Summer 2011

Well since I haven't blogged since April I guess I can do an entire recap of the summer of 2011 since it is winding down to an end. Things have been so busy and fun around here! I am purposely keeping myself (and Nicholas) really busy since I somehow seem to have energy-- its almost like if I have 1 day go by that I don't plan on doing something I am afraid my body will realize how crazy busy I've been and refuse to get going again. Needless to say this post will be long as always and I promise to be brief and possibly go into more detail in later posts (I always say this and rarely do so don't get your hopes up).

May- Nicholas started growth hormone therapy at the very end of April so May was our 1st month giving the nightly shots. He takes them like such a champ! Now that we are a few months in I can say that they are really no big deal and I can actually give him his shot without either of us crying anymore :-) We didn't do too much in May because it was rounding up the end of my 1st trimester which meant I still had pukey days quite regularly but by the end of May my morning sickness was completely gone so that was pretty awesome! (Since starting the growth hormone Nicholas grew 3 inches between Feb and June!!!)

June- We took a family vacation with my side of the family (my parents, my sister and her husband and 3 boys, my brother and his girlfriend and my little sister). We used to go to South Carolina every year as kids and we had gone in years past but the last time we went was 2007 (right before Donnie and I got engaged) This year we were all able to get our schedules aligned and my dad rented this AMAZING house for us to stay at! We were super excited since this was Nicholas' first "vacation" meaning first time on an airplane, first time on the beach, etc. He seriously loved it! He would walk up and down the beach without paying any attention to make sure someone was following him. He would walk up to girls laying out on their towels and just say "Hi" all casually haha It was adorable and he had a blast with his cousins and aunts/uncles. It was really fun to get together with my side of family since my brother and sister both live out of state.

July- We took 2 trips this month-- the first was to the MAGIC Foundation Annual Convention. I know I've talked about MAGIC before and I have another link to them in my sidebar (Is your child growing normally?) MAGIC stands for Major Aspects of Growth In Children-- they are a wonderful network of information and support for families of children with growth disorders. At the convention this year there were 112 Russell Silver Syndrome Families!! It was nuts to see so many kids that "looked" like Nicholas and even more nuts to be able to go an entire weekend out in public without once being told "Oh my word! He is so small! How old is he?" or "Wow! What a little peanut--was he a preemie?" It was refreshing to be around other people who just "get it". I learned so many great things at convention that this definitely deserves a post in and of itself. The cliff notes version is that Nicholas is growing perfectly (praise God!) and the RSS specialist we saw literally had no other suggestions of things we should be doing or doing differently! We also found out that Nicholas will need a limb-lengthening surgery sometime during his pre-teen/teen years which was unexpected (his right leg is shorter than his left). Lastly, kids with RSS are simply that-- KIDS with RSS. Talking to some older teens/young adults w/ RSS really calmed my fears about what life would be like for Nicholas as he gets older, starts school, etc.

The week after we got back from Chicago (where the convention was held) Nicholas and I decided to travel up to Cleveland to spend some time with my Grandma Rosie (mom's mom). She is the best :-) I have always been really close with her and a really cherish the one on one time we get especially since becoming a mother and a wife, its wonderful to talk with her about daily life and just get her wisdom and advice. I've also become MUCH more confident about traveling with Nicholas by myself. He really is my little buddy :-) He is my day to day sidekick who keeps me company and makes me laugh, a lot! We got to see my cousin Maddie who came over for a slumber party (she is about 8 or 9 years old) Nicholas had a BLAST playing with her and doing crafts and watching old videos of Sharon Lois and Bram's Elephant Show which was one of my favorites as a kid. Its weird to watch those videos with my own kid and to look at the kids in the show and think that they are all probably in their mid to late 30's with families of their own.

Aug- Unfortunately we had a vacation planned for Aug also to go down to Lake Barkley with Donnie's entire family but we had to decide to skip it due to needing more vacation time when the baby comes, which we found in July-- is a little girl! Its finally sunk in that I am having a girl (buying adorable pink outfits has definitely helped!) So for this month I am just planning loads of playdates, enjoying as much time as I can with my parents and sister before my mom and sister go back to work/school in the fall and trying not to melt in the weather which is REALLY not accomodating for pregnant women, or kids, or the elderly or really anyone. Hopefully I can be less lazy and do some other longer updates about the convention, what I learned during my 30 day fast from tv and internet and other fun summer things but if not-- keep your eyes peeled for another update come fall/winter. Hopefully I will update before baby girl gets here!