Ava's First Year from Cara on Vimeo.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Back from Disneyland! Just a "taste" of one of our character dining experiences while we were there. The wolf motioned to Sophia that he was going to eat Ava. I think Ava understood what he meant, too. More of our trip to be continued...
Sunday, October 9, 2011
One serving of paper a day
Some people read the morning paper. Ava eats the morning paper. She gives a new meaning to juicy tabloids when she gets ahold of my magazines.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
In Julia Bea's Memory
The one year angelversary of Julia is quickly approaching. I have wanted to do something in her memory, and to honor the people that work in the field to end the horrible tragedy of miscarriage and stillbirth. Also, to honor the families that silently suffer through miscarriages and stillbirth, and families that are putting every ounce of their being into saving their unborn child(ren).
Looking back, I was fortunate to have such great care and resources to make the decisions we were faced with for both Ava and Julia. Because of this, I believe it is our turn to pay it forward. We have decided to donate to the Fetal Care Center, a part of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. This is the place that correctly determined the best path to take for our girls growing inside me at the time, regardless of the fact that they would have made a great case study in a medical journal. Instead of looking at making a name for themselves, they looked at our best interest. I know now that we would not have Ava if it were not for them. Sometimes the best decision is really to let fate decide. I imagine that’s a tough call for a surgeon who the main goal is to try to fix things. It is care and giving like that that deserves an acknowledgement. I have included a link to their online donation and form here if you would like to join us in acknowledging the great work of this hospital and staff.
We are also participating in a Remembrance Ceremony through John Muir hospital of Walnut Creek on October 15th for National Pregnancy and Infant Awareness Month. I feel that it’s necessary to bring awareness to such a lonely grief of losing a baby through miscarriage or still birth. And I'm dragging Rick along for support, because although he doesn't say much, I know he suffers in his own way through all of this. We are both not very "public" people with stuff like this, so it's stepping out of our comfort zone to attend. It would mean a lot to us if your thoughts were with us this day.
Julia is with me in my thoughts every day. It's been particularly tough to plan Ava's first birthday, knowing that Julia isn't physically here to be next to her sister when we sing happy birthday and blow out that candle. It's been hard to create the slideshow like I did for Sophia's first birthday, knowing there are parts intentionally left out for all of our well being. But it's also been a healing process that I'm forcing myself to face head on. And I know there will be a lot of good that will come out of our tragedy, with work yet to do for people that are faced with situations like or unlike ours that are working to make sense of it all. So for this year, it's a start for things to come to honor Julia's memory.
Looking back, I was fortunate to have such great care and resources to make the decisions we were faced with for both Ava and Julia. Because of this, I believe it is our turn to pay it forward. We have decided to donate to the Fetal Care Center, a part of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. This is the place that correctly determined the best path to take for our girls growing inside me at the time, regardless of the fact that they would have made a great case study in a medical journal. Instead of looking at making a name for themselves, they looked at our best interest. I know now that we would not have Ava if it were not for them. Sometimes the best decision is really to let fate decide. I imagine that’s a tough call for a surgeon who the main goal is to try to fix things. It is care and giving like that that deserves an acknowledgement. I have included a link to their online donation and form here if you would like to join us in acknowledging the great work of this hospital and staff.
We are also participating in a Remembrance Ceremony through John Muir hospital of Walnut Creek on October 15th for National Pregnancy and Infant Awareness Month. I feel that it’s necessary to bring awareness to such a lonely grief of losing a baby through miscarriage or still birth. And I'm dragging Rick along for support, because although he doesn't say much, I know he suffers in his own way through all of this. We are both not very "public" people with stuff like this, so it's stepping out of our comfort zone to attend. It would mean a lot to us if your thoughts were with us this day.
Julia is with me in my thoughts every day. It's been particularly tough to plan Ava's first birthday, knowing that Julia isn't physically here to be next to her sister when we sing happy birthday and blow out that candle. It's been hard to create the slideshow like I did for Sophia's first birthday, knowing there are parts intentionally left out for all of our well being. But it's also been a healing process that I'm forcing myself to face head on. And I know there will be a lot of good that will come out of our tragedy, with work yet to do for people that are faced with situations like or unlike ours that are working to make sense of it all. So for this year, it's a start for things to come to honor Julia's memory.
Monday, October 3, 2011
"When I get older..."
Sophia is a bit fixated on growing up these days. Many of her statements start with, "When I get older..." It started a few weeks ago when she said, "When I get older I want braces on my teeth." And the other morning it was, "Mommy I'm growing bigger and bigger right?" Uh huh, I replied, knowing what was coming next. "Am I old enough to drink coffee now?" Um, no. Later in the day we were at Costco and she pointed to the beer. "Mommy, what's that?" Beer, I replied. "Mommy, when I get older I'm going to drink beer!" Another proud moment, this time witnessed by others. Some things are pretty funny. "When I get older I'm going to grow hair on my chest just like Daddy" or "When I get older I'm going to have huge nipples!" This morning she made me measure her on her growth chart in her bedroom. She's grown 2 inches in just 6 months! She exclaimed, "I'm almost older now, so I can ride the spinning wheel (Ferris wheel) next time." Today at Target she told me she wanted to be older so she can be in high school. I'm not sure where this fixation comes from right now. Maybe it's a stage? I just know that I really CAN wait until she gets older. And I also hope she won't be drinking beer or coffee when she gets older (or have hair on her chest like Daddy).
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