God is in Control

I keep telling myself this every day, especially after yesterday.

Mara was seen at Children's Hospital yesterday for right facial palsy. If you look at any pictures of her crying hard, you can see that the right side of her lip does not open when she cries and her left side dips down. The cranial 7 nerve was damaged somehow and that has caused the paralysis (temporary?) of her face. We didn't tell many people because we didn't want anyone to worry excessively. She is doing very good and it is not impacting her eating or development that we know of. But...the neurologist has ordered a ton of testing to rule out how this may have happened and any other problems that may be associated with it. It may have happened during delivery from being in the birth canal too long, or from genetics or something else. The neurologist is a very thorough guy, so we are going to cardiology for an echo, ENT (ear, nose and throat docs), eye doctor, plastic surgeon, and a neuromuscular Doc, not to mention getting an MRI and chest x-ray done along with blood work (already done) and a developmental screening for in-home services. With this said, nerves do regenerate, but they take a long, long time and some may not regenerate at all.

Needless to say, this was all very hard for us to take in. It was like being thrown a curveball when you were expecting a gentle soccer kick or beach ball toss. But Mara did a great job with the blood draws and Trav took the rest of the day off to hang with her while I trudged back to work. As Trav said, 'we ate pizza (he did), we took out the trash (he did), we paid some bills (he did), we washed dishes (he did), we slept (they did).' I am jealous!!

I cannot reiterate enough, Samara is doing fine! She really is. Even with being so small, they are not worried, just thorough. But prayers for her continued health are needed. We believe that she will be healed from this but know that we have to be patient, and I am not good at that. I just keep thinking how kids might make fun of her when she is in school and it breaks my heart. "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."

On the happy side, she is rolling everywhere and won't stay still. She is gnawing at her hands every minute and working on reaching towards toys, all developmentally appropriate (there goes my social work-ese). She is laughing here and there, smiling tons, talks all the time (we had to hush her in church cause people were laughing), and is getting over her cold. All this in time for her 4-month-old shots next week! AAAHHH it never ends...

Not Fair

Things that aren't fair (insert 7-year-old whining noises here):

1) Mara got Trav and I sick.
2) My mom and sister Rachel are on the train right now heading to the Twins vs. White Sox game at the concrete Dome.
3) The Vikings might get Brett Favre at the END OF THIS PRIME.
4) Mara is still sick.
5) I have to work to make a living.
6) I am part Mexican but whiter than my Polish husband (sad during the summer).
7) My NEW Equinox had to go into the shop, with only 2500 miles, for new wheel bearings!

More later...Mara woke up... =o(

Sick Kid!

Poor Samara! She woke up at 1am Saturday sneezing and stuffed up with a fever, then the runs and coughing. So today we stayed home hoping she would get better, but things are getting worse. It is so hard to see her feeling so yucky, knowing there is nothing I can do. =( We are off to the Dr. tomorrow, so please pray that she gets better and doesn't develop anything worse!!

Mara's first county fair (and truck pull)

We went to the Racine County Fair last night to watch Uncle Nick in a truck pull. I don't know too much about this stuff, besides that some trucks are super loud and that Mara sleeps through it, even when I cover her ears. Anyway, we had a good time and left before the mosquitos came out to devour us.

PS: If you haven't notice, everyone is 'uncle' and 'aunt' even if not related. It is cuter that way!


Uncle Nick's truck.


Mara and I posing (she slept the entire time!).

My Toys

Mara had a chance to do lots of playing yesterday waiting for Daddy to come home. Mara was playing with what Trav calls the 'Psycho Duckie.' Anyway, she grabbed onto it for the first time and pulled it up to her mouth, also a first. Get the disinfectant ready, cause Mara is starting to gnaw on her toys!

Mara's vibrating butterfly, Fred.

The Psycho Duckie

Mara eating the Psycho Duckie.

Mara picking her nose after eating Psycho Duckie.

Mara pondering the picking of her nose.

Jump-a-roo!

What a great new gift Mara received from Uncle Chris and Aunt Meg! The rainforest jumparoo! Mara is a little young for it now, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying it! Thank you so much!

I love looking at my blue froggie!


