Milestones

Things that have happened in the past few months for the Hollands-

February was a good month for us, we had Gavin's birthday, we said goodbye to snow for at least 9 months or more, and we had our quarterly Vanderbilt Appt where they said Indie's adrenal mass has not grown. The main doctor we see at Vanderbilt (Dr. John Piesch) told us that we had the option to just keep monitoring it at this point if we wanted. He suspects that the mass is a piece of lung tissue (pulmonary sequestration) which resides below the diaphram. He is only 80% sure of this so it still could be a tumor, however since it has not grown he is getting less suspicious of a tumor. We go in again in May to get another ultrasound and an update. I always get anxiety in the month leading up to the appt, because I start to feel like its been a while and something may have changed in her body.

In March we traveled to NY, 14.5 hour drive to Livonia and then another 3 hours to Windsor, NY. Of course as soon as we got there they have the biggest snow storm in the past 10 years with 18 inches falling in a single day. This was fun for Gavin to see, however not to fun to drive in and really not all that easy to sled in. We did make a large snow man and Gavin loved that. Indie was good all week, she did have her episodes of crying with strangers, but honestly the trip was much smoother than I had thought it would go with a 4 month old and a 3 year old. We were so happy to see family and missed them when he had to go back home. Gavin started preschool in late March and was very very excited to meet new friends. He loves school and his teachers are reporting that he is the sweetest nicest kid, never gets into trouble, always listens, always follows directions and is very smart. The best report a mother could get :)

We also had to make some hard decisions in March. Life was getting to hard to juggle things as much as we were and we decided something had to give. I either had to work part time OR we would have to hire a almost full-time nanny to help us during the day. We ended up hiring a girl named Brook who loves my kids and helps us keep the house clean. Its great and has helped us so much. The sad part is we had to stop taking Gavin to Amy's house, who is our dear friend and her son Camden and Gavin are best buddies. We also had to say good-bye to Patty who was also a great person to have here at our house, who loved Gavin and did a great job teaching him new things. He needed consistency and he needed preschool, so finally we just made a decision and had to stick with it. I had to tell myself as I was stressing out about all of it that it isnt that bad of a thing to have so many people who love and adore Gavin that we can't choose which ones to go with.

In April so far we have been able to play outside a lot more and have had days in the 70's quite often. Gavin is really getting into soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, tennis, and every other sport. Gavin starts T-ball this summer and he is very excited for this.

Indie 5 months:

Indie is a happy baby, she loves to be loved, she loves attention, she LOVES to bounce and jump in her jumparoo for hours, she jumps and smiles when you stand her up, she loves food and her bottle, she doesn't liked to be rocked much, she just wants to go into her crib and eat a bottle spread out on her own across her crib, she is very independent and already grabs the spoon to feed herself. Indie sings and babbles, coos and laughs. She loves her brother and follows him around with her head. She giggles uncontrollably whenever he touches her or looks her in the eyes. She is a very sweet little girl. She has her times when she screams, but its only when she wants her mommy and no one else will do. She is 98 percentile for weight and height and is already in 12 month clothes. She even wears some of Gavin's 18 month pajamas. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She can roll from back to front and front to back but only on her terms and not very often. She laughs when you tickle her arm pits, chin and feet. She loves baths and she loves to grab anything and everything and destroy it by swinging it around, banging it on anything she is near wth a very intense face. She is going to be a handful, but I fully expected that :)

Gavin:

He is a wonderful happy child, loves to run and play, loves sports and LOVES to learn. He knows several words at a glance (and, is, the, no, Gavin) and wants to work on them daily. He can write all his letters himself on paper and can draw himself pretty well. He loves everyone, is a very compassionate and caring kid who loves to please others. He is a helper and always wants to get Indie's diapers, clothes, medicine, drinks or whatever it is we are looking for. If I have spit up on my leg he runs to the kitchen and gets a rag and comes back and wipes down my leg without ever being asked. He is very good, rarely ever has to be in time out, has never peed the bed and has been potty trained for almost a year now. He is very smart, happy, athletic and sweet and I could not ask for a better combination of traits in a child. He is a great big brother as well.