a belated birthday recap for our beloved Vicky, who isn't exactly a baby anymore since she turned two on the Fourth of July. Victoria Anne is sweet, spunky, smart, and mischievous. as long as she is with her older sisters, she's happy. she's often running around behind them, calling, "wait for me, guys! I coming!" and just the other day we were talking about Halloween costumes and she announced she wants to be "a big kid" for Halloween. despite her dreams of getting bigger, she's still petite and the perfect size for snuggling.
on the morning of her birthday, Greta and Cece made patriotic pancakes for breakfast. then we headed off to the town in south central Pennsylvania where we got married and where Nick's dad grew up -- many of his siblings still live in the area and they host an annual chicken BBQ and festival that has now become part of our family's tradition.
Greta made her an apples-and-peanut-butter "face"
best birthday lunch ever!
after stuffing ourselves with food, we enjoyed the beautiful weather for a while, and then spent more time visiting with family. Aunt Patty made a delicious gob cake and the birthday girl thoroughly enjoyed it!
rite of passage. the slide was actually not as hot as it looks!
this was a short-lived experiment...
walking down the block to visit with family
on the drive home, Victoria had a birthday call with Grammie!
the next day, we presented Victoria with her birthday present: a cozy coupe car! the modern version includes a handy push-bar on the back of the roof and she got lots of help on her inaugural ride.
Vicky's little voice is one of my favourite things in the world. she often will parrot back anything we say to her with a questioning inflection, even if they are long words. she loves dinosaurs ("dino T WEX!"), lollipops ("lollihops"), and pointing out ghosts in Halloween decorations ("GOTE!"). if she likes a food, she will lick her lips and say, "so num!". when I thank her for something, she politely replies, "ah-lecome" ("you're welcome").
she sleeps in a sleep sack zippered up backwards (otherwise she will remove her pajamas and diaper 100% of the time), and with her four-foot-long stuffed purple snake named Snakey. she still takes a good two-hour nap in the afternoon. her favourite books are The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Hop on Pop (she knows most of the words to Hop on Pop and narrates certain pages dramatically: "PLAY! DAY! that me and Ellie! FIGHT! NIGHT! that not us!").
she loves baby dolls and is always stealing clean diapers from the changing table to put them on her babies. she rocks them and says, "shh, shh, mama is here." she climbs up on the trash can to get onto the kitchen counter and raid my purse for gum, which she will chew once, spit out because it's too minty, choose another piece and repeat this process as many times as possible before I get to her. when I tell her to do something, she either responds "okay, I will!" or "NO!!!! I NOT!!!" and there's no predicting which way it will go.
eating cupcakes at a summer rec basketball game. what a life!
she gave us a scare the week after her birthday with a horrible case of croup that came on very suddenly. she's the only one of the four that has ever needed a medical visit due to respiratory issues, and despite my concern over her rising heart rate and respiratory rate, I thought the Children's ER might just tell us to go home and continue supportive care. nope -- they called her back to a room just a few minutes after checking her vitals in triage (vindicating but scary to jump the line like that!). after a dose of steroids and one round of nebulized epinephrine she still had stridor at rest (raspy audible breathing that indicates airway swelling), so they gave her another breathing treatment and admitted her upstairs for observation.
she was still in pretty good spirits (at 11 PM)
not a fan of the mask. this had to stay on for 15 minutes and she REALLY did not want to do it the second time.
the video below captures what her breathing sounded like at 11:50 PM, half an hour after the first breathing treatment. by definition, if a child with croup is breathing like this at rest (as opposed to with exertion or when agitated), it is considered moderate to severe croup and needs medical attention. I also think her neck and jawline look visibly puffy (it's not just the angle!). this is what earned her the second breathing treatment and admission overnight.
thank goodness, she was fine after that and did not require any further medication. I did ask them to do a chest x-ray because she is still constantly putting things in her mouth, so I was worried about a coin or other foreign object in her airway. that came back fine and she was all clear at her follow up visit with the pediatrician.
