To my Scarlette, with love on your 4th birthday

Dear Scarlette~

Holy moly! You are four today! That is almost unbelievable to me! I still remember so vividly the day (night) I found out I was pregnant with you and how excited we were! The day you were born (and how scared we were). The day we got to hold you and how PERFECT you were. And are. You are perfect! Do you know that? When God made you he decided to make you really special! He decided that you got to be MORE than just the rest of us! He decided that He was going to use you to teach us SO many new, scary and WONDERFUL things.Because of You I have learned to value life, I have learned to appreciate the MIRACLE of the small things, I have learned patience, oh boy has that been a hard one. Patient is one thing your mommy is not! But I'm learning! I have learned to laugh at death, literally to find humor in things others would cower at. I have learned so much about faith, and what it means to truly and totally put my trust in God. I have learned not to sweat the small stuff and also not to take things for granted! I have learned to give others grace, because we never know what trials they are facing. I have learned that what we think we deserve we don't, and just because our life is different from what we thought it should be doesn't mean it is worse or less fulfilling. Look at all you have taught me in these four years. And I'm still learning! You have SO much to teach us that I may not have learned if God didn't give you to us. If He didn't trust us to care for you. Sometimes I question His intent, sometimes I don't feel up to the challenge and I feel like I'm failing you. But I know God's plan is PERFECT so I know that you are with us for a reason. I feel honored. He definitely thinks more highly of me than I do.

In all that you have taught me you have learned some things too! In the last year we have had some setbacks, but we have also had some MAJOR milestones! You started standing up while holding our hands for small amounts of time, and most recently you started being able to hold yourself for a second before you fell. You have learned somewhat clumsily how to get yourself off the couch. You allow your sister to play with and on you and you do it with a smile. You have recently started babbling much more and even vocalizing new sounds. You went through a very hormonal phase about six months ago where everything and anything that you didn't want to have anything to do with made you cry (that one was fun let me tell you!). And you re-started therapy which you have been doing great at, even if you vocally protest every time you have to change positions!

You also have some new loves this year. You LOVE and I mean love bordering on loving more than mommy Sofia the 1st. The only time you and sissy are quiet in the morning is when mommy turns it on (and praises Jesus while doing so ;0) ). You really love Auntie KC's doggie Komo, and have been so interested in all the other doggies you have met and seen this year. I hope one day we can get you a hypoallergenic companion dog. I truly never thought you would take to animals the way you have! You love your sissy, we can tell you really do! You watch her and you let her play with you, and you are almost never mad at her. Except when she blocks the TV. You LOVE music and you LOVE the ladies at church who sit with you and play music the entire time you are in Sunday school. They have no idea how much peace they bring to mommy and daddy for that hour knowing that you are safe and happy.

Baby girl, I would have never chosen this life for you, but I would be wrong. You are doing exactly what you were put on this earth to do. You have reached so many people. Your joy is felt by anyone who's around you when you smile. Your heart is so pure and you are just so special and so wonderful. You have accomplished more in 4 years than I have in 27 and I hope I can be more like you when I grow up.

Love, Mommy

2 year Heart-a-versary!

Two years ago today Scarlette had her most pivotal surgery, her open heart surgery. To some it may seem silly but today is a very special day to me! Two years ago today was a turning point in Scarlette's health, in her life! Scarlette was only 17 pounds when she had her heart surgery. The cardiologist followed her for two years, hoping that she would grow and get bigger. Stronger. Because a bigger stronger child does better in heart surgery. But Scarlette couldn't grow. Because of the whole in her heart, her atrioseptal defect, her heart was working overtime just to pump enough blood to all of her organs and extremities. She was burning more calories than she could possibly consume. So with some trepidation they scheduled her heart surgery. She was 23 months and 17 lbs...not even on the growth chart, but they had no choice. The surgery went perfectly, as perfectly as surgery can go. It was quicker than expected, and there were a few hiccups while in ICU but she was moved to the Heart and Kidney unit the day after surgery and on Sunday morning, just THREE days after her surgery, we went home. The doctors told us to anticipate being at the hospital for a week at least, maybe more due to how fragile she was. I have never seen her bounce back so fast from a surgery before. This was clearly the work of God. Now, 2 years later she is SO much stronger, SO much healthier! She's not petite any more! She's a healthy chunky rolly little thing! 30 lbs and 35". Still small for an almost 4 year old, but barely! After her surgery she started sitting up with much more balance, she started tolerating bearing weight through her legs and arms and hands. She tolerated being put in the gait trainer and stander. She allowed us to help her stand on her feet. She has gotten so much stronger and if it wasn't for her heart surgery I don't know where she would be today.

I thank God for modern medicine. I thank God for the men and women who find their calling in physical healing. Surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, therapists, technicians. People who are passionate about healing people. People who are passionate about science and understanding how the body works (and doesn't work). Prayer is powerful and wonderful and miraculous. But sometimes God can answer prayers in a conventional way and it still be wonderful and miraculous! I have witnessed so many miracles through Scarlette and I'm blessed to know I'm going to witness many more. God has poured favor over our lives by allowing us to care for this tiny human and even when it's hard and I feel like a failure I try to stop and remember how much God loves us, and how often He has showed us that He is watching over Scarlette and the rest of us.

So happy 2nd Heart-a-versary baby girl, and I pray for many many more!

