Sophie and Blake

Saturday, February 4, 2012

December's BIG update

2 kiddos ... one frazzled mom and a traveling dad.

There never seems to be enough time in the day and not enough
hands to accomplish everything I want, including updating this blog.
So in an effort to get caught up, here is my one massive update.
That should catch us up through the holidays and beyond ...
and then, we can start off fresh again ...
It is a new year after all right?

It's always a struggle for us to figure out when to get our Christmas tree ...
yes, we are still talking Christmas.
The year before last, we got our tree too early
so by the time Christmas came, the tree had lost its luster.
Then last year, we got our tree too late ... and hardly got a chance to enjoy it.
Now this year, we planned to get our tree a week into December -
hoping it was just enough time to enjoy it but not enough time for the kids
to get themselves and our tree into trouble.
What we didn't count on was Blake's skull fracture accident.
So our tree got to sit outside and breathe fresh air for a few days.
And then, sat inside our house for a few more days - undecorated.
But by Christmas Eve, our tree was decorated - with all the bells and whistles.

Andrew checking for the best tree ...

Our family photo
We picked the first tree that looked pretty good ...
and took a not-so-nice photo for memory sake.

Tree headed home

Every year since Sophie's first time with a Santa encounter,
it's my goal to hunt out where Santa will be so I can get a crying photo
(mean mommy, mean mommy ...).
I figure it'll be a good memory to have down the road.
This year, I was prepared to have a good photo - two crying kids.
It was going to be classic.
And we found Santa ... twice.
But to my disappointment, neither Sophie nor Blake
were scared or cried.
In fact, I think they might have even smiled.
I was so disappointed.

Our first encounter with Santa came at our friends the Clausen's house.
Dana, Dave and Alexa (otherwise known as the Clausens) just added baby Elizabeth
to the family a few days prior so going out to meet Santa was not really an option.
Instead, they invited the big man to their house ...
and they invited us too!

Sophie and her buddy, Alexa, waiting on Santa

Look at that ... a smile.
How very disappointing!!! :)

The reindeer got lost picking up Santa ...
so the poor man had to walk.

And then several nights later,
we went to Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo ...
to check out the decorated block of houses and of course,
meet Santa again.
Sophie loved the lights and enjoyed meeting her friend again.
She even stopped to tell him what she wanted for Christmas.

Pretty amazing isn't it?

With Santa ...

No tears ...

Sophie even told Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

This year, I can say I officially went overboard.
That's the problem when you buy Christmas gifts all year long ...
and don't take into account what you've already got.
You learn something new every day ...

This year, it wasn't until Christmas Eve that we actually
put ornaments on the tree ... and set the gifts under the tree.
I was afraid that Sophie wouldn't be able to resist the urge to all
the brightly colored presents if we set up beforehand ...

And you remember how I told you I went overboard with the gifts?
Well, lets just say it was a late night after Christmas Eve service
... decorating and wrapping.
But watching Sophie and Blake's (especially Sophie's) expression
the next day ... made it all worth it!

The decorated tree ....
with all the gifts under the tree.

Being silly with Daddy ...

Our little Santa Claus

Opening Gifts

SO excited!!!

Blake was far more interested in chewing his gifts
than actually opening them ...

He was quite sad when we told him how opening gifts actually worked ...

But then he cheered up ...
when he figure out it involved presents ...

And so rarely seen
... here I am.
I do exist.
with my glasses on.

Andrew, the kiddos ... and all those gifts ...

Sophie asked for presents for a days afterwards ...
Girlfriend, that's not how it works!!!!

Then we went to my parents' house ...
and guess what ...
we opened MORE gifts!!!

I LOVE this photo of Blake ...

This year, we decided to host Christmas Dinner.
When we first moved into our house in 2009, I hosted Thanksgiving dinner ...
but let's be honest, I didn't cook anything. I just opened up my home,
and the family brought everything else.
But this year, I cooked all the side dishes and bought the ham and turkey.
I thought it was safer this way ... if anything, we would have something to eat.

All the sides -
salad, bread pudding, roasted pepers,
roasted squash and brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes

Along with our family, our dear friends, Ann and Norman,
and cousin, Jake, joined us ...

So now, you're caught up through December ...
2012 ... ready. set. GOOOOOOO .....

Saturday, January 7, 2012

A Cup of Tea

Over the Christmas celebrations, I had a cup of tea ... twice.

First, I hosted a table at my church's annual Bel Air Christmas Tea.
If I'm entirely honest with myself, I may have my name attached to the tea
but really, my mom is the brains and creativity behind the actual table.
Mom is the dreamer and planner.

Thank you Mom.

Anyways, despite signing up at 7:01am, about a month prior to the actual tea,
one minute after they opened the online registrations,
our table was still placed in the canopy adjacent to the main Dicipleship Center.
Admittedly, it was kind of a bummer to be "just" on the outside of the "real" event ...
and a real hassle to only be able to set up on Saturday morning,
only hours before the tea began ...
but it was still so, so lovely.

Although Blake "helped" my mom and I to setup,
a remarkable thing happened .... both Sophie and Blake
were watched by someone other than Andrew, myself or the Grandparents
for the very first time!
Rosa - the super babysitter, kept the little ones calm while Pau Pau and Mommy
were out to play, with the help of my dad, who stayed home ... just in case.

Food being served.

The church provides these yummy scones ...
I always look forward to these little jewels!

Aren't these the most precious cupcakes?
My dear friend, Cora, and her son, Archie made them

My mom, the host ... and her daughter.
It's funny because we were talking about how little time we have together
... just the two of us. I love having time with my mom.

