Christmas Highlights

I didn't take nearly enough pictures at Christmas. It's really unlike me, I usually always have my camera out, but this year was different. First of all, it didn't really feel like Christmas. Moving and then having my cat disappear then getting to Oregon totally unprepared made for a lot of stress. Things were just...off. I did take some pictures, so I'll share them as I highlight Christmas 2011.

1. My mom finally got a bed for us to sleep in when we come visit. For the last 3 years we've been sleeping on the futon mattress on the floor. We put it on the floor because somehow it's more comfortable than trying to sleep on the actual futon... it's weird, I know. So, it was really exciting to actually have our own bed!! However, the futon is still in the guest room (mostly because to get it through the doorway you'd have to take it apart), so that's where Sadie slept. She NEVER slept with us in our bed! What a big girl we have!

2. The second part of that is that Sadie gave up her pacifier. When she got sick, just before we left, she got some canker sores in her mouth and it made her not want the pacifier. So, I used that as an opportunity to let it go. I know that a lot of children with CP (or other neurological special needs) continue sucking on the pacifier, um, forever? I'm not really sure how long, but I know some 12 year olds who still need it. So, it's a big deal for Sadie to be able to sleep without it!

3. Usually, one of the first people I see when I get to Oregon (besides my mom) is my best friend, Anna. Often she will show up at my mom's house within hours of us arriving... with 3 little boys in tow. However, this year her family left to go up to Washington for Christmas before we even got there. I made a comment the second day we'd been there that it was weird to have been there for 2 days and not seen Anna. They were supposed to come home the day before we left, and she was considering even taking the train by herself and coming home earlier than that, but (fortunately?) they all got sick and came home early anyway!! I got to see her 3 different times (instead of just the day we were leaving), and her boys came over to mostly play with Brian. (I'm boring because all I do is sit and talk to Mommy!)


4. Another thing I always make sure I do when I'm home is to visit the Johnsons. The Johnsons are like extended family. When I was living in my mom's house because she was in Korea, and my dad lived here in Arizona, I spent every holiday with the Johnsons. Plus I spent at least one evening a week over there just hanging out. I love them and I consider them family, and they're always busy busy busy, but I force my way over there anyway!! We didn't get to enjoy our usual kind of visit where we come over for dinner and then they make me brownies and we sit and talk for hours and hours until it's almost midnight and we force ourselves out the door and back home. Instead we came over in the middle of the day. It wasn't a short visit, but it felt sort of like it. The best part, though, was that Joel rocked Sadie to sleep. He was holding her, she was fussy, he started rocking, eyes closed. Since we gave up the paci, sleeping without it is a new thing. We were amazed that this happened, and of course, he loved it!! It was so sweet to see.

5. Christmas morning was also different this year. Instead of my brother's family coming to my mom's house and us all eating brunch and opening presents, we went to their house! They also just moved... from Portland down to Eugene the first week of December. They found this cute little rental in South Eugene that has a studio for my brother to work and record, and a big beautiful back yard. It was a nice change, and I'm sure much more comfortable for them, having 2 small children to watch out for and keep an eye on! My sister-in-law made us quiche and cinnamon rolls and we pigged out and opened presents and laughed and played and had meltdowns and rocked and then went home!!

6. Another friend of mine, whose actually a friend from High School, but who lived in Phoenix for a while also was visiting her mom for Christmas. Tanis moved to Colorado last May and I haven't seen her since, so when we learned we'd be in Oregon at the same time, we made plans to get together. It was so good to see her! I really miss having her here.

7. Tanis and I made plans to meet at a restaurant, sans children (she has 2 little boys) while we were in Oregon together. But our little Mommy's night out turned into something way better. First of all, Brian and I got to go out without Sadie. We were able to leave her with my mom and enjoy a couple of hours to ourselves for the first time since we'd gotten there. But second of all, another High School friend, who I didn't even know was in town, happened to also be at the same restaurant! I hadn't seen him in probably 3 years, and never met his son (who is such a charming 3 year old!). We all had a great visit/dinner together, and after Sean and his family left, Tanis and Brian and I sat there another hour or so just catching up!