If any of you want to reminisce about that day like I did, here's the link to the blog post from that day! http://theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2011/08/ohs-day-2-surgery-day.html

My Little Chatterbox!

Everyone always asks me: What words does Savannah say? Usually I can't think of them off the top of my head so I figured I should write them all down because there really are a lot! She babbles in her own language CONSTANTLY! She will carry on a full conversation with you, full of gestures and different intonations. As well as changing which words she says. It's absolutely hilarious and SO entertaining! Here is a run-down of the "real" words she uses most:

Okay (her absolute by far favorite word) She responds to almost everything with "okay"
baby
daddy
da-da
ma-ma
bye
hi
hello (e-llo)
ready
pretty
go
three (if we count out one...two...three....every single one is three lol)
thank you (it's not exactly understandable but she uses it any time I say, "say thank you!" and she says it the same every time)
love you (lolo oo)
sissy (every morning she says hi sissy! to scarlette) this is what she calls scarlette and it's so cute
bow
walk
rock
toe
woof woof (what she calls a doggy)
tweet tweet (teet teet)
quack
uh-oh
ball
kiss
up
wassat? (what's that?) we hear this one a lot!
and when we tell her something is hot she blows on it! SO  cute!

She just recently learned the signs for please and sorry, so she now knows more, all done, milk, eat, please and sorry! We are working on the signs for share, thank you and horse right now! I love communicating with this little girl, I'm sure I forgot some but I think for 19 months old she's doing great!

My baby is 18 months old today!

Oh this is just so bittersweet! I've been dreading this day, largely because it's just one more affirmation that my sweet little baby is transforming into a little girl right before our eyes! She's such a delight, and so much fun, that I just want to freeze her in time and keep her just the way she is forever!

We haven't yet had her 18 month appt but she's about 23 lbs and 30" tall. She wears a size 4 shoe, and has 14 of her 20 baby teeth! Her hair is getting much longer and curlier! The biggest new development with Savvy is over the past week she has started sleeping through the night completely and has weaned herself from nursing! She hasn't nursed in over 4 days so I would say she's done with her "num-num". :0)

Savvy has learned SO much recently! Her new words are: bow, walk, touchdown, pretty, ready, three (teee). She has a baby cinderella that she will bring to you if you ask her "where's your baby?" She rocks her, and pats her head. It's the SWEETEST thing! She is so affectionate, even with perfect strangers. We constantly have to watch her at the park because she will go up to random people and hug them, try to hold their hand or pet them (lol). She has recently started feeding herself with a spoon and also tries very hard to use a fork. She brings us books to "read" to her, but really she just wants to turn the pages super fast and look at all the pictures with you. She is the sweetest, most loving, most obstinate little girl that I have ever met, and I am SO glad God blessed me with her!

Happy half birthday my little Savannah Faythe, we are SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!

OVERDUE UPDATE ON MISS SCARLETTE

One of the reasons I haven't updated in so long is I'm not even sure quite how to make this succinct. There is so much that goes on with Scarlette "behind the scenes" so to speak, it's so much easier to just post daily pictures of her smiling and go on about our lives. But there are some big things coming up so I thought I'd take some time to both re-cap and update on what's going to happen in the near future.

For those who have just started following Scarlette's story recently, let me try to catch you up in one paragraph (HAHAHAHAHA). Scarlette was born with a chromosomal deletion which caused a multitude of congenital birth defects. She was born with a whole in her diaphragm, 3 holes in her heart, a cleft palate (hole in the roof of her mouth), kidney reflux, low muscle tone, significant hearing loss, severe food allergies and mental defect. And that's just what we know so far. She has had 7 surgeries to date, 3 sets of ear tubes, repair on her heart, diaphragm and palate, tonsils and adenoids removed and a g-tube placed in her belly. A g-tube is a little tube that looks like the inflation port on a raft that hooks up to Scarlette and connects to a bag filled with formula. This is Scarlette's only way of eating currently, as she has such low muscle tone in her esophagus she has trouble swallowing, and has no desire to eat orally. All of Scarlette's conditions stem from her chromosomal anomaly, which is something that occurred spontaneously during conception and was not inherited. She has had years of physical, occupational and speech therapy, and is seen by about 15 various specialists through the military and civilian hospitals locally.

Ok, now that you are caught up on her history I'm going to update on what's going on currently. 2 months ago we moved from Washington, D.C. to San Diego, CA. While we were very excited to move home I was very nervous to leave our medical "family" behind. We knew we would have to re-establish all of her care here and even with all my worry I don't think I could have ever been prepared for how much work it would be. I hope to never have to do it again. In the last 5 weeks we have had 13 appts and a sleep study. We currently have 6 appts scheduled for the next 3 weeks, and are slated for another sleep study and an OR trip for 5 different specialists to do different procedures. So if you see me, and I seem a little cuckoo now you know why!!!! ;0)

Scarlette has recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea, which we always suspected she had due to her poor sleep habits, but is now confirmed. She's going to have a sleep study done in which they hook her up to a CPAP machine to calibrate exactly how much pressure she needs and then they she will end up having to use CPAP nightly. We are nervous that she's going to resist initially, but are confident that ultimately this will help her get the rest she needs.

