The Weekend! Antibiotics = A Little Bit Grumpy

We had a nice pretty low key weekend, which was a good thing.  Gracie's antibiotics are giving her a bit of an upset stomach, so she has been much more needy, wanting to snuggle with mommy and not letting mommy out of her sight for long, including trips to the bathroom.  This is a 10 day course of meds and Thursday can't come soon enough for my liking.  Poor little thing.  I'm not convinced the ear infection is gone either...she's been pulling at her ear quite a bit over the last couple of days and last night she had a very restless night.  It could just be all the sinus pressure from her cold too.  Her nose is an endless faucet of goo! 

Gracie also had some very good times this weekend.  She is definitely starting to enjoy her toys more these days, which is fun to watch.  She goes digging in her toy box for just the right thing.  She also enjoyed time outdoors this weekend.  On Saturday late afternoon, Gracie and I played outdoors for about 3 hours and she did not want to go in.  Yesterday we bundled her up and she and Jeff went outdoors for about an hour and she was having a great time.  I had her favorite supper all ready for when she walked in the door.  I was waiting for a meltdown about having to come inside, but she must have been hungry as she spied the plate of food and did not fuss.  Instead, in a happy voice she said "what's that?".  She was a very good eater too. 

We have been struggling and struggling to get enough calcium in Gracie.  She refuses to drink milk, including chocolate milk.  Well I changed to HyVee brand soy milk, which seems to have less of a strong smell and last night she saw Jeff drinking chocolate milk in a big glass glass.  Gracie loves drinking out of anything that isn't a sippy cup.  She informed us that she wanted some.  Since Jeff's was cow's milk, I told her she could have her own.  I mixed up some chocolate soy milk in a similar breakable big glass and she was in heaven.  She chugged it all down and asked for more.  I'm hoping our calcium woes are a thing of the past!  We do have to be right by her, as she doesn't quite understand holding the glass upright at all times.

Gracie was kind of a grumpy grundy this morning, but once we got in the car, she totally mellowed out.  I'm hoping she has a good day at school and afternoon at daycare. 

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday/Thursday - Going to the Library

Gracie had a good day at school and at daycare.  Last week we were asked to send a baby picture of Gracie to school for a project.  That project came home with her yesterday.  It showed her baby picture with how much she weighed and how long she was when she was born.  They took a picture of her now and weighed and measured her.  Then they had Gracie make a little book out of it.  It was very cute.  It's been a while since we've measured Gracie's height -- we knew she has been growing, but were surprised that she has grown 2-1/4 inches since the beginning of the year.  At 3-1/2 years old she is now 45 lbs. and 45-1/4" tall.

Gracie had a good night's sleep, she awoke twice.  The first time she went right back to sleep, the second time she felt the need to talk a little bit and then give me a couple of kisses.  I didn't mind!  :) 

I had to bribe Gracie again this morning to swallow her antibiotics -- chocolate Easter eggs are a wonderful bribery tool!  As she was holding the medicine in her mouth and refusing to swallow.  I asked her if chocolate would help to make it go down better.  She emphatically shook her head "yes".

Today Gracie gets to go to the library with daycare.  She loves storytime and getting to pick out some new books to read this week. 

She was in a very good mood today, so hopefully her ear is on the mend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday/Wednesday - A Happy Girl

For a girl with an ear infection, Gracie has been in a good mood.  She was very talkative at daycare yesterday, active and happy as well.  She even went poop and potty in the toilet.  YAY!!!!  Jeff picked her up at daycare and they went driving and listening to tunes for a while before they came home.  Gracie was happy to see me when I got home, but was definitely her dad's girl. 

Gracie was having a great time in the tub at bathtime, until she must have gotten water in her sore ear.  She grabbed both of her ears in a wince and put her head down.  That was the first time she has really indicated that her ear "hurts". 

Last night we were watching a rerun of the show "Full House".  Gracie loves this show...so do I.  One of the little girls said "I'll get you my pretty!" in the voice of the witch from the Wizard of Oz.  Pretty soon we hear Gracie imitate her and say the whole sentence.  Of course, once we laughed, we were treated to her saying it a couple of times. 

Gracie slept really good last night and only awoke twice for very short intervals.  This morning she needed a little more snuggle time.  She hates taking her antibiotic for her ear...so I had to bribe her with Easter chocolate to get her to swallow.  Her seizure meds are still going down very easily.  YAY!

She has school today, so hopefully she has a good day.  I happen to know the theme is about things growing and spring.  They've got some fun sensory tables set up with that theme as well.  I just know Gracie will enjoy those.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Monday/Tuesday - An Ear Infection

Gracie had a good day yesterday and brought home some butterfly artwork/projects from school.  Gracie LOVES butterflies and was very proud of her work.  I love to listen to her say "butterfly", it is so sweet sounding.

After nap yesterday, Gracie had a dry diaper so Mandy put her on the toilet and she went potty in the big potty chair.  YAY!!!!  We were so proud to hear this and when we talked to Gracie about it, she was very proud too.  Gracie was a happy girl last night, but a little more needy.  Just needed to have attention.  Then it was bedtime and she was restless, but did fall asleep, but couldn't stay asleep.  Once again I suspected ear infection, so I gave her some ibuprofen and let her sleep leaning on me as I sat up.  Laying down makes the pressure on the ear intensified.  She had a fairly good night.  I wish I could say the same. 

This morning, Gracie and I were second in line at Express Care and my ear infection theory was confirmed.  Her right ear looks great, her left ear has a nasty infection.  This is her first ear infection since having ear tubes inserted and removed.  I must say she has a very high pain tolerance as she has been happy despite the infection.  We went to Target and got her prescription filled and then she got to go to her buddy Aubrey's house for the morning.  She was so excited about that and was very happy to see Aubrey.  Mandy will pick her up around lunch and head back to her house for the rest of the day.  Since we got her first dose of antibiotics in, I'm hoping the infection will go away quickly. 

On a fun note, Gracie was being very grumpy with me this morning when I went to change her diaper.  I said, "Hmmmm, I wonder where my sweet Gracie went?"  Pretty soon I felt two kisses on the top of my head.  She was also very excited to tell me there was "rain" all over my coat this morning.  She got mondo excited when a lady came to Express Care and had an umbrella.  Gracie loves umbrellas for some reason and was quick to tell me that it was an "umbrella". 

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Weekend - Happy Easter

Gracie enjoyed Chuck E. Cheeses on Friday (mommy enjoyed that most of their food is allergy-friendly).  She did enjoy some of the games as long as they weren't too loud.  She got a VIP pass - which is a little card with her picture on it and a sticker, which we chose to put on the puppy calendar in her room. 

On Saturday Gracie's cold was in full force.  You could tell she just didn't feel all that great.  We changed our errand plans and just stayed home.  We were going to go see Jeff in the "Alive Forever" program at his church, but she just needed some TLC at home.  I did take her outside for a walk and a stroller ride, and now looking back, that probably wasn't my best decision.  Gracie had a horrible time at bedtime, I suspected an ear infection or something similar.  She was so jittery and just couldn't be still.  It took her 2 hours to finally fall asleep and even after falling asleep was very restless through the night.  I was pretty sure we wouldn't be travelling to Iowa for Easter.

