We got great news today! Derek is getting a job offer from the Calton Harrison clinic! He flew to Utah last month to interview there and for an Interventional Radiology job in Salt Lake. He was super impressed and excited about this job prospect. We've been crossing our fingers that he would get it. Today his long time friend Austin Okelberry, who is a PA in the clinic, told him they'd be officially giving him the offer in the next few days!
I have to gush about how proud I am of Derek. I got emotional for a minute last night because I just don't know how I got so lucky to have him. He has worked SO hard during PA school to excel and do amazing so that he can get a great job like this. There have been so many HARD things he's been faced with during school and he always makes it through like a champ. I'm so lucky to never have to worry that he will work hard and provide for our family. He got an offer from the IR job as well, but was really hoping to get this job. When he was talking to Austin on the phone he thanked him for helping him get things set up- but Austin said Derek totally did it all himself (of course I knew that already). There were over 70 applicants and they interviewed people who had as much as 15 years of experience under their belt! I always knew Derek was a superstar but I love seeing other people see that in him also.
We have been so blessed and I'm so thankful that we'll be back in Utah. It's a little crazy that he will be back at McKay Dee Hospital, where he worked for 5 years before we moved to CT. He knows the hospital, has many friends that work on the campus, and will be able to fall right back into a place where he feels comfortable and familiar. Derek deserves every opportunity that he has been given because he never stops working towards his goals. We can't wait to be close to family again and back in beautiful Utah- our home!
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
Birthday Girl
Happy birthday sweet Viv! Today our little one is TWO. I have actually been a little emotional today. I feel like time moves so quickly, and while I am so happy that every day brings more learning and progression for her, of course I kind of just want her to be my baby forever. But every day is definitely more fun than the last- she is like a little sponge right now and learning new things every day.
Her birthday celebrations started on Saturday night, we had some friends over for cake and ice cream. Dallin, Nikole and Addy, Mariah and Nate, and Jaime and Vinny all came over to help us celebrate. We sang to her and she loved that, then she actually ate some cake! Last year we couldn't convince her to touch it so I was unsure if she'd be interested this year. She took some big bites and loved making a big old mess. We watched Moana and Mariah played with Addy and Viv and had them running around laughing a screaming and having so much fun. We are so lucky to have such great friends here when we sure do miss our families for events like this.
Today we got up and ate pink pancakes for breakfast and opened some gifts. Derek was scheduled to work nights this week but got sent home early last night, so he has actually been home today to celebrate with us! We love when he is home. Viv had speech so we all went together then ate lunch at Chick-fil-a. Viv eats so well there, she absolutely loves the chicken nuggets and especially the french fries. We got her an ice cream cone but she wasn't into it. I think she was full and getting tired and didn't want to be bothered. She and Derek are both napping now and I get to write this post and think about our wonderful little toddler.
I heard this song by Sara Bareilles that was written for the broadway play called Waitress. It's called Everything Changes, and it's about being a mother. I LOVE some of the lyrics because they describe how I feel so perfectly.
Today's a day like any other
But I am changed
I am a mother
Oh in an instant
And who I was has disappeared
It doesn't matter, now you're here
So innocent
I was lost for you to find
And now I'm yours and you are mine
Everything changes
My heart's at the wheel now
...Oh and it's true
What did I do to deserve you
The last line has been really how I feel lately. I don't know how I got so lucky to have this perfect little human be mine, and ours, forever! It's so cliche to say that motherhood is the hardest yet most rewarding thing ever. I never understood it till I had her, but it is 100% true. I would literally do anything for her, to make her safe or happy. And of course she makes me want to be better because I want to teach her to be a strong, smart, capable, kind, giving, loving person.
Vivian has amazed me these last two years. Having such a tiny, fragile start makes me appreciate her growth even more. She is already so amazing, but I'm sure that on her third birthday I will explain how much more she is next year. Vivian, your momma loves you to the moon and back.
Her birthday celebrations started on Saturday night, we had some friends over for cake and ice cream. Dallin, Nikole and Addy, Mariah and Nate, and Jaime and Vinny all came over to help us celebrate. We sang to her and she loved that, then she actually ate some cake! Last year we couldn't convince her to touch it so I was unsure if she'd be interested this year. She took some big bites and loved making a big old mess. We watched Moana and Mariah played with Addy and Viv and had them running around laughing a screaming and having so much fun. We are so lucky to have such great friends here when we sure do miss our families for events like this.
Today we got up and ate pink pancakes for breakfast and opened some gifts. Derek was scheduled to work nights this week but got sent home early last night, so he has actually been home today to celebrate with us! We love when he is home. Viv had speech so we all went together then ate lunch at Chick-fil-a. Viv eats so well there, she absolutely loves the chicken nuggets and especially the french fries. We got her an ice cream cone but she wasn't into it. I think she was full and getting tired and didn't want to be bothered. She and Derek are both napping now and I get to write this post and think about our wonderful little toddler.
I heard this song by Sara Bareilles that was written for the broadway play called Waitress. It's called Everything Changes, and it's about being a mother. I LOVE some of the lyrics because they describe how I feel so perfectly.
