Our Soccer Champ!

We enjoyed a Saturday of watching Edie's cousin Wyatt play soccer and afterwards playing at Wyatt and Wesley's house. Wyatt plays hard and has such a good time encouraging his team on. Afterwards Edie and I picked Scott up from the airport and headed to a friends home for the game. Roll Tide Roll!! Edie was not interested in the game or in sleeping, just people watching. She does not want to miss anything!

On Sunday Edie had her first experience in the church nursery. Scott and I were both nervous and excited. To be honest I could hardly pay attention to the service because I was so worried about how she was doing. Were they playing with her, feeding her like she is used to being fed? Were they rocking her or was she just sitting in there in a crib crying? When we got her the ladies told us she did not want her bottle and she became fussy and fell asleep. She was still sleeping. I know I have to do it - but it is very hard to leave her with strangers, even at church. After church we went to Gigi and Giddo's for a yummy birthday brunch.

So after another whirlwind weekend I am back on the road. I was heartbroken this morning when I had to leave for Denver. I went up to kiss Edie goodbye. Once I did she woke, raised her head up and moaned a few times. It was hard for me to hold in my tears because all I could think was that she was asking me not to leave. I could still hear her talking as I walked down the stairs. I cried on my drive to the airport. I love her so much, it hurts to leave her. It hurts to leave period especially after Scott was gone last week. I can not wait until the day comes that I can just be at home, all of the time with my family. I work........to work towards that day.

Happy Birthday Giddo!

Where Does the Time Go?

Before I realized - practically two weeks have gone by! I have been in Austin, Miami and now Scott is in LA this week for training. I am in his shoes this week being both mommy and daddy. I must say I am exhausted. My days have been similar to "Groundhog Day". Poor little Ziggy. She has been so neglected, as have the ferns. I just can not remember anything lately.

Great news however! Edie has been moved to the big kid classroom and is now in "Learning Leaps". Today was her first time. From what I understand they have circle time with several other toddlers where they play and sing songs and enter act more with one another. I know she is so excited to be around other babies. Gigi said that they do not normally move babies to this class as young as Edie, but since she is doing so well they gave it a go. They feel that she will do just fine and she will continue in this new class. I am excited to see what it is all about on Friday!

Edie is working hard to perfect her sitting and has now began to play more while sitting. We also have started to eat puffs (if I did not mention this before), learn to drink from a cup as well as a straw, and eat pureed meat. We are so proud of her. She is so sweet. We could have not asked for a better baby. I hope she can feel how much she is loved.

Go Bama!

LOOK WHO'S SITTING ALONE!!

What a great ending to a great weekend!! Yesterday, on Edie's 8 month birthday, she discovered how to sit ALONE! That's right - no boppy, no little brown chair, so support! She is amazing! Gigi even said this past week at The Bell Center her physical therapist said that her child, who is typical, could not even crawl at 7 months as Edie can. We are so proud of her. Now we will move to the next phase of sitting and playing unassisted. She is still working to prefect it - but I know by the end of the week she will have down pat!

I am glad that I did not miss this moment. I returned on Friday from Austin and we headed straight to The Bell Center for class. Saturday Edie and I volunteered at a PADS booth at the Baby Palooza event at Brookwood mall handing out fliers for the Buddy Walk on October 19th. Which by the way is a fundraiser for PADS each year. The donation of $10 gets you a T-Shirt to enter the event. They will have clowns, jump zones, face painting and more for children. It is being held at Regions Park. You can learn more about the event on the PADS site on bottom right of blog. We will not have a team this year since we are new to the group. However, we will attend the event and we would love for anyone who is interested to come and join us. If you would like to e-mail me at michelle@summerclassics.com I will be happy to register you and pick up your shirts early.

After we left the booth we went to my good friends house for Arron's first birthday party. Edie had fun playing with the other children and having her first taste of icing. I am now packing to leave for Miami for a show later today. So Scott will be mommy-daddy again this week. I am glad to say I will have a week off of travel next week. I am looking forward to it!

I am not sure how many of you have ever checked out my "Blogs We Love" on the bottom right corner - but if you are ever feeling down, need a pick me up, if you like goofy things, want a good laugh, or anything else that relates to happiness and feeling good about life......read Life with the Spencers. My friend Ashley is not only hilarious but also very inspirational. These "ramblings" as she calls them should be published into a coffee table book.

