Friday, February 13, 2015

I don't know how to put this, but my daughter is KIND OF a big deal.

Happy Friday the 13th!
Lola ~ Vision Therapy ~ 2.13.15
I had to pop on here & share a few awesome accomplishments made by our sweet Lola! Obviously we have some dwarf sibling rivalry going on here because Mrs. Pocket doesn't want to be shown up by her big sister, who clearly has been kicking ass & taking names dominating in her physical therapy sessions lately!  It is *SO* exciting to see progress with our girls, as we've waited literally 13 & 8 years to see these dreams become a reality. So, here goes...

1. Lola grew out of three 6 month size clothing items today - 2 pairs of adorable Carter's jeggings (too tight in her waist, shockingly!) & a darling Dr. Seuss onesie (boohoo! It was one of my favorites!). The other day I wondered if she had some crazy problem with the salivary glands in her cheeks because they looked so puffy.  I about Googled that shit when I realized that she simply had just gained weight! None of us can believe how HEALTHY Lola is looking these days.  It is such a joy for us to see her like this after watching her hit rock bottom a year or so ago weight-wise. Thank you, 8 lb. 6 oz. Baby Jesus, for letting Lola grow bigger than you!  HA!

#CashandLola
2. Lola shook her head "no" emphatically this morning when I asked her if she wanted her bottle this morning!!! It was unexpected because normally she gets fired up when it's time to eat & downs her bottle in like 4 minutes, but today was different.  I offered it to her like always -- I squirted a little milk into her mouth and then put the bottle nipple in when she opened up wide.  She immediately made a bad face, jerked her head away from the bottle & stopped drinking entirely.  I said, "Do you want your bottle???" She shook her head NO!!!!! Like 4-5 times, left and right!!!! And not just subtly, my girl was having NONE OF THAT 40 4 oz.! Maybe it was a coincidence, but honestly, I really think she just wanted me to get it the F away from her!!!  All that being said, like 3 minutes later, after I went ON & ON about how badass she was for telling me "NO!" BY SHAKING HER HEAD (STILL IN AWE HERE!!!), she downed that same bottle in 3 minutes flat. These girls of mine & their ever-changing moods are gonna drive me to drink crazy! GEESH!

3. Lola is consistently showing she knows what's up when we put a bib around her neck or a burp rag underneath her chin. She immediately starts making a clicking noise with her tongue and suckling like she knows it is feeding time! So cool!!! Oh, how I love this girl o' mine. See the video below for a little snippet of my girl in action today, downing some cantaloupe like a boss!


4.  Lola now randomly gets B.O. in her right armpit only.  I'm not sure if this is an accomplishment or not, but it seems huge to me.  My little girl is growing up!  (Don't think I didn't Google "Is it abnormal for an 8 year old to have B.O." before realizing that it is probably the most age appropriate thing she's done her whole damn life. Ha!)  Claire didn't start getting stinky until she was 11 or 12, so this seems odd.  However, others assure me their typical children start getting funky around 8-9 years old, so it's likely nothing to be worried about.  Considering the girls don't sweat at all, I still find this B.O. vexing.  But as with every other weird ass thing my girls do, I'm choosing to let it goooooooo!  (In my best Frozen rendition!  Don't judge.  Last night Scott said to Claire, "Don't cry!" and then he said, "Don't cry for me, Argentina!" & I belted out in my best opera voice, "The truth is I never left you..." and I don't even know anymore lyrics than that, but I totally felt like "the shit.")  How the hell I got from B.O. to a title track from the musical Evita, composed by the great Andrew Lloyd Webber, NO ONE KNOWS, but once again, I wanna give a shout out to Google for giving me the 411 on that.  (Did that "411" comment make me sound old or super awesome?!)


 All I know is THIS...


xo

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lola is lokking sooo good!!

Nan said...

Gwen...she IS looking damn healthy here lately! And WTG on making her moods known...ROCK ON, Lola!!!!

Kim S. said...

Lola looks fantastic! As for the BO, which I congratulate her on, isn't it caused by normal skin bacteria that start populating pits in the presence of puberty hormones? Which 'start' around her age, btw so -- a developmental milestone!

Tamara Ann said...

Hi Gwen!
I love your blogs! You are so blatantly honest about your life, and your terminology is priceless!
Your kids are all amazing, and it is clear to see why you are so proud of them. You are absolutely correct when you say you were blessed with two girls who are exactly the way they are meant to be. They are beautiful little ladies who bring a smile with every picture you post. Thank you for sharing your life with the rest of us, and please keep you blogs coming!

Brooksey, in Britain said...

So glad to see Lola looking so well, after her prolonged low of last year. Even her hair looks thicker and more lustrous!

I'm a Brit who's checked in to your blog for a couple of years, dropping by every few weeks - usually in the small hours of the morning, like now: 1.25 am, UK time.

momsmom said...

Great post! Awesome accomplishments! Where do you get the vision therapy things? I would love to get some of those things for my nephew.

Hillary Savoie said...

Lola looks great! What a wonderful post!!

Gwen said...

@momsmom -- these are just rope lights from Lowe's or Home Depot! I found some cool lights on Amazon, too -- but none are specifically for vision therapy - I think that's the key. As soon as you start looking for specifically VT stuff, they jack the prices up. Look up EL wire on Amazon - - lit wire! SO COOL! Gonna get Lola some for her b-day! NEAT STUFF! Runs off a battery -- easy!

THANKS TO ALL for the sweet comments above! <3 xoxon I agree -- Lola is looking sooooo much healthier. Hard to recognize her after last year being SO TINY & thin. Happy to see PROGRESS!!!!

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say what an absolutely beautiful family you have! I've been reading your blog for a while now and I've honestly rarely seen another family who all look so genuinely happy ��

Thank you to you and your adorable family for brightening my day more times than I care to mention ��

Asha said...

Hi

Greetings from India for your precious children

I have too a girl and a boy with microcephaly too, although she can talk a few words yet he cant talk neither move


Is there differences between your daughters habilities too? Besides Lola being able to be mouth feeded



Gwen said...

Claire is a little more advanced with her physical therapy - is able to do things Lola cannot do, like get in a crawling position, stand, bear weight on legs, sit, tall kneel, etc. Lola's vision has seemed a little better than Claire's lately but just found out C is quite nearsighted so maybe that is why?! And yes - orally Lola does better with eating and drinking bottles and tooth brushing. Extremes indeed!!!

Gwen said...

Asha - there is no reason to believe your daughter won't get her period/menstruate - unless she is too thin or not enough body fat.

Mary De Joe said...

Hi, greetings from Jacksonville, Florida for this great blog and your precious children

How is Claire physical teraphy going on? Is she doing advances?

What about Lola?

Could you describe a day in their lives (their routine)?

I work as an assistant in a school for children with special needs and they never ever want to do their exercises, and I wonder what an experienced mum such as you does in such cases

Gwen said...

PT is going great for both girls. They are progressing at their own speeds. I couldn't describe a day in their lives if I wanted to as each day is different with our girls! The girls don't always cooperate during therapy sessions either. We do our best to keep them awake and focused but some days we fail at that also.

Anonymous said...

Who will take care of these angels when you and your husband are old?

Have you though about giving that responsabilty to a friend of you or something?

Gwen said...

@Anonymous -- We have already arranged for someone to take care of the girls in the event of our passing. Please know we've thought through all of these options. We just want the best possible life for our girls. Hopefully that will never be an issue. But they will ALWAYS be cared for in a loving way by people who see their worth & value.

Anonymous said...

i havent enough adjetives for your attitude

beautiful
smart
resilient!

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