Long overdue...

So I am FINALLY back at it! Lol  After MONTHS of not having a working computer, we are finally back online. :)  Thank you Uncle Sam! Lol  I will be posting all of our updates in the near future but for the time being I will leave you with this.  We are all healthy, and happy and just trying to stay warm on this oh so cold and snowy day. :)

Sofian Family Update!

Sorry for not updating in a while. Our laptop bit the dust and we haven't been able to replace it iust yet. Aaron and I both upgraded our phones, so here I am being all tech savvy and posting this from my new Android phone.  :)

We are all doing well and anxious for the holidays.  Aaron is currently in training to be an assistant store manager. He has been away  in training for 4 weeks. He is able to come home on the weekends so we are lucky to be able to spend some time with him. We miss him but are excited for what is in store for our little family.  :) His new position is in Big Rapids so we are looking for housing but not in too much of a rush because our lease here in Lansing isn't up until February. 

Evan is crawling all over the place and even trying to climb too.  He is wonderful and I praise God every day for allowing me to witness his remarkable growth. :)  He has 4 teeth already, 2 on top and 2 on the bottom. There is one more on top that is trying to make its grand entrance...which is making for a fussy unhappy little bubby at times, but we are working through it. :)

I am participating in Etsy's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale this year so if you are interested, check out my shop for some great deals and FREE SHIPPING!!! I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!
Http://www.simplymejewelrybyamy.etsy.com

Avocados!!

So we decided to try avocados for dinner the other night and Aaron took this video for us to show everyone what Evan thought about them.  We tried them again last night and had the same reaction so we have decided to wait a few days and then we will be trying the sweet potatoes.  Evan is such a character.  Enjoy the video. :) 

PS.  Evan is officially 6 months old as of yesterday and today I discovered he has a tooth popping through.  My baby boy is growing up so fast!

Rolly Polly

Evan is rolling ALL over the place and I am loving EVERY minute of it. He is so fun to watch. He reaches for everything and loves getting into "trouble" as he tips over baskets.  He is so cute when he tips his toy basket and digs his toys out to play with. I am enjoying him at each and every step of his development.  On Monday Evan will be 6 months old and we are looking forward to starting him on solid foods. Monday for dinner we will be trying sweet potatoes and I can't wait to try out my new food mill. :)
We will be doing avocados too and then maybe bananas. Wish us luck. :)

PPCM Awareness Jewelry

So I finally have some bracelets made and listed in my shop.  I have had 3 sales so far and hope to have even more in the future.  The lovely ladies who purchased bracelets are some of my "Heart Sisters" and they very much like what they recieved.  I am so happy.  I plan on making and listing 10-15 more in the next month, if I am able.  Evan has been keeping me on my toes and so I really haven't had much time to do a whole lot.  He is rolling all over the place and enjoying every minute of it. :) 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyMeJewelryByAmy?section_id=10346725


That's about all the new stuff that I have for now, someone is waking up as I type for a midnight feeding...I think we might be having a MAJOR growth spurt. :)

~Good Night
~Sleep Tight
~Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite. :)

So excited!

I am so excited!  I just printed out my application for the One Stop Shopping Night Craft and Etc. Sale in November.  I also just put in an order for some brand new jewelry making stuff at TWO different places.  I can't wait to get it in the mail so I can start working on my new jewelry collection.  This one is going to be called "Mothers With Heart".  It is dedicated to all the women out there who have been diagnosed with Peripartum/Postpartum Cardiomyopathy~My Heart Sisters. :)  It is a reminder of what we have gone through and what we go through every day.  I hope it will help bring more awareness to women (pregnant or not) who are of childbearing age of the dangers of this condition.  I will be the first person (I have searched and Googled and have come up with nobody thus far) to make beautiful jewelry to bring awareness to this illness.  It makes me feel good that I know first hand what other women are going through and that I may be able to help them to deal with PPCM in some way by providing awareness jewelry for them.  I am absolutely geeked to be the one who starts the trend and I hope that I am not the last. 

We don't have an official awareness color yet, but some of the ladies who were first diagnosed have used Mint Green as their color of choice since it is not currently being used for anything else.  I plan on using mint green beads, green crystals, with silver awareness ribbon charms or beads, silver spacer beads,  and a single red bead to signify our heart.  I plan on making a few different versions and I am beyond excited to start playing around with patterns. :)

 

 

Stay tuned for more information and for pictures of my new creations!

A Day to remember...