God is in control

As Edie relaxed on the exam room table today with her foot propped on Dr. Johnson's leg our prayers were answered. We are pleased to tell everyone that Edie's VSD has closed to such a minute size that she will not require any surgery! Edie knew there was nothing to worry about so she just squilled and smiled as he ran the sonogram across her chest.

Dr. Johnson advised us that there is still a very tiny amount of blood that is flowing to the left side of her chamber but it is so little that she will be able to live with this condition. She also still has a very faint murmur, but still this is something she can go through her life without needing any surgery to correct.

I can not tell you what a relief this news has been. A weight has been lifted from our shoulders and we can now focus our energy on new things in Edie's life. We will go again to see Dr. Johnson in 8-10 months just for a routine checkup. Dr. Johnson is fairly confident that on the next visit we will see the hole completely closed.

Edie has been so strong and such a fighter - She is amazing. She is a blessing. She is our Angel from above. Thank you God for sending her to us.

Edie is starting to experience eating food alone "sometimes". It is quite a messy experience - but a lot of fun! She is so cute. Edie has pretty much perfected the commando crawl. We are now working on being on all fours and sitting alone. We picked up Edie's "Little Brown Chair" last week from The Bell Center. The little brown chair is, well, a little brown chair. It is made of brown wood and it has a tray that totally encompasses Edie to hold her in place. She can sit in this chair to play with objects as well as eat. It sits on the floor and is a great tool for her to build her torso muscles. Which will later help her in sitting alone. She really enjoys being in it.

Edie has also learned that she loves to rock back and fourth on her own. She learned this technique last week and has not stopped. If you hold her by the hands she will rock, if you hold her by her hips she will rock, if you hold her over your shoulder she will rock. She has even started to rock while on her tummy.......she looks like a head banger, bobbing her head up and down. Our therapist last week advised us to let her do it just a little at a time. But doing it too much may cause her to overextend her joints and her back. Poor baby - this is what makes her happy (this week) and we have to limit as much as possible. However, to some extent we just can not stop her.

We will be returning to the cardiologist tomorrow for Edie's 3rd visit. We are very hopeful that the visit will have positive result and we will not have to undergo any surgery. So if everyone would say a little prayer for her. I will be leaving for Austin afterwards and returning end of week. This month will be a hard month for us - me Austin, week after me Miami, week after Scott LA, and week after that me Colorado. Scott and I will hardly see one another - so weekends will be VERY important for us. However, with all of the late nights in the hotel rooms you can bet there will be a lot of blogging!!!

A Wonderful Man named Great Giddo

We just returned from Jacksonville where we celebrated the life of Mr. Abraham Sallah, Edie's Great Giddo, who passed away Friday at the great age of 96. These pictures are wonderful reminders to me of what a warm, energetic, loving man Giddo was. Notice the one of him in the top right corner holding the sparkler at our wedding. He stayed, a 92 year old man, and danced the night away with his family seeing us off with sparkles in his eyes, in his heart and literally in his hand! That was the kind of man Giddo was. A hard working man who loved his family and his life. He always made me feel right at home. What a great gift to never meet a stranger and to always make everyone feel special.

I remember the first time I met Giddo. He welcomed me with open arms, kissing my lips and giving me a big hug. He instantly reminded me of my PawPaw who had passed many years earlier. They were both so alike. So many great stories to tell, so much knowledge to share and so much love to give. Giddo forced me that first night of meeting him and the whole Jacksonville family to eat not two, but three helpings of rice. I laterally thought I would explode! I have now learned that I was strategically placed that night by Giddo at the dinner table so that I could experience what everyone else had many, many times before. And that was to eat, eat, eat. Giddo also introduced me to my first Cactus Pear - which I loved!

Giddo's funeral was a traditional Arabic service. A prestigious, formal service - fitting for a great man as Giddo. I loved seeing the traditions taking place. Listening to the songs and praises of the Priest, smelling the incense and hearing the bells chime. Giddo loved his church and his Ramallah community and they too shred the same love for him. Giddo was one of the founding members of the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church and a charter member of the Ramallah Club of Jacksonville. I am honored to be a part of such a great family with such a rich heritage. These pictures are cherished memories of a wonderful person who we will one day share with Edie, her Great Giddo.

If you click on the photos above they will enlarge. If anyone would like copies of any of these I will be happy to e-mail.