year of the Fontan

It seems as though this is the year of the Fontan...possibly because most of the heart friends we've met on-line are Maddie's age or just slightly older; therefore, we're hitting these staged surgeries at about the same time. The majority of the kids I've followed are single-ventricle kiddos like our daughter, having the same surgeries to fix their broken hearts as Maddie's. Many are enduring their Fontan surgery or post-op recovery as I type this. It's been helpful to read their blogs and I've been hopeful as most have done quite well! I've been encouraged, given a "good idea" of how it should all go, and learned ways of how to prepare myself and Maddie as we soon face her Fontan surgery.

Please say a prayer tonight for some of our special heart friends who are now post-Fontan! across the nation: Mary Clare, Colby, Aly, Parker, and Joshua. They are an inspiration. And speaking of inspiration, if you have a chance, listen to this new Rascal Flatts song, "I Won't Let Go" (it's at the bottom of our blog playlist, just scroll down) and grab some tissues if you're a heart mom!

birthday girl

Someone's sure proud of turning 3! We celebrated with family Sunday afternoon. She was grinning ear to ear when we sang Happy Birthday to her...dimples, dimples, sweet dimples.
Maddie sure loved having all of her cousins there to celebrate with her! She's a lucky girl to have so many!
She enjoyed (slowly) opening all of her gifts and has loved playing with everything since the big party. Makes being the mom easy after birthdays!
I made these "Martha Stewart Pom-Poms" which are much tougher to make than I thought they'd be! Very girlie though...
Her party was a Strawberry Shortcake theme with lots of pink!
I always love making party decorations...this was a fabric banner I sewed one afternoon, it was a very fun, easy project.
and the goodie bags
Happy 3rd Birthday Maddie Grace! What a big girl you've become :) We are so proud of you and love you very much!

She's almost 3...

I can't believe it either. This little girl is 3 days away from 3! My baby! Where has the time gone? Here's what Little Miss loves, dislikes, and memories I want to keep about our sweet girl at almost age 3:

• Maddie is a "mommy's girl" and I LOVE IT!


• she loves watching tv: Dora the Explorer, Olivia, and Diego (every morning she has her same routine with "milkie" and her shows)


• enjoys cooking with me and washing dishes...making a big watery mess really


• often wraps & rewraps a baby doll or stuffed animal in a blanket and carries it around the house with her, usually just footsteps behind me


• loves her big brothers and is quite funny with them, she definitely has a sense of humor


• she's left-handed: draws circles, colors tiny little scribbles, and enjoys painting


• if asked what her favorite color is, it's always pink


• loves play-doh!


• she likes our two cats and Sophie our dog (she calls her "Fosie", close enough) she's good at yelling at Fosie too. Not so great around horses or cows...too loud for her still


• takes a long nap (around 2 hrs) and often a short cat-nap during play or in the car, just signs that she is needing her 3rd surgery. She can randomly fall asleep almost anywhere and she asks to lay down, as well as gladly goes to bed. "I tidered" are words that frequent her mouth throughout the day too and I find myself carrying her a lot


• her favorite foods are: noodles, spaghetti, pizza, rice, salad, tacos, enchiladas, strawberries, pediasure/whole milk mixture, lemonade, ice water, waffles, ice cream, licorice--she's not very picky and is a good eater...weighing in at 32 lbs and 38" tall!


• her current favorite toys are her baby stroller, shopping cart, strawberry shortcake mini-dolls, little leapfrog laptop, any princess paraphernalia, and my i-phone


• she loves to play with her cousins and her best heart friend Teagie


• she says a sweet prayer when I tuck her in at bedtime: "Dear Heavenie Fader, Tank you all my bessings, bess my heart, seep good no bad deams, I love you, Ameen" When we speak of Jesus, her face lights up and she yells out "Jesus! I love Jesus!" while quickly nodding her head and smiling. Yes, she does know and love Him...warms my heart


• she often does "Nastics" (gymnastics) by twirling around, loping sideways, and bending over with one foot high up, very cute to watch and entertaining...she's watched cousins Savanna & Kaylee compete and is convinced that she does nastics as well!


• she loves books, begging for "just one more" and holding her little blue finger up as a number one. It's tough to resist!


• she is very chatty, sings a lot, and has a large vocabulary...she can be quite bossy and just recently started throwing fits when she doesn't get what she wants or things don't go by her plans


• to sum up her personality, Maddie is sweet, quiet, thoughtful, silly and very tender. She's observant and always concerned when others are crying or hurt and shows lots of empathy and understanding in these situations. Maybe all of her pokes, dr visits and procedures have actually helped her in this area? She can be really whiny and grumpy when she's tired but can still be talked "into/out of" things, situations, etc. pretty easily


• a perfect afternoon in Maddie's world is: swinging-- all. day. long.


• and she still loves to cuddle. Mooms makes our day, every day.