Today's a day like any other
But I am changed
I am a mother
Oh in an instant
And who I was has disappeared
It doesn't matter, now you're here
So innocent
I was lost for you to find
And now I'm yours and you are mine
Everything changes
My heart's at the wheel now
...Oh and it's true
What did I do to deserve you
The last line has been really how I feel lately. I don't know how I got so lucky to have this perfect little human be mine, and ours, forever! It's so cliche to say that motherhood is the hardest yet most rewarding thing ever. I never understood it till I had her, but it is 100% true. I would literally do anything for her, to make her safe or happy. And of course she makes me want to be better because I want to teach her to be a strong, smart, capable, kind, giving, loving person.
Vivian has amazed me these last two years. Having such a tiny, fragile start makes me appreciate her growth even more. She is already so amazing, but I'm sure that on her third birthday I will explain how much more she is next year. Vivian, your momma loves you to the moon and back.
Monday, April 24, 2017
TWO (almost)
Clearly I'm not getting any better at journaling/bogging. Thank heavens social media somewhat keeps track of our doings so that we have SOMETHING to look back on.
Vivian will be 2 in TWO weeks. (*crying*) The progress she has made in the past year is AMAZING. She is such a little smarty pants. Her little personality evolves and grows every day and it is the best thing to watch. She is endlessly sweet, yet strong-willed, determined, and stubborn all at the same time.
SHE EATS! A day we thought would never come! She's still a little picky but will usually taste almost anything. Then she'll decide if she wants more or not. A typical Vivian menu consists of oatmeal, eggs, Spaghetti O's, mac and cheese, hot dogs, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, cheddar and sour cream Ruffles chips, goldfish crackers, and cheerios. Considering that last year at this time she only ate 3 different kinds of baby purees, we are THRILLED that she eats as well as she does. She still has to be watching a show while she eats to have some distraction, but as long as she gets the calories, we'll take it. She still takes a few bottles each day, one before bed and one at midnight to get her through the night. She's still drinking Elecare junior formula and we add cornstarch in her midnight bottle. This makes it so we can go 7 hours overnight without feeding. Hallelujah!! I never thought I'd see that day either- and this has SERIOUSLY helped with my sanity.
SHE SPEAKS! (a little.) For a very long time in speech therapy we worked on eating. We only started working on actual speech about 6 months ago. Viv is smart- she knows what's going on. She understands what people say to her, and is slowly starting to verbalize herself. These are the signs and words she knows:
More- signs and just says the "mmmm" sound
All done- signs and says "ah-duh ah-duh ah-duh" She does this often to try to be done eating :)
Bye bye- waves
Hi- says "hiii" in a low voice
Give me- signs and says "da da" She does this a lot when she wants some of our Diet Coke.
Go- literally started doing this TODAY. After saying ready, set, she responds with "doh!"
SHE WALKS! This might be the biggest accomplishment of them all. Viv started crawling last September, when she was 16 months old. She went from being basically immobile to crawling around everywhere and loving the independence. We still worked on ordering a walker with her physical therapist since we really didn't think she'd walk for a long time. She started cruising around the furniture and surprised us all when she took her first steps while we were home in Utah for Christmas. I think being around lots of cousins gave her the motivation to keep up with them. And it was one of the best days ever!! It was definitely one of my proudest moments as a parent--to see her do something that I know was so hard and that took a lot of work to accomplish. Since then she's just been walking (and almost running) everywhere.
She loves being chased, tickled, and wrestled. Especially with Derek. He is the tickling king around here. He can get her laughing so much harder than I ever can. She loves books--we often find her in her room thumbing through every book we own. She still loves Sofia the First and Daniel Tiger. Her favorite movies right now are Moana, Trolls, and Sing. We usually watch any assortment of these shows while she's eating. And I'm trying to be better about limiting it to that. She loves to be outside. Even just to walk outside to the mailbox she can explore the tiniest things with enjoyment. She is just starting to learn how to crawl up on the furniture--and is quite mischevious about it when we try to keep her off of it so that she doesn't fall and break an arm. Music is still one of her favorite things and she loves to wave her hands and dance. She's starting to like pretend play and it's so sweet to watch her play with her baby doll. She gives her a bottle and walks her in the baby stroller. These days most of her favorite toys aren't actually toys- but water bottles, loose papers, my makeup brushes, or Derek's earplugs. She mostly just loves getting into things she knows she shouldn't.
Viv's Hyperinsulinism is still very much a part of our lives, but I finally feel like I have a handle on it. She still responds to Diazoxide which is a blessing. She takes .8 ml/ twice a day. Her blood sugar will still dip a little low from time to time but it can be controlled by food. If we can get her to eat something or drink a bottle it goes back up. Thank heavens for Derek. He gives me a lot of confidence with this condition that I never knew existed before this child. He understands it more than me (obviously) and is always the source of calm when I'm acting like a literal crazy person. We had genetic testing done that came back inconclusive- so she doesn't have any gene mutations causing the disease. We are heading to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in May for an admission, where they are basically the mecca for CHI. Viv will have a fasting test done to see how long she can go without food before her blood sugar drops. We are looking forward to working with the doctors there to see if they want to change anything with her treatment. Dr. Riba at CCMC has been nothing but amazing, but we are excited to take the opportunity to go to CHOP while we're here on the east coast.