You caught me not smiling! Try that again!


Now you got it right!!

Back to the grind

Work still bites, but to make the days bearable, Mara and I have lots of fun goofing around after I pick her up. Here are some pics and a video from the weekend and week of our little one.



Fresh and squeaky clean!



Chillin', watching TV (not a good sign!).



You and those glasses, Daddy!!



Hey! My hat finally fits!! Cool! I still look like a fisherman, so daddy says.




Mommy and I going for a walk. I don't think I am happy about it! Or maybe it is this ridiculous hat she makes me wear that makes me look like I have tails on the side of my head!

Our Weekend Update

We traveled to Alexandria for the Vickerman (Christi's paternal family) Family Reunion. We had a great time meeting many new faces, eating lots, playing and relaxing. Samara got to meet many people including her first local celebrity, Don Shelby, a close family friend. She mostly slept, but once she was at the lake, she was wide eyed and enjoyed watching the waves and feeling the wind. We took her for her first dip in the lake, but that didn't go over too well (insert screaming here).



Trav and Samara enjoying an after lunch nap.



My dad's cousin's wife, Pat, getting baby-holding practice in (her first grandchild is due in March!!!). By the way, what is my dad's-cousins-wife to me? No idea, so let's just call it auntie!!



L-R Top row: Leo, Roger and his wife Doris, Grandma Judy, Grandpa Archie (my stepmom and dad).
Bottom row: Gary, Pat and her husband Tom and Dorothy. Tom, Dorothy and Doris are siblings of Tom Sr., my grandpa's brother.



Trav and Samara hanging in the hotel room Sunday, spending quality daddy time before Daddy stayed back in MN for work =(



L-R Top row: Chad (son of Gary), Todd (son of Doris), Kris (daughter of Dorothy), Josh (son of Pat and Tom and expectant father!!) and Dawn (daughter of Doris).
Bottom row: me, Shannon (daughter of Pat and Tom) and Lane (son of Doris).

Travis in Action

This is delayed, but here is a link to video showing Trav in Action in Germany with the 70 meter pump.

http://www.putzmeister.com/about/video_library/index.cfm?v=5

You can watch the whole video and about 2/3 to 3/4 into it is Trav, or just fast forward through it. ENJOY!!

My new bath!

Mommy and Daddy finally got me a new bathtub, one that I can actually fit in. Now I will have fun getting clean! About time daddy and mommy!!!



My teething butterfly and my new cool bath: I love this!!



My cute self, so relaxed!



My new favorite thing to do, suck on my hand!



My sweet mohawk, courtesy of daddy!!

Long awaited pictures

Here you go:



Samara trying soooo hard to roll over, but getting stuck.



My flower garden of petunias and lillies (I learned all I know from 'Gardening for Dummies!')



Happy 3 month birthday Mara!! Trav got to play all day with Mara while Mommy was at the Danskin Triathlon. Not fair! =(



Mara and Daddy time at its best.




OOOHHH, dark!

Back to TX

Sorry for the delays in posting, but I haven't found much time to get on the computer without falling asleep!

We are well into our work/daycare routine now, but that doesn't mean I like it! Samara is doing well, but tends to sleep waaayyy too long at daycare and misses her feedings. Most of you know how important it is to keep her on her schedule so she sleeps through the night and so when she cries, we know exactly what is wrong. But, as I was informed, by WI State daycare licensing law, the daycare teachers can't wake a sleeping baby, not even to feed her! Irritating. Anyway, Mara continues to amaze us. She is working so hard to turn from her back to her front but doesn't know what to do with her arm that gets in the way. She is in love with her hands and is drooling much more now. We don't have another Dr. appt. until Aug. so we are hoping she is gaining weight, but I can't tell.

Trav got called out to TX again yesterday, so we are chillin' on our own, getting ready to head to MN this weekend for a family reunion on my dad's side. Should be fun and a nice getaway for us.

PS: Wasn't that Home Run Derby fun!!?!? Morneau won the derby and the All Star game! Go TWINS!!

More pics will be posted sometime soon....

WEATHER!

