More Brother Love.

These Two.

She's back !!!

Maggie come home from the hospital yesterday although she had still not eaten or drank anything.  Her labs looked great and the doctors felt she would be eating and drinking soon.

 So we brought home a very puny and sick little girl.

Tonight, she finally got back to her silly self with lots of smiles, dancing, eating and drinking !!!

She even got to help celebrate Auburn's win today. 

She's trying so hard to say "WAR EAGLE". 

We could not have survived without the help of Chuck's parents.  They  jumped in the car and drove three hours when they heard that Maggie was in the hospital and we are so thankful !

Maggie update.

Maggie is doing better, but still has not eaten or drank anything as of last night.  Also, we need her to go to the bathroom.  She has only had three wet diapers in three days.  She is getting lots of IV fluids and pain meds for her mouth and that is really helping her feel better.  Chuck stayed with Maggie last night so I could get some sleep.  Thank you all for your prayers !!! We need them. If Maggie will start drinking and going to the bathroom she will be able to come home.

I am ready to see our sweet girl smile again !

Maggie's sick..

Maggie's been admitted for fluid resuscitation. She's got strep
throat and hand, foot, mouth dz. Her mouth is one giant painful
ulcer. She hasn't eaten or drank much in the past two day. Please
pray for our family during this time.

Saturday Football !

War Eagle. Hey !

Notice the orange and blue cast. 

 Bike wreck. Buckle fracture. Auburn cast !

 Another  attempt at a group picture.

Saturday.

Yeah !!! It's Friday.

Are You My Mommy ?

Meet Parker. He is adorable ! And he has been waiting for a mommy and daddy for two years.  Love without Boundaries is trying to get the word out on this little guy.

All we know is that he was born with deformities in both ears ( it appears to me that he has bilateral microtia/atresia) BUT, his hearing is reported to be normal.  He is five years old and is described as very cute, smart and happy. Please help me spread the word about Parker. I sure hope his forever family is out there. Parker has been wanting to get adopted and just needs a chance. How my heart breaks.

Happy One Year Hearing Anniversary.

August 13th marked a very special anniversary for Maggie. 

It has been one year since she received her BAHA hearing aid and started hearing clearly. 

What a difference one year makes ! Last year, Maggie wasn't speaking much, just a little baby babble every now and then. 

 But now !!! 

There's no way I could list all the words Maggie says ( or attempts to say) because she is trying to say everything. Just tonight she reached for the towel and said "towel", then started saying "wow". She doesn't link many words together yet, except for " I want" and "I have one or two" ( she's counting everything now).

And for you speech people, Maggie still has a glottal stop and has trouble saying some letters:

 ( D,T,SH,CH).  She does some weird thing where she tries to say the word, but won't open her mouth.  She also will not say DADDY. So, for now she is calling daddy "BaBa", which is the Chinese name for daddy and she is happy with that !

Maggie's hearing is great now with her hearing on aid and we are so very, very thankful for this little black box and pink headband !

Happenings.

Maggie's first day of preschool went great ! Her teachers said she played good and didn't cry a bit. They also said her hearing aid stayed on her head (answer to prayer !) and was not a problem. She was so excited about going to school and bringing her little lunch bag.  We have been reading a curious George book about George going to school and I think that helped a little. Also, she has a book about school that shows the children using scissors and doing a lot of cutting. So, she kept signing scissors when I took her to school. Funny ! She fell asleep in the car on the way home and took a long nap. It was seriously quiet at home with everyone gone and I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I kept looking back at the backseat of my car. Habit, I guess !

Chuck has been doing a lot of canning ( tomatoes and pickles).  He is really into preserving food. 

 Is that funny that my husband loves to can ?  I am not so into it. But, I love that he is ! It works for me ! 

The boys have had a great week at school and are getting adjusted to their new schedule.  

So far Will says things like " I love school mom, and I want to do more math !". Walker says things like," My favorite class is lunch and snack". 

Our little girl loves to read the paper in the morning. 

Maybe she will let me know what's going on in this crazy world !

Maggie's First Day of Preschool !!!

First Day Of School !!!!

Fun with fake glasses.

Maggie found these fake glasses in Will's room and she instantly fell in love. 

 She wore them all night !!

You see, she loves to accessorize her outfits.

Which reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from the 1989 movie

 Steel Magnolias:

"The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize."

Gotta love Clairee !

Uh-Oh !

This is what happens when Dawn dish detergent is accidently put in the dishwasher.

Maggie just kept saying "Uh-Oh, Uh-Oh" !

So Big !

Maggie has never liked having her teeth brushed.  Until now....

I put a little stool in her bathroom so she can watch herself in the mirror. 

 Genius, I know.

Now, Maggie loves to brush her teeth by herself and wash her hands. Little miss Independent she is !

She also loves to look at herself in the mirror and "fix her hair" ( i.e. smooth it away from her face).  I wish I would have thought of this little trick a long time ago !