Can you know your best friend to well? Naahh :-)

I am very fortunate to have the girl friends that I have. They each bring something so wonderful to my life and I am thankful for each. My best girl friend, Carolyn, and I have know each other for about 14 years. We have shared many laughs, to many tears, an endless amount of meals, vacations, secrets, and even the midnight hot fudge sundae at the Ghiradelli store in Chicago. We're like sisters. So when I had to start thinking about the Christmas gift I was going to surprise her with this year I didn't have to think to hard or to long. Months ago, she introduced me to a fantastic perfume. Acqua di Parma. That was it, the perfect gift for Carolyn! I knew she wasn't going to buy it for herself. I knew she'd never expect it. I found it at Saks and had it shipped. As i expected, she was totally excited and surprised and that made me happy. She so deserved it and more for being such a wonderful friend. She reminded me that she had shipped a gift to Elle and it should arrive by Saturday, which it did. After opening all the wonderful gifts she sent Elle, there was one more gift to be opened and it was for me. I unwrapped the wrapping paper to reveal a Neiman Marcus box. Up went the Scooby Ear...Hmmmm, what could this be. I opened the box and as I started to unfold the tissue paper inside I saw a faint hint of yellow showing through. I was so excited and at the same time, laughing. It was a bottle of Acqua di Parma!! We had just succeeded in sending each other the same gift! As much as I couldn't believe it, I wasn't surprised it happened. Bottom line is that we each wanted it for ourselves, but bought it for one another first :-)
I love my best friend!!! And I love my gift!! Thanks Carolyn, your the best.

Elle's First Christmas

Today wasn't any different than any other day to Elle, but for us it was very exciting! The babies first Christmas!! We attended a candlelight service on Christmas Eve with our friends, Jen & Clay and their little guy, Cayden. I made dinner for Andy and I and then went onto tracking Santa's sleigh through NORAD. I LOVE IT! (NORAD) North American Aerospace Defense Command. This is a bi national (USA-Canada) control center, charged with warning of attack by aircraft (or missile) of either of these countries and organizing air defense in the case of such an attack. ANYWAY...on Christmas Eve they track Santa's sleigh so that boys and girls can see where in the world he has been and where he is headed. No matter what you believe, it's pretty darn cool. We left a plate of chocolate chip cookies out for Santa and headed off to bed.

I'd love to say that we woke up to a snow covered yard, but we live in North Florida, so we put on shorts and started the day. Elle received so many thoughtful gifts from all the people that love her. As expected, the bows and wrapping paper were the big hits.

I think I have mentioned before that it always amazes me when people go out of their way to do kind things for others. My good friend Julie had invited us to have dinner at their home on Christmas Day. I received a call from her early that morning to tell us that, regrettably, they had to cancel.
Her whole family had been up sick all night. "Don't worry though, we'll have your Christmas dinner all packed up and delivered to your house at 5p.m." she said. I told her not to worry about it but she insisted. And at 5p.m. our dinner was delivered. That was so kind and thoughtful. Thank You Julie !! And dinner was delicious. It was even accompanied by deviled eggs. MMmmmm! I love deviled eggs, although I have never made them. I might be lucky enough to have them every few years so when they do show up it's a real treat.

We hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

A Message From Elle

Hi Everyone

I'm writing to let you know that I got to come home yesterday. It's been a really tough week, especially since I'm only 9 months old.

I don't quite understand everything that's going on, but my parents told me that I'm going to be ok, and that the bigger the challenges are that someone faces, the bigger that person becomes, so I'm going to be huge. Oh, my daddy says that I have to make sure and exercise so that I stay healthy while I get huge, whatever that means. What's exercise?

Thank you all for all of your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it. It helps to know that I have lots and lots of people thinking of me and sending me prayers and healing energy. Although my prognosis is better then initially thought, I still have a long road in front of me and need all the help I can get.

I hope to see you soon.

Love

Elle

The Worst Week of My Life

On Monday morning when we went in to say good morning to Elle she was very unresponsive. I'd describe it as catatonic.