Well, our thunderstorms were not that bad, but my grandparents in MN just missed getting hit by a tornado. Trees are down, part of a silo was ripped off, but no injuries, thankfully! My mom was trying to drive home from southern MN but had to pull off so her car wouldn't get blown off of the road like the semi in front of her did!

Yesterday Trav again surprised us by taking an earlier flight home from Dallas! Samara loved that and enjoyed playing with him and smiling. We are so glad to have Daddy home!!!

Travis' Powerlifting

Trav has cracked the top 10! He is in the top 10 of Wisconsin's Push/Pull Powerlifting division after only one competition. Push/Pull includes bench press and deadlift together. Here's the link:

http://wendykay.org/WendyKay/MENSPPWITOP10.html

I am not sure what all the numbers mean, but the higher the coefficient, the better the lifter.

We had an especially difficult night last night. Mara was up every hour from 10:45pm on. I purposly didn't turn the air on last night in hopes that the house would cool down with all the windows open but it seems that maybe she was a bit too warm, although she didn't feel that way. Plus, when I went in this morning, her diaper had leaked a bit, too. Just not a good night for us! To make matters worse, she had a meltdown right before we were to leave for daycare, so we were late as I rocked her for a bit to try to calm her down. Luckily, her teacher said she fell asleep as soon as I left this morning. I have a feeling she is either going to sleep all day or have a rough day! Poor Mara!

Superwoman!

I got some fun pics of Samara eating her hands. She is really lovin' her hands and fingers now. She also loves to arch her back and 'fly' with her hands and feet!

Return to Work =(

So while Trav is off to Toronto, I have returned to work and Mara started daycare. Monday was especially hard but Mara seemed to do just fine. She had a good day of smiling at the teachers, rolling over, and having a good time. Almost makes me jealous! Anyway, the days don't get any easier with dropping her off with strangers, but she is only going to be there 6-7 hours/day for the first week or two. And I only call 5 times/day!!!

Happy July 4th!

We had a great weekend! Trav surprised us by taking us to the Sturtevant fireworks Thursday, but wouldn't tell us what we were doing. Friday we hung out and relaxed then went to Madison for the night to hang with some of Trav's friends for the fourth. The fireworks were way too loud for Samara, as they were being set off across the street from Trav's friends' house, so Samara and I went back to Grandpa and Grandma Nonn's (they were out of town) and relaxed. Saturday was a big day! We finally found the perfect car, err SUV, and brought it home. Anyway, the car is great! We actually have room for our stuff and our legs!

Today I am preparing to go back to work tomorow. I am absolutely dreading it, so we are saying a lot of prayers that I can hang in there and that Samara is safe.



Samara ready for the fireworks Thursday.



Here I am all wrapped up.



Trav cuddling with Mara at the fireworks.



Tred getting Samara ready for her first motorcycle ride. We couldn't find a helmet to fit her, so she had to stay back!

The Monster at the End of This Book

Trav had a fun night last night with Mara. They read together, played with stickers, took a bath and then she crashed for the night, not to wake until I woke her at 6:30am!! Thank you Trav!!



Mara and Trav enjoying their book.




"Oh, Daddy, that book is so funny!"



Mara with her new Chiquita Baby sticker.



The sticker on Mara's big bicep!

Milestones

Samara has found her hands! It is so fun to watch her play with them, suck on them, and use them to throw her nuk halfway across the house! She also uses them to keep her nuk in her mouth as best as she can. Unfortunately today she is extra crabby (not much good sleep last night) so no pics of said hands.

On another note, more great news. Besides having to prepare myself to go back to work, I get to spend this week trying to restore my identity, as someone in St Paul stole it! LOVELY! So I spent yesterday talking with the fraud dept. and the police and today talking with many other credit fraud depts., credit bureaus, and ripping my hair out while trying to calm Mara down! Why is it so hard to talk to an actual person from the credit bureaus?? Maybe it is because there really is no one there to talk to...

We are also in the midst of trying to buy a new SUV for me. Getting Samara in and out of my little, sporty, cute Cavalier is trying to say the least. Plus, it just turned 100,000 (that's 87,000 miles I put on since I bought it in Oct. 2005). Perfect timing: buy a new car, get my identity stolen. Lovin' that!