Another somewhat new diagnosis is her hearing. In September we learned that she had completely lost all of her hearing in her right ear (previously it was just a moderate hearing loss). The ENT doctors have encouraged us to look into the cochlear implant surgery to see if that may be something we want for Scarlette. We are still on the fence with this procedure, largely because the outcome could possibly not help her at all, but we are going to be going to a clinic at Rady's Childrens Hospital for an evaluation to see if she's a good candidate for it. We will meet with CI team and they will evaluate whether they think CI is definitely right for her or whether the procedure is too risky in her slightly complicated and more fragile state.

Scarlette has had an issue with excessive saliva production for just about the last year. Now, this may seem trivial compared to everything else, but to a mom who just wants her child to look normal, this is huge. Vain as it may be, her drooling has really been an issue for me. It's just another reason for people to judge, ask questions or assume things about us and that's really hard for me. But I also won't put Scarlette on medication with side effects just because she has a bodily function she can't control. SO on that note, the ENT doctor had some great news for me today! They can give her a tiny botox injection in her parotid glands that "freezes" the glands so that they stop producing so much saliva. Because she doesn't eat by mouth it's not necessary for her to produce as much saliva as she does and the dr. is confident that this is a somewhat easy fix, although it does wear off so it will have to be re-administered. The first time will be more of a trial just to make sure she has no adverse reaction and then in 3 months it will be done again. If her drooling somehow gets worse or the botox doesn't work, then we will discuss removing her parotid salivary glands completely during one of her other procedures.

Physically, Scarlette is doing okay, although she hasn't seemed to progress for awhile. She is allowing us to help her stand with our assistance which is GREAT! But unfortunately we are having a very hard time getting plugged in with her therapies. I need to get her a new IEP and that can't be done until she's evaluated by the therapists at Balboa. It's been a long process and continues to be challenging but it will get done eventually! I am nervous about sending her to school and I am SO not ready for her to be away from me every day!

I believe that every single person has struggles. Everybody faces hardships, and everyone has their cross to bear. I have met so many people who have been through things I personally don't think I could ever handle. But I have also learned that when faced with no other choice people overcome.  I KNOW that God chose this hardship for us because He knew there were other things that would have been too much for us to bear. I am not special, I am not this amazingly patient parent who should win awards. I get angry, I get upset and frustrated and pissed off at what I think is unfair for my child. Please don't give me more credit than I deserve. Their are days where I absolutely think I just can't handle it anymore. But I can and I do because what other choice is there? I know that without relying on my faith with God I would probably have lost hope long ago. Most days though, I feel SO blessed that I get to grow with Scarlette. She is the sweetest, most loving child I have had the privilege to meet and her happiness is infectious! It may not always be easy, but it's ALWAYS rewarding!

17 months....WHAT?!?!?

How is it possible that last month my big princess turned 3 1/2 and now we are only 1 month and 1 day shy of little miss turning 1 1/2!?? Slow down girls! Scarlette had a HUGE growth spurt and is now 34.5" tall and 27 lbs. Savvy is still hanging out at 22 lbs and I'm not sure how tall she is, but I'd venture to guess she's right about 30". She won't stay still long enough for me to measure her! Scarlette is doing very well as we are getting her plugged in to Balboa and meeting with a myriad of specialists. She has a lot of upcoming procedures/appointments but so far nothing too worrisome. Savannah is just a little spitfire! She runs, not walks, everywhere! She gets into everything she shouldn't and she learns new things every day! She's also a little mimic! If you put your hands on your hips or point your finger at her, she does it right back at you without missing a beat! I'm definitely going to have my hands full when she expands her vocabulary! We are loving sunny San Diego, and can't wait for it to get just a touch warmer!

Here are both girls on Easter last week:

14 months!

AHHHHHHHHH my little baby is 14 months old! It just goes by too fast!!!! She is the sweetest, most loving little girl and is a total sponge when it comes to learning new things! I haven't had her stats checked recently but she's about 21 lbs and 29" tall. Her biggest accomplishment this month: WALKING! She took her first steps the day after Christmas, learned how to stand up on her own on Dec 30, and is now walking about 50% of the time! She is now talking up a storm (unintelligibly) and doing a little bit of singing/humming as well. She has gotten 3 of her 1 year molars and now has 11 teeth. Love my sweet cutie patootie!

Just a little update on the girls....

Scarlette is now 3 1/4 years old holy moly! I just can't even believe it! In the last six months or so my baby has made HUGE strides in her gross motor development. She can now sit unassisted for hours at a time, she still topples over but it's become more controlled, and although she doesn't bear weight through her arm she does put it down as if to support her weight when she's about to fall. She has been standing at our coffee table for a little over a month now, she needs supervision for this at ALL times because she WILL fall when she loses her balance. We are working on teaching her how to bend her knees when she wants to get down, as for the most part she will keep them locked if unguided. She can stand for a few minutes at a time and very much seems to enjoy it! We have also been helping get her into a hands and knees position, and unbelievably just in the last week she has become strong enough to maintain this position on her own for a few seconds!!! She isn't yet strong enough to hold her head up in this position, but we are going to keep practicing! Pray for my sweet one! Pray that she gets stronger and stronger every day, and with practice and help we can get her walking soon!

