I hope our other children never find out about this blog.

It was so easy to find time to post pictures and daily narratives while there was just one. Three more girls later and I realized that Betsy only has one ink-stamp foot print, taken when she was five or six weeks. No hand prints. And I keep forgetting to record her height. And Opal, poor kid. She must feel so forgotten (I imagine) that she needs to climb into our bed in the middle of the night and kick us in the ribs for hours just to remind us that she is our progeny, too. Yeah, Lucy had the year-one video, but she didn't have a birth announcement. Penny and Opal did have birth announcements, but poor Betsy has had neither. I pray she never finds this blog, which I completely forgot about until today. So, I'm going to quick post some pictures of the other three. And truthfully state that I love them all equally (if you average it out over the week).

Penny.

Opal.

Betsy.

And Lucy.

Take Action Now!

In Memory of Penny Sipes
 July 24, 2011 - February 13, 2013

My daughter Penelope Catherine Sipes was a happy, healthy, precocious and boisterous 18 month-old girl living in Glendale, CA. She loved Mickey Mouse, food, family dance parties, giving wet slobbery kisses and most of all she loved her big sister Lucy. Penny passed away silently in her sleep in the early morning hours of February 13, 2013. Penny's death was sudden, unexpected, unexplained and without any known methods of prevention. 

On October 8th 2013 Rachael, Lucy and I traveled to Washington DC to lobby the Congress and Senate about the Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act (S.314/H.R.669) which was introduced with bipartisan support. This Act would fund research and standardize autopsies for for stillbirths, SIDS and SUDC. Right now the way autopsies are performed and data from autopsies are collected in these types of deaths vary from county to county. (Except in the case of SIDS, which is defined as a child 0-12 months.) This would extend the age range of the standardized autopsies and data collection to include stillbirths up to 4 years-old. Penny was 18 months-old and considered SUDC. "Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood". 

Well, we have some great news! I have been informed that HR669 will be included in a hearing next week of the House Subcommittee on Health!

 Details: November 13, 2013
Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health
HEARING NOTICE

The Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.  The hearing is entitled “Examining Public Health Legislation to Help Local Communities.”  Witnesses will be announced and are by invitation only.  The hearing webcast will be available at http://energycommerce.house.gov/.

To boil it down, this hearing will decide if The Congressional Subcommittee on Health think it's worthwhile to fund research that will help find the cause for Stillbirths, SIDS and SUDC. And once we find the cause we can find a way to prevent it form happening to any more babies.

It has taken more than 4 years for this Act to get to this point, so it is reason to celebrate!!!!!   But it's also a reason to quickly move into action! 

HERE 3 WAYS YOU CAN HELP: 

#1- If you live or work in any of the states that the following Congressional members represent (listed on bottom of this email)- PLEASE- call their DC office before Nov 20 and ask for their support of HR669 at the hearing on November 20th and in any negotiations that follow. If you have family/friends in their district- please ask them to call. I've added links to all the Congressmen's websites and phone numbers to their Washington DC office. So check their website to see if you live in their district then give them a call and say "As a constituent I would like to ask that the Congressman please support HR669 The Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act." 

#2 - Follow this link and send a letter to your Congressman and Senators in support of this act. It's easy and it literally takes 1 minute. Please, at the very least, do this right now.

https://www.votervoice.net/SIDS/Campaigns/26685/Respond


#3 - Please spread the word! Send the link to this blog post to everyone you know. Email, Facebook, Twitter, anything and everything you can do to spread the word will help.

Thanks so much!

Andy Sipes (Penny's Dad)

Republicans 

Chairman: Joe Pitts (PA) (202) 225-2411

Vice Chairman: Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX)(202) 225-2919

Ed Whitfield (KY) (202) 225-3115

John Shimkus (IL) (202) 225-5271

Mike Rogers (MI) (202) 225-4872

Tim Murphy (PA) (202) 225-2301

Marsha Blackburn (TN) (202) 225-2811

Phil Gingrey (GA) (202) 225-2931

Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)(202) 225-2006

Leonard Lance (NJ) (202) 225-5361

Bill Cassidy (LA) (202) 225-3901

Brett Guthrie (KY) (202) 225-3501

Morgan Griffith (VA) (202) 225-3861

Gus Bilirakis (FL) (202) 225-5755

Renee Ellmers (NC) (202) 225-4531

Joe Barton (TX) (202) 225-2002

Fred Upton (MI) (202) 225-3761

Democrats 

Ranking Member: Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ) (202) 225-4671

John D. Dingell (MI) (202) 225-4071

Eliot L. Engel (NY) (202) 225-2464

Lois Capps (CA) (202) 225-3601

Jan Schakowsky (IL) (202) 225-2111

Jim Matheson (UT) (202) 225-3011

Gene Green (TX) (202) 225-1688

G.K. Butterfield (NC) (202) 225-3101

John Barrow (GA) (202) 225-2823

Donna M. Christensen (VI) (202) 225-1790

Kathy Castor (FL) (202) 225-3376

John Sarbanes (MD) (202) 225-4016

Henry A. Waxman (CA) (202) 225-3976

About My Daughter Penny

11/14/2013 UPDATE at bottom of the page!

