Learning to sit

Addie has learned to sit unassisted for brief periods of time...this is another five-month milestone!
(Published with permission from "Big Brother Photography"...thanks Julien!)

Just plain rotten!

Addie refused to let me get ready for bed last night. She insisted on snuggling with Chunky Monkey in MY bed...her bed was just not good enough! Can you say rotten?

Baby sign language

I have been working with Addie for a while on a few basic baby signs. Last Thursday she finally started to make the connection. Addie will respond to "Momma" by waving her arms and becoming really excited and if I say and sign "up" she extends her arms! I know this is a small step, but it is HUGE to me! To me, this shows that there is a visual and auditory connection that is being made with her brain. One step at a time and a lot of hard work will prove these doctors wrong. Please continue to pray for Addie and rejoice in this accomplishment...by the way, extending her arms to be picked up is one of her five-month milestones!

Feeling better

Addie is feeling much better tonight. Her ears are draining a little, but we have managed to avoid any onset of fever. Her spirits are back up and she has resumed her usual playful mood!

Addie's surgery

Addie's surgery went very well this morning. Dr. Davis said there was quite a bit of thick fluid behind both eardrums, so he was thankful that we decided to proceed with the surgery instead of playing the "wait and see" game. Addie had a tough time waking up from the anesthesia, so we stayed a little longer than expected but she eventually woke up enough to eat and managed to keep it down. I'm glad this is now behind us and I'm anxious to see how Addie will respond over the next few days.

Mmmm

Addie and the mean applesauce have worked things out!

Last game of the season...

Blazers won which brought a nice end to the spring season! Here are the boys enjoying a water balloon/water gun fight after the game (and Addie watching ever so diligently)! They had such a great time!

Ms. Elizabeth

This is Elizabeth - Addie's speech therapist at The Bell Center.
On our first visit to The Bell Center, I was so upset and agonized over the decision to take Addie there. I had a preconceived notion about the center and I was so afraid to take the step and admit that Addie would need special services. Elizabeth was the first therapist that we met that day and the first person to offer me any hope. She has spent countless hours answering the same questions over and over again and reassuring me each step of the way.

My little artist

Julien won third place in the art show at school!

Just Us

Walking Through Memories

Julien and friends at their play - "Walking Through Memories".

The Perfect Gifts

Julien and Addie made me the most precious gifts for Mother's Day!
Julien drew this picture - the hearts represent Chris, Julien, the cat (which one I'm not sure) and me and then at the bottom is Addie coming up to join our family. Here are Addie's perfect little hand and footprints!
I am so blessed!

Oink oink

Addie all comfy cozy in her piggy pajamas!

Addie and the mean applesauce!

Addie tried applesauce for the first time, she wasn't very happy! I'm sure she'll learn to love it...eventually!

Dr. Davis

We had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Davis (ENT) today because poor Addie has fluid in her ear again!

Dr. Davis has a child that attended The Bell Center for three years, so he takes an aggressive approach to treatment because he fully understands how important it is to keep the ears free of fluid and working to their full potential.

It was nice to have a doctor who was
immediately on my side and didn't tell us to "wait and see"!

Although Addie doesn't meet the "standard criteria" we are proceeding with bilateral tubes on May 25th.

I told him I didn't want Addie to miss out on another week of not being able to hear like she should.

He explained that Addie is at high risk for problems with anesthesia and will probably need multiple sets of tubes over time due to other factors.

I honestly can't wait for the 25th to get here!

Dr. Ness

Addie had her check up with Dr. Ness (neurologist) today and her evaluation for The Baby Net program at Children’s Hospital. The physical therapist that evaluated Addie was very pleased with her and so was Dr. Ness. So pleased in fact, that Addie will not be joining The Baby Net program right now. This program would have been in addition to The Bell Center and Shelby Arc. Dr. Ness went on to say that the time frame between four and eight months is the “optimum” time for infantile seizures to begin and that if we get to one year seizure free, then Addie’s chances of developing seizures goes down quite a bit. We know that the six to nine month time frame is when Addie’s progress could slow down. Today was really a mixture of emotions. It was great that she was doing well enough not to qualify for additional services, but a whole lot of time was spent on the “wait and see” conversation and a lot of details were discussed that are very difficult to talk about or imagine. We were told again what could happen and that there is such a wide range of possibilities. We were very happy to hear that we don’t have to go back to see Dr. Ness until November…unless things change. I don’t plan on stepping foot back in there for six months…our prayers will make that happen!

Meet Patrick!

Here is Addie's famous Patrick! This is the first toy that Addie responded to, smiled at, reached for and picked up. Patrick is exclusively a car toy, so Addie gets really excited each time she gets in her car seat and gets to play with him.

Addie's Four-Month Check-Up

“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”. Those are not the words I wanted or expected to hear at Addie’s four-month check-up. I wanted so much to go in today and have a typical “well baby” visit and that didn’t happen…even on our check out form under the routine diagnosis, Addie’s other diagnoses were listed.

My perfectly great news is that Addie has officially met her four-month milestones! She can roll over (for the most part), grasp objects, bring objects to her mouth, track objects (very well) and she is LAUGHING! My heart is about to burst, I am so happy! My little chunky monkey is now up to 13 pounds and 11 ounces, eating is obviously not a problem! There is fluid in her ears for the third time (we are due to see an ENT this Friday). Although, she had to get four shots in addition to the oral vaccine she was so good during it all and only cried a little. I am so proud of her accomplishments and I am so proud to be her mother. Thank you all for your prayers – GOD is listening…that is the reason my Addie is doing so well.