Smile

This smile could brighten anyones day! I love this girl!

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Sleep Study Results

Finally called about the Sleep Study Results from July 18th. I know, I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Anyhow, GREAT news. She had an almost normal sleep study showing her central sleep apnea to have corrected itself and she no longer needs supplemental oxygen at night. WOOHOO! I do have to admit that she hasn't actually been on oxygen for a while. As she became more mobile, rolling around in bed, she started to take the canula off and wrap the cord around herself. No matter what I tried to secure it, she managed to get tangled in it. I was terrified that she would end up wrapping it around her neck that I had to make the hard choice to discontinue it's use until something better could be figured out. I discussed this problem with the doctors, nurses and respiratory specialists and the couldn't give me any alternatives that I hadn't already tried. Now I know I don't have to worry about it anymore. She will continue to have sleep studies because she is on Growth Hormone, but my hope is they decrease in frequency to once a year. Crossing my fingers!

On other news about Delilah, she is doing some amazingly cute things. We have been teaching her to blow kisses. In the beginning she would put her hand to her mouth and just stare at us. Now she is making the kissing sounds. It really is the cutest thing. She is also beginning to sign. Today with the EI (early intervention) therapist she signed 'more'. She really loves her "Baby Signing Times" DVDs (thank you Ms. Janet!) I have been trying to incorporate as many signs as possible into our daily routine and I think it is finally catching on. She can also sign 'hat'. I really do recommend this DVD series to anyone with small children. It is AMAZING!

Johnny started back to work this week. It has taken him a few days to get into the new rhythm, but I think he has it all worked out now. Delilah and I have also gotten back to our normal routine. I must admit, those few weeks Johnny was home all day with us were great vacation days for myself. He took on most of the daily tasks and I got to relax. I also discovered my newest hobby. Quilting of course! I have the quilting bug bad. The past few nights I have been searching for quilting blogs and looking up tutorials to try out. I also made another quilt top and an Auburn pillow case dress for Delilah for the first game of the season. And there are many more projects on my mind. I am even going to step out of my comfort zone and make some more difficult dresses for D. I am thinking I may need to start a separate blog about my sewing obsession and my new fabric obsession. Well, Project Runway is calling my name, so goodnight!

Gadget Geek

Well, Johnny has been home for a few weeks now and we are finally getting settled into our "normal" routine. He was a little apprehensive at first with Delilah. She was such a different baby when he left, he wasn't sure what to do with her. Now he is a pro and they are wonderful together. Delilah definitely lights up when her Daddy plays with her. The giggles and squeals are so adorable. (I will post a video soon.)

Miss D is also coming into quite a quirky personality. She has begun the "crying" game. This game consists of crying (with no tears) until someone picks her up or gives her what she wants. She only does this when we try to leave a room. For instance, if I need to run upstairs to the restroom, I have to sneak out of the room or she starts pouting and then ultimately screaming for me. I really don't mind it though. I usually laugh because it is so darn cute.

She is also very curious about gadgets, just like Momma. Anytime we have a laptop out she tries to weasel her way to it. She will do whatever it takes to get her hands on the keys. It is really cute to watch. If we don't let her have the laptop she goes into total meltdown. So, Daddy will stop what he is doing, log off the computer so the password screen is up and let Delilah go to town. Just take a look at this:

I see a computer genius in our future! I had to move my computer upstairs, to a desk to keep her from going for it. Unfortunately, when she is in the loft with me she still tries everything to get to it. She is crazy for gadgets! 

Developmentally, Delilah is kicking butt. She has started to "traditional" crawl every now and then. She loves to pull up on anything and everything. We have also begun working on walking with push toys. I have to hold the toys so they don't go too fast, but she really enjoys doing it. She is such a superstar! 

Completely off the Delilah topic: I have made my first Quilt Top, all by myself. I am pretty excited about this. I have wanted to learn to Quilt for a long time and I found some great tutorials online. This quilt was super easy for a beginner like me. All I have left to do is complete the back, baste it, quilt it and bind it. The quilting part scares me. My sewing machine is very simple and I'm not sure it will allow me to machine quilt it, but I am sure I can figure something out. Here is a photo of the finished top:

Daddy's Home!!!

