Emilia - SIX YEARS OLD!

A little late on this, but my second child turned 6 on May 9! What can I say about Emilia?

In the last year she has started Kindergarten, started horseback riding, grown in her resilience and confidence, and is continuing to develop her own (larger than life) personality. 

• She has FINALLY (in her eyes) reached 40 lbs. and just recently got to move into a booster seat. She'd been working on this for a very long time. Eating more at meals, working out (all her... not because we told her to work out), and checking in weekly to get into that booster. 
• She's complained about stomach aches in the car for years, and since being in the booster it seems to be less frequent. Maybe the pressure from the 5 point harness was bothering her? 
• Wears size 7 tops and size 5-6 bottoms (needs a 5 for waist size, but a 7 for length. Tricky times!)
• Emilia wears her heart on her sleeve. She is the most thoughtful little person I've ever met. Her #1 goal is always to make other people feel happy. Especially if it's on a "special" day like Mother's Day, a birthday, etc. She feels a lot of responsibility for making others feel special so we work to encourage her not to take on the responsibility of others' feelings. That's a lot when you're 6. 
• She loves rainbows, unicorns, sparkles and art. 
• She will spend hours and hours making art. She got lots of art supplies for her birthday and loves to play and explore with them.
• Her printing is as neat as mine is (which is saying something), though it is about 10x larger :)
• She is incredibly resilient. She inspires us to want to do better and be better. If she is feeling discouraged about something or frustrated, she will literally do affirmations out loud to herself. At horseback riding a couple weeks ago her horse wasn't cooperating how she wanted and I could tell she was getting frustrated. Then she started saying to herself, "I... can... do... this!" She is wiser than most adults in this way, myself included. It really is inspiring. 
• She doesn't like matching people or doing/wearing/having the same things as others. We went to the Canucks game at Rogers arena to watch game 6 of Round 1 and I was excited that her, Eva and I got to match jerseys. She was much less thrilled with this because she "wanted to be different." Hello, are you your father's daughter?!
• She often talks without enunciating her words and sort of slurs them all together. Like she won't move her mouth/lips. It's honestly sort of annoying, but only because we know she can speak clearly. She's just habitually not.
• Her bed is filled to the brim with things. Stuffies, special toys, books, beds for her special-est stuffies, blankets, jewelry... art she's done that hasn't made it to her art wall.
• Oh, she has an art wall she's made in her room where she just tapes a bunch of random art work she's done to her wall. :)
• On the night before her birthday she came into our room and crawled into bed with me. We never sleep together, but I know that she would every single night if it were up to her, just to be close to me, so I allowed it for a little bit. It was actually not too bad. She's usually a snorer and twitcher, but I guess she was so tired she fell asleep immediately and didn't get around to the snoring and twitching. 
• She had a rainbow party for her 6th birthday.
• Her best friend at school is Makenna, which is Elissa's daughter and it just warms our hearts to see these two together holding hands and playing and making art. They're kindred spirits. 
• She loves flowers. Loves loves flowers. If anyone is ever trying to think of something that would just make her feel so special, get her some flowers. Don't trust me to keep them alive though. Provide instructions... haha! 
• She is crushing Kindergarten. Or Kindergarten is crushing her... in a good way. Her teacher could not be more perfect for her. Whatever kool-aid they're serving, she is slurping it right up. It's there that she's learning about resilience, for example. She is learning so much more than the ABC's and 123's. She comes home with life skills that are important for every day living as you grow!

Emilia's Birth Story

At the Food Truck Festival in Langley

Uncle Scott's birthday at Cactus Club when she ate half my poke bowl

Last trip to the Surrey Museum before COVID

Working from home during COVID

Maternity Photos before Eva was born

Came wine tasting at the cabin

Mother's Day Tea at Preschool

Kindergarten winter!

We love you Emilia, you little ray of sunshine and rainbows! <3

Medical Update & Life - Canucks Games/Birthday Parties/Learning Conferences

I had my appointment with the Respirologist last Monday. I had been anxiously/excitedly anticipating this appointment since I found out the stroke wasn't the issue, but rather a side-effect/symptom of a bigger thing going on. The Pulmonary AVM. 
(Link to the original post in case you missed it: I had a stroke... of luck?)

