Friday, March 27, 2009
Just an update...
She is also smart as a whip! She is doing things that are well advanced for her age. She is using 3 word sentences, while 2 word sentences is where she should be right now. One of the cutest things she says, which she hears me say all the time, is "I don't know". Its so stinkin' cute to hear her say it. This week she started saying "What is that?". She has said it three times this week when she hears something new or sees something strange. She is also very good at telling us what she wants. When she starts to melt-down, you can tell her to use her words, and she will think about it, then pick the words to tell you what it is she is whining about or frustrated with. Smart girl. Also, she can stack blocks 6-8 high--while usually at this age they can only stack blocks 2-4 high. She is a very good problem solver, too. If she wants something on the counter, she will push a chair over to the counter and climb up on it to get what she wants...all the while never asking for it! Its like if she just asked, I would give it to her, but in her head she would rather try to get it herself! See what I mean about how smart she is?
She is also already using scissors to cut paper, and easily able to maneuver twisting tops off of containers. Ms. Gloria says that Sarah's fine motor skills are greatly advanced for her age. She is actually doing things at Ms. Gloria's that the older 3 year old kids are not able to do yet.
In other Sarah news, she has finally gained a little more weight, and weighs a whopping 23 pounds! (This is still VERY small for her age). But seriously, she eats a ton! She eats two breakfasts every day, one with me and another when she goes to Ms. Gloria's. She also eats two lunches a day, once with all the kids around 12, and a second one before taking a nap. She has a snack when she wakes from her nap, another snack when she gets home, and then eats a full dinner with me and Stephen. Then, before she goes to bed, she will eat again. Usually its a bowl of cereal, string cheese, soup, or bite-bites. I mean, that child can eat!!! Where is she putting all of it? I'm happy that she is a good eater, and I'm also happy that she is on the small side for a child. She is still in 18 months pants, but for shirts she is wearing a 2T (she is tall for her age, too).
This week, Sarah has been totally interested in her puzzles. She will do each one twice, the second time I think to prove to herself she has mastered all the pieces. I swear every night she does at least 4 puzzles. She also is finally letting me read some different books than her favorites. She will pick random books for me to read, which I think is GREAT! I mean, you can only read a book so many times before you know all the words and seriously begin to hate it!
So, thats my Sarah update. :) I'll try to post some pics soon!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Another Sarah injury
Friday was my furlough day, so I was home with mom and Sarah for a fun-filled sunny day. We spent the morning lounging around, waiting for the stores to open at 10am so I could get some errands out of the way. Sarah was in a great mood...until it happened. The IT I am referring to is Sarah falling off of her changing table, and hitting her face (mouth) on the corner of her dresser. Ouch! There was a LOT of blood, but not so much crying. Sarah only cried for about 10 minutes, then settled down pretty quickly. Blood was all over me and her. She wanted to be in mommy's lap and watch her favorite show, Caillou. After about 15 minutes of this, I lifted her lip to look at the damage. I immediately started crying when I saw how bad it actually was. I told mom we had to leave, had to take Sarah to Childrens Healthcare immediately. I had no idea how bad it was, but I wanted to be safe and go ahead and have her looked at by a doctor. To me, it was bad enough that I cried at just looking at it. Her gums were bloody and black and blue. Her not-brushed teeth were coated with blood. It was so sad.
Once we got to CHOA, they took us back immediately, because apparently a mouth injury needs to be seen quickly. The doctor was very nice, and Sarah was a good girl for her, letting her look into her mouth and at her injury. The doctor said it was going to be fine, no smashed teeth, no nerve damage, just bad bruising, and advised us to not brush Sarah's teeth until it heals. Whew!
