Big Sister Recap

Some catch-up to do on the Big Sister! Marissa has had some excitement of her own that I haven't had a chance to blog about yet. June was an extremely busy month for our monkey. I took her for a special Mommy & Marissa date to see a children's production of The Wizard of Oz. Her first play. It's a classic that I love and have been wanting to watch it with her for a while now. One day, by accident, I passed by a poster advertising the production. And two days later her and I were on our way downtown to see it. It was kids performing, so it was cute and Marissa was entertained by that. I am so pleased at how much she enjoyed it. We went for Starbucks together after the play and she was spinning around in her dress singing "we're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz!"

When we got home from the play we decided to make brownies. Marissa decorated them with mini M&M's and was most helpful licking the beaters and the bowl! Perhaps more of a taster than a baker at this point :-)

Another bit of excitement for her was going to Andrew Sibbald for the kids Kindergarten orientation. It wasn't a formal affair. Just an opportunity for the kids to be in the classroom. They had lots of stations set up for the kids to explore. And they got to meet the two Kindergarten teachers. So she's all excited for September now and a little bit more familiar with where she'll be going. Exciting times ahead!

Next up was Marissa's dance recital. Last year was ballet, this year they did a tap number to "Baby Face". A little bit overboard if you asked me, with so many preschoolers in elaborate costumes and full makeup, but cute none-the-less. When Marissa gets shy, she does funny things with her tongue. She sticks it out, rolls it around. It's hilarious really. So when their number started, there was some definite tongue action going on, I'm sure it's pretty intimidating for a 5 year old to be performing on stage for a very packed theatre. Despite the tongue, she managed to get some moves down, and run off stage faster than you can imagine as soon as it was over! Special girl had all her grandparents there to cheer her on, thanks you guys for coming, especially Oma & Papi who drove all the way out from Medicine Hat to see her two minutes on stage!

She's almost unrecognizable with all that makeup!

Posing with her dance class

Marissa's fan club...Mommy & Daddy, Granny & Grandad, Grandma & Grandpa, Oma & Papi

I think the most exciting event of all though was Marissa's Preschool Graduation. You haven't seen adorable until you've seen a classroom of five year olds wearing caps and gowns. Seriously adorable. Miss Heather shared a couple things about each child as they were called up to shake her hand and move on to receive their diploma from Miss Shanon. Marissa's favourite part of preschool was circle time, and when she grows up she wants to be a nurse, a doctor and a dentist. I guess we better start saving our pennies! Big dreams for a little girl :-) The kids performed a few songs, and recited a special pledge with their hands over their hearts. It went like this..

I pledge to myself on this day
To try to be kind in every way
To every person big or small
I will help them if they fall
When I love myself and others too
That is the best that i can do

After the ceremony, the kids got to enjoy refreshments, play with each other, and even get their faces painted. Marissa really enjoyed Leap N Learn this year and loved her teachers. She's sad that it's over, but excited for what comes next!

Our little girl is growing up!

With her classmates, and her best buds Brayden and Emilea

Girl You're Amazing

The words to this beautiful Bruno Mars song say it all...

"And when you smile

The whole world stops and stares for a while

Cause girl you're amazing

Just the way you are"

Amazing she is, that's why she's our Supergirl.

EGG-citement!

This post will be short but so very sweet. The past two weeks since we returned from our Beaver Lake fishing trip, Taylor has been a changed girl. She started smiling. Real, responsive, beautiful smiles. Not just once-in-a-while smiles. But many-times-a-day smiles. We can actually make her smile. It's incredible. Honestly, these past two weeks have put me over the moon, over the rainbow, up in the clouds. Somewhere beautiful anyways. And I don't ever want to come back! We were at the annual McCulloch family picnic in Innisfail today, at my cousin Kim's, and my girl was showing off her happy face to everyone. Grandma Marny was trying to get a nice close-up shot of Taylor's face and Auntie Jaime was next to her trying to get her attention. And this my friends, this is what was captured. The money shot indeed...

Jaime was holding in her hand this wonderful little egg with a chick in it that peeps when you press it down. They're called Hide 'N' Squeak Eggs by Tomy. My cousin Kim had a set of them and we discovered that Taylor was fascinated with them. Thanks so much Kim for sending them home with us, Taylor will get loads of enjoyment from them!

Smiles to you!

Giddyup!

The Calgary Stampede is in full force right now and I wanted to get the girls in the spirit of it all...

Taylor posing in her Pony walker

Marissa was hamming it up for this photoshoot!

Francis and I went down to the Stampede grounds for date night last night. We took in some traditional stampede fare...mini donuts, greasy pizza, chili cheese fries, and chips-on-a-stick! I'll admit I got that last one purely because I thought it looked photo worthy. They literally take a whole potato, slice it accordion style, spread it apart on a stick and drop it in the fryer. Was it the best $5 potato I ever had? Not really, but it looked cool!

