musings of adali grace

A Whole Lot of Love Here

Adali Grace Antisdel was born at 10:19 on March 8, 2008 to her mommy and daddy, Jamie and Jastin Antisdel. She weighed 1 lb 15 oz, 13.5 inches long. She was born by C-section at 28 weeks due to complications of pre-eclampsia.

This is a blog that will keep us all updated on how she and her family are doing.

When she was in the NICU the afternoon of her birth, the nurses put her right by the viewing window. There were at least 10 family and friends in the hall watching her. One of the nurses came out the door and remarked, "There is a Whole Lot of Love in this hallway."

So, there is a Whole Lot of Love on this blog as well.

Please pray for Adali, Jamie and Jastin.

dear santa

tuesday, december 8

 
 

dear santa, 

i hear that you had to go digital this year and get an email address because the post office won't send my letters to the north pole anymore.  no big deal...probably would have had to take out a second mortgage on my doll house for the postage anyway.  plus, i'm getting pretty good with my laptop so i should be able to whip this out in no time.  but before i give you my list i have a few questions for you.  

first, mama told me that the reindeer can fly because they eat magical oats.  where do you buy these so-called magical oats?  i would like to invite abby cadabby over and want to be able to fly around with her.  these oats could be my ticket into fairy school with her.  second, that must be one bright nose rudolph has to guide your way to all the houses so what batteries do you use for it anyway?  I need to tell mama to get some of those for my toys so she doesn't have to change them so often.  also, how will you get in my house since we don't have a chimney this year?  mama said that she asked you the same thing when she was a little girl and that you just told her that you like to keep some things a secret.  well, santa, let's be honest, nobody keeps a secret these days...just ask tiger woods.  come on...you can tell me.  i promise i won't tell mama.  plus, how do you know if i've been naughty or nice?  if you ask my mom she may tell you this exaggerated story about how i unrolled all the toilet paper one day and tore it into tiny pieces but it wasn't me, i swear!  it was my daddy.  so, you better just ask me if i've been good...you are more likely to get the answer you are looking for.  and lastly, what cookies do you want me to leave for you on christmas eve?  mama and i will make sure to leave you a few extra to make sure you have enough energy to get to all of the little boys and girls.

and now for my list.  i would like:

a play kitchen.

some pot and pans for my kitchen.

some food to cook in my kitchen.

some books.  i love books, santa.

some puzzles.

and a new baby doll.

but, most of all santa, i want you to help me and mama and daddy make sure that no more babies are born too early like i was.  so, on your way around the world can you stop by the march of dimes and work your magic with them!  i figure if you can make reindeer fly you can do this one little favor for us.  

thanks big guy!  give mrs. claus my love.

love and fairy dust (or magical oats)

adali grace  

     

bits and pieces

monday, december 7

mama has been busy so i thought i'd steal her computer and recap our thanksgiving adventures or you may never hear about them.  so here are a few bits and pieces (15 but who's counting) from our remaining adventures in atlanta and our time in illinois.

** mama already told you about our time at the aquarium in atlanta but the weather was also nice enough for us to play outside in centennial park.  

 
 

** one of my favorite things about the hotel (besides the toilet paper roll being low enough for me to reach) was the tall buildings all around us.

 

** i was so excited to get to illinois and see nana and papa that i asked 1742 times while on the plane "where nana, papa?" until the lady across the aisle got so annoyed that she said "i'm right here sweety."  i'm no dummy.  she was not my nana.  i repaid her for her antics by throwing my pony at her.  bet she doesn't try that again.

** why did mama make me wipe my hands off every time i touched something in the airport?  can you say annoying!  

** i got to sleep with my very own christmas tree in. my. room at nana and papa's!  i told mama she better get me one of those for my room back in georgia or else i will stop sleeping through the night....just sayin'.

** i watched the macy's thanksgiving day parade but missed abby cadabby cause i was sleeping.  boooowhooo.  

** i have a new friend.  her name is bella.  i promised lexi that she would still be my favorite dog but that i was just going to play with bella while i was there.  mission accomplished.    

     

** i got to go to my very first basketball game and watch my uncle charlie coach.  he won.  i think i'm his lucky charm or whatever you call it.

** i got to spend lots of time with my papa and even helped him put up his christmas decorations.  it was cold.  ps...santa is cool and all but frosty is my favorite.

 

** my aunt zindsey taught me what candy is...thanks aunt zindsey.  can't wait to see you in a few weeks; wink, wink.

  
 
 

** 10 days is a long time to be away from my daddy.  mama thought it was cute when i would ask "where dadda go?  where is he?"   i'm not going anywhere without him next time even if i do have to sneak him in my suitcase.

**  i finally got to meet katie and abby.  i like katie...she taught me a thing or two about how to get what i wanted.

 

** nana has lots of fun things that go boom and crash if you drop them (or throw them).  i was good until the day before we left when i made 2 things (one she had just bought the day before.  oops.) go boom.  i figure that's not bad considering the number of things i could have made go boom.  your welcome nana.

** i always make sure i have my sunglasses on when i travel now...ya know, in case the paps are waiting for me when i arrive.  