I'm still upset that this happened to Sarah. Its amazing that she climbs all over her changing table, getting up and down all by herself on a regular basis. I was standing right there when it happened- it just happened so quickly I didn't have time to react until it was over. This is just a reminder that no matter how confident Sarah is, accidents can happen and she has to be watched like a hawk all the time. Needless to say, the changing table is going to be moved out of her room. She is a big girl and no longer needs it anyway.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sarah's Ear Surgery
Sarah right after surgery prep--where the nurse talked with us about the procedure, the anesthesiologist told us what was going to happen and how she may/may not react. Sarah had to wear a little hospital gown and non-skid slippers which she would not even let us put on her feet! After she was dressed, she was able to go to another small play area to wait and play before going back to surgery. She had fun playing with all the toys they had! Notice the wipe in her hand?...lately she has been asking for and carrying around baby wipes like they are some sort of security blanket!
This is Sarah right after surgery, back in her recovery room. She is passed out from the anesthesia. The whole surgery only took about 10 minutes. Stephen carried her to the surgery and laid her on the bed--I could not make myself go...I knew I would cry and then wouldn't be able to stop! Stephen said he had to seriously fight back the tears as he laid her on the stretcher and held her hand as they put the mask on her face. But Sarah was good as gold, she let the nurse do it, and just laid there looking at everything and everyone in the room. She didn't even try to get up or fight the mask. Here she is hooked to the machine that monitors her blood pressure and pulse.
At this point, Sarah had started to wake from the anesthesia, and the nurse popped her pacifier in her mouth so she would wake comfortably and securely.
After Sarah woke up, she wanted to nurse, and then she let us take her out of her hospital gown and put her clothes back on. Within 10 minutes of her waking, we were able to leave and come home! I'm so glad its all over! And I hope she stays healthy from her on out...no more ear infections!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sarah goes the the Circus

We ended up getting there early, so we walked around the side of the building where you could see some of the animals in the back. There was a camel eating hay, and some lions and tigers in cages. There were some little ponies far off behind the building. As soon as Sarah saw the cages, she started squealing and pointing and saying "look" and jumping up and down. So excited! So we talked to her about the animals, then went and sat in the car for about 20 minutes to wait in the warm...it was only about 30 degrees last night! When the doors opened for the 7:30 show, we went in and found a seat and let Sarah walk around and look at everything. She was especially interested in all the kids filtering in. She wouldn't sit down and be still until the show started. Once the show started, she was completely mesmerized. They started with the tiger/lion show, which was actually very cool. The Gwinnett Fairgrounds building is kinda small, and the ring is very close to you as you are sitting and watching the show. You can see the animals very close. Sarah loved the "tigres" and lions. She watched all the shows, and even clapped along with the audience. She was all smiles. They also had acrobatics, clowns, a camel show, a performing dogs show, and then some an elephant show. We left after the elephants because it was getting late. In all, Sarah had a blast. She loved every minute of the circus. She got to see all kinds of very cool animals up very close, she got to participate in being part of a large audience, and she got to eat cotton candy and peanuts! I know she loved her first experience with the circus, and I am glad we took her to this small local one where she got to experience it on a small scale.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Update
Sarah was sick last week with another cold, which turned into...you guessed it, another ear infection. Poor thing...back on antibiotics. The good news is that we have decided to proceed with her ear tube surgery, and have it scheduled for Feb. 25th. We are optimistic that this surgery will help her little ears drain the fluid that is constantly building up in there, and keep her off antibiotics for a long time. Keep your fingers crossed. :)
Also, mommy now has the terrible cold that Sarah had last week, and isn't feeling too good herself. Colds suck. I should probably look on the bright side of things--at least I am able to take some symptom meds to at least feel somewhat better. Sarah couldn't even do that, so she had to suffer through this stuffy nose and sinus headache. I'm loving sudafed and tylenol about now...
Lots of you have asked how potty training is going, and my only reply is "its going". Sarah still tells us when she has to potty, although sometimes its after she has ripped her diaper off and peed/pooped in the floor. She mostly does this in the bathroom, though, thank goodness for cleaning it up! She knows when she has to potty, she knows where she needs to potty, and she knows she needs to remove her pants and diaper to potty. Now its just a matter of consistency and practice. So, we're working on it!
Sarah is also sleeping good in her own bed, a double bed in her room. I'm still sleeping with her, and we've had some issues with her being sick this past week, but I think we're back on track and I'm hoping to transition to just laying with her until she falls asleep this weekend. Wish us luck!






