Happy Birthday Emma!!!

Today is my Em-Em's 8th birthday!!! Eight years ago today at about this time (9:20 am), I gave birth for the very first time. I delivered a beautiful 5lb, 7 oz baby girl with the thickest black hair I had ever seen. It was an amazing day and one that I will never forget. All of our family was waiting outside the door and could hear Emma's first cry. A beautiful sound. Then our entire family entered our room and met Emma for the first time. A moment I hold very dear to my heart.

Happy Birthday to my Emma! My love for you is "gi-normous"!!! You amaze me everyday with your loving personality and your endless talents. Happy day, sweetheart!

This is Emma's birthday cake and it's a picture that Brady sent to me via cellphone after he picked it up from Donna Norwood (she makes the best cakes!!) Friday night. The girls and I were at a Girl Scout camp-in at the McWane Center. I do have birthday pics to post, but haven't had time. Still trying to catch up from our busy week and weekend! As my friend, Christy, pointed out to me this morning, "You know Kim's been busy when she's late getting the "Happy Birthday post"on the blog. More posts and pics to come!

The "Butter" Sandwich

Here lately, John Brady's choice of food is a peanut butter sandwich ("butter sandwich" per John Brady). It doesn't matter if it is 6:30 in the morning or 8:30 at night, he LOVES a good ole butter sandwich! In fact JB3 has so much love for this special sandwich that he now insists that he make it all on his own. One morning before we left for preschool I caught him in the act! He does a great job as you can see in these "how to pics" by 3 himself!

carefully spreading the "butter"

move over Rachael Ray!

can't leave any spec of bread "unbuttered"

the fold over

the pat

the clean up

the first bite---mmmm, good stuff!

so proud!

best part!

notice how he put that butter knife right back into the jar

oh, and how nice of him to put the extra slice of bread back into the cabinet!

Emma says, "Watch Out For Those Poles!!"

Today I got a call from our extended day program. While playing on the playground Emma ran into a pole and a knot had formed at the site of the impact (between her eyes!). When I got home, I asked Emma what happened. She said they were playing "mermaids and sharks" when a "shark" got after her. She turned to get away from him, when she ran smack into a pole!! Emma said she didn't see the pole until it was too late. Poor thing, I know it must have hurt!


I can only imagine that she looked like this when it happened!!

After an ice pack, some Tylenol, and a short nap, she was all SMILES!!

John Brady's Birthday Party At The Fun Factory

John Brady's birthday party was fun for all! Thank you everyone who came to celebrate my baby's 4th birthday. I can hardly believe he is 4 years old now! Brady and I will no longer have a car seat in our cars! We will be down to one booster seat!!!! Unbelievable! It's been almost 8 years since we haven't had a car seat!! It's so hard to think that Emma was almost John Brady's age when he was born. John Brady will always be my baby boy, no matter how old he gets!! Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Abby and her very coordinated wave as she flies down the slide!

Like father, like son!

John Brady tried it every way he could!

Kilbie and Michael

Hold me tight, cousin Emma!

LOVE this pic of the sliding Hicks fam!

John Bwady, it says out of order!

It's Michael!

There goes Michael

He's going, going,

and almost GONE!

He blew them out one by one

John Brady Turns 4

Each Day, A Step Closer

This picture was taken on John Brady's birthday. My mom is certainly looking more like herself. I have noticed a tremendous change in her in the past few days. She walked into our house all on her own WITHOUT her walker!!! It was a site to behold! John Brady started yelling, "Nanny is better! Nanny is better!" After almost knocking mom down, he ran through the house to tell Emma and Abby his news.

I took mom to for follow up appointments with two of her doctors last week and she had another appointment this week. All three doctors gave mom great reports!! She was referred to as "a miracle" more than once. It was very surreal to hear one of her doctors talk about how worried he had been about her condition and how he had been uncertain about her ever leaving the hospital.

The incisions on mom's feet are healing quite well. As of this week, she only has one huge bandage on her left foot. She has been accustomed to a lot of padding and bandages, so now her feet feel very "naked" and unprotected. She is still on a lot of medications, including her IV antibiotic, which she administers to herself 3 times a day. This was a big step for her. A physical therapist still comes out twice a week plus mom does exercises in between visits. She is regaining strength in her legs and arms. Her hands still shake pretty badly. The shaking should improve as she gets stronger.

Mom has missed taking care of her grandbabies and can't wait til the day she can resume her grandmotherly duties!! Mom is also looking forward to seeing her chickens and rabbits, driving, and being outdoors.

Sometimes, it's the small things in life that give the most pleasure.

Happy Birthday My Little Man!!

Today is John Brady's 4th birthday! Each year when it gets close to one of my children's birthdays, I always reflect on that miraculous day and all of the milestones they've met since their birth. Most parents do, huh? My thoughts have been a little out of the ordinary this year. Because I almost lost my mom a few months ago, my view on life and life's challenges has somewhat changed. For the better. When my mom was so very sick, the outpouring of love I felt was unimaginable. Many times I was brought to tears by the messages I received. I realized I didn't have to go through it alone. The blog was my outlet. Sharing tragedies and triumphs with you has become a major part of my life. I wasn't such a "sharer" back when John Brady was born. I wasn't a blogger either. Probably didn't even know what a blog was! If I had known then the comfort of words and the power of prayer, I would have shared one of our deepest fears. Brady and I spent most of John Brady's first 7 months of life worried sick about the tremors in his legs and his developmental delays. Our pediatrician thought John Brady had Cerebral Palsy and we did, too. Too many factors pointed to it than not. Brady and I spent many a sleepless nights crying and wondering about John Brady's future. I think it was the uncertainty of it all that made us worry so much. And the waiting. The wait for an MRI. The wait for a neurology appointment. The physical therapy appointment. The early intervention appointment. Then there was the reading about the many types and degrees of CP. It was enough to make you insane with worry. I had never been through anything like it and it was by far the worst thing Brady and I had ever faced. You know, it wasn't the CP label that worried us. It was the unknown. It was not knowing how long his brain was without oxygen because the cord was wrapped around his neck at birth. Was it long enough to cause brain damage? Was it long enough to cause CP? Would we ever know what caused this? When will we have a diagnosis? Brady and I learned to take it one day at a time. During John Brady's 5th, 6th, and 7th months of age we watched his tremors lessen and we watched him make each of his developmental milestones. He even surpassed many of them!! Our pediatrician really didn't have an explanation, other than the miraculous resilience of a baby's brain or it was simply a miracle. So here he is, the birthday boy. Our little miracle is now 4 years old and hasn't missed a beat!

Happy 4th Birthday John Brady!!! We love you to the moon and back!!!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and kind words throughout my mom's sickness. She still has a long, long way to go, but she's getting there. We are so blessed!!