is more like it.

she’s eating anything and everything placed before her including burritos, bell peppers, cucumbers and her favorite…celery. she should be a gardener's daughter minus the burritos.

she has a killer body slam when her brothers least expect it.

she bounces a ball around the house when she is not occupied with eating or sleeping.

she is simply the sweetest.

and right on.

she’s showing off her “wheels on the bus” skillz.

she is saying good-bye to dad. it will be a few weeks before seeing him again.

we’re in heaven with her!

three. two. one. contact!

we found another use for contact paper! 

you know the sticky paper you use to line your drawers?  pull it out of your closet, it’s time to get rid of your scraps.  

how to:

cut a large piece of contact paper. place it on a piece of construction paper so the adhesive side is facing outward. staple the contact paper and construction paper on each corner. once it is nice and secure get out your pile of knick knacks. such as feathers, cut up tissue paper, yarn, googly eyes, cheerios, pictures, etc. 

now stick away!

remember to talk about…”soft feathers”, “sticky paper”, “crunchy tissue paper”, “smooth eyes”

straight from the bottle

that’s how she rolls.

speech and language activities

With the help from some amazing speech and language pathologist there will be a full pot of awesome activities available to you.  They have agreed to post their language development activities and ideas for infants, toddlers and preschoolers on the thankfulformyears.blogspot.com . 

 

Hopefully this is helpful for those of you who have asked for suggestions on ways to help hearing kids who have speech delays or are just learning how to talk, read and write.

 

Your first intervention can start right away. Begin talking to your child. All the time. About where you’re going, who you’re seeing, what they are wearing, what the weather is like outside, the direction your moving (i.e. turn, turn, turn, sit down). Their best language role model is you, so get talking!

 

Below is an example of an experience book. (just simply print out pictures and slip into plastic sheets).  It’s snack time!…”would you like more? more banana! peel the banana…” 

eat the banana

let’s clean up.

pull the wipe. pull, pull, pull.

now wipe, wipe, wipe.

all done!

get out.

Once it’s printed out the plan is to review it at our next snack time.

Repeating the same words.

 

Now check out the hearing blog for a variety of ideas.

golden

on February 1st, it was her first.

it was reese’s golden birthday.

 

(ok, so I am a tad late in posting her birthday. sorry. been a bit busy around here).

 

our little sweetheart from the beginning.

 

2.1.11 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

tonight as i sat playing with her i was so so happy she was a part of our world. in our family.

there is so much to love about our little girl.

 

has it really been 12 months since she came into our life?

i want to plead with her to slow down and stop getting big already!

 

 

reese is truly a delight!

 

her smile is infectious and so is her sweet spirit.

she makes the best 'i am so mad at you' faces, with no words just the sternest of looks.

and oh, how she loves to snuggle, especially with her dad.

it melts my heart watching the duo together.

 

she is on to bigger and better things discovering so much about the world outside her crib.

 

she’s also found the significance in using the finger.

 

“look mom, i picked a buggie”

“see it?”

“should I wipe it? or EAT it?”

“ok, you’re right. that was salty”

 

we're just savoring every moment with her,

fully aware that the firsts are a fleeting season in life…

 

(love the ruffles on the capri length leggings, don’t you?)

 

…and so the past 12 months in our family is changed for the better.

 

we laugh more.

 

we sleep less,

 

i have less (if any) discretionary time and shower less frequently.

 

but of course at the end of the day we love more deeply

with our reesy girl in our home.

 

 

happy birthday!

pinkolicious!

 

reese: 11 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

happy friday!

Her Story

Recently I had the opportunity to share Reese’s story with the podcast listeners from http://podcast.mommycast.com/.  You can listen by clicking on the link.

Sharing her story with others is therapeutic in so many ways.  For one,  getting the truth out there, talking about it and owning the disability is a huge step in the grieving process.  It is humbling too. Having a child with a serious disability is nothing you ever plan for, but always know deep in your heart with each pregnancy there could be a possibility that you could be one of the choice parents that gets to teach, love and support their child at a different rate and in different ways then other children. 

Even though it has its challenges, it is an incredible process to be apart of. A real miracle to witness first hand.

 

It wasn’t always easy to look for the brighter side of our situation.

When the news was first delivered, it was like someone or something had died. “Your daughter has a severe to profound hearing loss” is what they said in a quiet, hiding their eyes type of way. 

Pause.

Then nothing more.  (It was the cue to cry I suppose).  Not a “It may seem like a tough road ahead, but it will be okay, in fact it will be better then you ever dreamed". Those are the words that came from my mothers mouth later that day.  I am blessed to have a mother who has taught me how to overcome challenges, my hope is to pass that on.

Even though I had been through the same moment a few years ago with Alexander, it still felt like a jail sentence:

“I hereby sentence you to a year of trials as you attempt to keep hearing aids on your frustrated baby, help her digest the language she is barely getting through her aids and go through the exhausting process of receiving cochlear implants from a team of doctors an hour and a half away.  You will also be sentenced to years of therapy a couple of times a week where you will be taught how to be your child's therapist and greatest advocate.” 

The sentence must have been mitigated. It doesn’t feel as heavy of a burden anymore.

(I love this happy picture).

Now that she is 10-months-old and one cochlear implant into her journey, it seems far from a jail sentence, more of another exciting adventure to live for.  Everyday there is a new sound to listen to, a new noise babbled from her lips. 

Everyday is a celebration, another dream coming to reality.

Her sweet activation video:

It is true, that when you have a child (or two) who struggle it is the family that rallies behind them that gains the most from the experience. So far it has been an unforeseen gift that has helped our family mature together in ways we never imagined possible.

guilty pleasure

my guilty pleasure?

dressing reese to the nines. hat, tights, shoes and all.

it must be a baby girl thing, because I didn’t dote my boys around like they were a fashion accessory. 

it sure is fun!

at least for now.

check this dress out in all it’s pink-ness.

my husband refuses to hold her at church when she wears it because all the fluff is too much to wrestle with. i don’t blame him.

she learned this from her brothers.