tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44824020809628923622024-02-06T19:33:16.648-08:00The Kang FamilyBringing Our Family To Yours...kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-38065912834051252762012-03-17T12:33:00.004-07:002012-03-18T13:41:24.459-07:00Our Neglected Blog is Back!<div>It has been a very long time since I posted here on our blog. I have had many friends and family members comment on how they miss reading our posts and hearing about what the Kangs are up to. So, we are back...and I am committing to keeping it going. :)<div><br />
</div><div>I am amazed at how quickly our girls are growing up. I love watching them learn new things and grow each day. I love to watch them play together...they truly are great friends. The laughter that radiates from our house as they run through the halls is priceless! Here is a quick update on each of our monkeys...it is long over due.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Ella, our not so little toddler, is already 18 months old! We just had her 18 month checkup and we will just say that she definitely takes after the Lichtenberger side. Ella is almost 34 inches tall (98th percentile) and weighs almost 27 pounds (80th percentile). She is the "big little sister" in our house. She is fearless and climbs EVERYTHING! She will move chairs, small tables, etc and use them to climb to reach things she wants. She loves to jump, dance, sing and run. Ella is definitely a princess in the making. She already LOVES to dress up. On a daily basis Ella will demand that she wear her tutu, gold boots, and sunglasses (sometimes she even has a wand to go with it). She is talking a lot and the infamous "NO" has become a favorite in her vocabulary. She adores Madi and also loves to take anything Madi has from her. I love how she only refers to Madi as "sis" or "sissy" even though she can say her name. Ella loves to be outside and will stand at the front door and beg to go "owsigh"! She is constantly mastering new skills and is growing up way tooo fast for this mama!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Madison is already 3 and a half and is turning into quite the little lady! She LOVES preschool and is completely thriving there. Madi is talking so much now and most of it is without prompting. She often still signs while saying the word as well. She loves the alphabet right now and sings her ABC's all the time. The other day Madi and I were playing with her alphabet magnets and she recognized and correctly named 12 of the letters by herself. She can also recognize and name 8 colors, and most shapes. She is even doing a great job at matching shapes and successfully matches fruit on a memory game on our ipad. I am so amazed and proud of all of her accomplishments! Madi still loves music and dancing. She also still loves mirrors and I will often catch her practicing all sorts of things in the mirror (saying new words, dancing, signing, laughing, making silly faces). she loves reading books and will sit and "read" to herself for long periods of time. We have not fully committed to potty training yet but Madi successfully uses the potty multiple times a day and even tells me (sometimes) when she has to go. We are so proud of our girl!</div></div><div><br />
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<div> </div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIgFzcs9w99FxIwuW25nwCxCC9DqME41vQnvS1ihquzyqHN5gsu9PQXHys0ECkKNb9vVeSAgv5OdFNv3LJ_bTt9RdlePHe1WCwBLCxsVZexfhK8DTh_m-ASrhsD9bKhWMyUjSV6Hc77o/s640/blogger-image--2146704658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIgFzcs9w99FxIwuW25nwCxCC9DqME41vQnvS1ihquzyqHN5gsu9PQXHys0ECkKNb9vVeSAgv5OdFNv3LJ_bTt9RdlePHe1WCwBLCxsVZexfhK8DTh_m-ASrhsD9bKhWMyUjSV6Hc77o/s640/blogger-image--2146704658.jpg" /></a></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-43939311579235626842011-01-21T21:24:00.001-08:002011-01-21T21:24:40.449-08:00The Kang Girls<div>I can't believe how quickly time continues to fly by us. As cliche as it sounds I truly can't believe how quickly my girls are growing up. I absolutely love watching them grow together and begin to create the amazing bond between sisters that will last them a life time. Madi LOVES her baby and continues to smother her with hugs, kisses, love pats and even licks. Ella is completely enthralled with Madi. She loves to watch her and laughs easily when she sees Madi. It has been so long since I posted so here is a brief update on each of the Kang girls:</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTf6AufmnFY5DeNLGfhyphenhyphenswRHIB4FvuUXqd05vTzetXref-7OzhyphenhyphenbMRFBoYmATLxizV6y-I1PjgWtppon-exOBfl62-x4n0AQorT2Eh-Lrhyphenhyphenbi-7XXtbegzanXDVYJNZ6zYlStwSEAaEHc/s1600/CIMG3407.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTf6AufmnFY5DeNLGfhyphenhyphenswRHIB4FvuUXqd05vTzetXref-7OzhyphenhyphenbMRFBoYmATLxizV6y-I1PjgWtppon-exOBfl62-x4n0AQorT2Eh-Lrhyphenhyphenbi-7XXtbegzanXDVYJNZ6zYlStwSEAaEHc/s320/CIMG3407.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564866369032394274" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div><div>Little Baby Ella,</div><div>You have become a sweet and mellow baby. You really only fuss when you are tired or hungry but that fuss can quickly turn into hysteria if you don't get what you want. You still are not the best sleeper but I am not sure if that is because you truly are hungry or you just want a little private cuddle session with Mommy. You usually go to bed around 7:30 or 8, wake up at 2 and 5 to eat and then are up at 7 for the day. Although last night you only wole up at 4am to eat...mommy is praying that this will continue! You like to take cat naps in the morning but will take a 3 hour afternoon nap (at the same time as sissy...mommy loves this). You eat every 3 hours during the day and have finally begun to take a pacifier. You are now 4 months old and are growing so fast. At your 4 month checkup you weighed 13lbs, 4oz (50th percentile) and were almost 26 inches long (95th percentile). You are very long and are finally starting to fill out.</div><div>You adore your sister and watch her every move during the day. You love to sit in your bumbo chair and exercauser and take it all in. You are constantly sucking on your fingers or chewing on toys. You are a very smiley baby and love to be snuggled. You are a chatty little one and make all sorts of sounds. You are the perfect addition to our family and you bring so much joy to us all. Having you has been a completely new experience for us. We have been able to just enjoy you and not worry about weight gain, heart issues, feeding issues, and all the health issues that had become our reality. Your birth was a breath of fresh air for us. I was able to keep you by my side from day 1 and never had to leave you at the hospital...something I had dreamed about. I fell in love with you the instant I met you. I am amazed at how our love as a family just grew the day you were born. You truly do complete us. I love spending each new day with you...slowly learning more and more about you. Many people have told me that you seem to be a very wise baby...an old soul and I couldn't agree more. I love you sweet baby girl and am excited to get to know you more every day.</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJeHzsZVNxWQMQUbdwH8VdGXoklfuh9Vwu5mYNT4HQWWSdHD0EKRjd_X3BvYPYePez5HkwNSIwpnFeYrT1kgTkOaNqxzWF3ilskWbXs-bKRuYc-VbxJvz84wMD_vLpeVzGb_EPjVU5IA/s1600/CIMG3404.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJeHzsZVNxWQMQUbdwH8VdGXoklfuh9Vwu5mYNT4HQWWSdHD0EKRjd_X3BvYPYePez5HkwNSIwpnFeYrT1kgTkOaNqxzWF3ilskWbXs-bKRuYc-VbxJvz84wMD_vLpeVzGb_EPjVU5IA/s320/CIMG3404.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564865912458066162" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div><div>To my Madi,</div><div>You amaze us each day with all that you have accomplished. The most exciting news is that you are now walking...everywhere. We waited TWO years for you to reach this milestone and the long wait seemed to make it that much sweeter. When I sit back and reflect on all that you have endured, all the setbacks and extra struggles, I am even more amazed at what a strong and independent little girl you have become. I sometimes forget that a year and a half ago you were recovering from a complicated open heart surgery. It wasn't that long ago that you needed the help of oxygen to drink your bottle...and now you are walking! It truly blows my mind. You had a rough start my dear and yes, compared to your typical peers you are a very late walker...but that is okay. The most important thing is that you are doing it! You are happy, healthy and learning new things everyday. You are doing it all at your own pace ans we couldn't be more proud of you.</div><div>You hit the infamous "terrible two's" a little early and (knock on wood) it seems that you may be through the tough part. You still have your strong opinions, tantrums, and sassy moments but you have a heart of gold that shines through. You truly have the sweetest spirit I have ever met and bring so much joy and laughter to everyone you meet. You love to say Hi to EVERYONE and are always the greeting committee anywhere we go. You make so many people smile...complete strangers constantly comment on what a sweet girl you are.</div><div>You were a picky eater for a few months but are now back to the old Madi...eating lots and loving just about everything. Here are some of your favorites: berries of all sorts, oranges, grapes, ham and turkey, hummus, cottage cheese, avacado, cheese, eggs, rice, pasta, edamame, asparagus, bananas, pizza, goldfish crackers, pirate's booty...the list could go on. You love to sing songs and know the hand motions to: patty cake, itsy bitsy spider, 5 little monkeys, if you're happy and you know it, the more we get together, and row row row your boat. You love reading books, stacking blocks and playing with your play kitchen. You like to play with your baby dolls and make them dance and clap their hands. You still love to empty out your toy boxes and throw your toys across the room...I'm patiently waiting for that to get old. You have quite a few naughty things you like to do on a daily basis when mom is tied up with Ella. A few that come to mind are: playing in the toilet, pulling out all of the baby wipes from the container, dumping out the diaper bag, climbing on the fireplace, getting into the pantry.