Gracie went to back-up daycare on Friday morning and I hung out with her in the afternoon. She had a good day and even got to go visit the baby room a couple of times, which she absolutely loves. On Friday afternoon her and I took a nap and then we headed to the shoe store to buy some new tennis shoes. The rest of the day we just hung out at home and watched Gracie's cousin Kayla dance at State competition on a live web feed. I love modern technology and Kayla did an amazing job. I wish I could dance like that and I think Gracie was trying to figure out what she needs to do to get that good. :)
On Saturday we had a playdate with Emily (Gracie's former birth to three teacher) and her daughter Kai. It took Gracie a little while to warm up, but Kai is a vivacious, extremely social and happy little girl and it is hard not to open up and want to play with her. Gracie and Kai played with their babies and pushed a stroller and shopping cart around with their babies among other things. I could definitely see an improvement in Gracie's social skills since our last playdate. There is still room for more progress, but I was very pleased to see the interaction. Gracie had a great time. So did I! Thanks Emily and Kai for a great morning.
The rest of our Saturday wasn't quite so fun. I was late in getting lunch on the table so I gave Gracie a few bits of a cashew nut...it wasn't even a full nut. Well...we spent the next 4 hours in the E.R. Seems our little one had a severe allergic reaction....vomiting, tongue thickening, throat narrowing (thankfully she was always able to breathe), and hives everywhere. She was one incredibly miserable little girl. So now we are equipped with an epi pen that travels everywhere with her and she is not to eat peanuts or tree nuts of any kind until we do further allergy testing. We have an appointment next week. This is proving to be a little more interesting than I thought...even fruit snacks and some cereals are made with coconut oil...a no, no, right now.
The rest of our weekend was spent reading labels, throwing out all foods that had any nuts in them, and trying to explain to Gracie why she couldn't have any of her beloved coconut milk yogurt. This did not go over well at all.
By Sunday, Gracie was spunky again and most of her hives are gone. She still had a rosy cheek (yes, just one) and a few hives here and there on her neck and tummy.
No school today, so Gracie is at daycare. Our daycare provider is an R.N. who has used an epi pen before and I feel completely comfortable with Gracie in her care. We sent a bag of food along that was "nut free".
I have a call into the school nurse and a note in to her teacher, so we need to get those who care for her there informed and comfortable with the emergency procedures.
I'm learning so much and am counting our blessings....one of which is that the E.R. is only 5 minutes from our house!
I hope you are all staying well and warm. We had more snow this weekend. Everytime I would mention it to Gracie, she would look out the window and "ooooooooh" and "aaaaaaah" in wonder.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday/Thursday - New Shoes Needed
Gracie was in a great mood when I picked her up from daycare yesterday. She was dancing to Cheryl Crow music and loving every minute of it. It was like herding cats to get her out of the door and on our way home. She had to stop and point everything out as if she had never seen it before.
Once home she was in a good mood. Her school backpack was FULL of Valentine's cards and treats. We have not begun to go through them all.
Gracie didn't eat much supper last night, but later decided that she needed some Fruit Loops. She also went potty and poop in the toilet last night. I went to change her diaper and she signed "potty". I asked her if she wanted to sit on the "potty chair" and she said yes. We just keep getting closer and closer to potty training and her understanding the sensations. YAY.
Gracie talked to Aunt Cheryl on Skype last night, but thinks that she has to go pull things out of the fridge when we talk to Aunt Cheryl. I'm not sure if she just thinks its snack time or she wants to keep me hopping.
Gracie was a very tired girl last night. We read her Valentine Dora book three times at her request and then went to bed. She fell right asleep. She did take her hand and rub it down my face gently and said "nice". :)
This morning Gracie didn't want to take all of her meds. I finally got them in her, but not without effort. I discovered she does not like maple syrup. I also discovered she is outgrowing her tennis shoes. She's been in boots or stocking feet so much this winter that I didn't realize her feet had grown as much as they have. We'll be visiting the shoe store this weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Once home she was in a good mood. Her school backpack was FULL of Valentine's cards and treats. We have not begun to go through them all.
Gracie didn't eat much supper last night, but later decided that she needed some Fruit Loops. She also went potty and poop in the toilet last night. I went to change her diaper and she signed "potty". I asked her if she wanted to sit on the "potty chair" and she said yes. We just keep getting closer and closer to potty training and her understanding the sensations. YAY.
Gracie talked to Aunt Cheryl on Skype last night, but thinks that she has to go pull things out of the fridge when we talk to Aunt Cheryl. I'm not sure if she just thinks its snack time or she wants to keep me hopping.
Gracie was a very tired girl last night. We read her Valentine Dora book three times at her request and then went to bed. She fell right asleep. She did take her hand and rub it down my face gently and said "nice". :)
This morning Gracie didn't want to take all of her meds. I finally got them in her, but not without effort. I discovered she does not like maple syrup. I also discovered she is outgrowing her tennis shoes. She's been in boots or stocking feet so much this winter that I didn't realize her feet had grown as much as they have. We'll be visiting the shoe store this weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday/Wednesday - A Big Appetite
Daycare took Gracie to the Old Country Buffet for lunch. I'm expecting a call from management anytime now telling me not to have her come back. Not for misbehaving, but for eating her way through the place. I'm told she was in her glory, she had fish, a corn dog, french fries, carrots, an icy, a fudge brownie and more. I think my "she's growing" theory is right on the money.
Last night was not her best night. We couldn't get supper on the table fast enough for her, she had a huge throw everything to the floor tantrum. She did ask to take a bath, which I think she is finding out is a huge mood alterer for her. She loves a bath and I think it does wonders for her sensory needs.
It has been a struggle to get Gracie to drink her soy milk lately. She's never loved it, even though she likes vanilla or chocolate a little bit. A friend mentioned how she had tried chocolate almond milk and really liked it. So I picked some up last night and it was a hit...Gracie even asked for more. Thanks for the great suggestion, Leah!
Gracie was so tired last night, I think it took her two seconds to fall asleep. She had a good night and awoke in a great mood this morning. She was so excited because she got to wear a dress to school. I also put new socks on with her leggings, well they were a bit slippery and as she went walking in the kitchen, slipped and fell on her butt. She wasn't too happy about that.
She got to play outside at daycare yesterday and I'm guessing she might get to today again...it is mild out there and the sun is shining.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Last night was not her best night. We couldn't get supper on the table fast enough for her, she had a huge throw everything to the floor tantrum. She did ask to take a bath, which I think she is finding out is a huge mood alterer for her. She loves a bath and I think it does wonders for her sensory needs.
It has been a struggle to get Gracie to drink her soy milk lately. She's never loved it, even though she likes vanilla or chocolate a little bit. A friend mentioned how she had tried chocolate almond milk and really liked it. So I picked some up last night and it was a hit...Gracie even asked for more. Thanks for the great suggestion, Leah!
Gracie was so tired last night, I think it took her two seconds to fall asleep. She had a good night and awoke in a great mood this morning. She was so excited because she got to wear a dress to school. I also put new socks on with her leggings, well they were a bit slippery and as she went walking in the kitchen, slipped and fell on her butt. She wasn't too happy about that.
She got to play outside at daycare yesterday and I'm guessing she might get to today again...it is mild out there and the sun is shining.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday/Tuesday - Happy Valentine's Day
Gracie had a great day yesterday and was in a fantastic mood last night when she came home from school and daycare. She had a bag full of treats from daycare, the ladies who drive/ride her bus had a treat bag made up for her, and a treat from her daycare buddy.
I picked Gracie up at daycare and she was all smiles, she talked all the way home and when it was time to transition from the car to the house, she was happy and we had NO meltdowns. Daddy brought home Italian food for supper and she was so excited for "chicken". After she was done eating her food, she plopped up on my lap and helped herself to my salad.
We gave Gracie a doctor kit and some dvds for Valentine's Day. The stethoscope in the doctor kit is so much fun, it makes the sound of a heart beat and then somebody coughing. She has been to the doctor so many times, she knew exactly what to do with it. She is now imitating the coughing sound. She also loved giving mommy "shots" and then I would cry exaggeratedly. She thought this was hilarious, so when I gave her a shot, she treated me to a fantastic fake cry as well.
She was a happy girl all night long and it was so much fun to just play!!!!
Gracie had a pretty good night, although she awoke at 2:00 a.m. and was happy and way too wide awake. She handed me her sock and showed me her bare foot. I put her sock back on, she giggled and then layed her head on my chest and after a bit (thankfully) fell asleep. She did not want to wake up this morning, but did awake in a good mood.
When it came time to leave for daycare, she decided to fall to the floor and be limp girl and tell me "no". This is happening way too often and I don't have time for it in the morning. Once we get to daycare she is all happy to be there...I think it's that transition stuff again. She's just having too much fun to have to leave.
I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm convinced she is growing taller again. Her balance has been way off lately. She loses her balance so easily and has had a few near falls. Just getting used to her rapidly growing body again.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
I picked Gracie up at daycare and she was all smiles, she talked all the way home and when it was time to transition from the car to the house, she was happy and we had NO meltdowns. Daddy brought home Italian food for supper and she was so excited for "chicken". After she was done eating her food, she plopped up on my lap and helped herself to my salad.
We gave Gracie a doctor kit and some dvds for Valentine's Day. The stethoscope in the doctor kit is so much fun, it makes the sound of a heart beat and then somebody coughing. She has been to the doctor so many times, she knew exactly what to do with it. She is now imitating the coughing sound. She also loved giving mommy "shots" and then I would cry exaggeratedly. She thought this was hilarious, so when I gave her a shot, she treated me to a fantastic fake cry as well.
She was a happy girl all night long and it was so much fun to just play!!!!
Gracie had a pretty good night, although she awoke at 2:00 a.m. and was happy and way too wide awake. She handed me her sock and showed me her bare foot. I put her sock back on, she giggled and then layed her head on my chest and after a bit (thankfully) fell asleep. She did not want to wake up this morning, but did awake in a good mood.
When it came time to leave for daycare, she decided to fall to the floor and be limp girl and tell me "no". This is happening way too often and I don't have time for it in the morning. Once we get to daycare she is all happy to be there...I think it's that transition stuff again. She's just having too much fun to have to leave.
I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm convinced she is growing taller again. Her balance has been way off lately. She loses her balance so easily and has had a few near falls. Just getting used to her rapidly growing body again.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Weekend
Gracie enjoyed her Friday at back-up daycare. A dental hygenist came in to talk and I'm told our little ancy pants sat very quietly and listened very intently. She also got to visit the baby room and really enjoyed that. She did alot of dancing too. When I got there she wanted to show me EVERYTHING!!!!!
On Saturday, cousin Jason came over to play. Gracie adores Jason and was thrilled to take him for walks (thanks for going around the island with her 100 times Jason) and just play. Later in the day Aunt Sheila and Uncle Chris came over and joined us for pizza. Gracie said Sheila's name and then pointed to her. Gracie absolutely loved having the company and was sad to see them go.
Saturday night was a restless one for Gracie and then she woke up at 3:00 a.m. and wanted a drink and some bread. After that, she couldn't fall asleep. So we rocked until 4:30 a.m., when she finally fell back to sleep. She was doing some back and forth head movements that made me think that perhaps she had an ear infection. I just wasn't sure and when I asked her if her ears hurt, she told me yes and then a little later no, so I figured we better get it checked out. The good news is that her ears look great -- no infection. We don't know about her throat as she wouldn't open her mouth, but I didn't suspect a sore throat. The bad news -- we waited at Express (Urgent) Care for over 2 hours. We made some new friends. One little girl who was quite inquisitive wanted to know why Gracie's skin was dark and mine was light. I told her that was a very good question (and saw her mother exhale in relief) and that Gracie's daddy's skin was dark and Gracie looked like her daddy. I wasn't even going to go down the "adoption" explanation with her or I would have had 100 more questions. She still wanted to know why my skin was light then. I told her I was born that way and that seemed good enough.
After Gracie's nap on Sunday we went outdoors to play. Gracie had a blast. We went for a walk, we made a snowman, we pulled her on the sled, but her favorite activity was shoveling snow with the shovel she got for Christmas. When it was time to go in, I had to literally carry a screaming, kicking child into the house.
Gracie did not want to get up this morning and she was in a mood. She refused her seizure meds a couple of times, but I finally got them in her. She mellowed out after a while. She looked so cute in her red and pink Valentine's shirt and matching "pretty" in her hair. By the way, did you know that St. Valentine is the patron saint of epilepsy/seizures. I knew I liked him for a reason! :)
Wishing you all lots of love today.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday/Friday
Gracie enjoyed her morning at back-up daycare yesterday. She even made a friend named Lydia. She was a quiet little girl and the teachers were happy to have Gracie there so she had a friend. I was ecstatic that Lydia was there so that Gracie had a friend. They didn't talk to each other much, but they sat together at a table and played.
