Very delayed update....

Hello friends...I have been a huge slacker this month on blog posts. It's been a crazy month - lots of fun holiday stuff with family, friends, and the kid's schools; work is finally getting back to normal for me (I took a new job leading our MSN PR efforts); and....our normal, day-to-day life is busy. I was telling a dear friend the other day that we're trying really hard, but there are days where I don't feel like a superstar in anything. Trying my best at being a mom (not only with Taylor, but providing equal time to the big kids), trying to do a great job at work (while keeping my type-A personality and competitive nature at bay) and balancing it all. All I know is that we're doing the best we can. The big kids seem happy and I'm trusting that we're doing the right things for Taylor, so we're making it everyday - and usually having lots of fun. I have been really looking forward to going to Missouri to see my family for Christmas (we're leaving Christmas day in the afternoon!) and taking a few deep breaths to relax. But, the weather in Seattle has introduced a mandatory relaxation window - while a bit inconvenient, I should be grateful!

We have had snow, snow, snow since Wednesday - lots and lots of snow. The kids haven't had school and we haven't been able to get Taylor to therapy. Our house is at the top of a super icy hill and it's very treacherous to drive down. We have a car parked at the bottom of the hill, but it's a half mile walk to get there from our house. Not a big deal (although certainly slow going) with the big kids, but it makes me nervous to carry Taylor on the icy sidewalks. She still fits in her infant carseat, so she's protected in that (on three sides anyway), but it's still nerve-wracking. So, we've been quite housebound - we all ventured out on Friday because we predicted that she had an ear infection and she needed to see the doctor for antibiotics. David took her while the big kids and I were dropped off downtown for Christmas/birthday shopping for David. I ran out of time with the surprising snowstorm and his birthday was yesterday!

Taylor had a tough week, even though she had a break from therapy. She had really yucky diapers early in the week, threw up 3 times on Wednesday, and had really restless nights Wednesday and Thursday nights (ahh....ear infections). She finally is looking better and it's great to see her smile and laugh again. We've tried to do her exercises at home, but know we aren't as thorough or proficient as her therapist. Since we're missing a lot of days next week when we leave for Missouri, I'm disappointed we didn't make every therapy session this week. As much as it can be a drag for all of us, it also gives me comfort that we're helping Taylor and that she's making some progress. It's still slow going and while we appreciate every gift, there can be many weeks where we don't see any discernible progress. Patience, patience, patience....

We also found out some interesting news from her genetics testing. As it turns out, I (Lisa) have the same genetic variant that Taylor does. This is actually good news (it seems like reverse logic). Basically, the geneticists say that if someone "normal" like me can have the same variant, the chromosomal abnormality that Taylor has is likely not the cause for her brain condition. Who knew I had a chromosomal abnormality all these years? Chances are....so do a lot of people that have no idea. The good news for us is that the genetic testing didn't definitely link Taylor to a more serious condition - the OK news is that we still have no idea why she has her brain condition. Increasingly, we're starting to realize that this genetics stuff seems ahead of its time - presenting lots of questions and not a lot of answers. So, in the hierarchy of doctor visits, we're going to let this one go for now and revisit when she's older (unless Dr. Spector has other specific recommendations).

The good news - although she doesn't have a lot of new tricks - she is a happy gal and really enjoys laughing at her big sister and brother. We'll post some of our new family pics that really illustrate how happy she is. She can be a bit of a pokerface around other people, but around our family, she is so happy. Today we watched the big kids play outside in all of the snow through the window - mounds and mounds of the stuff - I've never seen anything like it in Seattle. We're so unprepared for weather like this that David was shoveling our driveway, sidewalk, and decks with an oar - we don't even have a shovel! I'm not sure there is a greater joy than watching David and Jacob play snow football, tackeling each other and laughing as they ran around the backyard. Or watching Lauren delight in making snow angel after snow angel and rolling balls for snowmen. Taylor laughed at the snow and the kids making frozen faces at her through the window. It has been a magical few days where often, I've taken a moment to embrace the specialness of the day. Christmas really is such a magical season and I'm so thankful for all of our gifts.

Merry Christmas!!!

