Another Visit to Dr. Sadove - 2 months out

On Monday we saw the good surgeon for another follow up visit. He looked at Sophia and said, "she sure is cute, but I'm not really satisfied with my results." Honestly, we were expecting this. We aren't entirely satisfied either - or at least we had expectations that it would look even better than it does. It's been hard to know though, because my expectations typically get me in trouble.

She sure is a cutie though. He and we expected the lip to be smoother, without the mildly off center notch (coincidentally, or not, right beneath the spot where she developed her hole a while back which has closed completely thank the Lord.) I believe our surgeon's desire to get it perfect would have Sophia in surgery within the year, but we are going to wait to determine that until the fall once all the redness and healing is completely done. Previously, we anticipated waiting until she was 4-5 year old to do a second surgery, which still may be the case, but we will see. Yet again, a good lesson in 'it's good to hold things loosely'.

Besides all this Sophia is doing fine. She is comfortable going up and down the stairs, is attempting a lot of words (still not quite accomplishing very many, but it's cute to see her try!), and is generally communicating really effectively. Yesterday we were playing on the floor and I asked her if she wanted to go "nigh-nigh." She nodded her head, got up from the floor, picked up her blanket and walked down the hallway. What a good kid! On that note, she is an excellent sleeper, both at night and for her 2 naps every day. She doesn't make a peep when we lay her down and generally wakes up happy, playing in her crib. We are some very lucky old parents. The no-sleep thing would have been hard to readjust to after years of big kids. Our friends who adopted a little guy, Ethan, when we did are struggling a ton with getting him to sleep, so we are definitely counting our blessings!

Today is Lauren and Marcus' last day of school! What a wonderful feeling - no more homework. Marcus will be in 3rd next fall and Lauren moves up to intermediate school as a 5th grader! The goals for the summer: teach them to do their own laundry and get them to read every day. Does anyone have any tricks or good reward ideas?

In the mean time, David and I are very busy getting ready for students to come for our summer mission project at Keynote (where we work). Crazy yet fun all at the same time!

Sophia is getting molars?

The drooler, code for Sophia, is at it again. She is cutting teeth. She currently has 2 on the bottom and 2 on top, so we've been keeping our eyes on the next 2 on the bottom - they look like they are on the verge. Well, at supper tonight, David said he thought he felt something a little further back. I stuck my finger in to her reluctant mouth and proceeded to get bit! from the top and the bottom! Sure enough, she has all 4 of some big teeth on the sides. This is not the normal order, so I am not sure what's up. I'll be investigating this tomorrow with my friend Angie, the hygienist who's coming for lunch. No wonder she does such a good job chewing meat. Who knew?

Things are going great here at the Roux house. Sorry I've been so lax in blogging. A lot of fun stuff's happening, but we've been rather busy. There are 8 more days of school left (woohoo!) and the kids are feeling the itch to be done. Sophia experienced her first campfire on Friday with some good friends. No camping, as sleeping outside isn't my favorite without a 1 year old. That will have to wait a couple years. She loves to be outside and she loves s'mores so she had a blast.

Sophia enjoys the stairs. She likes to go up and down and sit on them and walk really close to the edge of them. She has the most experience with the carpeted, inside ones, but today she was all about the cement front steps (In my brain I have visions of a bloody lip, a screaming baby, and a trip to the ER where they tell me I'll just have to let it heal again.) She wiggles in my arms and attempts to launch herself out of my grasp if I attempt to carry her up or down stairs.

Right now, some of her favorite things: music and scrolling pictures on the lap top, her stuffed puppy, and "winking" (very cute 2 eyed squint with a .2 second grin). Her lip is healing. She is a touch asymmetrical and there is still a bit of a scab where the hole used to be, but otherwise, she is starting to look pretty good. I included a close up photo so you could see the progress. Continue to pray for healing. We will see the surgeon again on Monday.

Retreat for Me, Angel baby for David

Today, Sophia is 16 months old. As I predicted a couple of months ago, she is a walking machine!

I went on my retreat from Friday to Sunday. It was fantastic...girls were authentic and open, bonding was happening at every turn, there were a lot of tears, and we got very little sleep! All you could ever want in a retreat, right? Seriously, this is my 9th small group retreat in 9 years. This may have been the best one yet. I love these girls!

An interesting thing I learned while listening to these 18 great high school girls share their stories: Middle school stinks if you're a girl. That's where all the wounds are made. Good to know. Lauren will be entering 5th grade at Riverside Intermediate in the fall. Note to self: love your middle school girl like crazy.

While I was retreating, David was holding down the fort here at home. He always does a wonderful job when he gets to stay home with the kids. They sleep a little less, eat a little worse, and have way more fun than with Mom. How Sophia got wind of this Dad weekend mentality, I am not sure. She sure understands more than we give her credit for. She slept til 8 each morning, ate good, napped good, didn't make a peep at night, and the kids fed her breakfast while David slept.

It's like they know. They know when mom's there and that she'll just take care of business. Let's just take it easy on Dad, though. Let him sleep in! (I haven't slept in since January! I may have to make that my mother's day request!) OK, enough whining! I'm actually thrilled that things went great in my absence. Sophia adores her siblings and her daddy and it is wonderful to behold!