It has been a while

I've got several ideas for blog posts and some pictures to share....just haven't had the motivation since I got my cast off last Wednesday. I'll just say that February was a pretty difficult month. I'm glad it is over. I am really thankful for family and friends that helped me out. Having people bring us dinner and drive me a few places helped SO MUCH!!! I think I thought that if I "acted" like my surgery was no big deal, then it wouldn't be a big deal. But, darn it, my ligaments had other plans!

I had my first occupational therapy appointment tonight. I'm going to be going three times a week for the next 4 weeks. Fun. Then I see the doctor again. When they went in for surgery they discovered the ligament they were going to repair was completely torn...not just partially like they thought after seeing the MRI AND there was a second ligament that was partially torn. So I got a partial cast and now get to experience occupational therapy for the first time.

Enough about me! Karla is doing well. Saying new words everyday. Sometimes I don't even know where she has heard the word. The other day when she said "dangerous" I knew she must have heard that from me. :) About 3 days after my surgery she started falling down the stairs head first - from the very top. She did a complete 360 and miraculously I was on the stairs in front of her and CAUGHT her, mostly in my right arm, thank goodness. My mom was here and at the top of the stairs behind Karla and kept Karla from crying too much - and kept me from crying at all. I honestly thought I was going to pass out afterward! So, anyway, "dangerous" is a word I use a lot near the steps these days...and so does Karla. :)

Karla finished her swimming class on the 14th. She got "promoted" to the next level class. She is now an "eel". Her first lesson this session starts Wednesday. She loves swimming!!

We went to the Science Center for a couple hours this morning with some friends. Karla and her friend Sophia wanted to play alone and "didn't want me to watch". I was of course following them and keeping an eye on them. That is definitely the first time Karla has seemed like she didn't want me around. I didn't like how that felt. :) I want some independence but I'm not ready for "don't watch me". :)

I'll post pictures tomorrow!!!

What I Look Like

Karla took off Prince Louie's boot, placed it on his arm and then said "Mommy! He looks just like you!" I almost fell off the couch laughing. Guess my cast/bandage looks pretty big to her. Jason calls it a club. :)

After Prince Louie was "better" and got his "big band-aid" off, the first thing he did was pick up his daughter.... Then I almost started crying... She's so sweet! It was interesting to hear her play and talk about my surgery.

My wrist hasn't been too bad, pain-wise. The partial cast - that I wasn't expecting - is just making everything difficult to do. Haven't been able to drive. AH!! Probably won't post much until after next Wednesday when I get it off. Trying not to think about the fact that it is a WHOLE week away.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A few random things:

*We went to a birthday party at the Children's Museum on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and we got to hang out for as long as we wanted afterward. Yeah! Party food!


*Jason and I went on a date yesterday evening! Robinson was CRAZY so it started off a bit frustrating and we had to wait a long time to eat dinner. We ended up eating at Bahama Breeze and going to Ikea and Gander Mountain.

*I got to go see "Dear John" on Friday night with some girl friends. :)

*Karla is really into cutting things out right now with her little pair of scissors. She doesn't always want to use the scissors correctly but we are working on it!

*We got Karla a book, some heart shaped chocolates and a giant stuffed crocodile with a little baby for Valentine's Day. She got her gifts as soon as she woke up. It was fun to give her things "just because we love her SO MUCH". (She always pretends we have crocodiles in the house so when we saw this giant one, we knew we had to get it for her.) Is this for me???


*Karla gave me the gift of a 2 hour nap today. That is how long she slept - and how long I slept! It was great!

*The prayer on the right of my blog is one that is part of our children's curriculum at church, "Children Desiring God, A Sure Foundation 2005". I will try to change it once a month. You can use it to pray for Karla,or your child(ren), your grandchildren, your friends' children, your niece, etc. You get the point. :)

*About a week and a half ago Jason told me that Karla wasn't saying "nee" anymore for "come here". That was her last "Spanish" word she used regularly. She was saying "nee" for the words "venido aqui". I was shocked. I always thought I would notice when she didn't say that word anymore. But I didn't. I still can't believe it. We asked her about this and she said only babies say "nee". :)

*At least 5 times a day Karla says "When I was a little girl...." and tells us a story about when she was a little girl. It doesn't matter if it was a year ago or a week ago. It is interesting to hear what she'll say.

*The other day Jason and Karla were playing and I could hear them. I heard Karla say "Daddy, I fell into sin! You pretend to be God and pull me out." We both got a chuckle out of it.

*I'm having surgery Tuesday morning on the torn ligament in my wrist so I will probably not be blogging for a while. Hopefully I'll be back to it soon!

Quiet

A few weeks ago I was doing something in the kitchen and didn't hear Karla making noise. I peeked in the family room and this is what I saw...

She was studying something carefully. I zoomed in for a closer look...

Yep. She was reading about Pilates - Fat Burning Program. I have no idea why she likes this book (because I sure don't look at it very often) but she pulls it out frequently and looks at it. I thought it was funny!

Blizzard

Karla's tongue was out in several pictures. She just wanted to get a taste of snow!

We had a LOT of snow fall (22 1/2 in. to be exact per Jason's measurements) Friday night through Saturday morning. Church was even canceled on Sunday! Jason hasn't had to go in to work for the past two days and doesn't have to go in tomorrow! Unheard of! More pictures of the blizzard are here. We took these pictures on Saturday and Sunday. It has snowed an inch or two tonight and we're supposed to get several more tomorrow. The blizzard over the weekend was exciting and fun....we can be done now though!! :)

Karla and I have been learning some things about bears recently and made some bear biscuits one morning. Her favorite part was the chocolate chip eyes. :)

Yes, there is a Daddy, Mommy, and Baby bear ready to be baked.

February 5

I had been thinking about this at the beginning of last week...even the week before last. Then towards the end of this past week I just forgot! Maybe it was the blizzard. TWO years ago on Feb 5, 2008 we met and held Karla for the first time.

I remember the trip to the airport that day. It was so snowy and icy. We had trouble getting to the airport. Usually I get scared when the roads are that bad. Not that day. I was just determined. I remember thinking that there was NOTHING that would be able to stop me from getting to Guatemala that day. I'd walk if I had to, or possibly sprout wings and fly myself....okay, so that was pushing it...at the time I thought I could probably do it though. :)

First photo with the 3 of us, taken minutes after we first saw Karla.

First few minutes back in our hotel room. Karla was a little nervous....and she just clung to me. That was fine with me! :) Truth be told, I was nervous too.

Karla and Daddy being silly by the pool. :) Love them!

My Girl

The other morning sun was streaming in Karla's bedroom window so I decided to take some pictures. She was cooperating too! This is my favorite pic...and the pose was her idea. :)