My Savvy turned 13 months a week ago, and that was almost as hard as when she turned one. Her capabilities are fascinating, I keep thinking: "She's SO smart" but I know every parent thinks that! Savvy learned a few new "tricks" since she turned one. She has learned how to blow kisses, say: "woof woof", "woah", "co-co", "num-num (nurse-nurse)" and "uh-oh". She has learned the signs for more and milk and will now sign all done, more and milk unprompted as a means of communication! She understands what they mean! She has started standing on her own, and loves walking holding our hands or her push toy, but still does not want to take any steps on her own. She is so good about playing with her toys and she LOVES to share. She will give you anything and everything she has just because she wants to give it to you. The only thing she won't give away willingly is her binky, unless you tell her it's time to "nurse-nurse" then she will take it out of her mouth and try to put it in whoever's mouth is closest to her for safe keeping. She has cut another tooth, making her total 9 teeth, and she weighs 20 lbs 13 oz at her last appt.

LOVE MY BABIES!

My baby is ONE!!!!

Wow, even a week later, and I still can't believe it! How did she turn into a big girl? How is my little tiny baby one?! I remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was YESTERDAY. I remember how sweetly little she was, and how I would just hold her for hours because I knew how fast it was going to go, and yet I'm still not ready. She's SO big. And so smart! I know every momma says that, but Lord, she is SO smart! Some of our milestones.....

Savannah has 8 teeth, is 20 lbs 9 oz and 29 1/4" long (at birth she was 8 lbs 3 oz and 19 3/4" long :0) )

She knows how to sign "all done" and "more", give high fives, give kisses, give hugs, and waves "bye-bye" and claps when we say "yay!!". We are working on the sign for milk now.

She crawls EVERYWHERE and LOVES to push around her ride on toy!!!

She sings, talks, babbles CONSTANTLY, but her only real words are mama and dada.

She drinks all her water from a straw sippy cup, and we are working on giving her breastmilk from a sippy as well.

She LOVES people food. Her favorites are: corn, tomatoes, bananas, cheese and chicken.

Bath time is her absolute favorite! Lately she's actually been "swimming" in the tub and loves it! If we would let her she would stay in the tub for hours!

A lot of people have asked me how long I plan to nurse Savannah. I plan to let her wean herself. We are working on milk from her straw sippy during the day and nursing only at night. We are also working on sleeping through the night, and I'll be the very first to admit that this is her biggest issue. Savvy still gets up multiple times a night to nurse and it's wearing me down! We are going to have to be firm with her because she's so smart and knows how to get her way, but she's my baby and I'm not ready to subject her to that yet.

Savannah is funny, and loving, but sassy and spunky as well! I love my silly little peanut!

ZipZac!!!!!!

I am NOT blog-savvy, so I don't know how to post a link on the side of the page to Scarlette's background of medical conditions, so I thought this would be a good refresher post! http://www.theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2010/11/very-short-background-on-scarlettes.html

Today I found out how many people care about our little girl. SO many of you saw the need for Scarlette to get her very own ZipZac and immediately started PM'ing me ideas on how to achieve this goal. We now have our very own fundraiser set up for her thanks to the amazingly kind Andrea Tansil, and in a few hours have already raised over $300!!! we are a 1/4 of the way there! AMAZING! If we go above and beyond the goal of $1200, I would very much like to purchase another ZipZac for Scarlette's dear little friend Sammy who just started school on Tuesday and would benefit as much as Scarlette from this chair! I am truly so grateful, as is the rest of my family for your kind generosity and sacrifice for our little girl. She's a princess and she deserves her throne! Thank you again Andrea for feeling led to do this for our family, you will never know how much it has touched us.

Here's the link if you feel led to donate, even $1 will get us one step closer:

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=9025&url=princessscarlette

A year ago today....

Was Scarlette's heart surgery!!!! Can you believe it?! It's already been a year! I seriously cannot believe that it's already the anniversary of our little bean's heart surgery AND that she's going to be 3 in less than a month! Just amazing! The day before Scarlette's surgery she weighed in at 17 lbs 1 oz. Today I'm happy to report that she weighs 26 lbs 9 oz! That's incredible! An almost 10 lb gain in a year! She can now sit on the floor unassisted for up to two hours! She can bear weight through her feet when holding her arms/hands, and she can push up onto her hands when in tummy time. I can adjust her into hands and knees position but we still need a lot of assistance for that one. I'm just so amazed at God's goodness and glory. And BEAMING with pride at how far my sweet little SJ has come!

Here's a picture of Scarlette's heart surgery scar today, 1 year post-op! Here's a link to her scar two weeks post-op: http://theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/scarlettes-scar-2-weeks-post-op.html

It's absolutely amazing to me that this tiny thin white line is the only evidence that my baby's heart was temporarily stopped and repaired. There are some truly gifted, talented and amazing people out there and I thank God that we were able to witness first hand how He takes care of His own.

We are going to celebrate Scarlette's heart-aversary today by doing a little early birthday shopping at Target, TRU and Crazy 8 and then we get to go to her therapy company's annual family fiesta and socialize with other super special kids and families!

I am SO amazed at how far my princess has come and at the same time how far she still has to go. Please pray with me that she continues to get stronger and that one day soon she will be able to walk and maybe even talk or communicate with us. Thank you Lord for giving me such a strong, and sweet precious little soul to guide through this life. I hope we are making You proud!


Love,
the Skrove's

7 months old...really?