Yesterday was one of my favorite day's of this year. John finally arrived home after 6.5 months in Iraq. The smile is still plastered to my face. But I know you don't want to hear about all my mushy gushy feelings. You want to know how his reunion with Delilah went. Well...

Delilah was very happy to see her Daddy. She couldn't get enough of looking at him and feeling his face. When we were on our way home from the airport she kept turning her head looking for him as he spoke. Once home she wanted him to pick her up and play with her. The father-daughter bond is as strong as when he left. They are inseparable, just the way it should be. It is so wonderful having him home!

Sunshine

After last night's post, I felt we needed something a bit more cheerful. A bit of sunshine to break through those stormy skies. So, without further ado....

Delilah has just pushed herself up to a sitting position. This is MONUMENTAL! Before today, she could go from sitting to laying down, but not vice-versa. So once she was laying down, she was stuck that way until I picked her up and put her in the sitting position. Not anymore people. She can sit up all by herself! I am so proud of her! These developments are coming so fast now. I can't wait for her Daddy to see everything.

Speaking of her Daddy. I spoke to him this morning and it looks like he should be coming home sometime Saturday. He should be on a plane now. We won't hear from him until he makes it to Baltimore. We can't wait to see him again!

When it rains, It STORMS

Where do I even begin with this post? The last 24 hours have not been fun. Let's start with the most uncomfortable. Our AC decided to stop working yesterday afternoon. Leave it to the Fates to stop my AC on a cool, 95 degree day. (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping from my voice?!?) Luckily I called my Mom, who reminded me of the Home Warranty we received when we bought the house. Whew! I wasn't going to have to pay a fortune to get it fixed. But I did have to wait until today, around 6:30pm for it to be fixed. It made for a restless night and a very long day. I could definitely tell the heat was affecting Delilah. My usually active child was very mopey and tired. Who could blame her though? It reached 90 degrees inside this oven of a house. I tried to use a product called Chill Towels to cool her down, but she wouldn't keep it on. Not to mention her skin seemed to be a bit sensitive to it. Thankfully the repair man was able to fix our problem, but not before I received a very upsetting phone call.

Most of you know that my husband, John, has been in Iraq for the past six months. He was supposed to come home Friday afternoon. Well, he called me this afternoon to tell me the plane he was supposed to be flying out on had broken down. They were unsure when/if it could be fixed. So it looks like his arrival will be post-poned. Unsure of how long we will have to wait. Hopefully they can get it all situated soon, but knowing the Air Force, I won't hold my breath. It just really burns me that there isn't a backup plan for something like this. These men and women have been away from their families for a long time. Yes, some things happen that are out of our control, but when it comes to getting our soldiers home, there should always be an alternate plan. They should be a priority. It shouldn't be a "wait and see" type of issue. Not only does this disappoint the waiting families, but it really upsets the soldiers. John was really bummed when we talked. I can only imagine how the rest of the soldiers were feeling.

But I need to look on the brighter side of things. At least he will be coming home. And now I have extra time to get some things done around the house that I haven't been able to do with the heat; like laundry and vacuuming. Hopefully we will be reunited soon!

Pulling Up

It seems like in the past few days Delilah has had some major achievements! MAJOR!!!! One has been 'army' crawling up the ramp. She has made it all the way to the top. And when she gets to the top, she swings her legs off and stands next to it, holding onto the ottoman of course. This takes a lot of strength. Here is a video of the climbing. 

However, it was this morning that I notice her biggest achievement to date. As I was working on a photo editing class I looked up and I saw this:

That's right folks, Delilah pulled up to a standing position using her toy box. She did this from laying on her tummy!!!! What a ROCKSTAR! I was so excited I teared up. She was so proud of herself, and she should be. It takes a lot of strength to be able to do that. I believe we will be seeing even more amazing achievements in the days to come. Here is a video of her pulling up. Took me a little while to catch it!