Three

Tomorrow my little girls turns three.  Yes.  Three.

And I can't imagine my life without her as she loves life! I love you, Nadezhda Grace.

Too Soon?

So, yesterday I posted that we were getting over a virus that hit our family like a ton of bricks - make that 4 tons since each of us got so sick.  

Well, Nadia decided that an encore performance was in order.

The doctor thought it very possible she had the flu and then perhaps even pneumonia.  Thankfully I report to you that she simply has a virus.  Granted this virus hit her quickly with high fevers including febrile seizures, but it is just a virus.

She worked hard for all those stickers, and then she wanted them on her back.

Her fever had risen again while at the doctor's office, so I got some extra snuggle time with my pooky little girl when we got home.

But it's amazing what a little camera can stimulate....

almost smiling...

...and there's my silly girl!

Miss Piggy had to get in on the movie watching time

Please pray that Nadia will recover quickly and that the rest of us will be spared this sickness.  Yesterday Nadia was particularly loving towards her brother, and today I was trying desperately to block her hacking cough from the other people around us.  You know, doing what moms do.

A New Year

This new year has already had its ups and downs.  We were blessed to be able to attend a respite retreat with The Elisha Foundation, which I hope to blog about some other time because there are so many wonderful things I could tell you.  

And then we hit a "down", which I'm happy to say we are coming out or up from or whatever sounds good.

Never have all 4 of us been sick at the same time, and I hope that it doesn't happen again any time soon.  Thankfully it wasn't the flu, though it certainly felt like it.  

You might not have received a Christmas card from us, but Thomas posted this picture of us on facebook, sending his "Flu Season Greetings".

All 4 of us at the doctor for the kids

Granted I got some extra snuggle time with my kiddos, which I enjoyed, but it was hard to see them so miserable, as every parent can attest.

Now we are thanking God for bringing us out of that sickness and praying for health for a long stretch to come!  I pray that our family and friends are able to avoid the horrible viruses going around this season!

And my next post should have less pathetic pictures, though the kids still manage to be beautiful.

Pictures of Gratitude Day 29

Biscuits.  They're yummy!  They remind me of all kinds of wonderful things and people.  I like to make them, even though I can't make them as well as other people.

And I'm not the only one who enjoys them....

Pictures of Gratitude Day 28

My little girl.  There are not enough words to describe Nadia.  She's energetic beyond belief, loving, energetic, happy, energetic, thoughtful, energetic, protective of her brother, energetic....

You recognize a pattern here?  I love you, Nadia.

Pictures of Gratitude Day 21

I think that Nadia and I can agree that we are thankful for chocolate.

Pictures of Gratitude - Day 16

I'm thankful my little girl has her own ideas of what's "her thing" as she sleeps curled up with her baseball.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This Trick is a Treat

It's started raining.  Just about every day.  For my active little girl this poses a bit of a challenge for expending energy.  Enter, fascination with somersaults:

It goes something like this:

"Sumsult, Mommy!"

"Help, Mommy!  Mommy, Mommy, help!"

At which point I put the camera down and help her complete the flip.  She's already in the first position before I can pick up the camera to capture the look of joy and pride, and we begin again.

What's New With Nadia....

We got these on Saturday, these cute little girlie braces. Her stance is already narrower as she's been getting used to
them.

Another Video

I just can't help myself.  Her expressions are too cute to keep to myself; I don't want to be selfish...

Update on Nadia

I haven't posted about Nadia here recently, other than the video to show how active she is even when she goes "night night".

She's due an update, and today is a really good day to give one.

First the big news:  Everything is really fine.  Before Christmas Nadia started physical therapy because at 18 months, she still wasn't walking.  Isaiah's pt was kind enough to do an evaluation, which produced some strange results, so she referred us to a neurologist.  The neurologist recognized our last name, and squeezed Nadia into her very full schedule.

Here's the summary of what the doctor told us:

Doctor, is there anything degenerative? "No, no, no, triple no!"  Very comforting to our ears, of course.  The theory is that due to her premature birth, Nadia has had low tone in the past, which delayed her progress, and which is now improving.  We are checking out other causes, just in case.  So after seeing the doctor, Nadia got to have blood drawn, a real joy.  She also had an X-ray of her spine, just to make sure there were no deformities.

