Healthy, Happy, and Having Fun

Gracie is healthy again which makes for a much happier girl. 

Here are a few highlights of Gracie's life since I last posted:

• Gracie had a dentist appointment and even let the dentist clean her teeth and apply a little flouride!!! (A little history:  At her first appointment she wouldn't open her mouth or sit in the dental chair.  At her second one she sat in the chair but wouldn't let them clean her teeth.)  So I felt that she made some major strides.  We practiced opening our mouth and saying "AHHHH" the whole way to the appointment.
• Gracie met with her allergist.  We postponed having her tested for a possible penicillin allergy, as her seasonal allergies are still quite bothersome and we knew she would be miserable if we took her off antihistamines for the required 5 days prior to the test.  We are now adding a prescription eye drop and a nasal spray to her list of allergy meds to see if we can get her seasonal allergies under control.  
• Gracie attended the graduation parties for two of her cousins.   She loved taking all of her cousins for walks and was not ready to go home when it was finally time to leave.  She has become a very good car rider.  I didn't think I would ever say that.  
• On Memorial Day, we set up a sprinkler ring and Gracie had a blast playing with it and in the puddle of water that pooled at the sidewalk.  She is definitely an outdoor girl.
• Gracie went bowling for a school class trip.  A big thank you to her teacher who washed down the bowling alley surfaces that Gracie would come into contact with and to the district school nurse who went along.  We so appreciate all of the extra efforts that were put forth to keep our precious little girl safe from allergens.  
• Gracie has been so tired lately.  Jeff and I are just sure that she is gearing up for a growth spurt.  I've already noticed that her shoes are starting to get small.  I think we'll be going to the shoe store this weekend for some new shoes.  
• Gracie only has two more days of school left.  After next week, she'll be on summer vacation and her daycare has a ton of fun summer activities planned.
• Last night after her bath Gracie stood in front of the mirror flexing her muscles and told me she was strong!  She cracks me up!
• Life is good and we are blessed!

Hope you're having a great Spring!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Healthy Heart!!!

On Thursday of last week, Gracie had her annual echocardiogram and visit with her Pediatric Cardiologist.  We got great news.  In the past Gracie has had two valves that showed some thickening (that's not a good sign) and a ductis that was leaky.  This has been pretty consistent each year...no changes, but all still of some concern.  This year the results were different...there was no thickening of the valves and the ductis has grown closed on it's own and there is no longer any leakage.  Gracie's cardiologist said that had he not seen Gracie's previous echos, he would not have known this was anything but a healthy heart!  YAY!!!!!  We still need to check in annually to semi-annually to keep an eye on things, specifically the valves.  Our cardiologist told us to keep on doing what we're doing.  So I guess we'll just keep on feeding her french fries and chicken nuggets!  ;)

On Friday, Gracie started coming down with a cold.  I knew there was something wrong when I wanted her to go outside with me on Thursday night for a walk and she didn't want to.  I finally convinced her to go in the stroller and halfway home, I asked her how she was doing and she told me she wanted to go home.  On Saturday, it was much of the same -- runny nose, quite a cough, not too much energy.  Although we did play outside a bit.

On Sunday morning, her fever spiked to 102 and she had uncontrollable chills and very labored, wheezie breathing.  I gave her some ibuprofen, wrapped her in a blanket, and held for 90 minutes until she started to feel a bit better.  So we gave her lots of TLC yesterday and today she is at home with daddy getting even more!  The last I checked in, her temp is normal.  So I'm hoping she is on the mend.

Stay well!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Time with Family

Gracie had a good weekend.  She got to see Grandma & Grandpa D on Saturday.  Gracie is still pretty shy around them since their return for the summer.  I know she'll warm up soon.  On Sunday, we went to Grandma & Grandpa B's house.  Gracie was good as gold for the drive to and from.  We sang and did hand motions for most of the trip and that is great fun for Gracie.  She was super excited to see cousin Jason...and Aunt Sheila and Uncle Chris.  There were lots of hugs for everyone. 

