We love CHKD!

On Saturday, October 25th, Emma and mommy went to an open house for Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD) in Virginia Beach. Although the hospital itself is located in Norfolk, a beautiful new clinic opened in Virginia Beach and Carrie and Angie, Emma's angelic feeding therapists, invited us to come. Although I thought we'd just show up, say hello and leave, the open house turned out to be quite an event with live entertainment, a snack tent, petting zoo, free car seat checks, raffles and prizes, balloons, and a tour of the entire facility for those who were interested. So we stayed for awhile. Emma had a great time visiting her therapists, playing on the toys in the physical therapy area, meeting the golden retriever used for "pet therapy," watching the dancers on stage, enjoying some free snacks, and just generally walking around like she owned the place.

Another VERY important reason I wanted to attend the open house was because Emma is a model. It's true! After we finished our 30-second TV spot at CHKD's telethon in June, Joy, the PR director, asked us if we would consent to allowing Emma to be photographed for artwork to put up in the new clinic. Of course we agreed, and her "photo shoot" took place that afternoon. Chris and I received a copy of the picture they selected in the mail several months ago (as well as the final, edited copy made with Photoshop) and I wanted to be sure to see it in real life. Sure enough, Emma's picture was hanging at the end of a long row of pictures in the therapy department and...of course she looked adorable! While on the tour, we even had a few hospital employees stop us and ask why Emma looked so familiar.

And to my surprise, Emma's job as a rep for CHKD continued. While we were touring the building, Emma's picture was requested again (for what, I'm not sure) so she was allowed to play in the ball pit - an "off-limits-to-the-public" part of the physical therapy department. Finally, as we were getting ready to leave, we ran into Joy who asked us if we'd be willing to be interviewed by a local TV station about our thoughts on the new facility. Emma is SUCH a rock star - please, please - no more press. She'll sign autographs when she learns to write! :)




Mommy, Angie, Emma, and Carrie - we LOVE her therapists!




Fun on the slide - check out that gleeful expression!




Lovin the therapy dog!




Our little supermodel

October

Emma and I spent the first week of October in Ohio with family and had a wonderful time. Mommy was able to enjoy a (kid-free!) girls lunch out, Emma spent nearly every day playing with her cousins and was doted on by all her grandparents. We were even able to attend a family birthday party and fall outing to a local farm, events we normally have to miss out on. It was a blessing to be home while daddy was away!

Daddy's boat pulled in on October 9th, and we waited at the pier anxiously for him to disembark. Many plans and helicopters were flying over the base while we waited and Emma kept pointing to each one saying, "plane!" or "airplane noise!" or "copter!" Planes are her newest obsession these days. She also would yell "Daddy!" at every man who walked past us wearing a flight suit. I had to keep telling her, "No no honey. That's not daddy." But finally, daddy arrived and our reunion was sweet, as usual.

On October 11th, Emma attended the 3rd birthday party of a little girl named Regina, daugher of some friends we knew in Anacortes. The party was held at a place called Kangaroo Jac's, a kid mecca full of inflatable bouncy toys, slides, tunnels, etc. Emma stunned Chris and I as well as many bystanders with her fearlessness. She wanted to play and was not afraid to try even the tallest slides. She's so little that she looked like a missle being launched out of a cannon, but would shriek with glee after flying down each slide. At this same party last year, she had just gotten out of the hospital, was still catching every little bug and sickness, and had lost a great deal of weight. She also was still 100% tube-fed and I marveled at how much has changed in a year as I watched her sit at the table and eat pizza with all the other kids. She's happiest being around big groups of people and thrives when around other kids.

Just yesterday (the 22nd), Emma and I waited for an hour and a half at the dealer while having our car worked on. She ran all over the waiting room, approaching each person (she particularly loves old men - "grandpas" as she calls them) and saying, "up! up!" She wanted everyone in the room to hold her, read her the books I'd brought, watch her dance, etc. I'm not sure when to start instiling stranger anxiety into her, but she charmed and entertained the entire room.

What is Emma like these days? She's amazing. She speaks in 2-3 word sentences and is quite easy to understand. She loves airplanes, books, and going to the park. She's always loved to swing, but the slides are slowly becoming her favorite...both climbing UP and going down. She loves our dog and cat and has even started calling the kitty "stinky rat" like we do. Every day when Chris gets home from work, she runs to the front door yelling, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" She is discovering the joy of climbing and crawled up onto our higher-than-average couch unassisted for the first time yesterday. She is also DONE with crawling on the steps and is DETERMINED to walk up and down like a big girl (although still needs to hold onto something). She's full of life, loves people, and just this morning finally weighed in at over 20 pounds (20 lbs, 4.5 oz, to be exact). She is the joy of our lives.

Climbing UP the slide...one of Emma's favorite pastimes

Emma in the corn-filled covered wagon at Pigeon Roost Farm

Dinner with Mema and the cousins

Watching Dora before bedtime with Grandpa

Playing on the slide with cousin Elise

At Kangaroo Jac's - Emma was 0bsessed with driving the car

September

September was filled with a variety of small, but fun events. My parents visited during the last week of August and after seeing how much work was still left to finish on our house, my dad offered to stay and help. We were not about to say no.