On Sunday morning Gracie woke up.  She was still pretty tired but seemed to be feeling a bit better, so we decided to continue with our travel plans.  Gracie did good.  You could tell she didn't feel perfect, but she enjoyed all the attention from my family.  She had cousins to walk with and sit with for lunch.  She had cousins to take her around and help her with the Easter egg hunt.  She was just in heaven if she was either sitting on someone's lap or holding their hand and walking.  Her appetite wasn't great, but she did okay.  The Easter bunny did bring Gracie a basket with videos, books, a little chocolate, and a chirping baby chick.  Her little eyes lit right up when she saw that. 

Gracie had a much better night last night and seemed to be feeling even better today, thankfully.  I think she was excited to go to school, so I'm hoping she didn't get too run down or tired out today. 

Happy Easter to you all.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday/Friday - Getting a Cold...But Still Happy

Gracie had a fun day yesterday.  At daycare they filled plastic eggs with candy and had an Easter egg hunt.  Gracie got very into this when she realized that there was candy inside.  She had a good day, played well with the other girls, played well with toys, was very verbal, and wasn't quite sure she wanted to go home with me.  I think she was having too much fun. 

Gracie was in a great mood last night.  She did get upset again when supper wasn't ready quite fast enough.  So again we sang our made up "It's so hard to wait when you want to eat your food." song and that seemed to help the time pass. 

Gracie splashed like a crazy girl in the tub and then got out just in time to go poop in the big girl potty chair.  At 9:00 p.m. (way past her bedtime) she was still going strong, rocking out to Twisted Sister's "I wanna rock".  She informed me she was hungry.  She wanted cereal...then a banana...then a pear.  She must be growing again. 

Gracie had an okay night.  She is getting a cold and was having some problems breathing.  She finally found comfort sleeping with her head elevated on my chest.  She awoke this morning and her first request was to rock out to....you guessed it...Twisted Sister again!  She was in a good mood for the most part, until I wanted to get her dressed...yep, she bit me and yep, she got a time out.  I finally did get her dressed and she was all decked out in a little jean skirt and some striped leggings.  She looked so cute.

Today she is going to Chuck E. Cheese with daycare.  It will be interesting to see if she wants to join in on the fun or just stand back and take it all in.  Can't wait to hear all about it.

Happy Easter to all of you.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday - Taking Mr. Giraffe for a Walk

Yesterday was a great day for Gracie from the moment she woke up to the moment she fell asleep.  She was happy and giggly and well-adjusted.  When I dropped her off at daycare she was fine with me leaving.  Usually she just wants to hold on for as long as she can.  Yesterday it was "bye mom" with a big smile.  She had a good day playing with the other kids.

Jeff picked Gracie up and they did a few errands and then went to visit some work friends.  She was spoiled there as usual.  When I got home she was happy and smiley.  She did get a little aggravated because she wanted her supper and it was too hot, so we sang a song (a made up song) about how hard it was to wait, when you wanted your food.  Gracie joined in and that made the wait a little easir. 

After supper, Jeff left to perform Magic at Hope Lodge and Gracie, Mr. Giraffe (Gracie's toy giraffe) and I went for a walk.  Gracie insisted Mr. Giraffe come along.  She was hilarious with him.  He stopped at just about every yard for a nibble of their grass.  At a few houses, she just plopped Mr. Giraffe on their lawn and stood back and laughed.  She was having a great time, talking the whole way.  With our frequent stops for grass nibbles, our walk took quite a long time.  Once we got back home, I put Gracie and Mr. Giraffe in the stroller and took another walk at a little faster pace.  We were outside for about an hour.  It was very crisp and cool, but it felt good.  I gave Gracie a little warning that we would have to go in soon and she was fully cooperative...no meltdowns.  YAY!

We read a couple of books and Gracie fell asleep quite quickly.  She had a very good night, but woke up a little owly.  This morning was a little more difficult than we've had in quite a while.  I got bit twice (and yes she got two time outs) for putting on her clothes.  She wanted to play with her balloons and didn't want mommy messing with her.  She mellowed on the way to daycare...as always.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday - Another Good Day

Gracie had another great day!  A couple of fun things at daycare yesterday -- she got to go to Olive Garden for lunch.  She ate and ate and ate...and she LOVED the strawberry lemonade.  She also went potty and poop in the toilet at daycare.  We made sure to celebrate that!

I picked Gracie up at daycare and we were on our own last night as Jeff had to work late.  Gracie was a very good girl, she splashed in the tub, but didn't seem to want to stay in there too long.  We got a new "One Step Ahead" magazine in the mail and she was obsessed with looking through it.  That is one of her favorite magazines because it has toys AND babies in it.

She fell asleep very quickly last night and I think she only moved once all night long.  She was refreshed this morning and was in such a great mood.  She was extremely cooperative and I was shocked to see we were ready to leave the house before it was time.  We just don't seem to be having the morning struggles we had.  She is taking her seizure meds for me with no problems at all.  She is very willing.  I chalk this up to the name brand meds.  The positives of this have been so noticeable. 

Gracie was wearing a shirt today with an Easter bunny on it and some Easter eggs.  She was watching Mickey Mouse on TV this morning and Mickey was holding an Easter egg.  She pointed to it and then to the egg on her shirt.  She is totally making connections and associations. 

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Weekend & Monday Too: Content, Cooperative, and Happy

Gracie had an absolutely awesome weekend!!!  We are finding that the name brand seizure meds are agreeing with her beautifully.  We've seen her frustration levels go way down, she is content, happy, cooperative, she is talking even more, she has hardly been grinding her teeth at all (this used to be a VERY common occurence), her biting has pretty much stopped.  I think we've only had one bite in 4 days.  She is singing more, content to just look at a book or magazine on her own for a while, doesn't need constant attention, and after years of trying to get her interested in blocks (with no success), she took her blocks and began building towers, then knocking them down, laughing, and starting over again.  I talked with Gracie's neurologist yesterday and asked her if this was just a fluke or could the name brand meds really make that big of a difference.  She indicated she was not surprised that they made a difference for Gracie.  Gracie just seems to be very sensitive to many things. 

I was trying to figure out why we didn't notice a dramatic difference when we switched her from name brand Topamax to generic a couple of years ago...and then I realized this switch took place when she was on major steroids -- which made her majorly grumpy...so we really didn't notice a dramatic effect at that time.  They say things happen for a reason and I'm now so glad that she had a major reaction to the new batch of generics.  It helped us to realize she really does need the namebrand. 

On Friday night, Gracie was just a hoot, so funny and full of energy!  On Saturday she had a great day too.  She was happy to play by herself for periods of time, read books, build block towers, and loved attention from mom and dad too.  Aunt Sheila and cousin Kayla came to visit for a while on Saturday afternoon.  Gracie loved all of the attention and was very sad to see them leave. 

