2012/04/24

Before And Now

Here is yet another milestone that my little CHARGEr has accomplished ahead of what was expected.

Walking.

Most kids with CHARGE dont' walk unassisted before age 5.  We were blessed enough to meet some amazing people here in Denton who among other things lent us their son's first walker.  It was SUPER tiny.  We had been having trouble finding one small enough.  Even ECI, who works with kids Birth to age 3 didn't have one small enough.  Emmeline took right off in it and hasn't stopped since.   Sadly I had plenty of videos of her walking in it but no pictures :(   So the before pictures are in a loner walker.  Either way they show just how tiny she was in it and how big she is now.  We just had to return the super tiny walker to the owner and it was really hard to let go.

Here is a video I took of her in her tiny walker.  It just goes to show that I wasn't in "enjoy my kid" mode but fully stuck in "medical mode".  Emmeline is cute either way.  For those of you wondering that foot thing straightened out on it's own.



The tongue helps with balance of course.




All grown up.  She got so excited when I brought the walker out.  Now she just picks is up and carries it or just hunches over.

Her "I AM smiling" face.


2012/04/21

A Little Rocking Out And Recycling

Sometimes a girl just needs to rock out!





I needed a filler gift for Josh on Christmas a few years ago.  I got him a shirt with a record player on it.  Apparently he didn't care for it much.  I liked it though so I was pretty happy when he pulled it out to go in the giveaway pile.  New shirt for me!  It was however to big to wear for a day to day shirt.  So I shrank it!  It turned out pretty well.  A bit snugger in certain areas then I wanted but after I drop my extra poundage it should be fine.
Before

 I am TERRIBLE at remembering to take pictures during projects so this is all I got.

 After.  I didn't have Isa to take my picture that time.


Directions can be found here

2012/04/19

Hurry, Before The Paintbrush Dries!

I have been in a real funk lately. It helps if I can find some type of manual labor to do. That way I can see something I have accomplished rather quickly. I get kind of boost. Well, I wasn't in the mood to really really clean and that is the only way I feel the boost. So...I decided to paint some furniture. Josh and I both really liked how the hutch turned out so I decided to do some other pieces to match.

First up: the side table
Before


After



Next: My hope Chest
Before



After



Then: our night stand
Before



After



Finally: the glider
I have no before picture. i forgot. I still have to make the new slip covers so I'll post an update then.


Some of them ended up better then others but I am pleased with all of them. Especially since I did them all over two days. I have also discovered that distressed black flat paint is SUPER hard to photograph so most of them ended up looking grey. oh well, rest assured they look better in person. I had to do them all in 2 days because I had to do all the pieces before the brush dried as this was an oil based paint and I didn't buy any paint thinner. Now for my nap.

2012/04/16

Regrets

Josh and I have really started to notice that Emmeline isn't a baby anymore. She is looking and acting more and more like a little girl every day. I have been looking back at all the things that have gotten her here. People and objects. I wanted to do some blog posts showing her with said objects in sort of a 'now and then' post. While looking back it hit me. I missed so much.
When Isa was little we documented everything. I have at least 4 pictures of every life event. Eating, sleeping, crawling, walking, running, riding etc. I never forgot the camera.
With Emmeline I was in pure survival mode. I was there for everything but honestly the camera was the farthest thing from my mind. Not only that but when I did think of bringing the camera my next thought was "there is no way I ever want to remember this point in my life". I was wallowing that much. At the time if felt never ending. Now that we have reached so many of those goals I am filled with regrets. Of not documenting her (and me) at our super low points. So that now I could look back and REALLY see our hard work. I am super proud of her (and me) for coming this far. I just wish I could accurately show you. Since I can't, for some, you will have to use your imagination. I will do my best to find approximates of what I post about so you wont have to really try hard. Because we worked HARD...and now I plan on bragging about it.

First her hearing aid. I know it isn't really showing her progress, other then growing but it is a big bench mark for me. New electronic toys.

This was what we got in her hearing aid care kit. A little more then this time but we never really used the extras anyway.


I'm bot as crazy about this picture, mostly because it REALLY shows her horn. Her cuteness makes up for it though I think. That first ear mold was SO tiny. I still have it.


Her new care kit. She LOVES that puppet and the bag is way cooler.

Her new hearing aid!! We chose purple this time. It's way easier to see when she pulls it off and throws it. Her current ear mold is clear but we just ordered her a dark pink one which will also help us find it. Believe it or not she can get it off even with both of the straps attached.


I love it! It comes with 2 very important upgrades. 1) it is water resistant! I am super excited about this one. I have fished Emmeline's hearing aid out of her mouth more then once. 2) it has a really cool feature that will adjust the amplification whens he goes into a loud room like a restaurant. I am really happy about that because she pulls her aid off all the time when we are in a crowd. I think she can tell a difference too. she is was more "talkative" at the store now. I think she was just overloaded before.

2012/04/02

Something New And Some Things Old

I got a new computer. My old one wasn't broken but it was sounding more and more like it might explode at any second. Plus Emmeline has been really wanting to use the computer. She plays on the one at the library and really enjoys it. So I have decided to look at this more like SHE got an upgrade as now she has her own computer to use.
Anyway, as we have been moving stuff over to the new computer I found a TON of pictures that Josh had on his computer that I have never seen. most of them are from last summer but very cute none the less so I have decided to post them anyway. I'm a sucker for cuteness.


Who can tell me what all these photos have in common?









Some beach park fun

Trying to stay out of the sun...and cuddle

She's brake dance fighting!


It's a peacock


Cuddle sisters