So Grateful

Jeff, Cate, and I took a trip to the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital today. Our pediatrician has been worried that Cate isn't crawling with her belly off the floor or pulling up on things yet, and wanted to check out her hips. We had x-rays done on Monday, and we took them with us today. Everything is fine. The doctors at Scottish Rite thought, as Jeff and I did, that Cate would do it when she was ready. Ah well, that's not really what this post is about anyway.

I was/am already so grateful for Cate. We're incredibly lucky, and I know it. But today, it really hit home.

Sitting in the waiting room at SR was like sitting in a whole different world. In the 2 1/2 hours we were there, we met an 18 month old with no legs and one hand, a boy about 12 with burns so severe he lost his foot, I saw babies with casts, toddlers in wheelchairs, and one beautiful little girl with a metal halo attached to a hook that held her head up as she walked. And parents, who were totally chill and laid back and knew that hospital like the backs of their hands. Parents who commented on Cate's long legs, when their daughter had none.

I am so grateful. We have a beautiful, smart, healthy little girl. She may not crawl yet, but that doesn't stop her from chasing the cat all over the house. I told her "no" today, and she looked at me and said "ok". She smiled and charmed every person she met today, even giving the old doctor a hug. She did not cry once during the 2 1/2 hours we were at the hospital, even though most of that was spent waiting. She played, and watched, and talked.

She is absolutely perfect. She is more than I ever dreamed, and I am so glad she's mine.

So glad, and so so thankful.

Over and Done With

I can't say I'm sad to see 2011 go. I'm not. I'm thrilled. I'm relieved that a new year has started, that I might be able to breathe again.

Don't misunderstand me. 2011 brought us Cate, and so was a wonderful year, family-wise. It will go down in history as the Best. Year. Ever. because of her.

But really, the year sucked. It sucked balls. I'm so glad it's gone.

How nice to be able to write that.

In 2011, we dealt with: extra hospital bills from Cate's birth, her broken clavicle, a busted toliet, a toliet flood, a broken computer, 2 car breakdowns, 2 broken air conditioners, another broken toliet, a puddle in the middle of my bedroom from a cracked foundation, broken tiles in the shower, and a leaky watering system that caused our water bill to double for months. We paid countless medical bills, 3 tickets, more medical bills. I put my wonderful boy Dobby to sleep. Jeff had a stomach virus, then mono, then mono and stomach virus. He had an ER visit, a TIA, and a terrified wife.

Truly. I'm so glad that damn year is over.

This year is already starting out better. My little brother proposed to his girlfriend, so I'll soon have a new sister. We still have medical bills to pay from Jeff's hospital visit, but thankfully they're manageable. The puddle in my bedroom is dried up; hopefully insurance can take care of it permanantly.

We still have a gorgeous daughter, who is finally cutting her first two teeth and is army crawling all over the house. She babbles at us, and laughs, and gets angry when we don't share our food with her. She's trying to set herself up from her stomach, and I'm sure she'll be pulling herself up to standing in no time. Quite frankly, this house can crumble down around me. As long as I have Cate, I won't be too upset.

But I'm really really hoping this year is better than last.