If this doesn't make you smile.....

then you are a true grinch!!!

Summer Recap

Oh geez! Is it really almost October??! Alida hasn't had the busiest summer but her parent's sure have! I think I misunderstood what it meant to be two years old. For some reason I thought I was waiting for this moment so that I could once again resume cleaning the house, cooking meals and running errands. My excuse for the last two years for a dirty house, an empty fridge and the ability to accomplish little or nothing at all is still going strong!!!

Alida is still into everything...no exceptions. She has most recently painted her face with butt paste, painted her toys/stool/play room carpet with purple paint, "washed" out a poopy diaper in the bathroom sink, soaped up her baby dolls because they looked dirty, emptied a brand new bottle of perfume onto her Mom-Mom's bed, etc, etc, etc. You just gotta love her! Oh...and I swear that I never leave this child alone for more than a few seconds. She's like lightning!! If she's quiet you know she's into something she shouldn't be. The only thing that keeps her attention and gets her to remain still for more than a second is "The Fresh Beat Band" (on Nick...The Backyardigans have taken a back seat to this hip hop band!).

She is still making us the proudest parent's that ever existed. Since her stroke diagnosis several months back she has been receiving OT and PT through Early Intervention. She has been improving a great deal!! She's motivated to use that left hand no matter the challenge. She's constantly reminding us to use both hands or to "try the other hand". She has been singing songs all summer long including "God Bless America" (a song I sang at the top of my lungs as a kid!). She enjoys singing "Happy Birthday" to whomever she is able to and if it's not currently someones birthday one of her dolls will be a fill-in. She has named each of her dolls....I constantly ask her their names, it's just so freakin' cute! There's baby Tara, baby Regan, baby Doll, baby Riley, baby Baby, baby Maddox and baby Beth. Of course some of the dolls came with names...but she remembers them without needing reminders.

The little lady is currently passed out in her big girl bed. We had to switch over due to new climbing skills that daddy convinced Alida to start using to her advantage. So far...so good. She has not gotten out of the bed to date and still yells for mommy when she wakes. The only problem is that now mommy has to get up right away for fear the the first solo exit won't be the last! She's still cuddling with George (her favorite stuffed animal courtesy of Fran and Amy that she never lets out of her site) and her favorite blanket (a yellow and white star blanket that's fuzzy on one side and silky on the other). Sometimes we forget George and her blanket when we visit friends or family but she usually agrees that it's important for George to get a night out once in a while. I also figured out how to get the girl to brush her teeth without a fight!!! Did anyone ever hear of the cavity monster?! Works like a charm!

I had plans to do something fun and exciting several times this summer....my plan didn't work out so well. Alida was able to visit the beach once and she got to check out Sesame Place as well. She spent most of the summer swimming in Aunt Joan's pool so she was able to show us her swimming abilities by the end of the summer. I refrained from tossing her into the pool as I am told my mother once did when I was a small child. The excitement of watching her swim around the pool on her own (with the help of the arm floaties) would have been tainted had I forced her to suck water up her nose and fear for her life to get her to do it!! I still love you mom!! HAHA!

Alida has been spending some extra QT with daddy recently. I've been accepted to a weekend nursing program and have been spending Saturdays and Sundays in class so Alida has finally gotten the chance to bond with her pops. I know that she will one day appreciate this chance even though when I call during break time she always says "mommy, come over. I'm crying for you mommy!" She surely knows how to pull on my heartstrings!!!



Enjoying the boardwalk with her beau Noah!

Digging in OC, NJ for the day.

Sharing her lolly with Mason and Livvy at Sesame....she does share it eventually, I promise!

Attempting to get away from Bert and Ernie...she still regrets not giving them a high five and hasn't forgiven herself for causing them to cry.

June and Beyond

Alida is now officially 2 years old!! So sad...and so happy at the same time. She has been keeping us more than busy this past month. The girl does not sit still, well, except for the occasional Backyardigans episode. She is talking up a storm and has reached the point where she says some pretty funny things. She has been reading some of her book so well that it amazes me...she opened "oh the places you'll go" the other night and turned to this page saying "look mommy..lurch, bump and slump" and it was the right page! She can read 'Hungry Caterpillar' from front to back leaving out all the insignificant words of course. She currently takes her stuffed monkey, Curious George, with her everywhere (thanks Fran and Amy!!). She loves him. There's a monkey at Mom-Mom's house too and he wears a Hawaiian shirt so we named him Charlie and unlike George who lives in the jungle Charlie lives on the beach (lucky Charlie!!). She loves her baby dolls too but not as much as her Backyardigans buddies. She's always propping one of them up and singing "happy birthday" at the top of her lungs to one of them. She also sends her stuffed friends to time out when they are naughty which seems to be quite a lot! She'll sit them on a stool in front of the fireplace and yell 'sit there, naughty, don't move, don't touch toys, don't talk, don't fall'. The poor things just can't seem to stop themselves from falling over so they have to be fixed and yelled at again and again. It makes me wonder...do we really act like that?!

The other day Matt, Alida and I met my mom for breakfast at a diner. The waitress had left money on the table from a previous customer. I gave the money to Alida and told her to give it to the waitress. She hands it over and as the waitress walks aways she yells "put it in your piggy bank"!! TOO freaking cute!!!

Happy Birthday Lil' Lida Lew Love!!!

I Love my mommy....

