Never a dull moment

So Lily is 19 months old today. She is a mover and a shaker. She goes at life full throttle, head forward and running at full steam. It is hard to believe that she is a heart patient, even more so that she underwent major heart surgery. I have a cousin that went through heart surgery as a little one. My mom swears they put in wiggle juice then, and she says that Lily just proves that cardiothoracic surgeons use permanent wiggle juice on all their patients. The only time she is still is when she is deep asleep. When she is napping or in a light sleep she is all over that bed, and occasionally cries out. She is doing much better about sleeping in her own bed and not waking up screaming in the middle of the night. She is still missing a few of her teeth, especially on the bottom, but it doesn't stop her from eating, even crunchy apples. She loves fruit, pasta, but her favorite is COOKIES! She loves her Nilla wafers. She can even say the word cookie, very clearly and cries when we close the pantry doors so that she can't reach the box or point to it. Speaking of the pantry, if the doors are open Lily thinks it is snack time(even if she just got up from a meal.)
Lily is also a talker. We thought we were in the clear. Grace has talked from the moment she first opened her eyes.(we are still waiting on her to shut up). Lily started off slow, but was not to be outdone by her sister so she talks, over and above everyone. Her favorite thing to do is talk to Mickey during Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I have heard her say oh toodles right along with Minnie. She also uses words such as peas(please), tatoo(thank you), Ceecee(Gracie), Baby(doll or an actual baby), p baby(Grace's lovey Pink Baby), git down(get down usually from a meal) BALL(always with emphasis), duck, quack, Diddy(daddy), Papa, Mamaw, and on occasion she says Mommy.
Lily is a constant reminder of the blessings of children, she makes us laugh as she develops her own personality.
Grace is finishing her Kindergarten year and loving it. Unfortunately she missed her first in house field trip yesterday. She has had a lot of trouble with her allergies this spring. They put her on a prescription antihistamine, a prescription nose spray and eye drops. Yesterday morning the allergies, along with the bus ride and her high gag reflex got the best of her. As she was sitting in bus duty yesterday morning she vomited all over herself, the cafeteria table and the floor. As I got to work yesterday my cell phone rang, letting me know I had to come pick her up. Once I got there she seemed fine. She even asked if we could go to Wendy's for lunch. She spent the day at home eating, toast, pasta, and anything else that I would let her. She wanted to stay home and rest today, but no way was I putting up with that. So off to school she went and I haven't heard from her since.
So here is to a restful weekend that will as usual be filled with activity. Have a good one!

What is the message?

OK, so I have been reading lots of blogs lately written by women like me who have suffered a loss. I also picked up the book I was given by a friend of a friend who suffers from a congenital heart disorder. I don't know why I am deliberately depressing myself. I am also trying not to get to stressed out about next school year. This is the time of year that things start changing, and I do NOT like change. So with all the things running around in my head, I have tried to find the quiet moments.
Today I took Grace to the pediatrician to see about her allergies. She has been miserable since the pollen count is astronomical here in Atlanta. She has red, itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing her head off and coughing occasionally too. As I was signing her in I happened to look at the name right above hers.....
It was a child named Brendan Daniel.........it took my breath away and I couldn't remember what I was doing. Then I looked in the next column to see what I was supposed to write, birthday. The child checked in above Grace was not only similar in name to my little angel but his birthday was my Brendan's angel day only he was two years older.

Now I know someone was trying to get a message to me. I am just trying to figure out what it is...................................................
Any thoughts, please let me know.

Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea?

You guessed it I am SURE! It is that lovable? SPONGEBOB!

Yesterday we went to Auburn to help celebrate Taylor turning four. A good time was had by all and in true Edwards fashion there was way too much food. Taylor's big surprise of the day was Spongebob actually showing up at the party. T and his friends would come up and dance with him a little and then run back to the playground. Lily loved all the balls, bubbles and the slide. Grace made a friend with a new Lily who was also six. Mommy and Daddy came home full, very tired and sneezing. The pollen was the only drawback to the party outside. There was beautiful weather, a fun location and again lots of food.

The best part was opening presents. All the other four year olds would tell Taylor to open their present, it's a ............. Then they would want to take it out of the box and play with it for him. So funny!

Lily and Grace both ate the entire ride home. Mommy's bag of snacks was empty after less than an hour and we had to stop at Steak and Shake to get food for both girls. I guess playing outside all afternoon makes a girl hungry. Now to get ready for school and work and in the meantime clean a car seat after a messy dinner and diaper!

On my spring break I ........

What a whirlwind of a spring break. It is hard to believe that it is already Friday. We started off the week at Grandma Suzanne's for Easter sunday. There was egg dying, egg finding, good food and lots of fun. Lily napped on the way home she was so worn out and full of macaroni and cheese and cookie.

On Monday, Grace attended a swim camp for the morning. She had a blast but was bored all afternoon with mommy and Lily and wishing for some fun and friends. Both girls helped mommy water the neighbors new lawn. We saw our 3 year old neighbor catch and sling a lizard around in our front yard and played with our outside toys. The pollen count was so high, it meant zyrtec and baths for everyone.

Tuesday was a beautiful day. Mommy had lots of early errands to run and medicines to drop off. We started with a trip to Dunkin donuts for lots of chocolate donuts and a blueberry donut for Lily. (I need to remember that blueberry causes green poop, so as not to be frightened by unsuspecting people at diaper change.) Granma Suzanne and Papa came over to help mommy work in the yard. 2000+ pollen count, bad for allergies, lots of bees; but Papa and I braved it, cutting bushes, spreading straw and trying to get ready for spring. Grace's friend came to play in the afternoon and they had lots of fun, dressing up, playing barbies, eating donuts and playing with playdough.