On Sunday we had a fairly lazy day and Gracie continued to be such a good girl.  She helped us vacuum the carpet and loved it.  This is the girl who used to scream in terror whenever we would bring out the vacuum cleaner.  When we were done, she insisted she wanted to do more.  Jeff left around 3:00 p.m. for play rehearsal at his church, so Gracie and I took a nice nap, ate a fairly early supper, and then headed to the neighborhood school playground.  Gracie didn't want to swing, just slide.  Then she had a great time chasing robins.  She ran and ran and ran.  She would get so close and then they would fly away.  She started yelling at them "nice, nice, nice" with sort of a sad look.  Then I realized that is what we say when we pet puppies and kitties.  Gracie wanted to pet the robins.  When we got home, we went to visit neighbor Diane's flowers.  Diane let Gracie pick a daffodil and take it home.  She is SO proud of her flower.  We put it in a vase and when daddy came home and asked her where she got the flower, she proudly announced "From Diane". 

Gracie's nights have been a little more restless.  Last night as she was trying to fall asleep she was so restless and she had her shirt up and kept rubbing her tummy and scratching.  I asked her, "Gracie, what can mommy do to make you feel better?"  She responded in a desperate voice "LOTION".  So we put lotion on her tummy and that seemed to do the trick.  I just love that she can tell me what she needs. 

Gracie had a good day at school and at daycare yesterday.  Her daycare mom said she was very verbal and just so much fun yesterday.  When I got to daycare to pick her up she was crying very loudly and was very sad.  She and another little girl knocked into each other and she fell down.  She really didn't seem to be hurt, but we think her feelings were.  Once we got in the car, she recovered quickly and she was in a great mood all last night.  Her latest thing that cracks me up is that she wants to feed her food to the kids on TV. 

Stay safe and warm...we're supposed to get between 4 and 6 inches of snow today.  Hmmm, I thought it was April...and springtime.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Friday - A New Adjustment

Gracie had what seemed like a good day at daycare. Two new girls (ages 2 & 4) started at daycare yesterday. Gracie seemed to get along with them, but as is her nature held back and watched rather than being engaged in play. New adjustments like this are hard for Gracie and I suspected we would have a rough evening. I suspected correctly. This difficulty goes hand in hand with her sensory integration disorder and we needed to give her a lot more TLC.
For example, I gave her a bowl of pears to eat while I was making supper. She had a big explosion that she didn't want the pears. Mere seconds later, I sat down on the floor, put her in my lap and just held her. Suddenly she wanted the pears and ate the whole bowl. After supper we suggested a bath and she did not want one (so unlike her). I insisted and she splashed like she hasn't splashed in days. The water is great therapy for her and really gives her good sensory input. Although very tired afterward, she seemed a little better able to cope with things.
Gracie fell asleep very quickly and was a sound sleeper all night long. She awoke in a very grumpy mood. Nothing Jeff did was quite right. She settled down after he left for work. She does so much better with just one of us present in the morning, then she does with both of us there. She ate a huge breakfast and was a happy girl by the time we got in the car to go to daycare.

I think all three of us are looking forward to the weekend. Wishing you all a great one.
Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday

Gracie had school yesterday, but didn't have much to say about it, so not sure if she enjoyed herself or not.  She had a good day at daycare and was a happy girl last night.  She had quite an appetite last night.  After eating a pretty good supper, she took my hand and lead me to the fridge.  She then had some applesauce.  A little after that, she informed me she wanted chocolate milk.  This is the same child that has refused to drink milk of any kind for the last month.  She only drank about a 1/4 of glass, but I'll take that.  She also ate two small bowls of coconut milk ice cream while talking to Aunt Cheryl on Skype. 

We did start Gracie's new namebrand seizure meds last night.  So I'm hoping all goes well.  I have no reason to think it won't, other than they may be a bit more potent than the generic...or that's the rumor on the street anyway.  I'm not sure if it is true or not. 

Gracie had a good night for the most part and will have two new playmates at daycare today...a 2-year old and a 4-year old.  Hopefully they will be good playmates.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday - Counting

I'm thrilled to say that Gracie is back to her normal self.  The most exciting news I have to share is that Gracie counted from 1 to 10 all by herself last night.  Jeff and I immediately cheered and clapped and at first our excitement surprised her a little and then she started getting all giggly and excited and clapping.  We've been working on counting for a long time and she loves to count things. 

I also want to share a story from last week.  Gracie, Jeff, and I were taking a walk.  Gracie loves to pick up things along the way.  I can't tell you how many dried up worms, I've had to stop her from touching.  She picked up a big dried up maple tree leaf and told us it was a "leaf", then proceeded to pull all the leaf part off and was left with just the stem.  I said "Hmmmm Gracie, I wonder what happened to your leaf."  Without missing a beat, she looked up at me with a big grin and announced it was a "stick"!!!  That gave us a big smile. 

Gracie had a great day at daycare yesterday and had fun outside with bubbles and she got to go to the pet store.  I was just sure that the kitties would be her favorite animal.  I was wrong.  She loved the turtles. 

Jeff picked Gracie up at daycare and took her for a wagon ride when they got home.  When I pulled up, Gracie's mouth and teeth were purple.  She had been writing on the sidewalk with a piece of chalk as Jeff pulled her in the wagon, well she must have gotten hungry, because she bit a chunk off and decided it was food.  BLEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

So I picked up Gracie's name brand seizure meds today.  I'm having a bit of heart failure.  Our co-pay for three months worth of meds, has gone from $30.00 to $2554.00.  First attempts with talking to our insurance company were frustrating to say the least.  That actually may be a good thing, because the more frustrated I get, the more determined I get, the more determined I get the more I'm willing to fight to the bitter end.  Wish me luck...my goal is to get our co-pay reduced since it is not our choice to go with generic, but that it is medically necessary.  I did talk to the pharmacy and they did confirm our last batch was from a different manufacturer.  I asked whether or not they could special order from the manufacturer that supplied the generic that did work for her and they informed me they could not do special orders.  Bummer!

Gracie has school today and she was excited about that! 

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday - Feeling Better

Thankfully Gracie is doing much better.  When I got home from work yesterday she was a very happy girl.  She ate a good supper and then started on mine.  She sat on my lap for a while and was very content and snuggly.  Then she decided it was time to march around the house to the song "The Ants Go Marching".  Mommy was to be in the lead and Gracie held on and followed.  When the song was over, she requested it again and again.  So we did quite a bit of marching.  Daddy joined in too. 

Last night I was laying with her in bed, when she started singing a moon song she knows.  The only words she would sing was "Moon, Moon, Moon", but then she would hum more.  I asked her if she would like mommy to sing it and yes indeed she did.  As soon as I was done she would clap and tell me "more".  So we snuggled like that for a while.  Then I told her she needed to sing it for me.  She said "no" in a silly voice, but as she was snuggled in, she started humming it.  What a sweet way for her to fall asleep.  There is no question that she is much happier and more content.  Amazing the effect the wrong meds can have on a person. 