I had to go to St. Pauls which wasn't ideal, but the Dr was on time and friendly which is great. He took his time with me and talked everything through thoroughly. There were not any huge surprises during the appointment, and here is a little summary...

• He confirmed from my scans that I do have a small (~2mm diameter) Pulmonary AVM in my lungs which is the most likely cause of the stroke I had. 
• He is hoping they'll be able to embolize the AVM through a catheter procedure, but he has to wait to confirm with the radiologist since the diameter of the AVM is on the small end of what they will typically operate on. He feels optimistic they'll at least give it a go since it has proven its ability to let things through and cause a stroke. 
• This Dr. specializes in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), which is a genetic blood vessel disorder that causes irregular formation of blood vessels. It is responsible for around 80% of Pulmonary AVMs. I do not have any of the other markers that we're aware of, and nobody in my family has been diagnosed with HHT, but because I have a big family and kids, he wants to see if they can do the testing to possibly diagnose this. (My gut tells me this is not the cause based on my reading, but he can't rule it out and symptoms can develop later on in life)
  - The testing first includes an MRI of my liver as that is apparently a common area for AVMs to form in people with HHT. I have already had my head and lungs scanned, and there are no signs of any other abnormalities in these areas. 
  - The next step, if he can get approval from the government, is to send a blood sample off to an HHT testing centre (often San Fransisco or Finland) and they will perform a genetic test to see if HHT could be confirmed. Even if that test comes back negative, apparently it is only accurate 80% of the time, so HHT cannot really be officially ruled out at all ever. (Fun...I actually do not like this information at all). The government approval has to be obtained as apparently the test is very expensive and it has to be done out of country. He feels confident he'll be able to get it done, so that's encouraging. 
• I have an appointment to get a 24 hr heart monitor (holter) next week, and on the same day an appointment for blood work that is necessary to get prior to the embolization procedure. 

Anyway, that's a lot of information... I am still feeling physically normal and well, so I'm just going to keep on trucking and continuing life as normal while squeezing in lots of appointments! The main ways this affects my life are not day to day things. 

• If I am having a procedure done where bacteria may enter my blood (like getting a filling), I need to get an antibiotic ahead of time just in case. 
• If I have an IV for a length of time, they have to attach a filter so that bubbles do not get into my blood that could go to my brain and cause a stroke. 
• I cannot go scuba diving. (He was nervous to tell me this one as he's ruined peoples' plans before. Don't worry... not in my plans!)

I do have to say I am incredibly grateful that this was discovered after I have decided I am done having children. Pregnancy can cause a very real risk with Pulmonary AVMs due to the increased blood volume. That whole area of risk is irrelevant to me, and I am so relieved. 

Here is some information the doc gave me about Pulmonary AVMs and I feel like it was the best description of what it is, treatment, etc. that I'd seen. It's hard to find information online. 

Okay back to regular scheduled programming... 

Last Thursday the kids had their Learning Conferences at school. They are both doing great and it was nice to catch up with their teachers. Afterwards, we surprised them by taking them to dinner at Montana's. The older the kids get, the smoother these outings go, that's for sure! Everyone ate their food, only Eva was a bit of a monkey climbing around the booth, and they were polite and patient (for a 7 and 6 and 3 year old).

Emilia created our house "Miy Hous". There is a never-ending flow of paper scraps all over our dining room these days.

This boy has his Opa's gift of tuning people out when reading. He completely zones out and has zero awareness of what is happening around him. I have to literally take the book out of his hands or else he doesn't know I exist. 

There was no school on Friday and Dom was at a birthday party during naptime. While he was out, Mom took Emilia shopping for her birthday. Emilia felt very special! They picked out lots of cute dresses and a summer hat. She also went to Claires and got a fuzzy unicorn purse and a braid headband - those are her highlights of course :).

Jeff, Marta and Owen joined us for an early Game 3 on Friday afternoon!

