This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more. Ever since Faith was born, she has struggled with her digestion. When she was in the NICU, she would spit up after eating even the tiniest amount of formula. Her dad and I were convinced her tummy was too small to handle large volumes of food. Sometimes when she ate, her heart rate would drop really low, which is why she needed to be in the NICU for longer. She just could not get the hang of eating and breathing at the same time! Faith receiving food through an NG tube in the NICU. Grandma giving Faith a bottle when she was 2 months old. After finally bringing her home, eating continued to be an issue as she struggled with severe reflux and constipation. We tried various formulas, but she was never able to drink enough formula to gain a lot of weight. She also had trouble burping, and she...
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Singing Along at Barney's Birthday Bash
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This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
Had it not been for the one fateful day that I had a craving for Little Caesar's pizza, I might not ever have known that Barney was coming to town. But there I was at the counter waiting for my medium pepperoni pizza when I noticed a flyer with a picture of the big purple dinosaur. He was coming live to Bismarck with his friends, BJ, Baby Bop and Riff - I couldn't wait to tell Faith.
Barney and friends appear live at the Bismarck Civic Center
I don't know how old Faith was when she saw Barney for the first time. A receptionist at pediatric therapy gave us a Barney VCR tape and Faith loved it. I started letting her watch Barney on PBS and then we started collecting the DVDs.
All the while, I couldn't believe I was letting my daughter watch Barney - me and my friends made so much fun of him when he first came out on TV. But as I watched along with Faith, I discovered all of the cute songs and some of the good things that Barney had to share. I will admit though that for a while there, it did get a little tiring when all Faith sang was "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you..." over and over and over again.
Anyway, last night was the big night and it didn't start off so well. She kept saying she wanted to stay home, but I wasn't about to give up so soon - the tickets were already paid for and I really wanted to try to use them.
When we got to the Big Building (what she calls the Civic Center) she was still apprehensive, but I just knew as soon as she heard Barney's voice she would want to go in and see him. Finally, we went over to the ticket guy, let him scan our tickets and made our way into the dark auditorium. Barney was already dancing and singing on stage and when Faith saw him, she couldn't quite believe it.
An usher came over to ask if he could help us find our seats, but I told him we wanted to hang out in the back a little longer until Faith got more comfortable. When she turned to me and yelled, "It's Barney!" I knew she was ready.
Barney and friends live!
Faith having fun and singing along!
I was so thankful and relieved that she overcame her nervousness and was able to relax and sing along to all of the songs. And when Barney's friends came on stage, she yelled out all of their names - I think she was the loudest kid there!
From an adult perspective, I was a little surprised at how boring the stage was - just one backdrop for the whole show. It was just the four dinosaurs onstage along with four accompanying singers/dancers - who were all adults. I thought it was strange they had adults and not kids.
I was thankful we hadn't forked out the big bucks just to sit closer to the stage. But anyway, I did have fun singing along with Faith to all of the songs - there were only a few new ones we didn't know.
At the end, everyone got to sing Happy Birthday to Barney (not sure how old he turned) which was one of Faith's favorite parts. But then after that, Barney's three little friends sang a slow, mushy song to Barney and I could tell Faith was having a hard time trying not to cry. She is very sensitive to that kind of music and often will end up in tears.
I figured I better get her coat on and start heading out before they broke into "I love you; you love me." I was a little late though, and when they started singing their traditional farewell song Faith was crying. We got out the door and into the van and all she could say was how she wanted to go back and see Barney again. She managed to calm down though and then got all excited to tell her dad about the great time she had at Barney's Birthday Bash.
Check out the little video below of Faith singing along to "Baby Bop Hop!"
Guest Post by Stephen Gallup Last week, a columnist for the local newspaper interviewed me in connection with a memoir I wrote that’s being published this year. It was a comfortable, low-key discussion in which he asked about the basic facts regarding my disabled son Joseph and what I’ve learned that might be of value to other families. It was the sort of dialog that required no special preparation in advance. I just sat down with him and talked about the subject closest to my heart. But looking back on it now, one thing bothers me. In concluding the interview, the reporter expressed heartfelt sympathy for everything I’ve endured. He was being more than polite. I mean, he laid the compassion on with a spatula. Startled, and already thinking ahead to what I had to do next that day, I just thanked him and said goodbye. But now that final note troubles me. I don’t want sympathy! First of all, from the point of view of a new author hoping to promote his book, sympathy...
This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more. Ever since Faith was born, she has struggled with her digestion. When she was in the NICU, she would spit up after eating even the tiniest amount of formula. Her dad and I were convinced her tummy was too small to handle large volumes of food. Sometimes when she ate, her heart rate would drop really low, which is why she needed to be in the NICU for longer. She just could not get the hang of eating and breathing at the same time! Faith receiving food through an NG tube in the NICU. Grandma giving Faith a bottle when she was 2 months old. After finally bringing her home, eating continued to be an issue as she struggled with severe reflux and constipation. We tried various formulas, but she was never able to drink enough formula to gain a lot of weight. She also had trouble burping, and she...
This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more. Last year, when I heard the news that Pat Sajak was retiring from Wheel of Fortune , I knew I better prepare Faith. When season 41 began, I told her, "This is Pat's last season. Next year, there will be a new host." Faith likes Vanna but loves Pat! Faith and I have faithfully watched Wheel of Fortune every night since she was about 5 years old. It's how she learned that AEIOU were vowels. The show was also a great way to reinforce the rest of the alphabet. Counting was reinforced, too. When Vanna turned the letters, she counted how many T's, N's, or other letters there were. She also learned some geography skills with the different trips they gave away. Upon winning a trip to Aruba, she would ask, "Where's that?" Sometimes I honestly didn't know and had to loo...
Did you know there are 1 million people in the United States who have cerebral palsy? I guess that means Faith truly is one in a million! Faith was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was six months old. Prior to that, she had been given the diagnosis of Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL). During her premature birth, there was a lack of oxygen to her brain, which resulted in damage to the white matter, or inner part of her brain. I will never forget receiving that news. Faith's Dad and I were told that nobody knew what the long-term effects of PVL would look like for her. All I could do was stare at my tiny daughter lying in her isolette, hooked up to all kinds of tubes and lines, and choose to believe she would be okay. Faith in the NICU a few days after she was born. After over 70 days in the NICU, we finally took her home to Watford City. There, she would receive regular visits from an Early Intervention team who would assess her and ensure that she met al...
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