I had one of those moments this morning with Avery when I just wanted to press the pause button on my life and keep things this way forever. It was a simple thing, but one of those life moments that are so special and precious that you, the parent, know how valuable it is. She's been doing really well lately on mimicking sounds and she makes an attempt at pretty much any word you ask her to say. This is huge progress from even the summer and we are so excited.
She has recently found it funny to repeat sounds or exclamations such as "oh yeah!' or a silly laugh, snort or noise. I did one of these laughs this morning and she kept repeating it, followed by giving me an eskimo kiss, which she also just learned to do. She let out big belly laughs and gave me those huge, Avery smiles each time I made the noise, and she tried her hardest to match it. Then she would play with my hair and rub my face, because she loves when I say, "mama's hair, mama's face." I'm sure many parents understand this feeling - when your child learns something new, and is so proud of it that they want to do it over and over. Plus, I got the feeling that she was so happy to play a game and get full attention from her mommy, since that isn't always the case with a new sister around. This back-and-forth exchange was so simple when you compare it to most kids, but to me, it's a big deal. It shows she sees, she is learning to mimic sounds, and she's cognitively more developed. This reaction to my funny laugh will probably come from Lucy when she's 12 months old, and Avery is approaching 4 years in April. This is why these moments are so very precious and I have a celebration inside each time they happen. Because we worked so very hard and waited so very long to get here.
I just had to include this entry so I could look back some day when things are bad, and remind myself of this special moment.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
Secret Santas
As this blog serves as documentation of Avery's journey, we have to include a HUGE surprise our family got this Christmas. Our dear friend, Jen Satchell is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She's always thinking of us and Avery; for every single surgery or major appointment that she had this year, I received an encouraging text message from Jen, which is truly the best thing anyone could do for us. She did not stop there, though! She let us know a few weeks ago that her team at work "adopts" families each year for Christmas, and she had not only nominated us, but we were chosen. We didn't really know what to say - we were so touched and speechless, actually. Our family and friends have done so many generous things for us since Avery was born. We always say that we don't need anything but their good thoughts, prayers, and the occasional call to let us know they are there. Regardless, we've been gifted with meals, had our lawn and snow taken care of, our dog cared for, toys and books for Avery, flowers, money toward college, medical expenses and even for our cord blood banking (just to name a few!) We are so appreciative of everyone's kindness and generosity, even though we think it's too much! Our way to return the favor is to continually look for ways to help others, including all of the dear people in our lives, if they ever are in need. We never thought we'd be in the position of caring for a child with chronic medical conditions, and even though we could handle everything without a single act of kindness, it definitely makes the hard times easier when you know you have such an amazing support system.
This Christmas, the support system included a team of wonderful people from Flagstar, who have never met us, but wanted to help us anyway. For that, we cannot be more grateful. On the evening of December 18th, we were surprised with several boxes of gifts for our family. I told Jen that I felt like we were on Ellen or something. We are still blown away and it only reminds us to stay positive, and to continue to help others in every way we can. Because everyone is going through something and everyone needs to know that they have people out there who care about them.
Thank you again to the team at Flagstar, and especially to Jen. I've included a video of our girls saying thank you as well! We wish you a happy, healthy new year!
Love,
The Devereuxs
This Christmas, the support system included a team of wonderful people from Flagstar, who have never met us, but wanted to help us anyway. For that, we cannot be more grateful. On the evening of December 18th, we were surprised with several boxes of gifts for our family. I told Jen that I felt like we were on Ellen or something. We are still blown away and it only reminds us to stay positive, and to continue to help others in every way we can. Because everyone is going through something and everyone needs to know that they have people out there who care about them.
Thank you again to the team at Flagstar, and especially to Jen. I've included a video of our girls saying thank you as well! We wish you a happy, healthy new year!
Love,
The Devereuxs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)