We rushed her to the emergency room at Wolfsons Childrens Hospital. When they checked her vitals her temperature was 92.

In an effort to determine what was going on, they hooked her up to a EEG and immediately discovered she was having a seizure. They gave her an injection to control the seizure, and took her to get a CAT scan.

The CAT scan showed too much fluid in her brain ventricles, so they did an MRI. The MRI showed that her brain cortex did not form properly, a combination of conditions called Lissencephaly and Pachygyria, both of which are considered Neural Migration Disorders, meaning the brain didn't form properly long before birth.

All three of those terms cover an umbrella of conditions, just like if someone was to say they had cancer. Just like with cancer, there are many different types, each of which has its own origins and its own range of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe.

There's much we don't know yet, beyond the fact the she has an extremely rare genetic brain anomaly. In addition, we found out just a couple of weeks ago that she has hip displaysia, that will need to be treated.

There are some things we do know:

1. Her condition is not degenerative thank God
2. The neurosurgeon said no surgery is necessary.
3. Once they got her on seizure medication, she has had no further seizures and has been completely stable since Monday. The seizure did not cause any damage whatsoever. Although it took a week, she is 100% back to her normal self: a happy, giggly, smiley and squirmy beautiful little girl.
3. The orthopedic surgeon said that surgery should take care of her hip without any complications. Even with her neurology issues he feels there is a chance she may walk although the Neurologist feels that there is a very good chance she will never speak or walk. We, however...believe otherwise.
4. 90% of children who are prone to seizures outgrow it by age 2.
5. Aside from the brain anomaly, she's probably more healthy that most of the people you and I know. Heart, lungs, metabolism, immune system, etc. is all perfect
6. Given her condition, she has developed quite well so far, and is expected to continue doing so. Exactly what physical and mental developmental issues lie ahead no one knows, except for God.

I'm extremely grateful for the care she (and we) received at Wolfsons. She has a Neurosurgeon, Neuroradiologist, Neurologist, Geneticist, Orthopedic Surgeon, and more nurses, physicians and residents than I can count, all making sure she received the absolute best care available anywhere.

We have a very long road ahead of us. We're still figuring out specifically what's going on and what to do about it.

I'm going to believe with every fiber of my being that she will sit, and crawl, and walk, and talk, and read and write. I believe she'll go to school and graduate from college. Can I guarantee that by believing those things that any of it will happen? Of course not...There are no guarantees in life for any of us. But I can guarantee what will happen if I believe she can't do any of those things.

God gave Elle to me for a reason. He knows we'll do whatever is necessary for her. Very little is known about how the brain develops. We will find a way or we will make a way.

Thoughts, prayers and healing energy sent our way are much appreciated. We need them.

Love

Lori & Elle

Let the Holidays Begin !

For me , it always seems like Thanksgiving is the official kick-off to the holidays. I always look forward the holidays and this year will be very different for many reasons.
1. It's the first season since I was 15 that I'm not working !!! And I will not be anywhere near the Malls !!
2. It's our first holiday season with Elle
3. Grandpa Rick and Grandma Sue will be coming to visit

Today starts Thanksgiving Day prep at which I am a pro. Those of you who know me, know that I love to cook. If all goes as planned, we will be enjoying a gorgeous Turkey that resembles the cover shot of the Williams-Sonoma catalog. In order for that to happen, I first need to get the 21 lb. fellow defrosted !! With all the prep and craziness of the Thanksgiving holiday I think it's easy for us to forget all the things that we have to be thankful for. I hope you'll take the time to think about what those things are for you & not just today, but everyday. Here are a few of mine...

The sweetest baby girl God could ever give us, my families good health, our home, great friends & memories.

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Holy Jets Batman !!