8.Every year at Christmas my mom plays in the Opera. She is a professional violin player and the Eugene Opera usually does a show on New Years Eve. This year they did Carmen. It's fun when she does this because we have the opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal, which I've been going to since I was little (I used to bring my homework and sit there while they rehearsed). It's just like the real performance (they stop once in a while, but not much), but it's less formal. And we can bring Sadie if we want. And it's free. Brian loves doing this, but it's hard with Sadie. And this year I was just so tired that I opted to stay home, and Brian went with my mom by himself (which was probably more enjoyable than having to bring Sadie). He really enjoyed it and I'm glad he got to go. And I really enjoyed my boring screamy night at home!

9. Sadie got her first pair of shoes for Christmas. When I was buying them, I couldn't help but think of this story someone sent me. It wasn't easy to find the perfect shoe. We needed a toddler size, but a baby bootie sole. We got the last pair. And they're pretty too. Having no idea what size Sadie wears, we brought them home not knowing if they'd fit. They're a little big, but that's okay. They keep her socks on, and they'll fit her for a few months. And I love them!

10. On our very last day in Eugene, my friend Andria came to visit and say hi. She brought with her Jennifer, who was the youth pastor's wife growing up, then became my piano teacher, and now is an adult friend. I haven't seen Jennifer since my baby shower. When Sadie was born, Jennifer wrote a song about the situation. About trusting God no matter the circumstances, and she brought it over and sang it for us the day we left to come home. It's beautiful, and true, and worshipful, and I'm really glad she shared it with us.

I hope everybody reading this also had a wonderful holiday, whichever one you celebrated!!

12 Days of Special Needs Christmas...with new jammies

We're in Oregon for Christmas. It's been nice to be here and not in my crazy, unpacked house. I hoped this would be a vacation, and so far it is! We had a LONG, but good flight here, and then Sadie had a really good 2 hour car trip from the airport to Grammy's house. We're definitely thankful for that.

Today is Christmas Eve, and I'm really excited about our tradition we started 3 or 4 years ago. We don't have a lot of Christmas traditions (yet), but this is one that I started when we started thinking about having a family, because I thought it would be easy and fun and one that we can share in no matter where we are celebrating Christmas.

Jammie pants.

On Christmas Eve everyone gets to open one gift (see how this can be good for little kids?), a specific gift, one with special Christmas jammie pants (or full pajamas for kiddos). The first year was a little rocky, but it's turned into a fun game to find the silliest, yet comfortable, jammie pants for the other person. And now that we've been doing it for a few years, nobody questions it, it's just expected. So then the idea is that everyone sleeps in their new jammies so that on Christmas morning when you get up and open all your gifts, you'll be in your new jammies!

I love my little tradition that I started, and I'm excited to continue it for many many years. Make sure that when I post Christmas pics later (or on Facebook) you notice all our nice, new jammie pants!

And now I'll leave you with this... (I stole it from another spesh mom on Facebook)

♥ The Twelve Days of a Special Needs Christmas ♥

On the first day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: a child with a disability.

On the second day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: a heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the third day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: an ache in my heart and a heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the fourth day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: a tear in my eyes, an ache in my heart and a heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the fifth day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in my heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the sixth day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: a ray of hope, an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in my heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the seventh day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: a sense of humor, a ray of hope, an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in my heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the eighth day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: supportive friends, a sense of humor, a ray of hope, an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in my heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the ninth day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: remarkable doctors & therapists, supportive friends, a sense of humor, a ray of hope, an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the tenth day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: an appreciation of small accomplishments, remarkable doctors & therapists, supportive friends, a sense of humor, a ray of hope, an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in my heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, the good Lord gave to me: a sense of pride, an appreciation of small accomplishments, remarkable doctors & therapists, supportive friends, a sense of humor, a ray of hope, an unsuspected strength for the tear in my eyes and the ache in my heart and my heart full of love for my child with a disability.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, the good Lord said to me: Reach out and share your sense of pride, your appreciation of small accomplishments, your remarkable doctors & therapists, your supportive friends, your sense of humor, your ray of hope, your unsuspected strength for the tear in your eyes and the ache in your heart and your heart full of love for your child with a disability.

