Eat, Bath, Sleep, School!

Nola during her favorite part of the nightly routine- a bubble bath in Mommy & Daddy's jacuzzi :)

Every night during dinner we tell Nola the routine. She has it down pat...eat, bath, sleep, school! Every morning when she wakes up the first thing she says it School!! I am so glad she enjoys school!

We Survived!

Tristan-10, Nola-2, Billy-2, Addison-6

Jonathan and I took on the challenge and had all the cousins spend the night! It wasn't bad at all and they were all great! Jonathan did say we cannot have four kids, but Billy and Nola are almost like twins since they are only 9 months apart! Whew!

Carrots Anyone?

Mommy had to help with school registration so Daddy fixed dinner.
Looks like Nola thoroughly enjoyed the carrots!

Feeding the Fish

Nola loved feeding the Koi fish at Cassandra's birthday party!
Cassandra is also a student at MOSD!

Do they have frequent flier points?!

Well, Nola woke up with a blazing fever so Jonathan took her to the pediatrician. I went on to school since it is my first full week, but told Jonathan to keep me posted. He called about 9:15 and said the strep test was negative and they were sending her to the ER at LeBonheur. Well, I immediately went into panic mode. I have never not been there when Nola had to go for something like this and I was all the way in Moscow where I teach. I ran out of school like a crazy woman and anyone who saw me with tears streaming down my face probably thought I was exactly that. I made it to the ER in record time to find sweet Nola in the pale orange gown with the IV line already in. When she was little she had the yellow hospital gowns, but now that she is a big girl she has moved to the orange gown- not that this is something we look forward to Nola wearing! She was in her Daddy's arms and her little face was flushed from fever.

Before I arrived, they had tried to give her Motrin to bring the fever down, but she got upset and unfortunately Daddy was the victim with the throw up. The ER doctor was great! She was the same one Nola had last time we visited the ER...which was only 2 months ago...we are frequent fliers. They did some tests and everything came back normal. We were discharged that afternoon and she ate spaghetti that night!

Reminiscing

I was just thinking the last few days how our life has changed in the past year. A little more than a year ago, we found out our sweet angel couldn't hear her Mommy and Daddy say I love you. We then went into full speed to find her the best doctors, best equipment, and thankfully the best school around. Within weeks of getting her diagnosis, Nola was enrolled in Memphis Oral School for the Deaf. Look at her now! One year later through hearing aids, a 6 hour cochlear implant surgery, and the 'turning on' of her implants, she is a talking machine! What a little miracle God has given us and we could not be more grateful for him trusting us with this priceless baby girl .

Thank you Jonathan for being the patient, loving Daddy you are. Nola is blessed to have such a wonderful role model in her life. I couldn't imagine doing this alone and thank goodness I have such a great husband to travel this journey with me.

I'll leave you with a note from Nola's audiologist- Nathalie.

This note was sent on 1.12.10 (6 days after her implants were turned on)

Johnathan,
I drove home from work yesterday with a big smile on my face thinking of sweet Nola. She has impressed me so much with what she has done in such a short time. To think that this sweet baby did not even have hearing aids 6 months ago and now she has been implanted and is beginning to discriminate between sounds is nothing short of a miracle. She has such a strong desire to communicate. She is definitely a fighter; there is NO QUESTION about that!!! You should be so proud of that daughter of yours; she impresses us each day with her zest for life and desire to learn. I cannot wait to see what the next several months bring for her.

See you soon.....Nathalie