October / November 2016

Dear Eleanor,

Here's a little update for my sweet girl.

October

• You are naturally a nurturer. You comfort others when they're sad by patting them on the back, stroking their hair and giving them hugs. 
• You don't like zucchini. You eat everything else and leave the zucchini on your plate.
• You love your pink boots and even insisted on sleeping in them once. 

Halloween

Captain Hook, Tinkerbel and a pirate

Carving pumpkins with Grandma & Grandpa Schultz

November

• We had a Speech Evaluation done this month. This was just the intake appointment. You say a handful of words but not a lot. Your Pediatrician referred you more as a precaution, in conjunction with your eye, rather than out of concern. You say "Mommy" "Daddy" "Hi" "Bye" "Ya Ya" for cat, "owie"and you've said one or two other words once but haven't repeated them. But you sign between 20-30 words and you understand very well. We're not too concerned. 
• When I wipe your face with a wet wipe, you wipe mine back. 

August / September 2016

Dear Norah,

Some cute things about you lately:

August

• When you see a picture of a door in a book, you knock on it. It's adorable.
• You understand and pick up on so much. I asked Josh to get his backpack from the closet the other day so we could go to preschool. He didn't do it but you went and got it and brought it to him. Amazing!
• You say "I-O" for "hello." It's so cute.
• You fold your arms and bow your head during prayers.

September

• You say "eese" for "cheese." 
• You say "ya ya" for "cat." (I'm not sure where that one came from...maybe it sounds like meow?) You got a stuffed animal cat from the hospital when you had surgery this month and you love it.

Your Third Eye Surgery (18 months old)

Dear Eleanor,

You had your third eye surgery today. Your first surgery was at two months old and your second was at four months old so it's been a while. Even though we've been through this before and knew what to expect, your dad and I were still a little nervous. It's always a little nerve-wracking thinking about the rare risks, having faith the surgery will improve your condition and not complicate it, and putting your complete trust in another person. I posted this on social media a couple of days ago:

This little girl is having eye surgery on Thursday. She's been through it twice before but it's still a little nerve-wracking. I snapped this picture of her on Sunday, wearing a dress my parents purchased for me in Spain while my mom was pregnant with me. It's fun to see this picture of me in it (a little older than she is now, I think) and now to see it on her. I have so much love for our sweet girl. #eleanorkate #wecandohardthings - with Wendel Schultz

Your dad and Grandpa Schultz gave you a beautiful blessing last night. Your dad was crying as he spoke. He blessed you to feel comfort from the Spirit, even though you might not recognize it as such. He blessed the doctors and nurses to do their best. He thanked Heavenly Father for the amazing girl you are and how you have blessed and changed our family so much. The Spirit was strong during the blessing (Grandma Schultz and I were crying too) and it was a good teaching opportunity to teach Oliver and Josh about Priesthood Blessings. We also fasted for you last Sunday and have been praying for you. I know Heavenly Father has heard us and has blessed you. (Even if the outcome were different, I still know He hears our prayers and loves us immensely and cares about the details of our lives.)

This is what I shared on social media today, after your surgery:

Surgery went so well. Her doctor was able to get a clear view to the back of her eye for the first time and was so impressed that it is the best case scenario for her abnormality. He was able to loosen her eye muscle so her eye will look more straight forward instead of up, he tested her for Glaucoma (which she is high risk for and doesn't have) and he was able to get an accurate prescription for her contact (it was way off before). He said he couldn't be more pleased. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. 💟


I love your I love you rrrrI love your sweet smile in the picture above. I'm grateful for the miracles we've seen with your eye. You are amazing! You must be one of the strongest spirits and I feel honored and humbled to be your mom. We love you so much! 

15 months

Dear Norah,

15 months old already! Lately you have given us so much hope for vision in your small eye. While patching you last week, I showed you a picture of yourself in a new frame (therefore, unfamiliar to you), which patched. You light up with a big smile when you see a picture of yourself and kiss it. I held up the frame in front of you and you smiled really big and then kissed the picture. I was so excited! I then took you outside and set you down. "Norah, where's a leaf? Go get a leaf." You walked confidently to the plant next to our front door, picked a leaf, and brought it back to me. I sat there on our front porch, crying tears of joy, while you happily played with that leaf. You seem to know when to stop more often when something is in your way, rather than run right into it. And yesterday, I asked you where my nose was while you were patched and you pointed right to it. For so long, we've been unsure about vision in your right eye. Even just a few months ago, you would often run into things while patched and I really didn't think you could see out of your right eye well, if at all. After telling one of your doctors, he told me I could just stop patching if I wanted to. He said it's probably not doing any good if you can't see and it's just torturing you. It was so disheartening to hear. Your dad and I decided we wouldn't give up - not until we heard you verbally say you can't see out of your right eye. But now, just a few months later, you are showing us you actually can see. We believe it is a miracle. Such a blessing for you! We are so grateful and happy with your progress.

At 15 months old, you can say around seven words: all done, oh yeah, hi, eye (those two are new), mama, dada (you are such a daddy's girl), cheese, and "Jees" for Jesus when you see a picture of him (though you don't use these words regularly, other than dada every time you see him), you understand so much and follow directions well, you are super tough (Josh plays rough with you), you are incredibly sweet (you will come up to me and lay your head on my leg or hug me several times throughout the day without being prompted, which I love), you love books, you like to dance (so cute), and you have a very happy disposition (you often wake up smiling). Teething is still rough for you right now - you wake up a lot in the night in pain. Patching is still not fun as well. But for the most part, 15 months is a good place to be. We adore you and really can't imagine our family without you. We love you.