Derek is applying for jobs!! He is in his last rotation right now in OB/GYN. It's not his favorite but he does enjoy helping with the deliveries. He has 4 more weeks and then he'll be back in the classroom over the summer. The amount of pride and praise I have for him deserves its own blog post- which will come. In a nutshell- he is AMAZING.
Vivian will be 2 in TWO weeks. (*crying*) The progress she has made in the past year is AMAZING. She is such a little smarty pants. Her little personality evolves and grows every day and it is the best thing to watch. She is endlessly sweet, yet strong-willed, determined, and stubborn all at the same time.
SHE EATS! A day we thought would never come! She's still a little picky but will usually taste almost anything. Then she'll decide if she wants more or not. A typical Vivian menu consists of oatmeal, eggs, Spaghetti O's, mac and cheese, hot dogs, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, cheddar and sour cream Ruffles chips, goldfish crackers, and cheerios. Considering that last year at this time she only ate 3 different kinds of baby purees, we are THRILLED that she eats as well as she does. She still has to be watching a show while she eats to have some distraction, but as long as she gets the calories, we'll take it. She still takes a few bottles each day, one before bed and one at midnight to get her through the night. She's still drinking Elecare junior formula and we add cornstarch in her midnight bottle. This makes it so we can go 7 hours overnight without feeding. Hallelujah!! I never thought I'd see that day either- and this has SERIOUSLY helped with my sanity.
SHE SPEAKS! (a little.) For a very long time in speech therapy we worked on eating. We only started working on actual speech about 6 months ago. Viv is smart- she knows what's going on. She understands what people say to her, and is slowly starting to verbalize herself. These are the signs and words she knows:
More- signs and just says the "mmmm" sound
All done- signs and says "ah-duh ah-duh ah-duh" She does this often to try to be done eating :)
Bye bye- waves
Hi- says "hiii" in a low voice
Give me- signs and says "da da" She does this a lot when she wants some of our Diet Coke.
Go- literally started doing this TODAY. After saying ready, set, she responds with "doh!"
SHE WALKS! This might be the biggest accomplishment of them all. Viv started crawling last September, when she was 16 months old. She went from being basically immobile to crawling around everywhere and loving the independence. We still worked on ordering a walker with her physical therapist since we really didn't think she'd walk for a long time. She started cruising around the furniture and surprised us all when she took her first steps while we were home in Utah for Christmas. I think being around lots of cousins gave her the motivation to keep up with them. And it was one of the best days ever!! It was definitely one of my proudest moments as a parent--to see her do something that I know was so hard and that took a lot of work to accomplish. Since then she's just been walking (and almost running) everywhere.
She loves being chased, tickled, and wrestled. Especially with Derek. He is the tickling king around here. He can get her laughing so much harder than I ever can. She loves books--we often find her in her room thumbing through every book we own. She still loves Sofia the First and Daniel Tiger. Her favorite movies right now are Moana, Trolls, and Sing. We usually watch any assortment of these shows while she's eating. And I'm trying to be better about limiting it to that. She loves to be outside. Even just to walk outside to the mailbox she can explore the tiniest things with enjoyment. She is just starting to learn how to crawl up on the furniture--and is quite mischevious about it when we try to keep her off of it so that she doesn't fall and break an arm. Music is still one of her favorite things and she loves to wave her hands and dance. She's starting to like pretend play and it's so sweet to watch her play with her baby doll. She gives her a bottle and walks her in the baby stroller. These days most of her favorite toys aren't actually toys- but water bottles, loose papers, my makeup brushes, or Derek's earplugs. She mostly just loves getting into things she knows she shouldn't.
Viv's Hyperinsulinism is still very much a part of our lives, but I finally feel like I have a handle on it. She still responds to Diazoxide which is a blessing. She takes .8 ml/ twice a day. Her blood sugar will still dip a little low from time to time but it can be controlled by food. If we can get her to eat something or drink a bottle it goes back up. Thank heavens for Derek. He gives me a lot of confidence with this condition that I never knew existed before this child. He understands it more than me (obviously) and is always the source of calm when I'm acting like a literal crazy person. We had genetic testing done that came back inconclusive- so she doesn't have any gene mutations causing the disease. We are heading to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in May for an admission, where they are basically the mecca for CHI. Viv will have a fasting test done to see how long she can go without food before her blood sugar drops. We are looking forward to working with the doctors there to see if they want to change anything with her treatment. Dr. Riba at CCMC has been nothing but amazing, but we are excited to take the opportunity to go to CHOP while we're here on the east coast.
Derek is applying for jobs!! He is in his last rotation right now in OB/GYN. It's not his favorite but he does enjoy helping with the deliveries. He has 4 more weeks and then he'll be back in the classroom over the summer. The amount of pride and praise I have for him deserves its own blog post- which will come. In a nutshell- he is AMAZING.
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