The Joys of Parenthood

It has begun-Potty training. In a way, it is pretty easy with Libby. She is not frightened by the potty. She stays dry for a long time. BUT she never initiates the potty. I will ask "Do you need to go to the potty?" She says, "No" or Not yet." I say let's try-5 minutes later she is happily flushing away her "yellow" as she calls it. In time I know she will get it, but man this is harder than it looks!

In other news, Libby is walking without support. She is stiff and steps gingerly, but she is doing it. She is MUCH more upright than she used to be. I am amazed at her determination. She got some new shoes for her birthday and I think that they are definitely helping her keep her feet flat on the floor. I'll try to get some video soon!

Joe is great. He is happy to read a thousand books a day-or sit in your lap and watch Libby. He loves to play with blocks and to put things in and out of boxes/bins. He can say JUICE, HI, and BALL. I think he can say LIBBY too but he doesn't do it often. And as I type, I think his hair has grown an inch on the back of his head.

To end this blog, I wanted to write down a few things that I do NOT want to forget later.

1. Libby says "enbaloop" for "envelope"

2. She now sings what we are doing to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

3. Joe now thinks that walking deserves TONS of praise since we clap and cheer for Libby. He goes crazy for her when she walks and expects the same in return.

4. He gives me a kiss every morning when I go and get him out of bed. And he greets Corey with a "Da" and running hug whenever he gets home from work.

I also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandma! Today is my Grandma's birthday and she is one of the reasons we have this blog-my grandparents live in Charleston, but like to keep up with the kiddos. I love you and hope you have a great day! P.S. Libby has to use her princess blanket every evening when she watches TV-she loves it!

3 years later

It is VERY difficult to imagine life without our sweet Libby. She is a fixture in our family and it was a lot of fun to celebrate her this year. We had a Dora party-because she asked for it. The same folks who came to Joe's made the trek again (thank you!) to share in the festivities. Corey grilled hot dogs and our parents contributed some sides so that we had a great spread of food. Corey and I made a cake and decorated it like a map from Dora's show. She loved being sung to. She clapped and smiled and "blew" out the candles with very minimal help from me.

Gifts were more fun this year because she understood that they were hers. But she also wanted to get each one out after unwrapping. It was hard to explain that she had to unwrap all of them before we could play. But she loved seeing them and was very grateful!Of course it was a madhouse with all the kiddos here, but it was fun for them to play and interact with each other! Once everyone was gone, Libby settled into her new Dora jammies and got to play with her new gifts-especially her camera and the new additions to her doll house.

Just an aside-my niece Claire bought the wrong size shirts and gave us the youth-smalls for Joe or Libby to have later. Corey thought it was hilarious that both he and Joe could wear them. This picture is the evidence.

Oh the places we've been

We have been doing some traveling to celebrate some very special people's birthdays. Our first trip was to Summersville to celebrate Ainsley Taylor's second birthday. It was great to see the Taylors but a long day in that Joe REFUSED to sleep. He finally fell asleep while I was holding him and I felt every bit of his 26.5 pounds!

Libby and Ainsley got a little time to reacquaint themselves. Libby loved the sand and the bubbles. Ainsley dove right into the water-Libby said it was "to big-a-me". All in all so WORTH the trip. It was the first time all 7 of us have been together since Joe was a newborn.

A few days later we went down to Buckhannon to celebrate Chris (Corey's brother)'s birthday. It was a surprise party and Chris was actually really surprised. It was just family, and so much fun. The Bozic's have a GREAT house and yard that we utilized after we ate. Libby and Aubree rode around in the Barbie Jeep and played ball. Libby loved the swings! Joe was curious about everything. He walked into every room just to make sure that everything was okay. He also ate off of everyone's plate that he could reach. Poor Mia barely got dinner because he kept swiping her food.

All the while, we have been adapting to post-surgery, post-cast Libby. At first she cried every time we tried to get her to stand up. It was discouraging to hear her say that she didn't want to stand up anymore. But Libby isn't kept down for long. We got her splints yesterday and she wears them without complaint. And her first round of therapy started this morning. It was just an evaluation, but I think it let her know that she could stand up again. So tonight she stood of her own accord. Then I took her into my office to use her parallel bars and she took her first independant steps! I was thrilled to say the least and Libby was proud of herself too. We are heading in the right direction. I captured it on video but blogger is being silly. I'll try again later.

Libby's deCASTification and other things from the week

This last week has been a good one. Libby finally adjusted and accepted her casts (of course right before they were coming off). Because of Joe's birthday, there were lots of new toys to capture their attention. My favorite day was when Libby decided that we should all dress up. I got some pictures and they make me smile all the time. This is Joe all done up ala Libby. This will be one of those pictures we bring out to embarrass him for decades to come! Libby gave me a hat and necklace. She was dressed as Princess P from Super Why.Libby also drew her first smiley face (I drew the circle).

This week we had Joe's one year appointment too. He is 26.5 pounds (95th percentile) and 30.5 inches long (75th percentile). He's a healthy baby boy-developing appropriately and right on track. Dr. Tony was very pleased with him! Joe was less than pleased with his vaccinations and finger-stick, but by the next day he was back to his happy self.