Our Oregon Vacation Post #3

Most of the reason we come to Eugene at this time of year is for Sadie's cousin, Attilie's, birthday. Her birthday is July 1 and it just provides us the perfect excuse to get out of the heat in Phoenix, as well as see some fireworks with friends! This year Attilie's birthday was on a Friday, but we celebrated from Thursday - Saturday!!

I had this idea to take Attilie to Build-A-Bear for her birthday (I had never been, and I think it would have been more fun for a 5-year-old than a 2-year-old, but oh well). Thursday afternoon we all met at the mall. By all I mean, Sadie, me, Grammy, my brother (Attilie's dad), my sister-in-law, Attilie, and her new baby brother, Theo who is barely 6 weeks old. Lucky for us, we know the manager at Build-A-Bear, so we got special treatment!

First, Attilie got to pick out whatever animal she wanted. We purposefully steered her toward the cheaper models (even though it didn't matter) and she immediately fell in love with the Kitty. First, Attilie and her Papa picked out a saying, they chose the one that says "I love you" when you squeeze the kitty's paw. Then, we all picked out a heart and put it inside this kitty (there were 7 of us, so this kitty was filled with a lot of love), then Sue (our manager friend) proceeded to put a pipe up the kitty's backside and blow a bunch of fluff into her. Then we sewed her up, gave her a (air) bath, and proceeded to the station to make her a birth certificate. Attilie decided to name her Julie, after many many names that her Papa gave her from which to choose. It was really apparent that Attilie loved Julie, and that made me happy...I love making that little girl happy!

choosing her kitty

choosing what she wanted her kitty to say

adding all our love via little stuffed hearts

sewing up the kitty after being stuffed

giving the kitty a "bath" to get all the extra fuzz off

saying thank you to Aunt Christie for the birthday present

Attilie loves her kitty

Naming the kitty Julie and making her a birth certificate

The best part about Julie the kitty was later when we were all back at Grammy's house. Attilie would squeeze Julie's hand and she'd say, "I love you I love you," then Attilie would look at someone and go, "I love you." So precious. My brother says that days later after they were home in Portland, Attilie still cuddles with Julie.

The next day, Friday, which was Attilie's actual birthday, we geared up for a family swimming event. At the outdoor public pool, they have toddler swim time from 11:30-1:00 (the big kids come from 2:00-5:00), so we all met there. It was the same crowd as before, plus Attilie's other cousins, Maddie, Louisa, their mom, Brianne, and Attilie's Gaga (her other grandma). Attilie was tired, and cold, and after about 20 minutes fell asleep in Gaga's arms. Everybody else had a great time swimming, even Sadie! Even though Attilie never actually got in the water, it was her birthday and we let her do what she wanted to. After all, you can reason with a 2-year-old!!

I think this is as close as Attilie ever got to the water

this is how she wanted to spend her birthday!

the rest of us enjoyed the sunshine!

Sadie swimming

Sadie swimming

Sadie and me coming down the waterslide!

ready to do the slide again!

