Monday, August 31, 2009

Dance class sign ups

Today after work I took Gillian to register for dance class. Gillian was too young for dance class last year but I thought it was something she would enjoy. My Mom takes my niece to dance class so she started bringing Gillian so she could see it what went on and Gillian can be extremely shy so hopefully it would help her adapt. All summer long we have discussed dance class started in the fall. So I had told her this morning when I got home we were going to sign her up and she would start in about a month. First thing when I got home was, “Mommy we have to go get my dance bag and sign me up.” So I rushed to get changed and get everything in order and off we went to the dance studio. We met up with my Mom there who was signing up my niece. We went in and picked out a purple dance bag, purple dance outfit, tap shoes (my favorite) and ballet shoes. While we did this Gillian would dance around something she truly loves to do. I don’t know what it was about watching her….I could have cried tears of joy. To think that my daughter born at 1lb 12ozes is starting dance class in less than 4 weeks truly amazes me. I never doubted she would be survive; I did have my doubts that she would escape without some sort of issue from her prematurity. So far nothing, we are so lucky. I’m saving the pictures for the 1st day of class when she will be wearing the outfit and the shoes. I’m sure that day I'll be a little emotional too.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Potty Trained!!!

So back on July 16th I posted that Gillian was back in pull ups full time because of her refusal to poop on the potty. I’m proud to announce that she has not had an accident for two weeks today. Only dry diapers for the past two weeks and much excitement about using the potty. I think we are finally there! Gillian was told today when she left daycare that on Monday she will be back in big girl underwear at daycare. She is so excited and we are so excited and proud. The only sad part which I have been denying for awhile is she isn’t a baby anymore. There are perks to being out of the baby stage like she can tell us what she is thinking, when she doesn’t feel good and now we hopefully are done with diapers (major perk). But there are moments I miss, the smell of fresh baby clothes out of the drier, the bottle feedings with just Gillian and I and the snuggling with Gillian in the recliner. I know we all grow up and there are tons of adventures for Gillian and us to experience. She is growing up so fast that I’m not sure how the time is passing so quickly. I’m sure it is the same for every parent but I feel like if I blink she is going to be going to college. Let's really hope that isn't the case:)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Our little helper

Gillian loves being the helper. Whether it is dinner, baking or yard work, she wants to put in her share to finish the project. Sometimes it can be frustrating especially if we are in a hurry but overall it makes me proud that she wants to be involved and help with tasks that we wouldn’t normally ask of her. So I got some shots of her helping with the yard work...

Gillian getting ready for her yard work tasks....
Gillian supervising Craig pooper scooping...lol


And her favorite task - copilot of the riding lawn mower!


Saturday, August 22, 2009

Extraordinary

Craig and I went to a wedding today for his cousin Rachael (I have mentioned her in a previous post) and it was a lot of fun. Sometimes it is nice to be with only adults every once in a while. It was an outside ceremony and it looked like it was a lot of work. It was beautiful. Gillian was with Grammie Brooks, Grumpie Brooks and Emma for the night and although she was not at the wedding, everyone asks about her. And of course I don’t mind chatting about how wonderful she is. One of Craig’s Aunts was asking how everything was going with her developmental delays and how much she has grown up and I filled her in on how she has no developmental delays anymore and how tall she is getting and the funny things she is saying to Craig and I these days and I made the comment, “She is a normal 3 year old child now.” His Aunt sat for a moment and she said, “It’s not that she is a normal 3 year old, it’s that she is an extraordinary 3 year old because she went above odds to survive and has gone above odds to catch up.” This statement has stuck in my mind since she said it and I have to agree that my child is definitely extraordinary…

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

Pool

Yet another 90 degree day and the pool is where we all wanted to be. The pool was actually 76 degrees which is the warmest I think it has been in the 6 years that we have lived here. Craig and I immediately jumped in. Whoever put up our pool did a very poor job and with how little we normally get to use it, we have yet to fix it. It is an above ground pool and the deck that is build off of it is about 6 inches above the actual pool, the deck is above the filter area so we can’t put stairs into the pool so we have separate stairs that go over the side of the pool. I will have to take a picture because I don’t know if my description really does it justice. Anyway, normally Gillian sits on the deck because she thinks the water is too cold and watches us swim. So I came up with the idea of her sitting on the stairs that go in the pool so she could touch the water. She thought this was great. She was splashing her feet in the water and actually interacting with us instead of just watching. So I convinced her to start trying to go down the stairs a bit and that the water wasn’t as cold as it normally is. I helped her learn how to turn herself around and go down the steps which she was brave and made it all the way down the 3rd step which went up to her chest. Craig and I saw this as a complete success. But the best was yet to come. So Gillian started playing with our alligator thermometer and felt that it made the perfect magic wand. So after much time spent splashing the alligator in the water, it was magically. When she screamed magic Craig turned into a rock and sank to the bottom of the pool. After numerous times doing this she was really starting to get into it and was waving her arms all over screaming magic. So Craig was under water and I was watching Gillian just amazed at how excited she was and she is waving her arms and waves right off the ladder and to the bottom of the pool she goes. I immediately grab her and bring her out and start laughing. I knew there was no way she was hurt and I knew if I laughed she would calm faster and she did…she started laughing. Poor Craig missed the entire thing and I kicked him so he knew he wasn’t a rock anymore. It is the best thing that could have happened…She now wants to go in the pool; she think s the pool is great. I have some pictures of Gillian finally enjoying the pool…