I knew she was feeling better when she pulled this face at the nurses... at 1:17 AM
getting a ride upstairs
she was excited about her fancy new bed at first, but it took her a long time to settle down and go to sleep (not least because of having two rounds of epinephrine in her system! her poor little heart rate was through the roof!)
breakfast tray delights. (the ER attending kindly gave me a clean T shirt and sweatpants to change into for pajamas - I hadn't brought anything with me because I certainly didn't anticipate her staying overnight! Nick was home with the other kids and offered to drive things over for me but by the time we got upstairs it was after 2 AM and they gave me a little toiletry kit so I could at least brush my teeth. they were all so thoughtful!)
her nurse hid this little Squishmallow in one of the empty drawers for her to find. she was so excited!!
pretty Pittsburgh
and finally, ending on another health update -- she had her annual checkup with the orthopedic surgeon in August regarding her congenital hip dysplasia (initially diagnosed when she was two weeks old). her x-rays look perfect! he told me that last year he was a little worried about some persistent abnormalities in the bone development, even though the radiologist report said the x-rays were normal. this year, after reviewing the scans himself, he said there is absolutely no concern. praise God!
Victoria always seems to give you a run for your money and keep you on your toes - hey she's gotta figure out how to get attention as the youngest, I guess? She is so stinking adorable!! Any baby fever now that she's 2? :)
Yes, she definitely knows how to make her presence known! Ha! You asked the magic question we ask ourselves every month ... it's hard for me to imagine starting all over again with a newborn and I am so grateful for the family we have! But I haven't felt quite ready to part with the boatloads of baby stuff in the basement yet...
1) wedding! on the first weekend in June, Nick's cousin was married in an absolutely beautiful ceremony (he played the organ for the wedding, and then chauffeured some of the family to the reception in the station wagon). it's always so much fun to spend time with his family, and the reception venue was stunning -- held in the grand hall of the train station, which has since been converted into apartments and an event space.
this is a strong contender for the 2025 Christmas card the last day of school was Friday, May 30, and the very next day, we dropped off Greta and Cece with Nick's parents to drive down to Ocean City, MD, first thing Sunday morning, while Nick and I followed with the babies after Nick played for two morning masses. I've been to Ocean City once before, during the summer of 2020 when social distancing rules were still in effect -- most restaurants were open for takeout only, and those that were open for dine-in required patrons to wear masks while walking to their tables. it was fun to go back and have a more normal beach experience! many thanks to Nick's parents for generously inviting us to come along.
Easter was "late" this year, April 20, which has the added benefit of slightly warmer temperatures. it always seems incongruous to me when Easter falls at the end of March and all the pretty Easter dresses are covered up by coats and we might have to choose snow boots rather than sandals! this was the first year Elizabeth was allowed to be more involved with hands-on egg dyeing and she was so excited. I bought the "deluxe" PAAS kit with extra supplies to make glittery and foil-bedecked eggs and somehow, by the grace of God, did not end up with glitter all over the house. I don't know how this one was so blurry but you get the idea! Greta's pastel eggs Cece's jewel-toned eggs I debated once again about which Easter mass to attend. we have attended the evening vigil once before , but that involves a lot of faith and perhaps a dash of insanity to attempt solo with young kids. so we typically go Easter morning, but I asked the older girls about it and they...
Victoria always seems to give you a run for your money and keep you on your toes - hey she's gotta figure out how to get attention as the youngest, I guess? She is so stinking adorable!! Any baby fever now that she's 2? :)
ReplyDeleteYes, she definitely knows how to make her presence known! Ha! You asked the magic question we ask ourselves every month ... it's hard for me to imagine starting all over again with a newborn and I am so grateful for the family we have! But I haven't felt quite ready to part with the boatloads of baby stuff in the basement yet...
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