Jeff picked Gracie up at 12:30 p.m., stopped to visit a friend for a bit, and then headed home for a nap. They took a 2-1/2 hour nap, which means that Gracie was wide awake and ready to play when I got home. We had a very fun evening as Gracie was energetic and happy. She did get quite upset with us at suppertime and in anger or frustration overturned her almost empty bowl of soup and whatever else she could get to before we got to her. We calmly took her into her room, told her she was not in a timeout, but that she had to calm down. She could come out when she was ready. A little while later she emerged with sad little eyes, came over to Jeff and I and signed, as well as verbally said "sad". This is huge...I've been working with her alot on labelling her emotions. I got down to her eye level and told her I was sorry that she was sad and I gave her a hug. A little while later she came over to Jeff and I and signed (unprompted I might add) that she was sorry.
Gracie is growing again and has been eating a ton. Just for supper last night she had a bowl of homemade turkey noodle soup, a whole pear, a big hamburger bun, a container of yogurt, and some Hershey's kisses. I can tell that her legs are growing as her muscles seem tight again and her knees are bending more. We'll need to do some stretching, I think.
Gracie was in a good mood this morning. For the last couple of weeks, the only thing she wants for breakfast is Cinnamon Toaster Streudel. You could make her something else but she won't eat it. This morning, she surprised me by insisting she wanted a pear for breakfast and that is exactly what she ate. A pear, with a few bites of Toaster Streudel. The pear is definitely much healthier.
Gracie is at back-up daycare again today. On the way there, we practiced saying our last name. Gracie now knows her first and last name. YAY! When we arrived at back-up daycare she was happy but quiet. That is until she spied the teacher named Gail next door. Gracie let out a scream of delight and sprinted over to Gail. I barely got a goodbye. It was a quick wave and I knew she would be just fine. They are so good to her there. I'm hoping that perhaps Lydia will be back there today too.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Jeff picked Gracie up at 12:30 p.m., stopped to visit a friend for a bit, and then headed home for a nap. They took a 2-1/2 hour nap, which means that Gracie was wide awake and ready to play when I got home. We had a very fun evening as Gracie was energetic and happy. She did get quite upset with us at suppertime and in anger or frustration overturned her almost empty bowl of soup and whatever else she could get to before we got to her. We calmly took her into her room, told her she was not in a timeout, but that she had to calm down. She could come out when she was ready. A little while later she emerged with sad little eyes, came over to Jeff and I and signed, as well as verbally said "sad". This is huge...I've been working with her alot on labelling her emotions. I got down to her eye level and told her I was sorry that she was sad and I gave her a hug. A little while later she came over to Jeff and I and signed (unprompted I might add) that she was sorry.
Gracie is growing again and has been eating a ton. Just for supper last night she had a bowl of homemade turkey noodle soup, a whole pear, a big hamburger bun, a container of yogurt, and some Hershey's kisses. I can tell that her legs are growing as her muscles seem tight again and her knees are bending more. We'll need to do some stretching, I think.
Gracie was in a good mood this morning. For the last couple of weeks, the only thing she wants for breakfast is Cinnamon Toaster Streudel. You could make her something else but she won't eat it. This morning, she surprised me by insisting she wanted a pear for breakfast and that is exactly what she ate. A pear, with a few bites of Toaster Streudel. The pear is definitely much healthier.
Gracie is at back-up daycare again today. On the way there, we practiced saying our last name. Gracie now knows her first and last name. YAY! When we arrived at back-up daycare she was happy but quiet. That is until she spied the teacher named Gail next door. Gracie let out a scream of delight and sprinted over to Gail. I barely got a goodbye. It was a quick wave and I knew she would be just fine. They are so good to her there. I'm hoping that perhaps Lydia will be back there today too.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday/Thursday - Making Progress
Gracie had a good day at school yesterday and at daycare. She got to help make brownies at daycare yesterday and then got to take some home for her dessert. She was so proud of her brownies. She insisted on carrying them to the car and then to the house when we got home.
Gracie loved sounds when she was a baby...vacuum cleaner, dehumidifier, etc. Then as she got a bit older, she became terrified of the vacuum cleaner, blender, paper shredder, etc. So if you've come to our house when it wasn't vacuumed...it's because it was a big ordeal and Gracie would go into hysterics. Last night I decided to tackle a big stack of papers that needed shredding, while Gracie was in the bathtub and being splashed by daddy. She came out of the tub and I was just sure she would be upset, but I kept going. She came over to me and started handing me paper from my pile saying "Here's some" every time she handed me a piece of paper. Then she decided it was so much fun that she sat on my lap while I continued on. When I would stop, she would tell me "more". She loved the sensory feeling of putting her hands into all the shredded paper when we were done. She would feel through it, then take a handful and throw it on the floor. I just let her have fun. Of course when we were done playing, it was time to vacuum. Well she fell in love with the vaccum cleaner last night too and wanted to vacuum herself, so we let her. Oh she was having a blast.
Gracie had a very good night and went to back-up daycare this morning (our daycare provider's daughter has a high fever and pneumonia). They are so good to her there. They were excited that she was added on this morning and even the cook was excited when she heard Gracie was coming. This makes me happy, because with Gracie's dairy intolerance, the cook always has to make her a different meal then the other kids. Gracie was a little tentative, but happy, at first. Then she saw Gail, one of the teachers, and she ran over to her, held her hand and I barely got a wave goodbye.
Back-up daycare could only provide care til 12:30 p.m. today, so Gracie gets some time with daddy this afternoon. I know she will enjoy that immensely.
Stay warm!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie loved sounds when she was a baby...vacuum cleaner, dehumidifier, etc. Then as she got a bit older, she became terrified of the vacuum cleaner, blender, paper shredder, etc. So if you've come to our house when it wasn't vacuumed...it's because it was a big ordeal and Gracie would go into hysterics. Last night I decided to tackle a big stack of papers that needed shredding, while Gracie was in the bathtub and being splashed by daddy. She came out of the tub and I was just sure she would be upset, but I kept going. She came over to me and started handing me paper from my pile saying "Here's some" every time she handed me a piece of paper. Then she decided it was so much fun that she sat on my lap while I continued on. When I would stop, she would tell me "more". She loved the sensory feeling of putting her hands into all the shredded paper when we were done. She would feel through it, then take a handful and throw it on the floor. I just let her have fun. Of course when we were done playing, it was time to vacuum. Well she fell in love with the vaccum cleaner last night too and wanted to vacuum herself, so we let her. Oh she was having a blast.
Gracie had a very good night and went to back-up daycare this morning (our daycare provider's daughter has a high fever and pneumonia). They are so good to her there. They were excited that she was added on this morning and even the cook was excited when she heard Gracie was coming. This makes me happy, because with Gracie's dairy intolerance, the cook always has to make her a different meal then the other kids. Gracie was a little tentative, but happy, at first. Then she saw Gail, one of the teachers, and she ran over to her, held her hand and I barely got a wave goodbye.
Back-up daycare could only provide care til 12:30 p.m. today, so Gracie gets some time with daddy this afternoon. I know she will enjoy that immensely.
Stay warm!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Midweek - Stuck to Daddy Like Glue
Gracie is adjusting nicely to our daily routine with daddy back home. Jeff has been able to pick her up at daycare the last couple of days so they have time together before I get home. This has been good and now Gracie is a major daddy's girl. She is stuck to him like glue! She follows him around like a little puppy. It's really quite cute.
Gracie got to talk to Aunt Chery & Uncle Russ on Skype on Monday night, then later to Grandma and Grandpa D. She didn't have much to say to G&G until we said goodbye to them and closed out Skype. All of a sudden she got a second wind and started talking up a storm. I think she loves to Skype, but is so enamored by it that she becomes shy at times.
On Monday night, Gracie went to the cd player in the kitchen and kept pointing to the rack of cds by it, saying "Santa", "Santa", "Santa". I had no clue what she wanted. There was a CD of Christmas songs she came to love at Christmastime that we hadn't played in a while, I thought I would give that a try. Yep, success! Big smiles that mommy figured that one out.
This morning on the way to daycare, Gracie was in the van with Jeff listening to music. A song by Cameo came on that has the following lyrics: "Wave your hands in the air like you don't care." I guess she does listen to the words of songs, because all of a sudden her little arms were over her head waving.
And the most exciting news...she pooped in the toilet again this morning. Unfortunately she isn't telling me she has to go...I'm just noticing the signs and running her to the toilet. We'll need to work on the telling me part.
Gracie is staying healthy and hopefully will stay that way for a long long time. We hope you are staying healthy and warm.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie got to talk to Aunt Chery & Uncle Russ on Skype on Monday night, then later to Grandma and Grandpa D. She didn't have much to say to G&G until we said goodbye to them and closed out Skype. All of a sudden she got a second wind and started talking up a storm. I think she loves to Skype, but is so enamored by it that she becomes shy at times.
On Monday night, Gracie went to the cd player in the kitchen and kept pointing to the rack of cds by it, saying "Santa", "Santa", "Santa". I had no clue what she wanted. There was a CD of Christmas songs she came to love at Christmastime that we hadn't played in a while, I thought I would give that a try. Yep, success! Big smiles that mommy figured that one out.
This morning on the way to daycare, Gracie was in the van with Jeff listening to music. A song by Cameo came on that has the following lyrics: "Wave your hands in the air like you don't care." I guess she does listen to the words of songs, because all of a sudden her little arms were over her head waving.
And the most exciting news...she pooped in the toilet again this morning. Unfortunately she isn't telling me she has to go...I'm just noticing the signs and running her to the toilet. We'll need to work on the telling me part.
Gracie is staying healthy and hopefully will stay that way for a long long time. We hope you are staying healthy and warm.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, February 7, 2011
Daddy is Home!!!
On Friday, daycare took Gracie to an indoor play facility and Gracie had a great time. She especially loved the merry-go-round that you pedaled and the little cars (which she had to squish her big body into). She ran into a friend from the pediatric floor who recognized her and played with her for a bit.
On Saturday, Gracie and I had a girls day out. We talked to daddy on Skype, then we headed to the mall for some retail therapy. The highlights for Gracie were getting to go up and down on the escalator and having lunch in the food court, where she got to suck a non-dairy smoothie out of a cup with a straw and she got to hold it herself. She was such a good girl the whole time. Then we went home and took a two hour nap...then played and played. At Gracie's request, we watched "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue" for a while. She loves to snuggle up on the couch with me while we watch it. She can't make it the whole way through, because she gets tired. She's so funny, when she gets to the point that she is too tired, she says and waves "bye bye". That's my queue to turn it off. Then she says "nigh nigh" and we go upstairs to bed.
After being gone for 9 days to Hawaii (for work) daddy arrived home on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and Gracie is happy to have him home. So am I. Gracie was a very good girl the whole time he was gone, but it's just nice to have a second set of hands and Gracie asked about Jeff alot. She loved when she got to talk to him on the computer using Skype. Gracie gave daddy a big hug when we picked him up at the airport, then she wouldn't let him put her down, followed by a big ole headbanging tantrum. I think it was a little sensory overload. Once we got that calmed down all was well.
We did meet a little 3 year old at the airport that has Downes Syndrome. She was a sweetie pie and knew some sign language too. It was funny to see Gracie and this little girl together. Gracie looked like a giant and this little girl is super small for her age...she looked like a little Pixie.
After nap we headed to see Aunt Sheila, Uncle Chris, and cousins Kayla and Jason at their house and to watch the SuperBowl. We were spoiled with lots of yummy food. Gracie needed playtime with her cousins and we enjoyed our time there immensely. Lots of walks, piano music, and playing the drums were some of the highlights.
On the way home I drove as Jeff was tired from his travels. He sat in the back with Gracie, but Gracie wanted "mama". It was a long drive home. By the end she was in such crying hysterics she had problems catching her breath, I was a little scared she was going to throw up. Once mama held her all was well and she fell asleep not long after arriving home. After nine days with mama, she is definitely a mama's girl. Daddy is going to have to spend a little more time with her over the next few days I think.
Gracie awoke at 3:00 a.m. this morning and had a hard time falling back to sleep. She finally fell back into a restful slumber at 3:30 a.m. and slept tight til I had to wake her at 6:00 a.m. She awoke in a good mood and was ready to go find daddy. Every other morning while he was gone she would ask about him and then be sad when he wasn't there.
