I have so many photos from 2014! I would love to put every single one up (minus the embarrassing or not so pretty ones of me) but that would be an astronomical task. We moved to SF in Feb. 2014 and the images below are some of our adventures or memorable moments.
Our first trip to Disney Land - March 2014.
On our first visit to the beach and seeing the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, Owen almost got swept away by a wave! It was a scary moment and one that cemented my decision to enroll my most loved possessions in swim lessons!
This is our cat, Cora. She came into our lives when we lived in Colorado and we kept her. She's a beautiful tortie and don't let those pretty looks deceive you. She's a handful!
In the above photo, she's enjoying a sun-soaked catnap with Ana. To this day, I still find Ana sleeping in random places, often with her Lambie, Bear and Rabbit.
We live right alongside the San Francisco Bay. A block from our house is the Bay and a great walking trail called the Bay Trail. We often take walks on the levee and trail. We Ride bikes, stroll along the beach, climb the rocks on the levee and hunt for crabs or shells. The beach isn't a beach in the sense that there's sand. Rather, what looks like sand is actually layers upon layers of broken shells! If you're lucky you may find one or several intact, but you really have to hunt for them.
This is what happens when mom looks away for just a moment!
Last day of school - June 2014. Owen was in 2nd and Ana in 1st.
Our first visitors - July 2014
Grandpa Rick enjoying the beach and views with the kiddos.
Grandmama and Grandpa at Disneyland. What a trip that was! And, it was a trip that did Grandpa in. I don't know how he did it, but he pushed through and managed for the rest of the trip!
Celebrating Ana's 7th Birthday with Minnie Mouse.
First day of school - Aug. 2014. Ana, 2nd grade. Owen, 3rd.
Oct. 4 - Owen's 9th Birthday. Celebrating with friends.
The kids tried out soccer for a little bit. Neither one of them is into competitive sports but they do enjoy bike riding, rock climbing, skating and the like.
Ok... This one is a personal one for me. The darkness in the photo is appropriate for conveying what that time was like for me. For those that don't know, in Oct. of 2014 I underwent surgery and had a Cochlear device inserted into my head. It was a rough recovery and 3 weeks after my surgery, this is me at the audiologist's office trying to "hear" my first sounds with the implant. It was a disappointing session. I still cry when I think about that day. We had so much hope and optimism that it would produce noticeable results but we also went into it knowing it might not work. At that time, my initial activation was not a success. I got no sound but rather a dizzying sensation that rattled my eyes and was so uncomfortable. "Give it time, maybe" suggested my audiologist. Time I gave it. Every week or two I would drive 40 minutes to Oakland to be adjusted and tested to see if there was any improvement. Over time, I still heard nothing but only felt these vibrations inside my head that ranged from uncomfortable to hurt. I heard nothing but a car alarm would shake my head so bad that I'd lose my balance and nearly pass out.
My audiologist's mantra was always, "give it time."
So, most days I gritted my teeth and reluctantly put the device on. Before the end of the day of wearing my cochlear device, I was exhausted. If I had a headache, I could NOT tolerate wearing the implant. Reading lips and carrying on a conversation with anyone required a heck of a lot more concentration than I was used to. I had to push past the vibrations in my head that made me dizzy and made it difficult to focus.
By December I started to pick up hints of sound. It was a bittersweet improvement on so many levels. I had persisted so hard at this and the results were too little too slow for me. It was uncomfortable. I had regrets for ever doing this and whatever sound I picked up or thought I picked up was so inadequate, delayed and unnatural. It sounded awful.
As I write this (Sept. 2, 2016) I have gone several weeks wearing just my Cochlear implant alone. My hearing aid isn't working up to par because I probably need to get a new tube inserted into my earmold. Up until now I had been wearing my hearing aid in conjunction with the implant device. When I wear both, the cochlear seems to add more distinction to what I can hear with my hearing aid. Speech reading is definitely easier for me. Wearing the cochlear alone, I can definitely hear things but it's not pleasant. It's very monotone and robotic. I cannot determine what a sound is or where its coming from. I cannot distinguish my son's voice from my daughter's. I can't tell the difference between the washing machine running or the garbage disposal. Nor a clap from a dog's bark. It's pretty much like I said - very monotone and robotic and it "feels" the same inside my head. I have come to realize that I can get away with wearing either or both so through all that, it wasn't a total waste after all. It just took a while for me to heal and my brain to adjust.
Halloween 2014. Owen is a Jedi. Chris is Darth Vader and Ana is a Jackelope!
A visit to the San Francisco Zoo. November 2014.
On the evening of November 10, 2014, Ana fell off a chair in the family room and broke her arm just above the elbow. It's not a time in her life she'd like to remember but it was significant for all of us so it's being documented anyway. It was scary and Ana really hurt but she handled it way better than a lot of us probably think we would. We spent hours in the emergency room with her and Chris stayed overnight while I took Owen home and to bed. The next morning, Ana had to undergo surgery to put pins in her arm to stabilize the break. For a week after that, she was in a soft cast and unable to go to school due to the severity of her injury. Once she was able to get the hard cast on, things sort of returned to normal as much as they could with a broken but healing arm.
Owen got glasses! Nov. 2014
At the end of November, right around Thanksgiving time Grandma, Aunt Christine and Uncle Mike came for a visit! It was so nice to see them and be in their company for the short time they were with us. We did the usual tourist stuff - Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, Pier 39, the beaches along Rte. 1. Ana helped Grandma make gnocchi and we celebrated Thanksgiving with my CA cousins.
Dec. 13 - Ana got her cast off!
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