You say it's your birthday...

Dun na na na na na....

It's her birthday too yeah!

Today is Sophie's 5th birthday, wow!  It doesn't seem like it has been five years since she came crashing into this world.  But then again, I say that every year :)

I think she had a pretty good day today, it was very busy but she enjoyed her party tonight and had fun watching her cousins and her brother, as well as opening her presents.  Her absolute favourite part was when I came in with the cake with the candles lit.  She let out a yell and had a huge smile!  She also loved talking on the phone to her Nana and Papa who are in England.  She chatted up a little storm after they sang happy birthday to her.

The number 5 candle on her cake was the candle from Lucas' 5th birthday too!

Sophie is pretty much over her cold and cough but she did have a seizure last night and tonight.  I was hoping she wouldn't have one on her birthday but no such luck, 2 seizures in 2 days hasn't happened in a very long time so I think some down time is needed.  Hopefully tonight she will have a good restful sleep.

Happy Birthday Sophie!!  We love you so much and  we can't wait to see what amazing things you will do this year!

Reach for the stars

Did anyone else notice the moon last night?  It was as full as it gets and the sky was in perfect form for it to look a little spooky, but mostly just very cool.

This was the best up close shot I could get without climbing out the window onto the roof lol.  So there are a few tree branches but I love the shot anyway :)

The boys went on an adventure through the neighbourhood with the dog this morning and Sophie and I stayed behind and played.  She wanted to go straight out the front door as soon as she was on her pony walker.   It was still pretty brisk this morning so we looked out the large front window instead.  She stayed there quite a long time, until they came home in fact, waiting for them to return.

Sophie looks so grown up in these pictures, so contemplative and so beautiful all in the same moment. 

It was CP awareness day today and  I have struggled over what to write.  How do I let the world know what an incredible journey she has been on since the day she entered our world.  How do I show that she is more than her diagnosis.  That kids with CP are just that, kids.  Then I realized that Sophie already does that, every day.  Everyone that meets her knows what a fighter she is, what a fiesty, smart, funny, full of attitude girl she is. That she works harder to do anything than anyone I know.  That she has huge mountains to overcome some days, but she does it without a complaint and even better, with a smile.  Oh that smile, it sucks you in and wraps your heart and it is the reason that everyone that knows her, loves her. 

I realized that in our house every day is CP awareness day.  I think that Sophie has shown so many people not to take anything in life for granted, but also that anything is possible.  Sophie, keep reaching for the stars, that big beautiful moon will guide you.

Renewal

Tomorrow is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day and I have been thinking about what message I want to put out there about my experience with CP and Sophie.  I think that the graphic above includes alot of it. 

Support - without support from our friends, family and community we cannot make it.
Advocate - we have to do this everyday for my girl who does not talk.  We have to let the world know that she matters.
Educate - most people do not know what Cerebral Palsy is or how it affects the people that are diagnosed with it.

Tomorrow is an important day, it means that our family is not alone in this journey, one that has taken us down the path less traveled.

----------------------------

Today I took Riley for a walk back in the woods near our house and I could see and feel a change, a renewal taking place.  The air is still cold, but the creek was running, the birds were singing and the earth was ready to come out of its hibernation.

 This little guy gave me one shot before he flew off in a red streak across the woods.  He was so beautiful.  I wish I had captured him in focus!

 Then, just as I arrived at our front door after our walk, I saw this in the dirt.  This little group had just appeared out of nowhere and it was official, spring is on it's way. 

Going Green

Today is St.Patrick's day and we did some little green things here and there for Lucas and Sophie to enjoy but we didn't go over the top.  Lucas and Sophie both wore green today and Jason bought some cute little cupcakes that were devoured by all of us after dinner.  I also set the table with everything green I could find :)

Sophie had a busy day at daycare today and shortly after dinner she was out.  She fell asleep sitting up in her chair.  That is pretty unusual for her but she is still getting over her cold and she doesn't have as much energy as she normally would.  I woke her after about 15 minutes though because she is not sleeping well at night again so I don't want to encourage napping before bedtime!  She has been up until about 1:30am each night this last week and then she is exhausted in the morning and wants to sleep in.   It is a vicious cycle that we had just broken a few months ago after working on it for a couple months after she started an additional heavy duty seizure med.  I am hoping she will get back to a routine soon, daylight savings time didn't help.

The real reason for going green this month for our family (even though I am part Irish!) is because it is Cerebral Palsy Awareness month (and CP awareness day is March 20th).  So get your green on!  Support someone you know (like my Miss Sophie!) and help educate, spread some hope, awareness and join the fight to find a cure.


More to come....

Clinging snow

This morning we woke to another winter blast of ice and snow, clinging to the trees in a beautiful spectacle of bright white everywhere you looked. 

I tried some black and white today, these are all photos of trees in and around our backyard.

The wind was whipping the flakes around in huge circles that were flung against the windows to become raindrops.  It looked almost like a leopards fur.

Home day

We have been having a bit of a down week.  Lucas was home sick with a cough that resembled a seal and Sophie is still dealing with a very bad ear infection and some kind of virus with alot of congestion.  Five nights of fevers and pain has been rough on my girl.  We saw the doctor yesterday to make sure it hasn't gone to her chest and so far so good.  The antibiotics seem to be clearing out the infection in her ears but she is having alot of trouble coughing stuff up and she is getting tired.  She is still smiling in the day though, my miss Sophie is not a complainer that is for sure.

We tried to play as much as we could on our day at home on Wednesday, Lucas was into the lego which was nice because he could just play quietly without wearing himself out.  He also pulled out a Christmas present that is a geography fact game - his favourite subject.

Sophie and I had fun playing with some of her toys while practising side lying to encourage using both of her hands.  She thought it was hilarious when she was able to push the toy right off of her mat!

My mom came over to help me out in the evening and Sophie had a great time reading one of her new favourite books (thanks Auntie Linda and Uncle Andy) that makes noise and lights up with a magic fairy wand.

Sophie had to miss her Music Mania class this week as well as her playgroup, but hopefully everyone will be healthy for March break next week.  Lucas has camp for a few of the days and he is very excited to go!