When I started this blog, Andrea was only a few days old. The first post was Sunday, March 1, 2009. I posted every day when she was in the hospital, then on and off for the first year or so. I made the decision to stop the intermittent postings and only put up one "year in review" on her birthday each year. I've pretty much followed the same format - "As of 5:29 PM today, Andrea is celebrating X days of life." Well, it's 3:28 AM on Sunday, February 26th and I can't sleep. I finally gave up trying and decided I'd write out my annual celebration of Andrea a little earlier than usual. As I tried to gather my thoughts for today, I started thinking back to this date and time 14 years ago. We knew Andrea was going to be early. She was born on a Thursday - Wednesday night a few people from the NICU came to talk to me - a neonatologist and respiratory therapist for sure - maybe one or two others as well. The doctor gave me a lot of overwhelming data about what we could expect and how precarious the situation was. ("Every day inside translates to about a 3% survival rate!"). When I was originally admitted to the hospital, I naively thought I'd be there until 34 weeks and wondered how I'd manage away from home for so long. (I was at 25 weeks and 5 days when I got there). After talking to the NICU team, I was hoping to hold on to 28 weeks, which would drastically improve our odds of a positive outcome. I don't remember much about my time between that conversation and Andrea's delivery, but I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep soundly that night. It seems fitting, then, to be awake at this ungodly hour and write about our miracle.
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The tradition continues.
Cake from #LastLicks in East Hanover.
@LastLicks |
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Official birthday picture -
just taken one day early |
As of 5:29 PM today, Andrea is celebrating day 5,113 of life. She is 5 feet, two inches tall (157.5 cm), or 15 times her length at birth. She is in 8th grade, and preparing for high school! She's continuing her study of French, Art, and Chorus (her true interests) along with the required academics of math, English, science, and world history. In choosing her classes for high school, she opted to continue French and chorus and has requested metal arts, which is a jewelry-making class. If possible, she'd skip the core classes and take nothing but art. Her talent continues to grow, both in her project art class and her ceramics class, but she has asked that I don't post pictures of her work. She is her own worst critic where her creativity is concerned, but I have to respect her request.
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First Day of 8th Grade
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For Andrea's 13th birthday party, she celebrated with her friends @MudClayStudios in Madison. This is the place she attends her weekly pottery classes and I think she enjoyed sharing one of her passions with everyone. When she attends classes, Andrea does both hand work and pottery wheel, but for her party, all the guests made something by hand. The instructor threw a pot on the wheel that was then decorated with pieces made by her friends. It turned out to be a wonderful keepsake of the day, and I think everyone enjoyed getting a little dirty.
We had a busier than usual spring since both brothers graduated from college: Kenny G from the University of Maine
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| Orono in early May is still chilly! |
and Kenny C from The College of New Jersey (or "Trenton State" for the old-timers).
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| New Jersey in late May is more pleasant! |
Our vacation this summer was to Ocean City, MD, and Assateague Island. Unlike most of our other vacations, this one had a little downtime. We rode bikes on Assateague, and Andrea and the guys spent some time swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand. They get along pretty well, considering the age difference. We managed to get a few pictures where they even look like they love each other.
Last year, Andrea was thrilled to get her ears pierced. The novelty has not worn off - at last count she has about 200 pairs of earrings and thoughtfully chooses which ones to wear every day. Sadly, the new edition this year was not greeted with the same enthusiasm as the piercing. She got BRACES. We knew it was coming... both Ken and I had them, as did Kenny G, but Andrea had too many baby teeth to get them before this year. During the long Covid lockdowns, she actually lost the majority of the remaining baby teeth, and the few remaining were pulled so she could finally get started. She was NOT happy, although we tell her she'll feel better when the braces are off and she has beautiful, straight teeth.
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| At least she can choose the band colors |
Andrea continues her involvement in the Livingston Leaders Club and has been recognized twice by her schools as a "Lancer Jr. Leader". She is going to be a "Counselor in Training" at summer camp this year, and we think her experience with the Learders will help her in that new roll. She is growing into a kind, thoughtful, and caring young adult, and it makes us proud that her teachers often comment on that aspect of her character. She is a good student and works hard on her schoolwork, but she is more often recognized for her treatment of others. Unlike her mother, she has a sense of style (probably channeled from her aunts) and loves dressing for any occasion.
In a lot of ways, this was a pretty uneventful year. Life is more normal than it's been since the pandemic began. When I started thinking about what to include this year, I felt like there wasn't much in terms of "big" news - We're kind of in a holding pattern as she finishes middle school. Looking ahead, I believe this next year is going to be one with a lot of changes, new experiences, and new challenges. As I lay in the hospital bed on February 26, 2009, I felt as if it was all a dream, or happening to someone else. Once Andrea was born and I saw her in the isolette in the NICU, I couldn't imagine ever bringing that tiny, fragile, delicate baby home. Somehow, time has passed, and this:
and we are so thankful.
There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.
~ C.S Lewis