I'm sure each of you reading this can remember a time that you were so engrossed in what you were doing that you simply blocked everything else out. Well, that was me on Thursday while cleaning the house. Elle was taking a rare afternoon nap and the dogs were no where to be found. I would actually call it peaceful... If cleaning can be considered such. Everything was fine until the vacuum started to make a rather strange sound, or was it the air conditioning unit. I had been telling Andy we need to have it checked. In the seconds it took me to process those thoughts something rumbled over and through the condo like a freaking freight train! I ran to the window in time to catch the faint image of 2 F-18 fighter jets in the distance !! Ahh yes, the air show was this weekend and the jets were out practicing. Lucky for me, they were right overhead. I decided I was going to enjoy my own private show from the balcony. I opened up the sliding glass doors and grabbed my camera. Within minutes they were back and within seconds I realized that opening those doors was a HUGE mistake! Not 1, not 2 but 4 jets buzzed over. "HOLY SHIT" !! I had never heard something so intense before. Needless to say, the dogs just sat still as stone. I glanced over at Elle who had been asleep in her swing. I watched and waited for the screams and shock on her face...but it never came. She looked around as to say "What the hell was that & don't they know it's my nap time". And then, back to sleep she went. I quickly closed he doors and realized that I could possess the speed of a Jaguar and I still wasn't going to make it outside in time to get a photograph. They were just to fast! I would have to wait until Sunday to go to the show. Through the years I had always been intrigued by Fighter Jets. When I was in high school I actually wanted to fly them. I think that was the result of watching Top Gun 12 times to many. When I realized that my math skills would never be up to par and I wasn't really in to the Military lifestyle I scratched the idea. At any rate, the Air Show was simply amazing. Not a big fan of the stunt planes but can certainly appreciate the talent of those pilots. The highlight of the show was the Blue Angels. If you've seen them, you know what I mean and if you haven't...What are you waiting for???

We took Monika with us. She is a foreign exchange student from Hungary that is currently being sponsored through Rotary. Seeing the excitement on her face was priceless. She was telling us that she had just seen a documentary on the Blue Angels on the Discovery Channel and had been a fan for years. In her wildest dreams I don't think she could have imagined what would come next. After the Angels landed, the pilots signed autographs & posed for photos. Monika got got a autograph and picture with each one !! She was thrilled and we were thrilled for her. Looking forward to seeing them again next year !! Here's one of the videos I was able to capture...

A lesson learned the hard way

See for your self....

A weekend off !!

Actually a 4 day weekend. Thanks to Andy for taking care of Elle & to my best friend, Carolyn, for a great 4 days in Chicago. It was the first time I have been away from Elle for more than 4 hours. I knew I was going to miss her adorable little face, but I had no idea until I kissed her good-bye at the airport as to just how much. The tears finally stopped by the time I got through the airport and I knew she was going to have a great time with her Daddy. They deserved the quality time together. Chicago was great and there is nothing like spending time with your best girl friend. No matter where you go, it's always nice to come back home.

Everything else is going well. I have decided to train for a 5K run in order to get ready to run the Gate River Run with my family & friends in March. Stay tuned for more big news to come !!

I know I haven't done a great job of updating the blog with all of the great things that have been going on. To all of our great family & friends that keep coming back...I'm sorry !! Over the last few weeks my Aunt Phyllis came to visit us from Indiana. It was great to see her and we can't wait to visit her soon. Elle received many great gifts from "Auntie Phyllis" and it seems that her favorite is a musical, light up phone. Good thing it's not real because we'd have a heck of a phone bill with all of her usage !! She LOVES it! Elle is doing well and growing everyday. She loves pears and I think her second fav would be peas. We can't believe she is 7 months already. It's funny, I have taken more photos of Elle in 7 months than I have taken in my entire life!! Here are some favorites...

A Trip to Grandma's House

Day 4 of Captivity

Yes, Tropical Storm "Fay" continues to crawl across the state for the 4th day. We were very fortunate to be right on the inner edge of the storm and missed the worst of the storms effects. 15 minutes north & west of us were not so fortunate and are probably "enjoying" their Hurricane rations today.
I'd like to thank the local news team for monopolizing the TV channels for the past 72 hours. Really....how many times do they need to tell us about the conditions outside? Isn't it obvious? Tropical Storms = high winds, excessive flooding & downed power lines. STAY INSIDE !!
The stormy weather had a positive effect & inspired me to clean out 3 closets and pack up all of Elle's clothing that she no longer fits into. I knew rainy days were good for something :)

Finally, the first taste of solid food.