Yesterday we went to Domino Farms in Ann Arbor to meet with Evan's hand surgeon.  FINALLY!  It was a nice ride there but I was a bit anxious.  I tried to keep the conversation light, so Aaron and I talked about all kinds of things, the weather, work, possibly looking at buying a house in the spring, etc.  Before I knew it, we were there.  I'm not exactly sure what else they do there, but I saw all kinds of animals as we pulled into the parking lot.  There were long horned bulls, striped cows from Scotland, and even some alpacas.  It was neat see them all grazing all around the building.  I wish I had taken my camera, I definitely will next time we go there.  The wait wasn't too long.  We got some x-rays and then we waited a bit more.  When we went in to see the doctor, the nurse was super nice.  She took a look at Evan's hand and said, "Oh, that's not too bad."  She said that they see cases like Evan's at least once a month.  That made me less nervous just knowing that Evan wouldn't be a first for them.  The PA came in first and then went to get the doctor.  When Dr. Chung came in he was very serious looking.  He asked some questions and took a look at Evan's hand.  He said it wasn't too bad, but it WAS going to be tricky to fix due to the location of the bands.  He said that we will wait until Evan is a few months older before we do his first surgery, there will be more to come as he grows.  When we do, he will have the band on his left leg released, some of the bands on his hand, and also the band on his right big toe.  Then someone came in to take photographs of Evan's hand so the Dr. can take a look and figure out what exactly he will have to do to repair Evan's fingers.  I am NOT looking forward to ANY of these surgeries, but I know that they are necessary to keep Evan growing and developing the right way.  I am nervous and a bit scared of what the recovery will entail on my part. I am not sure what to expect as far as the healing process and what we will need to do to take care of Evan properly so he heals the best he can.  It will definitely be interesting to say the least.  I will update more as we get more information, right now it is just waiting for them to schedule the surgery, it should be in November or December.



Alpacas~Taken with my phone

When we left the building and walked to our car, this is what we saw.  The alpacas had made their way to our side of the building and were grazing on the hill right in front of where we were parked.  It was kinda cool. :)

Love is...

I stood there in a tanktop and pajama shorts that had been worn for one too many days with spit-up dripping from my shoulder to my backside.  I hadn't showered in days.  We swayed back and forth, dancing to the soft melodies that came from the CD player.  A memorable song from my own childhood was playing, "True Colors" by Phil Collins in the form of a quiet lullaby just soothing enough to lull my little one to sleep.  I looked down at his round sweet face and whispered in his ear, "You are perfect",  "You are wonderful."  I make sure to tell him this every chance I get.  I kiss the top of his head and feel his fluffy blonde hair on my lips.   I remembered back to just 4 short months before when I first laid eyes on him and I began to weep.  His hair was darker and fuzzier.  He was so small and fragile and dependent upon me for everything he would ever need.  I never knew it would become something so much more than just being a mommy.  I never expected to feel this way.  I never expected to be so overcome with emotions, some new, some old.    I had finally figured out exactly what unconditional love really is.  To me it means that I would walk to the ends of the Earth for this sweet boy.  I have been to Heaven and Hell for him already and would do it again in a heartbeat.  When I met my husband I understood love, but I never thought I would ever feel THIS type of love for another human being.  It is more different than any other feeling I have ever had.  It is an all encompassing feeling that takes over my entire being.  I feel beyond blessed to be able to experience all of this and to have Evan in my life.

When I tell him I love him

it is more than just words,

it is my life,

my heart,

my soul.

He's off and Rolling!!!

Yesterday morning Evan and I were hanging out just like we always do.  It was a normal day pretty much like any other.  He was hanging out  on his activity gym enjoying the rings and rattling things that were dangling above his head while I was doing some much needed emailing and catching up after being away from home for a week.  I decided that it was time for me to eat breakfast and take my meds while he was content and not really needing my undivided attention.  I walked into the kitchen to make a bagel and grab some juice.  While my bagel was toasting, I peeked back into the living room to see the most AMAZING thing before my very eyes.


When I left him this is what he was doing...

But when I returned, THIS is what I found...

After Evan showed me his wonderful new trick, he proceeded to spit-up all over himself because he had eaten a short while before rolling onto his tummy.  When Evan was all cleaned up he decided that he would let me record his new fun trick, in case he wouldn't do it on command when his daddy got home from work.  I didn't really need to.  He has been off and rolling ever since yesterday morning.  It's kinda funny how he used to HATE it when I put him on his belly for tummy time, but now he can't get enough of it. :)   He even tries to roll while he's buckled into his bouncy seat. Lol. 

  I am so excited that he is advancing developmentally pretty much right on schedule, but I am sad that he is growing up way too fast.  I am definitely enjoying watching him grow and learn new things and I am making sure to document each and every move he makes. :)

Echo Update...

So technically the Echo tech's couldn't "tell" me anything about my Ejection Fraction, and I was really disappointed.  I REALLY didn't want to wait until August 16th for my cardiologist to tell me whats up.  But...the technicians were super sweet and they said, "Well, we can't tell you NOT to look at the screen, and if per chance we 'accidentally' leave some numbers up for a minute, we can't do anything about it."  So, it looks like they are putting it in my records as being 40%. (Up from 25% at the end of March when I was diagnosed.) YAY!!!  It is such a relief to know that what I am doing is working and helping me to get better.  I am hoping that when I go for my 6 month echo, I get even better news.  :)  I am so happy that I finally have some answers.  Now I can go about my life and keep doing what I am doing knowing that it is all ok. :)