Back to School 2012

Our four oldest children started school this week which means for the first time in almost 7 years, I only have two kids home with me during the day.  And as I write this post, my two little girls are both napping.  Lets hope the rest of the school years has many more days like today!

Sebastian's first day of kindergarten!  

Theodore (3rd), Linus (1st) and Sebastian (k).

Trying to get a good picture of all six is next to impossible.

A little better....

Veronica and Theodore - all smiles.

Liesl (5th grade) - not exactly thrilled to be back

Josephine was sad to leave her sister and brothers behind

Two more years for Josephine and four more for Veronica.

 

One Year Ago

One year ago, Veronica came home after 119 days in the NICU.  I've already blogged about that day, not  once, but twice, so I think you can tell how I feel about that day.  I love remembering her homecoming and all of the emotions that came along with it.  I also appreciate how far Veronica has come this past year.  When she was discharged, she was on one medication (Zantac) and was bottle fed half of the time.  I can remember giving her a bottle in the middle of the night and pumping at the same time.  Not fun!  But it wasn't long before she was exclusively breastfed and medication free.  Besides the RSV isolation and regular visits from our early intervention folks, I would say for most of this past year, having Veronica home felt no different from any of our children.  Well.......maybe not.  Veronica's early beginning was never far from my mind and that I think that in and of itself, made my experience with her far different than my experience with the other five.

We made a quick trip to the NICU today and saw some of our favorite nurses.  It's always a treat to see how happy they are to see Veronica.

The Beach

Yesterday we traveled 160 miles to Bethany Beach, Delaware and spent the day playing in the water and sand.  This was the first time at the beach for Josephine and Veronica.  Despite forgetting to put sunblock on Theodore's face (ouch!), Josephine losing her Crocs to the Atlantic and the rest of us losing Linus (who was found safe and sound a short time later with a lifeguard quite a ways down the beach), the day was a success and I think all of the kids had a great time.  

Poor Josephine was knocked over by the waves shortly after we arrived
and was scared to go back in the water for the rest of the day. 

Veronica - always a happy baby

Cool Theodore

Veronica loved playing in the sand

Crawling, crawling, crawling....

Loving the waves!

Liesl and Veronica

Napping on the beach

We buried Josephine's legs

Linus and Sebastian playing in the waves

Happy Birthday, Josephine!

We celebrated our middle daughter's 3rd birthday on August 12.  We kept it low key, just the eight of us.  As we enjoyed the day, I couldn't help but remember Josephine's last birthday.  We were expecting Veronica to be discharged the following day so we feeling a mixture of excitement and anxiety, since we had already been told three times that she was coming home but never did.  When  it was time for cake, we set a place for Veronica at the table and put her picture there.  At that point, we were so ready to have her home it just felt wrong that she wasn't with us.  This year couldn't have been more different.  We celebrated with no worries at all.  Happy Birthday, Josephine!!

Josephine's Birthday - August 12, 2011 - Veronica's spot at the table.

12 Months!

Veronica's adjusted birthday was on the 4th of August.  It's funny, I can't remember the due dates for most of my other children, but August 4th is a date I will always remember.  It's not as though she would have even been born on that day because I would have had a scheduled c-section prior to the 4th.  But I remember all of the time in the NICU, counting the days until August 4th arrived.  I think I also used that date in my mind to plan for Veronica's homecoming.  I remember telling myself, if not by August 4th, then surely she would be home soon after.  Being pregnant, one always plans their life around the baby's due date (or at least I did).  In a way, it felt no different with Veronica, even though she had been born 16 weeks earlier.

We were in Michigan on August 4th this year visiting Veronica's grandparents.  She finally got to meet some of her aunts, uncles and cousins for the first time.  As usual, we were terrible at taking photos.  But here she is cooling off on a very hot day.

And saying goodbye before making our way to Maryland.

Baby Steps!

Finally....

Finally, an update.  It's been more than two months since I last posted and so much has happened since then.  Veronica continues to thrive in the weight department.  At her 15-month appointment she weighed in at 21 lbs, 8 ounces which puts her in the 55 percentile for her chronological age.  But the big news is that her motor skills have taken off.  Veronica is crawling everywhere, pulling up on things, climbing stairs and even cruising.  Her physical therapist and pediatrician are quite impressed with her progress and we couldn't be more pleased.  My guess is that walking could be in the not so distant future - and what a momentous day that will be.  Even now, after all of this time, I still look at Veronica and am just amazed at how far she has come.  I don't think that will ever go away.  Every parent gets excited when their children reach milestones, but it's different when your child was a micro preemie and you spent days wondering if your child would live, let alone reach certain developmental milestones.  It is such a joy to see Veronica as active as she is.  We feel so very blessed. 

Veronica has had a busy summer - with day trips, time at the pool and tagging along to her siblings' weekly swim meets.  It's so nice to go places and not have to worry anymore about germs! 

National Zoo Trip - June 2012

At the Zoo with Sebastian and Josephine

First time to Baltimore!

Playing with Josephine at the Maryland Science Center

Quick trip to the NICU - June 18, 2012

Miniature Golf

15 months!

Look at those teeth!