Monday was a rough day for Gracie.  She didn't get enough sleep, she didn't have school, and she was a major grump with strong behaviors for our beloved daycare team.  The morning was extremely rough and she was very unhappy and nothing consoled her.  Finally they had her lay on her cot and listen to music and that seemed to be the ticket.  The afternoon was much better.  Gracie's day yesterday was better, but she still had some strong behaviors.  She was so upset at lunchtime, she didn't eat.  She seemed very tired last night, so instead of a bath, I just stuck her in bed early and decided she would just have to stink for a day.  :(

That seemed to be the ticket...more sleep.  I just talked with her teacher and she had the best day yet.  There were no tantrums, she cooperated and joined in on all activities.  She had a great time with friends at school and had very little transition issues when getting on and off the bus.  Maybe this was because she was wearing her batman shirt to school today at her request.  She was feeling like a super hero. 

Tomorrow we have her annual echocardiogram and visit with her cardiologist.  Hopefully we'll get good results! 

Have a great rest of the week.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Another Good Week!

Where has this week gone?   It's been busy, but nothing too eventful.  Gracie has had a great week at school and at daycare.  She continues to be healthy, other than some crazy seasonal allergies.  Her eyes are majorly red and itchy.  We've been doing anti-histamine eye drops and oral meds.  They definitely help, but are not a cure all.

Gracie climbed the rock wall at daycare with a little help.  She initiated that she wanted to climb it.  She's also been very physical in climbing up to slides and crawling through tunnels at both daycare and school.  This is a big accomplishment for her.  Her vocabulary is exploding - love it!

We're planning a nice Mother's Day weekend and plan to visit with Grandma B and Grandma D.

Wishing all mothers a fantastic Mother's Day.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

A Good Week

It's been a good week.  In my last post, I was concerned about Gracie's daycare setting and her being overwhelmed with too many kids in her class.  Well kudos to the teacher and the new assistant teacher.  They are an incredible pair and Gracie is doing really well at daycare.  She is talking more than she ever has in the daycare setting, she has a group of new friends who are ready to help and encourage her, and she initiated climbing up the rock wall at daycare all on her own.  She needed a little help when she got to the top, but she did it!  YAY GRACIE!!!!!  The teachers both understand when she is overwhelmed and have put things into place to help with adjustments there.  I am very pleased.

On Tuesday night we joined the local school board to honor the bus driver, bus paraprofessional, and the district nurse who saved Gracie's life when she had a severe allergic reaction on the school bus.  It was a thrill to see these three individuals honored.  It was also a thrill to meet the bus driver and paraprofessional.  Both are incredibly wonderful people.  We know the school nurse and she is so deserving as well.  She's an incredible person also.  A news crew was there (we had no clue) and did a nice story.  It wasn't 100% accurate, but good enough.  The local newspaper wanted to do an article as well and we were going to grant permission, but they didn't keep promises and showed up at Gracie's daycare unannounced to take her picture with the bus staff.  They didn't get district permission either.  Gracie was upset and once again the bus staff had her best interests at heart and the picture didn't happen.  We decided to cancel the newspaper story.  We really didn't want the news media involved at all, our intent was to honor some very deserving people and that was done. 

The rest of the week was just busy with Jeff working long hours and Gracie and I hanging out.  She is so tired by the end of the day, that we get her fed, get a little play time and then she is ready for bed.

This weekend we had some good play time.  Gracie was really interested in putting wooden puzzles together this weekend.   Jeff and I were amazed at how good she is getting at it and how she had an incredibly long attention span as well.  She's also been playing some fun letter games on her iPad and is starting to learn the letters of the alphabet.  Yesterday I was feeding her some Mott's applesauce in the car.  She pointed to the clear "M" on the container and told me it was an "M".  I was shocked.  Then she pointed to the "O" and told me it was an "O".  She didn't know the "T", but I was pleasantly surprised with the others. 

I'm hoping for another good week.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie