Alexa's prayers

Alexa has been praying since she was a young toddler. Recently she has changed her prayers to unique daily prayers. Here are some I never want to forget...

Dear God...

• Thank you for sending your Son to be the Savior
• Thank you for the cross
• Thank you for dying on the cross
• Thank you for sending rainbows after the rain
• Thank you for sending angels to take care of us
• Thank you for creating the heavens and earth

There are the occasional Thank you for my blankets but usually they are beyond what I would imagine a 4 year old would pray for. I am so excited to watch her spiritual journey flourish. 

The Tale of the Lost Penny

Sunday afternoon was just like every other Sunday. The girls and I were relaxing and playing. At 4:30pm Alexa came to me crying with tearing streaming down her face. She told me she swallowed her penny. I knew instantly what she was referring to. She held up her smashed penny bracelet and showed me the penny was missing. I quickly asked her again what she said. I was in a bit of shock since Alexa was diagnosed with a sensitive gag reflex. She struggles to swallow different textures and at it's worst she cant even put a new texture to her mouth. The idea of her swallowing or even putting a penny into her mouth is just unheard of. Once it sunk in that she did swallow the penny I went into panic mood. I called Justin several times (he was away at drill) before calling family to get advice. No one seemed to give a solid answer. I ended up calling the pediatrician. I left a message with their after hour nurse and started internet searching.

Once the nurse called me back it was determined that we needed to go to the hospital. Alexa was complaining her throat was hurting and I was super nervous. Once we got to the hospital we had to wait and wait and wait. Alexa's oxygen level was 100% so they weren't quite as concerned. Alexa did so great with the different nurses. She answered all their questions while being very brave. Once we were finally put into a room the doctor ordered x-rays.

After a little more waiting we were taken to the x-ray room. Since Alexa was a minor I had to be with her. Alexa laid on the table while Addison and I stood behind the glass wall. Alexa had 3 x-rays done. One of her throat, one of her middle stomach and one of the lower stomach. After we were back in our room we had about 30 more minutes before the doctor returned. He is informed us that there was no penny in any of the x-rays. Talk about shock! I took me over an hour to calm down. It was very scary to think of my little girl needing surgery. Alexa told the doctor the penny must have disappeared. She still believes she swallowed the penny. I believe that she believes that, but somehow she didn't.

So the penny has not been found. We are still keeping a look out for it and hope to find it soon. Here are some pictures from our scary night. The first one she asked me to take to show her Dad  the penny in her neck. The other two were taken to show her Dad pictures of her tiger gown.

19 Months Old

I blinked and it's been another month. Seriously, time is going way to quick. Addison has made some big strides in the last month. She is now interested in learning some academic things. She is starting to identify colors. Mostly everything yellow or blue but it's a start. I love watching her engage in story time and watching her sister do things. Every day she is moving away from the baby stage and quickly into the kid stage. It's tough on this Momma who wants to keep her little just a little while longer.

Addison's eating is become a challenge. She doesn't have the sensory issues that Alexa deals with, however she does have strong preferences. Addison has both my sweet tooth and her Daddy's spicy preference. She doesn't like most veggies and seems to be pushing away from fruits. We have tried juicing and hiding foods in other foods. So far we are making little progress. Everything I have read and the doctor confirmed she is acting like a normal toddler. I guess I should just appreciate the age. Part of mean panics that she is following in her sisters foot steps. Ekkk!

Addison's personality is starting to shine through. The squeals and witching hour have both improved sooo much. She can now entertain herself for up to an hour. We are all regaining our sanity back. Addison is very intense. She loves hard (literally and metaphorically).  When she gives hugs she runs as fast as she can and buries her head. We have to be careful or she can cause some injury. Her head is her best weapon. 

Sleeping! Wow I never thought we would have a good sleeper. The first year was pretty rough. Once Addison turned a year old she has been sleeping through the night. She now only wakes up throughout the night 1-2 times a month.When she does its usually for less than a few minutes. I am sooo glad she is a good sleeper. Addison naps for about an hour a day. Of course a little longer would be nice for me to have a Mommy break but it's all she needs. 

Addison started swim lessons this month. It's a parent/ child beginner class. She is learning basic kicking, long arms, bubbles and floating. She loves the water and our one on one time. That's about it for this month! Happy 19 months Addison!