Fresh Air

A beautiful day last week when Dad came home early and we got outside. Eventually the light got too low for pictures and I enjoyed sitting back and watching my whole crew dance and sing as we let those covid winter blues out of our souls.

Emotion

A photo story. Feeding therapy is our tallest mountain right now. I just learned that when Lydia is upset & she’s with Daddy, this is their routine to help her calm down. 💛

Perspective Shift

This far into quarantine and my perspectives are all a little wonky.
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“We must look at the lens through which we see the world, as well as the world we see, and that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world.” – Stephen R. Covey

CHD Awareness Week

Feb 7-14th is CHD awareness week. Lydia was born with 4 congenital heart defects, none of which were seen during her four prenatal ultrasounds—and two of those ultrasounds were performed by specialists. We found her heart defects after she was born when we did a series of tests after we realized she had Down Syndrome. Lydia was 5 months old when she had two necessary heart surgeries. The first repaired 3 holes in her heart, and in the second one she had a permanent pacemaker placed. (Fun fact—not many babies have pacemakers! ❤️) Lydia’s life is a miracle and I am grateful every day for her. This year’s CHD awareness takeaway I have for you is this: only 1/3 of heart defects are diagnosed prenatally! Those little hearts are hard to see on an ultrasound through two bodies! Another 1/3 of heart defects are diagnosed after birth, and the last 1/3 go undetected until there’s an emergency or it’s too late. This is where I want you to take note. Every newborn in the hospital should receive a noninvasive pulse oximetry test. This simple test involves putting a monitor on the baby’s foot for just a minute or so to measure heart and oxygen rates. The results of the test can be key to identifying heart issues! Since 60% of heart defects go undetected until after birth and/or disaster strikes, this little test is well worth it!!! So next time you or someone you love has a baby, just remind them to request the CHD pulse oximetry test. It’s easy, painless, and your baby is worth it. 💛
#chdawareness #lydiesheart

SMART

“Now I KNOW my ABCs!” 😄 We’re still working on the letters—signing the abcs requires a lot of dexterity!—but she definitely knows how the song goes and signs/says what she can as we go. Every day we sing a lot of songs with actions and she watches signing videos. Her vocabulary is doing so well and she pops in with new words she knows all the time, reminding me that she notices and comprehends a lot. #misslydiefaith #babysignlanguage #theluckyfew

After School Snacks to Share

Here we are making a classic after school snack—the microwaved toast + cheese sandwich. And they always offer to make me one, too. ☺️

A Bit Dramatic

As I was saying... 🪨 Does anyone else love it when there are bright beautiful sun spots against a moody sky?

CHD Awareness Month

February is CHD awareness month. We honor those angels we have lost too soon, those warriors who continue to fight, and those yet to be born. We hope by bringing awareness that early detection can be made, additional research can be done, grants can be given to families in need, and support for warriors and families can be provided. It’s a cause that will forever be a part of our hearts. ♥️ #strengthforhearts #togs4hearts #paperheartproject #chdawareness #heartwarrior #lydiesheart

Friday

Pretty much my Friday afternoon vibe 😂 Anyone have any good weekend fun in quarantine suggestions? I need ideas. One of the fun dates we’ve done was a progressive dinner takeout style where we picked up various favorite foods from different restaurants and made a dinner out of it. Another time we strung fairy lights in the back of our pilot so we could eat in a fancy (haha) environment. Seriously, share your fun quarantine ideas—my sanity may depend on it. 😐😘

Sledding Joy

Too fast for feet 😄👉🏻

Deep Breath

Peaceful picture for today. 🤍

One Beautiful Thing

This picture taking thing has become a mental health practice. January hit hard this year. I was convinced I had nothing to share. But lo and behold, looking back, the regular struggle to find one beautiful thing paid off. Maybe there was more light & color than I remember. ✨ #amango2021 #amango365

Daily Routine

Different days, same refrain: practice, practice, practice. She’s getting really close 💪🏻
If you are new here, it’s typical for individuals with Down syndrome to learn to walk between the ages of 2 & 4. This is because their muscles have low tone & take extra time & work to gain the necessary strength. We have used bouncers, standing toys, ankle braces, walkers, and various therapy activities to get those legs & ankles in tip top shape. It’s a daily exercise! Don’t believe for a second that these challenges slow her down, though! She is a lightening fast scooter, can crawl, cruise, and CLIMB with the best 2 yr olds out there. 😅😳🥰
#misslydiefaith

Unpacking

Today I got to talk with a therapist for the first time about Lydia’s birth. News flash: been sitting on that trauma for awhile. It’s taken me 3 years to get around to me—not just because I had to work myself up to it, but because there were a few minor things like open heart surgery, buying a house, and a global pandemic in between. Ironically it took the pandemic and more universal acceptance of telehealth to make this much more feasible for me. It shouldn’t be this hard to get help. There should be more postpartum support for women, especially when any kind of trauma is involved (and it so often is). Help that comes to THEM, because duh, we’re busy taking care of everyone else and getting away isn’t always an option.
Three years. Three years before I could rehearse what people said, what they didn’t say, how many ways my heart shattered, how God started putting it back together. There is so much to unpack. More than once the story blew my therapist’s mind, and we only gave an overview of the first two weeks 😂 That was validating. I’ve heard social workers say that parents/individuals who get someone through a crisis can personally crash from the experience even years later—often when the crisis is over and they finally get around to themselves. So this is your friendly reminder to get around to yourself before then. Don’t carry giant burdens alone for years—even if you think you’re sure there’s no other option. 💛

Into the Wild

From that one day Dan dragged me out of the house into the wild and beautiful so I could remember how to breathe. ❄️

Range

I do epic/pastoral landscape portraits or dark and moody low light shots. There is no in between. This is me 😂😂