2008 in review

I swear I will post pictures of Tomas later today or tomorrow!
This is a little late, but I am just finding the time to reflect on 2008. It was a busy year with lots of change. 2008 started off well with a nice 2 week vacation to DC and to Chile. It was a special trip to bring Catalina to meet my grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins in Chile. Unfortunately Cata brough a stomach bug with her to Chile and she spent the whole vacation sick. The other sad part about that special trip is that is when she lost her verbal language. She had 6 precious words before we left for that trip and she came home with none.
The winter dragged on, I was working hard, and Kevin was still traveling for work, but April brought a great change for our family life - Kevin took a job at Target headquarters so he would not be traveling anymore! We got to celebrate with friends as we spent time with our best friends from med school in Denver and then went to Aspen to see one of my best friends from childhood. It was amazing to be with close friends again and to be able to share fun times with our children.
The winter finally turned to spring and summer and we got to enjoy the outdoors and the lakes. Cata had her Early Intervention (EI) eval in June and we went to a new pediatrician for her 18 month visit. Both of those were hard - the pediatrician was as concerned as I was about Cata so we were launching into a work up and the EI eval put on paper what I had feared, Cata was significantly delayed globally. The summer was a blur of test and doctors visits. At the end of the summer, burned out from working crazy hours and trying to keep up with everything, I took a leave of absence from work. We enjoyed one amazing week of me being home with Catalina, seeing some progress (she started walking!), we were so hopeful until the dreaded phone call on September 3rd that changed our lives. Rett Syndrome walked into our home.
Rett brought us a lot of sadness but has also had many positives. We were flooded by emails, calls, and letters from friends and family. We are blessed to have so much support. We were also so thankful to have the charitable support of so many friends - over $23,000 has been donated to Rett Syndrome research in honor of Catalina. The generosity of everyone has been overwhelming. The other positive that has come of Rett Syndrome is the group of wonderful families that we have met. They have provided support and showed us that life goes on and can be so full of love and happiness.
The fall flew by. We spent lots of time with new friends, went to DC for Thanksgiving, went to Alabama to see the Rett specialist, enjoyed our first Christmas without either of our families and rang in the new year with our dear friends and their family. Overall it was a busy, challenging year but we are thankful for all that we have been given and for another wonderful year in our lives.
Here is a summary of photos from 2008. Many have been on the blog before and others didn't make it.

Introducing...

Tomas Joseph Coloton

January 24, 2009
9 lbs 4.7 oz
22 inches

I guess our deliveries are not meant to be uneventful. After developing a paralyzing pain while still at home, we eventually were able to get me to the car and into the hospital. The hospital was wonderful at getting me seen and evaluated promptly and I was in the OR for a cesarean section within a very short time. As it turns out, my uterus had ruptured. We had a wonderful OB who was able to get Tomas out quickly and repaired my uterus. Kevin was amazing during all of this. I really couldn't have asked for more from him. Fortunately we are all three doing very well and looking forward to heading home after a few days of IV antibiotics.

January already?

I cannot believe it is already January 19th for many reasons, but especially since Cata has been sick since December 20th! Something about being around other kids, it has been one thing after another. We had a quick stomach bug fly through the house last week that landed me in the hospital for a night and as we got over that one Cata developed a new cough which has now turned into ANOTHER stomach bug! So anyway, I guess I have been too busy changing sheets, washing clothes, and trying to keep Cata hydrated to post :) And really, besides Cata being sick for the last month, not much new is going on. Abuela arrived last week for a nice 2.5 week visit which has been great. She was a little shocked by the 20 degrees below zero that she got to experience on her first 2 days here, but fortunately we are experiencing a nice heat wave with highs almost in the 20s!
So one thing that did happen is that we received a beautiful gift from my friend Laurie. She had this bow made for Catalina. It is special because it is a ribbon for Rett Syndrome awareness. On the bottle cap is a lavender ribbon and says "Care and Cure". She worked with Holly who owns Kick Ass Bows (see link on right) to make this special bow. We love it! Thank you Laurie and Holly!!

I guess I can't post without a picture of our little one! Despite being sick,

she still manages to smile through it

Winter wonderland

We definitely got to enjoy a white Christmas this year. Unfortunately it was a COLD white Christmas filled with lots of runny noses and 102 fever. We did make it out sledding on Sunday but with the bit of sun and warmer temps, the snow had turned to ice. Oh well...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all. This has been a different Christmas for us. We were not able to fly to either of our parent's homes so the three of us celebrated alone. On top of that, Catalina is on day 5 of fever to 102 and Kevin and I are coming down with whatever yummy bug has been making her sick. But we are thankful to be together and for all the love and support of our families and friends. We are excited to be sharing Christmas dinner with our good friends tonight.

Cata opening up her gifts. As always, she loves new books!

This about summed up how she felt this morning - she didn't make it through all her gifts before laying down on the pile and closing her eyes.

Nothing like comfy PJs and a 3 hr nap to make her smile again!

Catching up

I can't believe that Christmas is this week already here! I have been busy with the normal Catalina therapy routine plus I took Step 3 (last part of the medical licensing exam) this weekend. Now maybe I can focus on the last few weeks of this pregnancy before our little son joins us soon! Well, things haven't been too exciting since Cata's birthday. We have had plenty of freezing cold weather, Cata's never ending colds, and plenty of family quality time (but somehow not many pictures).

Enjoying Grandma C's Christmas cookies!

Sick for our visitors, JP & Jeremy, but always happy to open a gift!

I promise, I'll have more pics or videos later this week.

Calling all beer lovers

This has nothing to do with Catalina but just getting the word out about a giveaway my friend is sponsoring. My friend is giving away 12 things on 12 days (12 days of Christmas giveaway). Most items are kiddo gifts as she has 3 kids under 3 years of age. You can follow this link to see what is on the giveaway list so far and to keep checking for the rest of the upcoming giveaways.
Well, the beer lovers comes in on day 5 of the giveaway. She was able to get a company to donate a kegerator conversion kit for her giveaway. I would explain it, but she does a better job and has a picture here. So, for anyone that loves beer (or has a spouse, brother, father, uncle...) who loves beer and would like to turn their minifridge into a kegerator, enter to win!

Well, I guess I can't post without putting at least one of our new favorite pictures of Cata.