More pictures...

Newest interest: video games....it was bound to happen eventually

Eating grapes. This pic is for Andrea, because her boyfriend is in the background.

Checking out the cars passing by.

"Is she seriously making me go outside?"

Lazy Saturdays...

Looking out the window watching Theresa drive away.

Brrrrr....

Mr. Crafty at it again...

Farmer Fred

Not a whole lot on the agenda today. We keep coming up with big plans, and then nobody moves to do anything about them - so obviously we weren't meant to go anywhere today. Liam is downstairs playing with a buddy, and Lola is tearing the place apart. I tried to take her for a walk, but as you can see by the look on her face, she wasn't into it. It's colder out than it looks! We're thinking of heading to Banff tomorrow, but then we'll miss the chinook here. Sigh. Decisions decisions.

Lola now knows how to do the stairs like crazy. She's speedy fast - sometimes taking them two at a time. She gets scared at the top when she's coming down - but once she sits down, she scoots all the way to the bottom no problem.

We're putting up Christmas decorations little by little. Lola is very helpful in this capacity. (insert sarcasm here: ). Some of the snowmen and bears are taking a beating. I was going to set up the Nativity scene, but thought better of putting it in its usual place. It'll be on a really high shelf - prime real estate these days. How many "up high" places does one house have? And better yet, how many years of bad luck would we get for smashing the Virgin Mary? Yikes.

Best Day Ever!

I really hope my mommy gets me something good after this...... (note: she got cookies and chocolate milk right after)

Oh the drama. (no pain involved - really!)

Screaming in true pterodactyl form....

Before - look at her face - kind of suspicious....

This is actually a before picture (obviously) - but I can't switch the order for some reason.

Lola got her g-tube removed today! We are so excited about it. Steve took her into the hospital, and I met him there when I was done at school (I got a friend to cover my class, thankfully!) and I met them there at 2:15. They were already in the room, which Lola had taken the time to tear apart. We had quite a long wait, but that's okay! The Dr. came in and okayed the procedure and left (took all of 30 seconds with him) and then the nurse removed it. No problem! Lola cried, but only because we were holding her down. So here's a before pic of her with her g-tube, and an after pic of her without it! The circle is just duoderm to protect her skin from the tape which will protect it for a couple of days. The white stuff is stoma powder, which will help the hole to close up - it's like an adhesive. We prayed for this day to come, and here it is! She got a little Strawberry Shortcake doll to celebrate - she was a brave girl today. She walked all over the hospital (no stroller - she's too cool for strollers) and visited her friends on Unit 3. It's pretty funny to see the reactions on people when they see Lola for the first time in months.

Never quite prepared for what lies ahead...

"If you learn from your suffering, and really come to understand the lesson you were taught,you might be able to help someone else who is now in the phase you may have just completed.Maybe that's what it's all about after all... "
Anonymous

I am devastated for the McEwan family, who have lost their amazing mom/wife. My sister, Micheline, succumbed to complications due to the H1N1 virus, and lost her battle today. I am shocked and saddened by what the family has endured these past few weeks. Today was the worst day ever. My heart goes out to Mike, who has lost his best friend, Kate, Kelsie, Chrissy and Trev, who have lost the most incredible mom - the loudest cheerleader at their games, their fiercest defender, and their greatest support. Mich had a blast wherever she went - and I can still hear her laugh ringing in my head. I am devastated to think that the kids have lost their mom - and that they just grew up, in that instant. Innocence lost. It's more than I can bear.

I'm going to think of funny things I remember about Mich:
- the last cross-border shopping trip consisted of Mich, Paula and I - Paula was done shopping after about ten minutes, and Mich and I still had our game faces on like 6 hours later. Finally, when Paula couldn't take it anymore, we got in the car to go. Just then, Mich decided she needed to buy toilet paper, so we went to a grocery store and Paula and I stayed in the car. She came out (after a good, long while) with a bag full of these tiny Breyer's ice cream cups, and spoons for each of us. Hey, if we had to wait on the bridge for awhile, at least we had mini ice creams!
- Dina, Mich and I went to Swish Delish for dinner, and had a few good laughs. We actually topped this trip off with ice cream as well, come to think of it.
- I used to sneak into Mich's bathroom when I was little, and play with her make up and her Tickle deodorant - I used to watch her and her friends get ready to go to Skate Country (they had their own skates! With blue wheels and rabbits feet hanging off the sides!),and basically pretended I was cool like she was.

I can't believe she's gone. Just like that.

Stairs

I forgot to mention that she can climb stairs like mad now. She's not so fond of coming back down them though, and would almost always prefer a "ride" (spoiled girl) - but she can do it. She crawls up them really fast, and comes down on her bum.
She started giving us high fives yesterday - you get 3 in a row. Funny girl. She's also started smacking us (which goes along with the biting) (notsofunnygirl). It's hard to discipline her when we've been spoiling her like crazy for over a year - well, basically for her entire life.

Busy week

Lola was a busy girl this week, with visits from the Occupational Therapist/Physio/Speech path, as well as her Developmental Specialist (Deannie) whom she works with Mon-Thurs. She also got to go to her feeding/play group on Tuesday with Deannie, and I guess she did great by all reports. She has taught herself to use a straw sippy cup! It's so great! She wanders around holding it under her left arm until she's thirsty again. When she's finished, she throws it across the room, in true Lola form! This week, she's been fascinated by Riley, our black lab. She's giggling at him as I type. It's like she just realized he's furry and about her height. Anyway, she follows him around all the time, and laughs at him. I don't think he's too impressed. She has also discovered her toys! She now digs through toyboxes until she finds just what she's looking for. She makes huge messes and walks away smiling. What a bum. She also loves to clear off countertops/desks/etc. eat remotes and blackberries (the phone, not the fruit...), and run when she hears music. She's been a blast this week, albeit insanely busy.
Next week in physio they're going to try her in a weighted vest - I did some research, and basically it should help her to focus/calm her down. At least it's not a helmet!
So we're still scheduled for g-tube removal on the 26th - so exciting! Next on the horizon is another EEG (poor girl)/neuro visit to make sure the Keppra is controlling any subclinical seizures (aka ones we don't see).

Liam's recovered from his cold/H1N1/cough/whatever that was, but has this crazy allergic rash we can't figure out. So we're washing all his blankets/sheets in hot water with a sensitive skin detergent and giving him oatmeal baths.

If it's not one kid, it's the other.

Life's good. Busy, but good.

Thanks for the love and prayers. xo Please keep my stepsister, Micheline, in your thoughts and prayers as well if you can spare them. She's nearing the three week mark in a coma recovering from double pneumonia/H1N1. I miss hearing her laugh. And I keep hearing her say, "Hey, Gilly, d'you know what?..." This is a very difficult time for Mike and the kids - can't stop thinking about them.

Oh Happy Day!

We got a call today from the GI surgeon's office to schedule Lola's g-tube removal procedure. November 26th, here we come!! I can't wait to not have to worry about that tube getting pulled out, etc. It really freaks me out. I know that it serves a valuable purpose, but a tummy doesn't like a "foreign body" stuffed into the side of it. Her stomach has never healed perfectly around it. Anyway, we'll be very happy to see Lola with two belly buttons. Woo hoo! Hopefully it heals nicely and the procedure doesn't hurt her or anything. I've been assured it's not a big deal at all by Karen, one of our beloved g-tube nurses. She said that they deflate the balloon with a syringe, pull out the tube, then put some stoma powder to promote the stoma to close over and heal properly....a bit of gauze and we're out of there.

Lola started running today. She should be up to a 5k by Christmas. No seriously, she kind of jogs all around the house. She's a wee bugger - into everything and anything - didn't we already go through this phase once? Oh right - it's all coming back to me. Anyway, Steve laughs at her all the time - all she does is search for trouble. Liam's favorite lego sculpture? That's right - throw it on the ground and smash it. Anything on the kitchen island/countertops is fair game. Tonight I was getting her supper ready - good old leftovers - and she ran by and swiped a big piece of broccoli off her plate and booked it into the living room. She also likes to take things and hide them behind her back. It's priceless. Tonight, Liam ran by and shot Lola with his fake alien blaster thing (no bullets or anything) and she freaked out screaming at him. She was not impressed. She does love her Bubby, but shooting is out of line. She also loves to give big open-mouthed kisses - she likes to lick people too. What a kid.

It's been quite a year. So much that she's re-learned. I could write ten pages about her progress, but I'd much rather go to sleep.

Beautiful November...

Tackled! Then a tickle fight...

Cookie face!

Pals out for a stroll...

Well, it's been almost a year since we began this journey. We've been through some very dark times, but through it all, Lola's spirit has persevered. She has overcome so much. We quickly got rid of the few reminders of Halloween to focus on decorating for Christmas! We'd rather look ahead than look behind. We have enough ghosts lurking in every corner that we don't need anymore reminders of that season. Onward and upward!

Lola and Liam have been playing together more and more, which is incredible to see. I find myself watching them chase each other around, giggling their heads off, with a smile on my face.

Steve found her doing something new tonight at the dinner table - holding her own sippy cup! Yay! She was feeding herself drinks of smoothie from her sippy and we were amazed.

What a girl!

Aunt Pubba was sad because Lola wasn't allowed to have an Oreo this morning (I was filling up the cookie jar and Lola freaked out). You can see what happened when she finally got one after supper. Yeah, somebody had a tub after that one!