Where did my little baby go? Where is she?!?! I know she was here just a little bit of time ago......babies grow up way too fast! Savannah is already 7 months old! She's huge! And she's acting more and more like a baby and less and less like an infant!

Weight: 18 lbs 14.5 oz
Height: not sure
Clothes: Still fits in 6-12 well, but she can wear some of her sister's 12-18 month rompers!!!! 3-6 is out of the question!!!!
Sleep: She seems to be getting a little bit better at sleeping. We put her down at 8, she's up to eat between 11 and 12, and then again around 4. This morning she slept in until 9. Oh it was wonderful!!!!
Teeth: still just the one, but I have a feeling that's going to change VERY soon!
Mobility: Savvy is moving!!!! She scoots backwards and she can rotate herself 360 degrees! Her new thing is when she wakes up in the morning she rolls onto her tummy and then proceeds to cry because she is stuck and doesn't know how she got there!!!
Food: Savvy is getting food every day! We have been working on oatmeal and baby food, and yesterday she even got a little bit of mashed potatoes!

Savvy LOVES the water. She has been to the pool a few times and we just got her a blow up pool for the house. I hope her big sister learns to love the water as much as she does, because both Mitch and I want to spend lots of time at the pool this summer! She also loves her bath time and splashes incessantly while in there! She sits very well, and rarely topples, although she hasn't learned how to get herself INTO sitting yet!

My BIG girl Scarlette is going to be 3 years old in 3 months. Now THAT is absolutely crazy! She is doing amazingly well and seems to be progressing at a much more rapid pace recently. We practice in her stander every other day, and she tolerates it and her braces well. She is getting baby food twice a day and usually averages about 6-8 spoonfuls per feeding. The trick is, we have to have the tv on. The distraction helps her eat. We don't understand why, but we don't care! Whatever makes her eat we will do! We have also been practicing sitting and standing unassisted daily. She can sometimes sit for up to 30 minutes before toppling. Unfortunately she does not know how to right herself or get herself back into sitting, so we need to make sure the area is well padded. Scarlette now weighs 23 lbs 14.5 oz and we are so excited! I can't wait until she hits 25 lbs. At one year old she was just 11 lbs, so she has come so far, and it's amazing to witness. There have been a few issues with her tubes, and it's looking like she may need them replaced, as well as a tonsillectomy for her breathing issues. Now that she weighs so much more than she did last October (19 lbs, what her sister weighs at 7 months lol!) I think the doctor will be more keen on removing her tonsils.

Here's a picture of the girls from Father's Day yesterday! Everyone had lots of fun!

I just can't believe it!

Tomorrow my baby girl is going to be six months old! SIX MONTHS! I feel like we JUST brought her home! Where did my tiny newborn go? Where did this big roly poly ball of love come from!??!


Here are some stats on my mini-me:


Weight: 17 lbs 14.5 oz
Height: 27"
Hair: getting longer! still very light blonde
Eyes: Still very blue but getting lighter in the middle and she has hyper-pigmented sectorials just like her big sister and in the exact same spot!
Clothes: she can no longer fit in any 3-6 months, her 6-9 are short and she mainly wears 6-12 months which fit her great. I'm hoping she stays in this size for at least the next 4 months!
Sleep schedule: usually she takes 2-3 naps a day (shorter than I would like!), goes to bed at 8 and gets up at midnight, 4, and 7 to nurse. She is still sleeping in a pack and play in our room because the girls wake each other up. Our current plan is to move her into her crib but keep her in our room until Savannah is sleeping through the night more consistently. Not ideal but it's what's best for both of us currently
Teeth: her very first tooth is popping up but not broken through yet! it's her left bottom front tooth. It's very hard to see b/c if you stick ANYTHING in her mouth her tongue is everywhere trying to eat! I can't wait to get a picture!


Milestones:


Savvy can now sit up on her own very well. She does occasionally topple but she's very good about putting her hands out to catch herself or falling slowly so as not to hurt herself.


She is a giggle monster! She laughs constantly and has a very deep throaty laugh.


Savvy now says mama, baba, dada, lala and any other ah sound you can think of. She LOVES to talk and babble and is very good at mimicking those around her.


Savannah wears her emotions on her sleeve. When she's excited she either shrieks or literally vibrates. She just can't contain her enthusiasm. And when she's upset, she wails! She pretty much ONLY cries for two things: when she wants to eat and when she's tired.


Anything you give her she is interested in. She wants anything you have and will grab for it at will. She also loves to grab and feel faces. I just love when she puts her little hand on my cheek!


The most exciting thing this month besides hearing mama, was that we started solid foods! She is a champion eater, which we expected based on her nursing skills. She has had sweet potatoes, peas and apples. Sweet potatoes seem to be her favorite so far, and we can barely get the spoon to her mouth before she is grunting and shrieking she is so excited. She tries to grab the spoon and loves to chew on it as well. It is so exciting to see her little personality emerge!


We have been working more on tummy time since that seems to be Sav's least favorite activity. She still does not roll over at will, although I do believe she can as I have seen her do it a couple times. This month our goal is to spend more time on the floor playing instead of in her bumbo or jumperoo.


Savannah is such a sweet, happy, CHUNKY, doll baby and I can't possibly imagine life without her!