The newest Stampede fare was - get this - a donut burger. A burger made in a maple glazed donut instead of a bun. Not appealing as far as I'm concerned! Francis however was intrigued, but in the end didn't partake.

We went to the Enmax Ice Show at the Stampede Corral. A definite crowd pleaser. Admission is free once you're on the grounds. It's a 40 minute high energy show featuring Canada's elite skating stars and cirque style acrobats, accompanied by fantastic live rock 'n roll performances. Highly recommend it! Of course my favourite part was seeing Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skate. We were so close to the action. Most of my pics were too blurry because they were moving so fast, but I got a couple decent shots.

Olympic Gold Medalists & World Champions Jamie Sale & David Pelletier

Of course we wondered through the booths at the Roundup Center, and managed to find ways to spend money...

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is going to be a hit with Marissa for sure. You keep the little pop maker in the freezer and take it out any time, add your ingredients, and 7 minutes later you have a popsicle! You can use your own more healthy juices and yogurts and make neat designs by layering and using slices of fruit. All kinds of fun. On tomorrow's agenda...creamsicles!

Music to my ears

We got back from our family fishing trip to Beaver Lake on Saturday night. With a full van though, we had to wait until Sunday morning to pick up our sweet Taylor from the Rotary/Flames House. I couldn't wait to hold her and drink her in. A week apart is a long time, a nice break from all that she requires care-wise, but she was very much missed by all of us. I was so reassured by the updates that the nurses sent me saying how well Taylor was doing and that things were medically uneventful. Really helped ease my mind knowing that she was okay and in good hands. The staff are all so wonderful there and Taylor was kept very busy and active. She went in her standing frame for an hour every day, was able to use the multi-sensory room every day, was taken for walks outside in her wheelchair. One of our respite caregivers, Donna, went over to pick her up on Wednesday and take her over to the hospital for her IVIG treatment. While they were there, one of the Home Nutrition nurses treated more granulation tissue on Taylor. On Thursday they took her back over to the hospital for the ACH Stampede Parade where she got her own cowboy hat! She even made strawberry ice cream with the Child Life Therapist. Taylor was also spoiled with lots of visitors. Grandpa & Grandma, cousins Megan and Jill, her developmental aide Sharlene, and Shar's daughter Amanda. What a lucky little girl to have so many people come to spend time with her. Thanks so much you guys. Rotary gave us a CD with photos they took of Taylor over the week...

We were thrilled to pick her up on Sunday and bring our baby home, the four of us back under the same roof. So happy. Once we got a bit settled, Francis and Marissa left to go pick up Koko from the kennel. And then a beautiful thing happened...

I was changing Taylor's diaper on the change table in her bedroom. I blew a raspberry on her belly and she smiled. Smiles from Taylor have been few and very, very far between. It's one of the things we want so very much. Desperately seeking smiles. I blew another raspberry and she smiled again, and then ... ... Taylor let out a wee laugh. Yes, I said L.A.U.G.H. I was beside myself. And nobody was home to hear it but me. It was our special moment. Never to be forgotten. I am going to keep this memory locked up in a special compartment of my heart forever. After two years and nine months, I heard a wee laugh from my beautiful girl. My Supergirl.

I brought Taylor into the playroom. We were lying on the floor together and the garage door opened. Taylor smiled. I can hardly believe my eyes at this point. I ran downstairs, opened the door to the garage and yelled at Francis to grab his iPod and come upstairs RIGHT NOW! He and Marissa came up right away, Koko in tow. Francis started the video on his iPod and I gave Taylor a raspberry. She smiled. I gave her another one and then we captured it. Taylor's laugh. The laugh that has us completely over the moon. The video is sideways, you'll have to tilt your head, but it's soooooooooooooo worth it!

Taylor has been smiling ever since. I don't know what happened in the week that we were gone. But something has shifted, and Taylor is smiling. Responsive smiles. I squeal with delight every single time she does it, the novelty is not going to wear off. It's the most beautiful thing. It's what I've been longing for. Whether the smiles are here to stay, or just visiting, I'm going to soak every one in as though it's the last. I will not take a single one for granted. The little laughs are not as frequent, but they do happen every so often, and they are delicious. Yes, delicious. YUM.

What an amazing week it's been!