Saturday was Attilie's birthday party at the park. It was also strictly a family affair, but even more were added. This time we celebrated with Attilie's Aunt Melissa and Uncle Juan, who flew from California with their baby, Isaac. And of course her Poppy joined us, as well as Uncle Cameron. We ate a wonderful vegan cake with real raspberries in the middle, and beautiful flowers on top! Then Attilie opened presents. She got some really neat stuff like a tunnel to climb through, a tea set made from BPA-free recycled plastic, and her first necklace from her Papa (Hello Kitty, of course). After presents, we swang, we blew bubbles, we played with balloons, and we ran around and got dirty. Everyone was tired and hot by the end of that party...except for Sadie who took a nap as soon as we got there, then laid on the blanket and kicked and kicked and kicked with excitement, especially when we gave her a balloon!

passing out plates and telling everyone "Happy Birthday to you!"

blowing out her 2 candles!

opening presents!

This was Sadie's idea of a good time!!

Attilie took a break from running and swinging to "play" with Sadie

blowing bubbles with Papa

she really wanted this purple balloon

Sadie was happy with a yellow one!

After she lost the purple one, Attilie wanted all the balloons!

And so ended Attilie's second year of life. And I can tell her parents are already ready for her to be 3!!

Our Oregon vacation post #2

<When I was younger we went to church every Wednesday night. And it was like a regular service, there was worship and a message just like on Sundays. And the crowd was almost as big as Sundays too! Well, I guess things are different now. There are so few people that go to church Wednesday nights that they hold the service in the lobby. Granted, it's a spacious lobby, but there were probably less than 100 people there. It was much more intimate, and the perfect place for my mother to show Sadie off.

I am so pleased that Sadie has been on her best behavior since we've arrived in Eugene. Tonight, she sat through dinner at a Greek restaurant, then a perfectly silent car ride, and finally church with Grammy. I don't think I held her once except to get her in and out of the car. She was a perfect angel.

And Grammy loved it!

Our Oregon Vacation Post #1

Sadie and I are enjoying our annual Attilie's-birthday-4th-of-July-beat-the-heat Oregon vacation. We're in Eugene and it's been rainy and in the 60s...which has been a HUGE relief from the 115 I've heard it is at home!

Monday morning we got up REEEEEAALLLLY early and headed to the airport. The thing I always appreciate about Sadie is that no matter what time I wake her up, she is always happy to be awake! So, when I grabbed her at 4:45am and put her in the car, she just smiled as big as she could and was happy about whatever was going on!

The airport was a mess. We flew out of a tiny airport in Mesa, and apparently, so did everyone else. We arrived at 5:50 and I don't think we got through the line and off to security until almost 7:15! It was insane! But we made it, and they let Brian come to the gate with us because we have a disabled child. Since they were so busy (although not busy AT ALL at the gate...because people who got there 2 hours before their flight were just barely getting through and getting on the plane!) they told us that they don't usually let a helper through unless the person flying is disabled. whew!

Our plane ride was uneventful. Because we were so rushed, I forgot to fill up my water bottle. I didn't realize that if I was thirsty on the plane, it was $2 for a bottle of water!! Just water! But the lady next to me must have pitied me and my disabled child, and she bought me some water. She was very nice, even when Sadie dropped a load in her shorts and we had to smell it for the last half hour of the flight, she didn't complain or make a face at all!

We immediately had visitors, which we enjoyed. Sadie was happy and cooperative. She even took an hour long nap when we got home!! I think this is going to be a good trip!

The next morning we walked to a bakery from my sister-in-law's mother's house. It was my first time meeting my new nephew, Theo, and it was so good to see Attilie and her other cousins interact with Sadie. They are really too young to understand that Sadie's different, so they just treat her like a baby. And Maddie (who's 3) and Attilie (who's 2) have both told me they love her. Attilie even called her "my Sadie." Sadie also obviously loves them. Attilie also loves hanging out with Grammy (she calls her "GAmmy").

Later that evening, I joined my best friend, Anna, and her family for dinner. She has 3 boys who are 1, 3, and 5...and they love Sadie too. The littlest one got down on the floor and laid next to her, the oldest sang her songs and played peek-a-boo with her. I had NO IDEA, though, that boys could be so rowdy and loud!! Neither did Sadie, it upset her a little at first, but then I think she liked it! She really likes being around other kids. I wish we had more kids to be around at home like we do here.

