December 31

Christmas morning. 

Me: it’s too early to go downstairs. We can’t go down before 5. What time is it?

Amy: 4:45

Me: (laughing and laughing some more)

By 5:30 we were down stairs and by 7:30 we were done with Christmas morning. Naps and lunch were completed by 11:30.

One morning, Sarah was watching a show while Grandpa was in another room. She ran in to tell him that a character on the show was eating cheerios. How awesome that she wanted so much to share this information with him that she would get up in the middle of the show and find him and use his name and look at him to tell him this! As with so many things, we now take such beautiful social connection from Sarah for granted, but it really was something that we never knew for sure would happen. While I break it into parts for description’s sake, it often comes quite naturally and easily to her at this point for her to use a person’s name, look at them, and tell them something. It isn’t that she is thinking of what thing she needs to do next, it is just how she is. And sometimes such connection is seemingly impossible, which is why it is still notable when it happens.

Carl and Amy were building a lego structure on Christmas morning and Sarah joined them, becoming very excited about building the striped awning. For those of you who have walked with her anywhere you know her love of striped awnings and that she points them out everywhere all the time.

The girls received the Waterworks card game and Carl and Sarah were going to play. Sarah was very disappointed when she found out it was a card game rather than something with real pipes and water. Being his amazing self, Carl took her to Lowe’s and they came back with the works (ahem).

I am now completely off my headache medications and so far so good in terms of no actual major headaches, though the meds have probably only just left my system. I do still get whispers and I expect that may be how things are for a while. The most exciting aspect of this change is that I am now allowed to have grapefruit! I am still riding through the waves of panic, especially if I wake up in the middle of the night for any reason. I am worried both about the headaches returning and about then feeling stupid for coming off the meds too soon. Perhaps I could consider only worrying about the headaches. 

So many people have been expressing their dislike of 2016 as a whole. There are certainly things I wish I could change, but I just can’t actually feel mad at the year. From my perspective for our family, it has been an incredibly wonderful year. A year ago at around this time we were dealing with daily poop accidents that were interfering with Sarah’s schooling and the general joy of everyone in the family. We found out she was super impacted through her intestines and we fixed that. We are still certainly facing food questions about how to get her system fully, healthily functional so she doesn’t need miralax, but our daily life is so much better. Sarah finished kindergarten and we found her school for first grade. After months of worrying and feeling like the right school just didn’t exist, we found the right school, thanks to word of mouth and people being wonderful. She is thriving. She loves taking the school van. We started vision therapy and it seems to be the right thing to do. We have continued to be blessed by the time, attention, expertise, and love of all of the people in her life, from her volunteers to her sitters to her OT to her gymnastics teachers. Amy finished preschool and started kindergarten at a wonderful school in walking distance from our home, a school where we get to see a friend/sitter every day so I felt sure from day 1 that there was someone who loved her right there in the building. Amy is thriving, reading, writing, and loving school. She drew a picture of herself at school and wrote that it was her favorite place. Carl loves his work. I love my work and have gotten to do more teaching than in previous years. With every class I become a better teacher and massage therapist. My headache situation got so prolonged that it got my attention in a new way which led me to connecting with my wonderful Jenny-Rise MT. I found a place to volunteer giving free pregnancy massages to women who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them. It feels like the perfect fit. We survived transitioning from having Sonia with us full-time to having her move into other jobs and to having me take over running things without as much help. We have had wonderful visits with friends and family. I read good books. I stopped reading not-good books before finishing them. I still love Zumba. Life is just good. Hiccups, speed-bumps, panic, worry, self-doubt, uncertainty, mistakes and mis-steps all present, it is still good. There were so many wonderful things that I know I am forgetting to mention lots of them! There are many incredibly wonderful and loving people in the world. I am blessed to know all of you.