</div><div>You have become a very independent 2 year old. You hate to have your diaper changed and try to swat at me every time I lay you down to change you. You demand that you feed yourself with the fork and spoon and get very angry when I try to help you which usually ends with food being flung on the wall. You quickly swat my hand away when I try to help you walk. Although it may be frustrating to me sometimes, I love how independent you are. I love that you want to do things for yourself and although it may take you longer and may not be very graceful, you are always very determined to succeed. I love you so much Madi Lou and can't wait to see what you have in store for us!</div></div></div><div><br /></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-32942062788002141202010-11-16T14:21:00.000-08:002010-11-16T14:46:07.595-08:00Guess Who's 2!!<div>Our little Madi girl turned 2 on October 29th. I can't believe it has been 2 years since she came into our lives. She is turning into such a big girl and brings so much joy to our lives. I truly can't imagine life without her. We celebrated her birthday at the Tacoma Children's Museum surrounded with friends and family. Madi decided that she would fill the role as a 2 year old and was a little grumpy at the beginning of her party but cheered up as the celebrating went on. I think she was enjoying all the attention I was able to give her since there were plenty of arms to hold Ella!<div><br /></div><div>We are truly enjoying this stage of Madi's life. 2 definitely has it's challenges...Madi has perfected throwing tantrums when she wants something and has definitely learned how to test the waters when we tell her no. She is sweet and sassy...all rolled up into an edible little girl. She makes us laugh constantly and loves to be the center of attention. She loves music and whenever she hears it will break into some sort of jig...and I must admit, the girl has rhythm! She loves to read books, throw balls, stack blocks, play with her baby dolls, talk on the phone, Skype with Nonna and Papa, push her wagon around, pet (sometimes hit) our dog Oliver, play outside, cruise the furniture, climb our fireplace, empty all the baby wipes out of the container, imitate us and give her sister kisses! She is so much fun and it is so amazing to watch her learn new things each day. She has accomplished so much in her short 2 years of life and is such a blessing to us all. We love you Madi and I am so proud to be your Mama!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few pics from her party:</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_ERTjQWDcTDFBJme4wqt5Q-dhl79h_GMwGD6xifpBcNCA7AOLUMEhfF3QpHX7UeDS7rW1gYWKZIqEAddr-f60HRE7tbAdjHqirdffu6vpL2thzLFLh3CjrPkmkVsvFspmP0-A87jsN4/s1600/CIMG3288.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_ERTjQWDcTDFBJme4wqt5Q-dhl79h_GMwGD6xifpBcNCA7AOLUMEhfF3QpHX7UeDS7rW1gYWKZIqEAddr-f60HRE7tbAdjHqirdffu6vpL2thzLFLh3CjrPkmkVsvFspmP0-A87jsN4/s320/CIMG3288.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540281867928639698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RB4lygr7JdwcJloCQanZLIAvnea7gX9a_qgmai4jaT0N68tyVUvPpoJ_23ORHSL0audx6FPxZu718bc0E5PCpjYphvqE79pmbuXoBkSUKVfYJbBGc-Y_QvVpM1tXW1khWhYrn-JYVkE/s1600/CIMG3297.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RB4lygr7JdwcJloCQanZLIAvnea7gX9a_qgmai4jaT0N68tyVUvPpoJ_23ORHSL0audx6FPxZu718bc0E5PCpjYphvqE79pmbuXoBkSUKVfYJbBGc-Y_QvVpM1tXW1khWhYrn-JYVkE/s320/CIMG3297.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540281858603494402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-LTYUa3wBfJJC17ylqG9pVPLAU9WrPLkizA9G7i1oWU2-PzPOvMRK4wrof8wwIfRnuJUyBlFHkbxAi0TLy2zvnxJYNAmDQ22UyXe9E4foAr7kL2m0T_FZ25DpTjYN_mFmDK3YgZ1-p4/s1600/CIMG3292.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-LTYUa3wBfJJC17ylqG9pVPLAU9WrPLkizA9G7i1oWU2-PzPOvMRK4wrof8wwIfRnuJUyBlFHkbxAi0TLy2zvnxJYNAmDQ22UyXe9E4foAr7kL2m0T_FZ25DpTjYN_mFmDK3YgZ1-p4/s320/CIMG3292.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540281853831886930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ygFJQDtL-Z_IusDRVKrf9UHzkEWyYPF5KeM6-i95IPnVLRyRt1pcwxoUmDBPLYy-ffEYj4MHEQGktNM3SBMkA25ZCDlTygCC27aiwsiMbZbipkuh-GmVjJruBXSbtHva1rjjmyCcbFI/s1600/CIMG3302.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ygFJQDtL-Z_IusDRVKrf9UHzkEWyYPF5KeM6-i95IPnVLRyRt1pcwxoUmDBPLYy-ffEYj4MHEQGktNM3SBMkA25ZCDlTygCC27aiwsiMbZbipkuh-GmVjJruBXSbtHva1rjjmyCcbFI/s320/CIMG3302.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540281846940491106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKjvvGSn3KNvsX9eD-76iMYW3RegYmyZxqchyJV3hbp-uMvb2lpSdF3iKwIg7mYZTlE-HvVcgPgip0B5ngCTuEFBznXC_TrvUPsxU_rbCBtbU4QF5EuUm_GWo-TgzvoKrl8Ni7u6YSzE/s1600/CIMG3307.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKjvvGSn3KNvsX9eD-76iMYW3RegYmyZxqchyJV3hbp-uMvb2lpSdF3iKwIg7mYZTlE-HvVcgPgip0B5ngCTuEFBznXC_TrvUPsxU_rbCBtbU4QF5EuUm_GWo-TgzvoKrl8Ni7u6YSzE/s320/CIMG3307.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540281844237221954" /></a><div><br /></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-75799058985824873962010-11-16T13:59:00.001-08:002010-11-16T14:18:25.106-08:00Catching Up With Some Photos<div><div>We had a fun Halloween with our monkey and banana! We took the girls up to Proctor where all the shops and restaurants hand out candy.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>We also went to the pumpkin patch a few days earlier. Madi had fun playing in the patch and Ella slept through the whole thing!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIRAPRy_l6N3AJGLduKmwsJeVMxt7N2AFUO8L4aIQ58HB_oUUFHqqBPxOp6k-VAVZ1OrQbTkf_N4OqU0BDhuYAgLWyk9sU2WX019U43HNbC5wY8zN6wxK5N7GEAvuV1AmiAgsJu_HcrY/s1600/CIMG3332.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIRAPRy_l6N3AJGLduKmwsJeVMxt7N2AFUO8L4aIQ58HB_oUUFHqqBPxOp6k-VAVZ1OrQbTkf_N4OqU0BDhuYAgLWyk9sU2WX019U43HNbC5wY8zN6wxK5N7GEAvuV1AmiAgsJu_HcrY/s320/CIMG3332.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540273776139860610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OpZV4d6UajFyffGJHS_2qKZxTGdePupamMDCYrURiV7xz9Spo7iqZD6p0GjVRo6EQc8GQQLmGFUAMmaF1lxBV2tHsw3J_RiwDpSdrx5XXs9nMAM01hsLietz0xdlJqA8xvkdzAqvfzc/s1600/CIMG3326.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OpZV4d6UajFyffGJHS_2qKZxTGdePupamMDCYrURiV7xz9Spo7iqZD6p0GjVRo6EQc8GQQLmGFUAMmaF1lxBV2tHsw3J_RiwDpSdrx5XXs9nMAM01hsLietz0xdlJqA8xvkdzAqvfzc/s320/CIMG3326.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540273766541445410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXLG2rq8_kwqk8WP1NLtnIpN2qQgfZ65yuV4MCGY3SVIA8DWByi5o4cNLaDNISFE45YNFKhprU8SCL_o4BqV64CZkjnYPT6AKi-vf_HJb2bNjqe1bfg-_0ea-skbaiysacSo4HGhpVsw/s1600/CIMG3321.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXLG2rq8_kwqk8WP1NLtnIpN2qQgfZ65yuV4MCGY3SVIA8DWByi5o4cNLaDNISFE45YNFKhprU8SCL_o4BqV64CZkjnYPT6AKi-vf_HJb2bNjqe1bfg-_0ea-skbaiysacSo4HGhpVsw/s320/CIMG3321.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540273764098767890" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-RYLQ3pxv7WXvrPuNx-MR_hFGgqVyq1TXCVomVo2fTQqLHfnmJEVYyDfvVHQpIxbYQ8rv8EVfBB8qj2sg-p1UtzpysczTtR4eKGoxs5XkOqUnaKibNVkeOrGyBYdUtawfKoBYcTYpOE/s1600/IMG_1873.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-RYLQ3pxv7WXvrPuNx-MR_hFGgqVyq1TXCVomVo2fTQqLHfnmJEVYyDfvVHQpIxbYQ8rv8EVfBB8qj2sg-p1UtzpysczTtR4eKGoxs5XkOqUnaKibNVkeOrGyBYdUtawfKoBYcTYpOE/s320/IMG_1873.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540272259904086274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjzM1WR9DmiOuICWrib6vAJA4sr7jog0U9Gkz7nMj0ukV-WKTNnSfqY5w4RbQPyQLfkzYIUMrKFnSuX_Q821-7KHP1LOq0gYawAV6s8UREvfUdvnsLTf12ayHy1EKlTy0JZtKGX873Ew/s1600/IMG_1872.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjzM1WR9DmiOuICWrib6vAJA4sr7jog0U9Gkz7nMj0ukV-WKTNnSfqY5w4RbQPyQLfkzYIUMrKFnSuX_Q821-7KHP1LOq0gYawAV6s8UREvfUdvnsLTf12ayHy1EKlTy0JZtKGX873Ew/s320/IMG_1872.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540272248283806354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPS3og9M6S3H8jeBZVc1XUjPXXXu65f6TY4APKFG1LN_0hkz9zWo4Gj25FJT2W_g70__oTx0VqFVBlle8zAgVXRZcCNerOyWJPTtEFe0pGuRuB-B1sJSR1-bXe9VRn-rCVoYf69LIkbY/s1600/IMG_1864.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPS3og9M6S3H8jeBZVc1XUjPXXXu65f6TY4APKFG1LN_0hkz9zWo4Gj25FJT2W_g70__oTx0VqFVBlle8zAgVXRZcCNerOyWJPTtEFe0pGuRuB-B1sJSR1-bXe9VRn-rCVoYf69LIkbY/s320/IMG_1864.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540272245158879906" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrA4T4xAigSvnU_nj34EMN1it9L2b5HHuai1zhEx6l22SR7efUUptaDkZGfIPOknQWj4tDJ4mCrSbyzUOQDvgKOzawkQjbZ0-DHr-4MSu4GVMYxQnefIzAxtR-111ssYnF_fYgZirTW88/s1600/IMG_1859.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrA4T4xAigSvnU_nj34EMN1it9L2b5HHuai1zhEx6l22SR7efUUptaDkZGfIPOknQWj4tDJ4mCrSbyzUOQDvgKOzawkQjbZ0-DHr-4MSu4GVMYxQnefIzAxtR-111ssYnF_fYgZirTW88/s320/IMG_1859.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540272236682896514" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><br /></div></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-10482502508303928732010-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:002010-09-26T15:16:02.763-07:00She's Here!<div>Our family of three is now a family of four and we are loving every minute of it! Ella Lynn was born on September 17th and weighed in at 8lbs1oz and 20.5 inches long. She is absolutely perfect! She is a mellow baby who really only cries when she is ready to eat. Ella is a nursing champ and is quite the little piglet! She is now eating every 2 to sometimes 3.5 hours so Mama is able to get a little more sleep at night.<div><br /></div><div>Madi is adjusting to this big change pretty well. She gets very upset when Ella cries and ends up having a small tantrum herself. She has always been very sensitive to other kids crying so this was to be expected. She is slowly getting better with it but we still have a ways to go. It will be nice when one baby crying doesn't turn into two babies crying! Other than that Madi loves to hold, kiss and hug Ella. She tries to be as gentle as she can but we still have to watch her every move. A nice touch quickly turns into an eye poke around here! Madi does get a little jealous when I am nursing Ella and my lap isn't all hers anymore but she is already adjusting to that as well. My parents are staying with us for 3 weeks and have been a huge help! Madi is getting very spoiled with all the attention and is having a great time with Nonna and Papa.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few pictures from the past week.</div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVw9gH0XSwF_uF0jC0HbC7zojCm-Ddt3cVMvgs3sl1FtIApPAyZodZYDEG_JM1dJFwv_Yv-GxUth_qf2F4o_2-XI_cbIBAvwQ9dwXhEtsgV9n_WrLpZw3UkkGUXV2rB0YUqBPcuC-FzY/s1600/CIMG3236.