Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Calla 6 Months

As of today, Calla is actually 8 months old.
Let's travel back in time, shall we?

June 27...


Almost sitting up completely unassisted...
Wren says to her sister, "Love you soooooo much!"
Calla is constantly into Wren's stuff.
She is rolling/scooting/inchworming around the house.
We started table food... bananas, sweet potato, avocado... baby-led weaning style.  

Outtakes...
because I always have to take like 100 pictures to get one decent one.
...and because I think they are funny.





This girl makes me smile.

...and so does this one.
Wren had to have her picture taken, like Calla.
On the blanket, like Calla.
With a clip in her hair, like Calla.
:)

Here's a little video action of my crazy jumping bean...


Sunday, July 7, 2013

July 7th

On this day every year, I always, ALWAYS feel so blessed. 
Five years ago today I had a craniotomy done to clip a ruptured brain aneurysm.  
I was only 23 years old.  
I think about different my life could be had things not gone as well as they did.
I think about how thankful I am to be alive.
I think about how wonderful my life truly is.






So blessed.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

6 Months of IP

Since Calla's diagnosis, this whole IP thing has been a crazy, emotional roller coaster.
I briefly touched on the possible effects of IP in this post.
Fortunately, Calla has only experienced the typical skin stages.
So far, our sweet girl has gone through 2 of the 4 stages.
We've just been waiting for the 3rd to appear.
It may happen... or it may not.
That's the crazy thing with IP.
There is no knowing how you are going to be affected.
It really does seem that our girl has this rare genetic condition very, very mildly.
We are so incredibly fortunate.
I joined an online support group for those dealing with IP and I have seen how severely some are affected.
It's scary, especially initially when this whole plethora of intense information is thrown at you.
Big words.  Medical terminology.  Scary images.  Even scarier possibilities.  
I researched Incontinentia Pigmenti for DAYS after Calla's diagnosis.
I finally just had to stop.
I was constantly in tears.
Constantly worried.
Constantly afraid.
I realized that all the researching and worrying and crying was getting me absolutely nowhere.
Day by day is how we decided to deal with this.
And every day it gets a little bit easier.
For the first few months, we had stressful doctors appointments every week.
But now we haven't seen a doctor since March!
And we don't have to see one until September!
Calla is growing and developing exactly how she should.
You would have no idea she even has IP... her skin looks great!
While Calla still may have teeth, skin, hair, and nail issues in the future, 
we are completely 100% ok with that.
Those are all cosmetic issues.
We can fix cosmetic.
And no matter what happens with this whole crazy condition, 
she will always be our sweet, smiley baby Cal Cal!

Here is the progression of Calla's skin the past 6 months.
She mainly had the rash only on her right leg.

Months 1 and 2 are the first stage- blisters (vesicular).
She blistered on and off until she was about 3 months old.
The blistering stage seemed to be a weekly cycle.
Blister, heal, blister again... all within a week.
Then repeat over and over.
This stage was definitely the worst.
The dermatologist said that although they looked bad, the blisters caused her no pain.
I, however, thought she was more irritable when the blisters would start to appear again.

In the month 3 photo,
 you can see the blisters are mostly gone and have been replaced with kind of a crusty/warty looking covering.
That is the second stage- warts (verrucous).
In the 4 month photo, you can see the warts a little more clearly.
By this time, she was completely done with the blisters.
In Calla's case, the warts appeared where the most severe blistering occurred.
The warts only hung around for a few weeks, then just kind of fell off.
I don't think these were painful for her.
They did bleed a little bit if they got scratched off though.
Since the warts have healed, her skin has been great!

Months 5 and 6 is the scarring from the original severe blisters,
but even that looks to be fading a bit.

The third stage, which we are currently waiting on, is hyperpigmentation.
During this stage, the skin is darkened in a swirly pattern, usually on the torso and extremities.
It is not permanent and will fade with time.
From the pictures I have seen, I actually think this stage looks kind of pretty :)
Occasionally, I will find a smattering of very faint light brown dots on Calla's tummy,
but they come and go pretty quickly.
From one diaper change to the next, they will be there, then gone shortly after.
Such a strange thing this whole IP business is.

The fourth and final stage is hypopigmentation, 
which is pale, usually hairless, patches or streaks.
This stage tends to be permanent. 