With Andrew, the handsome butler
Andrew always moans and groans that his
wife "makes" him butler our table ...
but secretly, I think he really enjoys it ...

The Fanous ladies.
Christy and I have been in Bible Study together for about 6 years now.
It is a good and precious friendship ...

Sweet mommy friends ... Jaclyn and Sarah

Sarah and I co-chair our church's mommy group,
Mothers and Others, together this year

With my lovely friends - Katherine and Cora

With Christy ...

The men always sing, "Go Tell it on the Mountain"

and then pass out chocolate roses to all the ladies!

A few weeks after the Bel Air Presbyterian tea, I went to Ann and Norman's, two very dear friends, annual Christmas Tea. It was an impressive spread of food with wonderful friends.

At Ann's for a cup of tea!

Homemade Miced Pie ... yum!

I must have eaten a dozen of these chocolate dipped strawberries!

Ahhh .... Red Velvet Cake!

Deviled Eggs ...

Ooooodles and Ooooodles of Sandwiches

Pretty friends!

I can't wait for the holidays to come again at the end of this year
... so we can have another cup of tea!

Monday, January 2, 2012

A bump on the head

My little guy, Blake, is such a brave little boy ...

And Blake, since this is part of your story,
it is a memory you'll want to know about ...
so I am telling you all about the bump on your head.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Andrew was at a speed reading class
so I figured I'd kill some time by bringing the kiddos over for a quick visit.
How little did I know these few hours would change my life.

Pau Pau had taken Sophie on a walk and I was playing with Blake.
As I had done many, many times before, I set Blake up on the island table,
seated in the bumbo seat. I was twirling and twirling - making Blake laugh.
I turned split second to wash my hands and as I turned back around I saw a sight
that still haunts me to this day ...
Blake, falling face first, strapped to his bumbo to the ground.
My heart aches even as I share this story and I can still hear the
sound of Blake hitting the hardwood floor.

We both screamed.

With my heart still racing and Blake still sobbing,
I grabbed him and made sure his eyes tracked mine and
checked that his arms and feet were moving.
It all seemed fine until I went to nurse him about 5 minutes later
and noticed a huge bump on his head.
By this time, my mom had returned with Sophie
so she encouraged me to ice the bump.

It got worst.

So we immediately packed the kids up and rushed to the ER.

Blake in the ER
Wouldn't you believe he had a poop blowout
and in the rush, I left without any spare clothes.
They gave him a little hospital outfit to wear.

And the first few hours, it was just Blake and I ...
And then, the doctor told me that Blake had sustained a skull fracture in the fall ...
and we would be taken to UCLA Westwood (we were at UCLA Santa Monica).

The good news, however was that the fracture
had not separated and his brain was not damaged.

After 4 hours in the ER, we were taken by an ambulance to UCLA Westwood.
Where Andrew finally met us, in the ER.

We were admitted for a stay in the PICU
Pediatrics ICU for precaution.

They hooked Blake up to machines ...
to measure his heartbeat
and monitor his brain.

Blake and all his hookups!

All this time,
Blake smiled
and was so very, very cheerful

At about 10pm,
12 hours after we arrived at the hospital,
we were met by the police,
who were investigating what had happened.

Then at 12:30am, a social worker came.
We had been reported for abuse and neglect ...
of both Blake and his sister, Sophie.

As I signed the paperwork that allowed the social worker
to look into all parts of my children's life ... my heart broke.
As mother, my heart just broke and I blame myself, still,
for what happened ... I still see him falling ... even today.
I understood why this was happening but it was still tough.

The funny thing was when the social worker was inspecting Blake for any signs of abuse,
she noticed a little speck on his poor sensitive skin.
She immediately asked in a very accusatory tone,
"WHAT IS THAT"
Lady, it's tape ... a speck of leftover tape from when he was in the ER.
Ridiculous :)

Blake's recovery, ultimately, is the most important
and that was what I kept telling myself.

He did amazingly well overnight and by morning,
we were released and ready to head home.

I saw my dad (and Sophie) coming to pick us up from our room.
He's the guy exiting the black car on the right side

And even though we were now home,
our journey with the Department of Child & Family Services wasn't quite over.
We were visited.
And then asked to see the doctor to verify that Blake was indeed fine.
It was really all a bit of overkill by the time it was all said and done.

Blake seems to be doing fine now ...
His parents are now overprotective parents.
We will have a followup appointment with the neurologist in March ...
but I don't expect any residual issues.

On a side note,
I have such faithful family and friends ...
that continually checked in with us
that prayed for Blake and for our family
and were so willing to drop everything to be there with us.

Thank you to my parents
who took Sophie under their care
no questions asked, with no complaints
and helped her to understand that
Mommy and Daddy were at the "hop-pit-tal" with Baby Bake
and assuring her that everything would be okay.
Distracting her with lots of fun activities.

We are so blessed with such a great support team.
Thank you.

And Blake ... Mommy is so, so sorry.
Thank you for your smiles and forgiving heart.
Love, love, love you ... bump and all!

It all began with a Christmas Kids Club ....

There never seems to be enough hours in the day ... or I never seem to have enough energy in my body. I have intentions of doing many things after the kids head to bed but I'm just too tired.

I think next year, I might ask Andrew for the gift of silence and freedom - just for an afternoon to myself .... sigh, what a nice dream it would be ...

Moving on ...

December was one huge adventure and since my blog went on an unexpected hiatus - here it is everything that happened ...

It all began with a Kids Club adventure, a few weeks before Christmas. Our fearless Kids Club leader, Mia, and the whole Viljoen family were headed away for a month to South Africa (which is "home" away from LA for them) and with a busy month on the horizon, there was nothing but the present to celebrate Christmas.