Lemonade.

I like lemonade. But only the good kind. Homemade. Or at least some kind of lemony concoction with lemon juice and sugar. Just not lemonade from a powder, a fountain soda machine, or a can. Otherwise, it's one of my favorite refreshments.

How picky I am about lemonade should preface my explanation of the Lemonade Award I received from Cici's mom, Jenny and Makenzie's mom, Pam.

The Lemonade Award is presumably for someone who takes life's lemons and makes lemonade. I am honored by the nomination for this award. I'm a huge fan of lemonade so it's a good thing. It's pretty telling that I'd be so picky about how my lemonade turns out though. Can't hide the control freak in me.

This is the idea...

*Put the Lemonade logo on your blog or within your post.
*Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude or gratitude.
*Link the nominees within your post.
*Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
*Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

The only thing is (and I was reluctant to post because of this)...I don't follow ten blogs yet! I'm a blogger novice, a baby blog, a blog freshman if you will. I'll get there eventually but for now, I'm honoring all the blogger friends I do have, even though there aren't 10 of them yet. I'll be a varsity blogger someday!

Here goes...

The Fisch Tank - One of my nominators! I've mentioned Jenny, Cici's mom, before. She's helped me so much in navigating this new normal our family has now. Her daughter was also 11 months at the time of her accident, so I feel like there's already a roadmap given to me by Jenny. She has given me invaluable advice and direction from almost day one of this journey. She's not only shared her knowledge of services and fundraising, she's also shared her own fundraising ideas, sent us awesome therapy tools and Christian's favorite weighted blanket, and thought about each member of my family during the whole process. She's super supportive and crazy helpful! She also puts together really amazing and creative lunches for her other two children that are right out of a magazine. Come on!!

Makenzie's Miracle - Another nominator! Pam has fought so hard for her daughter's recovery and she doesn't take crap from anyone! She has the best advice and will light a fire under your ass if you need it. I have a slogan when I'm at a crossroads and I don't quite know what to do...WWPD - What Would Pam Do? She is feisty and a woman of great faith. She's always there, from conversations for hours in the middle of the night to checking in after a crappy doctor's appointment for some support and encouragement. She's ALWAYS there as a friend, an advocate, and an educator. She's a renegade, what else can I say?

Pray for Santana - This blog follows a little boy who also nearly drowned. His mom Lindsey has really had her share of lemons recently, but still has faith in her son, Santana. She keeps keepin' on through the good and the bad, all the while trying to take care of the rest of her family. And she's an Arizona girl like me!

Samuel's Miracle - Samuel is a beautiful little boy who had the same type of accident Christian did. His mom and I share some similarities in having a baby right after the accident. She once wrote in one of her blogs about how having a new baby was so healing, but at the same time, so bittersweet. I get it.
 
Rissa Roo and Her Family Too - Love this blog! It's about little Marissa and it's written by Marissa's mom, Alicia. She's another trach Mama like me! Marissa is so cute and so charming and I always love reading about her. Not to mention, it's funny! Whether it's the writing from Marissa's mom or just video of Marissa doing silly things, I'm almost always laughing at the end. A sense of humor is the perfect recipe for lemonade!
 
Brody Johnson - Brody is a little boy who suffered a near drown accident in September of 2009. I follow this blog every day and pray for Brody and his healing and recovery. He's a little blondie, kind of like Christian and he's still getting his beauty rest, recovering and healing from his accident. His parents are anxiously waiting for Brody to wake up so every day I think about him and say a little prayer for his family.
 
So I can't exactly recommend 10 people for the lemonade award simply because I don't follow 10 blogs...yet. However, the above mentioned blogs are part of my life now so I had to give shout outs. Yes, I said shout outs.
 
As for Christian, he's doing pretty well. Tomorrow the lady from the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) will come out and evaluate Christian. If you can't remember, I mentioned he's got Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). This means his eyes are fine, it's his brain that has trouble processing what he sees and making sense. So there are exercises she will show us that will help strengthen his brain and it's relationship with his vision. I'm looking forward to this visit.
 
Christian's been very loose today, actually, for a few days now. I'm not sure what exactly it is but we've been concentrating on stretching his lower back more and some weight bearing, which seems to have made a difference. I don't know how to explain the changes and won't know the cause of the changes until I'm able to look back in retrospect. I'll keep you posted.
 
For now I'm enjoying being able to sit with my baby boy totally relaxed against my chest. It's worth the entire day. It's so...lemonade.

Relaxing in new jammies after a bath. Ahhh, no arching! Time for bed!