There is no telling if or when Calla will go through these other stages...
so I guess we just hang on for the ride.
Of course I still find myself worrying about her...
we aren't 100% out of the woods when it comes to eye issues.
She still needs to be checked regularly at the ophthalmologist.
I worry about kids making fun of her if she has funny teeth or crazy hair.
And my heart aches for my baby girl when I think about her wanting to become a momma one day.
Because this is an X-linked genetic issue, she has a 50% chance of passing it on to her children.
I know that this scenario is a looooooong time off, 
and that there are family planning options out there, 
but I still worry for her, 
her future family, 
and the decisions she will have to make one day.

The online support group I joined shortly after Calla's diagnosis has been wonderful.
I have found this group to be an invaluable resource.
It it so nice to have others to talk to through all of this.
They have been there, or are going through the same things as we are.
It's really nice to know that we are not alone when it comes to IP!

As far as where we go from here...
We are still in the process of getting insurance approval for genetic testing.
We have been denied once already, but apparently that's pretty par for the course.
Our geneticist resubmitted our paperwork back in May, so now we just wait...

This little lady sure has captured our hearts!  



Thursday, June 20, 2013

Calla 5 Months


5 months old!

At 5 months, Calla is...

...constantly putting her feet in her mouth...
(especially during diaper changes.)

...in Wren's old booster chair at the table with us during meal times...
(no food for her yet, but it's nice having her sitting with us.)

...thinking she only needs one nap a day...
(Momma thinks differently, however.)

...interested in the cats and dog...
(she learned the hard way that you can't pull the cat's tail.)

...growing!  2 whole inches in a month!...
(hello, 6-9 month clothes!)

...called lots of nicknames...
(Wren calls her Cal Cal Baby... so cute!)

...such a HAPPY baby!
(pretty much all of the time!)

So ticklish!  
Big girl seat!

Always grabbing the toes.

Calla's expression is great here.
She loves Wren so much!

My sleepy little sweet peach!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

April Recap

So I'm going to try to recap the past few months in a couple of posts...

April was pretty busy here. 
With Wren turning 2 and Papa Pete and Grandma Barb's visit and the busyness of every day life, the month flew by!

Wren got a pink trike for her birthday from Papa Pete and Grandma Barb!  
She's thisclose to being able to pedal by herself, but she's not quite there yet. 
I bet by the end of summer she will have it down. 

This girl wants to "swing all day yong". 
And she would, too, if given the opportunity. 

First batch of puppy chow with Grandma Barb!
For at least a week after this, Wren told me she wanted puppy chow for lunch every single day. 
Ah yes, sweet girl, in a perfect world we would all eat puppy chow every day for lunch. 

Water bug!
Wren still talks about swimming with Papa Pete. 

We celebrated Wren's birthday with fuzzhead cake all the way from West Salem, Wisconsin!  
We used to get one of these every summer to celebrate my and Joe's birthday. 
I haven't had one in years.
 Just like her momma, Wren is a frosting fanatic.  
I had to literally fight her off from eating the frosting on my cake too.  
Seriously. 

I love this picture!  
Dad was reading a bedtime story to the girls when Wren decided that Papa Pete needed a pretty ponytail!
So funny. 

Here are a few other random pictures from the month....

Drew and Kristy are getting married in November in Miami. 
We all received our Save the Date cards, so we threw a Save the Date party here in Indiana.  
Not really.
It was just all of us eating dinner together, but we took a pic with their cards and sent Drew and Kristy this pic. 

And then we took this one...  

Christmas card 2013?  Ha!

I had to get a pic of this rare moment. 
This girl hardly ever falls asleep in the car any more. 

Sandbox play!  Buried waist deep. 

Omg. Where did she gets those curls from?!  
Not me, that's for sure.

This picture of Calla makes me laugh. 
She looks so silly. 
She kept trying to eat the grass. 

Potty training in progress. 
Sort of. 
But not really. 
She just wanted to sit and read. 
No actual pottying occurred. 

Wren likes to line things up.  
I have slight OCD tendencies to do this same thing... 
Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?

Rolling around with Cal. 

No cable means watching playoff games on the iPad. 
Chris and Wren like it. 
Calla looks less than impressed. 

My girls!  

Such a sweet life. 
;)

Monday, June 17, 2013

Calla 4 Months

Oh my, I am incredibly far behind...
I have pictures for months 4 and 5, I just haven't posted them yet.
Calla is nearly 6 months old already!
Jeez.
I will (hopefully) do a post this week on her 5th month.
Anyway, here is our super smiley girl at 4 months old...



At 4 months, Calla is rolling "every place" as Wren would say.
Calla likes sitting up her her bumbo seat. Wren never cared much for it, but Calla seems to enjoy it!
She is now taking a bath in the big tub with Wren.  She was busting out of the tub we used in the sink, so now I put her big plastic bathtub in the regular tub when Wren bathes.  Wren loves having Calla take a bath with her. So much, in fact, that she's constantly trying to climb into Calla's tub with her. 

