30, 3, and a very busy March!

So I've been terrible about updates lately....big apologies for that.  February and March were busy...busier than I expected.  It was almost like I flipped over a page in my calendar (yes, despite Jason increasingly prodding me to go paperless, I still rely on a paper calendar to keep organized!) and realized that there were things planned every day for something like six weeks straight! So, here's a not-so-quick photographic recap of our late winter/early Spring (sorry East coasters...it is really spring here!).

Jason turned 30! 
I blogged about this last time, but he is now, officially, 30.  We celebrated with 30 days of 30...a gift (some small, some not so small) every day for 30 days.  It made his birthday a lot of fun.  Savannah got in on it, which was great, but I think she might have unreasonable expectations re: her birthdays now :)

A little bit of decoration...Sav really loved this bit!

A new laptop! (not from me)

Savannah's contribution to Jason's birthday gifts.

And then we all got sick!

Savannah has been a remarkably healthy child.  She's gotten a few really random viruses (Roseola, Hand/Foot/Mouth Disease), but nothing too bad...until this winter.  3 ear infections, all in a row, plus pink eye in both eyes.  Thankfully, no one else got the pink eye (not sure how we pulled that one off), though nearly all of us in the house have been dealing with sinus/allergy junk.  I even got an ear infection, which I didn't think really happened in adults (tip: if you think you have a sinus infection, go to the doctor...if you wait, it can get worse and potentially become an ear infection).  I really can empathize with her now about the non-fun-ness of the ear infection.

We had lots of snuggly days on the couch.

One afternoon, I told Sav she could pick any of her movies to watch...she spent a lot of time thinking about this..carefully weighing all of her options.  She finally chose Little Mermaid (excellent choice) and then our DVD player broke....boo.

Family Photos

As is our tradition, we got some beautiful family photos taken in late February.  Savannah wasn't entirely cooperative, but the photos came out great (See more at http://www.jamesthomaslong.com/blog/2013/03/06/fremont-ca-east-bay-family-photographer-family-of-3/)

Savannah is 3!!

On March 7, our little girl turned 3.  I really feel like she was just born yesterday :)

                                            

All dressed up for her school celebration!

Presents!  Balloons!

The one day of the year that a cake pop is acceptable breakfast fare.

She got a dress up box from her Mimi and GrandDad Leyba

She had a fun birthday party at CuriOdyssey with lots of her friends

Owl themed :)

There was a face-painting faerie there!

Conference fun!

I presented a paper on how a theatre crisis in 18th-century Edinburgh shows that the ministers within the Church of Scotland were beginning to understand morality in a new manner.  I was lucky enough to land the 9am-day-after-daylight-savings-time spot.

It was well attended....(4 people did show up, actually...)

Spring has sprung!

The weather lately has been beautiful.  Lots of al fresco dining, with yummy, fruity drinks for this momma.

I was supposed to be in Switzerland this week (spring break for Cal, plus I have next week off too!), but the Genevan archives are closed for several days around Easter.  Seemed silly to fly out so far only to get a handful of days in the archives.  So, I've postponed til the summer.  We've got a lot of fun stuff coming up in the next few months:  Disneyland in May, Boston in early June (anyone there want to get together?  J will be at a conference and I will have some free time!), Baltimore and the East coast in July...oh, and I turn 30 somewhere in there too :)

I hope you all are doing well!

All my love,

Ashley

30!

Jason's birthday is Saturday, and it's quite a big one this year: 30!  So, to celebrate this most exciting day, here's a look back at the past ten years.  J's 20s were pretty exciting, but I think the next ten years are going to be even better.

2003 (Sophomore/Junior Year of College)

2004: Graduate from Clemson University

2005-2006: Graduate School at North Carolina State University

2007: A BIG year!  Receive Master's Degree, Get Married, Move to CA!

Jason did, in fact, get his Master's, but he did not go to his graduation ceremony, so this photo of me at my graduation will have to suffice :)

Yes, we were actually married by someone who looked like Colonel Sanders...

Hiking near our new home in Fremont, CA

2008-2009: Enjoying CA and newlywed life, plus we adopt Sonja!

Belated honeymoon to Germany and Austria, March 2008

First anniversary celebration in Napa

Thanksgiving in Disneyworld, 2008

And, at the end of 2009, we're eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little girl

2010: Best year yet, Savannah Grace arrives

She actually was a really happy baby, but I think these crying photos are super cute!

We took her back East to show her off...