Sunday, August 16, 2009

NICU Grad Party

My Mom and I took Gillian to the NICU Grad party at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Craig had to work and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it alone. It’s Gillian’s day so I wanted to make sure she made it there. We went shopping before because it is time to start looking for fall and winter clothes so all day we discussed the ferry aka big boat and going to the farm. I had explained to Gillian that we were going to the farm for a party in her honor so doctors and nurses that took care of her when she was sick could see she was big and healthy now. Gillian understands when I talk about her being sick from pictures she has seen of herself when she was a baby. Gillian had a blast at the party, she left her hand print which they were making a poster for outside the NICU, she played in corn, she enjoyed the petting zoo.

It was much different this time than the last time we went to the Grad party two years ago. There were less kids, only 1 nurse we knew, none of the other kids were there that had been in the NICU with Gillian…I found that kind of sad (I had been hoping for a reunion). I was happy to see more healthy kids, last time it seemed there were so many kids with disabilities but two years later there were very few….that I was very happy about. It was different, I kind of felt like we didn’t fit in anymore. I know we will always be part of the NICU family but my little preemie is growing up.

This picture was taken during the petting zoo; I wish I had waited 2 seconds because the sheep decided to find out if Gillian’s hair was appetizing.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Santa's Workshop















We took Gillian to Great Escape and Magic Forrest in early July and she had so much fun. Craig's parents had mentioned wanting to take Gillian to Santa's Workshop so today was the day. Gillian, Grammie Miner and Grampie Miner had a blast! They rode rides, fed animals, ate ice cream and watched shows. It was definitely a memorable experience for all of them...






Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Loving Life

I hate going to work everyday…most people do. I drop my daughter off at a daycare that I absolutely adore. I feel she is safe and learning so much there. Then I go and put my 8 hours in and when I get in my car to drive home I look forward to walking in the front door and hearing - “Mama’s home!” Love that sound. Over dinner, I talk to Gillian about her day and of course I talk to Craig. Craig had mowed the lawn today and I hate when there are grass clippings still on the lawn so after dinner it was outside to rake the lawn for me. While I raked, Craig and Gillian played catch and Gillian pedaled her tricycle for the first time up and down the driveway…wish that I had had my camera outside at that point to catch it. Very exciting stuff! After catch Craig and Gillian started picking up the piles of grass. After that Gillian, Craig and I worked underneath the bush from Saturday again trying to get that cleaned up. Finally Gillian went for a ride on the lawn mower. She usually runs in the opposite direction away from the mower but when you see the pictures, she obviously learned that she was missing out on some amazing fun. Then we watered the plants, went for a walk and time for bed! It was a fabulous day!





Sunday, August 2, 2009

Joys of Summer

So we actually had a nice day on Saturday. It was 85 degrees, probably the nicest day we have had all summer. Gillian and I set out to do yard work. There is a bush almost right outside our front door that is very over grown. I have been saying for years that we need to get rid of it all together. But I had a change of heart and decided that I needed to try to trim it back. So Gillian and I got all dressed and headed outside. I’m not a skilled outdoorsman…I actually try to avoid all things outside. So it was a slow start and by the end I was filthy. I know I have taught Gillian to be like me because at one point I was under the bush pulling out weeds and Gillian was standing behind me yelling – “Mom you are getting dirty! And your hair is getting stuck in the bush!” She was totally disgusted but it made me laugh.

Then last night I wanted to introduce Gillian to SMores. I remember when I was young we had a fire pit in the yard and we would sit around and roast marshmallows. I enjoyed it as a child so I thought Gillian might like it as well. She liked roasting the marshmallows but Craig and I ate them. We even gave one to Pooh but she was not impressed either. Maybe it is an acquired taste or something in the next couple years she will grow into…either way she had fun and we had a bit of family time.