California Dreamin'

We went home for my sisters wedding the last week of March. The second we got on the 405 freeway (after a pit stop at In n Out of course) I turned to my husband and said: "this will always be home. It doesn't matter where we live, where we go, but the second I come back here, I'm home." This started a very emotional rollercoaster of a vacation. In the back of my mind, I knew we would be leaving in just a week. Mitch is up for orders this year, we actually start putting in requests in a week. He has made it very clear that it would be next to impossible to get California orders due to Navy budget cuts. But that's where my family is, that's where my home is, that's where my heart is. Coming back to DC was really hard. I knew I would be back very soon for my cousin's wedding, which made it easier, but I just felt like I didn't "get my fill." There is a SLIGHT chance we could get orders to San Diego. I wish I could earn it, fight for it, MAKE it happen. But in this instance, I have to just pray that God wants us in San Diego and will open doors for us. You know that saying, "let go and let God"? Well in this case I don't really have a choice. There is absolutely NOTHING, not ONE thing that I can do to get us to San Diego. So this is a great lesson in putting my faith in His plan for me. I also know that I need to be content wherever we end up, because that's where He wants my family, and ultimately for whatever reason will be better for my family. I WILL be content wherever He moves us, but pray with me that God wants us back in San Diego, because that's where I want to be!

Awesome news!

We got some amazing news last week! It started on Thursday when we found out that Mitch is board-eligible, which means that he passed his test with a high enough score to be able to submit his package to the chief's board. If he is selected, he will be able to pin on chief at the end of September. We are so excited! I'm incredibly proud of him, and he so deserves this! He studied almost every day from August until January for the E-7 ranking test, so I'm not surprised he passed with flying colors. I really hope the chief's board sees what I see in him and they select him. He is already doing the work and responsibilities of a chief so we are really hoping he gets selected.

Then on Friday we found out that he is eligible for re-enlistment! This may sound funny to some of you, as it used to be that the military not only encouraged you to re-enlist but also gave you a compensation package for doing so. With the job instability in the civilian sector, people are not getting out of the military as often as they used to. This makes for impacted sections of the Navy. There are certain rates that people are actually being forced out of the military and given a severance package. They are essentially not allowed to re-enlist. Mitch's rate (electronic technician) is severely impacted. Unfortunately the program, called PTS, was not based on merit, but simply if you were up for re-enlistment last year, this year, or next year. Mitch's name had been on the list since last year, and every month his re-enlistment was denied. We had been praying fervently that God would make it clear to us which direction He wanted us to go (military or civilian) with this PTS decision. When Mitch got the email on Friday night we were both so elated! After getting the news that he was selected to go to the board, we both felt like the Lord wanted him to stay in the military, and this only confirmed it. He will be re-enlisting next month for six more years! We are so excited to be confident that we are going in God's direction.

Now on to picking orders! (stay tuned)

Love,

N

Why am I the WORST blogger in the world?

Let's just say it's because I'm ridiculously busy...that sounds better than because I'm lazy or too tired to write once the girls are asleep.

SO much life has happened since I last wrote, it feels like an insurmountable amount to try and catch up on! So instead, I will just highlight the current goings-on of the Skrove household.

On Friday, Savannah turned 4 months! Sometimes I can't believe she's already 4 months, and other times I can't believe she's ONLY 4 months old. She's approximately 15 pounds now, and I haven't measured her height recently but I'm betting she's pretty darn close to 26". That's right, my little girl is TALL for her age (I have no idea where she got that from). She has rolled over from belly to back and back to belly but won't do it consistently yet. She bears weight on her elbows and occasionally even on her hands when she is in tummy time position. She smiles, giggles, belly laughs and talks CONSTANTLY! Whenever we put her in a bouncy chair she instantly tries to sit up, but she's not strong enough yet. I think it will happen this month though! She still has very little hair, and like her big sister, she has eczema :0( Luckily we have been down this road before and are very good at taking the necessary steps to maintain her skin and eradicate most of the rash.

Scarlette turned 2 1/2 on Friday as well! She battled a pretty severe virus for about half of February, and only started getting better last week. Her little body handles colds and sickness very differently from ours, so she was not able to fight the virus off as quickly as we were. Now that she's feeling better she's pretty much back to her old self. She has been getting herself into tummy time while playing on the floor, which we are very excited about because she previously refused to stay in that position. We had a meeting today with the medical supply company representative and had Scarlette fitted for a therapeutic stroller, a stander and a bath chair. It's a little daunting and sad to know that she needs these things, but we are certain that she needs them and they will help her tremendously in strengthening her core and legs. We also feel very blessed that our insurance provides these things for us with little fight, that is not the case for many families who need this type of equipment.

There are a lot of changes occurring with Mitch and his career path, I don't quite know where to begin! We SHOULD find out this week whether or not he is board-eligible, that is, if he passed the E-7 exam with a high enough score his evaluation package will be submitted to a board of chiefs that will then determine whether or not he will be promoted. We also should find out this month or early next month whether or not the Navy will let him re-enlist. We want to re-enlist, but the Navy is trying to oust some of the impacted rates to make room for new, lower ranking sailors in other rates. It's not fair, but there's nothing we can do except pray that Mitch will be allowed to stay in. This month there are quite a few spots available for ET1's, so we are praying that this is his month! IF he does get one of the spots, then next month we will start to put in for orders to our next duty station. We are due to move from here next January. So far, the detailer will only talk to Mitch about moving to Virginia, so we are looking at Portsmouth/Virginia Beach area. However, there are a couple "hot-fill" billets in San Diego. Those are spots that for whatever reason they want people right away, and if we are willing to take those orders they may be willing to move us back to California! We are just praying that the Lord provides us with the wisdom to know where He wants us to go, and that wherever we end up is best for Scarlette and Savannah.