Wren still can't get enough of this girl...

Calla looks a little worried!

Such a sweet picture.
Sleeping on Pa!

Love this little sweet peach!


***Edit- These girls are crazy.  Calla thinks Wren is the funniest person, like, ever.




Sunday, April 14, 2013

20 Questions- Wren 2 Years Old

I thought this would be a fun tradition to start!
Wren's answers are written verbatim in blue, followed by my comments in black...

1. What is your favorite color?
-Blue red blue... I guess she couldn't decide.

2. What is your favorite toy?
-Baby... this is definitely true.

3. What is your favorite fruit?
-Pine app (pineapple)... I would have guessed some sort of berry.  I think she said this because we just received a pineapple in our produce delivery bin this week.  It's been sitting on our counter.  She's quite intrigued by it.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
-n/a... she doesn't really watch tv.

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?
-Cheese!... yes, true story.  She always, always, always asks for cheese.

6. What is your favorite outfit?
-Who shirt... she has 2 shirts with owls on them that she calls "who" shirts.  She says she wants to wear her who shirts every day when I ask her what she wants to wear.  Because I only do laundry like once every 10 days or so, she does not get to wear her who shirts nearly as often as she would like.  Fortunately, I can just tell her no, and she picks something else.  But her first response each and every time I ask her to pick an outfit is, "who shirt!"  The girl knows what she wants.  

7. What is your favorite game?
-Hide-and-seek!... definitely her fave right now.

8. What is your favorite snack?
-Cheese... uh-huh.  A true Wisconsin girl at heart!

9. What is your favorite animal?
-Horse stomp stomp... whenever Wren talks about Nash (a pony at Jim & Kathleen's), she always says "Nash stomp stomp" as she acts out Nash stomping.  Always.  Nash makes an appearance in Wren's nightly bedtime stories, and she always stands up in bed to stomp twice, then lays back down.  Every single time.  

10. What is your favorite song?
-Ho Hey... by the Lumineers.  She knows how to pull up YouTube on both the ipad and our iphones and find this video.  She watches it over and over and over, and requests it every time we are in the car.  It is a sweet song, but it gets a little old when you've heard it 47,975 times.  Honestly, that's not much of an exaggeration.

11. What is your favorite book?
-Pete the Cat... this audio book used to be on repeat in our car this past winter, not so much any more.  I would have said her favorite books right now are her Froggy books or the yearly Shutterfly albums I have made.  I asked her these questions while in the car though, so maybe she was in the Pete the Cat mode.

12. Who is your best friend?
-Booty... the cat.  Which I think is odd because Booty wants absolutely nothing to do with Wren.  I think Wren has touched her all of maybe 6 times in her entire life.  She is quite an elusive cat when Wren is around.

13. What is your favorite sport?
-Basketball with Daddy... Chris got Wren a basketball hoop for outside,  The girl sure loves to dunk.

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
-Pay! (play)... Wren wants to "pay outside" the minute she wakes up in the morning.  So glad it's finally Spring!

15. What is your favorite drink?
-Wah-tare (water)... that's the only thing she drinks.  She assumes all drinks are water.  

16. What is your favorite holiday?
-Easter... eh, I'm thinking this is because Easter just happened.  Finding chocolate in eggs outside = best holiday EVER for a sweets loving girl that has been cooped up inside all winter.  I'm sure it would be a different story had I asked these questions a week after Halloween or Christmas or probably any holiday for that matter.

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?
-Baby... 3 babies, actually.  And a horse, a penguin, a monkey, 2 dogs, and numerous other stuffed animals. She's not so much concerned with who is actually in her bed, just as long as there are many animal bodies, she's happy.  She does always ask for 2 babies though (even though she means 3 babies).  Sometimes it's a mad hunt around the house looking for all 3 babies before bedtime. 
  
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
-Eggs... maybe?  I would have said banana or yogurt.

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?
-Eggs... really??  Didn't realized she liked eggs so much...

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?
-Chase Calla... haha, this is because I talk about Calla growing and getting bigger and being able to crawl and walk and run.  Wren is super excited to have Calla chase her.  Like way excited.  She talks about it a lot.


So there ya go, 20 questions answered from a 2-year old's perspective.  Should be interesting to see how the answers change over the years!


These boots are on all the time lately

My crazy 2-year old

Hangin' with her sis

This girl is constantly running.
She has 2 modes... turbo and off.
:)