An Update and it's been a year...

So, first and foremost we are long overdue for an update. Sadie is a big and beautiful girl. She's been holding steady at around 32 lbs for several months now. She keeps getting taller, though, so she's thinning out a bit. We think she is around 34". She's now 20 months old, which means that it's only 4 months until we won't be counting her age in months anymore! :) Sadie has grown to be very independent and stubborn. She wants her way most of the time and all of her loving adults give in and let her have her way! :) She's finally saying more words - ball, teeth, tea (yes there's a distinction between tea and teeth!), bottle, Where's it at? (or variations with he/she), mouth, kitty (sometimes), and she'll often repeat words after you, though not necessarily use them again later. She very definitely understands just about anything you ask her to do or even say around her. She has even figured out that I-C-E --C-R-E-A-M means ice cream, so we've going to have to come up with some new code word that she doesn't understand. She is OBSESSED with her silky blanket and would probably take it every where if we allowed it. She is enrolled in gymnastics and is getting very good! She is also taking a Gymboree class. For 10 weeks she took a music class, too, but she didn't get along all that well with the teacher, so we passed on an additional session. She takes "science" classes twice a month at COSI and has visited the zoo and Franklin Park Conservatory on a number of occasions. Sadie is a VERY active toddler! She is also a good eater, except when her mouth hurts from teeth or she has a bad cold. She has 12 teeth right now, but is definitely working on her four canine teeth! She very definitely does NOT like going to the doctor, and in fact cries when she even sees the doctor's office. That said, she is very aware of her surroundings and starts jumping up and down in her car seat when she knows we are driving near the park! Sadie also got a bike helmet recently and has been on a few rides in her pull-behind-Dad bike trailer. Sadie also loves to sit in her crib and talk to herself a good long while before going to sleep for a nap or for the night. In fact, I can hear her chattering away next door as I type this! Adam, I, and all of Sadie's relatives are very proud of her and all of the things she can do and is willing to try. She loves the park and often goes down the tallest possible slides on her tummy! She is a dare-devil! No sliding on her bottom!

For Easter the Stotts-Smith clan took a weekend away in West Lafayette, Ohio. Our favorite Ohio winery, Raven's Glenn, is located in West Lafayette. We rented a cottage for the weekend that was right along the river and literally a 5 minute walk to the winery! We went geo-caching, took a tour of the Longaberger basket warehouse, visited historic Roscoe Village, and just generally had a wonderful time! Sadie even got to have an Easter Egg hunt on Sunday morning. Going right along with Easter, Sadie had some portraits taken at Portrait Innovations. After our bad luck at JCPenney's, Portrait Innovations was a complete breath of fresh air. They had a very open and not HOT studio! They were kind, caring, and did not rush us. We could have even done a couple of outfit changes and they would not have minded! Instead, we stuck to one outfit and also incorporated a lace umbrella that Aunt Rhian bought for Sadie in Cypress last summer.

Adam has continued to be an amazing Daddy! He often changes Sadie's diaper, will comfort her when she cries, and loves to climb up and down all of the playground equipment with her! He's still very protective of her, but only in the kindest and most loving of ways. He often sits next to her at meals and helps to feed her (when she's not doing it herself). He is also taking excellent care of me, making sure that I am staying as happy and healthy as possible! I am a VERY lucky woman.

I am feeling very well, certainly much better than I was a year ago today! Mother's Day 2009 is the first time I can clearly remember having UC symptoms. It's kind of crazy to think of all that has changed in the last year. While I certainly feel blessed to have such a wonderful daughter and fantastic husband, and wonderful parents and in-laws and sibling, I have met today with a fair amount of guilt. I know that getting UC was certainly not "my fault," but I feel like because of it I missed out on an awful lot of the time I would have liked to have been spending with Sadie. I have continued to feel despairingly tired on most days, making it very hard to motivate myself to do with Sadie what I would like to be doing. I keep trying to push through it, but I just don't think I'm quite there yet. My mom keeps assuring me that it takes a very long time for anesthesia to work it's way out of your system and with the two surgeries I've already had in the past year (lung biopsy and total colectomy), it's no big surprise that I am tired. Unfortunately, I've still got two more surgeries to go before we're done with this whole mess. Which undoubtedly means more time that will not be spent in the manner in which I would like to be spending it. But, I know that I have to put myself first right now in order to be able to spend more time with Sadie and every one else in my future. I just very eagerly look forward to August and my 3rd and FINAL surgery so that I can be done with all of this and move on! I am also happy to be turning 30 as it represents a whole new decade to look forward to and enjoy!

Well, enough of my complaining...here are some updated pictures of my wonderful little girl...