As most of you know (or some of you may not) on February 13, 2013 my 18 month-old daughter, Penny, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. Next week Rachael, Lucy and I are going to Washington DC to lobby the Congress and Senate about the Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act (S.314/H.R.669) which was introduced with bipartisan support. This Act would fund research and standardize autopsies for for stillbirths, SIDS and SUDC. Right now the way autopsies are performed and data from autopsies are collected in these types of deaths vary from county to county. (Except in the case of SIDS, which is defined as a child 0-12 months.) This would extend the age range of the standardized autopsies and data collection to include stillbirths up to 4 years-old. Penny was 18 months-old and considered SUDC. "Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood". So I'm asking you for a favor. This time around I don't need you to watch my TV show or buy anything or fund a Kickstarter. It's way easier.

Right now all I need you to do is click on one link and write your Senator or Congressman and ask them to support S.314/H.R.669. That's it.

I'd never called or written an elected official in my life, until a few weeks ago, and in doing so we got meetings with the Health Advisors to Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein, Congresswoman Pelosi and a personal meeting with Congressman Adam Schiff himself. So believe it or not, writing your representative really does work. I'm not asking you to meet with anyone, just an email to put it on their radar. One email and you're done.

All you have to do is click on the link below and follow the instructions and an email will be sent to your specific Congressman and both Senators from your state. It takes less than a minute. It's super easy and super important to me and my family. If you want to do your own research on this issue before sending anything, I encourage you to do so.

Thanks so much everybody!

Andy Sipes

https://www.votervoice.net/SIDS/Campaigns/26685/Respond

UPDATE!!!! 11/14/2013

I wanted you all to know that I have been informed that HR669 will be included in a hearing next week of the House Subcommittee on Health.

Details: November 13, 2013

Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health

HEARING NOTICE

 

The Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.  The hearing is entitled “Examining Public Health Legislation to Help Local Communities.”  Witnesses will be announced and are by invitation only.  The hearing webcast will be available athttp://energycommerce.house.gov/.

It has taken more than 4 years to get to this point, so it is reason to celebrate!!!!!   And then (sorry) quickly move into action! :)

TO HELP: If you live or work in any of the states that the following Congressional members represent (listed on bottom of this email)- PLEASE- call their DC office before Nov 20 and ask for their support of HR669 at the hearing and in any negotiations that follow. If you have family/friends in their district- please ask them to call. And if you had meetings with any of the these offices in the past, this would be a good time to followup. You can find their contact info on their website using the formula:lastname.house.gov

If you have any questions, please let me know. The hearings are open to the public and can be viewed online thru the link in the above announcement. Also, I  am confirming that Congressman Pallone has all the org letters of endorsement which will be read into record at the hearing. If anyone knows of any orgs that are thinking of endorsing the bill and are not on the list on our webpage, please instruct them to get me their letters ASAP. http://sudc.org/Advocacy/FederalLegislation.aspx

Thank you!

AGAIN, if you live or work in any of the states that the following Congressional members represent - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE- call their DC office before Nov 20 and ask for their support of HR669 at the hearing and in any negotiations that follow.

Republican 

Chairman: Joe Pitts (PA) 
Vice Chairman: Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX) 
Ed Whitfield (KY) 
John Shimkus (IL) 
Mike Rogers (MI) 
Tim Murphy (PA) 
Marsha Blackburn (TN) 
Phil Gingrey (GA) 
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) 
Leonard Lance (NJ) 
Bill Cassidy (LA) 
Brett Guthrie (KY) 
Morgan Griffith (VA) 
Gus Bilirakis (FL) 
Renee Ellmers (NC) 
Joe Barton (TX) 
Fred Upton (MI) 

Democrat 

Ranking Member: Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ) 
John D. Dingell (MI) 
Eliot L. Engel (NY) 
Lois Capps (CA) 
Jan Schakowsky (IL) 
Jim Matheson (UT) 
Gene Green (TX) 
G.K. Butterfield (NC) 
John Barrow (GA) 
Donna M. Christensen (VI) 
Kathy Castor (FL) 
John Sarbanes (MD) 
Henry A. Waxman (CA) 

Videos!

Lucy eating Dinner from Andy Sipes on Vimeo.

Lucy pooping her pants from Andy Sipes on Vimeo.

Lucy at the Disney parade from Andy Sipes on Vimeo.

Year One Video

So we're coming up on Lucy's first birthday, April 1st. It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital for the first time. And it seems like a cliche to say that. I guess that's why cliches exist though, because they are true. Here's a video slide show I put together for Lucy's first year. It's not one picture for every day (although I think we have taken one everyday) but it is 365 pictures in 3 minutes. I hope you all enjoy.

Year One Stats

Born 19 inches 7 lbs. 12 oz.

