Addie and "Chunky" Monkey


"Chunky" Monkey is the only light up toy that Addie is allowed to have. Here they are watching the animals from her mobile... and later Addie has a LOT to talk about at bedtime.

ADDIE-TUDE!









































Here is Addie with Ms. Holley, her physical therapist at The Bell Center. Ms. Holley is very pleased with Addie's progress and pushes her to excel. Addie decided to get fussy with Ms. Holley and started to show her attitude...or as I like to call it her Addie-tude (I can't imagine where she gets that from)!

Bumbo


Addie loves her Bumbo seat and Julien managed to find a use for it too!

Round Two

Addie has another ear infection in both ears, an upper respiratory infection and is running a fever (she is now weighing in at 12 pounds, 10 ounces!). Amazingly enough, she is still acting so sweet and didn’t even cry during her exam today. I finally got a chance to talk to Dr. Dudgeon about the results of Addie’s EEG and he admitted that he was very surprised at the results. He told me that he honestly expected to see some abnormalities. He went on to say that we could still get an abnormal result from a future EEG if Addie’s brain does not progress in accordance with her age (or if she begins to have seizures).

While in the waiting room before Addie’s appointment, there was a little boy who came in and immediately spotted Addie. As soon as he saw her he made a comment to his mother (so the whole waiting room could hear) about Addie’s appearance and he continued to repeat it several times. As I was watching him and trying to decide how I was going to respond, I decided a response was not necessary. It was obvious his mother was extremely embarrassed and I didn’t see the point in making it worse for her. This was my first experience with a child making a comment about Addie and I know it most certainly won’t be the last time this will happen. I think when the day comes that she knows people are making fun of her will be the day when I’ll address the issue. I don’t feel I have to offer an explanation to people. I think as long as I help Addie to develop good self esteem and always let her know how beautiful she is, that she will learn to ignore the unintentional comments as well as the comments from people who are just hateful by nature.

After our appointment, I had to go back to work to pick up a few things so Addie got to see where Mommy and Daddy work every day! We went during lunch, so Addie missed seeing a lot of people but did get to see several of my friends. Although, she was very sleepy and not feeling well she managed a smile for most everyone she saw! She is such a good-natured baby! I can’t thank God enough for this perfect gift he gave to me.

Thank you all for your prayers for Addie…God is answering our prayers!

Tummy time!


Look at how great Addie is doing at pushing up with her arms! Aunt Rhonda bought Addie her new play mat; a well deserved prize for all her hard work!
Thanks Aunt Rhonda!

Silly boys


Julien had to play against his friend, Max...that always makes for a fun game!

Julien is the man!

Last night Julien hit an AMAZING home run at his baseball game! He made it look completely effortless, it was awesome! Addie was right there with me cheering Julien on...we are so very proud of him!

The sweetest sound!

Last Thursday while at The Bell Center, Ms. Jennifer was playing with Addie and was touching her mouth with a rattle and she started to laugh! Over the next few days, I kept putting Addie to the test...just to make sure that she truly was laughing and she is! Ms. Claudia at daycare said Addie was giggling and so happy yesterday and again tonight Addie is laughing. It does take quite a bit of effort to coax it out of her, but it's the sweetest sound!
Based on the information that was given to me when Addie was born, I never thought I would get to experience the joy of her laughter. Your prayers and GOD's wondrous healing power brought this joy to us!

Addie's diagnoses

Microcephaly
Pachygyria

My heart has been heavy the last few days...there is a reason I feel like now is the time to put Addie's diagnoses in writing. In due time I'm sure I will know the reason.

Happy Easter!

Words of comfort

While talking to another mom this past Thursday at The Bell Center, she offered words of comfort that another mom had passed on to her. How very true this is:

"It's not a broken dream...it's a different dream."

Wonderful news!

I got a call from Dr. Dudgeon's office this afternoon with the best news...Addie's EEG came back NORMAL!!!! Dr. Ness told us back in February that when Addie had an EEG we could expect to see an abnormal result just because of her brain. I guess she was wrong... :)

Poor Addie

Yesterday Addie had her EEG. Overall, everything went well. She was very cooperative considering the whole process took 2 ½ hours. We should know the results within 72 hours.

Addie went to see Dr. Dudgeon today for a possible ear infection. Unfortunately she has fluid in BOTH ears! She was so good and didn’t even cry during the exam. Addie is now weighing in at 11 pounds, 14 ounces! Dr. Dudgeon was very pleased with Addie’s progress. I told him we are taking things day by day and doing the best that we can. Our hard work and everyone’s prayers are making the difference!

Celebrating Nine Years!

My sweet girl had a very busy day! We spent the day by having lunch at one of Addie's favorite restaurants, then I took her s...