Search for what?

2012 was amazing.
I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl:

Blessed Beginnings, photo

She was diagnosed with dwarfism, and we became a part of a wonderful organization we consider extended family:

LPA

And I began this blog with all of you amazing readers and followers!
And so, as I recap my year’s stats, I look to the search terms and I am SO excited to see many of them. Many people landed on my site searching for charts, medical information and generally looking for A is For Adelaide. I am so proud that people came to my page when looking for milestone and growth charts- it’s why I made a page specifically for these things. I want people to get the basic information they need, quick. As a parent, when we received Addie’s diagnosis, I wanted information, and I wanted it in an easy fashion. While I hope that parents come back and read my blog, I want them to get the answers and info they need without having to read about Addie to get it.

While that’s all heart-felt and just what every blogger wants (readers who come to their page just for what they’re looking for), we too, rely on accidental traffic. Hoping people stop by accidentally and stay on purpose. I know this happened from a few readers who have contacted me to say they their family member was diagnosed, and they searched random things until they came across Addie’s page. Now- they’re hooked on her. I love hearing how other parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends are watching Addie grow up and using her medical information and daily life to navigate their own.

Twenty-three people came to this blog searching for these terms: beautiful people with dwarfism, beautiful people with achondroplasia, miracles with achondroplasia, cute baby with dwarfism and cute people with dwarfism. I have to say that Addie is, indeed, all of these things.

Then, there are those terms that make you go… WHAAAAAAAT? As in, what did you mean to search for with these terms? Things like tall beauty big breast belly tattoo, cute tattoo’s on there’s your hand, and baby hands out of shirt. I just scratch my head. These three terms led to four hits on the site. Hmmmmm…

I was elated when I saw that there were numerous people searching for craft projects that also come to AisForAdelaide! I have a broader reach- hoorah! I was also puzzled when I saw lots of hits for Adelaide and different foods. Then I got it… people were searching for food stores in Adelaide, Australia. HA! I hope to take Addie there one day… and if I ever need frozen cranberries in Adelaide, I will not search on this blog!

Lastly, the top 7 strangest search terms, in no particular order, bringing in a total of 20 total hits:
1. sexy sweat
2. sweat
3. my sexy mom
4. sweat sexy
5. exiled mothers
6. sexy mom
7. sexy mom runner

I couldn’t make these up if I tried. But, I’ll take the last one as my own description, please 🙂

I hope 2013 brings more searches for the good stuff, the “meat”, as I like to call my more-medical information. But I also hope that people come looking to learn about Addie. To see that a child with dwarfism is just like their child in many ways, and not in other ways, too. I hope people come looking for a new crock-pot recipe, what movie moved me to tears, if there is a new toy that their child needs to have, or to see if I’ve gotten my butt in-shape for another half-marathon. I hope family across this country keeps coming to see this little beauty grow up. I hope friends keep coming to share the experience of parenthood with me. I hope, most of all, to keep educating through my experiences, about dwarfism.

Lastly, I hope when you search for true love, happily ever after, or miracle you see AisForAdelaide at the top of your search.

Marvelous Mondays!

In the spirit of starting new things for the New Year, I am starting Marvelous Monday! This will be my weekly thankful/educating post.

I found that during the month of October which is Dwarfism Awareness Month, I was posting facts about Addie and dwarfism, and people were amazed and eager to know more. This is  a GREAT thing, as I feel super excited to begin the year helping everyone learn! I have always loved teaching and tutoring, and I adore my baby girl- what better way to spend my days? For more info in the meantime, please visit Understanding Dwarfism on Facebook or on the web.

I also spent November thinking of things I was thankful for each day. While it is simple to find things I am thankful for, because I was only listing for 30 days, I wanted them to be spectacular and “deep”. Things like: I am thankful for Dr. Bober and his team at A.I. DuPont in Delaware. But, I also want to shout: I’m thankful for Sharpie markers. Those things are great for everything from labels to marking hands at a show (cheaper than paper tickets). And so, each Monday, I will share my thanks.

Lastly, as much as I LOVE my baby girl and she is my whole world (Dave and Carter and Morgan, too), I would love to have another baby someday and I don’t want to be so focused on Addie that another babe would feel sadly blog-less. I love this site and I hope to grow my followers and readers, thus I will also add one “random” thing in each MM post. Something like an awesome new recipe I tried, or great news, or a good movie I saw (I never go to the movies, so don’t count on that!).

I am hoping that my Monday blogs are something other bloggers may want to join in on, too! I truly want to give a light start to everyone’s week, while offering up some information about something people don’t know a lot about: Dwarfism.

If you have a child or family member you want to spread the word about, or some facts and information the public needs to know, I ask you, fellow bloggers, to share! Anything from autism to dementia, a charity you think needs a shout-out or a dog that needs rescuing. The young, old and everyone in between.

I hope everyone is having a Marvelous Monday! First post next week… and I already have a topic in mind!

If you have a question about dwarfism or Addie, please post in the comments or on Addie’s Facebook page. I will be answering weekly in my MM posts.

Please… keep sharing:

I am still not in contact with Gedney Foods, but have no fear. I have BIG plans for this project 🙂

Addie is thankful for snowsuits!

You Educated Yourself AND Won $25!

Thank you so much to Lynn- our winner- for educating herself and others about dwarfism! Lynn is mom to a LP, too!

This cute face wants to thank everyone who joined in the effort to educate people about dwarfism, and will continue to do so!

You Liked AisForAdelaide and Understanding Dwarfism, and that won you $25! (I’m sure you already knew this, as I emailed you, but I figured I would share it with the world!) I am quite excited for all the LIKEs we received, and I hope that everyone continues down this path of education! Becoming aware is the first step to understanding more about LP.

October is Dwarfism Awareness Month and I am hoping that Lynn, and you, my lovely readers keep spreading the knowledge!

A few things to remember:

* There are over 200 types of dwarfism. Achondroplasia (what Addie has) is the most common.
* Over 80% of people with dwarfism have average height (AH) parents and siblings.
* It is very rare to have any type of mental impairment with dwarfism– I made this bold because many people have come up to me and shared their apologies and compared her to being autistic. When I say many, I mean more than 10. While I do understand people are trying to learn, please know that dwarfism is not related to autism.
* Preferred terminology: “little person” “short stature” “dwarf” “having dwarfism”. The word “midget” is slang, antiquated and will not be tolerated by myself, my husband, my family or anyone we know.
* People with dwarfism are able to do the same things as average height people, perhaps with some adjustments- but just as capable.

Please know that we are not looking for a cure. There is nothing wrong with Addie, or any other child or adult with dwarfism. She is beautiful, happy and perfect. Simply, like other little people, she is just small. She may need surgery in the future, but many people get surgery. A lot of people ask me if there is a cure, there isn’t. How can you cure her from nothing?