It's a school day, so I'm hoping she has a good day and learns a lot. Jeff really noticed an increase in speech while he was gone. I, too, have noticed it was a good week with increased verbal skills.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
On Saturday, Gracie and I had a girls day out. We talked to daddy on Skype, then we headed to the mall for some retail therapy. The highlights for Gracie were getting to go up and down on the escalator and having lunch in the food court, where she got to suck a non-dairy smoothie out of a cup with a straw and she got to hold it herself. She was such a good girl the whole time. Then we went home and took a two hour nap...then played and played. At Gracie's request, we watched "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue" for a while. She loves to snuggle up on the couch with me while we watch it. She can't make it the whole way through, because she gets tired. She's so funny, when she gets to the point that she is too tired, she says and waves "bye bye". That's my queue to turn it off. Then she says "nigh nigh" and we go upstairs to bed.
After being gone for 9 days to Hawaii (for work) daddy arrived home on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and Gracie is happy to have him home. So am I. Gracie was a very good girl the whole time he was gone, but it's just nice to have a second set of hands and Gracie asked about Jeff alot. She loved when she got to talk to him on the computer using Skype. Gracie gave daddy a big hug when we picked him up at the airport, then she wouldn't let him put her down, followed by a big ole headbanging tantrum. I think it was a little sensory overload. Once we got that calmed down all was well.
We did meet a little 3 year old at the airport that has Downes Syndrome. She was a sweetie pie and knew some sign language too. It was funny to see Gracie and this little girl together. Gracie looked like a giant and this little girl is super small for her age...she looked like a little Pixie.
After nap we headed to see Aunt Sheila, Uncle Chris, and cousins Kayla and Jason at their house and to watch the SuperBowl. We were spoiled with lots of yummy food. Gracie needed playtime with her cousins and we enjoyed our time there immensely. Lots of walks, piano music, and playing the drums were some of the highlights.
On the way home I drove as Jeff was tired from his travels. He sat in the back with Gracie, but Gracie wanted "mama". It was a long drive home. By the end she was in such crying hysterics she had problems catching her breath, I was a little scared she was going to throw up. Once mama held her all was well and she fell asleep not long after arriving home. After nine days with mama, she is definitely a mama's girl. Daddy is going to have to spend a little more time with her over the next few days I think.
Gracie awoke at 3:00 a.m. this morning and had a hard time falling back to sleep. She finally fell back into a restful slumber at 3:30 a.m. and slept tight til I had to wake her at 6:00 a.m. She awoke in a good mood and was ready to go find daddy. Every other morning while he was gone she would ask about him and then be sad when he wasn't there.
It's a school day, so I'm hoping she has a good day and learns a lot. Jeff really noticed an increase in speech while he was gone. I, too, have noticed it was a good week with increased verbal skills.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Proud Moments
Gracie has had a great week. She is feeling good and we're hoping February will be the start of good health for her.
We've had some proud moments this week:
1. Yesterday when I picked Gracie up from daycare I witnessed her having a conversation with a daycare buddy. Socialization with peers has been very difficult to non-existent for Gracie. Her daycare provider and school have been working on this with Gracie and we are seeing the benefits of their hardwork. We are extremely appreciative to both.
2. Gracie went poopie and potty in the big girl toilet yesterday. There were big cheers for that one. Thank you to all the people we called to share in our excitement. Your "woo hoos" and cheers made for a very excited little girl. I'm hoping the positive reinforcement will help in the training process.
3. Gracie was talking to daddy on Skype this week. She started to get bored with the conversation between Jeff and I and ran off to play. When we were ready to disconnect the call, I asked Gracie if she would like to say goodbye to daddy. She said "no". Then I asked her if she would like to tell daddy that she loved him. She usually signs, I love you. All of a sudden she pipes up with a very verbal "I love you!" I think that one melted daddy's heart. Mommy's heart was kind of melty too.
4. Transitions can be difficult for Gracie. One of the hardest transitions for her is when we arrive home at the end of the day. The transition of going from the car to the house 95% of the time results in a huge meltdown. We see head banging and she would just throw her body to the ground if I allowed it. It usually takes about 5 minutes of snuggling or holding to have this pass. Last night we came into the house (it was uneventful - no tantrums) and she sat on the bottom step waiting for me to take her boots off. She was very calm, then we went upstairs and she expressed rather urgently that she wanted "pasta", which was in our take out bag that we had picked up on the way home.
5. At 4:00 a.m. this morning, Gracie woke up, rolled over and kissed me on the lips, then rolled back over and went back to sleep. This mommy stuff sure is a lot of fun!!!! :)
We hope you are having a good week...stay warm!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie Good Girl
We've had some proud moments this week:
1. Yesterday when I picked Gracie up from daycare I witnessed her having a conversation with a daycare buddy. Socialization with peers has been very difficult to non-existent for Gracie. Her daycare provider and school have been working on this with Gracie and we are seeing the benefits of their hardwork. We are extremely appreciative to both.
2. Gracie went poopie and potty in the big girl toilet yesterday. There were big cheers for that one. Thank you to all the people we called to share in our excitement. Your "woo hoos" and cheers made for a very excited little girl. I'm hoping the positive reinforcement will help in the training process.
3. Gracie was talking to daddy on Skype this week. She started to get bored with the conversation between Jeff and I and ran off to play. When we were ready to disconnect the call, I asked Gracie if she would like to say goodbye to daddy. She said "no". Then I asked her if she would like to tell daddy that she loved him. She usually signs, I love you. All of a sudden she pipes up with a very verbal "I love you!" I think that one melted daddy's heart. Mommy's heart was kind of melty too.
4. Transitions can be difficult for Gracie. One of the hardest transitions for her is when we arrive home at the end of the day. The transition of going from the car to the house 95% of the time results in a huge meltdown. We see head banging and she would just throw her body to the ground if I allowed it. It usually takes about 5 minutes of snuggling or holding to have this pass. Last night we came into the house (it was uneventful - no tantrums) and she sat on the bottom step waiting for me to take her boots off. She was very calm, then we went upstairs and she expressed rather urgently that she wanted "pasta", which was in our take out bag that we had picked up on the way home.
5. At 4:00 a.m. this morning, Gracie woke up, rolled over and kissed me on the lips, then rolled back over and went back to sleep. This mommy stuff sure is a lot of fun!!!! :)
We hope you are having a good week...stay warm!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie Good Girl
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Weekend
Gracie and I were on our own this weekend. I thought it was a perfect weekend to try and get Gracie all healed up, so we stayed home other than our one quick trip to Target. Gracie was very helpful all weekend. She loves to help and be right in the mix of things. Her vocabulary is amazing me these days. Yesterday she pointed to the Sesame Street logo on one of her books and said "Sesame Street". I didn't even know she knew what that was. I know she knows Elmo, Ernie, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster, just didn't know she had the concept of Sesame Street.
Gracie played Simon Says at daycare on Friday, so I thought I would try that with her at home. She loves it! Of course we only ask for things that Simon Says right now...we don't trick her with things that Simon doesn't say. She begs to play it now.
Gracie's cold is getting much better and she seems to be happier and feeling good. She still has a cough, but it sounds very productive and I'm not worried about it. She did tug at her ear all day on Sunday and I was a little scared she might be getting an ear infection. Sunday this huge hard ball of wax came out of it. So I'm thinking that might have been the issue.
Gracie had school today despite the snow. I'm anxious to see what they worked on today.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie played Simon Says at daycare on Friday, so I thought I would try that with her at home. She loves it! Of course we only ask for things that Simon Says right now...we don't trick her with things that Simon doesn't say. She begs to play it now.
Gracie's cold is getting much better and she seems to be happier and feeling good. She still has a cough, but it sounds very productive and I'm not worried about it. She did tug at her ear all day on Sunday and I was a little scared she might be getting an ear infection. Sunday this huge hard ball of wax came out of it. So I'm thinking that might have been the issue.
Gracie had school today despite the snow. I'm anxious to see what they worked on today.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday/Friday
Gracie is on the mend. Each day she feels a little bit better and she is certainly sleeping so much better at night. She has been waking up with smiles again. We haven't seen that in a while.
Yesterday when I picked Gracie up at daycare I was thrilled to hear that she and her daycare buddies (both are 2 yrs old) had a great day of interaction and Gracie was right in the middle of it all. The three of them initiated on their own and played ring around the rosie, they played chase and just running, they talked and talked and talked to each other. This is one of the main areas we have been working on with Gracie - peer interaction.
Also on Wednesday night -- a school day -- I asked Gracie if she had fun at school and usually I'll get a smile or a "no" -- her favorite word. When I asked her this time, she had a big smile and said "I did"!
The biggest news of the week....Gracie went POOP in the toilet!!!! Just before bath last night I sat her on the stool and she did her business. We were so proud of her, we cheered and she clapped and giggled. We let her flush the toilet and wave goodbye to her "poopie". We shared the news at daycare this morning and she got all excited again.
Gracie was in a great mood this morning -- I think it has to do with a goodnight's sleep and starting to feel better. Her cough is now minimal, she still is a bit stuffed up, yet has a runny nose. Her chin is very chapped as she has been a major drool monster since she has been breathing mainly out of her mouth. We've been putting Aquaphor on it and that helps immensely.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Yesterday when I picked Gracie up at daycare I was thrilled to hear that she and her daycare buddies (both are 2 yrs old) had a great day of interaction and Gracie was right in the middle of it all. The three of them initiated on their own and played ring around the rosie, they played chase and just running, they talked and talked and talked to each other. This is one of the main areas we have been working on with Gracie - peer interaction.
Also on Wednesday night -- a school day -- I asked Gracie if she had fun at school and usually I'll get a smile or a "no" -- her favorite word. When I asked her this time, she had a big smile and said "I did"!
The biggest news of the week....Gracie went POOP in the toilet!!!! Just before bath last night I sat her on the stool and she did her business. We were so proud of her, we cheered and she clapped and giggled. We let her flush the toilet and wave goodbye to her "poopie". We shared the news at daycare this morning and she got all excited again.
Gracie was in a great mood this morning -- I think it has to do with a goodnight's sleep and starting to feel better. Her cough is now minimal, she still is a bit stuffed up, yet has a runny nose. Her chin is very chapped as she has been a major drool monster since she has been breathing mainly out of her mouth. We've been putting Aquaphor on it and that helps immensely.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday/Wednesday
Gracie's cold is still in full force, but she seems to be breathing a little easier. The cough still sounds a little rough, but productive. Gracie had a good day at daycare and when I got home had much to tell me. I didn't understand it all, unfortunately. Every day when I get home from work, I tell her "Gracie, I missed you today!" and I give her a big hug. Now she says it with me...it is so cute.
Gracie insisted she wanted chicken for supper, so I got it ready for her and then she wanted something else, but I just couldn't understand what. I asked her to show me and she wouldn't. She had a total meltdown and refused to eat anything. So I calmed her down and took her downstairs to the tub for a bath. That is always a mood brightener. It worked like a charm. Afterward, I cut up an apple for her and had some peanut butter bread for her to eat. She was enjoying it immensely when she put too much bread in her mouth, choked and couldn't breathe. Yes, daddy had to do the heimlich maneuver on her and she finally coughed it up, with a bunch of phlegm from her nose. Needless to say it scared her and that was the end of her snack.
Gracie was sweet and snuggly and tired. She did not fuss a bit when it was time for bed...she just said "nigh, nigh" and we went to her room. She fell asleep fairly quickly and slept beautifully until 12:30 a.m. She and we were awakened by our doorbell and a loud knock following. One of our neighbors had locked themselves out of their house. She was cold and had no shoes/socks or coat and needed help. While Jeff tried to help, I tried to get Gracie back to sleep, but that wasn't happening as she could hear voices. Our neighbor's sister picked her up and we were all ready to go back to sleep about 2:00 a.m., only Gracie still couldn't sleep. Then she began a coughing spurt. I bounced with her and I rocked her and finally at 3:00 a.m. she fell asleep. This is not enough sleep for a girl who needs to get up at 6:00 a.m. and who has school this morning. She was a bear to wake up. She finally did wake up but was a bit moody. She did get in a better mood and listened to music all the way to daycare. I'm thinking she may take a nice long nap at daycare today. I only hope she doesn't fall asleep at school or try to crawl in the doll bed again.
