Well we’re winding down from a blessed Holiday season. And wow was it hectic, but in a very fun way of course. We hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas & that you have a happy & healthy New Year too.
Not too much to report right now. Working on those December photos to show off, but in the meantime here are our little greetings from Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve. 🙂
Anyway I didn’t think ME was going to
handle it well at all because she told me "no" when I asked her if
she’d sit on Santa’s lap.
Well she went to sit on Santa’s lap
without a fight or even a flinch. However, she didn’t smile or even
move much. It was like she knew we really wanted her to sit there but she wasn’t totally loving it!
Drew of course slept the whole time. So, while there was no smiling
going on- at least there were NO TEARS!!!
Here are a few pics from today of them in their "Santa picture taking outfits" and with Santa!
We have much to be thankful or this thanksgiving…
Announcing the
birth of our son Andrew Scott Raia Jr. Born at 7:25am on thanksgiving
11/22/07, weighing 7lbs 3oz and measuring 19.5in.
He was born via C-Section due to failure to progress and since this was
a VBAC attempt induction was not really an option. Though all is well,
he is healthy, beautiful, and eating wonderful (breastfeeding). We are
currently in a private room with him overlooking the hudson river at
the hospital, and we couldn’t be more thankful.
We had lots of visitors including Mary Elizabeth of course who
absolutely loved her brother "Drew" as she says it very clearly and
proudly. She helped swaddle him, held him, patted him, and kissed him.
What a great big sister.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hope it was as special a day for you as it was for us! God Bless!
That’s right, Mary Elizabeth is officially 2 1/2 years old today. I am not sure where the time has gone or when she grew up into this little girl she is… but none-the-less it happened.
She may not go on the potty yet but she’s up to a lot of things….
She pretty much knows her colors, she knows some of her letters too- especially the letter M (ya know for Mommy and Mary Elizabeth!). She can string beads or make a pasta necklace well, follows directions and understands concepts like first we do this and then we do that. Her evaluations put her more towards a 3-year old level developmentally (despite speech/eating). She is a petite little thing weight approx 25 lbs and is 31 3/4 inches. She loves to play with her Mr. Potato Head, do craft projects with Grandma, bathe/dress her dolls and cuddle them, she likes to pretend to suction Mommy and put gauze on her belly (stuff we have to do to her), her favorite foods are ice cream, whip cream, chocolate, lolipops- oh wait that’s not really food- um peas, corn, soup, rice, pasta & meatballs, oh and definitely CHEESE! She seems to like things in multiples of 2 (sing 2 songs, read 2 books, bring 2 dolls in the car etc), She loves to Dance and though she has trouble with her speech she animates the song as if she’s singing, tossing her hands around and mouthing the words. She likes to play the drums with Daddy, she likes to be tickled and to tickle back. When 2 people are hugging, she has to join in and have a group hug. She can be very mushy and gives nuzzles, squeezy hugs, big kisses, and butterfly kisses too if she’s feeling lovely. She’s a toughie when she wants to be, she knows what she wants and can be stubborn- but mostly well behaved. She does expect attention and will get into things if you dare use the phone or ignore her in some way. She is loud when she talks and very expressive so though you may not know what she’s saying- you get the picture. She does use many words and if you are around her long enough you know what she’s saying- some are clearer than others though. When she leaves the house or you are leaving – she says bye about 10 times and blows kisses, just to make sure you know she cares.
She loves animals and thinks all of them want to be hugged & cuddled. She’s a great sleeper, though has a hard time falling asleep- she’ll stay in bed with her books/dolls and she never wants to wake up – the little sleepy head she is! She is very friendly and loves people- though prefers that she come to you -rather than you run to her and bombard her, it’s always on her terms. If she decides to play shy it’s only for about 2 minutes.
She delights everyone she comes across -even waitresses and cashiers when we are out, with her charm. She loves children and will do anything to join in on some playtime, loves to hold hands and run around with kids.
She does not like it when other kids are fresh or push/hit and will back away, I just don’t think she can understand why they are being that way as she tends to be a lover not a fighter 😉 She also is very compassionate if a person/child is crying, she will be very concerned! As we are in drs offices and hospitals a lot – she points out "boo-boo’s" in concern for those who have them. She loves to bow her head and fold her hand to pray at dinner with the family- she will definitely remind you if you forget!!! She is becoming more well-behaved in church as she goes on it seems and gets excited when we go up for communion and loves to have her Pastor pray over her! Anyway,
I could go on all day, but to know her is to love her and you just have to be around her a lot to appreciate her!
All in All- Andy and I are very blessed with this adorable, beautiful, wonderful child we had. She brings true joy in our lives and I’m sure in many others!
It’s hospital time all-around…
Last night I went to the hospital- no worries- just for a hospital tour! I was the only non-first-time mom
there. Kinda weird huh, but I was sent to a higher level NICU hospital
with ME, had no tour or anything and well everything is so different
that it’s almost like I’m experiencing it for the first time. So I had
the tour because I didn’t deliver there before or know where to go/what
to do exactly. It was exciting, and wow under a month away- so surreal.
I
do have to say it brought back memories of when ME was born and some
good memories and not so good ones, a reminder of how very far from
normal things were, ya know. We also visited the NICU area they have
there (without going in though) and I thought about all the moms inside who must be going through
a lot. Anyway, I was glad to be there on tour though- as I’m hopeful that all
will go well this time around and I feel blessed that things have gone well up to this point.
Also last night, Andy’s cousin Christine went into labor and gave birth this morning to baby Owen. He was exactly 2 weeks late so she was pretty anxious to have him. We’re excited to meet him and from the pictures he’s adorable and precious. He came into the world this morning at 8:25am weight 9 1/2 lbs and was 22 inches long. Big beautiful boy! 🙂
Then, on the not so fun side of things- we were at the
hospital in the city today. ME was going for Dental xrays and some dental
work (done while under anesthesia). This is no minor type of dental work. Her teeth were rotting away from the build up that pools under her tongue and the lack of saliva she has due to her condition. It was inevitable she’d have problems and her teeth were rotting, especially on the bottom. So the result was 3 pulled baby teeth, 2 baby root canals, 2 silver caps put on, and some bonding/filling on the top. Basically her top teeth look good and are doing ok, and the bottom were just awful. So 3 in the bottom front are gone, and then one on each side toward the back has a big silver cap. So her bottom row doesn’t look too pretty right now. And while that is sad & unfortunate and makes us upset- we know it’s for the best as we do not want her future teeth compromised. And she could’ve gotten infections and whatnot.
Her dentist is a specialist of course, and he is one of the sweetest Doctors we’ve come across, it was obvious he cared very much about doing his best for Mary Elizabeth. He was happy to report that the xrays showed that her adult teeth are nicely aligned and under the gums so all should be ok for the future with that and that’s what matters.
For now, the only extra step we have is a fluoride rub to put on her teeth twice a week which we will do continually to keep her teeth as healthy as they possibly can be.
That’s pretty much it for hospitals now…. well until baby #2 wants to come out and be welcomed into the world – which is coming soon I’m sure as I’m over 36 weeks pregnant (less than a month left to go!)