** and last but not least, a bit of advice.  when you are traveling, always remember to lock up your valuables.

 
        

peace out,

adali grace

ps...mama you owe me for pickin' up your slack!  can you say candy...jackpot.

chompers

saturday, december 5

teething bites...literally!  

 

adali is in the process of popping 4 teeth at the very same time!  i knew by her clinginess that she was most likely teething but finally caught a glimpse of her gums yesterday and noticed all 4 had indeed snuck through.  she is, for the most part, tolerating it well but all she wants to do is put anything and everything in her mouth and chomp.  last night, mr. hippo had the honors and i'm sure loved his back massage courtesy of adali's incisors.  

these are 4 of the final 8 teeth she needed and i'm sure we will both be ready for a little break before her 2 year molars make their appearance.

much love,

mama a

where'd adali go

wednesday, december 2

where

 

did

 
  

adali

 

go

 

peek...

 

...a...

 

...boo!

 

here i ammmmm!  mama and i are back from our many adventures.  we may have arrived back in the south a bit later than expected but we are happy to be back to daddy nonetheless.   mama is kinda under the weather and is slowly getting back into the swing of things, so until then, we thought you might enjoy our little game of peek-a-boo. 

love and fairy dust,

miss adali grace     

me giving thanks

happy thanksgiving everyone!

 

i miss you daddy!

love and fairy dust,

miss adali grace 

fishies...baloop, baloop...

monday, november 23

  
 

...that is what adali would repeat over and over and over again when we visited the georgia aquarium this past weekend during our weekend getaway to atlanta.  oh, and in case you are wondering "baloop, baloop" is the sound that a fish makes, of course.  

jastin was presenting at a conference that happened to be at the aquarium so we were lucky enough to get backstage passes of sorts.

  

it.was.unbelievable.  

 
 

adali loved every single, solitary fish-swimming minute of it.

 
(i think she might have been flirting in this picture)

and they seemed to love every single minute of her as well.

 

(i think he may have been flirting in this picture)

yes, it's true...adali loved running around in her little pink kicks as she repeated "baloop, baloop" 5,247 times, but she was also quick to hitch a ride for the best view in town.

   

  

    

  

you can't really see her sippy cup in this picture but she is trying to share some of her milk with the fishies.

  

  

we were sad that the beluga whales were not at the aquarium but there were plenty of other fun creatures to keep our attention.

 

seriously, i could have sat in front of this window and watched for hours.

 
  

 

 in the 6 weeks i sat by adali's incubator in the nicu and told her all of the things we would do when we busted that joint, i never once mentioned visiting an aquarium.  however, i can say that it was an experience that i am certain none of us will ever forget.  

here's to many more experiences my sweet thang!...baloop, baloop.

mama a

night night kisses

sunday, november 22

i like my night night kisses from mama and daddy!

 

love and fairy dust,

miss adali grace 

when turkey gives you hiccups

unfortunately, the "a" gang will not be together for thanksgiving this year.  jastin is on call and adali and i are heading to illinois to spend some time with my family. so, based on that and the fact that we have so much to be thankful for this year, we decided to have our own little antisdel's thanksgiving last weekend.    

just like many thanksgiving dinners, it did not go off without a few hiccups...like when i walked into the kitchen on saturday morning to find jastin trying to brine the turkey in the bucket that was used to mop the floors at our house in st. louis.  here is the conversation that ensued...

me: (upon seeing the bucket and what looked like a brown sugar, salt water mixture in it):  what are you doing?

jastin: what does it look like i am doing.  i'm getting the turkey ready to brine.  

me:  uhhh, you do realize that this bucket was used to mop the floors at the house in st. louis?!?!

jastin:  yeah, that's why i cleaned it twice.

me: uhhh, i don't think so!  that is disgusting!  you are not using that bucket!

jastin:  what do you want me to do then, we don't have anything big enough to fit the turkey in to brine it?

me:  how about trying an oven bag?  

jastin:  what is that?  we don't have any of those so i got resourceful.  i knew you might be upset that i was using the bucket, but i thought i might get lucky and you would be rational about it.  

me:  i guess i'm all out of rational today.

jastin:  great, it's only 8:30 in the morning.

luckily, after brining in a clean bag, the turkey turned out deeelicious.  and so did all of the trimmings which included yukon gold mashed potatoes with herb pan gravy, spring mix salad with homemade balsamic vinagrette dressing, broccoli casserole and rolls.  if you are wondering where the cranberry salad and the stuffing were...i don't like them.  you see that's the beauty of having your very own thanksgiving...you get to make whatever you want. 

 

"mom, hurry up already i'm hungry!" 