I think we may all call it an early night tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie insisted she wanted chicken for supper, so I got it ready for her and then she wanted something else, but I just couldn't understand what. I asked her to show me and she wouldn't. She had a total meltdown and refused to eat anything. So I calmed her down and took her downstairs to the tub for a bath. That is always a mood brightener. It worked like a charm. Afterward, I cut up an apple for her and had some peanut butter bread for her to eat. She was enjoying it immensely when she put too much bread in her mouth, choked and couldn't breathe. Yes, daddy had to do the heimlich maneuver on her and she finally coughed it up, with a bunch of phlegm from her nose. Needless to say it scared her and that was the end of her snack.
Gracie was sweet and snuggly and tired. She did not fuss a bit when it was time for bed...she just said "nigh, nigh" and we went to her room. She fell asleep fairly quickly and slept beautifully until 12:30 a.m. She and we were awakened by our doorbell and a loud knock following. One of our neighbors had locked themselves out of their house. She was cold and had no shoes/socks or coat and needed help. While Jeff tried to help, I tried to get Gracie back to sleep, but that wasn't happening as she could hear voices. Our neighbor's sister picked her up and we were all ready to go back to sleep about 2:00 a.m., only Gracie still couldn't sleep. Then she began a coughing spurt. I bounced with her and I rocked her and finally at 3:00 a.m. she fell asleep. This is not enough sleep for a girl who needs to get up at 6:00 a.m. and who has school this morning. She was a bear to wake up. She finally did wake up but was a bit moody. She did get in a better mood and listened to music all the way to daycare. I'm thinking she may take a nice long nap at daycare today. I only hope she doesn't fall asleep at school or try to crawl in the doll bed again.
I think we may all call it an early night tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday/Tuesday
Gracie ended up having a much better day than I anticipated on Monday with her cold and absolute grumpiness of the morning. No projects in her school folder or notes, so I'm thinking no news is good news. She took a good nap at daycare and was a good girl...other than pinching one of her daycare friends, which got her a good shove, that hurt her feelings and made her cry. Oh the life of a 3 year old!
When I arrived at daycare to pick Gracie up, she was busy helping to cook in the kitchen and she didn't notice me walk in. It was so sweet to watch her helping. I was rewarded with a big smile, but she didn't want to go home. Daycare sent us some cake home (which was delicious) and Gracie made it her personal mission to carry it out to the car on her own. She was so mad at me the whole way home because she wanted to eat it the minute we got in the car.
Gracie was in a pretty good mood last night and although she acted very tired and run down, had a really hard time falling asleep. Having slept very little the last two nights, I went to bed with her. We both slept from 9:00 p.m. - midnight without waking. Three hours of uninterupted sleep felt wonderful. The rest of our night was not so peaceful. Gracie could not breathe, could not get comfortable...so constantly tossed and turned and fussed and I just felt sorry for her, because I know that feeling. I tried to get her head elevated, but nothing quite worked how she wanted it.
Despite a restless night, Gracie was in a very good mood this morning. Her cold is in full force and she is so plugged up. Her cough is still nasty, so I will continue to be watchful of that. She ate a big breakfast and even requested a piece of cinnamon bread to go. I'm hoping she gets a good nap in this afternoon.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
When I arrived at daycare to pick Gracie up, she was busy helping to cook in the kitchen and she didn't notice me walk in. It was so sweet to watch her helping. I was rewarded with a big smile, but she didn't want to go home. Daycare sent us some cake home (which was delicious) and Gracie made it her personal mission to carry it out to the car on her own. She was so mad at me the whole way home because she wanted to eat it the minute we got in the car.
Gracie was in a pretty good mood last night and although she acted very tired and run down, had a really hard time falling asleep. Having slept very little the last two nights, I went to bed with her. We both slept from 9:00 p.m. - midnight without waking. Three hours of uninterupted sleep felt wonderful. The rest of our night was not so peaceful. Gracie could not breathe, could not get comfortable...so constantly tossed and turned and fussed and I just felt sorry for her, because I know that feeling. I tried to get her head elevated, but nothing quite worked how she wanted it.
Despite a restless night, Gracie was in a very good mood this morning. Her cold is in full force and she is so plugged up. Her cough is still nasty, so I will continue to be watchful of that. She ate a big breakfast and even requested a piece of cinnamon bread to go. I'm hoping she gets a good nap in this afternoon.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Weekend
After going through five diapers with explosive diarrhea, I picked Gracie up at daycare around noon. She had another nasty diaper for me, which prompted me to call peds. They went through the appropriate triage with me and in end told me she should be seen by a pediatrician within three days. The last time this happened, I brought her in and there was nothing they could do for her. I think it is just the act of making the call, as the diarrhea has now ended and we saw no signs of it over the weekend.
The weekend brought on a new challenge. Some sort of cold/upper respiratory virus. The cough has a bit of a rattle to it that I will definitely watch closely. The poor pumpkin can't breathe, so Saturday night and Sunday night were tough. We did catch a few zzzz's when I would sit up in bed and hold her upright to sleep. She has a really hard time falling asleep too, even though she is so tired and she wakes up a million times a night.
We had a very low key weekend and stayed home all weekend. Gracie didn't seem to mind. We read books, played, danced, sang, and just snuggled a bit too. When Gracie doesn't feel good her biggest request to mom is "bounce". She likes me to hold her and just lightly bounce her up and down as I walk. This has been a comfort to her since she was an itty bitty baby. At 45 lbs., I can still do it...but I do not look forward to the day that she becomes too heavy.
Gracie was GRUMPY this morning. She was also a major daddy's girl. Mommy could not do anything right this morning. I think she is gearing up for daddy's trip to Hawaii that is coming up soon.
Gracie did go to school and daycare this morning. I hope all goes well and I hope she gets a good nap in. I think she will need it today.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
The weekend brought on a new challenge. Some sort of cold/upper respiratory virus. The cough has a bit of a rattle to it that I will definitely watch closely. The poor pumpkin can't breathe, so Saturday night and Sunday night were tough. We did catch a few zzzz's when I would sit up in bed and hold her upright to sleep. She has a really hard time falling asleep too, even though she is so tired and she wakes up a million times a night.
We had a very low key weekend and stayed home all weekend. Gracie didn't seem to mind. We read books, played, danced, sang, and just snuggled a bit too. When Gracie doesn't feel good her biggest request to mom is "bounce". She likes me to hold her and just lightly bounce her up and down as I walk. This has been a comfort to her since she was an itty bitty baby. At 45 lbs., I can still do it...but I do not look forward to the day that she becomes too heavy.
Gracie was GRUMPY this morning. She was also a major daddy's girl. Mommy could not do anything right this morning. I think she is gearing up for daddy's trip to Hawaii that is coming up soon.
Gracie did go to school and daycare this morning. I hope all goes well and I hope she gets a good nap in. I think she will need it today.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday/Thursday
Gracie had a good day yesterday. She still has the diarrhea, but much less intense...only one bout of it yesterday, although she did not have a great appetite.
Gracie had school yesterday, but our day was a little different than normal as their was strep at daycare, so we didn't want her there until antibiotics were well underway. Jeff dropped her off at school and she was a little hesistant to go in, but once inside she had a big smile on her face. I picked Gracie up after school and was told she had a very good day and was very happy. The paraprofessional who brought her to the door for me made my day. She smiled and told me she just loved Grace to pieces. :)
I knelt down to Gracie's level when I picked her up and asked her if she had a good day. She just leaned over and gave me the sweetest kiss on my lips. Another day brightener. Gracie had a folder full of projects, a library book, and her class picture sheet. Gracie has carried that class picture sheet around the house since she got it. It is so fun to see the kids in her class. She specifically mentions "Brock" and Justine...whom she calls "Stine". She smiles whenever I talk about her teachers and paraprofessionals too.
Gracie and I spent the afternoon together and worked on some of her not favorite things -- building blocks, stacking cups, and she tolerated it all pretty nicely. She also requested to play "family". This is where we play with her doll house that has a mom, dad, and baby. This comes in very handy to play out life stories. I use it alot to act out the things we sometimes find challenging, like biting or tantrums. We also read alot of books.
Gracie is drooling constantly and is very stuffed up. I think she has a cold starting up. Bummer.
She had a very good night, but did NOT want to wake up this morning. Her stuffed puppy had to give her cheek licks to finally get her to smile and open her eyes.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie had school yesterday, but our day was a little different than normal as their was strep at daycare, so we didn't want her there until antibiotics were well underway. Jeff dropped her off at school and she was a little hesistant to go in, but once inside she had a big smile on her face. I picked Gracie up after school and was told she had a very good day and was very happy. The paraprofessional who brought her to the door for me made my day. She smiled and told me she just loved Grace to pieces. :)
I knelt down to Gracie's level when I picked her up and asked her if she had a good day. She just leaned over and gave me the sweetest kiss on my lips. Another day brightener. Gracie had a folder full of projects, a library book, and her class picture sheet. Gracie has carried that class picture sheet around the house since she got it. It is so fun to see the kids in her class. She specifically mentions "Brock" and Justine...whom she calls "Stine". She smiles whenever I talk about her teachers and paraprofessionals too.
Gracie and I spent the afternoon together and worked on some of her not favorite things -- building blocks, stacking cups, and she tolerated it all pretty nicely. She also requested to play "family". This is where we play with her doll house that has a mom, dad, and baby. This comes in very handy to play out life stories. I use it alot to act out the things we sometimes find challenging, like biting or tantrums. We also read alot of books.
Gracie is drooling constantly and is very stuffed up. I think she has a cold starting up. Bummer.
She had a very good night, but did NOT want to wake up this morning. Her stuffed puppy had to give her cheek licks to finally get her to smile and open her eyes.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday/Tuesday - The Diarrhea Continues
Gracie's diarrhea continues...5 nasty diapers at daycare and 1 at home for us. The weird thing is she has no other symptoms, just everything is running through her. Her little bottom was pretty red and sore, so we got out the Desitin and that seems to have calmed things a bit.
Jeff picked Gracie up at daycare while I ran to the grocery store. I came home to her holding a frozen bag of corn and telling me "burn". She touched a hot pan on the stove. Thankfully there was no blistering.
Gracie was very tired last night, which means her behavior was a little more challenging. Within 10 minutes of me arriving home, she had two time outs for biting me. After that she mellowed a bit and ate a good supper, although she wanted to use her banana for a telephone.
She was ready for bed about 8:15 p.m. and fell asleep fairly quickly. She needed the sleep. This morning she awoke much more easily. Her first request was that she wanted her stuffed puppy.
She didn't want alot for breakfast this morning, but guzzled the Gatorade. Our attempt to keep her hydrated. She was in a pretty good mood and loved playing "boo" with mommy and daddy. She and daddy would walk around the house and I would hide and jump out at her and say "boo".
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Jeff picked Gracie up at daycare while I ran to the grocery store. I came home to her holding a frozen bag of corn and telling me "burn". She touched a hot pan on the stove. Thankfully there was no blistering.
Gracie was very tired last night, which means her behavior was a little more challenging. Within 10 minutes of me arriving home, she had two time outs for biting me. After that she mellowed a bit and ate a good supper, although she wanted to use her banana for a telephone.
She was ready for bed about 8:15 p.m. and fell asleep fairly quickly. She needed the sleep. This morning she awoke much more easily. Her first request was that she wanted her stuffed puppy.
She didn't want alot for breakfast this morning, but guzzled the Gatorade. Our attempt to keep her hydrated. She was in a pretty good mood and loved playing "boo" with mommy and daddy. She and daddy would walk around the house and I would hide and jump out at her and say "boo".
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Weekend
Gracie had a good weekend, with the exception of some major diahhrea. She went from major constipation to major diahhrea in like three days. Getting her G.I. system balanced is not an easy task. She had a good appetite and felt fine otherwise.
On Friday night, Gracie got to see and talk to Aunt Cheryl via Skype. She enjoyed that. So did I.
On Saturday morning Gracie awoke at 3:00 a.m. and for the next two hours, her and I walked the floor and rocked in the rocking chair. She wanted to sleep, she tried to sleep, but it just didn't come easily. She fell asleep a little before 5:00 a.m., and then slept in til 7:30 a.m. We had a pretty lazy morning. In the afternoon she took an almost 2-1/2 hour nap. She slept in her bed for the first hour, then woke up and came and snuggled on the couch with me. Before I knew it she had fallen asleep on my lap and slept for a good 90 minutes. We did take an outing to Sam's club and Gracie especially enjoyed helping daddy push the flat bed cart. Then when it filled up, she enjoyed sitting on the flat bed cart and letting daddy push her. I held her hand the whole time so she wouldn't fall off.
On Sunday, we just stayed home and played for the most part. Gracie was very helpful all day and was in a very good mood. Her verbal skills continue to blossom and it's a real treat to have her be able to verbalize the majority of her wants and needs. She is getting better at listening to reasoning rather than having a falldown meltdown tantrum whenever she doesn't get what she wants. We continue to work on that though. We are still using timeouts for biting, but those are happening less frequently as well.