All Owen wanted to do was go outside and play hockey with Dom haha

I promised Emilia I would make playdough with her for her birthday party this coming Sunday. It's a rainbow theme, so we've made rainbow rice and playdough now. I forget how easy it actually is! I'm excited to play with them :)

Dom was away for hockey and then at a playdate on Saturday afternoon. It was a completely different vibe being home with just the two girls. We built calmly, we did some art, they played some strange restaurant game, we listened to music and sang along. It was lovely. 

Saturday night Dave had a poker night. I hid upstairs and watched TV and read a book haha.

Sunday afternoon we celebrated Wren & Nate's birthday parties at My Gym in Langley!

<3

We went straight from the party to Jeff & Marta's to catch Game 4 of the playoffs. What a game! *Notes for future Renee* - We were down 3-1, and scored with just a few minutes to go... 3-2. I left during the last minute to change a diaper and I hear an absolute uproar from downstairs. As it turns out we scored again with just 6 seconds left on the clock to tie it up!! Going to Overtime. 

In Overtime I sat there as it started musing about how I hate that it's sudden death and it just feels so stressful. I didn't have to stress long since we scored and won the game just 62 seconds into OT. MAGIC! There was mass testosterone-filled celebration which Dom and Owen quickly got in on. That will be a memory Dom will probably have forever I'm thinking. So great.

Monday was my respirologist appointment at St. Pauls. I took the bus/skytrain there to avoid traffic and driving downtown and hunting for parking. While I don't regret that decision, it definitely was a long haul both ways. 

We all picked up the kids from school and went to Oma's for dinner. Dom had his first swimming lesson on Monday so it made sense to stay out in Fleetwood! We had low expectations for swimming lessons since he's been dreading them for weeks and hates getting his face wet. I honestly didn't think he'd get in the pool. Dave reports that he did great though! While he may not have been super gung-ho, he did follow instructions, get in the pool, avoid excessive whining, and try! He did not put his face in the water, but he'll get there :) That's what a first lesson is for.

Her printing is so neat.

Tuesday I was beat. Just exhausted. Dave keeps telling me to go easy on myself with everything that's happened in the last 2.5 weeks (it literally feels like 6 months). I just don't feel (physically) like that much has happened, so I have a hard time justifying the sleepies. However, I do know I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted. That much I cannot deny.

I'm so lucky that she loves to play with my hair :)

Grandpa came to watch Emilia's horseback riding before coming over for the game! She was so excited to have someone other than just me there to watch. I noticed she was getting a little frustrated with Lucy, but that's not abnormal. During her lesson Grandpa and I both noticed that she looked like she was singing. On the way home, she was telling me that she was getting frustrated and feeling mad, and so she remembered she is resilient and started saying quietly to herself, "I. Can. Do. This!" That's what we had seen. Who is this child?! What Kool-Aid is she drinking? I think we could all use some of it!

Wednesday I went to spin, went to work for a couple hours, and then went to the school because Dom's class was leading chapel! He had to speak a sentence into the microphone in front of hundreds of people. He asked me not to take any pictures, and he was so nervous and did not want me to be there, but in the end he did it! He did it, and he should be proud, and he was glad we came haha. 

On Thursday we broke the news to the kids that we had bought tickets to go watch Friday's Canucks game on the jumbotron at Roger's Arena! We made posters after school and got hyped up!

This is definitely the nicest smile I've gotten for a picture from him in... many months for sure.

Friday we picked the kids up from school early and came home for a snack. We then piled in the van and drove to Scott Road Station to take the skytrain down to Roger's Arena for the game. The game... was SO so so much fun. It was only $15/ticket, the place was completely sold out, they put towels on everyone's seat, they had live music, food and drinks were cheaper, and the atmosphere was electric. It honestly felt like we were at the real game. 

We borrowed ear muff things for the kids and I'm glad we did. It was loud in there. I was a bit nervous about bringing Eva, thinking she'd be bored and wanting to run around the whole time or sit on me. It turns out she may have been the most into it of the three kids. She thrived. Cheering and booing and whooping and screaming and dancing her little adorable butt off. Oh and dropped everything the moment she heard people start cheering at all to grab her towel and whip it around (often hitting the poor gentleman sitting in front of us). 

