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Clara learned a new game today! We were out at Target, and she learned that if she picks up something form the cart and drops it on the floor, Mommy bends down to retrieve it! What endless fun! We spent at least ten minutes playing dropsy while she giggled... and giggled... and giggled!
Last night Evan said prayers before dinner, as he usually does, but he altered it just a bit! His prayer went like this, "Dear God, thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Clara... and Evan, who likes to play with Daddy's sharp things. And please make sure Clara has lots of Nuks." SO SWEET! I guess it's kind of rude to laugh while someone is in the middle of a prayer, but I just couldn't help myself!
Well, we just celebrated my 33rd birthday. Ethan's been joking all week about how I'm turning 37. Hardy har har... I guess that's what I get for being older than him (but only by a month!). He made a delicious dinner for me of lemon/wine/garlic scallops over spinach with rice pilaf. Ahhh... I love me a man that can cook! It's just unfortunate that it took him over an hour to cook the meal, but then all the scallops were gobbled up in under 5 minutes! I was quite impressed with Evan, though -- he actually ate most of his scallops! How many 3-year-olds actually eat scallops, I wonder?
This weekend we're taking him to Hershey Park to see the Imagination Movers in concert. He's going to go absolutely NUTS!!! He he! We're really looking forward to it! Clara seems to be rather empathic... whenever Evan cries, she starts crying too. It's a different cry than any of her other cries... her little mouth turns down and she pouts and whimpers. It's so sweet but so sad at the same time!
Well, I was just watching one of those baby-being-born shows on TLC called "Birth Day," and Clara was sleeping peacefully in her bassinet. Wouldn't you know... as soon as the baby was born on the show and started wailing, Clara woke up and started crying her little sympathy cry. I felt bad for little Clara... I didn't mean to disturb her... she just can't stand to hear someone cry! What a sweetheart! Well, Clara is finally starting to outgrow her newborn outfits! I think she's in a growth spurt, actually. She's been nursing like crazy and seems to be "chunking up!" She's got arm-rolls now -- too cute!
She's also starting to become really aware of the world around her, which makes me VERY happy! She graces us with huge grins when she plays -- her smiles light up my world! She smiles a lot when I sing to her, and she's got a lot to say. Most of what she says sounds like "Ah-goog" and "gurgle" to me, but I'm sure she knows what she's talking about! We are really enjoying our family and looking forward to warm weather! Last night I was complaining about the demands of nursing, and Ethan replied, "Well, at least you never have to look at your boob and question whether it's still good or whether you've let it sit out too long!" HAHA!
There are some phrases that one only hears uttered in a house with a toddler. Last night I was sitting on the sofa, playing with Clara, and Evan was helping his daddy in the kitchen. All of a sudden I heard Ethan shout, "Stop! If you lick my leg you won't be able to ride it!"
Well, Clara's umbilical cord stump finally fell off last night! It's been over a month! Now she can have a real bath, instead of those lousy sponge baths she hates. Of course, Ethan had to play the comedian. His comment was "Well, now we can't return her... her tag came off."
Clara is our little miracle baby! She arrived on December 17th, 2009 via planned c-section. She was taken early because my health was deteriorating -- I had preeclampsia and they felt it was risky to wait. Clara had a bit of a rough start -- when she was born she was having difficulty breathing and she was turning gray, so the doctors whisked her away to the nursery for evaluation. Over the next few hours the news got worse and worse -- first they thought she just had fluid in her lungs, and then they discovered that her lungs weren't working properly and were underdeveloped. Her body had failed to make a chemical called Surfactin... it allows the air sacs to inflate properly and deliver oxygen to the blood.
By evening the head nurse of the NICU came to our room to tell us that Clara had been sedated and intubated... she had a tube down her throat delivering synthetic Surfactin to her lungs. We were told that she was very sick and her condition was quite serious; they were hoping the treatment would work, but they weren't sure how it would go. We began calling our pastor, friends, and family to ask for prayer for our baby girl. It was quite a rough night. God heard our prayers, though, for the next morning we received news that Clara had turned a corner in the night and was doing better. Though not completely out of the woods yet, she had responded extremely well to the Surfactin and was able to have the breathing tube removed. She was still hooked up to IVs, and she had tubes and wires running everywhere, but she was no longer sedated and she looked quite a bit better than the night before. Over the next week Clara continued to improve tremendously. The doctors had originally predicted that she would need to be sedated for an extended period of time and that she would need several treatments of Surfactin, but she improved faster than anyone had expected. In fact, when it was time to come get her and bring her home, the doctors said that they couldn't believe how fast her recovery had been. We are so thankful to God for answering our prayers and healing our baby girl! Clara was able to come home the day before Christmas Eve, so we had her home with us for Christmas. She was the best Christmas present ever! Since then, she has been growing and thriving here at home. She is healthy and bringing lots of joy to our family! Clara's still teeny-tiny... she still fits in preemie clothes and the smallest diapers... but we're sure that one day she'll be big enough to wrestle with her big brother! Clara is our little miracle baby, and we are so grateful! |
AuthorJenn -- married to Ethan and proud mommy of Evan and Clara! Archives |