One Year Ago Today...

...we were being ushered into PICU to see our little girl. Our little 4-month-old baby girl who had to have major skull surgery. "Craniosynostosis" they told us at our first meeting with a neurosurgeon in early December. Sagittal synostosis to be exact. We found ourselves on the journey of our lives, trying to navigate a new world of information & options for treatment of H's condition. One year later & I find myself in the same "posture of prayer," as one of my friends calls it. "May we never lose this posture of prayer" for our children, for our families, for our friends. I thank God for H's health, for her healing, for the blessing of BOTH of our children. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, I find myself assuming this posture of prayer even more. Every day is a gift. My brother & I were talking the other day about how our faith requires us to say yes to God in whatever it is He chooses to give us. That means blessings as well as the birth defects & the tragedies, trusting that there are no accidents, that all things ultimately point to his glory & his perfection. I clung to this a year ago & cling to this still today. I am eternally grateful to be on the other side of surgery having experienced a series of best-case-scenarios with H. We have so much to be grateful for. May we always sing Hallelujah whatever our joys & sorrows may be. In this Advent season of waiting and anticipation, I am reminded to be anticipating God's goodness, even if it doesn't feel like goodness every single moment. Here's a photo of L & H playing the piano together this fall. I'll post more photos soon. :)

Our baby is ONE!!

Happy birthday sweet baby girl! I can't believe you are one year old today. Where has this last year gone?? Your sweet spirit & ready laughs bring me such joy. And watching you walk, trying to run, is such fun! (Can't believe you started walking at 11 months old!) I don't know how you manage to eat as much as you do with only two teeth...it's remarkable but I am grateful! And your love for your big brother is about the sweetest thing I've ever seen. You just want to be near him, playing with him, laughing with him. You are an incredible little girl, full of adventure & an spirit of exploration. I am excited to see how you continue to grow. May we know how best to guide you & love you & correct you so that you thrive & become exactly who you were created to be. Happy birthday, my love.

Our Baby is THREE!!

I can't believe that L turned THREE yesterday! He is such a big boy. I looked through his baby pictures and love seeing him change into the big boy that he is. Yet he's still my baby!

9 Months Old!

It's hard to believe that H is already 9 months old! She is such a blast. She & L enjoy each other so very much. I stand amazed at how L can make her laugh...really belly laugh. She is crawling everywhere & is pulling herself up on anything and everything. She walks her way around furniture, even reaches from the couch to the coffee table, making a successful transition. We can't help but think she will be an early walker! At 9 months, she still doesn't have any teeth, though we swear she's going to pop the two bottom front ones out any day...but then again, we've thought that for the last 2 months! Earlier this week, one day before she turned 9 months, we drove to Cincy for her 5-mo post-op visit with the neurosurgeon. He remains really pleased with her progress and how she's healing. We don't go back again until early December. Then, if the "defect" is closing in her skull properly & to his satisfaction, he likely won't see us for another 18 months! When they weighed her for that visit, she broke 20 pounds (9.4 kg)! She is thriving. She has the most wonderful disposition. Words we have used to describe her: spirited, sweet, chill, tenacious, has a high tolerance for pain (hardly cries at all when she topples over), determined, social, fun-loving. She laughs easily, loves to play "crawl chase" with me & L, is a hearty eater, and wants to be wherever L is, playing with whatever he is has. We feel grateful to be blessed with two such wonderful, sweet kiddos. Being around them is such a joy.

3 Months Post-Op!

Last Monday, March 19, marked 3 months since H's surgery. That is really hard for me to believe! She continues to do really well. The doctor is very pleased with her progress too! She's a busy baby, trying to crawl & gaining more and more control of her body as she moves from laying on her belly to sitting up. Even though she technically can't crawl yet, she is definitely making her way around the room to L's toys! Here are some photos I took of her on her 3-month "cranioversary," what we moms of kids with craniosynostosis call our post-op anniversaries!

Siblings!

Do our two kiddos look related or is it just me?! My babies... (both at close to 6 months old)

Looking good!

Here's a photo of H 5 weeks post-op. She's a beauty!! Hard to believe that tomorrow marks 6 weeks since surgery. Thanks for all of your continued prayers & support.

Our 2-Week Follow Up

We just wanted to thank you all for praying for H yesterday as we drove to Cincinnati for her 2-week follow-up appointment with her surgeon, Dr. Crone. Dr. Crone was very pleased with her progress. Her incisions are healed & her head shape is developing nicely. They took out the one permanent stitch she had in her head. (The rest are dissolvable.)

He wants to see her again in 6 weeks and cleared us to go to Sanibel for these next couple of weeks. She just has to wear a sun hat outside! So we will head to Florida next week, probably Thursday.

Thank you all for your continued prayers over her & over us as a family. We are so grateful to have this behind us. We continue to pray for H’s full recovery & that she will not need any further surgery in the future.

Back to Cincy

Hi all,
We'd appreciate your thoughts & prayers tomorrow as we head back to Cincinnati for H's 2-week follow up appointment with the surgeon. We are not anticipating any problems...H seems to be recovering beautifully. But we hope that the doctor thinks so too!! Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks!
K+M+L+H