Snip Snip

Outing of choice today was Beaners. Time to get the girls' hair cut! I'm always a wee bit sad to get Taylor's hair cut, but afterwards I'm always happy. She really suits the short pixie cut. It makes her gorgeous eyes pop and draws attention to her angelic face. It was getting quite long again, and for the time being, length doesn't work too well on Taylor. She loves her floor time and she arches her head alot which creates rotating bald spots, depending where her head gets rubbed. The length really draws attention to these hairless patches, and the hair at the back and top of her head gets terribly matted from all the arching back, twisting, and rubbing of her head on whatever surface she's up against. So for now, the pixie cut is the way to go! And Supergirl rocks the look in my books. The stylist today hadn't done Taylor's hair before. She did a great job, but she had cut a straight line across the front before I realized. Ooops. But she still looks gorgeous.

Next up was Marissa. She's been on my case for quite some time to get her hair cut. I am for certain the mom that loves her girl's long softly curled locks, and enjoy doing her hair different ways. However, the battles over brushing out the morning bed head birds nest put a bit of a damper on the whole daily hairdo task. And really, it's her hair, not mine. If she doesn't want it long, why should I push her to keep it. Besides she'd likely take things into her own hands and cut it herself! So I backed down and finally agreed to let her get it cut. She's been looking forward to it for days, ever since I made the appointment. I thought she should also get some bangs cut too, to help keep the hair off her face and out of her eyes. The end result was super cute. They even painted in some pink highlites! The 'Mom Approved' kind that will wash out tomorrow when she has her bath. So for the next day she can enjoy her new look with a pink flair! When Marissa looked in the mirror at the end result she squealed excitedly, "I look like Emilea!!!", her best friend from preschool. So sweet.

Pride

We are proud to be Canadian! And we sure showed it on Canada Day. We all wore red and white, put Canadian flag tattoos on our cheeks, I even made a Canada flag cake. We were patriotic indeed. Happy 144th Birthday Canada! Marissa was quite into the whole celebrating Canada thing, however she did have some trouble grasping what Canada is. We tried to explain that it's the country we live in, but the concept doesn't quite register yet. Too big I guess. One day she will understand the pride of being Canadian. How fortunate we are to live in this amazing country. How respected we are worldwide. The health care system that we consider second-to-none, after discovering over the past two years just how much is provided for our daughter with special needs. We are a peaceful country. Anyone can choose to pursue an education. There is so much good here that we take for granted day to day, but we are indeed very fortunate to call Canada our home.

Proud to be Canadian...proud of my cake :-)

Beautiful day with clear blue skies

Sweet smiles from my monkey

Sisterly love that makes me proud

As patriotic as we can possibly get!

Today was the 4th Annual Race For Pace. The third one that we've participated in. It was a gorgeous day, warm and beautiful blue skies. Perfect day for a lovely walk, joined by Mom & Bryan, Auntie Candace & Uncle Gary. We did the 5km walk together and raised money for Pacekids programs. To say thank you to all our friends and family who contributed to this incredibly worthy cause just doesn't seem enough. You have touched us with your generosity. Taylor was presented today as the TOP fundraiser for the event. As of today we have raised $4,420 for Pace! Several of Francis' co-workers contributed, and Penn West will be matching all of their donations, which will put Taylor's fundraising for the Race for Pace at over $6,300. THANK YOU everyone from the bottom of our hearts!!!!!!

Look at me, I stayed awake for the whole walk this year!

Taylor being recognized as the top fundraiser!

Taylor's walking buddies

Supergirl shone today xoxo

First thing tomorrow morning we head off to Beaver Lake for our annual family fishing week. Jaime & Justin can't make it this year as they're in the middle of their move to Calgary. We will miss them, and Marissa will sure miss playing with her cousin Mady all week, but they'll soon be living just a two minute drive away, so we can't be too sad! With an empty bed in the cabin, Mom & Bryan have invited my cousin Erika to join us for the week...YAY! Erika adds serious life to any party, so a good time is definitely going to be had! We may need to check in to AA though before the week is out :-)


We decided this year to have Taylor stay at the Rotary Flames House for the week. It was a tough decision, but we know that she is going to be very well cared for there by the nurses and doctors. She sadly just can't get the same enjoyment out of this Beaver Lake week that the rest of us do. There is no place for her to have her oh-so-favourite floor time, it's not at all wheelchair friendly, the playground doesn't have an appropriate swing. The list goes on. She will be so much more comfortable and happy at the Rotary House with swings, kushy mats to roll around on, cozy chairs, and a wonderful sensory room. We are going to miss her desperately, it was tearful for me leaving her today.


I discovered a book at Hallmark last week and simply HAD to get it for Taylor. It's a recordable book called All The Ways I Love You, and you record yourself reading the story. So that you can read to your loved one even when you can't be there. I was crying in the middle of Hallmark as I read it and thought about us recording the story so that Taylor could hear our voices every day while we're gone. It's amazing. Francis, Marissa and I recorded it together, taking turns on each page. I can't even begin to describe how I feel about this book, it is a beautiful thing.

We miss you already Taylor xoxox