The Canucks scored late in the 3rd period to win the game 1-0, and it was super exciting for everyone. After the game, we took the skytrain back to Scott Road and got the kids all in bed by 8:30. Bless the 4:00 game! I honestly think I would buy tickets for Dave and I to go watch another away game this way. $15 each! Crazy. Also all proceeds go to the Canucks for Kids Fund, so that's a bonus. 

Anyway. Highly recommend, and so glad we braved it and brought the kids along. I have a feeling they'll remember this one for a long time. 

Poor Eva's face when I had to wake her early from her nap.

It was nice being in the upper bowl because the kids could lean on the bar in front of us instead of just kicking the seat in front. 

No idea what happened here, but it's funny anyway haha

Saturday morning I dropped Emilia off at Mom & Dad's to go plant flowers with them in their garden. I then got Eva up early from her nap, picked Emilia up and we all went to watch Dom's hockey. It's his second last one and I wasn't sure if I'll make it out this coming weekend to watch the last one. 

Her microphone :)

Holy cow... this boy has improved SIGNIFICANTLY. I love to see it. 

After hockey, Eva and I brought Emilia to a birthday party. We didn't stay long as she was absolutely crashing. I didn't know if she was getting sick or just exhausted. As it turns out, sh was just completely worn out. Eva didn't mind though. She played, chatted and had cake with the "big kids" haha. 

Sunday rolled around and I was hoping to go to church, but as it turns out that couldn't happen because we spent the entire day getting ready for Emilia's 6th birthday party! We did a rainbow theme and I got lots of stuff on Temu. We decorated her heart cake, and she spent all day making sure everything was just so. She would enter a room pretending to be a guest to make sure the feel was right, and had input in all the food, activities, and even wrote out a schedule for the party. 

I was mentally and physically well prepared for the party and had a good plan, so we were ready for people by 1pm, which meant we could sit down and watch the F1 race. I have to say... FINALLY A GOOD RACE!! Dave slept through 90% of it, but Dom and I were on the edge of our seats. 

Heart-shaped cake hack

She set up a noodles and sprinkles sale during the race to practice selling things for her bake sale she plans to have :)

Birthdays are very very important to Emilia for some reason. It is very important to her on others' birthdays that they feel special, so I felt like we had to try to make her feel extra special on her day. I think we (and everyone who came!) succeeded! She was spoiled. Spoiled spoiled with gifts of art supplies, cute clothes, and a couple toys/games. She was blown away that everyone knows her so well. A highlight for her was getting her own riding gloves and crop for horseback riding. 

I am advocating for every party having an intentional introvert corner with a quiet activity like a giant coloring sheet. Perfect because you can just zone out, but still be involved, and talk if you want to talk, or not. No pressure. It's like a camp fire. The adults definitely used it more than the kids which was a pleasant surprise haha. 

Also we realized at the end that I completely forgot to bring out the rainbow playdough and rice that we made! Oh well. Another day :)

The kids actually all played upstairs much of the time. Everyone had a playmate which was perfect. 

We let Emilia invite one friend which works out great because her best friend is our friend Elissa and Michael's daughter! I love these girls and their sweet little relationship <3. 

Emilia tells me they're getting married. They've already discussed who is having the babies, where they will live, what will be in each room. Sounds like they've got it all figured out. 

I was feeling nervous about having the party inside. I like to do them outside when possible, but it actually worked out pretty well. It was a little crazy and busy, but I didn't even take a Clonazepam so it must have been manageable haha.

Great Oma brought a bag of easter eggs for all the kids! I remember growing up and going to the "Candy Ladies" at church every Sunday after the service. Oma is becoming a Candy Lady!

This is just what she wanted for her cake. I'm glad she opted for one color of icing instead of a rainbow of icing. Dodged a bullet there. 

I put out... chips & salsa, popcorners, chicago mix, a veggie tray, Mom brought a fruit plate, and then we had hot dogs for dinner and the cake. I estimated food amounts quite well and we had very very little left over, and I don't think anyone left hungry!

Now I get to find more rainbow crafts all over the house!

Emilia's actual birthday is this Thursday, May 9. So a few more days of celebrating her and leaving up these colorful decorations. I don't mind :) She puts so much effort into making other people feel good and feel loved. This is honestly the least we can do. <3