Gracie slept quite well, but did wake up a couple of times in the wee hours of the morning.  Thankfully, each time she went back to sleep fairly quickly.  She didn't want to wake up this morning and really didn't want much for breakfast.  She did take her meds easily for me.  She still seems to have alot of gas, so I think the old meds are still working their way out of her G.I. system. 

Gracie is back at daycare and seemed happy to see everyone.  The baby at daycare was VERY happy to see Gracie too. 

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Rough Weekend

Gracie not wanting to eat or drink continued into the weekend.  On Saturday explosive diarrhea was also added to the mix.  On Sunday all heck broke loose...diarrhea and extreme behaviors.  I lost count how many times she bit Jeff and I.  I even found her biting herself.  She also started kicking herself in the head with her knee.  Something was definitely not right!  The only thing that made her happy was being pushed in her stroller, pulled in her wagon, or swinging. 

On Wednesday of last week we started a new batch of her seizure meds.  I think I mentioned in the blog that I was a bit concerned as they were different and this is when the loss of appetite and pep began.  We do have some tablets that we can dissolve in liquid and syringe in her mouth if she is vomiting or has a medical procedure.  These don't taste very good so we don't use these all the time.  I decided to change to those last night as it was a bit too coincidental that all of this began when we started the new batch of meds.  She awoke this morning and was hungry, she even asked for food.  The extreme behaviors are gone (thank you God).  The diarrhea is gone although she is still gassy (which she blames on Jeff, as in "Daddy toot").  She had more pep today, although she is not as peppy as usual and her appetite isn't quite what it usually is, she is definitely feeling better.  I touched base with her neurologist and she is thinking what I was thinking...we will need to put her on name brand Topamax and not use the generic formula.  We're going to continue to use the tablets for a couple of days and then make a decision based on how she is doing. 

I stayed home with her this morning and Jeff is with her this afternoon.  We both have noticed a positive change.  I'm pretty sure she'll be back at daycare tomorrow. 

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday - No Appetite

Gracie had a good day yesterday and her daycare outing was going to the library.  They even picked up a book on sign language and were practicing when I got to daycare to pick her up.  Gracie got to play outside yesterday too and had alot of fun.

For some reason, Gracie has not had an appetite at all for the last two days.  She doesn't appear to be sick, is happy and active.  So I'm not sure what is going on with her.  She is not running a fever, her G.I. system seems to be functioning okay. She ate a little bit of lunch yesterday, but did not want much to drink and did not want her afternoon snack.  She drank some Gatorade on the way home for me, but did not want much for supper either.  As in 2 bites of the bun on her sandwich and a few diced peach pieces.  I just barely got her to take her meds.  Her urine has been very concentrated, but I'm sure that is because she isn't drinking very much. 

Gracie had fun in the bathtub last night.  Was a delight last night and was in a very good mood.  She slept great and was a happy girl this morning.  She did eat a little breakfast for me...just enough applesauce to get the meds down, a little bit of yogurt, and a slice of cinnamon bread.  She did drink a good size glass of Gatorade. So hopefully all is okay.  I'll continue to keep an eye on the appetite thing.

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday - A Girly Girl!

Gracie had a good day yesterday.  I'm not sure what she did at school, but she was one tired girl when she got off the bus at daycare.  She wanted nothing to do with lunch...just too tired to eat.  So off to sleepyville for an hour or more and when she awoke she was ready to eat. 

Gracie got to play outside yesterday afternoon.  When I arrived to pick her up she was helping push the baby stroller and really didn't want to stop.  It was a beautiful afternoon and Gracie was in a GREAT mood.  I had BBQ ribs in the slow cooker just waiting for our arrival home.  Since that is an ultimate favorite of Gracie's, I thought she would eat and eat.  I guess the later lunch kind of took care of her appetite and she ate very little. 

Gracie really hasn't had too much of an opinion about what I dress her in.  She really likes dresses, but never complains about anything she wears.  I try to give her a choice of outfits, just to get her mind thinking and she usually picks something out, but never seems to have a major opinion on one thing or another...until last night.  Gracie's feet pronate, are very wide, and she is very flat-footed, so there are only two types of shoes that work for her...New Balance or a few select styles of Stride Rites.  Sandals are out of the question.  So I found a pair of really cute Stride Rite shoes online that looked like they had the right soles and support and can be used in water, have sort of a netting material to breathe for summer.  I sent the link to Jeff, who agreed.  What we didn't agree on was the color.  Jeff really liked the charcoal color ones with hot pink and orange trim.  I liked the bright pink ones with bright orange trim.  Since we couldn't decide, I procrastinated ordering them.  When I finally decided to order them, the pink ones were sold out of Gracie's size, so I purchased the charcoal ones.  I got a good deal that when I bought one pair I would get the second pair half off, and since Gracie's feet grow so fast, I also ordered a second pair a half size bigger...in the hot pink. They arrived yesterday.  Jeff opened up the first box and put the charcoal ones on her feet.  They fit great we were all happy with them...until Jeff opened up the box of pink ones.  Gracie wanted the charcoal ones off and the pink ones on.  We didn't think much of it and let her try those on too.  Then we took both pair off.  Later last night, I was holding the box with the charcoal ones in it and Gracie helped me take the lid off.  She saw they were the charcoal ones before she even got the lid half off.  She immediately put the lid back on and said "no", then went for the box with the pink ones and wanted them on.  I guess mommy is rubbing off on my girly girl!  :)

Gracie slept pretty good last night.  She did call out a few times and sort of cry at one point, but was easily calmed.  She didn't want much for breakfast, but ate her seizure meds nicely.  We got her new prescription and the inside of these are more powdery, than the little sprinkles we had previously.  It was a new generic type and I was a bit alarmed when I opened up the capsule.  I did a little reading and it looks like they are the right thing.  I hate when they change things on me and don't let me know - it makes for a minute or five of concern.

I think Gracie was going to go to the library today for her daycare adventure. It looks to be another nice day, so I'm guessing there will be some outside time also.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday - Singing and Dancing

Gracie had a good day yesterday.  Her daycare adventure was a trip to the park...and we all know that Gracie loves to go to the park and swing and slide.  When I got to daycare to pick her up she decided to tease Mandy and tell her that I was "daddy".  I could tell by the minute I saw her face that she had a good day.  She was dancing and smiling. 

Gracie was happy the whole drive home and she was happy getting out of the car and going into the house.  If you remember from past posts, that most days this can be cause for a major tantrum.  Her new car seat has helped with this as she can get herself mostly out and she loves to be independent.  Once in the house, she took off her own coat all by herself and then hung it on the stairwell banister.  We've been working on this for a long time.  I just stood and watched her with a big look of astonishment on my face and Gracie just beamed as she did it.  My cheers, clapping, and praise made Gracie smile from ear to ear. 

Gracie was a good girl all night.  She took a bath and that is always a hit.  She did get mad at Jeff because she wanted to lay down in the water and go "night, night".  This just after she peed in the water...so we really didn't want her laying in it.  After bath, she came out and snuggled with me, then proceeded to show me how she could take her bathrobe off herself too.  More smiles.