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVw9gH0XSwF_uF0jC0HbC7zojCm-Ddt3cVMvgs3sl1FtIApPAyZodZYDEG_JM1dJFwv_Yv-GxUth_qf2F4o_2-XI_cbIBAvwQ9dwXhEtsgV9n_WrLpZw3UkkGUXV2rB0YUqBPcuC-FzY/s320/CIMG3236.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521347743981087426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnr5ll71uXi0OAL926Jx86zeF1Wlq1_wTQX2dwScSl3oJlGXUY7VPeBTsW8Gh5prPRv7vwMqVGNiJrV6hkedRB2pSkBrlmcN7857KlMzusM_jCt1DTn0SxFL3Zpp4PXg4AumTDvmC3BnE/s1600/CIMG3256.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnr5ll71uXi0OAL926Jx86zeF1Wlq1_wTQX2dwScSl3oJlGXUY7VPeBTsW8Gh5prPRv7vwMqVGNiJrV6hkedRB2pSkBrlmcN7857KlMzusM_jCt1DTn0SxFL3Zpp4PXg4AumTDvmC3BnE/s320/CIMG3256.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521347733179592162" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Ella meets Mila (my best friend's daughter born on 9/23...Ella is on the right)</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LCGWkgIO4nHj-Svp_RTbsCavrVchgBFgPCb7loEuSSuJwUKbfgLeLKy-B-hoJK1-AhEBuHm2EQU9nWplT380D8Hweade_-E3I5ltTZm7fpRrn1lyZQLBkObNBiRsNxZzE0PmN0ZOGXQ/s1600/CIMG3260+-+Copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LCGWkgIO4nHj-Svp_RTbsCavrVchgBFgPCb7loEuSSuJwUKbfgLeLKy-B-hoJK1-AhEBuHm2EQU9nWplT380D8Hweade_-E3I5ltTZm7fpRrn1lyZQLBkObNBiRsNxZzE0PmN0ZOGXQ/s320/CIMG3260+-+Copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521347713740809458" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpPa17kG-60UG8s7PhFIm1rpB4AOQxkWev48_UQGXscKjJ6RBTsOXAHOmQJrvRp5oPeJ66e2jZVlm8GWE9mZzeJCzyuwFzxrOoo4FKZxiF5VG-4fVupgNWXZIIPy6VoH3IAKFWbgo2Tg/s1600/IMG_1813.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpPa17kG-60UG8s7PhFIm1rpB4AOQxkWev48_UQGXscKjJ6RBTsOXAHOmQJrvRp5oPeJ66e2jZVlm8GWE9mZzeJCzyuwFzxrOoo4FKZxiF5VG-4fVupgNWXZIIPy6VoH3IAKFWbgo2Tg/s320/IMG_1813.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521347704377511810" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Loves giving her sister kisses</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUz6RKbOvJi8mD26ZK9jDRar6PJQ1uG5FN6Kd8ygcbD8uadReCYFbsF0wHdBa3btLXwnqHjphsT0wduV9bP9sjjNS2G5RCvQDmXyC5Yq1jvR61VinXjbZTvgS-0Cnv5Ma3GpcSqK9-YY/s1600/IMG_1828.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUz6RKbOvJi8mD26ZK9jDRar6PJQ1uG5FN6Kd8ygcbD8uadReCYFbsF0wHdBa3btLXwnqHjphsT0wduV9bP9sjjNS2G5RCvQDmXyC5Yq1jvR61VinXjbZTvgS-0Cnv5Ma3GpcSqK9-YY/s320/IMG_1828.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521347694726065794" /></a>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-32528665642908749042010-08-02T14:15:00.001-07:002010-08-03T14:43:41.363-07:00Catching Up<div>I am way behind on blogging these days. I often have things that I want to write about but by the end of the day (when I actually get time to sit in front of the computer) I am way too tired to blog. Life is great here in the Kang house. We are enjoying summer and all that it entails...walks, playing outside, swimming, bbq's, picnics, the farmers market, and spending time with neighbors and friends! We are definitely busy but I wouldn't have it any other way. We have added water therapy to Madi's list of appointments and she absolutely loves it. She is definitely our little fish!<div><br /></div><div>I am now a full time stay at home mom. After Madi was born I went back to work (pharmaceutical sales) part-time. It was a good balance for me and I didn't mind working 2.5 days per week. Ever since Madi's heart surgery she has struggled with separation anxiety. She is so social as long as mom or dad are in sight. So I knew it was good for Madi to get used to being away from mom a little bit. We have an awesome nanny that came to our house on the days that I went to work and Madi LOVES her...it only took a month or so of crying to get there! In the beginning on June, the pharmaceutical company I was working for had their first lay-off (something that is super common in the industry). They laid off over 30% of the company and I was one of those to go. They actually laid off 70% of my district here in Seattle...it was crazy. As weird as this may sound...I wasn't too bummed to be let go. It was perfect timing for me as we are getting ready to add another little one to our family next month. So, I am home and loving all the extra time I get to spend with Madi before her sister arrives. It is also allowing me to add more therapy and playgroups into our already busy schedule.</div><div><br /></div><div>We spent the last week of June on a cruise to Alaska. We went with my parents, brother and his family, my uncle and aunt, and some close family friends. We had a great time together and the cruise was absolutely beautiful. We went to Glacier Bay, Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria B.C. Madi did really well on the ship. She is a very busy girl so it was a little tough as there wasn't a lot of space for her to freely crawl around. We enjoyed all of the port towns we stopped in and spent most of the time walking around and enjoying the scenery. Glacier Bay was amazing. The water was so clear and the glaciers were enormous. We saw tons of whales, seals, sea otters, bald eagles, and dolphins. It was definitely a relaxing trip...something that was much needed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Madi and I also made a quick trip down to Sacramento to visit my family. We had a great time as usual and Madi enjoyed spending time with her Nonna and Papa. By the end of the week she was waking up every morning asking for her Papa...my dad loved it!! We also were able to meet up with local DS group of babies and moms (The Sisterhood) that we always see when we are in town. We even got to meet <a href="http://savingsofia.blogspot.com/">Sofia</a>! For those of you that remember, Sofia was an orphan with Down Syndrome living in Ukraine. She is now home with her awesome family...and she is sweet as can be! I absolutely love getting together with this group of moms and genetically enhanced kids. I know we will stay close with them through the years and watch our kids grow together! I just wish we lived closer to them so we could see them all more than a few times per year.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am now in my 33rd week of pregnancy and still feeling good. I am definitely tired at the end of the day and the baby seems to enjoy squirming around once Madi is in bed and no longer climbing up my belly. She literally tries to climb my baby bump when I am holding her...she thinks it is the perfect step for her to get a little higher in the air. It is definitely getting a little harder to carry Madi and chase her all over the house. The is keeping me busy!!!</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few photos from our cruise to Alaska</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Celebrating my brother's birthday at a bar in Sitka</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRAvV7dH2A3CSaN0RZwnENogw3A5MqPt9oz8Nmq86if8FjfqcWgujZxkZKDhfxxIWJS6J45Bw-Tl1g-ZfOnsdQuIw0jtE48gkzyguY7HAS2LXVP40FcNRwUc2bV_Ck_UIWYzWwmD4gJU/s1600/IMG_1776.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRAvV7dH2A3CSaN0RZwnENogw3A5MqPt9oz8Nmq86if8FjfqcWgujZxkZKDhfxxIWJS6J45Bw-Tl1g-ZfOnsdQuIw0jtE48gkzyguY7HAS2LXVP40FcNRwUc2bV_Ck_UIWYzWwmD4gJU/s320/IMG_1776.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501301814857196930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzhhJOzz_oySIBew_m9zSwpVeFbGXMfZgcn9gAAzZCIJ350g-khoCvqBCuu112CZyDsbwHy2oJj0cFfwH4DaEe_BMGrDJQempkrs6vuB3savR9Avti2TwCUY2Z30MqA_OFwo7yHvjEzA/s1600/IMG_1669.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzhhJOzz_oySIBew_m9zSwpVeFbGXMfZgcn9gAAzZCIJ350g-khoCvqBCuu112CZyDsbwHy2oJj0cFfwH4DaEe_BMGrDJQempkrs6vuB3savR9Avti2TwCUY2Z30MqA_OFwo7yHvjEzA/s320/IMG_1669.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501301802596179010" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">A shot of one of the glaciers</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb2XP8K14HxSQrqLjrEKvdWUaO8BdWWvYKy2xtjDxeJZg31WgXc4fs62uYwGSHb4giV26wwpc8GgCfYIUpg60jJ44XH7Ph6FM9oBti8H1JJgfUREkGAQlhRDzuZEHYJyR6x9qlmKJB4E/s1600/IMG_1673.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb2XP8K14HxSQrqLjrEKvdWUaO8BdWWvYKy2xtjDxeJZg31WgXc4fs62uYwGSHb4giV26wwpc8GgCfYIUpg60jJ44XH7Ph6FM9oBti8H1JJgfUREkGAQlhRDzuZEHYJyR6x9qlmKJB4E/s320/IMG_1673.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501301791793805730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNy9mXEuBfCED5ZYNhKinmW0HQqaXo3Pvtii8a-3xakbqkYN_KaSurSwkquJLkyRnENAM7Ax9dvQm-wMPo2nrcNQVAtiytVnHwDnS32wGZ8BYJWLBbSWUqiMlbSx07apZDnFHRfJjUogQ/s1600/IMG_1442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNy9mXEuBfCED5ZYNhKinmW0HQqaXo3Pvtii8a-3xakbqkYN_KaSurSwkquJLkyRnENAM7Ax9dvQm-wMPo2nrcNQVAtiytVnHwDnS32wGZ8BYJWLBbSWUqiMlbSx07apZDnFHRfJjUogQ/s320/IMG_1442.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501301791040000098" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Relaxing on the deck</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNdNQOgXDIX9GNtZo345lttnqOWL2G4Cd5IDWhzgwRLNxCZAruDbtE0X_hvBhUdwNfrNJ5mLRBVglsTlofNo9AWXFtVU8z0cDqA-v1hXDM3dP5ojAiTo5lFPWMzjjKB_cNI1tBRgebCY/s1600/IMG_1353.JPG"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNdNQOgXDIX9GNtZo345lttnqOWL2G4Cd5IDWhzgwRLNxCZAruDbtE0X_hvBhUdwNfrNJ5mLRBVglsTlofNo9AWXFtVU8z0cDqA-v1hXDM3dP5ojAiTo5lFPWMzjjKB_cNI1tBRgebCY/s1600/IMG_1353.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNdNQOgXDIX9GNtZo345lttnqOWL2G4Cd5IDWhzgwRLNxCZAruDbtE0X_hvBhUdwNfrNJ5mLRBVglsTlofNo9AWXFtVU8z0cDqA-v1hXDM3dP5ojAiTo5lFPWMzjjKB_cNI1tBRgebCY/s320/IMG_1353.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501301771571903010" /></a><br /></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-72159741006333336802010-06-22T20:37:00.000-07:002010-06-22T21:17:41.280-07:00Orthotics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiRVOeyYZVHHYxJlrSgCs9ul_Py3EjDatMqYTKtchop_7UoIiWyQgtA19y_hDjgpknsrYXtnFjWK6wIAuFuK52iyP_3DayAl73k9org9ssXeP4vq9NzU318o7yIrQiqGSusW1dvBXm_A/s1600/CIMG3101.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiRVOeyYZVHHYxJlrSgCs9ul_Py3EjDatMqYTKtchop_7UoIiWyQgtA19y_hDjgpknsrYXtnFjWK6wIAuFuK52iyP_3DayAl73k9org9ssXeP4vq9NzU318o7yIrQiqGSusW1dvBXm_A/s320/CIMG3101.