I have been pretty busy as well! Aside from the usual taxiing to and from the hospital and various appointments, I have taken up bow-making as a hobby. I have absolutely fallen in love with it and am having so much fun! This week I plan to start making some tutus for the girls and blinging out (putting rhinestones on) some pacifiers. I love crafting and it's a great way to help me unwind and destress. I also have been doing Zumba, an exercise dance class 3-4x a week. It's SO much fun and it's helping me lose weight at a steady, healthy pace. I'm totally and completely addicted to Zumba, and what makes it even more fun is my friends and I go together.

Probably the most exciting news I get to write down here, is that we will be in California in just ONE week! My little sister, Casey, is getting married! That makes me feel OLD! But we fly in Wednesday, the wedding is Friday and then we get to go to Disneyland on Saturday. We are so excited to see our family! This will be the first time that many of them will be meeting Savannah! And I know the wedding will be amazing. That reminds me, I better start working on my toast...On my list of things to do while I'm in California is: eat at In n Out, Del Taco, La Cocina, and Wolf Creek (all places that are NOT here). I hope there will be enough time to walk around the mall and maybe hit up some thrift stores while I'm there (the shopping in Cali is very different from here), and I absolutely cannot WAIT to go to Disneyland, EEEK I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it! My dad and stepmom are going to watch the girls for us so Mitch and I get an entire day to just spend with each other and have fun!

Well, that's the last 3 months in a nutshell! Hopefully I will be writing very soon!

Love,

N

In just 5 short months.....

On January 18 it will be 5 months ago that Scarlette had her heart surgery. Goodness I remember it like it was just yesterday! I was so terrified, probably more than I have ever been in my entire life. Me and SO many of you cried out to God for healing and the safety of our sweet girl, and that the surgeon's hands would be steady and guided by Him! And her surgery went so well, so AMAZINGLY well, that she was released just 3 days after her surgery. THREE DAYS! (anyone seeing any parallels here? :0) )

Scarlette was 17 lbs 1 oz the day before her surgery. Today she is approximately 21 lbs! That's a gain of 4 lbs in 5 months! She is sitting on her own very easily, although she doesn't know how to get down from sitting other than falling so she can't be left alone while sitting. She is working on kneeling with her physical therapist now, and she has made large strides in occupational therapy as well. She can grasp objects with ease now, hold two objects at one time, transfer objects and bring her hands to midline. NONE of this was being done prior to her heart surgery. She is babbling up a storm, and making tons of new sounds, but still no words!

Here is a picture of her heart surgery scar from yesterday, I think it's healing beautifully :0)

And here's a link to her scar two weeks post-op: http://theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/scarlettes-scar-2-weeks-post-op.html

We are just so thankful that God has His hand on our sweet girl, and I am bursting with pride at the accomplishments she has made in the last 5 months! I can't wait to see what she will be doing when she turns 3!

59 days.....

Tomorrow is a big day for me, Savannah will be 59 days old!

It may seem silly to a normal person, but 59 days has special significance to me! Scarlette was 59 days when she was released from the NICU. We got to bring home our first baby girl on Nov 6, 2009, 59 days after she was born. It was so amazing, no machines (except oxygen and her NG tube), no more obnoxious alarms, no nurses, no doctors, just us and our sweet little girl. She was so wonderful, she was so quiet and calm, she was so content to just be with us. She adapted to home life pretty quickly, and although it wasn't very long before her first surgery and another hospital stay (Nov. 26, 2009), it was just wonderful to adapt to some sort of "normal".

That brings me to Savannah. These last 59 days have been amazing. I am in LOVE with my sweet girl. I feel so incredibly blessed that she was born healthy and I got to take her home just 24 hours after she was born. I am proud to say that I haven't taken these days for granted. NOT having Scarlette home with me the first time made me realize how important it is to just be with and take care of my newborn at home. Savvy and I are rarely separated (thanks in LARGE part to my Moby wrap) and I have been so happy just bonding with her!

It does make me kind of sad to think I missed out on that much time with Scarlette, not having her home for 2 months, but I'm so glad she has taught me not to ignore the small things, and to celebrate every accomplishment, big or small!

Here's a picture of Scarlette the day we brought her home from the hospital:

And here's Savvy today!

And here's Scarlette today!

Savannah is 1 month old!

I can't even believe that tomorrow Savvy will be 1 month old! Time really does fly! Both my mom and my mother-in-law were here for a week each during this month, and we got to do so many fun things! I got to take my mom to ICE! at national harbor, and we went shopping at the outlet mall for Christmas presents! We took Mitch's mom on a tour of the Capitol building, as well as our community Christmas party and took the girls to see Santa.

Savvy is SUCH a good baby. She really loves to be held, and I'm perfectly okay with that right now. She is an avid nurser, and wants to eat when SHE wants to eat. She only wakes up once during the night so I actually haven't felt very sleep deprived except for the first week.