We're finding that Gracie knows the words to a lot of songs.  She was singing along to her Signing Times video last night and we were astonished.  Music is her thing!  Much to my dismay, she likes to have two music sources on at a time.  That drives me a little crazy, but she seems to thrive in it. 

Gracie had another great night of sleep.  She did not want to wake up and her first request was for her iPod.  Don't chastise me -- but I give it to her.  It does wonders for her mood in waking up...and when she is in a good mood and happy upon wakening, she takes her seizure meds for me beautifully.  She usually listens to some fun music or her favorite is an audio book called "Chubby Bear". 

We only had two bites this morning -- the first was when she asked for a muffin and I told her we didn't have any.  The second was when it was time to get dressed again.  So she got a couple of time outs and the rest of the morning was pretty uneventful.  She has school today, so hopefully she'll bring home something fun in her backpack.  She loves when she has projects in there to show Jeff and I.

It looks like it might be a good day to be outside too!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Monday - Back to School

Gracie was back at school yesterday and I think she was missing it.  A whole week off for spring break is just too long when you are 3!  She carried around her class picture (which I laminated so it could be washed off once in a while) almost all week.  She talked about Brock and Justine.  I would love to meet those two kiddos.  The fact that she picks them out exclusively makes me think she quite likes them.  She always smiles when I ask about either of them. 

Gracie got off the bus at daycare and they headed to Famous Dave's for lunch.  I'm told that Gracie was quite the little piggie and loved, loved, loved their BBQ pork sandwich.  She ate and ate and ate.  This was no surprise to me...she loves BBQ pork chops and country-style pork ribs.  I can always count on her to eat alot when I make either of those. 

Jeff picked Gracie up at daycare yesterday and spent most of the evening with her as I was meeting with out tax accountant, getting our 2010 taxes done.  I know, I know...I wouldn't want to get them done too early!  Anyway, our accountant was running behind, so the wait was longer than expected and I didn't get home til about 7:30 p.m. 

Gracie and I snuggled and played a bit, but she was a tired girl and was in bed by 8:30 p.m.  I think she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.  She slept beautifully all night long.  She barely moved, other than around 11:00 p.m., she sat up and asked about daddy.  She sat up for a few minutes, then layed back down and fell right back to sleep. 

Gracie did not want to wake up this morning.  She finally did and was very good about taking her seizure meds...this week it is applesauce and Nemo fruit snacks to get them down.  She had a huge meltdown when it was time to get dressed.  She bit me when I started to take off her shirt.  Biting in our house gets an immediate two minute time out....so off she went to the timeout spot.  When her two minutes were up, I went in to see if she was ready to say she was sorry.  She informed me she was not.  So I told her I would check back with her in a little while.  When I went back in she was a little more mellow, so I started to put her shirt on ...well, that got me a slap to the face.  Yep...you guessed it!  Another two minute time out.  On this timeout I saw her little feet sticking just out of the doorway.  She knows that if her head comes out it means she gets an extended timeout.  Jeff and I just giggled to ourselves about the toes sticking out of the doorway.    After this timeout, she was ready to tell me she was sorry and she gave me a big hug.  She was quite snuggly and happy after that. 

I'm not sure what adventures her day will bring today.  It's supposed to be nice out, so I suspect some outdoor time today.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Weekend

First of all, our exciting news is that Gracie went poopie and potty in the toilet at daycare on Friday!!!!  YAY!!!

Gracie awoke on Saturday morning in a fantastic mood.  I had plans to be in Iowa all day and I really hated to leave because she was so sweet and funny.  It was a beautiful day out and Jeff and Gracie played outside and took a couple of walks.  Gracie also signed "swing" to Jeff, as she wanted to go to the backyard and swing on her playset.  The snow is finally melted so she did get to enjoy the swing.  They had a good day of bonding.  They even got to go to McDonald's and have supper with Aunt Kathy and cousins Calvin and Josh.  Jeff said she practically inhaled the chicken nuggets. 

I didn't get home until close to 8:00 p.m.  She was so happy to see me and I got lots of hugs.  It was so much fun to see her smile and she had alot to "tell" me. 

On Sunday Gracie was a little bit more tired and easily frustrated.  She was all smiles when she was outside, but indoors she wasn't as happy.  She took a much needed two hour nap and I think she would have slept longer, but I woke her up thinking she wouldn't go to sleep at bedtime and today is a school day, so I wanted her to be well rested.  She requested to go outside after nap.  We told her she could but we had to put her shoes on first.  This was the start of a VERY big tantrum.  She didn't want her shoes on.  Actually I think it was more about she wanted immediate gratification on going outside and would just kick and scream when we tried to put shoes on.  I got slapped in the face on that one.  Needless to say that prolonged going outside because a time out was in order.  I also think low blood sugar was to blame.  She hadn't eaten much for lunch, but in her emotional state, I couldn't get her to eat anything either.  So once we finally got the time out taken care of and shoes on, we went outside and put her on the swing.  She was smiles from ear to ear.  I also fed her a banana while she was on the swing.  That seemed to help the situation as well.    She was on the swing for a long time, then she climbed into the playset and played and then to the slide.  We also got a new heavy duty stroller for Gracie, so Jeff and I went for a long walk and Gracie was happy to just chill and enjoy the outdoors. 

Supper was a big hit for Gracie - pork chops cooked in the crock pot with BBQ sauce.  They are so tender and she just can't get enough.  I always know she will eat good when we have those.

Gracie had a hard time falling asleep last night, but once asleep did great until 2:45 a.m.  She awoke and as hard as she tried, she could not fall back to sleep.  So I walked with her a while, just "bouncing" her....her most favorite comforting thing.  She finally fell back to sleep at 4:15 a.m.  I hope she doesn't fall asleep in school today. 

I'm looking forward to more beautiful outdoor days.  Gracie is a happy girl when she is outside.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday/Friday - Good Girl

Gracie had a good day yesterday and just hung out at daycare playing with toys.  No big adventures and I think a mellower day was perfect.  She did get to play outside yesterday afternoon and that was fun.  They played with sidewalk chalk.  She was very talkative at daycare and at home. 

Gracie had a good night and was a happy girl for most of the night again.  She is having some constipation problems again.  I thought we had everything regulated with diet and doing good, but this week hasn't been so good for her in that way.  So we are pushing the fruit and I think we'll start Miralax again if we don't see some success soon.

Gracie had a restless night and then woke up at 5:00 a.m. YAWN!  Once she had a little snuggle time she was a happy girl.  I changed her diaper this morning, got distracted and left the wet diaper in her room.  A little while later, I see her running toward the wastebasket with diaper in hand.  She is my good little helper.

We've been working with Gracie on identifying colors.  We haven't been having much success as everything is "green".  This morning she was taking her seizure meds...she gets a spoonful of applesauce laced with seizure med sprinkles and then she gets a fruit snack (we do this five times).  The fruit snack is the only way I can get her to swallow the applesauce.  Anyway she was eating Tinkerbell character fruit snacks and I gave her a purple acorn.  When I gave it to her, she said "purple", then she signed "purple".  I think we may be getting it slow but sure.