New High Chair $140
New Bibs $7
Organic Rice Cereal $2
Feeding Elle her first bite of food...PRICELESS

Houston...We Have a Milestone

After showing no interest at all in rolling over, Elle suprised us. One minute she was enjoying her tummy time with daddy and the next she had rolled herself over onto her side. "I think she's stuck". We waited to see if our little butterball would be able to muster up enough strength to roll the rest of the way. Could she get that chubby thigh over? Would the elbow cooperate? We watched and cheered her on as she rocked back and forth and back and forth and BACK! YES..she DID IT! The initial look on her face was that of confusion until she realized that she was O.K. & then she took full credit for her accomplishment.

Calling all Hammerheads

Saturday mornings alarm went off way to early. 5:30 a.m. to be exact. Within an hour we were up and headed to the beach to watch daddy and the HammerHeads. No, the HammerHeads are not a local support group for handymen. It's our local triathlon club and they were meeting for an Ocean Marathon Swim Elle and I tagged along to support Andy and enjoy a stroll along the beach. A 1.25 mile stroll to match the distance Andy would be swimming. The sun was hidden behind several pending storm clouds which made for an enjoyable walk up the beach. Having grown up on the west coast of Florida I must say, I prefer the Gulf to the Atlantic. The sand is finer and the water is prettier. Not like I'll ever get in it. But that's a different blog on a different day. Andy finished in about 45 minutes, we hung around to chat with a few of his triathlon peeps and then headed off to breakfast at one of our favorite places. The Beach Diner in Ponte Vedra Beach.

If you do nothing else, Please READ THIS.

I'm sending all of you a gift...
Don't run out and check your front doors or mailboxes. I haven't sent you a package. The gift I have to share with you is right here. No eye rolling either. You know who you are. This doesn't require you to attend church or forward a silly email to everyone you know within 3 minutes. All I ask, is that you make the time to ready this post and take the 2 quizes at the end. The post is about good health & vitality. Something we all need in order to enjoy a very long life. I promise that if you take the time to read this and complete the test at the end, you WILL get something out of it. It's what you do with the feedback from your tests that will make a difference. Those of you who know me know that I don't foward these types of things but this really opened my eyes to the need to make changes in my daily lifestyle & nutrition. I know that each of you reading this has someone in your life that you can't live without. Friends, a spouse, children, relatives. If for no one else, do this for them. I was VERY suprised by my test results and the results of my triathlete husband. Granted, it's a snapshot, but hopefully will encourage those of you who aren't fully aware of your health to seek to learn more. I scored "69 or below" on the "Staying Young" quiz. A real shocker! And my "Real Age" was 32. After you take the test, that will make more sense. You can bet I am already thinking about the things I need to do to live the longest, fullest life with the loves of my life, my husband and our amazing daughter along with all of my beautiful family & friends. If your reading this, I hope you'll share it with those you love. Happy Reading, Lori

Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, MDDr. Oz is vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, complementary medicine and healthcare policy. He has authored over 400 original publications, book chapters and medical books and has received several patents. He performs over 300 heart operations annually.Dr. Oz was born June 11, 1960, in Cleveland, Ohio, and received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University (1982) and obtained a joint MD and MBA (1986) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School. He was awarded the Captain's Athletic Award for leadership in college and was class president followed by president of the student body during medical school. He lives in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, with his wife of 20 years, Lisa, and their four children, Daphne, Arabella, Zoe and Oliver.Dr. Oz is the health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He is chief medical consultant to Discovery Communications and has hosted several shows, including Second Opinion with Dr. Oz and Life Line. His Transplant! series on Discovery Health Channel won both a FREDDIE and a Silver TELLY award in September 2006. In addition to numerous appearances on network morning and evening news programs, he has guest hosted The Charlie Rose Show. He also served as medical director of Denzel Washington's John Q.Dr. Oz authored three New York Times best-sellers, including You: The Owner's Manual, You: The Smart Patient and You: On a Diet, as well as the award-winning Healing from the Heart. He has a regular column in Esquire and Reader's Digest magazines.In addition to belonging to every major professional society for heart surgeons, Dr. Oz was elected as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, won the prestigious American Association for Thoracic Surgery Gross Research Scholarship and has received an honorary doctorate from Istanbul University. He was voted "The Best and Brightest" by Esquire and was elected one of the "Doctors of the Year" by Hippocrates magazine and "Healers of the Millennium" by Healthy Living. He is annually elected as one of the best physicians in the United States by the Castle Connolly Guide, as well as other major ranking groups. In 2006, he was honored as one of "The Harvard 100 Most influential Alumni" in 02138 magazine.