Zack Tate, A friend of ours from Anacortes, spent his last 5 days before a 7-month deployment at our house. Because his family is still in Pensacola, FL and will remain there until he returns, Zack needed a place to crash during his last few days of freedom. He also helped with a few house projects. It was a real blessing to have so much help!

Our new windows finally arrived! After months and MONTHS of fighting with the window company (it's a LOOOOOOONG story), the windows that we ordered and paid for in June were finally installed. What a blessing to be able to open the windows and enjoy a breeze on nice days!

On September 11th, Emma returned to the feeding clinic for another weigh-in. This time, she'd only gained about half of what they were hoping for although she is still developing quite normally. Elaine told me that we could probably lose the feeding tube since it had been so long since we'd used it, but I said I would feel more comfortable with 1 more weigh-in. She gave me many ideas on how to add fat and calories to Emma's meals, and I have been faithfully following her instructions for fattening Emma up ever since. Our next appointment is November 19th and regardless of her gain, Chris and I feel quite comfortable moving forward with taking Emma's tube OUT OUT OUT. She is eating like a champ! We are done with that G tube!

Chris left for a month at sea on September 16th. I decided that it would be a perfect time for Emma and I to return to Ohio and take advantage of the waning time that we have to live within driving distance of our families. But before we could leave, we had to show up for Emma's appointment with CHKD's NICU follow-up clinic on September 25th, an appointment that we had to wait 6 months for. The appointment was nearly 2 hours long, but Emma passed all her developmental tests with flying colors! She even surprised me by doing a few things that I didn't think she could do! When the testing was over and the neonatologist came in to see her, he declared that she'd tested so well he didn't see a need for continued follow-up. We were officially discharged that afternoon, and Emma received a onesie and baseball cap as a little graduation present! Another incredible milestone for her and reason for Chris and I to praise God! We left for Ohio the next morning and Emma (and our dog) were angels during the looooong 12-hour drive.

Stay tuned for October...

Emma discovered mommy's old sunglasses.

She walked around the house saying, "Cool, cool." all morning!

Playing in the Children's Garden at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Our past 3 months...starting with August

Hello all! Has it really been 3 months since I've blogged? How in the world did that happen? My sincerest apologies. There's much to tell, but since I'm trying to avoid writing the world's longest blog entry, I've decided to fill y'all in via a series of shorter blogs. Pretend it's actually the month I'm blogging about and you'll be reading the blog entries I should have been writing all along...

August - two major events occurred that are worth blogging about. First, on August 14th, Emma's 18-month birthday, Emma "graduated" from the Virginia Beach Early Intervention program, the program that provided her with physical therapy services for the past 12 months. Although she had no idea what was going on, it was a really special day for Chris and I. The EI program holds a "graduation" ceremony each August for the kids who are being discharged and their families. This year's ceremony was held at 3:30PM at a church out near the oceanfront. The ladies who led the music at the EI-sponsored music classes led the kiddos in some silly songs and a few speakers spoke, doing a good job of keeping their comments brief since many members of the audience were under the age of 3. Afterwards, the mayor of Virginia Beach took a picture with each family and gave all the "graduates" a signed copy of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" When it was our turn to meet her, she chatted with Emma then turned to us and said, "You guys are doing a great job with her." It was really special. We said goodbye to Debbie, Emma's case worker, and a few other families we'd met along the way. Chris decided to take all of us out for Italian food to celebrate, and we finished the evening with some family time on the beach. It was the perfect end to a wonderful day and we were so happy for and proud of our little peanut.



Emma strolling along the beach with daddy




Mommy and Emma




My favorite picture of our family this year!


The second August event worth mentioning is that CHKD (Norfolk's Children's Hospital) invited our family to be a "featured" family in this December's radiothon. As a result, I was asked to come to a local radio station's studio on August 19th to make a recording of Emma's story that was a bit more in-depth than the 30 seconds were given during June's tel-a-thon. When I got up that morning, I knew it would be a big day. For me, shairng Emma's story is cathartic - I feel as though talking it through provides healing to my heart, little by little. Emma and I arrived at the radio station on time and met Joy, a member of CHKD's PR department, in the lobby. Eventually, the DJ came and introduced himself to me, telling me a bit more about the protocol for making the recording. He concluded by saying, "...and if you start to cry at any time, just go with it. It's not a problem. It brings some realness and emotion into the story for the listeners." My main focus was on trying to share the story in its entirety without being too wordy, yet without leaving out any relevant details. AND...if an opporutnity arose, I was hoping to say a few words about our faith and how we feel God has worked in Emma's life. People will let you say anything when you're sharing about a sick child, so I didn't want to miss an opportunity the Lord might be providing! It would not have gone better. As I was sharing, I felt distinctly as though my words were being blessed. The DJ was in awe of certain things that I shared and kept asking for more clarification. I managed to avoid crying until the very end, when I was reading a quote I found on a blog written by another mom whose daughter also had feeding issues. Nothing I've read more accurately describes what it's like to finally see your child begin to eat, and I cried when I read it. When I finished, the DJ was wiping his own tears away. Afterwards, Joy promised me that we would be given a copy of the final recording, and that it would be available to listen to online during the radiothon December 10th - 13th. When I find out more details, I will let all of you know how you can hear it for yourselves, if interested. Stay tuned!

And that's it for August!