Today at daycare Gracie was going to get to play with her buddy Aubrey.  I know she will have a fun day.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday/Thursdsay - Tangled

Another exciting daycare adventure for Gracie yesterday. She got to go to the movie theater and watch the Walt Disney movie "Tangled". Gracie has never been to a movie theater before and she was a little nervous going in, but once she was reassured she LOVED IT!!!! She sat through the whole movie and thought it was great. She was in a very good mood last night and was just silly at times. I would ask her "Gracie, did you go to the movies today?" She would get a huge smile on her face and say very loudly, yet in a teasing voice, "NO"! I would then say "Yes you did!" and she would just giggle. She fell asleep quite quickly last night, but she was very restless from about 1:00 a.m. on. She awoke this morning and her first request was "Brock". She has a laminated class picture from school that she carries around and she has two names of kids that she picks out and says their name "Brock" and "Justine". It's so sweet to see her smile when she says their names. It was a fasting morning for Gracie today as we headed to the clinic to get a blood test. Her neurologist wanted to check to see how her system is handling the seizure med increase. Gracie got to see her friend Rachel at the desk and a few other friends. It's interesting to watch the dynamics that go on when Gracie gets her blood drawn. It is not the needle stick that makes her mad or cry, it is the fact that her arm has to be restrained. She fusses and fusses about that, but doesn't even flinch when the needle poke happens. Then as soon as her arm is released, she just starts talking in her sweet little voice like it never happened. I am so thankful for this, as I witnessed a child carry on and on and on before he was to go have his blood drawn this morning. I realized how lucky I am to have Gracie be such a trooper. Then we headed to a breakroom for her to eat breakfast and get her seizure meds. She was the social director in the breakroom, saying "hi" to everyone...many got "hi's" multiple times. She was very happy to eat. She kept asking for food all morning before we got to the clinic. She would be very mad when I wouldn't let her have any. I hate saying "no" to food when I know she is hungry. I think today was going to be a more mellow "stay-at-home" day at daycare. No big adventures - she certainly has had some fun ones this week. Love, Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday - Swimming, Splashing, and Smiling

Gracie had a fantastic day yesterday! Daycare took her swimming to an indoor pool along with another group of daycare kids. Gracie had the time of her life. She non-stop kicked and splashed in the kiddie pool for 2-1/2 hours. She was a ball of energy and smiles from head-to-toe. She was loving life!!! On the way home from the pool she fell asleep and when Jeff came to pick her up, she was in such a deep sleep, she cried because she just wanted to be left alone. Jeff didn't even put her coat on, just threw it over her and put her in the warm van. When I got home she was still sleeping and did not want to wake up. I would have left her sleep...but...you guessed it, we needed to get those seizures meds in her. I knew those meds weren't going to go in a groggy tired girl, so we stuck supper in the oven and I took her to the tub and gave her a quick bath. She started to perk up and did eat a little supper and her meds. She started to get a second wind by bedtime, so it took her about 30 minutes to fall asleep, but she was so sweet. She just chatted with me and gave me hugs and kisses. This morning when she awoke her first request was for a cracker! She was in a great mood this morning too. I think today's adventure is going to be a movie at the theater. She's never been to a theater movie, so we'll see how she does. Love, Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Monday - OH SO MUCH FUN!

Gracie had a great day yesterday! She got to go to Oxbow Zoo with daycare and all of the animals were alert and moving. She saw owls and she informed me they say "hoot", she saw an eagle, which she knows the sign for, and she saw otters too. Her friend Aubrey also came over to play at daycare. Gracie and Aubrey get along so well and have alot of fun together. I love to see the two of them together -- their coloring and hair are so similar, they look like they could be sisters. Gracie had to give Aubrey a big hug before she left. Gracie is loving her new booster car seat. She can get in and out of it herself in the van. In my car she needs a teeny bit of help, but can mostly do it herself. She is very proud that she can be independent. Gracie was such a happy girl all night long. She was playful and giggly right up until bedtime and beyond. She fell asleep quite easily last night and was restful for most of the night. About 3:00 a.m., however, she screamed a very high-pitched scream at the top of her lungs. I'm guessing she was having a bad dream. I assured her that mommy was there and would keep her safe. She went right back to sleep. She was happy this morning as well. Her first request this morning was to watch Itsy Bitsy Spider on her iPod. This puts her in such a good mood in the morning, that there is no way I would refuse the request. A good mood means that I don't have any problems getting her to take her seizure meds. This week we've been eating them with applesauce and Tinkerbell fruit snacks (she calls them "fruit chews"). Today at daycare she is going to go swimming, so we packed her swimsuit and swim diapers and she is probably splashing away as I type this. Love, Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Weekend

Gracie had a good weekend. Jeff picked her up at daycare and I came home to the two of them talking to Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Russ on Skype (Gracie's request). Friday night was just a hang out at home kind of night and Gracie was in a really good mood, so that was fun. She was very tired though, so was in bed by 8:00 p.m. On Saturday, Gracie and I hung out at home and just got a few things done here and there. She took a 2-1/2 hour nap in the afternoon (so did I). That got us ready to party that night. We went to a surprise 50th birthday party for our friends Brenda and Scott. (Happy Birthday Brenda and Scott - we love you!) Gracie had great fun taking Brenda's nieces for walks. I did realize that I am a total Nervous Nellie when it comes to food for Gracie now that we've discovered her food allergies and been told we are not to give her anything without reading the label. Parties and get togethers make that a little harder to do. I brought cake along for her, so she could have some of that. My biggest fear is that she'll stick her finger into something and have it in her mouth before I can do anything about it. I'm not sure if it will get easier or harder as she gets older. We all had a great time at the party. Gracie stayed awake the whole ride home and wasn't quite ready to go to bed when we got home. She didn't fall asleep until 11:30 p.m. This is the child that is usually in bed by 8:00/8:30 p.m. That long afternoon nap helped her cause. Sunday was a snuggly day as Gracie was quite tired. She did take a short nap in the late morning, but wanted nothing to do with an afternoon nap. So she snuggled with Jeff and I quite a bit all day and was a little more emotional when things didn't go quite her way. I made one of her favorite meals for supper and oooh did that girl eat - pork chops cooked in the crock pot with BBQ sauce and chicken broth mashed potatoes. Yummy! Yesterday Gracie was listening to music and kept telling us and signing "bird". We couldn't figure out what she wanted. Finally she got frustrated and said and signed "bird music". It took us a minute or two to figure out she wanted the "chicken dance". She was all smiles when Jeff figured it out. She also informed me yesterday when I opened a Diet Coke that "I want some". For those of you wondering, she didn't "get some". We put Gracie's new (hand me down - thank you cousin Jason) booster seat in the van yesterday. This replaces the car seat that she had grown out of. She is so much happier in the booster seat and can get in and out herself. This saves Jeff and my backs big time. Last night Gracie had a horrible time falling asleep. I think the fact that she was overtired made her overstimulated. It took an hour for her to fall asleep and she was so restless. She had a mostly good night. This morning when she woke up, her first request was for her "iPod"...she wanted to watch "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" which is interactive. Both Jeff and I took Gracie to daycare on our way to work as my car is in the shop. I think she thought that was kind of weird. She is on spring break, so no school this week. Love, Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday/Friday: A Fun Day = A Happy Girl

Gracie had a great day yesterday. She got to go to the library for story hour where she learned about bears and also about weather. She got to do hand motions with the wind. Sometimes it would go faster and sometimes it would go slower. She also had to be reminded to use her listening ears and not interupt by saying "HI" loudly. I understand it only took a reminder or two and then she did fine.