Love, Mom

March / April 2016

Dear Norah,

• You love to look at pictures, especially of our family members. You get so excited when you see pictures of Daddy.
• You LOVE shoes. I've never seen a child who loves shoes so much. You are no respecter of shoes either. You put on any pair you can find: Joshua's boots, daddy's shoes, my high heels, Oliver's soccer shoes, etc. It's adorable. 
• You love strawberries. You open your mouth while I'm cutting them. :)
• You LOVE green smoothies. I make this tropical green smoothie a few times a week and you can't get enough. 
• You love to eat frozen peas. I think they probably feel good on your gums.
• You love playing peek-a-boo. When I say it, you immediately smile and bring your hands up to your face. 
• You say "ah duh" for "all done" while signing it.
• When you need a diaper change, you get a diaper, lay on the diaper mat and say "du" with your legs up. (I have a feeling potty training might not be too far off for you.)
• You love baby dolls and stuffed animals. 

We love your guts!

Love, Mom

One Year!

Dear Sweet Norah,

I can't believe I haven't written in so long. I wanted to write to you on your first birthday but we had company in town for your party (and Oliver's) and it just didn't happen. Tomorrow you turn 13 month old! Time keeps flying by. So much happened in your first year of life, in some ways I can't believe so much fit into one year (two surgeries, seeing five specialists, learning how to put your contact in and take it out (in the beginning, your eye was so small, we struggled to do it at all but now I can do it by myself), patching your eye daily (not easy or enjoyable), going to the ER when you fell out of your carseat and hit your head on the asphalt (That was so scary. I'm so grateful you're okay.), hitting all of your milestones right on track, and watching your amazing personality develop (you're sweet and friendly, you seem to be outgoing and have a light about you).

I honestly hardly even notice that one of your eyes is smaller than the other now. I really do just see your happiness, beauty and light. Kids ask me about your eye all the time. Yesterday at the park, one little boy told me you were missing an eye. I told him it's just smaller than the other and he wouldn't let it go until I opened your eye and showed him. Even still, a few minutes later he came back and asked about it again. It doesn't bother me that kids ask about it because I know they're just curious and want to know. I know someday it will be you fielding those questions. I hope it won't bother you. I know you'll probably get tired of saying the same thing over and over again. What will be worse, I would think, will be people looking at you but not saying anything. Not wanting to be rude but making it uncomfortable anyway. I remember the day we came home from the hospital after you were born. I was still so emotional from the hormones that come along with pregnancy. I set your carseat carrier down in the front room and walked into the bathroom a few feet away. I closed the door and started sobbing. I cried for you, for the heartache you will surely experience throughout your life. I didn't want you to have to go through any pain, to be made fun of, to feel left out. I've come a long way over the past year. I still think about it sometimes; I hope you will always know of your worth and not allow other people to determine that for you. But I see how amazing you are and how you have been blessed with a happy disposition to help you in this life and I know you're going to be okay.

We're grateful for you, sweet girl. For a year, we prayed for you to join our family. Oliver prayed daily for a sister and your dad and I prayed and fasted to have another child. You are an answer to our prayers and a blessing to our family. We love you!

Love, Mom

Christmas Traditions

As Christmas approaches, I want to record some of our family's traditions.

1. We give each of our children an ornament (which they open on Christmas Eve) that represents the year. ie. My 2-year-old is really into Sign Language this year so his ornament is the I love you sign in ASL with his name on it. We also get a family ornament for the year (ie. if we go on vacation, we get the ornament there to remind us of that experience together). When the kids leave home someday, they take all of their ornaments and we keep the family ones. My parents did this for us and I love that I still have meaningful ornaments from my childhood on our tree. 2. We have a basket of Christmas books (some religious, some not) and we pick one every night to read before bed in December. I've heard of some people wrapping them to make it more fun. I haven't done this but I'm thinking about it. We usually get one new Christmas book to add to the collection each year. 3. We have an advent called the "Canned Tree" which is 12 cans stacked on top of one another, the largest on the bottom, all decorated with Christmas paper. Under each can, there is a poem (written by my grandma) with something to go with it (ie. gold chocolate coins to go with the poem about the wise men, candy canes to go with the one about the shepherds, since they look like the shepherd's canes). 4. We pick a family (or two) to serve. 5. We drive around looking at Christmas lights and listening to Christmas music. 6. The kids open two presents on Christmas Eve (new PJs and the new Christmas book). We read Luke Chapter 2 from the Bible. 7. We try not to put a lot of focus on Santa so we only have Santa fill stockings at our house (with candy and small gifts). 8. Grandma Utah got us "Soft Enough for a King," which we're starting tomorrow night for Family Night. The idea is to record acts of service on pieces of paper ("straw) and put them in a manger and on Christmas Eve lay baby Jesus on top. I love this idea. 9. We always walk around the Mesa Arizona Temple and look at the Christmas lights. They are amazing! 10. I love sending out Christmas cards. It's time consuming but receiving them is one of my favorite parts of the season. I enjoy sharing pieces of our family's year with our friends and family. 

I'm excited to celebrate your first Christmas with you this year. I know you won't understand what's going on but I'm grateful you're here with us.