I remember the days when Alida wanted nothing to do with me. I could simply hand her over to a complete stranger and she could have cared less. I imagined the day that she would cry when I left for work....when she would run to me with crocodile tears not wanting me to leave her....when I would hear her sweet little voice cry out "I want mommy". What in the world was I thinking??!!! Well....that day is sort of here. And by sort of I mean at bedtime and morning time. UGH! The only two times of the day where I liked to take turns with Matt....the only times of the day when I can really sit back and relax or get a little extra shuteye. Be careful what you wish for!!! HAHA!!!

Some of our Favorite People

We would love more than anything to have more time in our lives to visit with family and friends. Luckily we had some opportunities to visit with some of our favorite people!


Alida loves Baby the Bunny. My girlfriend's mom owns this bunny and it's just like a dog! Roams around the house and takes naps on the couch!!

Baby Maddox and his momma! My girlfriend Jen does not know what she's in for!! Alida is dying to have a little friend that she can play with in the area and it looks like Baby Maddox might have to fill that spot! Alida talks about him constantly...everything is Baby Maddox. She even calls him on the phone!!

Even though Alida went binky-less as an infant she LOVES other kid's binkys. If it's missing Alida has it!

Enjoying a view that she used to love herself! Ahh, the baby days!!!

A visit to Ginny brings some of us closer together. Alida had a great time hanging with her cousins. She loves to run around them and play with their toys as they watch her. Look out Alida....they are mobile and they are boys....only time will tell!!!

Enjoying some pool time with Carter!

Chowing on some puffs!

It's Norah! Alida's favorite neighbor! They both like to shop at Target!!!! HEHE!

Too far behind...time to post-date!

OK, there are a million things that I would like to post about. Alida has been so stinking cute lately and I have so many little stories to tell. I am way too far behind at this point and rather than post-dating all the bits and pieces I'm just going to shove them all together! Of course...I only have time to post this little ditty below as I need to get back to studying..UGH! Stay tuned....


Alida LOVES her ball pit! We've had the balls since Christmas but we had no pit. We gave up searching for something that would fit all the balls and wouldn't take up too much room in her playroom. We settled for a LARGE plastic bin...it works!

Visit to CHOP

Well...I finally got an appointment with Dr. Finkel down at CHOP. Mom-Mom joined me for the visit. Alida did quite well I must say. It was the morning of the snow storm so driving was not ideal but I didn't want to risk rescheduling and having to wait another month or more. We got to the office on time and then had to wait over an hour to see the Doc. Dr. Finkel was very thorough in his examination and once he weighed all the factors and checked Alida upside and down he gave us his opinion. Alida does not have a Brachial Plexus Injury as we had thought. The Doc said that her problem is one of two things...A. She has a developmental anomaly of the right lobe of her brain which controls the left arm OR B. She suffered a motor stroke while in utero or during delivery that was very mild. So....further investigation is needed to see if we can figure this out and Alida will be going back to CHOP for an MRI....yippee! UGH! I am not looking forward to it! Dr. Finkel reassured me that her condition is VERY mild and on a scale of 1 to 10 it is definitely a 1. The MRI results might not tell us anything since it is so mild. The best Dx would be a stroke....there is 100% recovery and the likely hood of it happening again is rare. So....we shall see.......

NO Cheesy Smile!!

This morning Alida tried on her summertime gear! As soon as I showed her the swimsuits I had gotten she wanted to put them on. We played a little game of peek-a-boo and I got some GREAT pictures. It's so rare that I can capture a real smile!!!! I was ecstatic to get more than one!
Here's to warm weather!!

"Scared...Pablo"

Matt and I recently took Alida to see her favorite cartoon character at The Crayola Factory...Pablo from The Backyardigans. I was so excited to see how she would react. She absolutely LOVES this guy! Well....sure enough she was scared. BOOHOO!! She wouldn't even stand with him to get a picture! From a distance she loved him but up close and personal was way different. Despite my disappointment I was still glad that she got to experience the visit, even if it wasn't ideal. The entire ride home (and for the next few weeks) she chanted the words "Scared Pablo" over and over. She still loves him though!!

By the way...I am crossing my fingers that one of these days...when I ask Alida to 'smile' she won't give me the cheesy toddler grin that she just hasn't been able to shake yet. One of these days!

Waiting for Pablo...

He's here.....

Scared Pablo!!

The world's largest crayon and the world's cheesiest toddler grin...

Another cheesy grin! Man, I gotta stop asking her to smile!!!

OK....so, it's my fault. I know what she does when I ask but I still do it!!!!

Erb's Palsy

Long story short....I had Early Intervention out to see Alida recently...I was still concerned about her left hand. As soon as they got here and engaged her in some play they told me that they think she has Brachial Plexus Palsy. The Brachial Plexus is nerve that runs from your spinal cord into the neck that controls sensations and movement in the arm, hand and fingers. A lot of times when babies are assisted deliveries (forceps or vacuum) the neck can be stretched too far from the shoulder pulling on this muscle causing damage. The damage is usually severe and in Alida's case it is very mild...thank goodness. So...Miss Alida now has her own Occupational Therapist that visits weekly to strengthen the muscles and the nerve signals in that arm, hand and fingers. She enjoys the playtime!! I plan to take her down to CHOP to see a specialist...if I can ever get an appointment!!

Jabber-Jaw

Alida is talking up a storm!!! I am amazed at the words she knows and remembers to use in context! At least...once I figure out what the word is that she's actually saying!! In all seriousness though she is doing incredibly well with talking. She labels everything she sees and repeats anything that you could think of saying....time to watch our mouths!! She loves to do puzzles and go through flashcards....and she's even started helping me when I read to her!! She downright amazes me!!