Gracie also got to go to the mall for lunch and to play in the kid play area. She was so tired from all the fun that she took a 2 hour nap. In the afternoon she played and they read alot of books too. A favorite was about a drum and then she would get to drum on her legs. When I came to pick her up she was in a great mood and chatted on the way home. She was happy to see that daddy was home when we got there and she wrestled around with him for a while. We ordered pizza for supper and she ate and ate and ate.

Gracie was in a good mood all night long and went to bed a little later than usual. She slept good and was quite restful most of the night. She really didn't want to wake up this morning, but finally her eyes popped open.

Gracie is such a funny kid. Last week all I needed to get her to take her seizure meds was a little bit of chocolate cake with them. Not so this week. Cake, her favorite thing (right after chicken) in the whole world, would be held in her mouth and not swallowed. I've now figured out that fruit snacks (or as Gracie calls them "fruit chews") work nicely. Especially if they happen to be Tinkerbell fruit snacks. I'm sure next week it will be something totally different. I think she just likes to keep me on my toes.

Here's hoping for another great day.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday/Thursday - The Med Increase

Gracie had a good day yesterday. She was back at her normal daycare and she also had school in the morning. When she got off the bus from school, she was so tired she didn't want any lunch and went right to sleep for 2 hours. When she woke up, she was hungry, happy, and ready to dance and play. She was in a great mood for most of the night last night.

She was super excited when Auntie Sheila called for her and was quite responsive to questions being asked. Usually she loves to listen, but doesn't want to talk. Yesterday morning we increased Gracie's seizure meds and we've already been seeing a slight increase in cognitive skills and are hoping that continues. We're crediting her responsiveness on the phone to this. As I was talking on the phone I mentioned how school had to use the extra set of clothes from Gracie's locker yesterday as she must have wet through her diaper. (NOTE TO SELF: Send bigger back-up clothes to school for Gracie, she's outgrown the ones we sent at the beginning of the year.) Gracie quickly piped up with the word "locker". So I started talking to her about her locker and asking her what items are in her locker. She informed me that these are the things in her locker...all of these responses were unaided: backpack, shoes, coat, boots. I was impressed.

Gracie was very restful from 9:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. and then she was a bit more restless after that. My theory of her restlessness at night being related to seizure activity might not be so far fetched. I also found Gracie's mood to be better last night than it has been for a couple of days. It could be because she was back at her normal daycare or it could be because of the med increase. She didn't seem as prone to purposefully seek out all the things she knows she is not supposed to touch. Again, I really feel that it may be seizure related...a restlessness that drives her to just go from thing to thing.

Gracie played the "hold my meds in my mouth and spit them out later" trick again this morning. I now have an additional gray hair or two.

Daycare was planning to take Gracie to the library today and she was very excited about this. She loves going to the library. I hope I get to hear all about it tonight.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Dentist

Gracie had a good day at back-up daycare. It was storytime when I picked her up and it was so much fun for me to walk in and see her sitting amidst all these other little kids on the floor enjoying the story. She gave me a big smile when she saw me, but I think she would have liked to have stayed for the rest of story time.

We headed right from daycare to the dentist. I was a little worried as she didn't take a nap. That is usually a sign of disaster. Not so. She was very tired, but she decided she would be the waiting area greeter and said "hi" a million times to anyone who came in, left, or just sat there. I realized that we need to work on getting her to understand the need for personal space as she would get right up into people's faces to say "hi" for the 10th time. Everyone was wonderful to her.

When the assistant came to get Gracie, she bonded with her immediately. She walked into the exam room with fish and turtles on the wall and marched right up to the dental chair and sat down like a big girl. I was so proud. She sat there all big and the assistant let her go up and down in the chair a few times -- big hit. Then the assistant left the room for a while and it got to be too long for Gracie. She kept asking about her and wanting to get down. I told her she would be back in a little bit. All of a sudden I looked at Gracie and she had big crocodile tears brimming her eyes and she was trying so hard not to cry. I asked her if she was sad and she said "no" as she continued to keep the tears at bay.

Gracie did a great job for the dentist too. She let her see her teeth this time around, but would not let her use the cleaning tool on them. The good news is that her teeth look good and seem to be healthy, despite the fact that she grinds them when she gets excited. No sign of wear yet. I was one proud mommy.

I forgot to mention that Gracie is sensitive to latex (i.e.: latex gloves)...so her cheeks were very red all of last night where the dentist had held her cheeks and chin during the exam. Oops...I'll remember next time.

We went home and had a snack, followed by supper. Gracie ate and ate and ate - some cheesy puffs and juice for a snack...then for supper she had a bowl of soup/stew, part of a bun, 1/2 an apple, 1/2 of a banana, 3 cookies, some applesauce and then later wanted some cake. Oh my.

Gracie was so tired she went to bed at 7:30 p.m. last night and was none to ready to get up at 6:00 a.m. this morning. She did have a restless night again, but not as bad as it has been. This morning we increased her seizure meds, so I'm hoping that might help. We'll see.

Today is a school day, so I have a feeling she will be tired again tonight.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Catching Up

Gracie had a good weekend and got to spend alot of time outdoors. She absolutely loved this. She even asked to swing, but it is a little too wet and soggy in the backyard yet. We also found out that Gracie has an absolute love of the band "Twisted Sister". She loves the song "I Wanna Rock" and goes to the computer and requests it over and over and over again and then dances and head bangs to it. It's really quite cute, but every time we go to capture it on video, she won't cooperate.

Yesterday Gracie had school and Jeff dropped her off and I picked her up as the baby at daycare is very sick and we don't want to have Gracie exposed. Gracie was very smiley when I picked her up. She didn't want much for lunch, but she did have applesauce as a snack at school and from the look of her face and shirt, not all of it made it in her mouth. :)

Gracie took a two hour nap yesterday and then we headed to the mall for just a bit. Gracie is growing and I needed some bigger basic black pants for her. We got those and on the way home she had a pretty big seizure in the backseat in her car seat. I think it was a pretty good thing she was sitting down, because I think this one could have knocked her down. So after the big jolt, she went into an absence seizure. I talked with her neurologist this morning and we are going to increase her meds, but due to the fact that Gracie seems to be needing more and more increases without as much weight gain, we are going to be doing a couple of blood tests after a week on the increase to check on blood levels and make sure there aren't any negative effects going on.