Gracie had a good nights sleep, although she got to bed later than usual last night, so did not want to wake up this morning. It was funny to watch her on the way to daycare this morning through the rearview mirror. She was learning how to make faces with her mouth and was practicing that. Not a sound out of her....just from one face to another.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
On Friday night, Gracie got to see and talk to Aunt Cheryl via Skype. She enjoyed that. So did I.
On Saturday morning Gracie awoke at 3:00 a.m. and for the next two hours, her and I walked the floor and rocked in the rocking chair. She wanted to sleep, she tried to sleep, but it just didn't come easily. She fell asleep a little before 5:00 a.m., and then slept in til 7:30 a.m. We had a pretty lazy morning. In the afternoon she took an almost 2-1/2 hour nap. She slept in her bed for the first hour, then woke up and came and snuggled on the couch with me. Before I knew it she had fallen asleep on my lap and slept for a good 90 minutes. We did take an outing to Sam's club and Gracie especially enjoyed helping daddy push the flat bed cart. Then when it filled up, she enjoyed sitting on the flat bed cart and letting daddy push her. I held her hand the whole time so she wouldn't fall off.
On Sunday, we just stayed home and played for the most part. Gracie was very helpful all day and was in a very good mood. Her verbal skills continue to blossom and it's a real treat to have her be able to verbalize the majority of her wants and needs. She is getting better at listening to reasoning rather than having a falldown meltdown tantrum whenever she doesn't get what she wants. We continue to work on that though. We are still using timeouts for biting, but those are happening less frequently as well.
Gracie had a good nights sleep, although she got to bed later than usual last night, so did not want to wake up this morning. It was funny to watch her on the way to daycare this morning through the rearview mirror. She was learning how to make faces with her mouth and was practicing that. Not a sound out of her....just from one face to another.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday/Friday - Our Little Comic
Gracie had another good day yesterday and was in an exceptional mood when I got home last night. Jeff picked her up at daycare, they went to visit a few work friends - they spoil her rotten, and then home. I picked up a pizza (no cheese on top) for Gracie and came home to a hungry girl. Usually I cut up Gracie's pizza into pieces, because she has a hard time biting off bite size pieces, but yesterday I decided to just let her eat it as a slice and I would be right there to assist if need be. Gracie was THRILLED! Thrilled to the point that she was laughing with delight so hard that she could barely chew. She wants to be a big girl so bad!!!! She loves the independence. She also liked her Canadian Bacon and pineapple pizza (aunt Sheila -- we know you would be proud).
Last night after bath (a major splash fest), she was pretending to talk on the telephone. She loves to do this. So I asked her who she was talking to and her response was, and I quote: "I think it's Jason!" Jason is one of her cousins that she absolutely adores.
Gracie had a pretty good night...restless at times, but for the most part an okay night. She was extra snuggly this morning. As her and I were all snuggled in on the couch, she asked for daddy. I told her he was in the shower and she pinched her little nose shut and said "stinky". Then smiled.
This child is constantly cracking us up. It's like we have our own little comic in the house.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Last night after bath (a major splash fest), she was pretending to talk on the telephone. She loves to do this. So I asked her who she was talking to and her response was, and I quote: "I think it's Jason!" Jason is one of her cousins that she absolutely adores.
Gracie had a pretty good night...restless at times, but for the most part an okay night. She was extra snuggly this morning. As her and I were all snuggled in on the couch, she asked for daddy. I told her he was in the shower and she pinched her little nose shut and said "stinky". Then smiled.
This child is constantly cracking us up. It's like we have our own little comic in the house.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday/Thursday
Gracie is staying healthy and had a good day yesterday. She brought home a booklet from preschool yesterday that she had made. The topic of the book was "The body". It talked about eyes, nose, mouth, ears, legs, and arms. She was very excited to read through it with me last night and point to all the right parts.
Gracie slept well last night as long as her head was on my stomach and/or chest. She doesn't seem to be coming down with a cold, so I'm not sure what that was about. She awoke early this morning and was ready to start the day. She was happy and cooperative (mostly) and we got dressed in record time this morning. We even had a few minutes to spare before we left for daycare...that never happens.
When we got to daycare she was thrilled with the music that was on and was dancing up a storm when I left. Those little hips were swaying! :)
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie slept well last night as long as her head was on my stomach and/or chest. She doesn't seem to be coming down with a cold, so I'm not sure what that was about. She awoke early this morning and was ready to start the day. She was happy and cooperative (mostly) and we got dressed in record time this morning. We even had a few minutes to spare before we left for daycare...that never happens.
When we got to daycare she was thrilled with the music that was on and was dancing up a storm when I left. Those little hips were swaying! :)
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday/Wednesday
Ever since Gracie's bout with the flu she has been struggling with constipation. I think she just wasn't drinking enough fluids and getting the right foods in her. I can't tell you how heartbreaking it is to see her try to do her business and then look up at me with big eyes as if to say "do something, please". With a little help from Miralax, extra fruit, and juices, we seem to be headed on the right track again.
Gracie had a good day at daycare yesterday. She even got to go outside for a little walk in the afternoon. I think the fresh air did wonders for her. She was in an awesome mood last night. She splashed like crazy in the tub and I heard her and daddy singing at the top of their lungs as they had a little splash fest. After she was dried off, she snuggled into my lap on the rocking chair and we watched a little bit of "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue". She loves fairies and anything to do with flying.
Gracie pretty much asked to go to bed last night and fell asleep in seconds. She hardly moved all night and really wasn't sure she wanted to get up this morning either. Once awake she was a happy girl and had to take her musical puppy in the car with her. As we were driving to daycare, she pushed the puppy's nose...this makes the puppy sneeze. She thought it was very funny when I responded to the sneeze with a "God Bless You, Puppy"!
Gracie has school today, so I'm sure she will be exhausted tonight. I always look forward to seeing what fun little projects she brings home in her Dora backpack.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie had a good day at daycare yesterday. She even got to go outside for a little walk in the afternoon. I think the fresh air did wonders for her. She was in an awesome mood last night. She splashed like crazy in the tub and I heard her and daddy singing at the top of their lungs as they had a little splash fest. After she was dried off, she snuggled into my lap on the rocking chair and we watched a little bit of "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue". She loves fairies and anything to do with flying.
Gracie pretty much asked to go to bed last night and fell asleep in seconds. She hardly moved all night and really wasn't sure she wanted to get up this morning either. Once awake she was a happy girl and had to take her musical puppy in the car with her. As we were driving to daycare, she pushed the puppy's nose...this makes the puppy sneeze. She thought it was very funny when I responded to the sneeze with a "God Bless You, Puppy"!
Gracie has school today, so I'm sure she will be exhausted tonight. I always look forward to seeing what fun little projects she brings home in her Dora backpack.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Neurology Appointment
The stomach flu continued through the weekend, as did our struggles with getting seizure meds taken. I was so excited when on Sunday Gracie asked me for a banana and ate the whole thing. Her appetite is slowly returning and we are all on the mend. Jeff remained healthy throughout.
Yesterday (Monday) it was back to work and daycare for all of us. Gracie also had her 6-month appointment with her neurologist in the afternoon. We had extended her 3-month appointments to 6-months, but her break through seizures make it evident that the time between is too long. We're going to try every 4-months and see if that works out better. We were a little nervous that her seizure type was changing, but in talking with her neurologist, we aren't convinced that is so - Gracie's seizure type is Complex Partials and the activity she was having seems to fit that. If we see any more seizure activity or anything that continues to look concerning, she will need to have another EEG. I'm hoping we can avoid that.
Gracie's appointment went very well. Her neurologist was very pleased to hear her speak and to hear some of her words. She was thrilled to hear that she asks us "What's that?" alot. Dr. N. was also thrilled and amazed with Gracie's muscle tone and flexibility. She has always struggled with low tone and very tight muscles, but there has been a world of improvement with both, to the point of it really not being problematic anymore. Gracie was assessed at a solid 2 year old to 2-1/2 year old level. I was thrilled with this assessment, meaning she is only a year delayed. This is a great place to be knowing all of the challenges she has overcome and continues to work through.
Gracie was like a little rock star returning to the clinic. Every one there knows her by first name and she had hugs and smiles for everyone. You can definitely tell that was our home away from home for a long time. We made some good friends.
Gracie had a good evening, but a very restless night. She kept crying out in her sleep. I continually had to assure her that mommy was there and then she would calm down. At one point she started saying and signing "more" in her sleep. I'm not sure what that was about. She did have a really hard time waking up this morning. It was also a rougher morning for her behaviorally as Jeff was on late shift, so he was in the house. For some reason, mornings go so much more smoothly if it is just her and I. It's not anything Jeff does or doesn't do, it is just a break in the routine. We also find her behavior is always much better one-on-one, than when all three of us are home.
I'm hoping she has a more restful night tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Yesterday (Monday) it was back to work and daycare for all of us. Gracie also had her 6-month appointment with her neurologist in the afternoon. We had extended her 3-month appointments to 6-months, but her break through seizures make it evident that the time between is too long. We're going to try every 4-months and see if that works out better. We were a little nervous that her seizure type was changing, but in talking with her neurologist, we aren't convinced that is so - Gracie's seizure type is Complex Partials and the activity she was having seems to fit that. If we see any more seizure activity or anything that continues to look concerning, she will need to have another EEG. I'm hoping we can avoid that.
Gracie's appointment went very well. Her neurologist was very pleased to hear her speak and to hear some of her words. She was thrilled to hear that she asks us "What's that?" alot. Dr. N. was also thrilled and amazed with Gracie's muscle tone and flexibility. She has always struggled with low tone and very tight muscles, but there has been a world of improvement with both, to the point of it really not being problematic anymore. Gracie was assessed at a solid 2 year old to 2-1/2 year old level. I was thrilled with this assessment, meaning she is only a year delayed. This is a great place to be knowing all of the challenges she has overcome and continues to work through.
Gracie was like a little rock star returning to the clinic. Every one there knows her by first name and she had hugs and smiles for everyone. You can definitely tell that was our home away from home for a long time. We made some good friends.
Gracie had a good evening, but a very restless night. She kept crying out in her sleep. I continually had to assure her that mommy was there and then she would calm down. At one point she started saying and signing "more" in her sleep. I'm not sure what that was about. She did have a really hard time waking up this morning. It was also a rougher morning for her behaviorally as Jeff was on late shift, so he was in the house. For some reason, mornings go so much more smoothly if it is just her and I. It's not anything Jeff does or doesn't do, it is just a break in the routine. We also find her behavior is always much better one-on-one, than when all three of us are home.
I'm hoping she has a more restful night tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Stomach Flu
Sorry no updates lately. Gracie has had the stomach flu -- the worst she has ever had it. She was up from midnight to 5:00 a.m. on Thursday vomiting every 15 to 30 minutes. It wasn't pretty. We changed her beding and jammies so many times, our washing machine was on overdrive yesterday. Getting her seizure meds in her was a trial for all of us and no one came out of it unscathed. Yet, I couldn't blame her one bit for not wanting them...she just didn't want anything to eat.
Add to that fever and chills for the poor pumpkin. Today she seems to be feeling much better, although her appetite still isn't there. She did take her seizure meds effortlessly this morning, thank heavens. That is such a stresser for me.
I awoke in the middle of the night with the flu as well...I felt it coming on yesterday. So I am home from work today, as is Jeff. He is taking care of Gracie and I've been sleeping all day. It is so hard for Gracie to know that mommy is behind a closed door and she can't come see me. We tried to keep the door open, but she was there constantly and she needed to play, not feel bad for mommy.
We're hoping Jeff doesn't get it, but it is a strong bug. Daycare has it as well. So hopefully we will all be healthy this weekend so we can disinfect the house!
Sending vibes for good health your way.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Add to that fever and chills for the poor pumpkin. Today she seems to be feeling much better, although her appetite still isn't there. She did take her seizure meds effortlessly this morning, thank heavens. That is such a stresser for me.
I awoke in the middle of the night with the flu as well...I felt it coming on yesterday. So I am home from work today, as is Jeff. He is taking care of Gracie and I've been sleeping all day. It is so hard for Gracie to know that mommy is behind a closed door and she can't come see me. We tried to keep the door open, but she was there constantly and she needed to play, not feel bad for mommy.
We're hoping Jeff doesn't get it, but it is a strong bug. Daycare has it as well. So hopefully we will all be healthy this weekend so we can disinfect the house!
