With the boys I remember thinking wow, that really went fast - how exciting!!
With Quinn I keep thinking wow, that really went fast - this sucks!
happy birthday kisses from Colin <3 |
But not to Quinn. Nope - in true Quinn fashion, she did up her 11 month birthday in style. We celebrated with not one, not two, but three different bashes!
After her regular Feeding Therapy session, we packed up finger sandwiches, a box of tea and some special decorations courtesy of andreap|designs and flitted off to Quinn's great-great aunt Shirley and great-great uncle Murray's house so she may host her very first Tea Party.
(It's right - I counted twice to make sure I had the correct number of 'greats'!!)
We were also joined by GiGi (great-grandma Rae) and Grandma. We had sandwiches of cucumber & hummus, tuna & arugula, chicken salad & craisins, cream cheese & jelly... We had yummy tea... We had a delicious chocolate cake, provided by our venue hosts - aunt Shirley and uncle Murray. And a lovely time was had by all - which is just about the highest praise for a tea party, of course!
super cute banner made by andreap|designs |
the table is set |
dessert. yum!! |
Quinn always has the perfect dress for the occasion! |
having so much fun!! |
After a (not-so) quick exchange of car seats, Grandma was off to pick up Colin & Reid at school and Quinn and I were headed to aunt Michele and uncle Ricky's house for a super special ceremony.
Quinn became ...
...wait for it...
...a Brownie!!!! I always wanted to be a Brownie, but they weren't doing it in our area back then for some reason (or so my mom says lol). A friend of my sister-in-law's contacted her to see if we would be interested and we (I) definitely were (was). The original plan was to have Quinn come to a regularly scheduled Brownie meeting back in the beginning of April. But then that pesky flu cropped up, and Quinn's hospital stay, and everything was put on hold. I was so glad to have a second shot, and this one probably worked out for the better. Six adorable little Brownies were waiting with their moms at my brother and sister-in-law's house for us to indoctrinate Quinn into the age-old tradition of the Girl Scouts. She looked adorable, and all these little girls and their moms did was so touching. They even went to Build a Bear together to create a special Girl Scout bear just for Quinn <3
she even wore the beenie :) |
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with the whole troop, plus cousin Katie and aunt Michele |
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the world's cutest Brownie!! |
But that was not all. Oh no - that was not all.
The Brownie meeting was set up to coincide with our trip out to the island for Quinn's first concert!! My very talented niece Katie was competing in an American Idol-type competition at her high school and she asked Quinn to come see her sing for her very first concert. (I was a mere add on. It's ok - I'm used to being her chauffeur; it gets me into some very cool places!)
Katie.was.AWESOME!!! There were 14 students and only 7 made it into the second round - she was one of them :) Only three advanced to the finals and unfortunately that didn't include Katie (though truth be told, I think she was gypped - but that's neither here nor there, I suppose haha). But it was so much fun and apparently the entire high school had been apprised of Quinn's impending presence. At intermission we were surrounded by about 20+ kids - seriously. Maybe more. They kept swapping - someone would leave and a new one would pop in their place. We also got to meet my niece's (in)famous best friend and my nephew's adorable girlfriend - it was really a fun, fun day and a great way to spend an 11(mon)th birthday :)
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screenshot of the video of Katie singing Love the Way You Lie |
What ensued the following two weeks was not so much. That night, Quinn was up all night long with a very high fever. I took her to the pediatrician the next day to get her checked out. She had a double ear infection, which accounted for the fever. But, as with every doctor's appointment Quinn has, her lungs were checked. And the dreaded news was delivered.
We had a crackle.
It was localized to the upper left lobe. The ped even gave me the stethoscope and let me hear where it was, and where it wasn't.
There was no question, even to me.
This is quite literally some of the worst news an NPA child can hear. And to hear it now, at 11 months, is just awful.
So home we went, Augmentin in hand, all forthcoming plans cancelled (DC trip, NYPD Harbor Seals boat ride, playdates - the works). Quinn, for better or worse, did not seem to register the additional stress the pneumonia was putting on her little tiny body. Once the ear discomfort was cleared up, she was basically back to her old self. Which is great.
And not so great. Her body is so ravaged that pneumonia - pneu-mon-IA - isn't much different from how she normally feels. That's just a bunch of bullshit right there.
I am happy to report that the Augmentin has seemed to work. Her lungs were clear when we returned to the doctor last week, which is fantastic news. But we know. We know that every thing that Quinn goes through takes a little more out of her. And at a whopping 14lbs, 8oz (approximately 20-25% of which is now estimated to be her abdominal mass), she doesn't have much left in reserve.
But we're getting what we wanted - within our current context. From day 1 both Brett and I made our hopes and wishes clear. We would rather see her physically frail but mentally sound right up until the end. And we have it - Quinn is so very much a one year old. And for that we are very grateful.
Silver linings, right?
BFFs |