Where's Charlotte?

Happenings.

We are doing well, and apologize for the lack of updates. A month or so ago I wrote about how I thought life couldn't get any crazier...well, it did. We are officially homeless. We closed on our house last week and are currently living with my parents. We have been frantically searching for a house for the past couple months and unfortunately are still looking. It is a buyers market, this should be easy, right? We are looking in a very specific area which makes our search hard. The one thing dictating the location of our future home is school district. We have done extensive research and visited many schools in the area searching out the best possible school for not only Charlotte, but my older two children as well. We are very lucky to live in an area where there are an abundance of great schools. However, I don't want a great school, I wanted the best. So, yes, this would be easy if we would be open to different districts, however, as stressful as life is right now, we aren't willing to settle for the one reason we decided to move in the first place. We are confident something will come up soon....at least this is what I tell myself!

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Charlotte is doing well. She has had a bit of a fever the past few days, and been a bit ornery; I am thinking she may finally be getting that first tooth?!? Only time will tell!

She had her 1-year well check. She is currently about 17.5 pounds (5th percentile) and 28.5 inches (35 percentile)...putting her in about the 3rd percentile for BMI. Tiny lil' thing. Overall, she is perfectly healthy and doing everything she is supposed to be doing.

She is even closer to hands and knees crawling. She will now go about five feet or so before she resorts to her tummy crawl. She is also getting better at her new trick of pulling up on things, the couch is a bit high for my petite girl, but she loves to show us this new trick on the side of the bathtub.

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We had a fantastic father's day weekend. A great cookout on Saturday night with some new friends, and a laid back Sunday with family at my parent's house. The kids were excited to give Mike his new baseball glove, as now that we are living on 2 acres, their new favorite pass time is throwing the ball around with dad. My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this past weekend as well...40 years and still madly in love, what an accomplishment?!?!

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I finally found my camera; it had been packed away in a bin. I promise to be better with posting pictures. Here are a few; the benefits of living with my parent's include being 5 minutes from my older brother's house, so the kids are able to see their cousins a lot.



Charlotte is obsessed with grabbing faces. You have to be careful, she has been known to draw blood!




Best dad ever.



Happy mid-week everyone!



*Bear with me as I play around with the format of the blog...I am still learning, and it isn't the way I would like it yet, but I am confident it will get there eventually!

Bedtime rebel

Charlotte often resists bedtime. She would rather watch the late night news.



Apparently she wanted to know what was going on with Congressman Weiner.



I am glad that at 1 year-old she is already very worldly.

(Disclaimer: this was the night before we moved, we don't really let her watch TV like that!)

One.

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

My parents surprised me this past weekend at my girl's party and had the poem I wrote for her birthday put to music. They contacted good friend and singer/songwriter David Roth to create "Charlotte's song". Then, my brother put the song to pictures. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Dear Charlotte

Dear Charlotte,

On the eve of your first birthday, I wanted to write you in hopes of someday, when you are old enough, you will read this letter and understand what the past year with you has meant. No fancy pictures or videos, just a letter, explaining exactly how I feel.

I have struggled with the best way to put into words what I want to say. I could sit and reiterate every second of your birth and the days following it; however due to no fault of yours or mine (dang crappy hospital!), the only good thing that came out of the those few days was you. As I sit and recall exactly where I was a year ago, I can vividly remember every detail of those days. I try, when thinking about it, to concentrate on the feelings I had the first time I saw you and the excitement that me, your daddy, and your brother and sister felt when you were born. You were and always will be a welcome addition to our family, and it is so hard to imagine our lives without you in it.

I guess, the main purpose of this letter is to thank you. Thank you for being you. Thank you for opening my eyes to things I never knew existed. Thank you for making me a more compassionate, less judgmental, more patient person. Thank you for teaching me to slow down and enjoy every moment. 

