Two sides of the same coin

While training to be a counselor, a friend once said he learned never to assume you know what emotion someone has about an event. "Maybe a woman just lost her long time husband and you think, 'Gosh, I'm sorry, that must have been tough.' But you never know. Maybe he was a violent alcoholic and so her reaction was actually, 'Thank God he's gone. I'm finally free!'" So when you watch this video of Eloise, do you feel pity? Excitement? Or maybe even anger and frustration?

June 1, 2022 2

Strategies to thrive for when life sucks

Life with Eloise is an absolute and utter joy. Until it isn't. We will find a way to take care of this kid and take care of ourselves and take care of our relationship. And we won't accept a life of merely existing in pain as an option. We will thrive while we do it. We're not there yet, but we've made a lot of progress. This is that progress. Part 2 of "Time to re-learn Teamwork".

March 3, 2022 3

56 weeks: Teething, miracles, and waiting

This kid takes forever to grow a new tooth -- does anyone else have a kid who takes a month to grow one? But when we got such incredibly great news this week, it's hard to really complain.

February 25, 2022 0

55 weeks: 17 days seizure-free

Between Eloise's tooth still coming in and her practicing all kinds of new skills, we have been so encouraged this week. Yet like most parents, we've still been pretty worn out by all of her crying and not sleeping. Thankfully, though, her fussy period shouldn't last much longer. At least we hope. 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾

February 18, 2022 1

54 weeks: Exhausted yet hopeful

1 new tooth, 1 stuffy nose, 1 pair of shoes, 1 scheduled hospital visit, 1 struggling-to-nap baby, 8 appointments, and 10 days of no seizures = a set of exhausted yet hopeful parents.

February 11, 2022 2

53 weeks: Therapy reset

Overall, really, this has just been a fantastic week. We don't get to say that often, so I'll savor this time while it lasts.

February 4, 2022 2

52 weeks: We ❤️ our virtual village (you)

Unlike probably many parents in similar positions, you could say this statement is true of us, "As the parent of adorable Eloise -- who is definitely very disabled -- I am so thankful every time I hear, 'Have you tried [insert unsolicited advice here]? It has saved us so much heartache and pain, and I think it will continue to. We wouldn't have made it without our virtual village." At least at this stage in Eloise's life. So many many many many things we have learned and been able to help Eloise with so far have all come from suggestions from those who read this blog -- many of whom began as total strangers to us. So let me just say a huge thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

January 28, 2022 2

51 weeks: Feeling more hope

I feel so much lighter than last week -- for so many reasons. Even though we had a short setback, we really had a lot to be encouraged about.

January 21, 2022 2

Operation: Keep Eloise (Well)

If you're new to our blog, in addition to a bunch of other issues related to her chromosome deletion, Eloise started having regular seizures right after she turned 9 months old. As best as we can tell, not only will it (likely) be hard to control her seizures, but we are going to need to do far more than just keep trying various medications on her. So that's why Brian and I sat down this week to come up with this: Operation Keep Eloise (well).

January 6, 2022 2