Lived in 2 states

Visited 13 states

5 round trip plane rides

Disneyland 4 times

3 Zoos

Crawling at 5 1/2 months

Pulling herself up at 6 months

8 teeth

no hair

4 colds

2 pairs of Converse all-stars

365 days of cuteness

Currently 28 inches 20 lbs.

Woops...

Wow, it's been nearly two months since I posted anything. I could attempt to excuse myself with the list of all our travels and the visitors we've hosted in Atlanta since the new year, but the truth is lately I find myself not able to use my brain much after 8 pm (the little one's bedtime).

We, of course, had a lovely holiday with both Andy's parents and my immediate family. Lucy loved playing with her cousin, Gabriel, and went through a bit of attention withdraw when we returned to Atlanta and it was once again just the three of us. We rang in the New Year with our good friends, Matt and Pam, who stopped for a visit on their way back to Los Angeles.

Lucy turns 10 months tomorrow! I am not at all prepared for her to be a whole year old. So, I try to relish each moment of her being a baby while I can.

New developments:

Eight teeth! Four on top and four on the bottom.

Mastered the pincer grasp (forefinger-thumb). So, now she's crazy for Cheerios and all flotsam and jetsam in the carpet.

Sippy cup. It took her a while to really drink, but now she loves it. She only drinks water, but you'd think it was chocolate milk the way she white knuckle clutches it.

Eating her way through all food groups. I started feeding her off my plate and now she'll stand at my feet and beg whenever I am eating. Her father is better than I am at ignoring her manipulations.

Standing, kind of, on her own. It's not quite deliberate, it's more like she'll forget to hold on and let go of her support. She loves "cruising" though, and we've even caught her trying to climb the baby fence that separates the tv from her play area.

She says words! At least we think she does. She definitely says "baby" (quite enthusiastically). And, I think she's saying "ball," too. Since these are both variations of "buhhhh," I could be misinterpretting gibberish.

She naps! Something she should have been doing long ago. I certainly will do things differently the next time around.

She loves books. She'll spend 20 minutes by herself quitely turning page after page and examining all the pictures. We have a reading nook, and whenever one us sits down there, she scurries over excitedly. I love her snuggling into my lap and reading book upon book to her.

She climbs stairs. Can't quite get down, but she's fast at going up.

We're down to our last six weeks in Atlanta. We're going to miss so much when we leave, from all the great mommas and babies we've met, to some of the best city parks around. We've loved taking advantage of storytime at the local libraries and the infant crawl space at the Children's Museum. It's going to be a very sad farewell, but it will be exciting to rediscover Los Angeles as a new mommy looking for ways to pass the day with a babe.

We hope you all had a wonderful and blessed start to 2010 and we look fowarding to sharing more of Lucy's special moments with you throughout the year!

Where did November go?

I really can't believe how quickly the last eight months, let alone the last eight weeks, have passed. In the last two months we've made trips to Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California. All the new places and new sights have made Lucy even less interested in snuggling. She's always on the go, looking for new things to mouth. She definitely knows the forbidden fruit: shoes, remotes, iPhones, and gets really quiet when she gets her mitts on any of these items. I’m not saying she’s sneaky, but she is already showing signs of being a daredevil and a mischief maker (both of which I celebrate wholeheartedly). Her crawling is pretty fast these days and she's experimenting with letting go of furniture after she pulls herself up. I guess she'll be standing all on her own in a couple of months. She also has a new bottom tooth. That makes the score bottom 3, top 0.

Lucy has several new baby friends in Atlanta and she loves play dates at the park. She usually greets other babies with loud squeals of delight and aggressive "kisses." We call her mouthing and licking "kissing." It makes us feel less violated when she attacks our faces.

The last day of our trip to Los Angeles we spent at Disneyland. Lucy enjoyed herself to the point of exhaustion. We didn't think she'd get much out of the parade, but to our surprise she screamed and flailed her arms whenever a costumed character rounded the corner. For those in the crowd around us, she was the star, even as a spectator.

In less than two weeks, we'll get back on a plane to Oklahoma City and then to Arkansas. We can't wait to see how Lucy responds to her first Christmas tree. What a treasure it is to see old things through her eyes.

I guess I was a bit of a cynic before this babe came into our life. I used to pooh-pooh proclamations about how different the love for a child is from anything else. But every day I am more and more in love with this little person and I truly can't express how immense my emotions are for her

Again, sorry for not practicing any editorial skills with these photos (but, come on, she’s kind of cute in each one).

October

Even without the treats, Lucy had some fun on Halloween.

Andy's new trick. It terrifies me, but she hasn't fallen yet...

Pennsylvania

This is her happiest of happy faces.

She explores my childhood stomping ground for the first time.

She loves to kiss herself in the mirror. This is how she greets other babies, too.

Lucy gets into some trouble.

November, Los Angeles

Squeezing in a power nap before the parade.

Lucy spots Pooh driving a honey pot.

On the tram back to the car. A successful day at Disneyland.

Lucy loves Tommy.

Silly Lucy

Aunt Bekah feeds Lucy. This was her first meal in her highchair.