A Special Day for "South Paws"

A note I received from my sister this morning...

What a nice surprise! 
Claire and I will have to celebrate with all kinds
of left-handed fun...whatever that may be.

Guilty!

Yesterday the kids were playing so well together.  They are such buddies, always following each other around the house. 

First, they were playing sleepover.

Next I found them playing doctor. 

Then they played quietly in their bedroom for awhile.  I wasn't sure what they were doing, until they came out and I noticed this...

Henry had a large chunk of hair missing from the back of his head.

I've been watching the occasional Columbo lately, an old family favorite, so I set off to solve the mystery.  Much like Columbo, I had my initial suspicions.  I just had to prove it.  In my search for evidence, I found this...

Exhibit A

Next, I needed to question the suspect...

And sure enough, Claire had some new bangs as well.

It didn't take much for her to confess.  She and Henry were playing, and in her words, "I thought it was okay because I'm 5-years-old now". 

Well, I'm afraid that will not hold up in court!

  I admit, Joe and I had a hard time not laughing at the situation.  We did, though, have a serious talk about the appropriate use of scissors.  Then, of course, we had to complete what she began, finishing Henry's haircut.

  

And for this Mommy Detective: Case Closed!

{ Valentine's Day }

Joe's pancakes

Claire's valentines

Five year anniversary of bringing Claire home from the hospital

Claire's 5th Birthday

Claire's Golden Birthday! 

She turned 5 years old on February 5th.

With an unexpected snow day, I was happy to have Claire spend her day with us. 

Perhaps the highlight was our visit with the "baby doctor", as the kids call her.

It was really neat to bring Claire in for a reunion almost exactly 5 years after Dr. L. delivered her.  I asked Dr. L. what she remembers from Claire's delivery.  She admitted that there are very few deliveries she remembers specifically.  After delivering so many babies, most of them blend together.  Claire's delivery, however, she will remember the rest of her life.  I called her in the middle of a stormy winter night.  She met us at the hospital, where she found I was preeclamptic.  I was 5 weeks early, but ready to deliver. 

She recalled how there came a point when Claire's heart rate dropped dangerously low.  She knew she had to get the baby out immediately.  As I was prepped for a C-Section, she had me try one last time to push and amazingly, Claire was born, wide eyed and wonderfully healthy.  Dr. L. still sighs with relief just retelling the events.  I'm grateful we can all look back on it with gladness.

And 5 years later, we celebrate with Claire, not only her birth, but her life.  Claire, of course, really wants to help us celebrate, so she took the liberty of drawing the cake she wanted me to bake for her birthday.  That was very thoughtful of her...

We celebrated both Claire and cousin Gracie's birthdays with a combined party.

Claire helped me decorate the dining room. 

She did a wonderful job.

The birthday girls.

The Sternbergs love a good lunch!

Grandpa helps Claire open her gift.

Grandpa's homemade "dominos" style game,

combines Claire's love for both puzzles and games.

The following week, we also had a nice lunch at the

Puplis home to celebrate Claire's birthday.

Grandma makes amazing cupcakes.  Almost too pretty to eat.

Grandpa playing with Henry.

As the adults talked around the table, we looked over and spied Henry laying on the floor, gazing into the eyes of his buddy, Bailey.  I wish I could have overheard that conversation!

The kids with Great Grandma. 

Omphalocele Awareness Day

How could I forget the one day dedicated to raising awareness for the condition that is very close to our hearts?  Sorry Henry!  Omphalocele Awareness Day was actually January 31, but a few days ago, Henry was walking around without his shirt on and he looked down at his stomach and said, "I have a beautiful belly".   That's what reminded me of his special day. 

Here he is showing off his muscles...and his beautiful belly.  

 

About 1 in every 6,000 babies is born with an omphalocele.  Of those babies, sadly, 25% do not survive.  An additional 50% have severe defects with their heart or other organs. 

I remember sitting in the room with the doctor after our ultrasound, hearing the worst possible diagnosis.  He believed our baby wouldn't live.  There were just too many defects, likely a chromosome abnormality. 

And that's why I love it when people ask me how Henry is doing today.  I love to say that he's doing great!  We're so grateful for the love and laughter he brings into our lives every day.  I can't imagine our family without him.