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485813283403263458" /></a>Here are Madi's Jump Start orthotics and shoes that her PT recommended she wear while working on standing. I am not the best at using these but we do try to put her in them each day for a bit while she is standing. The shoes are pretty heavy and solid so she has a hard time pulling to stand in these. She does have quite a bit of pronation in her feet when she is standing so the orthotics help to properly stabilize her ankles. When she is barefoot, she is now pulling to stand on EVERYTHING and (dare I say it) starting the beginning stages of cruising while holding on to the furniture. This is a big step for her as until recently, it seemes that Madi thought her feet were cinder blocks that were not to be moved. So, we finally have some progress. I was originally hoping that Madi would be walking when the baby is born (in September) but given how BUSY this girl is that may not be such a good thing! :) It's all on her time and I am totally fine with that! Until then, we will keep working on getting stronger and enjoying every minute of this sweet girl!<br /><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Showing me how big she is</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVmizPBqV9JhwEO3EqeuKyE4QBwFQHbafErbciofgjIB_ftan-ReRt8tOmBtCZEfZN-lIEspbz7Y9Z_pf3hW9iiJ8FynhMz6ff9huYmHrLDwSKeb_M9QJFmx_KosL9QM9ZqlpL6-8ciE/s1600/CIMG3152.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVmizPBqV9JhwEO3EqeuKyE4QBwFQHbafErbciofgjIB_ftan-ReRt8tOmBtCZEfZN-lIEspbz7Y9Z_pf3hW9iiJ8FynhMz6ff9huYmHrLDwSKeb_M9QJFmx_KosL9QM9ZqlpL6-8ciE/s320/CIMG3152.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485813272379417346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1O_0aDIMGt0Ft4OsJWOsphuJmG2-mq4nEQeE8GmAv3WgXWzxcA-lXm3SBZLpyfDKELHmA1WhPM7O-Oyj4aMpFQ4auz4dL75usqutQg-z-w0hon6vDoC9LmK6Y4jpHuz0C0R8FrtpSxrY/s1600/CIMG3160.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1O_0aDIMGt0Ft4OsJWOsphuJmG2-mq4nEQeE8GmAv3WgXWzxcA-lXm3SBZLpyfDKELHmA1WhPM7O-Oyj4aMpFQ4auz4dL75usqutQg-z-w0hon6vDoC9LmK6Y4jpHuz0C0R8FrtpSxrY/s320/CIMG3160.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485813266859842514" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div> </div></div></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-24908903779134666822010-06-22T20:25:00.000-07:002010-06-22T20:37:18.299-07:00Baby Signing Times<div>Baby Signing Times has a new fan. We are working on teaching her that she doesn't need to sit so close to the TV to learn all of the signs.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbi0uXWgK8orpSeDjK7TBkC0qC8I8V9QBR24QN0yueSKvE-JownKwdVJKofO5IOfplZb7CVF2emx2U_uBRmX5Alm-A4MJTCPAScM8aP5lR48zI2GenORNNCZb1GDJYpYrBHQsVJjJYxxM/s1600/CIMG3185.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbi0uXWgK8orpSeDjK7TBkC0qC8I8V9QBR24QN0yueSKvE-JownKwdVJKofO5IOfplZb7CVF2emx2U_uBRmX5Alm-A4MJTCPAScM8aP5lR48zI2GenORNNCZb1GDJYpYrBHQsVJjJYxxM/s320/CIMG3185.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485805390841301826" /></a><br />No matter how far away she starts out, she always ends up right there...silly Madi! She is not much of a tv watcher in general but she absolutely loves Baby Signing Times. I love watching her sign with the video. She (and I) have actually learned quite a bit from these videos. Madi is now consistently signing at least 25 different signs. Her signing has taken off over the past few months and she seems to be learning a few new signs a week. Signing has definitely been giving her a way to tell me when she wants something and has cut down on the frustration on both our parts. She is using more and more signs without me prompting her. She gets so proud of herself when she randomly signs drink and, voila...mom presents her with a straw cup full of water. Way to go Madi...keep up the good work but try not to strain your neck so much!kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-365990218920489252010-05-23T21:20:00.000-07:002010-05-23T22:29:22.028-07:00Madi's Heart DayMay 21st was Madi's Heart Day...1 whole year post surgery!! The morning was actually a little emoitonal for me as I spent some time reading old blog posts and looking at pictures from our hospital stay. I am still amazed at how incredibly well she has done this past year especially given the complications that arose.<br /><br />I remember waking Madi up very early that morning for our 5am check in time. We loaded her in the car and she of course was all smiles the whole way there. My stomach was in complete knots but I was trying to stay as calm and relaxed as possible. We waited in pre-op for a while and met a ton of people from the surgical team...anesthesiologists, ICU personnel, the team of surgical nurses, etc. Finally it was time for the dreaded moment. We left the ICU room and headed down the long hallway to the surgical area. We hit the double doors where we had to say our goodbyes. I tried so hard not to cry in hopes that I wouldn't worry my happy girl. We handed her to one of the nurses and watched as they walked back to the OR. They had to turn a corner before they were out of sight...I will never forget what happened next. As they turned the corner, Madi popped her head up over the nurses shoulder for one last glimpse of her teary eyed parents and just like that they were gone. My heart literally fell into my stomach and I lost all composure. We made our way down to the waiting room and there we sat for hours...literally 6 hours! The surgery was supposed to take 2 hours but ended up taking 6. A nurse called my cellphone every hour with an update...all she would say is he is still working and she is doing fine. That was the longest 6 hours of my life! We read magazines, played cards and games, told stories, looked outside...anything to keep our mind off of what was going on. Finally it was over and we met with the surgeon to explain how everything went. He said that it took a lot longer because of some unknown complications. It was the most difficult AV Canal he had ever seen. She was doing well and it appeared that the surgery was a success. He said there was a chance that she may need another surgery in the next few days...only time would tell and the first 48 hours were the most critical. We had to wait for a bit while they got her situated and stable in the ICU before we could see her. I remember walking into her ICU room...it was so overwhelming. It was like something out of a movie. There were at least 10 people in there, machines everywhere, alarms sounding, orders being called out, IV's being hooked and un-hooked, and a sweet little girl laying peacefully in the middle of so much comotion. It was very hard to see her intubated and totally sedated. The days that followed absolutely blew my mind. Each day tubes and wires were being removed and she became more and more alert. She showed us what an amazing fighter she is.<br /><br />We spent a total of 10 days in the hospital. Her lungs had a hard time coming around and her valves were still leaking a bit. After being home for 4 days were back in the hospital with a staph infection in the incision site. The surgeon had to reopen the top of her scar (all the way down to her sternum) and let it heal from the inside out. She was placed on IV antibiotics for a few days and once her white bllod count returned to normal we were released to go home. Dave and I had to pack the wound with gauze and change it twice a day until it healed ( a few weeks). It was awful! I literally didn't lok at it for a week until I finally got the courage. The truth is, Dave wasn't home one night and the dressing needed to be changed so mom had to toughen up.<br /><br />It was quite the journey for us and we are so grateful for such an amazing outcome. We had a few setbacks along the way but 1 year later our girl is THRIVING!! Prayers were answered and a family grew stronger! We don't know what the future holds for Madi in terms of more surgeries. There is still is a chance that she will need another repair down the road but for now, everything looks great. We are holding on to that and just enjoying every day with our Miracle Madi!<br /><br />Happy Heart Day Madi! Of course we had to celebrate with a Heart Party this year. It looked like Cupid made an appearance at our house. I didn't get many pictures of the evening but we had heart decorations, a heart cake, and some close friends to help us celebrate Madi's big day. Here are a few pics from last year and this year. WOW...what a difference a year makes!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGIeG636HvAhzq2fgvMKntEzjd7eOOInik3ALsvIPyMwuWfiyIQxSp__ZfJvGjDBhtCYIvFsoucfs99EqasD3JJzPKJIqV4egT-0qoOwtucisr6aF21R1E_8e8M9kvLIFsVbPX5yNNVo/s1600/Picture+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474701646976124034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGIeG636HvAhzq2fgvMKntEzjd7eOOInik3ALsvIPyMwuWfiyIQxSp__ZfJvGjDBhtCYIvFsoucfs99EqasD3JJzPKJIqV4egT-0qoOwtucisr6aF21R1E_8e8M9kvLIFsVbPX5yNNVo/s320/Picture+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlg_5-hNdRp2E8Qtdpgg-v97YpsvEauUAiokt9FncqWqYT4CdE5fslkqX5962arJWMx5Fq5atxNvsBgB7pWwrsPVHs99FKZAiDaUPnQAj3zqeORnb6jQL6QpuYooqwsXWWLOn2SWpR7Q/s1600/Picture+036.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474701635291110386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlg_5-hNdRp2E8Qtdpgg-v97YpsvEauUAiokt9FncqWqYT4CdE5fslkqX5962arJWMx5Fq5atxNvsBgB7pWwrsPVHs99FKZAiDaUPnQAj3zqeORnb6jQL6QpuYooqwsXWWLOn2SWpR7Q/s320/Picture+036.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4gNXQrUme_zsvbm-U024Evbri_YbdgnjvXOX-m7YuKk3tr7qvKSBMFcoXEljR3jimBevdX58xyoaiQbEPwjhrju8FRQ-90k2bUWXEWi4WgZ3OzbulwbzHz0l1gHRS8TGJRPo01gSyFk/s1600/Picture+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474701624567104914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4gNXQrUme_zsvbm-U024Evbri_YbdgnjvXOX-m7YuKk3tr7qvKSBMFcoXEljR3jimBevdX58xyoaiQbEPwjhrju8FRQ-90k2bUWXEWi4WgZ3OzbulwbzHz0l1gHRS8TGJRPo01gSyFk/s320/Picture+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG5q5DEp3-fAYx6RCvuJkCEFfmrrNaa5mYbQTWQV0kl2KrbNcOtAPBADAgAd4alDOtL5HglKQ8tVLyiMdSBJa3tDYtiQWpWMa0BvfGp-_szKeBB6Ahch3Nxyd_Fzh4XEsqGq__V-Nufs/s1600/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474701617522198834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG5q5DEp3-fAYx6RCvuJkCEFfmrrNaa5mYbQTWQV0kl2KrbNcOtAPBADAgAd4alDOtL5HglKQ8tVLyiMdSBJa3tDYtiQWpWMa0BvfGp-_szKeBB6Ahch3Nxyd_Fzh4XEsqGq__V-Nufs/s320/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeArq-cGBBOl1kjbFLCQ5G0_v6HzNRNpYyrROTcb9gQ6qEsvaBiXsC09R8qD59mgNdqTuj4A9QNeMILItYA1FdwKH6ectXP8k8z1ZLcp_IBi0U2LRjeVzY4Lacgh8E_nAHuI_wVAWY3A/s1600/CIMG3162.