Sending vibes for good health your way.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday & Tuesday
Gracie was one tired girl on Monday night. Jeff picked her up at daycare and they played out in the snow for a little while. Then she was quite upset because mommy wasn't home. She fell asleep sitting on Jeff's lap about 5 minutes before I got home from work. I made supper while she slept and she woke up just in time to gobble it down. The nap and good meal gave her a second wind to play, play, play. She had a very hard time falling back to sleep at bedtime, but when she finally did, I don't think she moved all night. I really don't. She was in the exact same position this morning as when she fell asleep last night.
She awoke bright and early at 5:30 a.m. this morning and was in a very good mood. When I took her to daycare she had a momentary lapse of that good mood. She wouldn't walk up the steps, I pretty much drag/carried her up the steps and when we got to the top she collapsed on the floor and wouldn't move. I moved her to the middle of the living room and that was what it took to realize that she could have some fun today. She perked up after that and was laughing by the time I left.
Jeff picked Gracie up from daycare and they had a good time playing before I got home. She was definitely daddy's girl tonight. She splashed in the bath and was a "brute" with daddy as they wrestled around.
At 8:30 a.m. she informed us she was tired, handed me her blankie, told Jeff "bye", his queue to leave her room. She then snuggled with mommy and fell asleep after a bit.
Sweet dreams little one.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
She awoke bright and early at 5:30 a.m. this morning and was in a very good mood. When I took her to daycare she had a momentary lapse of that good mood. She wouldn't walk up the steps, I pretty much drag/carried her up the steps and when we got to the top she collapsed on the floor and wouldn't move. I moved her to the middle of the living room and that was what it took to realize that she could have some fun today. She perked up after that and was laughing by the time I left.
Jeff picked Gracie up from daycare and they had a good time playing before I got home. She was definitely daddy's girl tonight. She splashed in the bath and was a "brute" with daddy as they wrestled around.
At 8:30 a.m. she informed us she was tired, handed me her blankie, told Jeff "bye", his queue to leave her room. She then snuggled with mommy and fell asleep after a bit.
Sweet dreams little one.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Weekend - Happy New Year
On Saturday, Aunt Sheila, Uncle Chris, and cousins Kayla and Jason came to visit. Gracie was in heaven!!! She had a great time playing and getting a ton of attention. She didn't have much of an appetite all day, but I think it is because she was having too much fun to eat. We had dinner together and we all had some sparkling juice in wine glasses. Gracie insisted she get to drink out of the special glass stemware as well. She notices everything. She was utterly exhausted by the time she went to bed. I think she fell asleep in two seconds flat.
Sunday was a pretty uneventful day. We just got a lot of things done around the house that needed to be done. Gracie was happy for the most part through the day. She played with her new toys and we read some books. We did alot of singing with actions too. That is one of her favorite things to do these days. The Itsy Bitsy Spider is a definite favorite. The Animal Action song is fun too.
Gracie had a hard time falling asleep last night. She was a trooper about it though. She had a hard time waking up, but once she did she was in a much better mood than I anticipated. I asked her if she wanted to go to daycare and school and she told me "no", but I think she was more than ready to get back into the routine. When she got to daycare there were some new toys that looked intriguing. It will be interesting to see how school goes for her. I anticipate a tired girl tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Sunday was a pretty uneventful day. We just got a lot of things done around the house that needed to be done. Gracie was happy for the most part through the day. She played with her new toys and we read some books. We did alot of singing with actions too. That is one of her favorite things to do these days. The Itsy Bitsy Spider is a definite favorite. The Animal Action song is fun too.
Gracie had a hard time falling asleep last night. She was a trooper about it though. She had a hard time waking up, but once she did she was in a much better mood than I anticipated. I asked her if she wanted to go to daycare and school and she told me "no", but I think she was more than ready to get back into the routine. When she got to daycare there were some new toys that looked intriguing. It will be interesting to see how school goes for her. I anticipate a tired girl tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday - Daddy's Birthday
Gracie had a very good night and didn't wake up til 8:00 a.m. I'm not sure she has EVER let us sleep in that late. I think it was her birthday present to Jeff. Gracie's morning didn't start out so good as she felt the need to bite me...so into her room for a couple of time outs. She had a great time in the bathtub, but other than that it was a fairly rough morning at times. Once again the signs of going stir crazy were there.
At lunch time, she burned her mouth quite badly with some potatoes that were cooling. They had sat out for a bit and I didn't realize they were as hot as they were. I felt horrible and so did she. She got a popsicle for lunch to cool her mouth down and that was a hit, but afterward when she tried to eat anything hard, like the croutons in my salad she would wince in pain. She did finally eat a peanut butter sandwich with a very soft bun.
Gracie's mood continued to go down hill. So we took her to the clinic which was closed and let her run around the subways and play the pianos and just go crazy. She had a blast! It was just what she needed. We stopped at the patient cafeteria at the hospital and had some cookies and lemonade as a snack, but all and all, she ran around for a little over two hours.
It is Jeff's birthday today and Gracie helped me put the candles in his cake. For those of you who know Gracie well, she LOVES cake...and even more than her great love of cake is singing Happy Birthday, and if you happen to add lit candles to the mix, you have just made her day. She was smiles from ear to ear and we had to sing to Jeff at least three times. She had cake from head to toe and she enjoyed every morsel.
We skipped nap today as we need to get Gracie back on her regular schedule. She was one tired girl, but when bedtime came she got a second wind and wanted to play with her stuffed Baby Bop, BJ, and Barney. She also got to talk to Grandpa D. on Skype tonight...actually she waved a couple of times, but said nothing.
She is now sound asleep. I'm not far behind.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
At lunch time, she burned her mouth quite badly with some potatoes that were cooling. They had sat out for a bit and I didn't realize they were as hot as they were. I felt horrible and so did she. She got a popsicle for lunch to cool her mouth down and that was a hit, but afterward when she tried to eat anything hard, like the croutons in my salad she would wince in pain. She did finally eat a peanut butter sandwich with a very soft bun.
Gracie's mood continued to go down hill. So we took her to the clinic which was closed and let her run around the subways and play the pianos and just go crazy. She had a blast! It was just what she needed. We stopped at the patient cafeteria at the hospital and had some cookies and lemonade as a snack, but all and all, she ran around for a little over two hours.
It is Jeff's birthday today and Gracie helped me put the candles in his cake. For those of you who know Gracie well, she LOVES cake...and even more than her great love of cake is singing Happy Birthday, and if you happen to add lit candles to the mix, you have just made her day. She was smiles from ear to ear and we had to sing to Jeff at least three times. She had cake from head to toe and she enjoyed every morsel.
We skipped nap today as we need to get Gracie back on her regular schedule. She was one tired girl, but when bedtime came she got a second wind and wanted to play with her stuffed Baby Bop, BJ, and Barney. She also got to talk to Grandpa D. on Skype tonight...actually she waved a couple of times, but said nothing.
She is now sound asleep. I'm not far behind.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday - Shopping with Mom
Gracie had a horribly restless night. She was awake more times than I can count and awoke a very grumpy girl. Once she had some breakfast she mellowed a bit, then we headed downstairs for a bath. I filled the tub extra full and let her play, splash, and swim in the tub for quite a while. By the time she was done, there wasn't much water left in the tub. She had a great time and it was good exercise for her. That put her in a good mood and she and I played and played downstairs and had a good time.
After lunch Gracie and I headed to Target, so daddy, who is down and out with a head cold, could take a nap. The carts were wet from the rain, so Gracie couldn't sit in the cart and had to walk the whole time. She did great. She helped me push the cart and only tried to wander off a few times.
She got a snack when we got home and then didn't want to take a nap. She was sweet as we layed down, but as she became restless, she began to bite and hit me. After sweetness and reasoning on my part didn't work, I left her in the bedroom by herself to have some time by herself. That helped quite a bit. She did end up taking a nap, but was very groggy and had a hard time being happy upon awakening. I don't think nap was long enough. So her and I snuggled for quite awhile.
After supper, she livened up quite a bit and we played "chase" and "boo" games around the house. Gracie loved that. Then we watched part of "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Escape" and my girl who sits still for not much, sat in my lap for just about an hour taking it all in. She loves Tinkerbell and fairies.
I finally put a very tired girl to bed at 10:00 p.m. Sweet dreams little one.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
After lunch Gracie and I headed to Target, so daddy, who is down and out with a head cold, could take a nap. The carts were wet from the rain, so Gracie couldn't sit in the cart and had to walk the whole time. She did great. She helped me push the cart and only tried to wander off a few times.
She got a snack when we got home and then didn't want to take a nap. She was sweet as we layed down, but as she became restless, she began to bite and hit me. After sweetness and reasoning on my part didn't work, I left her in the bedroom by herself to have some time by herself. That helped quite a bit. She did end up taking a nap, but was very groggy and had a hard time being happy upon awakening. I don't think nap was long enough. So her and I snuggled for quite awhile.
After supper, she livened up quite a bit and we played "chase" and "boo" games around the house. Gracie loved that. Then we watched part of "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Escape" and my girl who sits still for not much, sat in my lap for just about an hour taking it all in. She loves Tinkerbell and fairies.
I finally put a very tired girl to bed at 10:00 p.m. Sweet dreams little one.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday
After nap yesterday we put a bookshelf in Gracie's room and took a few other things out. It really helped to open the room up and give her more space to dance and play. We put a boombox on top of the bookshelf and that was a bit hit. Since this change, she has spent a lot of time in her room dancing and singing. We also made a little sitting area by her book shelf to snuggle in and look at books.
Gracie took a 2-1/2 hour nap yesterday and then wasn't tired at bedtime. With us home, her routine is being altered to sleeping in later, later nap, and then to bed later than usual. This is all fine now as we get more time to enjoy her, but will be rough to get her back on schedule next week.
Gracie slept in til 7:45 a.m. this morning. She got to have yogurt and sprinkles (seizure meds) in bed this morning as she should have them earlier than that, but I hate to wake her and struggle with her taking meds. She has had a good morning and after lunch I took her outside for a walk. At first she wanted no part of the walk and wanted to be carried. I insisted she walk and as soon as we got going, she enjoyed it. She especially loved putting her mittens, then her bare hands in the snow. She did not want to go in the house when we were all done.
Gracie is now napping...I'm going to go catch a quick snooze too. I could really get used to these afternoon naps.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie took a 2-1/2 hour nap yesterday and then wasn't tired at bedtime. With us home, her routine is being altered to sleeping in later, later nap, and then to bed later than usual. This is all fine now as we get more time to enjoy her, but will be rough to get her back on schedule next week.
Gracie slept in til 7:45 a.m. this morning. She got to have yogurt and sprinkles (seizure meds) in bed this morning as she should have them earlier than that, but I hate to wake her and struggle with her taking meds. She has had a good morning and after lunch I took her outside for a walk. At first she wanted no part of the walk and wanted to be carried. I insisted she walk and as soon as we got going, she enjoyed it. She especially loved putting her mittens, then her bare hands in the snow. She did not want to go in the house when we were all done.
Gracie is now napping...I'm going to go catch a quick snooze too. I could really get used to these afternoon naps.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday - Going Stir Crazy
Gracie had a good day with daddy yesterday, although she had alot of pent up aggression when I got home. It wasn't naughty aggression, you just could see the energy cloud around her. She got to see and talk to Grandma and Grandpa D on Skype last night, but played shy. We had a good night and Gracie slept in til 7:00 a.m. this morning. That was a great treat.
She was into EVERYTHING this morning and purposely would go for things she knows are "no, no's". She was in quite the mood as well, pulling hair, biting, nothing was quite right. She has come down with my cold, but it all goes back to being housebound and stir crazy. So I got her dressed and we headed to Kohls to return a dress that didn't work out for her and then to the mall to return a few things. Then I just let her loose to run with me a step behind her at all times. I took her to Herbergers to ride the escalator (she loves this) and we even found a couple of new dresses that were 70% off. This was a score because she is outgrowing most of her dresses and she LOVES to wear dresses.
Gracie ran and ran and ran and ran and was so excited to be running. I let her run until I could see her getting tired and then she asked to be picked up and that was my queue that it was time to go home. We stopped at McDonald's and picked up lunch for her which was another treat. She had that hamburger devoured practically before I got it out of the bag.
This was all a major mood changer. She has been in the best mood ever since. We also put a book shelf in her room and moved a few things out and added a boom box to the top of the bookshelf. She spent the last hour in her room listening to music, dancing, singing, and doing the actions to the songs.
