playground

Monday we had the new playground put in. It took 2 men 3 1/2 hours to put it together and then Sarah gave them each a Popsicle for working so hard. Sarah didn't seem to be very happy about the playground but in the evening the Fourniers came over and we played then. Sarah didn't take a nap so she was in a mood by the time everyone got here. The pictures are of Abby and Claire and Sarah enjoying different parts of the new playground.

What a night!

We had the best time yesterday going to lunch with our friends the Norris' and then we went to Build A Bear and Sarah got her dog. She read to "Pickle" and then tucked her into bed. She put all the pillows on top of her in the window seat.

Well, You would have thought we never had tried to get her to sleep through the night. She was up 3 times last night. I got up with her twice and was trying to let her cry through it, but Russ got up with her the third time and get her Tylenol and Dimetap and then talked with her for a few minutes and she went back to sleep. We were all up for about 1 1/2 hours. She then slept until 8:00. When she got up, she asked about a sticker and i told her no because she had us up 3 times. She said she would try better tonight. I sure hope so.

The picture here is of Sarah and her Uncle John the fireman. He brought his uniform and tried it on for us one Sunday before Catherine came into their lives. The second picture is of Catherine and Sarah.

She Did It

Well Sarah did it! She has now slept in her own bed all night long for 8 nights in a row. We went to Build A Bear today and got her a black Labrador puppy. She named it pickle. She gave it sound of a dog barking and when we stuffed it, she kissed the heart and placed it on the inside. She was so excited. She then put it in the stroller and belted it in for the ride back to the car. We had to seat belt it in the car. When we got home, she showed Pickle around the house. Now the next thing we have to work on will be getting Dad out of the hallway when she goes to sleep.

Sleeping

Well, we might have fixed to night time problem. Sarah is sleeping in her bed until around 6 in the morning. She then comes to our bed and sleeps til 7:20-8:00. She has 3 stickers and is working towards a build a bear. It is nice for all of us for her to sleep through the night.

On another note, Sarah put her own outfit together the other morning and here is a picture of it. She is so cute it is hard to keep from hugging her forever.

She made it!

Well, Sarah made 5 nights of sleeping without waking me. We never talked to her about 5 nights in a row so in 6 nights she got 5 good nights of sleep and we went today to get her a remote controlled helicopter. That is waht she wanted and so we did it. SHe was so excited. When her dad came home, they played with it until dinner and then again after her bath.
We set up a new sleep reward of 5 nights in a row and she can go to build a bear. I am hoping this will be the end of the waking mom in the middle of the night but only time will tell.

what a day!!

Today has been a very unusual day. I took Sarah to her one n=month checkup for her ear tubes and they looked great. Dr. Albright had us repeat the hearing tests. They showed that she has a moderate hearing loss in her left ear and a mild one in her right. This was a lot to absorb by myself. The doctor wanted us to go and have a blood test done called connexion 26. I found out that this is a genetic condition that both parents have to have and affects the hearing. Nothing can be done to not have it happen and we are not sure if it is progressive or can be fixed right off the bat. As Russ tries to tell me, we don't know if she has it. One tech told us she had no permanent damage and now another says we do. We have an appointment at the Center for Speech and Hearing on Aug. 20th and hopefully they will give us a better report than today. If she does have the hearing loss she will have to wear a hearing aid.
Having Sarah give blood was a disaster. The first nurse couldn't get the vein and then we had to lay her down, with me at her feet and tummy and Russ at her head talking to her trying to get her to calm down so they could get the vein. The nurses said it was because she was tense, but i think she just has hard veins to find. It was horrible. I am not sure who cried more, Sarah or I. At least she got to sleep on the way home.
I know in my heart she is perfect, I just want this to go away!

OOPS

Well Sarah, you didn't sleep through night on Friday. You were very sad when you didn't get your sticker. We talked about your not sleeping and asked you why. You said you wanted mommy. That is ok, but no sticker. We talked about it last night and you slept through the night.!! Yeah!! When we set up the stickers, we didn't talk about it being 5 in a row, so you are going to get the helicopter when you do 5 nights. The next reward will be 5 in a row. Don;t know what that will be yet, but your dad is thinking about Build A Bear. We shall see.