It is amazing to me how you, one tiny human being, can have such an impact in only one year on this earth.  Imagine what you will do in the years to come? Keep it up my dear. Do what you do best; inspire others to be better people, and along the way, make sure to dream big and achieve all you desire.

Tomorrow, at 4:05PM you will be one.  One year, such a milestone in your little life. You did it my dear girl, you made it. Two surgeries, tons of doctors appointments, blood draws, therapy, and all the other crap that you have endured. You have handled it all with more determination and grace than most adults could have.

As I type this, I am watching you play with your brother on the floor next to me. I have tears in my eyes, as I reflect on this past year, and I have joy in my heart as I watch you climb all over your brother, both of you giggling. You have such a special relationship with Katherine and Will; I look forward to watching it grow in the years to come.

Yes my dear, your extra chromosome has and will bring some extra challenges to our lives. Fortunately, after this past year, I know that we can handle what ever challenges come our way....together. And though at times we may feel that life isn't fair and we shouldn't have to endure such hardship, we will quickly remind ourselves that it is all about prospective, and those tough times will pass. And when those times pass, the good times in our lives will seem all that more joyous.

Your brother just informed me that you need a diaper change (his nose is stellar!), and even though today is my birthday, neither of your siblings seem to want to attempt to change you for me, so I need to wrap this up :-).

Last year I received the best birthday gift....you, the gift never stops giving. Thank you baby girl, thank you.

I love you,
Mommy

A great party, indeed.

The party was a hit.The birthday girl had a blast, as did the rest of us.



Some say "why go to the trouble of throwing a huge party for a 1-year old? she won't even remember it!"



Let me tell you, even though we were celebrating Charlotte's birthday, the party was for all of us. For Mike and I, who endured some of the most stressful moments of our lives this year. For Katherine and Will for putting up with multiple baby-sitters and being shuttled here and there during all of Charlotte's doctor appointments, therapy, and hospital stays.



For our parents, siblings, family, and friends for all the support and prayers this year.



True, Charlotte will not remember this party. But she will be able to see the pictures and video when she is older, and be able to experience the same feelings of love and support that we felt this past weekend.



The decorations were beautiful, thanks to Kate and her creative mind. The sno kone machine was a huge hit, and Charlotte even had a chance at the bounce house (which she loved).



We are lucky.



Charlotte also enjoyed her cupcake. She ate the whole thing, savoring every bite.



And despite the hot and humid weather, she was all smiles most of the day.



Her favorite part of the gift opening was the tissue paper...



We are so grateful to our family and friends. Thank you for sharing this day with us.



Charlotte will be one of the best dressed 1-year olds this summer!



We are hopeful that Charlotte's 2nd year on this earth will be much less eventful than her first.



A special thank you to Kate and Bill for their hospitality, the party was da bomb, we truly appreciate all you do for us. (The kids especially loved the mule rides this year)



This is going to be a hard party to top, though anytime unlimited sno-kones are involved, my kids will be thrilled.


At the end of the party, I was a bit sad, knowing the day I had looked forward to for almost a year was coming to an end...



but I knew that I am in a much better place now, then I was a year ago. I am looking forward to whatever this year has in store for us...





Happy Birthday baby girl, mama loves you so very much!

*Stay tuned for a special birthday post this Thursday ;-)

She was right.

The day after Charlotte was born, driving home from the hospital, I was on the phone crying uncontrollably. I was trying to make sense of the words the pediatrician had just spoken to us, "I think your daughter has Down syndrome." The voice on the other end of the line, also shaky from tears, said "I don't know what these next few days, weeks, even months will bring, but I do know one thing. Next year at this time we will be celebrating Charlotte's first birthday, and I know that everything will be okay."

Tomorrow is party day. We spent the day preparing....



Pinatas are filled,





Cupcakes are decorated,



Decorations are hung,



We are ready. More than ready. Bring on the celebration!

And guess what? She was right. We are okay. More than okay. Life is good.

Kate was right.

Wordless Wednesday