I survived Hopeapalooza

Last week was such a crazy week, I can't believe I survived.  My little girl is 3 years old.  I can't believe it.  I feel like she is a child now, not a baby or even a toddler (I know she is technically still a toddler, but it doesn't feel like it). 

Little Miss Hope Cecile has been giving us drama from the very beginning.  Not only was she conceived with love, but also modern science and medicine.  Then when I was 20 week pregnant, her growth dropped a little.  They told us not to worry but come back for another extensive ultrasound in 6 weeks.  We did and she had dropped even more, being diagnosed with borderline IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction).  I was put on modified bestrest and told to consume as many calories as possible (easy to say after they freak you out so bad that the thought of food makes you want to vomit).  I won't take you through all of the details, but the specialists wanted me induced after she stopped growing at 38+ weeks which was something I didn't want, but had been so upset for so long, I just wanted her out and healthy.  The induction went well and relatively fast for inductions and my "miracle" baby was born on Oct. 14, 2008 at 7:30am (yep I labored all night long).

3 years later, . . .

For her birthday, we took her out to dinner and to see Disney on Ice - Dare to Dream.  Dinner was nearby the arena at Johnny Rockets.  Little Hope wanted a "pink" shake and chicken fingers.  And they have a very good veggie burger, so I was happy. 

At first, she didn't like the show. 

We were very close, it got dark fast, and it was loud, so it was a good 20 minutes before she calmed down.  She survived and really enjoyed the second half.  The next day was her family birthday party, aka Christmas for Hope. 

For dinner, I did 2 veggies soups, vegetarian chili with butternut squash (pretty much used this exact recipe), and baked potato soup.  The chili is very good, btw.

For her cake, Hope wanted a pink cake with pink icing and pink ice cream. 

It was a whirlwind weekend, but we survived and lived to tell the story, including this guy . . .