Gracie is napping now, but I think we'll try to get outside for a little while after nap time too. This having to be in the house is hard for a three year old that likes to move. I also noticed she must be growing as her knees are very tight and bent again. Time to do a little stretching of those muscles.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
She was into EVERYTHING this morning and purposely would go for things she knows are "no, no's". She was in quite the mood as well, pulling hair, biting, nothing was quite right. She has come down with my cold, but it all goes back to being housebound and stir crazy. So I got her dressed and we headed to Kohls to return a dress that didn't work out for her and then to the mall to return a few things. Then I just let her loose to run with me a step behind her at all times. I took her to Herbergers to ride the escalator (she loves this) and we even found a couple of new dresses that were 70% off. This was a score because she is outgrowing most of her dresses and she LOVES to wear dresses.
Gracie ran and ran and ran and ran and was so excited to be running. I let her run until I could see her getting tired and then she asked to be picked up and that was my queue that it was time to go home. We stopped at McDonald's and picked up lunch for her which was another treat. She had that hamburger devoured practically before I got it out of the bag.
This was all a major mood changer. She has been in the best mood ever since. We also put a book shelf in her room and moved a few things out and added a boom box to the top of the bookshelf. She spent the last hour in her room listening to music, dancing, singing, and doing the actions to the songs.
Gracie is napping now, but I think we'll try to get outside for a little while after nap time too. This having to be in the house is hard for a three year old that likes to move. I also noticed she must be growing as her knees are very tight and bent again. Time to do a little stretching of those muscles.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, December 27, 2010
Merry Christmas!!
For some reason it is Christmas time from year to year that is so vivid in my mind. I use that as a marker of where we've been and how far we've come. Gracie is definitely coming into her own. She is a beautiful little girl that is incredibly smart. We don't always give her credit for how smart she is because she can't always verbalize, but growth in that area is remarkable as well. I saw Christmas this year through the eyes of a three-year old and what an awesome renewal of all the joys and wonders of Christmas. The excitement as she would see the lights on the tree or the ornaments that I allow her to touch, but not remove from the tree. Somehow, a few of them found their way off the tree. I wonder how that happened. :) Yet, I don't care. I marvel at the fact that she is interested in the ornaments, telling me what they are. This was also the first Christmas that Gracie realized it is FUN to open presents. A skill that was difficult for her in the past has become a great joy. There is nothing quite like the sound of a child discovering new and exciting things.
Jeff, Gracie, and I spent Christmas Eve day together and had our own little celebration with presents and music. Gracie was in a great mood and we all had fun. We went to Christmas Eve service at Jeff's church and Gracie was as good as gold throughout the ENTIRE service. That was my gift this Christmas. She did move to the other side of me on her own and found a spot where she could see through all the big people. She enjoyed the candle lighting during "Silent Night" and wanted to blow my candle out. At the very end of the service, everyone said "Merry Christmas" very loudly and that scared her. So we had hysterical tears for a bit. Aunt Kathy came over for supper after the service and we all had a relaxing evening.
On Christmas Day, Gracie enjoyed spending time with Grandma & Grandpa B. and all of my family in Iowa. She was the littlest one in attendance for most of the day, so she gets the undivided attention of all her cousins, aunts, and uncles and she loves it. She was spoiled with lots of fun presents, taking everyone on walks around the house, enjoyed dancing to music on cousin Brent's cell phone -- I think it may even have been ringtones she was dancing to. She took her new little stuffed puppy along and had Grandma B babysit…er...puppysit it for the day. She would return to pet it and check on it occasionally, but left it for Grandma to care for.
Yesterday, the day after Christmas, was a little bit rough. Gracie was tired and grumpy from all the excitement the day before. Add to that fact I was nursing a head cold and not feeling great, so the two of us were grumpy together. We both took a two hour nap in the afternoon and it did wonders for both of us. Gracie did have fun playing with her new things, watching some new videos, snuggling with her new piggy pillow pet, and her new Tinkerbell sleeping bag is a sensory delight. It's slippery and she loves to carry it around or have me lay it on her bed and she would take little breaks throughout the day to go snuggle on it and rub it for a few minutes.
Last night Gracie asked for some M&M's. So I put some in a little bowl and had her sit at her little table to eat them. She motioned that Dora (her stuffed Dora doll) needed to sit closer. So I scooted Dora's chair right next to hers. It was so sweet to watch her eat M&M's and every so often feed one to Dora.
Gracie is at home with daddy today and I'll join them for some vacation time the rest of the week.
We are so blessed!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Jeff, Gracie, and I spent Christmas Eve day together and had our own little celebration with presents and music. Gracie was in a great mood and we all had fun. We went to Christmas Eve service at Jeff's church and Gracie was as good as gold throughout the ENTIRE service. That was my gift this Christmas. She did move to the other side of me on her own and found a spot where she could see through all the big people. She enjoyed the candle lighting during "Silent Night" and wanted to blow my candle out. At the very end of the service, everyone said "Merry Christmas" very loudly and that scared her. So we had hysterical tears for a bit. Aunt Kathy came over for supper after the service and we all had a relaxing evening.
On Christmas Day, Gracie enjoyed spending time with Grandma & Grandpa B. and all of my family in Iowa. She was the littlest one in attendance for most of the day, so she gets the undivided attention of all her cousins, aunts, and uncles and she loves it. She was spoiled with lots of fun presents, taking everyone on walks around the house, enjoyed dancing to music on cousin Brent's cell phone -- I think it may even have been ringtones she was dancing to. She took her new little stuffed puppy along and had Grandma B babysit…er...puppysit it for the day. She would return to pet it and check on it occasionally, but left it for Grandma to care for.
Yesterday, the day after Christmas, was a little bit rough. Gracie was tired and grumpy from all the excitement the day before. Add to that fact I was nursing a head cold and not feeling great, so the two of us were grumpy together. We both took a two hour nap in the afternoon and it did wonders for both of us. Gracie did have fun playing with her new things, watching some new videos, snuggling with her new piggy pillow pet, and her new Tinkerbell sleeping bag is a sensory delight. It's slippery and she loves to carry it around or have me lay it on her bed and she would take little breaks throughout the day to go snuggle on it and rub it for a few minutes.
Last night Gracie asked for some M&M's. So I put some in a little bowl and had her sit at her little table to eat them. She motioned that Dora (her stuffed Dora doll) needed to sit closer. So I scooted Dora's chair right next to hers. It was so sweet to watch her eat M&M's and every so often feed one to Dora.
Gracie is at home with daddy today and I'll join them for some vacation time the rest of the week.
We are so blessed!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday and Thursday
Gracie is feeling better and was able to go to school yesterday. She came home with a lot of fun things in her back pack....a construction paper gingerbread man, a reindeer made out of cut outs of her hands and a foot, a library book about Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and a treat bag from her bus drivers.
Gracie did not feel the need for a nap yesterday, so was a very tired little girl last night. She also thought that candy would be a good supper last night. Jeff and I didn't quite agree. Gracie opted for nothing, a little later she decided that some pumpkin bread would make a good supper, although I don't think she was too hungry because she just nibbled at it. She sat at her little table, sharing it with her Dora doll. By the way, she is VERY into Dora the Explorer these days. I don't mind a bit. She learns good things from Dora.
Gracie went to bed at 8:00 p.m. last night, giving me time to decorate our Christmas tree. I think she will be excited to see all the decorations on it tonight. I love seeing all the lights and decorations through her eyes. She gets so excited about it.
Gracie has never enjoyed opening presents or anything really. I think it has been a challenge to her motor skills so it just isn't fun. That has changed. Gracie discovered she could open up an envelope this week and found it to be fun. She now insists on opening every Christmas card envelope we receive. I can't wait to see what she does with the presents.
Gracie, Jeff, and I are celebrating Christmas with our little family tomorrow - we'll start out with pancakes for breakfast. We realized we've never made pancakes for Gracie...I found a batter mix that doesn't have any milk products in it and we can use soy milk to moisten it. I hope she likes them. I think we may need to add some crispy bacon too...another treat she hasn't ever had. She's getting a little more finicky these days, so it will be interesting to see if she enjoys these new treats. I'm almost certain she will love the syrup.
Merry Christmas!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie did not feel the need for a nap yesterday, so was a very tired little girl last night. She also thought that candy would be a good supper last night. Jeff and I didn't quite agree. Gracie opted for nothing, a little later she decided that some pumpkin bread would make a good supper, although I don't think she was too hungry because she just nibbled at it. She sat at her little table, sharing it with her Dora doll. By the way, she is VERY into Dora the Explorer these days. I don't mind a bit. She learns good things from Dora.
Gracie went to bed at 8:00 p.m. last night, giving me time to decorate our Christmas tree. I think she will be excited to see all the decorations on it tonight. I love seeing all the lights and decorations through her eyes. She gets so excited about it.
Gracie has never enjoyed opening presents or anything really. I think it has been a challenge to her motor skills so it just isn't fun. That has changed. Gracie discovered she could open up an envelope this week and found it to be fun. She now insists on opening every Christmas card envelope we receive. I can't wait to see what she does with the presents.
Gracie, Jeff, and I are celebrating Christmas with our little family tomorrow - we'll start out with pancakes for breakfast. We realized we've never made pancakes for Gracie...I found a batter mix that doesn't have any milk products in it and we can use soy milk to moisten it. I hope she likes them. I think we may need to add some crispy bacon too...another treat she hasn't ever had. She's getting a little more finicky these days, so it will be interesting to see if she enjoys these new treats. I'm almost certain she will love the syrup.
Merry Christmas!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday and More
Gracie had an awesome weekend. She was in a good mood, was happy to have both mommy and daddy around and even had times when she would just go off and play by herself. She is definitely maturing. We've been working alot on helping Gracie to listen to the full story before reacting and although this is very difficult for her, we are seeing some progress. For example, if she wants to go downstairs and we can't immediately go down, she would go into a full tantrum because her request wasn't immediately honored. So we are working on helping her to listen to why she can't immediately go...such as we are cooking food on the stove now and we have to watch it, but after it is done we can go down.
Gracie has been counting (we know she can count to 4 all by herself unaided in any way), knows alot of the words to favorite songs and continues to hum the ones she doesn't know, she has a couple of favorite videos that she says many of the words before the characters do, and surprise, surprise, she is growing. I look at those long legs and can hardly believe she is only 3. She is too tall to totally stretch out lengthwise in the bathtub.
We took Gracie to see Santa at the Mall on Sunday. He was doing a bell jingling act for all the kids when we walked up and that scared Gracie and she wanted nothing to do with Santa or the area. As soon as he was done, she snuck a peek at him and enjoyed seeing him. The lines were just too long and we all know that patience is not one of Gracie's strengths so we opted not to wait.
Gracie woke up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning with a fever. She had incredible amounts of intestinal gas all day as well, but did eat, although she didn't have a big appetite. She was definitely more tired, but happy. I stayed home with her in the morning and Jeff came home in the afternoon so I could go to work for awhile. She had a fever again last night, but did well through the night, although she was stuffed up and slept most of the night with her head on my stomach. I'm sure the elevation helped her to breathe. Jeff is home with her again today and I'm guessing that by the time I get home tonight she will be a total daddy's girl.
Yesterday was Gracie's official adoption day. I kept telling her that it was a very special day, that daddy and I already knew she was part of our family, but this was the day the judge said "I now officially pronounce you a family." She would smile and repeat "family"!
Hopefully Gracie will be well enough to go to school tomorrow...it will be her last school day for 2010!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie has been counting (we know she can count to 4 all by herself unaided in any way), knows alot of the words to favorite songs and continues to hum the ones she doesn't know, she has a couple of favorite videos that she says many of the words before the characters do, and surprise, surprise, she is growing. I look at those long legs and can hardly believe she is only 3. She is too tall to totally stretch out lengthwise in the bathtub.
We took Gracie to see Santa at the Mall on Sunday. He was doing a bell jingling act for all the kids when we walked up and that scared Gracie and she wanted nothing to do with Santa or the area. As soon as he was done, she snuck a peek at him and enjoyed seeing him. The lines were just too long and we all know that patience is not one of Gracie's strengths so we opted not to wait.
Gracie woke up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning with a fever. She had incredible amounts of intestinal gas all day as well, but did eat, although she didn't have a big appetite. She was definitely more tired, but happy. I stayed home with her in the morning and Jeff came home in the afternoon so I could go to work for awhile. She had a fever again last night, but did well through the night, although she was stuffed up and slept most of the night with her head on my stomach. I'm sure the elevation helped her to breathe. Jeff is home with her again today and I'm guessing that by the time I get home tonight she will be a total daddy's girl.