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474701607590633378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeArq-cGBBOl1kjbFLCQ5G0_v6HzNRNpYyrROTcb9gQ6qEsvaBiXsC09R8qD59mgNdqTuj4A9QNeMILItYA1FdwKH6ectXP8k8z1ZLcp_IBi0U2LRjeVzY4Lacgh8E_nAHuI_wVAWY3A/s320/CIMG3162.JPG" border="0" /></a>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-3679688515431773202010-05-20T22:20:00.000-07:002010-05-20T22:58:50.431-07:00No words.There are no words. Not even one...to try and explain how lucky I feel...how blessed Jenn and I are. Madi muscled her way through a tremendously difficult day a full year ago. I am still frightened out of my mind when I recall what that experience was like...the event was clearly necessary, but scary nonetheless. Now, I think back to the tears, the blank stares, the dreadful passing of time; I recall holding my tiny daughter's even tinier hand while she was in the PICU with chest tubes, IVs, and a large assortment of monitoring equipment that I am still unfamiliar with (and, I wouldn't mind never being acquainted with that environment again)...the memories still bring back tears - tears of fear AND tears of joy. Yes, I am babbling. Partly recalling memories that I have subconsciously repressed and also finding joy that I AM remembering a day that brought a new and profound sense of appreciation for life...not just "life" in general, but the most important kind...my daughter's life. For those families that have yet to put this type of day in their "rear view mirror," there is no way to sugar coat this experience...I will be the first to tell you that this is the most difficult thing that you will experience. However, take solace in the fact that we were also a family on pins and needles-a regular family just like yours. Worried. Emotional. Had nothing to hold onto but each other and a fistful of prayers. We got through the day. The first year. And, our beautiful Madi is thriving. Our prayers are with you as well...wherever you are and whoever you are.<br /><br />Sweet Little Madi,<br /><br />I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. How infinitely wonderful that I get to raise you and spend time with you. Watch you learn, grow, throw fits, laugh, smile, wave, hug me, kiss me, pat my back when I hold you and pat your back, make faces at me, light up when you see your beautiful mommy. Daddy is the luckiest daddy in the world...really. I am looking forward to all the years I get to spend with you and watch you grow, laugh, and live. Give thanks everyday because I always give thanks for you.<br /><br />Love,<br />Daddykangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-4673229400958402042010-05-20T16:34:00.000-07:002010-05-20T17:47:37.620-07:00A Year Ago...A year ago today marked the beginning to the most difficult day of our lives. I remember the day so clearly...we were preparing for our daughter's open heart surgery that would be taking place the next morning. How does a parent prepare for that? I remember trying to only think positively but of course the "what ifs" managed to sneak their way into my thoughts. I kept reading and re-reading the packets of information the surgeon gave us. We tried our hardest to act like this was an ordinary day as we packed our hospital bags and tried to think of the most comforting toys to bring for our sweet 6 month old. I was dreading the moment we would have to let go of her and hand her over to the medical team that was going to give her a second chance at life. I remember staring at her chest after her bath that night, knowing that it would never look the same. I soaked up every inch of her beautiful, perfect and pure skin. I of course took a million pictures of her bare chest wanting to record exactly how it looked. I knew that this surgery was necessary. Without it, her life expectancy would only be into her teenage years if that. Still, knowing that didn't seem to be making this night any easier. We had been waiting so long for the day to come. We had known about her heart defect since she was 2 days old and was told that surgery was necessary. There was some relief in knowing that finally we could put this dreaded day behind us and move on. I couldn't wait for the time when we didn't have to worry about blue lips, oxygen sats, weight gain or heart failure.<br /><br />I knew we had so much support behind us and that meant the world to me. My parents were in town, we had visitors bringing over blankets, meals, hospital survival kits, toys for Madison, magazines, games...anything and everything to help us get through the next few weeks. It was so amazing to feel the love and generosity that was pouring all over our family. Dave and I quietly escaped for a little bit and just sat on our bed and cried...and I mean cried. We talked about our fears, how helpless we felt and how we wished we could switch places with our sweet girl. It was such an amazing moment filled with so much love and honesty. I remember thinking that our little girl was peacefuly asleep for the night and had absolutely no idea what was about to happen to her. I knew our girl was a fighter and that her strength and resilience would get her mama through. I had no idea how profound the impact would be on us. Watching her fight was amazing and I fell deeper in love with my sweet girl...something I didn't know was possible!kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-88119416182893039322010-05-20T16:30:00.001-07:002010-05-20T16:30:17.719-07:0020100423-_KSB5385.jpg<a href="http://sierraswing.shutterfly.com/pictures/263?eid=115"><img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procgtaserv/47a0da09b3127cce98548bb1eb1300000038100AYsWTNs3ZOGRg" /></a><p><a href="http://sierraswing.shutterfly.com/pictures/263?eid=115">Click here to view these pictures larger</a><img width="1" height="1" border="0" src="https://os.shutterfly.com/b/ss/sflyshareprod/1/H.15/111?pageName=sharekey&c1=pictures&c2=blogger" /></p>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-61337170301080068062010-05-01T20:54:00.000-07:002010-05-01T21:17:05.677-07:00It's A???????????????????<div><br /></div><div>I have been so horrible about keeping up to date on our blog recently. I am seriously going to try and be a better blogger these days. I have also not been the best at taking pictures recently. I seem to forget my camera all the time. It is my goal to work on both of these things...hold me to it! :)</div><div><br /></div><div> I do want to let everyone know that we just found out what Baby #2 is. It's a .........................GIRL!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>We are so excited for Madi to have a little sister. It is also very convenient since we have an enormous amount of pink around the house. Everything looked great on the ultrasound. Although her heart looks perfect so far, we are going to have a fetal echo done in a few weeks just to get an even better look.</div><div><br /></div><div>Madi is doing fantastic! She is full of personality and makes us laugh every day. We are having so much fun with her. I love watching her explore and learn new things each day. She has completely mastered army crawling and is super fast at it. I can guarantee you it would be much easier on her if she would just get up on her hands and knees to crawl...but she still refuses. She has started pulling herself up to stand and is quite proud of herself these days. Her new favorite game is "where is Madi's...(fill in the body part). She points to her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, feet, hands and hair. She loves to say "Hi" with a southern accent (it is too cute) and wave to EVERYONE. She has 12 teeth and has begun to use them on things other than food...usually my shoulder! She has started feeding herself with a spoon recently and is still working on her manners with that. She has decided that just putting her hands in the bowl of food and playing with it is way more fun than using a spoon. We are still dealing with the throwing phase so her spoonful of food usually ends up on the floor a few times. Having a dog has really come in handy for cleaning up. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will try and post some pictures soon from our recent trip to Mexico. It is time for mama to get some rest! </div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-48286695084309631342010-03-07T13:34:00.001-08:002010-03-07T13:44:24.968-08:00Madi's BIG News!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoktK9_md3vRKBbIcs626zMLX-ZAmLM0c6fkacaoW9xHGo1dMEas7hyE83cDe0B2t4xpORC8RZoxvpoG2M9-0bFHCznsW3lF1uJJlvyA34oDzaYe5DUCApgysvEEPSazfdxpBgT2KtWQ/s1600-h/IMG_1305.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoktK9_md3vRKBbIcs626zMLX-ZAmLM0c6fkacaoW9xHGo1dMEas7hyE83cDe0B2t4xpORC8RZoxvpoG2M9-0bFHCznsW3lF1uJJlvyA34oDzaYe5DUCApgysvEEPSazfdxpBgT2KtWQ/s320/IMG_1305.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446008693870233746" /></a><br /><div>Yep...Madi is going to be a big sister!!!! I am just about 12 weeks along and am starting to feel better each day...I am definitely ready to be out of the first trimester. Being pregnant with a busy little toddler around is a whole new ball game. We are very excited and can't wait for Madi to have a little sibling in September. We know she will make a great big sister. They will be 23 months apart and I know they will have so much fun together. We are going to be in for it! :) I am excited to finally share the news with everyone. </div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-70378192165754667582010-02-24T12:09:00.000-08:002010-02-24T12:14:37.222-08:00Love This Video<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RfMlrTV_5vY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RfMlrTV_5vY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-70725681001544446452010-02-21T19:48:00.001-08:002010-02-21T20:14:20.467-08:00Saving Sofia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzm-_ngwMTyT1xwZUxTGts1Y8lXuhqlA97zAed7cfWxuuGdeb8XuUOdV_6lkTWCGOLFbt6IXznNpd1G56YlXSC_TnY1nL7t-AvTlHiGn6O23iweJi5bUPriynw-c2SBSF8ZH6nmBw9cI/s1600-h/Sofia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440910745983390002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzm-_ngwMTyT1xwZUxTGts1Y8lXuhqlA97zAed7cfWxuuGdeb8XuUOdV_6lkTWCGOLFbt6IXznNpd1G56YlXSC_TnY1nL7t-AvTlHiGn6O23iweJi5bUPriynw-c2SBSF8ZH6nmBw9cI/s320/Sofia.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />This beautiful little girl is an orphan with Down syndrome living in Eastern Europe. She turned one today and we all prayed that someone in the orphanage showered her with love. The greatest gift that anyone could give this little girl is the gift of a forever family...and she is getting just that!!! My friend Jennifer (at <a href="http://trisacharm.blogspot.com/">Three's A Charm </a>) and her family are adopting Sofia. The Sanchez family has 3 adorable boys and their youngest, Joaquin, has that special extra chromosome. This family truly knows the joy and love of raising a child with Down syndrome. Jennifer and Joaquin were the first family that Dave and I met after Madi was born. Joaquin absolutely stole my heart and Jennifer has been such an inspiration. I found so much comfort in meeting her and seeing what a happy and normal life they led. Although they live in Sacramento, we always get together when we are back home visiting my family. Sofia is joining an amazing family and I only pray that they can get her home soon.