We SO have the Christmas spirit!!! This week-end we had lots of fun - Taylor went on her first carousel ride with Lauren and Jacob (and David and I of course) as we ventured downtown to see the sights and enjoy the holiday carousel - an annual favorite. And today, we woke up to SNOW!! It doesn't snow very often in Seattle and the kids had a blast. They were out the door by 8am in full ski gear. It was hilarious. Taylor and I watched from the window and she got a kick out of watching the big kids play. I'll write more soon, but wanted to share our Christmas card that I finally created. Hopefully you will receive yours before the actual big day, but everything is a bit rushed these days. We have some adorable new pictures of our family from our photo session last week-end. I'll share more pics soon. As you can see, Taylor is quite the big girl now!!

Seeing Santa

We had another really nice week-end. We so love the holidays!! We're enjoying our Christmas decorations, countdown calendar, Elf on a Shelf watching our behavior, and lots of other holiday traditions. The kids are so excited and have stepped up their behavior a notch - if only it could be Christmas all year round. We had a fun movie/popcorn night on Friday night and family photos on Saturday. Hopefully I can post some good ones soon. As usual, it's so hard to get good shots of a family of five - particularly at the kid's ages. Lauren was a little grumpy, Jacob was a little crazy and Taylor had her poker face on - David and I were constantly looking down/blinking at the wrong time as we tried to get the kids to cooperate. So, our expectations aren't super high, but we're hopeful:) Saturday night David and I went to the auction at Lauren's school and had a fun night out. We were up and at em Sunday morning, as Susan came to the house for a 7:30am therapy session. No rest for the weary, or for those that had a glass or two of wine the night before.....Taylor is an amazingly good sport and although she still doesn't like the stretching, she's hanging in there.

Sunday night was the highlight! We saw Santa again at a special party at Brad and Shannon's golf club. They throw a really nice Christmas party with a great Santa and decorations. We always go with Brad and Shannon and their kids (Rory, Griffin, and Graham) and Brad's sister, Kim and her family (Kylie is the other kid in the picture). They actually all took a great Santa picture together, but here is a snapshot from the night! Taylor still doesn't blink at Santa, but we place her on his lap backwards, so I'm not sure she realizes she's sitting on him. Jacob asked for a rope, 2 hooks, and a mask - we're not sure what he has cooked up. He also asked for a bike without training wheels and a skateboard. A little challening list this year....Lauren asked for a reindeer (thankfully a toy) and a bouncy ball (similar to what she plays with at recess). We decided Taylor wants a ball that lights up. We hope Santa will deliver!

Being thankful

Thanksgiving week-end has come and gone, and tonight we had our first visit with Santa! My how the seasons fly:) We had a wonderful week-end on Whidbey Island celebrating Thanksgiving and a nice time decorating our house for Christmas when we returned. Taylor enjoyed watching the kids play, showing off her sitting skills, and didn't seem fazed by all of the activity (i.e. lots of people - in the past, this has been a bit overwhelming for her, likely due to her early vision challenges). She helped us pick out our Christmas tree on our annual Christmas tree hunt and is enjoying the Christmas lights and shiny ornaments at the house. She also has a newfound love of wrapping paper and tissue paper, so she was quite entertained with paper products while we decorated the tree with the big kids. It was a great, long week-end and we're still catching up on our sleep.

Last night as I was finishing Lauren's books, she said "you know, Mom, life's not fair" - such sage words from my kindergarten student. As I watched Taylor in her therapy today I remembered these words and agreed - life's not fair when a baby has to work so hard at basic skills. I almost got teary (a first for me in awhile), but managed to hold it together. Today actually went better than I expected. Susan had been out of town for a week and we (and Julie) worked hard to keep Taylor's muscles loose and ready for work. I was still afraid that she would have tightened up and re-entering therapy today would have been painful for her, but it was largely business as usual. She's such a little trooper and continues to work very hard.

This time of year, though, with all of its joy - brings to my mind lots of milestones that I thought we would enjoy. I remember last Thanksgiving thinking how Taylor would be able to sample Thanksgiving dinner this year (and while she did have baby food sweet potatoes, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind - no real food yet) and how we would have to carefully decorate the tree because she would be a mover and shaker this Christmas. Of course, things are different than planned, but they're still great because Taylor can smile, laugh, and and is learning to do so much more. I am very thankful for my family and all of our joys this year - probably this year more so than any other because we've seen so many other families struggling with so much more. Each day I'm choosing to be happy and hoping Taylor, amidst all the hard work, is happy too.