Yesterday was Gracie's official adoption day. I kept telling her that it was a very special day, that daddy and I already knew she was part of our family, but this was the day the judge said "I now officially pronounce you a family." She would smile and repeat "family"!
Hopefully Gracie will be well enough to go to school tomorrow...it will be her last school day for 2010!
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Thursday
Here it is Thursday and I realize I haven't posted at all this week. The only excuse I have is very busy and very tired.
Gracie has had a good week and nothing too eventful going on. She went to back up daycare today and had a good day. They had a visit with a couple of babies and Gracie loved them. The staff couldn't get over how gentle she was with them and how enamored. Other than that she had a good day, loved the music and the sensory table filled with oatmeal.
I knew immediately upon picking Gracie up she was tired. She didn't take a nap and that was quite evident. She fell asleep on the way home but awoke in a very grumpy mood. We got her seizure meds down with a few treats and then I gave her a bath while Jeff made supper. Supper that she wouldn't eat, because she fell asleep just as it was done. She was very moody and had a hard time being soothed. I sat down in the rocking chair with her and rubbed her palms and soon she was asleep...at 6:45 p.m. She has been sleeping since and I think she is asleep for the night. It's a little too quiet here tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Gracie has had a good week and nothing too eventful going on. She went to back up daycare today and had a good day. They had a visit with a couple of babies and Gracie loved them. The staff couldn't get over how gentle she was with them and how enamored. Other than that she had a good day, loved the music and the sensory table filled with oatmeal.
I knew immediately upon picking Gracie up she was tired. She didn't take a nap and that was quite evident. She fell asleep on the way home but awoke in a very grumpy mood. We got her seizure meds down with a few treats and then I gave her a bath while Jeff made supper. Supper that she wouldn't eat, because she fell asleep just as it was done. She was very moody and had a hard time being soothed. I sat down in the rocking chair with her and rubbed her palms and soon she was asleep...at 6:45 p.m. She has been sleeping since and I think she is asleep for the night. It's a little too quiet here tonight.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Monday, December 13, 2010
The Weekend - Snow Bound
Let me start with the important information. We increased Gracie's seizure meds on Friday night and we thankfully have not seen a seizure since. Prayers answered. What I have seen is another burst of cognitive skills. She is singing and hitting a good majority of words in the songs and hums through the words she doesn't know. Yesterday she was dancing to Michael Jackson and took big jump and had lift off. I was so excited and so was she.
We got 16-20" of snow this weekend with blizzard conditions. Jeff was in Chicago til Sunday night at 9:00 p.m., so Gracie and I just took the opportunity to stay inside all weekend and play. She was in an awesome mood all weekend and we had a good time reading books, playing with her Fisher Price Little People, singing, dancing, playing with her stuffed Baby Bop and getting in a few videos too. We are very thankful to our neighbor Diane who cleaned out our driveway time and time again...and to our neighbor Jim, who helped on Sunday with the big pile of snow the snow plow left in front of our driveway. We so appreciate this great kindness.
I did take Gracie out in the snow for a little while on Saturday and she enjoyed that. When we came in her boots were filled with snow and Gracie thought it would be fun to eat it. Thankfully it wasn't yellow!!!
We are happy to have Jeff back home and Gracie looked so sweet sitting on his lap this morning as she was bundled in about a hundred layers of clothes.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
We got 16-20" of snow this weekend with blizzard conditions. Jeff was in Chicago til Sunday night at 9:00 p.m., so Gracie and I just took the opportunity to stay inside all weekend and play. She was in an awesome mood all weekend and we had a good time reading books, playing with her Fisher Price Little People, singing, dancing, playing with her stuffed Baby Bop and getting in a few videos too. We are very thankful to our neighbor Diane who cleaned out our driveway time and time again...and to our neighbor Jim, who helped on Sunday with the big pile of snow the snow plow left in front of our driveway. We so appreciate this great kindness.
I did take Gracie out in the snow for a little while on Saturday and she enjoyed that. When we came in her boots were filled with snow and Gracie thought it would be fun to eat it. Thankfully it wasn't yellow!!!
We are happy to have Jeff back home and Gracie looked so sweet sitting on his lap this morning as she was bundled in about a hundred layers of clothes.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Week in Review
It's been a busy week, thus the absence of updates this week. First off, Gracie has been experiencing seizures this week...at home, at school, at daycare. They are presenting differently than the absence seizures we are used to. She had a pretty hard one at daycare yesterday that lasted over a minute and she had a hard time coming out of it. Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am to have a daycare provider that is an R.N.? Unfortunately, Gracie's neurologist is out of the office this week, but her nurse was able to talk through the issues with me and get a med increase approved by another pediatric neurologist. We're hoping this will take care of this issue. If it doesn't we will need to add an additional epilepsy med. I really hope we don't have to go that route. So if you have any extra prayers, could you please offer one up for Miss Grace?
On Tuesday, all three of us attended the funeral of my aunt Lucina (my mom's twin sister). It was a beautiful service, but more than a bit of a challenge to keep Gracie contained. She did feel the need to repeat the last word of each sentence that the priest said during his eulogy. Needless to say, Jeff took her to the church basement shortly after that. One of my dear sisters (you know who you are) thought we should employ the priest as Gracie's speech therapist! :)
It was a long day for an active three year old and we had to deal with alot of aggressive behavior - biting, hair pulling, face scratching, hitting the rest of that day and into Wednesday morning. In retrospect, I suspect that part of this was also due to the fact that Jeff was leaving for Chicago and Gracie saw that he had packed. Alot of the aggression on Wednesday morning was geared at him. This has thankfully calmed down and she has been thrilled to talk to daddy every night on the computer (via Skype). Last night she must have felt that she had talked to him long enough as she said "bye" and closed the lid of the laptop. What a little stinker.
Last night Gracie walked into the house after I picked her up from daycare, went straight to the TV and requested "Da, Da, Da, Dora". She is becoming quite the "Dora the Explorer" fan.
Gracie has had some good nights, so I am very thankful for good rest these last couple of days. It sounds like we have a winter blizzard coming our way, so we'll just hang out for the next couple of days and Jeff comes back home on Sunday...we are anxious for his return.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
On Tuesday, all three of us attended the funeral of my aunt Lucina (my mom's twin sister). It was a beautiful service, but more than a bit of a challenge to keep Gracie contained. She did feel the need to repeat the last word of each sentence that the priest said during his eulogy. Needless to say, Jeff took her to the church basement shortly after that. One of my dear sisters (you know who you are) thought we should employ the priest as Gracie's speech therapist! :)
It was a long day for an active three year old and we had to deal with alot of aggressive behavior - biting, hair pulling, face scratching, hitting the rest of that day and into Wednesday morning. In retrospect, I suspect that part of this was also due to the fact that Jeff was leaving for Chicago and Gracie saw that he had packed. Alot of the aggression on Wednesday morning was geared at him. This has thankfully calmed down and she has been thrilled to talk to daddy every night on the computer (via Skype). Last night she must have felt that she had talked to him long enough as she said "bye" and closed the lid of the laptop. What a little stinker.
Last night Gracie walked into the house after I picked her up from daycare, went straight to the TV and requested "Da, Da, Da, Dora". She is becoming quite the "Dora the Explorer" fan.
Gracie has had some good nights, so I am very thankful for good rest these last couple of days. It sounds like we have a winter blizzard coming our way, so we'll just hang out for the next couple of days and Jeff comes back home on Sunday...we are anxious for his return.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Weekend
Gracie had a good weekend. Friday night she enjoyed the snowfall. She's had really peaceful sleeps the last couple of nights which have been great for me too.
On Saturday morning we had a play date (thanks Emily and Kai). Gracie wasn't her social self and took a while to warm up. Gracie has a hard time socializing with children around her own age. She does great with babies, older kids, and adults, but she has a hard time interacting with peers. We are working on that.
Gracie took a two hour nap on Saturday and woke up too late for us to venture outside in the light, so we didn't get out in the snow. Gracie was in a great mood and her appetite has returned with a vengeance. She is making up for lost time in the food department!
Last night while Gracie was sleeping Jeff and I put up the tree and strung the lights. When Gracie woke up this morning and saw the tree, she was so excited. She just kept saying very animatedly "tree" and then "lights".
Gracie was in a very good mood today and was going a little stir crazy, so we took her to the store with us for a little bit. Then back home for a nap, but the nap was a little later than norm and wasn't long enough, so she just wanted to be held and rocked, then she insisted that I needed to walk and hold her. She wanted to be held a great deal the rest of the night. She did do some dancing too.
It was a very good weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
On Saturday morning we had a play date (thanks Emily and Kai). Gracie wasn't her social self and took a while to warm up. Gracie has a hard time socializing with children around her own age. She does great with babies, older kids, and adults, but she has a hard time interacting with peers. We are working on that.
Gracie took a two hour nap on Saturday and woke up too late for us to venture outside in the light, so we didn't get out in the snow. Gracie was in a great mood and her appetite has returned with a vengeance. She is making up for lost time in the food department!
Last night while Gracie was sleeping Jeff and I put up the tree and strung the lights. When Gracie woke up this morning and saw the tree, she was so excited. She just kept saying very animatedly "tree" and then "lights".
Gracie was in a very good mood today and was going a little stir crazy, so we took her to the store with us for a little bit. Then back home for a nap, but the nap was a little later than norm and wasn't long enough, so she just wanted to be held and rocked, then she insisted that I needed to walk and hold her. She wanted to be held a great deal the rest of the night. She did do some dancing too.
It was a very good weekend.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thursday - Silly Girl
Gracie did not want to wake up this morning, did not want breakfast either. When we got to daycare I asked her if she wanted to go in and see Mandy. She usually shakes her head yes with a big smile. Today she shook her head "no", but still had a big smile. We walked in the door, there was a rockin song on and Gracie went to dance. I was free to leave, I barely got a kiss.
I went out Christmas shopping after work and Gracie and Jeff hung out at home. Sounds like they had a good night. I got home a little bit before bedtime and Gracie got a second wind. She was a silly girl tonight. Just full of fun.
When I layed down next to her in bed tonight, she would tell me she wanted her boots. When I would say that you don't go to bed with boots, she would giggle and giggle and giggle. Then she would lean over and give me kisses. Oh so sweet.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
I went out Christmas shopping after work and Gracie and Jeff hung out at home. Sounds like they had a good night. I got home a little bit before bedtime and Gracie got a second wind. She was a silly girl tonight. Just full of fun.
When I layed down next to her in bed tonight, she would tell me she wanted her boots. When I would say that you don't go to bed with boots, she would giggle and giggle and giggle. Then she would lean over and give me kisses. Oh so sweet.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wednesday - The Bloody Nose
Gracie had a good, but eventful day. Her diarrhea has finally stopped and her appetite is back with a vengeance. I'm thrilled that she is finally feeling better. YAY!!!
Today at school they painted all the kids feet then they held hands and made footprints. My little sensory seeker thought it hilarious and would have loved to take more turns making footprints. On the way home, Gracie fell asleep on the bus and had one of her mondo bloody noses. The individual that rides the bus with the kids didn't notice until it was time to wake Gracie up and have her get off the bus. He got quite the surprise! Gracie and her coat, mittens, hat, and pants were full of blood. Our daycare provider is so awesome, she cleaned Gracie up, calmed her as she gets scared when she sees the blood, and then called me to bring her a change of outerwear when I came to pick her up.
Gracie had a good day and was a very happy and hungry girl tonight. She also had a great time dancing to "Michael" - she loves Michael Jackson music. Tonight Jeff and Gracie were dancing to it and she kindly escorted her dad to the couch and had him sit down so she could have the "dance floor" all to herself.
She is now sleeping, but a little restlessly. Hopefully she will have a good night.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
Today at school they painted all the kids feet then they held hands and made footprints. My little sensory seeker thought it hilarious and would have loved to take more turns making footprints. On the way home, Gracie fell asleep on the bus and had one of her mondo bloody noses. The individual that rides the bus with the kids didn't notice until it was time to wake Gracie up and have her get off the bus. He got quite the surprise! Gracie and her coat, mittens, hat, and pants were full of blood. Our daycare provider is so awesome, she cleaned Gracie up, calmed her as she gets scared when she sees the blood, and then called me to bring her a change of outerwear when I came to pick her up.
Gracie had a good day and was a very happy and hungry girl tonight. She also had a great time dancing to "Michael" - she loves Michael Jackson music. Tonight Jeff and Gracie were dancing to it and she kindly escorted her dad to the couch and had him sit down so she could have the "dance floor" all to herself.
She is now sleeping, but a little restlessly. Hopefully she will have a good night.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie
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