Dr. Oz has something to say that could change your life. "If you are in reasonable health, there is absolutely no reason why you don't have a fighting chance to get to age 100."Despite what you might have been led to believe, Dr. Oz says that living to 100 isn't about avoiding diseases like cancer, heart disease or stroke. He says if we could rid the world of those common killers, it would add less than a decade to life expectancy. "Aging's not about avoiding disease," he says. "It's about living with vitality."In their book YOU: Staying Young, Dr. Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen get to the bottom of the true nature of aging. Some people think living to old age is a forgone conclusion that it's all in your genes. In truth, Dr. Oz says, 70 percent of how you age comes from how you live. "We spent a ton of time looking into where the true fountain of youth is and you know where it is? It's right inside of you. It's in your cells, it's in your 'kitchens.'"How well are you aging?

1. Take the YOU: Staying Young Aging Quiz to find out.

2. Take the RealAge Test (if there is no text when you open this test, click "submit" and it should come up) or go directly to the website at http://www.realage.com/reg/regvar/st1.aspx?mod=LONGFORM

"Toe Fur"?

When Andy & I first learned that we were having a baby, we did a lot of reading, asked a lot of questions and learned all we could about what to expect during the first year. There was feeding, bathing, crying, sleeping, development...if you have children you know the list is LONG. We left no book unturned. However...at no point were we allerted to the possibility of "TOE FUR". For sure, I would have remembered this! As I do every morning, I went into Elle's room to pick her up. I changed her diaper and put her into her outfit for the day. What I found when I removed her socks baffled me! Head cocked, I looked in confusion at what I saw. How does a little baby build up such an excessive amount of lint between her piglets??? I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was never ending and wove between each one of her toes. I am fully convinced my daughter could "grow" a pair of socks in a few days. When we asked Elle how this happened, she declined to comment :-)

A Love Story

I hope you have tissues on hand-

In 1969, two friends, John Rendall and Ace Berg, purchased a lion. At the time, Christian the lion was a 35-pound cub. He had been born in a zoo. The friends raised Christian in their London home. All three hung out in a friend's furniture shop on the weekends. Within a year, Christian had grown to 185 lbs. Rendall and Berg realized they couldn't keep him much longer. But they didn't know what to do with him. A chance encounter changed that. Two actors from the film Born Free walked into the furniture store. The actors recommended a conservationist, George Adamson, living in Kenya. Christian was soon in Africa. There he was rehabilitated and released into the wild. In 1974, Rendall and Berg decided to visit Christian one last time. He was now a wild animal. Adamson told them it was doubtful that Christian could be found. No one had seen him in nine months. The two flew to Kenya, anyway. On the day they landed, Christian appeared outside Adamson's camp. Somehow, he knew. He waited outside the camp until Rendall and Berg arrived. This video was taken during their reunion with Christian. What a story! What a video! And what a reunion between friends that had not seen each other for 5 long years!

