Busy

It seems like time keeps getting away from me with two little kids. I find myself having to be extremely purposeful with my time, otherwise I look over the day and wonder, where did the time go?

I know where it went today, the doctor's office. :) Calvin had his one year check up and he's doing fabulous. He has a slight cold (along with his Mama and Daddy) and so we waited on the shots this round. Mia also had a physical today because in a week and a half (Monday the 12th), we are planning on having her sedated for an MRI of her back and spine and her GI surgeon is also going to check whether there is still a tiny fistula (connection) between her intestines and vagina. Mia is doing great also.

She's adjusting very well to school and I'm just so thankful that she is in an AM preschool class. Her teacher is fabulous and just has such a heart for teaching. Even though Mia is the brightest in her class (her teacher's comment, not mine), she said that she would individualize Mia's instruction so that she would be challenged too. So grateful! It's so encouraging to know that there are great teachers, love it! Thank you God!

Change

Normally I don't like too much change, but I couldn't be more excited this time. Mia's preschool had an early AM class of 3 year olds that wasn't very full and so they decided to make it a 3/4 combo class and move some of the 4 year olds from the afternoon class. Well, they already knew how concerned I was with Mia, so they offered the AM class to her...needless to say, I was thrilled! I know we would have worked out afternoon preschool and she would have adjusted, but this just fits her needs so much better. Thank you Lord!

First Day Of School

Today was Mia's first day of school at her new school. It's going to be quite a transition for us because her class goes from 11:45-3:15...right in the middle of naptime. It sounds like she had a really good day at school, but she only got an hour nap after and so she's been real cranky this evening. Anyway, I was talking to her teacher and some administrators and I think we are going to start her off only a couple days a week and as she adjusts we can add more days to her schedule. So, just be praying for wisdom as we sort out what is best for her.

The Birthday Party

Yesterday was Calvin's first birthday and we had a little party for him.

A cake fit for a 1 year old boy!


The presents were under the birthday tree.

This frost is good!

It's not a box!

Is this how you do it?

Happy First Birthday Calvin!

Dearest Sonshine,

We can't believe it's been a year! And what a year it has been! You came into this world weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces, measuring 20 3/4 inches long...you are now 21 pounds and you measure 31 inches long, sissy better watch out because you are catching up!

You arrived at 2:55pm via c-section, but you didn't want to come out. You really liked being in Mama's tummy. Our doctor told us that every time she tried to get you out, you scooted further back in Mama's tummy. But out you finally came and what a sweet moment to hear that first cry and then to see you for the first time. It was then that we knew you were a Calvin.

Calvin David Sturm, you got your first name thanks to Cousin Bob (he suggested it at the family reunion) and your middle name is after your Grampapa. Oh do you like your Grampapa, he and you share a very special relationship. In fact, when Nana and Grampapa babysit, he's the one who gets to help you fall asleep at night.

You've accomplished so much this year! You've gone from just laying there, to rolling, to crawling, to standing...and now to walking. All in a year, you could say you've been busy! And you've gone from crying, to screeching (very zard like), to babbling the sweetest sounds...like dadadadada and uh oh. You now say "uh oh" when you drop your sippy cup on the floor.

It's been such a joy to watch you develop and grow. We noticed early on that you had your own interests that were so much different than your sissy's interests. You've always liked balls and wheels and just seeing how things work. Yesterday we put you in the bathtub (empty) to keep you out of trouble for a moment and you were happy to play with the drain stop, making it go up and down...you are a very curious boy.

We just feel so blessed. Thank you Lord for entrusting us with this sweet boy!

We love you Calvin!!
Mama and Daddy, Sissy and CincyCat

The Fair

We had alot of fun looking at the animals at the Palmdale fair. The best part was being able to get up close and personal with "Little Guy", Sam's sheep that she was showing at the fair. Mia loved petting all the animals, Calvin was really shy and scared of them. Oh and Calvin is now facing forward in his car seat...he really likes it!

Where Did The Summer Go?