We have more fun planned while we're here!! Church Wednesday night, Build-A-Bear Thursday for Attilie's birthday, swimming on Friday and a birthday party on Saturday! Then I'll still have another week before I leave! I dreaded coming since Sadie has been so screamy for so long. But so far she has been happy and calm. So far I'm really enjoying the vacation, and so far, so are the people we've spent time with, because they've been able to enjoy Sadie and not feel sorry for me as I continually try to calm a screamy child. I'm actually looking forward to the rest of our days here!

Williams Family Reunion 2010

Almost a year ago, when I found out so many of my family would be in one place for Christmas, I decided we needed to have a family reunion. For so many years we've been scattered all over the country. Some of my cousins that I remember growing up with, I haven't seen in almost 10 years!! Some have gotten married, some have had babies, some babies have turned into teenagers, and the "big kids" have now graduated from High School and moved out!!! It wasn't that long ago when we were all sitting at the "kids's table" eating Thanksgiving dinner.

We met at a pizza parlour in Eugene and enjoyed pizza, white elephant gifts, and loud talking (a signature of the Williams family). Many got to meet Sadie for the first time...too bad she screamed all day. But we got some good pictures...and I got some good hugs.

Sadie and her second cousin, Roman (he was born 10 days after her)

the original grandchildren

Christie, Marcus, Luke, Beth, Noah, Brooke

The Williams Family (minus John and family)

Sadie's First Christmas

Sadie and I went to Eugene way before Christmas, December 13th actually. The plan was to spend some time with friends and family, then Brian would join us Christmas Eve and we'd all have a wonderful, happy, Merry Christmas. Flying home on the 29th would then get us back in time for New Year's Eve. It sorta went like that.

This was Sadie's first Christmas, and she slept through most of it (not complaining!). She got some really great presents like a book all about colors, some PlayDough, and a pillow pet. But, mostly she liked the lights on the tree and the crinkly wrapping paper! ...babies are so easy to please!

This is our third year of my Christmas Eve tradition that I force everyone to participate in! The idea is that everyone gets to open one gift on Christmas Eve night...new jammies. THat way when they wake up in the morning, everyone will be in brand new cute jammies for pictures!! Here's Sadie's first Christmas Eve jammies.

Sadie's only cousin, Attilie got the same jammies for Christmas Eve, so on Christmas morning, they were matching...they were also both asleep for most of the present unwrapping!

(we were trying to get Attilie to hug Sadie)

Sadie really enjoyed looking at the Christmas tree. Actually, anywhere we went, she found the Christmas tree. She likes to stare at lights, and big, dark, ominous objects are also interesting. SO, what could be better than a big dark object covered in twinkly lights!

While my brother's family was staying in Eugene, his dog stayed at our house. Her name is Rosa, and I don't like dogs very much, but Rosa makes me sorta want a dog. She is so good, and she loves babies. Sadie also likes Rosa.
My mom gave both the girls matching Christmas dresses. The idea was to have portraits taken, but things got so busy that we could just never find time for that. So, instead we did this...

(See, Attilie does love her cousin!)

Overall, it was a great Christmas! We enjoyed spending time with family and eating lots of chocolate. But, we couldn't help wondering what next Christmas will be like. Will Sadie be sitting? Will she be walking? Will we be traveling with a walker instead of a stroller? Will she be able to open some of her own presents? Will we need a bouncy chair? Oh the possibilities this next year brings!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Attilie's first birthday

The reason we came to Oregon was to celebrate Attilie's first birthday. Attilie is my niece, my brother's baby, and she is so sweet and so pretty and SUCH a big girl! It's crazy that she's already 1. I wanted to share with you her birth story, but my sister in law says she doesn't have it typed up anywhere, so, for now, I'll just share some pictures of the party!