Libby's decastification was good. Unfortunately, she was VERY sad to see her princess pants go away. Fortunately, the doctor said that the left leg is straight and the right has less than 20 degrees to go. He seemed pretty confident that physical therapy would help that! After the casts were off she was very sensitive and emotional. It was a rough evening, but she woke up a bit happier. I put her "make-do" splints on and she likes them. Next week we will get her real splints. She hasn't really tried to walk-she is still sore and her muscles are stiff. We'll keep everyone updated on her.

Our Little Monkey turns 1

It is hard to believe that Joe is 1. He is part of the family and it seems like he has always been around. I rock him and forget a little what it was like when he was small. So on Sunday we celebrated the little man with a Monkey party! Corey and I made and decorated the cake as well as the basement. It was so fun. It was mainly just family with my friends the Smiths thrown in for good measure (they are family!). Everyone had a great time playing and eating! Joe loved his cupcake (they were banana!). Joe was unsure at first, but after a taste the cupcake was gone in a flash!

Libby had a fun day too. She got to play with her cousin Aubree and her friend Elliott, so it was a great day!

Joebot-we love you. We are so glad that you are here with us and that you are you. We love your energy and your intensity. You could read books for hours and piddle with toys till kingdom come. The last year has been better and more fun (a little harder but worth it) because you were a part of it. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

2 weeks down 2 to go (hopefully)

It's hard to believe it has been 2 weeks. We are all adjusting, but everyday gets a little better. We have been able to play more. Libby's favorites are playing with Play-Doh on the porch, playing with her doll house, riding in her wagon and shoveling rocks into a bucket.

Libby saying "cheese" for the camera

All things considered, this has been better than we expected. Of course she is almost 3 so there have been fits and frustrations. The hardest is her interrupted sleep. There have been very few nights that she has slept through the night-she'll get stuck or hot or slide off her pillow.

Corey showing us her new "princess pants"

We visited the doctor yesterday and got new "princess pants." He thinks in 2 weeks we should be able to switch to splints (HOORAY!). The process was not fun-Libby cried and I wanted to. She wasn't hurting as much as scared, but it was hard. Once the pants were on and the promise of "chicken and fries" was in her mind, everything was all better.

Joe has been great. He celebrates his first birthday on Saturday-REALLY hard to believe. He is into everything, and annoys Libby to death sometimes. Other times she loves him and plays with him. He doesn't understand why she can't play as much, but he is getting used to it just like the rest of us. More photos after his party! Joe showing off his drumming skills-just like his daddy

Libby's surgery

All in all the day went really well. We tried to capture the whole day in pictures, so I will describe the whole thing. Libby woke up and was not allowed to eat, so she had a juice pop and crushed ice for breakfast. She thought it was really cool to eat the ice with the spoon. She never complained about being hungry-which I think is a miracle in and of itself.

We got to Pittsburgh around 11:40 and got all checked in. The wait was manageable. We were brought back to a play room and Libby was really happy. She was even happier when Pappy arrived to be a much needed distraction. Her favorites were the little car and a game she played with Pappy where they fed animals weird foods. (aka the elephant eats ice cream?)

The anesthesia team was running a bit late so Libby wasn't called for until 2:00. Funny thing is that around 1:55 she curled up on my lap and fell asleep. When the anesthesiologist saw he got Corey garbed up to take her to the OR. Corey grabbed Libby and took her back, they threw a blanket over her and administered the gas under the blanket. She never woke up to know she was being put under! What an awesome answer to prayer.

Then we waited. Corey read a book and listened to music. Rick and I took a nap in a pair of recliners (he has the ability to fall asleep ANYWHERE). Ate snacks. Anything to make the time pass faster. All in all Libby was in surgery for right around 5 hours. It was the longest 5 hours of my life. My mom and dad arrived around 6:30 and gave us a chance to go get some dinner. Right before we were going to eat, Dr. Deeney arrived to tell us he was all done. He was happy with how everything had gone. The left leg was almost straight and the right could get there with therapy. He said they put casts on her (hot pink) and they would see her in 2 weeks. While I was going with dad to get dinner, someone came back to get Corey and mom to see Libby. I wish I could say it was a pleasant reunion, but she was confused and agitated. Mom only stayed long enough to give her a hug and then she waited to get me.

The rest of the evening was spent settling Libby down. She would fall asleep for a moment and then wake up crying. The only thing that calmed her down was when I talked or sang to her. So we had in depth conversations about all the fun things we are going to do. It was a long night with very little sleep. Between nurses taking blood pressure and Libby waking up, we maybe got 2 hours of sleep. An Aside: Around 4:00 am, the nurse came in to administer some more pain meds since Libby was complaining about pain a bit. Since she was awake the nurse decided to go ahead and do a blood drawl-finger stick. So she pricked Libby's finger and then squeezed the blood out. Tears were just running down Libby's face, but when the nurse was done, Libby turned to her and said "Thank you." It was so pitiful.