  
 
for dessert, i decided to make an apple crisp.  i thought about apple pie but my grandmother and mother make the perfect apple pie which is intimidating so i thought apple crisp would be more my style.  here is where the second hiccup came.  

i found a recipe that i thought sounded good and the ingredients seemed basic enough.  however, when i was at the grocery store and got to "bisquick baking mix" on my list i paused.  "what the heck?"  the only bisquick product i know of is pancake mix.  so since it said "baking mix" i headed to the baking aisle and picked up the only bisquick item i saw...bisquick biscuit mix.  on saturday i made the apple crsip according to the recipe, stuck it in the oven for the directed 35 minutes and went about folding laundry.  the house filled with the aroma of baking apples and my mouth salivated for dessert.  when the oven "dinged" i opened the door to find a burnt, black topping with a mushy uncooked center.  "what the..."  i obviously did something wrong but how could i screw up such a simple recipe?  knowing it had to do something with the "baking mix" i pulled my computer out to look up what in the world bisquick baking mix was.  drumroll please...it's flipping pancake mix!  doh.  

after being angry for about 10 minutes i knew i would not be defeated that day by apple crisp so i drove to the store to get pancake mix and more apples, came home and did the entire recipe over again.  this time...it worked!  and it was sooo good.

  

hiccups and all, the first annual antisdel's thanksgiving dinner was a success (and the leftovers of potato pancakes and turkey quesadillas were delicious).    

 
 

maybe next year our home and our picture will be filled with many more people.  

much love,

mama a

    

wee little babies

 tuesday, november 17 

wee little babies and their wee little hands

born too soon, forced to fight like mad

it doesn't make sense, but what can we do

we can fight like hell.  we can unite for you

  

i blogged about it last november and i will do so every november until there is no longer a need.  this month is prematurity awareness month.  today is when bloggers unite to help spread awareness on the effects of prematurity.  20 million babies are born too soon each year and prematurity  remains the #1 cause of newborn death.  if reading those simple statistics doesn't make you pause with concern, i don't know what will.  

i have committed to fight like hell and luckily, i am not alone.  i asked many of you earlier this year to help me in this fight and because of the overwhelming support from all of you, team adali's angels was one of the top 10 teams in all of missouri!  you totally rock!  each of you are doing something to help save babies lives...doesn't it feel good?  

because adali's angels raised so much money we were given a substantial gift card to macy's.  rather than use it on a sassy new pair of boots for the winter, i decided it would make much more sense to use the gift card to continue the fight.

i remember the day adali weighed enough to begin wearing clothes and i was heartborken as we didn't have a single outfit small enough to fit her.  most mother's plan for the perfect outfit for their baby to come home in and all i wanted was an outfit that didn't drown her and would keep her warm.  one of the nurses saw me tearing up and later that evening brought me a brand new preemie sleeper to put adali in that night.  i was beyond grateful.  trust me...it's the little things when you are in the nicu.

i want to make sure that other mother's don't have to feel the same heartbreak over something so simple as having an outfit to dress their baby in.  while jastin and i are home for the holiday's we will visit macy's and use the gift card to buy as much clothing for preemies as we can.  all of the clothes we are able to purchase will be delivered  to the nicu team at cardinal glennon the week between christmas and new years.  

i have already had several people ask if cardinal glennon accepts gently used preemie clothing and the answer is YES!  if you have any preemie clothing you would like to donate please contact me at jamieantisdel (at) hotmail (dot) com.  we would like to make our donation as worthwhile as possible for the nicu and could use all of the help we can get.  we have been blessed and it is now our turn to give back.  

i want to thank all of you for uniting and fighting like hell for preemies!

  
 

 
  

oh yeah, and she appreciates you fighting too!

much love,

mama a

ps...yes that little ditty of a poem at the top was my creation...no e. e. cummings but i hope it gets the point across.

i know, i know

monday, november 16

so, i made it nearly a week without getting any hate mail reminders for not posting for awhile, but alas they started to roll in over the weekend.  we have been here...just not necessarily here per say.  i decided that instead of telling everyone about the length of my ever growing to-do list i needed to tackle it.  plus, i am a strong believer in blog breaks ever now and again...keeps it fresh.  please don't hate...we're back.    

for the most part we have been spending quite a bit of time outside.  after ida reared her ugly head, the clouds parted and the sun came back out making it feel more like may than november.  as a matter of fact, we just came from the park where adali got so dirty, i had to drain her bath water twice.

 
  

this november is a far cry from last year.  no synagis shots for rsv...no having to stay in the house...no cape of fear choking us.  it feels so good to see adali play with other kids and see them for just that...little kids.  when adali hugged her new friend riley at the park for the 156th time i could laugh instead of worry about what germs riley may have.  they were the cutest little girls together too.  they followed each other around the playground, held hands as they climbed the stairs and went down the slide together...and every single time they decided to hug they would both tumble to the ground.  they were both so little that a fly landing on either one of them would be enough to knock them over so the force of the other one would just make them topple like weebles, but they would just giggle and get right back up and run off.  

so the quick recap of our time away is as follows...warm weather, outside, running, dirty feet, teething, squealing, swinging, falling leaves, first annual antisdels thanksgiving, apple crisp debacle...oh yeah and did i say warm weather? 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
        
 

seriously, do you see her guns in these pictures?  i'm tellin' you she is so strong!  she hangs on the bars at gymnastics and can pull her chin above the bar all by herself already.  crazy!  

well, adali is still sleeping so back to the to-do list i go.  i have 4 days to knock it all out.  i can dooo it.  

much love,

mama a