Wednesday went by quickly too. Grace went to swim camp again and was very tired this time. So we had a relaxing afternoon of making brownies and watching movies.

Thursday was the big day, SHOPPING. The girls got their spring, summer and fall wardrobe for the year. Grace got mostly dresses(surprised?), Lily got lots of cute shorts, pjs and some bathing suits. Grace was in desperate need of warm weather clothes that fit, she has grown 3 inches since last summer. Lily really only needed the pjs and bathing suits, but she is going to be the shopper of the family. She loves to look at all the clothes and pick them up. Grandma and Papa took us up to the outlets for some deals. We even helped pick out clothes for cousin Taylor. Unfotunately one shop left the security tag on a dress and one of the shirts we bought a jewel fell off already. So back up there I will have to go. Oh well. Lily had her first Cracker Barrel experience and LOVED it. She had a scrambled egg, some bacon, and Papa shared his macaroni and cheese. Grace did ok, she ate some chicken but loved the double chocolate coca-cola cake.

Which brings us to today. Not much going on. The Hughes are back so we hope to play with them today. I have to work tomorrow morning and then it is the T-man's birthday party. At the beginning of the week I thought it was going to be a very long week, especially on Monday when Grace kept telling me how BORED she was. Now it seems to have flown by.

I hope you all had a good break this spring. Let us know what you did.........

Peter Rabbit, Peter Rabbit

Today was the big play! Grace was one of the narrators for her kindergarten class play. She has been practicing for about a month. Everyday she would say, I need to remember to slow down and speak clearly. She did a great job, even if the microphone wasn't working optimally. She not only knew her part but everyone elses too. She could have directed, acted and narrated the whole thing today. She even physically moved someone during the play. She is such her mother's child, a perfectionist to the end. She was jumping for joy with excitement when she saw Mommy, Grandma, Lily and then Daddy and Papa. She made sure to smile for all the cameras and got in some good hugs with her friends. Her first question upon opening her eyes this morning was "Mommy what if I get stage fright?" (Um, you have been stage a bazillion times for dance recitals, preschool performances and put on shows with your best friend down the street daily....)"You won't sweetie, you will do great." "Ok, can I watch tv?"(crisis averted)

The next crisis was over the required dress for the play. Her teacher got the blame for this one. me - "Grace, you have to wear the kakhi pants that we borrowed from your best friend and the white shirt, your teacher even wrote it on the homework."

grace- "I don't like wearing pants, they make me itch"(I'm thinking of another word that rhymes with itch but starts with a b)

me - "Ok wear the pants and the shirt and you can wear this cute sweater over it and take it off to put on the special shirt that you made for the play."

grace - "Can I put it back on after the play?"

me- "Yes" grace- "ok"

(This is pretty much every morning after Grace gets up, a battle to the door over clothes, food, lunch, and anything else she can whine about.)

Daddy was nervous for her. She did great, smiled, sang, spoke clearly for the most part. I know this is probably the first of many performances for Grace. I am so glad that she is happy in Kindergarten, she loves learning, reading and math. It is hard to believe that in two short months that she will be graduating to first grade. I hope she continues to love school and make great friendships.

18 months

Lily had her half birthday yesterday. She celebrated by only taking a 40 minute nap and going to bed on time only to get in bed with us at 11:30.

Today she had her 18 month appointment and about a five minute nap in the doctor's office. She officially weighed in at 23 pounds and 5 ounces and is a little over 30 inches tall. She hasn't gained much since her last doctors appointment at almost 16 months. Mommy was able to convince the doctor that her prevacid needed to be upped after more than a year at the same dose, and that Lily has allergies and needs help in the form of an antihistamine. Small victories. They keep asking me about her words, most of them end with a long e sound and are hard to decipher without looking at the hand motions or the surrounding environment. She clearly says ball, daddy, sissy or Gacie, and Mama(only when necessary). If you are looking at her she will say please with the hand motion(sounds like peas with a swipe across her chest), tv with the remote and Mickey, also with the remote(sounds like tv, but if the tv is already on she is telling you to put on her show). She is starting to say book and likes to sit on your lap before bed time to read.

Lily loves to color, she uses every crayon in the box to make her mark on the world, this includes paper, tables floors, herself, basically anything the crayon will mark on. (She holds a crayon better than her 6 year old sister.) She is a mover and a shaker. She moves toys, furniture, clothing and anything she can lift to various locations throughout the house. She also likes to shake any and everything she can from shoes to her booty.

Lily has a lot of milestones coming up before her second birthday, like her 1st and 2nd plane trips, two different beaches, swim team with sister, pool days, working with mommy and finishing up her first year in preschool. Stay tuned for future posts.

special giveaway

I read a lot of blogs. Some that are listed to the side and some that I find through those posted to the side. I identify with many of them for several reasons. It is a great network of moms out there. Each is unique and special. My only hope is that no one goes through anything alone. That being said, losing a child can be very lonely. One of the blogs that I read, along with another blogger and jewelry artisan have put together a necklace memorializing those special losses. They are giving away two of these special necklaces. So head over to the artisans site and leave a comment and maybe you will win one. I hope I do. Here is the link to the special necklace. Take care!