Post Baby Body

Up until last year I was pretty happy with my body. Sure, a few hours in the gym wouldn't have hurt, but all in all, I was in pretty good shape. I had the luxury of wearing whatever I wanted from my closet on any given day or night. Add in 1 baby, 2 1/2 months of bed rest and a few minor food cravings and voile....you have "post baby body" and an additional 30 lbs. A couple of weeks ago I started to work towards getting my pre-baby body back. I live with a Tri-athlete so there was no pressure, of course :-) I set my priorities...new gym clothes ! You have to have the right tools don't you? I went to the gym, took the tour and got started. The first 2 weeks were about working out a schedule and trying new classes. A balance of spinning, weights, yoga & pilates seemed like it would not only burn those pounds off, but also allow for a bit of "me" time. Needless to say, after 2 weeks I haven't lost 1 pound according to the scale in our bathroom. I've come to hate that scale and am convinced that it's broken. In an effort to ramp up the weight loss, I thought I'd challenge my highly competitive husband to a few games of Racquetball during the week. Last night was our first game. There was no way I was going to let him win. After an hour of play, I was done and defeated. What made me think that I could physically keep up with the "Ironman"? Well, it seems that I didn't have to and according to the rules of Racquetball... I WON !! Yes, it's true. Cheap, but true...

Rules:
During play, a player loses the rally if any one of the following occurs:[6]

The ball bounces on the floor more than once before being struck.
The ball does not reach the front wall on the fly.
The ball flies into the spectator's gallery or wall opening or strikes an out-of-bounds surface above the court's normal playing area [cf. Rule 2.1(a)].[7]
A slow ball with neither the velocity nor direction needed to strike the front wall strikes another player.
A ball struck by a player hits that player or that player's partner.
A penalized hindrance [cf. Rule 3.15].[8]
Switching racquet hands during a rally.
Not using a racquet wrist-safety cord. Touching the ball with either the body or uniform.
Carrying or slinging the ball with the racquet.

Andy, looks like that missing wrist strap did serve a purpose. I'll consider it a "technical win".

5 months new ! Look how you've grown.

Bath Time !

Bath Time is one of Elle's favorite things. She loves her new bath tub. (thank you daddy) And no bath is complete without her lady bug bath mit from Aunt Carolyn :-)

The origin of "Elldini"

"We're having a girl" !! I was so excited. A little girl...what will we name her? So the quest began to find the perfect name. We started by making a list of all the possibilities. Over the next few months we began to shorten the list. We were finally getting closer. She would be "Lily" or "Lauren". In the mean time we simply called her "L". As she grew, so did "L" and we decided to simply name our new little girl ...Elle.

Shortly after bringing our new little bundle home we found out that she had a hidden talent. Escape artist !! "Didn't you wrap her up?" I'd ask Andy after finding her completely out of her swaddling blanket. Little did we know that our sweet little girl had an alter ego..."Elldini". There was no swaddling blanket that could contain her. Velcro or not, she was getting out.

Meet Elle

For those of you who haven't yet met Elle, here is a recap of the past 5 months. Elle Francesca Hariton was born on February 16, 2008 at 3:15 a.m. An unexpected suprise seeing as she wasn't due for 6 weeks. She was born at only 4 lbs . In 10 days, Elle had gained enough weight to be released to come home with her Mommie & Daddy.

Andy & I were just like all parents when it came to taking care of Elle. We became really good at trial and error. Luckily, the trial only had to happen once in most cases. It only took once of having Elle pee all over the changing table for us to remember to put a clean diaper down first. O.K., so it took more than once for one of us but we won't name any names :-) Our days were filled with ooing and aahing over Elle and all the cute things she would do like sleep, sleep and sleep. It seems as though Elle was the only one getting any sleep. Andy and I set all sorts of alarms to remind us of her feeding times. The stove, the cell phones, the bedroom alarm, the stop watch...but no one knew better than Elle, that it was time to eat. "WaaaaHH! WaaaHH! Like clock work she would wake us, eat & go right back to bed for another 3 hours before seranading us again. I honestly didn't think those round-the-clock feedings would ever end. Then, one night it just happened. Silence? Oh my goodness, did she cry and I slept through it? Was she O.K.? We had put her to bed at 10 p.m. and here it was 6 a.m.? As I slowly walked into her room, I was shocked at what I found. There in the crib, peaceful, arms stretch above her head was a sound asleep baby. Elle had slept through her first night ! I thought it was to good to be true, but nope...it was official. Elle was now sleeping though the night and I could once again enjoy the same pleasure !! Having a baby certainly makes you appreciate things like daily showers and sleep :-) And great under eye concealer. Thank you Chanel!