birthday

Iris finally understood that everyone at the party was there for her when we all gathered around the cake to sing "Happy Birthday." Her face lit up at the line, "Happy birthday, dear Iris..." And she successfully blew the candle out all by herself.

I was very excited for her birthday this year so we decided to invite a bunch of people over to hang out in our backyard. Evan's parents came to town, as did my dad. (My mom couldn't stay for the party because of some appointments she couldn't change back up in North Dakota. But we'll see her again in a couple of weeks.)

Iris and Granddad looking at apple blossoms

Iris with Nonna and Papa.

 In case we were going to forget that Iris is now officially a toddler, she reminds us by constantly saying, "No." Most of the time I then give her two options and she's happy to choose between one of the options. Maybe not my favorite feature of toddlerhood. Something much more exciting is Iris singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

july fun

Evan's birthday falls very close to Independence Day, so the first weekend in July was full of fun, in spite of Evan's recent claim that, "We never have any fun, ever." This may be true, but I don't think it's for lack of trying. It may also be true that we have trouble prioritizing fun in our family. In any case, I sought to right the funlessness, if just for an afternoon. Evan did his part by eating enough to have extra energy for the outing, and even took extra B vitamins.

Our nanny watched Iris so Evan and I could go out (I haven't mentioned the new nanny yet, right? I'll say more later). We loaded up our bikes and went to South Pearl Street to have a meditative foot bath at the drop-in meditation center and then we rode bikes through Wash Park on our way to dinner. We were both fully relaxed and happy to be out in the summer weather together.


For the Fourth of July, we went to our neighbor's house for a cookout and had a good time being in a new place, and meeting new people. Iris had a bit of a meltdown early in the evening so we went home and made sure she ate and drank well. She still hasn't seen fireworks in her lifetime, this may be a parenting fail.

The weather has been terribly hot and we've all been suffering from the lack of air conditioning in the house. Our rooms are upstairs in the hottest part of the house. Thankfully, Evan installed a portable air conditioner that is doing wonders for us all. Our first night with it wasn't spectacular, however. Iris was up needing milk a couple times and then got cold early in the morning. Hope springs eternal, though. Maybe tonight she'll sleep better.

I hired a nanny about a month ago so that I could actually make progress on my dissertation. She is in massage therapy school and has a daughter of her own. She is great with Iris and is teaching Iris more sign language. I usually work from our home office but lately the work has been more related to dealing with health insurance and oxygen issues, rather than my own dissertation work. I absolutely need the free time to deal with the pile of bills.

first birthday

Iris's birthday weekend began with a trip to the cardiology and pulmonary team. Actually, it began on Thursday evening with my dad arriving from New Mexico for the weekend. He helped on Friday with cleaning up the house and also went with us to her clinic appointment.

Evan took off work early so he could be at the appointment in person (he usually attends by phone). Since getting back from Texas, Evan had been particularly preoccupied with the idea that we would have to move to lower elevation so that Iris could have a normal life. It was discouraging to us both to have to put her back on oxygen, and since returning she still has higher oxygen requirements.

After doing a chest x-ray to look at the lungs and an echo to look at the heart the doctors assured us that everything looks good on her and that we shouldn't be discouraged by her continuing reliance on supplemental oxygen. It seems that babies continue to develop lung capacity--more alveoli develop--well into childhood. At this point her heart seems to be working well so we don't have to go back to see the cardiologists for another six months, but we will continue on the 3-month track with the pulmonary team.

All this was enough to convince Evan that we did not have to start planning the move away from Denver, and we could continue with the plan to do a raised-bed garden out in the backyard.

On Saturday we had her first birthday party. Evan made red beans and rice and hummus. I made some of Iris's favorite items -- curried mushrooms and onions, sauteed zucchini. Jill made Iris's birthday cake for us. I had been planning to make some kind of fruit dish for her, but then decided it would be okay for her to have her first taste of cake. Jill decorated the cake with blue and green icing since these are my favorite colors. (She didn't tell me she was going to do this, but she did ask me what my favorite colors were earlier in the week, so it can't be a coincidence.)