<br /><br />The international adoption process is not easy and costs a pretty penny. Please check out the blog dedicated to <a href="http://savingsofia.blogspot.com/">Saving Sofia</a> and read about the many ways that you can donate to help bring this beautiful girl home. For those of you local in the Sacramento area, there is a Crab Feed and Auction being held on March 19th in Rocklin. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need more info. We are so excited for the Sanchez family to add a little pink in their lives and Madi can't wait to meet her new friend!!!kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-28467499747665355092010-01-25T19:39:00.000-08:002010-01-25T20:51:21.761-08:00Madi at 15 MonthsSo finally we are back with an update. I obviously took a little break from blogging but am planning on making a better effort to keep everyone updated.<br /><br />I can't believe it but Madi is almost 15 months...time sure does fly! She continues to amaze us everyday. She really is learning new things almost daily and it blows our mind to watch all that she is accomplishing. She is definitely a toddler now and has recently started throwing little fits and expressing her opinion more (and it is not always in the sweetest ways). Don't get me wrong...she is still a sweet, happy girl but she is not afraid to yell at I mean tell you when she doesn't like something. She is very into imitating now and will imitate noises, faces, motions that we make. She literally makes me laugh all day long! She has mastered the commando crawl and is into EVERYTHING! She is soooooo busy. She still hates to be on her hands and knees and quite honestly I am fine with that because we are going to be in for it when she is truly mobile. She is already getting pretty fast at the army crawl...it must be the Army Ranger blood in her.<br /><br />She has really been picking up on signing. She now consistently signs: mommy, daddy, dog, eat, please and more. She is also a great eater and loves to eat whatever we are having. Some of her favorites right now are: blueberries, strawberries, oranges, avocado, oikos greek yogurt, quinoa, veggie booty, chunks of bread and multigrain pancakes, and cheese. Just in the past few days I have started letting her try to feed herself with a spoon. She has done pretty good so far...she brings the spoon right into her mouth but then leaves it in her mouth. It is pretty cute. She holds her own straw cup and when she is through she places it back on her tray. She used to just toss it when she was done. Oh and speaking of tossing...she loves to throw her food. Ollie the beagle is her new best friend whenever she is in her highchair! She has also recently started spitting chunks of food out only to pick them back up and eat them...hence the toddler phase I referred to earlier. I am trying to teach her that it isn't very ladylike to spit food out and re-eat it but she really can care less.<br /><br />This little girl is growing, thriving and melting our hearts each day. We just love watching her learn new things and master new skills. She is staying healthy minus the recent sinus and ear infection. Madi is also on her last year of getting Synagis shots (prevents RSV). They recommend that kids with heart or lung conditions get these shots once a month during the RSV season for the first 2 years of life. It is a big shot and Madi is definitely not a fan! We also got the results of her blood panel we had done and found out that Madi has hypothyroidism. So, we go to see an endocrinologist next week to see what the next step is. Her pediatrician doesn't think it is a huge deal yet as she is not symptomatic. I know it is very common in kids and adults with down syndrome and I truly am not too worried about it just curious to see what the endocrinologist says. I will keep you all posted. Here are Madi's stats from her 15 month checkup:<br /><br />weight - 18lbs 10oz<br />height - 29 inches<br /><br />I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the new year. We are staying very busy around here but I will try my best to be a better blogger! :)<br />Of course we need a few pictures from the past few months!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7EbaTe7jFk1LCHFH61U3d93FIYQVR_l-6NscUmiOT1S9-xXOMh6GuxHhucbGvy6s8SBMsuXdwan1ZuFM8tS2bdsiWe6dU2IqJ0U5zZmVdPH3XCwsOk8bUJVm4KUJ-eWzQqrQs4R2fms/s1600-h/Picture+079.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430900642295769266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7EbaTe7jFk1LCHFH61U3d93FIYQVR_l-6NscUmiOT1S9-xXOMh6GuxHhucbGvy6s8SBMsuXdwan1ZuFM8tS2bdsiWe6dU2IqJ0U5zZmVdPH3XCwsOk8bUJVm4KUJ-eWzQqrQs4R2fms/s320/Picture+079.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXI74Evs4Lu2jyb1Z17RyrAkhmOmoNK-oWmb2wna_0Bjfqv_0NjPKtEEN_OzVLDRFei5loj_J5f8VgTz5PqaIlAtOSQsHpOA1EXMOVRoZEyXWypEzk05oL2RmQdNRgpRJg4mEwHXmTdmI/s1600-h/Picture+078.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430900635437007250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXI74Evs4Lu2jyb1Z17RyrAkhmOmoNK-oWmb2wna_0Bjfqv_0NjPKtEEN_OzVLDRFei5loj_J5f8VgTz5PqaIlAtOSQsHpOA1EXMOVRoZEyXWypEzk05oL2RmQdNRgpRJg4mEwHXmTdmI/s320/Picture+078.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Happy girl on Christmas morning<br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYBQkJh3K_7uoJWJ7fVorwhSKRjNenEmFdDoTuZxToIInHNhkHY9G0wDUHVLwTRiHhpSxvZSfbYAYz1r-T3IbS0SMl7jN7NKSVs9SUdh3__S9HMY4skWPQ-A5KP7hKL8ksEA4o-gwrnI/s1600-h/Picture+054.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430900623138646818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYBQkJh3K_7uoJWJ7fVorwhSKRjNenEmFdDoTuZxToIInHNhkHY9G0wDUHVLwTRiHhpSxvZSfbYAYz1r-T3IbS0SMl7jN7NKSVs9SUdh3__S9HMY4skWPQ-A5KP7hKL8ksEA4o-gwrnI/s320/Picture+054.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Madi and cousin Mia already learning about Nordstrom...yikes!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnkW-YR5nlXkBUpzLWRFQkZec9KApxZ86zBL3FsDwA0-tocJHmbji47XMX3GEmk-1qsIMcZhido-xc9GU2EhctKkPZ3qGSoi_yCv49TzeLX4ruqbU2_Ld86KQr2vqDLobDyHjUeq4a6s/s1600-h/Picture+029.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430900612870852178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnkW-YR5nlXkBUpzLWRFQkZec9KApxZ86zBL3FsDwA0-tocJHmbji47XMX3GEmk-1qsIMcZhido-xc9GU2EhctKkPZ3qGSoi_yCv49TzeLX4ruqbU2_Ld86KQr2vqDLobDyHjUeq4a6s/s320/Picture+029.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Funny Christmas hat<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsiEmiVeK9huLA4gA2aKFz9219ZZDYjWY-j1OSe8BS0XCzGh4WSxtKdP0aKmDR-JjyGEGIe0mMogtcj4_xwlS-MAc5t4qeGUf2eojP1L0FzWrNgVxdG9QhZSwLna97yb2VnynBVlrYYA/s1600-h/Picture+026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430900603644309042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsiEmiVeK9huLA4gA2aKFz9219ZZDYjWY-j1OSe8BS0XCzGh4WSxtKdP0aKmDR-JjyGEGIe0mMogtcj4_xwlS-MAc5t4qeGUf2eojP1L0FzWrNgVxdG9QhZSwLna97yb2VnynBVlrYYA/s320/Picture+026.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div></div></div></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-7918110218195398252009-12-07T22:45:00.000-08:002009-12-12T23:00:59.344-08:00Teething Monster and UpdatesMadi has been a teething monster lately. She has 4 teeth now and is working on numbers 5 and 6. She has had the front 4 (2 on top and 2 on bottom) for a few months now but last week I noticed that she was a little fussy and drooling like a champ. I tilted her back and looked around and noticed that she is getting her 1 year molars...ouch. She is handling it pretty well but you can tell it is not the most comfortable thing. She also had double ear infections (her first ear infection ever) at the same time...poor baby. We had a few rough nights (one with a 103 fever) but she is much better now.<br /><br />We have had a busy few weeks. We had a great Thanksgiving with some good friends (the Garces family) and then headed up to Whistler, Canada for the weekend. After living in Seattle for 10 years I finally made it up to Whistler (only about a 5 hour drive). Madi and I had a great time shopping and strolling through the village while Dave went skiing. This was Madi's first real time in the snow and she seemd to enjoy every minute of it. We got quite a bit of snow here last winter but she was too little to enjoy it.<br /><br /><br />We spent the next weekend at the Alderbrook resort on the Hood Canal. The resort is beautiful and the weather was cold but sunny and clear! We relaxed on Friday evening, hiked on Saturday morning and then went to my work Christmas party on Saturday night. Madi had a great time and was an easy traveler as usual! Santa made an appearance and gave the kids presents. Madi stared in awe and waved to Santa but when it came time to sit on his lap she wanted nothing to do with him. We finished up the weekend at the Shilter Farm in Olympia where we cut down our Christmas tree. We had a great time and found the perfect Noble Fir. It was a beautiful, sunny day but it was freezing (literally the high was around 28) so we were all bundled up and Madi was in her full snowsuit! She had a great time even in the cold.<br /><br />This past week Madi and I spent some time with a few of my friends I played soccer with in college. There are a few of us that try and get together every few months for dinner. This time we got to meet baby Cole (Heather's new little guy). He is such a sweet and easy baby...we had a lot of fun. Of course it was also great to see Nichole, Beth and Kai'o as well. Madi also got her frist Synagis shot on Friday. Synagis is a shot that helps prevent RSV (a horrible respiratory virus). Kids that have heart and/or lung conditions are all at a higher risk of having major complications if they get RSV. So, we will be going to the infusion clinic once a month through probably April to get the shot. <br /><br />Other than that we are busy preparing for Christmas and are definitely enjoying "the most wonderful time of the year"! :) We will be heading down to Sacramento to spend Cristmas with all of my family. I am so excited!!! I willl post some pictures from the past few weeks tomorrow. It is time for bed. :)kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-64059383846151496672009-12-01T21:33:00.001-08:002009-12-01T21:35:24.857-08:00Madi in ActionI think it is always so fun to see kids in action. So, here are a few videos from the past few weeks of Madi in action. One is of her playing with her favorite game and the other one is of her showing off some new tricks she has mastered over the past month or so. She has definitely developed her own goofy personality. She is a very social little girl and loves to make people laugh. There are times when we are out in public and I notice that Madi is doing everything in the book to get the attention of a stranger sitting next to us. Most of the time people respond but a few times they simply didn't notice her and she was literally forcing out some loud giggles/coughing noise to get them to notice her. We think she is pretty funny!