"She's not sick. She's just getting better."

"She's not sick.  She's just getting better."
Again, I couldn't disagree with Nile.
He wants her to go to daycare so bad...I'm sure to show her cool new "owie" to all of his friends.  On Monday, before Aaron took him to Joann's, Nile told me, "But mom, they're all gonna tell me 'Where's your baby sister? And where'd Adeline go?' I should just bring her wif me."
One minute he is bawling or telling me his hair, or toe, or armpit really hurts - to get my attention, and the next he is begging to show the world how proud he is of her.

Aaron went back to work on Tuesday.  I wish he could have stayed home longer.  The world doesn't stop.  (Although it truly felt like it did when we were in the hospital.)

She rolled over for the first time (since her insane post-op night when flipped circles for 12 hours) on Tuesday.  She was on her back playing and must have gotten bored and brave, so she looked from side to side, saw nothing in her way, and decided to give it a go.  Just like riding a bike.  She flipped to her tummy, pushed her head up and looked around.  Then she wiggled her butt and started scooching backwards, just like she loved to do before surgery. She picked up from where she left off.  Of course, I grabbed my camera and started video-ing it.  So now we will have pictures and videos from her "firsts" in her life, and her "firsts" after surgery.  Perfect for a camera/scrapbooking addict like me!  Rolling back to her back wasn't as photo-worthy.  Even though she barely touched her head to the rug, it must have hurt and scared her.  She hasn't tried since.  I hope her fears (as well as the pain) dissolve soon.  She won't even sit up on her own and play, unless you are right by her.  She loves to sit up in her bumbo seat, or in her chair, where her head is safe.  But her favorite place is my lap.  She is a lot easier to carry around lately since she has lost some of her "tank".  Thank God she had it to begin with.

I made her post-op appointments with Dr. Miller's and Dr. Puccioni's office. She is now a post-plastic surgery patient. I am not looking forward to sitting in the waiting room of Village Pointe Aesthetic Surgery with my baby girl.  The ladies answering the phone have just enough of a "valley girl" accent to give me flash backs of junior high.  But I'm also proud of my beautiful baby girl and extremely grateful that this surgery won't only save her life, but save her from some of the ridicule and resulting low self-confidence that she will naturally experience anyway. So I have to buck up embrace my own inner beauty.  My kids teach me so much.

My dad visited yesterday and gave me a much needed break to go to lunch with Aaron.  It was like a breath of fresh air - well, it was my first breath of fresh air since Sunday morning.  She had had a very bad night and morning, so no one slept.  She didn't want to eat, just cried a lot and wouldn't stay asleep.  It's so hard to know what is pain, what is a result of being spoiled, and what is just normal 7 month old behavior.  But she slept well last night.  And that makes you forget the bad nights.

She reached up and rubbed her head for the first time last night.  She was looking at me while she ran her little fingers over the stitches.  She didn't do it long, and it must not have hurt. I think she was just curious.  Her eyes were asking me, "So is this what everyone is making a big deal about?"
Even though she does have extra needs right now, she is becoming quite the diva.  She won't let anyone put her pacifier in her mouth, it must be placed in her hand or within reach so that she can put it in her mouth herself.  And she won't nurse...she scowls and cries at me saying, "My food, preferably breast milk, must come easily and quickly out of a bottle.  I am not working for food any longer."  I'm sure it's just the beginning.

The Christmas decorations aren't begging to be taken down yet - the glow of the Christmas tree continues to provide the calm and peacefulness it does during the holiday season. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself - it could just be laziness. I'm finding myself not wanting to deal with any other "stressor" life has to offer.  At least until I have to go back to work.
It's nice being able to spend every evening at home together.  Nile has been entertaining us with his magic shows.  Of all of the new toys he had to choose from to bring to his first post-holiday show and tell at preschool, he chose his magic wand.  He said he really wanted to make Elle (a super cute classmate) disappear, but he wasn't that good...yet.

God doesn't seem to be interested in magic wands lately.  I get the feeling He wants me to fully experience what He has planned.  And I'm thankful for that.