Jill, Dara, Sarah, Iris in the kitchen with the cake. photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

The party was a lot of fun -- it was the first time we had hosted a large group of people in Denver and both Evan and I realized how much we miss having frequent social gatherings at our home. Here's to having a summer full of social gatherings.

Janna brought the youngest party-goer -- Bianca is just five weeks old. Iris was pretty interested in her and tried to give her a York peppermint patty.

Iris and Bianca. photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

 It was hard to get Iris to stay still for the cake and singing.

photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

 The actual eating of the cake was anti-climactic. She liked the cake and took some of it and continued to run around the room, but she did not squeal with delight and smash her hands or face into it.

The first taste of cake. photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

Running with cake in hand.
photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

Iris continued to run around outside where the frisbee players were hanging out. It seems that she is going to be a girl after her father's heart.

Running with frisbee.
photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

Running with frisbee.
photo credit: Nelson Hoffman

So. After a year, Iris's favorite things to eat are bananas, strawberries, kiwi, yogurt, cheese, Cheerios, curried onions and mushrooms, tomato sauce, and red beans and rice. She loves to read books, play with her toys, take baths, and roam around upstairs. She is walking very well--toddling, I guess you would say. And can also walk backwards and keep her balance while bending over to pick up a toy. She knows a few signs: "birdie," "all done," "more," and "help." She doesn't use them with great regularity, but she does know them. She also just learned how to throw her hands up into the air when someone asks her, "Iris, how big are you?"

Now that I think about it, her birthday celebrations probably began on Thursday night. Evan and I went back to the photos and video we have from a year ago. Yes, we have a film of her birth. I know, too much information, right? It was really incredible to watch and to relive so many of the emotions. Those early days feel so far away and they have passed so quickly by. That's what they all say...but that doesn't keep it from being true.

I'm thrilled to have a one-year old and revel in each new word she learns and sound she makes. She has recently taken to hugging our legs while we stand in the kitchen preparing breakfast. It's enough to make up for all the sleepless nights. 

33

Evan brought home flowers on Monday in honor of my birthday. Cacti, also. Yes, we have a red wall in the living room.

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We then had a family dinner out at an Indian restaurant.

 

 

Being 33 feels pretty good, all things considered.

 

Iris had an appointment at the Heart Institute and also met with the pulmonary nurse. It was an exciting meeting. They have concluded that her pulmonary hypertension is very mild and that she has likely outgrown her Sildenafil dose. So we can stop giving her Sildenafil. This is the medication that I had been giving her three times a day, once at 4:45 every morning. More sleep for me! We will also try her off Lasix in mid-December, about a month before going back for the next appointment. Otherwise, she's staying on Prevacid and Digoxin for a bit longer.

The other exciting news is that we are to start weaning her oxygen. I have had her back up to a 1/4L for the last few days because she seems to be showing signs of a cold. Evan and I both have some lingering sickness and it seems she got a bit of it.

When we first got the pulse ox for home use I was supposed to keep her oxygen saturation level to above 94%. Today they decided that we can lower that a bit, to above 92%. I don't totally love this as a new threshold but I will start weaning her a bit more once she has recovered from this most recent cold. They also mentioned that some babies have to have oxygen while sleeping for years, even after they are off it while awake.

And, she is on track with her weight. I had been quite worried about this, particularly since I've been sick and not producing as much milk. She weighs a whopping 6.61kg (14lbs 9oz).

 Here she is in her turtle seat.

date night

Evan turned 33 today. We had a very mellow and relaxed day. Mom came over in the afternoon to watch Iris for a couple hours so we could go on a date for Evan's birthday. She is in town for most of July to help out around here. Our parents have been so amazingly helpful in the last few months.

For the date we went to one of my favorite places in Denver -- City, O' City. I think I like it because it is full of the hipsters I emulate. It's also a vegetarian/vegan place that makes incredible food. We had a Mexican/Korean torta (vegan sausage heavy with cloves and topped with kimchi -- not pictured), an egg, tomato, gruyere and arugala sandwich with curried carrot soup (heavy with ginger and thick with cashews) and a side of poutine (just plain heavy).