<br /><br /><div><embed name="FLVPlayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=" width="408" height="382" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" wmode="transparent" salign="LT" flashvars="&p=9f312c70b635ab50a5d213&skin_id=701&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com"></embed> <div style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px/20px verdana,arial,sans-serif; WIDTH: 408px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt3" target="_blank">Make video montages at <span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-9064269756762774022009-11-22T21:07:00.000-08:002009-11-22T22:14:59.736-08:006 Months Ago6 months ago yesterday Madi underwent open heart surgery. It literally was the worst day of my life. I can still remember the sheer fear, pain, anxiety, sadness and hope I felt as I watched the OR nurse take Madi down the hall to the operating room. I carried Madi all the way until we hit the double doors and that was where we had to say our goodbyes. I remember thinking that she has no idea what is about to hit her...and thank God for that! The wait was the longest 6 hours of my life. Unknown complications arose and all we could do was pray...pray for God to be with her surgeon as he did his work. 6 months ago Madi's heart was repaired and she was given a second chance at life. During that time I felt as though my heart was being stretched and was becoming more full of love for her...more than I thought was possible. Watching her fight for her life absolutely blew me away and gave me the strength and courage that I know I will need to continue to always stand up and fight for her. <br /><br />We came away from this experience with so much more strength, love, faith, patience and humility. Madi continues to amaze us! 6 months later she is doing awesome. Sure her heart is not perfect but right now the doctors are all very pleased with the outcome. I am so thankful for the care, love and prayers we all received. The world of congenital heart defects is not one that I ever wanted to be a part of. I can only feel blessed for our postivie outcome and all that we gained through this experience.kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-25100899951104269182009-11-12T11:01:00.000-08:002009-11-12T11:25:47.216-08:00Our 1 Year OldSo I am finally getting around to posting about Madi's first birthday party. We had a great time and miss social butterfly didn't skip a beat. She enjoyed every minute of her party and loved being the center of attention. I think we have a little princess in the making...yikes! :) Before the party started we did a traditional Korean 1st birthday celebration with family. Madi was dressed in a traditional Korean dress that Dave's dad bought for her in Korea after she was born. We took lots of pictures of her in front of food. I'm not sure of the signifcance of the food but that is the tradition. We then placed 4 objects in front of Madi (string, money, a pencil and paper) and waited to see what object she grabbed first. Each object symbolizes something. Madi first grabbed the string which means she will live a long life...after the year she has had that is awesome! She quickly then grabbed the $20 bill in front of her which means she will be rich. The best part was when she picked up the pencil (which means you will be a scholar), she looked at it and very deliberately threw it on the ground... Madi, I think you made your point! <br /><br />We want to hank everyone who was there to celebrate her big day with us. I know many of you celebrated with us in spirit and we want to thank you as well. Your love and support for our family and especially Madi is such a blessing and we appreciate each and every one of you.<br /><br />On her birthday Madi had an appt with the cardiologist to follow up on her leaky valves. We have GREAT news! The leak has gotten much better and the function of her heart looks great! They want to check her out in 3 months again but for now she looks fabulous...yay Madi! Madi also recently had her 1 year check up. She is a healthy, happy little girl that is catching up on the growth chart. She wighed in at 17lbs7oz, and is 28.5 inches long. That is 50th percentile for weight and 95th for height on the down syndrome growth chart. She has mastered eating finger foods, is drinking regular milk without a problem, and loves to drink water from her straw cup. We are so happy that she is a healthy, happy, growing baby...what more can you ask for. Here are some pictures from her party: <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiur4WKhx-crOo_Mj_c8C1wCdPkXtfqp7rrZSCBn3xwRt8OwneGdE-Cvv0rN8D4MzblsB-JNpwrfpHnmf8hy8hLAhnT6hPUAJolmij144x-8J1YvD8Y1CApqZyZT7fDA_s3VqikMHb9I6Q/s1600-h/11+Months+129.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiur4WKhx-crOo_Mj_c8C1wCdPkXtfqp7rrZSCBn3xwRt8OwneGdE-Cvv0rN8D4MzblsB-JNpwrfpHnmf8hy8hLAhnT6hPUAJolmij144x-8J1YvD8Y1CApqZyZT7fDA_s3VqikMHb9I6Q/s320/11+Months+129.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403295012800424706" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfMWhyphenhyphenmax4SzHSUJlEFKYardG5PzPpcJQJtmd-YwzbYRVBpKTYudr3mxtDJ8xpUo31_CTrDR8LdZ2jNhLDvxca7WCnMEQ1AScoay4ZEmF72th6Ap2cd1yEHKTL4NaznC3KTaspZZzcoA/s1600-h/11+Months+075.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfMWhyphenhyphenmax4SzHSUJlEFKYardG5PzPpcJQJtmd-YwzbYRVBpKTYudr3mxtDJ8xpUo31_CTrDR8LdZ2jNhLDvxca7WCnMEQ1AScoay4ZEmF72th6Ap2cd1yEHKTL4NaznC3KTaspZZzcoA/s320/11+Months+075.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403295003683842130" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUZ2mRzlvTDdXIAlIhS92cjl8G35a0nD_htENuhg9D2Y6aKwhYyNwBABu7QH-M3WxYosu-dmBiOixcKe3U3SNrBJRn5wzxPAkTEKavWHujOR4q9h9rT3z3xiVUFYXX8NMyPF1bbEeAoE/s1600-h/11+Months+038.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUZ2mRzlvTDdXIAlIhS92cjl8G35a0nD_htENuhg9D2Y6aKwhYyNwBABu7QH-M3WxYosu-dmBiOixcKe3U3SNrBJRn5wzxPAkTEKavWHujOR4q9h9rT3z3xiVUFYXX8NMyPF1bbEeAoE/s320/11+Months+038.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403294998252735298" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0ygQ8m0r1tDWRMPJUNY3ZndP9hWtHmWgXpAIZwVOVpCTSbOwMIVAFKfJUinPzmzijQer2IIx19-1BfZ15ySoUvQuP_51ExD4CDI9_o72O36DgiXIpRmvucKvfj0CTCka9fv5RnVn_6E/s1600-h/11+Months+034.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0ygQ8m0r1tDWRMPJUNY3ZndP9hWtHmWgXpAIZwVOVpCTSbOwMIVAFKfJUinPzmzijQer2IIx19-1BfZ15ySoUvQuP_51ExD4CDI9_o72O36DgiXIpRmvucKvfj0CTCka9fv5RnVn_6E/s320/11+Months+034.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403294990373878322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYwpgATlPDZFHaSuSr8B1NEjBvMuMRuHvV7-dYSAtrJ-yI0to5QqMYgMgylF59a0PhYEvXaXdDaLWl24okAdPlak7UHthJ-KcFwU3aJXhDDAhh5-W_olzkys1YWFYX3epYCoH3va39ww/s1600-h/11+Months+011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYwpgATlPDZFHaSuSr8B1NEjBvMuMRuHvV7-dYSAtrJ-yI0to5QqMYgMgylF59a0PhYEvXaXdDaLWl24okAdPlak7UHthJ-KcFwU3aJXhDDAhh5-W_olzkys1YWFYX3epYCoH3va39ww/s320/11+Months+011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403294986742520082" /></a>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-41350174631036635522009-11-01T21:18:00.000-08:002009-11-01T21:28:46.470-08:00Happy HalloweenMadi had a blast on her first official Halloween. Last year she was 2 days old and spent her Halloween relaxing under the warmer in the NICU at St Joe's Hospital. This year Madi went to Athan's 2nd birthday costume party and then went "trick-or-treating" at Proctor Treats. All of the little shops in Proctor open for trick-or-treating, so we took Madi out and strolled around looking at all of the costumes. I was shocked to see how many people there were trick-or-treating in our little neighborhood...literally there were thousands. It was a lot of fun and our little ladybug was pretty cute I must say. Here are some pictures from the day:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQqIs-DCDgkU5BNanpeqzJv-yh3AbqE-ufnOZhF1-G2-4gZ5QORKELFfjvr4p8JxnaUUge-h_Jk93hahCLhu1Uz8ZGLZogvLejrfIKwFBDWvAp0JW7weGSY2enlQuekmMkBhuv_a-4-k/s1600-h/11+Months+004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQqIs-DCDgkU5BNanpeqzJv-yh3AbqE-ufnOZhF1-G2-4gZ5QORKELFfjvr4p8JxnaUUge-h_Jk93hahCLhu1Uz8ZGLZogvLejrfIKwFBDWvAp0JW7weGSY2enlQuekmMkBhuv_a-4-k/s320/11+Months+004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399373844516587842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9tSdNpT6Q_YuAkhaL8Y9dky0gibBRyQXut58OHMXqVLNq7q4ImXx1PSKNPxZELgWd8200SQoerPt2mYw2pCtWOqI7WWlAVs_cQ46okBeLLFxq2EIDyZYlMI1UzIkQ9Y6HmaK7VA2xS9Q/s1600-h/11+Months+002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9tSdNpT6Q_YuAkhaL8Y9dky0gibBRyQXut58OHMXqVLNq7q4ImXx1PSKNPxZELgWd8200SQoerPt2mYw2pCtWOqI7WWlAVs_cQ46okBeLLFxq2EIDyZYlMI1UzIkQ9Y6HmaK7VA2xS9Q/s320/11+Months+002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399373835119243010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMJGxXV8mGopLJd1mcntDlYEz4u40OtV6hQaD9Y3CjzqN8ZfLVipHUwaNF9UkhW3qEvxHxN6qmdpWSznp3Xq9p8bDOSN0qU_D4Y0Zrgl-0M8fNKcav4yLnJ5DN0Qwz9xSBDgwRaEZnVQ/s1600-h/11+Months+012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMJGxXV8mGopLJd1mcntDlYEz4u40OtV6hQaD9Y3CjzqN8ZfLVipHUwaNF9UkhW3qEvxHxN6qmdpWSznp3Xq9p8bDOSN0qU_D4Y0Zrgl-0M8fNKcav4yLnJ5DN0Qwz9xSBDgwRaEZnVQ/s320/11+Months+012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399373821762040114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmz5vxDPFE56J_Y7C2TMuHO_CV7fXGMOkhv-aTlVufYeCrniuFqVYPTfYspKzRTGAMOX8TZbpI8G3MeL77pvNBGOn4Z2Dbh-eMTatCYd_HunTuQOqPgqXSjp1R9G-OTTNr7qoy3wVOms/s1600-h/11+Months+013.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmz5vxDPFE56J_Y7C2TMuHO_CV7fXGMOkhv-aTlVufYeCrniuFqVYPTfYspKzRTGAMOX8TZbpI8G3MeL77pvNBGOn4Z2Dbh-eMTatCYd_HunTuQOqPgqXSjp1R9G-OTTNr7qoy3wVOms/s320/11+Months+013.