I weighed her today (fully clothed) and she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz! That is 2 lbs and 7 oz above birthweight! Having a baby that gains weight is a WHOLE new experience! She has been awake more and more and I have even gotten a few sweet smiles!

Scarlette is also doing very well. She is nwo officially over 20 lbs! She also got her new glasses and her left hearing aid this month. She has not taken well to either of them but we are trying to ease her into them. Her hair is getting so long and she is sitting so well. She is now working on kneeling with her physical therapist. I'm so proud of my big girl! We are also working on eating solid food now. We offer her stage 1 fruits or vegetables at the beginning of her meal times 3-4 times daily and usually we can get a few good bites in. The key is practice practice practice!

Mitch went back to work yesterday and so far I haven't gone crazy! I have been able to maintain a relatively clean house, keep on top of laundry and cook dinner so I consider that a success! The problem is when I want to do anything that requires more time than a few minutes Savannah gets fussy and wants to be held, so nap time is prime time for me to get things done! I still have a few presents to wrap and a couple projects that need to be finished by Saturday, so tomorrow will be busy!

Christmastime is such a busy time for us! We have 3 christmas parties, one birthday party, and 2 dinners already planned! I love it though! I love the decorations, the music, the movies and the time with friends and family! And the shopping! ;0)

Introducing: Savannah Faythe Skrove!

She's here, she's here! Well, she's been here for five days already, but I'm just now finding the time to update the blog. First the essentials:

Savannah Faythe Skrove

born 11/9/11 at 2:55 p.m. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda

weight: 8 lbs 3 oz height: 19 3/4"

she has dark blue eyes and peach fuzz for hair

I am so excited to say that I got to go into labor, AND I labored for approximately 7 hours while I was sleeping. It started late on 11/9 I kept waking up from dreams that I was having contractions only to find that I was having sharp stomach pains. Apparently I was so tired I didn't realize I was having ACTUAL contractions. At 5 a.m. I woke up to go to the restroom and felt a very sharp tightness in my stomach that actually lasted. I had been having a few contractions here and there for a week but this felt different. I decided to get up and move around and see if I had another one. When I had the next one I started my contraction timer app on my iPhone (ahh, technology). I tracked about 4 contractions and they were 12 mins apart. At this point Mitch got up and was surprised to see me up and about. I told him that I thought this was it and we started preparing the house, Scarlette's feeds for 2 days, and let the babysitter know. Over the next hour the contractions intensified and increased to every 8 minutes. I then called Labor and Delivery who told me to just go to my 40 week appt unless my contractions got closer together.

At 8 a.m. Mitch and I headed to the hospital. I had about 3 REALLY strong contractions that I had to actually breathe through, but overall I was only mildly uncomfortable and in a really great mood. I was so excited at the prospect of having Savannah that day! We got to the hospital and my contractions completely stopped. I went to OB and got my chart and we checked in to L&D, but I just KNEW they were going to send me home and I was so disappointed. They hooked me up to the monitor and I only had ONE significant contraction the entire time. Then they made sure Savannah looked okay and we got to see her big fat cheeks on the monitor. Next, they were going to check to see if I was dilated, but they had all but told me I was going home so at this point I wasn't even excited anymore. The midwife checked me, and SURPRISE! I was already dilated to a 5 and almost fully effaced, they were admitting me, and FAST!

When we got in to the hospital room, my labor hadn't progressed at all, so they started me on pitocin and gave me an epidural. The epidural was painful (and I later found out not placed correctly). As soon as the pitocin started the contractions started ramping up. At this point it was 1 p.m. They checked me again and I was at 7 cm. This is when they came in to break my water. By 2 p.m. my water was broken and I was in some serious pain, so they came back in to check me and I was at 9 1/2 cm. The anesthesiologist came in to top off my epidural, but all it did was numb my legs and hips, for some reason none of the medicine was going to my mid-section. The nurse checked me again and it was time to go. Let me tell you, I have never felt anything like that in my ENTIRE life. I was screaming so loud I probably scared all the other pregnant ladies on the ward. My contractions were coming one on top of another, so all I could do is push/breathe/push. There was no resting between contractions, I just had to get her out as fast as possible. The nurse and the doctors (there were like fifteen people in the room, teaching hospital) were very encouraging, and Mitch was right beside me talking to me the whole time. I pushed as hard as I could and after ten minutes she was out. I was sobbing, Mitch was laughing because I refused to believe she was out, even after they showed her to me, ya I think I'm a bit dramatic. The pain was gone immediately though, and I was so excited to meet my little Savannah! They cleaned her off a bit and then gave her to me, and of course, it was love at first sight. She doesn't look as much like Scarlette as I thought she would, but she's so adorable. All of us in the room guessed how much she weighed and I got it EXACTLY!

After that we spent some time nursing and just spending time the three of us. She's a good little nurser though breastfeeding has definitely had it's frustrations already and she's so sweet. She just wants to be in mommy's arms all day long. I know I will have to break her of that soon but right now I adore it! We were released from the hospital on Thursday, exactly 24 hours after she was born! I was so excited to see my Scarlette I can't even tell you. We got home after 2 hours in traffic and Squish was so happy to see us. I just wanted to love on both my babies at the same time. So far she has done so well with Savannah and is actually interested in her a little bit. She does NOT like when she cries though. Can't believe my sweet little baby is already 5 days old. I just want to freeze time for awhile!