Never say never......

From the moment you find out you're going to have a baby, you learn that life is full of surprises, and sometimes, you stop liking surprises. I guess maybe in trying to be optimistic you always think, "oh, that will never happen to me, or, I'll never do that." Then the baby comes along and all of that changes as you are daily put to the test.

Do you want to know what really sucks (and I hate that word so know that I'm not using it lightly)? Isaac's latest diagnosis is Failure to Thrive. I can't think of anything else that a mother would take so personally. Sure, he's developing and learning new things but he isn't growing and really hasn't grown since his surgery. Obviously this is a problem and a problem that I take very personally but I'm trying really hard to separate myself and my emotions from what is going on because deep down I know it isn't my fault, but it's really hard not to feel like it's my fault.

It's been about a week and a half since we've found out that something needs to be done and it needs to be done sooner than later. Unfortunately the solution isn't as simple as, supplement with something, feed him more, feed him baby food, feed him avocado...no, actually he'll see a gastroenterologist on the 7th and we'll start working with a team of doctors centering around occupational therapy some time in the next week. In all of this I've become very aware of parents who have children with special needs. I'm not saying that Isaac is or will be developmentally delayed, but what little part of spending time on the phone with the health insurance people, and spending time on the phone with doctors, and going to lots of doctor's appointments, I feel like it's some glimpse into what some families deal with. Therapy for kids costs a lot, by the way. And do you want to know something that makes me really mad.....occupational therapy is not covered for developmental delays...........WHAT!? What idiotic moron made up that rule? Thankfully our doctor was willing to use some other diagnosis so that the insurance will cover it, but some people aren't so lucky. I guess this whole experience is making me appreciate and respect parents who give up a lot their time to spend in hospitals and doctor's offices. I'm sure Isaac will be fine and start growing but this is all very stressful right now and I'm really hoping that his second year will be much less eventful.

To take a break from the fun we'd been having at home last week, Isabella, Isaac and I went to Columbus for a quick trip. I'd scheduled to take pictures for a friend (sorry, the cute baby pictures aren't ready to share with the world yet) and of course we had lots of family to visit. I think Isabella appreciated the change of scenery considering she was happy for a solid twenty-four hours without even the slightest meltdown. I'm not even kidding when I say that about three minutes after we walked into my grandparent's house Isabella had her clothes off and was changing. Then, about ten minutes later she was changing into something else. My grandpa said, "boy, you're a clothes changer!" You have no idea grandpa!

Isabella is turning into quite the little artist--I know, roll your eyes, whatever, I'm proud of her!

In case you didn't already guess, this is a person, specifically, this is Isabella. And just in case you didn't know, legs are attached directly to heads.

Walter came home from work one day and I super excited to show him this (FLOWER) and he said, "cool, what is it?" WHAT IS IT!? Can't you tell it's a FLOWER!

I love watching the relationship between Stella and the kids. She really does love them and I can already tell that she and Isaac will be best buddies because she is incredibly tolerant of laying next to him and just letting him repeatedly hit her head. We're working on being gentle!

Isabella helped Jesse make noodles for chicken and noodle soup and she also helped make a royal disaster!

Molli was thrilled to get in on the action. Everyone was freaking out because Molli was eating flour and Walter and I were like, "man, that's nothing, Stella ate a stick of butter last night and a diaper."

These "cute chick" pj's are one of two pairs that she will wear during the day and will wait until the dryer is finished to pull them out and put them on.

If you've been following my blog for a while you know I can't resist photographing a cute dog....

If you look closely you can see one eye.

I told Isabella that I wanted to take a picture of her sitting with Isaac. She wasn't really into the idea and since she's all about making a deal she said she would do it if she could take a picture too.....

Yeah, not really the picture I was going for.

Isabella's pictures.....

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This next picture is extremely edited, but my grandpa was whistling to Isaac and I love the look on Isaac's face, so it was worth trying to save the picture.......

My cousin's baby, Leo, is one month older than Isaac and I'm pretty sure he's the cutest little ball of energy I've ever seen.........

Isaac wasn't so sure.....

I do think Leo inspired Isaac to start moving. Leo is a super speedy crawler and Isaac is a super slow scooter but he gets to where he wants to go--it just takes ten times longer.

Isabella talks about Maresa (my cousin) constantly. Ever time I talk about Columbus she talks about going to see a-resa. While they were sitting at the table coloring I overheard Isabella say, "a-resa, I'm really going to miss you."

Isabella was very intrigued with watching my grandma sew and had many questions.....

And because the snow finally melted (but only for a few days) and it warmed up a bit, we met up with Isabella's cousin Gabe at a park on our way out of town.....

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Some quotes (if you are my friend on Facebook you may have already seen some of these):

--"mommy, what are taxes?"

--"mommy, when I suddenly came out of my room I didn't have any underwear on!" Apparently she was so excited to put on her "cute chick" pj's (that she waited to have washed and dried) that she forgot to put underwear on....very sudden, right?

--"I dreamed I was a little green mushroom in Mario!"

--After a meltdown, I instituted a "no talking rule" so that I could eat my lunch...

Isabella: "mommy, what kind of cheese is on your sandwich?"

Me: "Isabella, I said I'm not talking right now."

Isabella: "well, it SEEMS like you're talking!"

Me: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

--"mommy what does 'holy' mean?" After a discussion about the meaning of 'holy' she asked why God is special and after we talked about that and I told her that when she tells Jesus she loves Him and accepts Him into her heart then she will go to heaven, she thought about and said, "oh, well, I hink (think) I just love Maya."

--"Isabella, did you push Kendall?" "No, she just pushed herself."

--"Isabella, we need to brush your hair." "Well, what do I get if you brush my hair?" "You can have three chocolate chips." "How about five?"

Quotes from Jesse.....
--"Jesse I so ecited (not quite able to say the excited) to help pick up dust in your room with this special attachment (swiffer duster). I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!"...best part...she crawled under my bed to catch the dust and then wanted to fling it everywhere.

Jesse favorite part of the day.....

--my mom telling Isabella to pick up any money she sees on the floor like the dime by her foot and Isabella looking very confused saying she doesn't see any diamonds on the floor....sigh, if only there were diamonds scattered on my ...bedroom floor

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And I can't leave out Isaac so here's what he's been up to....

--scooting

--clapping

--waving

--saying da da

--saying ba

--and being a lovey dovey as ever!