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399373818172193106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtF7edY-THFvrZ_aqBTjwZ2x3w8vz2cQTJIBCrJDDslIhsGPh-E0ywrzl7n93kR9UY8aNBq44Iq6g3FYEMI2fRc2FjDXoL7gf-P0696twAWBumnj6sZyvRU7E6_WVJRmPgOHl7OG2D_Kg/s1600-h/11+Months+029.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtF7edY-THFvrZ_aqBTjwZ2x3w8vz2cQTJIBCrJDDslIhsGPh-E0ywrzl7n93kR9UY8aNBq44Iq6g3FYEMI2fRc2FjDXoL7gf-P0696twAWBumnj6sZyvRU7E6_WVJRmPgOHl7OG2D_Kg/s320/11+Months+029.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399373809078260466" /></a>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-25287000381277387462009-10-29T21:24:00.000-07:002009-10-29T23:08:51.909-07:00Happy 1st Birthday!Happy Birthday my sweet Madi. A year ago you made a dramatic entrance into our lives and you have blessed us more than we could have imagined. You were full of surprises and we were very unsure of what the future held for us. Although we were scared at first, you have shown us that everything is just fine. You bring peace to our sometimes crazy world and comfort to our hearts. You are such a joy and you have impacted so many people in your short year of life. You have opened our eyes to a world we didn't know much about but are eager to learn more each day. You have brought Daddy and I closer together and strengthened our love and marriage. You have taught us what it means to be strong and continue to fight. You have shown us how to truly smile from the joy deep within your soul. You have strengthened our faith. You have given us purpose and make us want to be better at all that we do. Thank you for the enormous impact you have had on us...and we are supposed to be the ones teaching you! :)<br />It is kind of crazy...I can't believe that you are already a year old but at the same time I feel like I have known you forever. I can't imagine life without you in it! You are our world, our inspiration and our dream come true. It is my promise to you that we will do everything in our power to support you, protect you, fight for you, and give you all you need to succeed. You are amazing! You will continue to defy the odds and exceed our expectations. It is my goal to make sure you always know that there are no limits...you can achieve what you put your mind to...you will do it all at your own pace. We love you Madi Lou...more than you know. Thank you for being you!<br /><br />A few hours old<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSeHnz6iUY48BERsMujCV6eBgikD9655ON6Xe297Eba5NzxpSPfAhHLghJPKCawdN86lOxuGbX5GqdmpcWX7ZIukpBs2PtXlaq3xrY9krirk9sXVJ-h7wtLptU-ErP20_IN_Zrohw4XI/s1600-h/11+Months+458.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSeHnz6iUY48BERsMujCV6eBgikD9655ON6Xe297Eba5NzxpSPfAhHLghJPKCawdN86lOxuGbX5GqdmpcWX7ZIukpBs2PtXlaq3xrY9krirk9sXVJ-h7wtLptU-ErP20_IN_Zrohw4XI/s320/11+Months+458.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398250692872540066" /></a><br />A few days old<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4xqj3hdTZ_cad1UhC5xBY1Rpdh5dqkIFt731rroM_cY2LEAZ_n70xwg3oZmjUma55MyDZ8hqtGPnnM4wRy6WoM5kPyjrHJJB6I_vk92v5b0ODfYoS1hdvKZ0qG0PBoKeFuzX0jhrOuI/s1600-h/11+Months+514.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4xqj3hdTZ_cad1UhC5xBY1Rpdh5dqkIFt731rroM_cY2LEAZ_n70xwg3oZmjUma55MyDZ8hqtGPnnM4wRy6WoM5kPyjrHJJB6I_vk92v5b0ODfYoS1hdvKZ0qG0PBoKeFuzX0jhrOuI/s320/11+Months+514.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398250679772106834" /></a><br />A few days ago<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7677tcV2ioLwCrTqCb5pdBV7s6UXEVtvrV9VFYCZd-24Q6wWx39SFPmRdRdraeVRMRSXVS6EzUPrOCd1kCs9yNnB3C7p4Ccpl8-28fv2EigLQt8SoSIlSREfe-O5uEId6QuoR3tuetg/s1600-h/11+Months+059.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7677tcV2ioLwCrTqCb5pdBV7s6UXEVtvrV9VFYCZd-24Q6wWx39SFPmRdRdraeVRMRSXVS6EzUPrOCd1kCs9yNnB3C7p4Ccpl8-28fv2EigLQt8SoSIlSREfe-O5uEId6QuoR3tuetg/s320/11+Months+059.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398250671741372194" /></a>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-12588486843022336182009-10-28T19:06:00.000-07:002009-10-28T19:26:22.768-07:00Pumpkin PatchLast Sunday we took Madi on her first trip to the pumpkin patch. It rained quite a bit the day before but the weather stayed dry for us. The ground was still pretty wet out so we didn't get too many photos in the patch. Madi would have had a field day in the mud I'm sure. It was so much fun and I loved watching her observe everything going on and laughing in delight as we walked around searching for her perfect pumpkin. She really had a good time and managed to clap, smile and talk to everyone around us. Here are some pictures from our little adventure:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKF2IM7Jc3gRZIwtOa9JdwGhYo16eTdeE7DMr4PFw9liHlBraB4Y6TPZyUCJ5yJW46gpYf9gBqZwccPCDaRLF7_3Vnczf0W5ol037W_g54hVnsPuTKp4WRKAaVd5PXnYAL-VT3cobIBE/s1600-h/11+Months+062.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKF2IM7Jc3gRZIwtOa9JdwGhYo16eTdeE7DMr4PFw9liHlBraB4Y6TPZyUCJ5yJW46gpYf9gBqZwccPCDaRLF7_3Vnczf0W5ol037W_g54hVnsPuTKp4WRKAaVd5PXnYAL-VT3cobIBE/s320/11+Months+062.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397842074873730802" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IZe57AQpB1OKeKdI0MOWk7E1cKeSRexGtQbTKNiEprAQIlxO7P-7Zu_psNvd-2thHmBUHCzbwZkU9WyrQY9eLyYXF69cFZw2BWsJz7Bz8xdyg2hxoXn-wm_QsOBkdeKq0ImHOBdtGes/s1600-h/11+Months+068.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IZe57AQpB1OKeKdI0MOWk7E1cKeSRexGtQbTKNiEprAQIlxO7P-7Zu_psNvd-2thHmBUHCzbwZkU9WyrQY9eLyYXF69cFZw2BWsJz7Bz8xdyg2hxoXn-wm_QsOBkdeKq0ImHOBdtGes/s320/11+Months+068.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397842065060761314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpM1ObvsdJwsaKgro4xHezK2more0FyURFNAw_fqAgplJdGaoifMUOiShD_BOdfU0D_MemknA0ibCPDfF_qfsy5WRHtfxZr95-E8cnR1B8aoBECECqWaObqIgW2pdze8pRbyBpTTG-5E/s1600-h/11+Months+069.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpM1ObvsdJwsaKgro4xHezK2more0FyURFNAw_fqAgplJdGaoifMUOiShD_BOdfU0D_MemknA0ibCPDfF_qfsy5WRHtfxZr95-E8cnR1B8aoBECECqWaObqIgW2pdze8pRbyBpTTG-5E/s320/11+Months+069.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397842063436443314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAKYOsPgZj_utsswWungdSlQ5MKfPswS5jeWqmoP4VIwvb4S9hyIO2Yfa_JBfTq3Td4t5TbgmVoFjAsTmAVnB104zjwIVBj5KVflNmIuSq_Tmi_bYKSmyahvaTqFrvpujUwhMcrIhIts/s1600-h/11+Months+074.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAKYOsPgZj_utsswWungdSlQ5MKfPswS5jeWqmoP4VIwvb4S9hyIO2Yfa_JBfTq3Td4t5TbgmVoFjAsTmAVnB104zjwIVBj5KVflNmIuSq_Tmi_bYKSmyahvaTqFrvpujUwhMcrIhIts/s320/11+Months+074.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397842053207035138" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7FnnhCAEVBvXuJBXHoPJSS7oQoqFunPnPayWmEXhDvDU43ue9Qc8Ykia2IAcSTpY4bBFYmOWke1eHrrRJ9AN7Gsh67lcnLdYUuHeVmkIUABAHyvxTEKDQXOIBBWppjtMNJ9ACQp94Hc/s1600-h/11+Months+081.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7FnnhCAEVBvXuJBXHoPJSS7oQoqFunPnPayWmEXhDvDU43ue9Qc8Ykia2IAcSTpY4bBFYmOWke1eHrrRJ9AN7Gsh67lcnLdYUuHeVmkIUABAHyvxTEKDQXOIBBWppjtMNJ9ACQp94Hc/s320/11+Months+081.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397842049457314354" /></a>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482402080962892362.post-55236962672718916632009-10-23T22:19:00.000-07:002009-10-24T09:15:51.860-07:00Down Syndrome Awareness MonthOctober is Down Syndrome Awareness month and although I waited until the end of the month, I definitely want to write a post. For those of you reading our blog who do not have a child/family member with down syndrome I want to take this opportunity to provide some info on down syndrome. Before Madi blessed our lives I really did not know anything about down syndrome except for the few encouters I had with people who have down syndrome. When Madi was 2 days old and the Dr's told us they suspected that Madi may have down syndrome I was so scared and literally felt like the world was crashing down on me. I was in shock and prayed with all my heart that they were wrong and the blod test would come back normal. It took a little while but we soon realized that Madi is perfect and exactly who she is supposed to be. She is not a chromosomal mistake but in fact a perfect creation and we are so blessed that God entrusted her to us. Here are some facts on down syndrome for those of you who would like to learn a little bit more:<br /><ul><li>Down syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) occurs when individuals have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. Typically people have 46 chromosomes (2 copies of all 23 chromosomes). People with down syndrome have 47 chromosomes. This happens at conception and is not a result of parents' activities during or before pregnancy.<br /></li><li>There are more than 400,000 people living with Down syndrome in the United States and it occurs in people of all races and economic levels.</li><br /><li>The incidence of births of children with Down syndrome increases with the age of the mother. But due to higher fertility rates in younger women, 80 percent of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.</li><br /><li>People with Down syndrome have an increased risk for certain medical conditions such as congenital heart defects, respiratory and hearing problems, Alzheimer's disease, childhood leukemia, and thyroid conditions. Many of these conditions are now treatable, so most people with Down syndrome lead healthy lives.</li><br /><li>A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm. Every person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees or not at all.</li><br /><li>People with Down syndrome attend school, work, participate in decisions that affect them, and contribute to society in many wonderful ways</li><br /><li>All people with Down syndrome experience cognitive delays, but the effect is usually mild to moderate and is not indicative of the many strengths and talents that each individual possesses.<br /></li></ul><p>Please know that Dave and I are always open to talk about Down Syndrome and our experiences with Madi. We have learned so much in the past year and have met so many amazing people who have helped us in our journey. We hope that we can give back and educate the world on how special it is to have an extra chromosome.</p><p>Please take a look at this video from the National Down Syndrome Congress. I had to share...it's awesome!</p><p> </p><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-cA3t1HW1Ow&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-cA3t1HW1Ow&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>kangfamilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07502459406271836996noreply@blogger.com3