The next morning was better. Libby was aware of her surroundings, able to drink some juice and eat a few bites of food. She took a nice long nap and watched some of her favorite TV shows. After lunch we were discharged (Hooray!) The ride home was fine. Once we got here, Libby went to sleep in her own bed and so did her mommy and daddy. She didn't wake up until 5:00 pm.

She had some visitors-Pawpaw came to say hello. And then Meme and Pappy came to visit and bring Joe back. (P.S. Thank you Meme for taking care of Joe so that he didn't have to suffer through a super long day in a hospital. He was MUCH happier playing with you).

All in all, things are ok. Libby is frustrated and whiny sometimes, but she is also sweet and determined. She has already figured out that she can army crawl and roll. She can get out of chairs and bed-and we'll have to make sure that she doesn't start trying to walk since she isn't allowed to bear weight on her feet.

We've appreciated all the concern and prayers that you have poured out on us. Libby is a special little girl and I am excited to see all that God can do through her!

Surgery Rescheduled for Wednesday

It has been a stressful couple of days here in the Bozic house. We went to bed on Sunday as ready as we could be to get up at 4 a.m. and take Libby to Pittsburgh for her surgery. But at midnight my phone rang and it was our Doc calling to say he had been called into the OR because of a car accident. He was unsure how long he would be there and he was not comfortable operating on Libby after being up all night. He said that his nurse or secretary would call us later to set up a new time for this week.

We called his office and when we talked to his secretary she said he didn't have any available OR time until August. But she said she would talk to him about it and would call us back. So we spent the whole day waiting for a phone call. Finally she called and said that there was OR time available Wednesday at 1:30. So our doc cancelled all his appointments for Wednesday afternoon and penciled us into that time slot. Beth (the sect) made sure to tell us that it is RARE for extra OR time to be available so thanks for all your prayers!

We'll drop Joe off with his MeMe and head up to Pittsburgh around 9:45 on Wednesday! Keep praying!

Our first vacation since kids

Corey and I have done all sorts of things these last 3 years of parenting, but going away for a week is not one of them. In fact the last vacation we took was after we graduated from college-so we were due. And in January we shared these thoughts with some friends who felt the same way. So our trip to the Dominican Republic was born. Four couples (the Burdettes, Iliffs, Mercers and us) journeyed south and had a great time. There were days of clouds and some sun, it rained pretty much everyday, but rarely hindered our morning pursuit of the pool or beach. We ate great food and went to bed early. In general, it was a relaxed week with no agenda and lots of laughs. I will spare you pic after pic, but you can go to our picasa web album and see them (thanks Ash for the idea).

http://picasaweb.google.com/colebozic/PuntaCana?feat=directlink

Meanwhile, our kiddos were being wonderfully cared for by both sets of grandparents. Of course Joe started really walking while we were gone and Libby seems to have doubled her vocabulary. That's what you get for leaving them for 6 days. Our reception when the kids woke up Saturday was less than exuberant, but throughout the day we got longer hugs and more fearful expressions when we would leave a room-you could almost hear Libby or Joe asking "are you coming back soon?"

Now we are gearing up for Libby's surgery. It is happening Monday morning and we need all your prayers. I'll let you know how we are doing when we get home on Tuesday.

Mothers Day belated

Mother's Day was different than in years past. Last year we celebrated our mothers with a big lunch that everyone attended. The year before we were in Tennessee and celebrated with our great friends Scott and Danie (the year before that I think I was on bed rest with Libby). This year was much more low key. Corey and I are going on vacation this year, so I fully expected that to cover mothers day and possibly my birthday as well, but Corey was extremely thoughtful and got me a few small things that I have been wanting-one of which was a subscription to Cooking Light magazine (hooray!). Unfortunately Corey had to work all weekend, but it allowed me to spend the whole day with my mom which was really fun.

The whole gang (Me and Libby and Joe) headed over early and got there in time to read with PawPaw and make cookies with Gramma. Libby was not a very good roller so she made pancakes instead. She loved making cookies-I think we have a little chef on our hands! She did not like the dough on her hands at first, but after a bit she dug right in to "help" mom get them all baked. She was much less interested in eating them than I thought she would be though.

Rob came by for a few minutes to wish mom a Happy Mother's Day. Joe couldn't get enough of Rob's hat. Besides the drool, I love this pic of the two of them!

Later in the day my grandma (mom's mom) came over and we enjoyed hanging out with the kids and eating a great dinner. Joe adores my grandma and she couldn't resist picking him up whenever he came over to her. Despite her 87 years and arthritis she would get a hold of all 27 pounds of Joe and cuddle him for a minute or two until he wanted down. I'm sure she was sore the next day, but she wouldn't complain.

After dinner and bath time, the kids entertained us all with some dancing. They were so full of energy, I didn't think they would ever want to go to bed, but the day did indeed come to an end. It was a low-key mother's day, but I loved it just the same.

A pic of me and Joe-Libby is much less compliant in taking pictures these days. Joe still humors me!