The blood work showed slightly elevated muscle enzymes, which the nurse told me were not high enough to be cause for concern, but they would probably check them again the next time she comes in. The X-ray of her spine showed a slight side curve near the very bottom, but so slight that it could be explained by the fact that Nadia wasn't lying still or straight on the table.  It took me and another tech to try to keep our little lady still - though thankfully she didn't cry during X-ray.  Again, that's something that can be checked at another visit.

We have an MRI scheduled for February 2, but if Nadia progresses satisfactorily before that time, we will cancel the MRI.  They are just stinkin' hard* to schedule, so we'd rather have it on the books in case we need it.  The MRI will look at brain development, naturally, looking specifically at myelin growth and her cerebellum.  Since Nadia seems to have balance issues, the doctor mentioned the cerebellum.  

So what do we do now?  We continue physical therapy and pray for her to start walking sooner rather than later!

Now here's some fun pictures of our very active, very funny, very hungry, very active, fun-loving, friendly, energetic, very active, banana-loving little girl.  Did I mention that she's very active?

I didn't know a child could love bananas this much.

One of our out-takes from Thanksgiving, taking family pictures has become quite a challenge!

Nadia was very proud of the cherry pie she made.  Oh, and one shoe on, one shoe off, is quite a common look for our fashionista.

I love to try to get pictures of my 2 kids together, but again, any picture with Nadia being still is not a guarantee!

Getting read for Christmas!

This girl has a healthy appetite!  She loved these apple turnovers, in case you were curious.

And she's fascinated with chairs.  She will push a chair to where I am so I can help her sit in it.

This is one of her favorite spots--by the window to watch the trains and play with the "busy block".

I just love this look

First time to make Christmas cookies

Everybody needs a messy pasta picture at some point in their life.

Enjoying the swing at Grandma and Grandaddy's over Christmas

She loves accessories, this little girl of ours

Christmas Day, getting ready for church, she had to have her hat.

Nadia, you will definitely keep me young with all your fun, energetic antics over the coming years.  I love you, and I love how much you  love your family.  You are so much fun!  I can't imagine life without you!

*That's for you, Aunt Vanessa :)

When Did This Happen?

I currently have a 16 month old.  No one is more surprised by this then I.  Somehow May became September.  Moving between countries probably has something to do with my memory failure, but here's what Nadia's been up to since she turned one year old.

Sometime between 13 and 14 months she learned to drink through a straw.  She's really proud of this accomplishment, and she has never looked back.




She likes to do whatever brother is doing (hence the drinking with a straw, I think).  They were both great helpers during my packing process.  I constantly found random treasures in our suitcases.

Photo shoots have become a bit more challenging with my lively little girl.  

Thankfully, brother was there to look out for her.

She regularly proved her attachment to Mama.  This is how I spent much of my time while packing.

Once back in the States, she enjoyed many firsts, and she kept on growing learning!

She enjoyed her first baseball games, including a game in Atlanta to watch the Braves!  She later mastered the tomahawk chop at a Mississippi Braves game.  As soon as I put the tomahawk in her hand she would wave it back and forth in perfect Braves form!

She started pulling up before we left Russia, but she has definitely perfected the skill, especially if brother is involved.  She wants to walk, but she's not quite confident enough to do it without holding on to someone or something.

I can hardly believe it, but I have a girly girl.  She LOVES to have a bow in her hair.

She's also become a poser.  This is her preferred "cheese" face.

While she still definitely really likes to be with Mama, I am thankful that she's feeling comfortable enough to go to and play with other people.  We all had a blast on Labor Day with friends!

Brother has started his homeschool preschool, and Sister has to be right in on all the fun, too!  She wasn't too sure about shaving cream, but thankfully she didn't eat any of it!

She was a big fan of the sandbox as we studied dirt.

Brother is definitely one of her favorite people!

She picked out this dress herself one Sunday.

She may be a girly girl, but she's not quite a lady, yet.

These tippy-toes always amaze me!  If she wants to reach something, she will reach it!

She's really good at climbing the stairs these days!

We enjoyed a day at the park recently (more to come on that later), and she had to do whatever Brother was doing.

This was a musical section of toys.  Do we have another musician in the family?

My beautiful 16-month-old...

Nadezhda, you are a hilarious, lively, entertaining, delightful little girl.  I love you.