It’s been one year already, my how time flies. December 6, 2013….I’ll never forget it. Of course every time I look at my daughter’s precious & mischievous face I’m reminded of how God’s looking after us all, no matter how little or insignificant we feel we are to Him. One year ago today I was running around, doing too many things at once trying to get out the door to bible study, and turned my back on my active and playful 4 1/2 month old to find her flat on her back on our hardwood floor after rolling off from our King size bed. Wow, in a split second my world was turned upside down. You can read about the entire story here, but basically she ended up with a skull fracture and serious concussion. BUT, she survived, I survived, and today we are grateful for second chances.
Oh NBD, just on our morning stroll yesterday, wearing our new fav shoes and red watch of course!
Throughout those first few months following her accident, not an hour went by that I didn’t physically shudder in remembrance of how precious life is, but slowly I would go days without having a flashback but still one year later, not a week goes by that I don’t at least once have second of debilitating guilt where I just can’t think straight and my eyes well up with tears….but then Ava does something silly or smart or downright maddening and my smile returns, and once again I am reminded of God’s amazing grace and ability to humble us all. I don’t want this post to be a downer, and I definitely don’t plan on making this horrible accident an “anniversary” to remember, it just happens to be on my mind tonight (thank you 2nd pregnancy hormones!)
“HELLO”?!?! Come out and play neighborhood friends!! LOL
There are so many things I have learned through this all, it’s hard to count. I have learned to SLOW DOWN, I have learned that it’s ok to be 5 or 10 or even 30 minutes late to something, I have learned that if Ava’s shoes are mismatched or if I forget to put on deodorant, life DOES go on and it goes on beautifully, even if its smelly or disorganized. That’s where the true beauty lives- not in the perfect “Pinterest” world that punches us moms in the face daily, but in the normalcy of our individual lives and in the lives we have created and are entrusted to by God.
Seriously her piggies kill me, not to mention that watch and those shoes too (her 3rd pair of the DAY!)
Now, don’t get me wrong, from the time she had her accident until about 1 month ago, I would still worry all the time about her development….was she sitting up “on time”, was she crawling “on time”, was she walking “on time”, talking, eating, etc etc etc…..my mind can play nasty tricks on me! But sure enough she has hit every milestone on time, if not before “the curve”, but still I worried. Part of that was (our now old) pediatrician, who from the moment she had her accident was less than communicative and attentive regarding it all. In the month’s following her accident during her regular checkups, he kept saying things like “wow, she has a big head” and I would always ask- “what does that mean”, and he would just say things like “we just need to keep our eye on it”. Ooookkkaaayyy….but WHAT does this mean? Should I be worried? Is something WRONG with her? Is it a result of her accident? Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore and changed pediatricians to a highly recommended one and boy was that first meeting night & day from our previous one! Our new ped was amazing from the start! After going through the normal “check up” and measurements, I asked him innocently where on the chart her head size landed. Sure enough he graphed her at “off the charts”- hahaha. So once again I asked- “so what does that mean exactly” (mind you, I had given him the background on her accident as well already). He said that it could be 1 of 2 things- she could genetically have a large head if it runs in the family (I happen to have a large head myself), or it could be swelling in the brain. After some laughter, I graciously allowed him to measure my own head and chart it and sure enough, I’m in the 97% for adult women- LOL!! BUT, as a doctor should, he said if it would make me feel better he would allow an ultrasound of her head since her soft spot hadn’t closed up yet. Well I think you can guess, I got that ultrasound done and yup, she’s just fine with a large head, thanks to my genes! God love her and her big noggin!!!
She can never sit still on the train rides to & from the airport- too excited to see whats going on out there in that big world!
Anyway, after that incident back in December 2013, she still managed to keep us on our toes. This girl of ours has an intense love of adventure and nothing, I mean nothing, slows her down. I can’t count how many times she’s fallen or hit her head, how many times she’s already bitten her lip or scraped her knees, seriously there were about 6 months in a row that just before any picture was to happen she managed to bruise her forehead massively- haha. She’s a nut, and we love every bit of it! She rarely even cries for more than 3 minutes when it happens too- future MMA fighter anyone?!?! God, I hope not!
Some fresh flowers for her hair <3
These days she’s our little parrot, loving to repeat any and every word she hears- she’s got like a treasure chest in that big head and pulls out the most hilarious phrases or actions when we least expect it. She loves waving to everyone wherever we go, loves giving kisses, loves saying “I love you” and “I miss you”, and she’s our little bedtime police- when she’s ready, she’s ready and will tell us “night night” and head to the stairs! She loves to go walking outside and MUST wear her “squito” and “wash” and pick to what “chooes” she wants to wear (mosquito spray and watch and shoes for those of you who don’t speak Ava). She’s an absolute ball to be around and rarely does she meet a stranger she doesn’t instantly love. She’s a gem this one. I can’t wait to see what else she puts us through….and I know there will be plenty more to come.
Making friends in Thailand
Well I guess that’s it, just another blog post from a rambling emotional mommy to a 16 months old girl & 31 weeks along with her little bro. Life is exciting these days and oh so exhausting ….but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Who says girls can’t play in the dirt and love it too?!
Thanks for listening, remember to forgive yourself for your blunders & give your kids some extra smooches today~
Kimbra
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