I can't believe that school starts on Monday! We've been so busy this last week trying to get everything ready (not to mention we have a birthday to celebrate on Sunday!). The kids are doing great, I'm excited for Mia to be starting school again, I think it will be really good for her. We decided to go on one last excursion before the school year starts, so we will be heading out to Palmdale today to see Jarrett and family. Their kids are bringing their animals to the fair this weekend, so we'll get to go to their fair and it should be fun. Of course Daddy doesn't get to go...that makes us sad, but he's really busy now getting all his teachers ready for back to school on Monday anyway. We'll post some pictures when we get back from our adventure.

I'll Take The Heat Over Traffic

We had to go to LA yesterday and I hate driving in the traffic. I will take the heat from Bakersfield over the traffic from LA any day! It was a long day, but we got great news. Mia had an echo done of her heart and it looks the same as it always has, which is great. Her cardiologist told us we only have to see him once a year, unless something concerns us sooner. He was very happy with everything. We then saw Mia's neurologist and he is also very pleased with how well she is doing. We asked him about an MRI of her brain and he doesn't think we need to do one. Even though she'd be under anesthesia for other procedures, he doesn't think it is necessary to prolong the anesthesia to do an MRI of the brain, especially since it would take several hours to do that. So, we will wait on that. She's been seizure free for two years now, Praise God! We talked about weaning her off of her seizure meds, but he thinks that we should just let her wean naturally by her growing and the dosage being less for her body weight. I completely agreed with that and so that's where we are at. Praise God for great news!

Bye Bye

Calvin waved bye bye for the first time yesterday. I was waving my hand and then he copied me. It was very sweet. He also has been babbling a lot. He says, "dadadadada" all the time. It makes sense because Daddy is everyone's favorite. Daddy says that it makes up for Mia's first babbling of "mamamama" all the time. :)

The Dentist

Both Mia and Calvin had check ups at the dentist today. This was Calvin's first time to the dentist. He cried. But his teeth look great and it looks like his molars are almost in. Mia also cried. But her teeth are doing great also, it's a great visit when you don't have cavities! Mia's front tooth is loose though, her dentist thinks it happened when she fell this summer and hit her mouth real hard. He said there is really nothing we can do about it and she might lose it early. It's just good for us to be aware of it.

Calvin has been walking so much, today is the first day he's really gotten it. He'll now stand up and walk to get somewhere. Of course he still crawls quite a bit too, but he's definitely getting better at walking.

I was shocked to weigh Mia today and find out she's 27 1/2 pounds! The cream is working. I'm super excited that we are so close to my 28 pound goal and then I can start to cut back on the pediasure and cream and have her work on real foods first.

I looked at my calendar and couldn't believe it said August 7th. Where did the summer go? In two short weeks Mia will be back in school and everything will be different. I know that the schedule will sort itself out, but I can feel myself getting anxious trying to think how. The hardest part is that Mia's school will be from 11:30-3:00 and we don't have any flexibility in that. Right now that's right in the middle of naptime for both of them...just pray for me and for them, pray that it all works out.

In the meantime, we are going to enjoy our last two weeks of summer. :)

Stepping

Calvin has been taking steps for a few days now. He doesn't get far before he plops down, but he's definitely walking!

Today we saw Mia's GI doctor and he's happy that she's now 27 pounds. We discussed quite a few of our concerns. Mia is gaining weight because she's pretty much drinking her meals these days and he agreed that it is ok until we catch her up to her original growth curve (1 more pound), but then he'd like to see us do less liquids and more regular foods. She has some gagging problems where she'll end up losing her meal if she gets the food in the wrong spot in her mouth, so he's going to see about us seeing a feeding therapist down at another Children's Hospital in Orange County. He really likes their program and he's going to talk to them to see if it's worthwhile for us to go down there for a visit. Maybe they have some more insight on what's happening in her mouth and why she struggles so much with chewing her food and swallowing.

And then lastly, we discussed doing an MRI of Mia's back and spinal cord. I've joined an online group of other parents with kids who were born without an anal opening and in talking with them I've learned that it's not uncommon to have spinal issues along with not having an anal opening. She never had an MRI of her back done, so I think it might be in her best interest just to make sure nothing else is going on. We are also going to talk to our neurologist and see about getting an MRI of her brain also done at the same time because that's something he's always been interested in seeing, but hasn't had any justification to put her under to have it done. So, some potential things on the horizon for us.

Just so grateful that Mia is gaining weight and Calvin is right on target with his development. Thank you for continuing to pray!!! Praise God for all He has done!!!