Furman University (Momma's Alma Mater)

Clemson University

Visiting great grandparents in Walterboro, SC

2011

Savannah is One!

This photo used to make me really sad, but now I'm happy that the last photo I took before Jason's accident was of him walking with Savannah.

This photo was quickly followed by 5 weeks in the hospital.

But then Jason got to go home and we had to learn to adapt to this new life.

2012

Savannah is two!

And Jason got to do a lot of cool things....

Like try out eLegs

And go to Kennedy Krieger for the first time (and walk!)

And stand at home for the first time in 13 months!

And then start walking at home!

2013

This year has already started off great.

We went back to KKI.

And the aquarium :)

I'm incredibly lucky to have Jason as my partner in life and love and parenting.  I hope our 30s are as exciting as our 20s (though I could go the rest of my life without another traumatic injury, thankyouverymuch...and it should be mentioned I still get to enjoy my 20s for another 5 months).

Happy Birthday, Jason.

And We're Home!

Before we left our hotel for the airport yesterday morning, I asked Savannah if she was going to behave on the plane.  She looked at me and laughed....uh oh.  Early indications seemed to point towards a not so fun flying experience for Jason and me: Sav REFUSED to use the restroom at the airport before boarding the flight (this trip is our first post-potty training trip...she was great on the way out with letting me know when she needed to use the restroom....in the interim, however, an unfortunate incident involving an automatic toilet flushing while she was still on it had soured her to the idea of public restrooms), she also made quite the scene at airport security (this involved me running around security trying to catch her and ultimately throwing her over my shoulder to get her out of there....), and was generally uncooperative with everything leading up to boarding time.  A miracle happened after boarding, though.  She sat in her seat through takeoff, happily munching on a bagel and watching a TV show about penguins (I didn't even have to bribe her to stay in her seat!); once the seatbelt sign came off, she got out of her seat, but remained in our row, coloring, "reading" her I Spy books, playing apps on the iPad, and taking the occasional (short) nap.  It was great.  It was, dare I say it, pleasant.  A word I never thought to associate with air travel with a toddler.  She stuck to her guns about the not going to the bathroom while on the plane...meaning she went close to 12 hours without going to the bathroom.  She told me at the outset that she would go potty when we got home...and that's what happened.  Stubborn girl.

Once we got off the plane, antics resumed....Sav didn't want to walk..she wanted to "swim" or crawl on the airport floors.  Yuck.  Oh well, she got a nice long bath when we got home and cleaned up just fine.

If you're wondering about the wheelchair part of flying, I'm happy to report that that's become fairly easy. Security can be a bit of a hassle, depending on the airport (SFO and Heathrow are actually pretty wonderful), so we give ourselves extra time for that.  Other than that, we give the people at the gate counter a heads-up that J will need an aisle chair, we board first and exit last.  The good part about this is that there is no waiting for checked luggage...by the time we get to baggage claim, everything has arrived.  I remember being so stressed about Jason's first post-injury flight about this time last year...in the span of one year, it's become no big deal.  Most people don't know what we will need in terms of help, but they never hesitate to ask what we need and assure us that we can call on them for whatever during the flight.  I think a lot of this varies by airlines, as we've heard some horror stories from other SCI-ers who have flown, but, so far, we've been lucky (other than having to assure the folks at the beginning of the flight and when booking our flight that, no really, he can't walk on to the plane...we really DO need the aisle chair...).

So, we're home now.  Up far too early today (hooray for jet lag and a toddler waking you up at 5am!).  Loads of laundry and grocery shopping to get to...but quite happy to be home.

Quick KKI wrap up:
What's New:

• Jason has hamstring reflexes..in both legs!  Woohoo!
• His PT could, at different points, feel ALL of his abs firing.  Also now has some firing in glutes...also new!
• Started a new med, called 4AP, that could possibly give him more function/movement back.  It increases the speed at which the nerves fire down the spinal cord, meaning more signals sometimes get through.  We're still in the early days of this and J doesn't go to a full dose til next week (it takes some getting use to...the major side effects are jitteriness and dizziness, both of which J has been experiencing...so we're slowly ramping it up).  We'll see how it works for him...for some SCI-ers, it has dramatic results (we're talking going from the chair to walking).

Moving Forward:

• Next visit will be the week of July 22.  He will only go for one week that time...it will primarily be a check-up and time to fine-tune what he's doing at home.  The PTs and doctors are really happy with his work at SCI-FIT and his progress.
• Standing frame arrives on Thursday!

Love you all,

Ashley