Gracie's streak of peaceful nights has ended. She has been very restless the last 3 or 4 nights and a little more defiant and aggressive with bites, hitting, and pinching. Thankfully this is still reserved for Jeff and I only. I do wonder if there is a correlation to this and her need for increased meds. I'm hoping once we increase, this will subside as well.

Gracie is at back-up daycare today and I will pick her up early to go to the dentist. We've been practicing saying "aahhhh" all week. Our last dentist (which was her first) visit was an absolute disaster, so I'm hoping this goes better. When I called to make the appointment, they told me they would like to do sealants on her teeth today. I about laughed out loud. I told them I didn't think that was going to happen. They told me they would give it a try. I'll let you know how this works out. Don't hold your breath!

This morning Jeff and I were telling Gracie something, I think it may have been that we needed to get her dressed or maybe it was her coat on. I don't remember for sure, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear her tell me "I don't wanna!" Her increasing ability to express herself is so good for her. I've been trying to work with her on telling me "I'm mad", instead of hitting or biting. We'll continue to work on that.

She is as loving as she can be as well. I can't tell you how many beautiful smiles, kisses, and hugs Jeff and I get through the day. It makes the more stressful time all worthwhile.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday/Friday - St. Patty's Day and More

Gracie had a great time at the library yesterday! Since it was St. Patrick's Day, they had an authentically dressed bagpipe player performing and Gracie loved the music. She also was so excited to participate in story time. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that she gets to participate in this kind of stuff. If it were possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom, I always envisioned myself taking my child to these kind of fun experiences. So even though I'm not that stay-at-home mom, she still gets to experience it. Gracie and her "big sis (8 yrs old)" at daycare drew a picture for us with leprechauns, shamrocks, and a rainbow. It was so cute and I'm told they had so much fun doing it together.

Gracie was in a good mood last night and for a treat (and since she has refused supper every night this week) I brought home food from McDonald's for supper. She took one look at the bag, got all excited, and exclaimed "chicken" as she ran to take the bag from me. She ate a yummy (if not healthy) supper of chicken nuggets, french fries with "boop" (that's what Gracie calls ketchup), and a fresh pear. She ate quite a bit. We snuck in a Shamrock Shake for daddy too.

Last night we went for a walk outside. Gracie was such a little trooper, she walked and walked and was having a great time. At one point she stopped, stooped down and looked at a muddy rock and I was sure she would pick it up, as was the practice last year. This year, she made me proud, she got in real close and said "Ick". :)

Usually when Gracie gets tired when walking she will asked to be held, but last night she went to lay on the sidewalk. Since they are wet and muddy, I caught her just in time and told her that she couldn't lay on the sidewalk. She looked up at me and said "nigh, nigh". I think she was just tired out and her legs had been working so hard. Daddy carried her the rest of the way home.

Gracie had a pretty good night and this morning she wanted to read through a baby magazine while we got ready. She just layed on her bed and looked through the magazine and a Dora book. I even let her have breakfast in bed - she thought that was funny.

We were in the car on our way to daycare this morning and I asked Gracie if she wanted to listen to music. My sweet girl responded "please" and smiled. And you all know, I smiled too!

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday/Thursday - Daddy's Girl

Jeff has been picking Gracie up from daycare this week, so they have been able to spend some good quality time together. This also has turned Gracie into a major daddy's girl this week.

Gracie had school yesterday and got to be the weather helper. She also enjoyed singing "The Ants Go Marching". I'm sure she did, as we sing that one at home and march around the house. Gracie was sent home yesterday on the bus all dressed in her snowpants...it was almost 50 degrees when she went home. Gracie overheats very easily due to her seizure meds, she can't sweat like you and I, and when she arrived at daycare she was ready to explode from heat. The para on the bus even mentioned she was hot and that was something they know to look for. So I now wonder why she was left in her snowpants?

Gracie tried mightily to take a nap at daycare, but couldn't fall asleep. When Jeff picked her up she fell asleep in the van and continued to sleep for over an hour until Jeff woke her up. She readily ate her seizure meds, but wanted nothing to do with supper. This would be the third day in a row that supper was refused. I'm not too worried though, she is eating a good lunch and gets a snack of yogurt or applesauce with her meds. She's not wasting away by any means. I think she is actually coming off a growth spurt.

Gracie informed Jeff and I that she wanted to go "outside" last night. Jeff had a magic performance at Hope Lodge, so he had to leave, but I took her outside. Gracie was not happy at all that daddy wasn't coming on our walk with us. Suddenly she was the most tired girl in the world. She did walk most of the way, once I established that she would have to walk for a bit before she could be carried. She was quite observant and pointed out the dogs, the trees, a flag, and some birds. She was happy to be back home and we read books for the rest of the evening.

Daddy came home about 8:30 p.m., just as she was about to fall asleep. She was so happy to see him. She signed "home", then "smile", then "happy". And her smile was huge. She had a good night last night too.

This morning on our way to daycare we put in a new cd that daddy made for us. She was having a great time listening to the music and rocking out when a Bon Jovi song came on. She got all excited and made a big gasp of excitement. I was proud...maybe she is mommy's girl after all! :)

Today Gracie is dressed in a St. Patrick's Day shirt that says "Mommy's Lucky Charm" and that she is! Today at daycare they were planning a field trip to the library. She will love that.

So wear your green today...but get your purple ready for March 26th - National Purple Day. This day is set aside for Epilepsy Awareness.

Go have a green beer or a Shamrock shake and enjoy your day.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Monday/Tuesday

I was right! Gracie was a tired little girl last night. She had a fun day at daycare and even got to help make brownies. Gracie LOVES to help. She got to put sprinkles on them and everything. Yet, she was too tired to eat them last night. She didn't even want much of anything for supper. We have those days when she just isn't hungry at night. Perhaps her growth spurt is slowing down. I know she is outgrowing some of her clothes again. Or she is making up for eating everything in sight this weekend. :)

She talked to Aunt Cheryl on Skype for a bit, but decided that running around the house would be a good idea...I think it was more to keep herself awake than anything.

Gracie was in bed by 8:30 p.m. last night and it took her about two seconds to fall asleep. She had a great night, which means so did I. I've had a number of those lately and it feels so good.

This morning Gracie was in a very good mood. Jeff was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and gargling, while Gracie and I were snuggling in her room. Gracie was imitating the sounds that Jeff was making in the bathroom, it was hilarious.

Gracie will no longer drink milk of any kind for us or for daycare. Having talked with her pediatrician briefly, I'm trying to use other things to get calcium in her rapidly growing body. If all else fails, we'll start using a supplement, but I would rather not knowing that she can easily have constipation issues if not monitored and diet altered. So I have been giving her orange juice with lots of pulp and lots of calcium to drink. She loves it. This morning she told me she wanted juice, but not just any kind of juice, she told me she wanted "orange juice". It was pretty exciting that she could verbalize exactly what she wanted.

On the way to daycare Gracie read a catalog of all sorts of outdoor playsets. She loves this catalog and is constantly asking me "what's that?" Sometimes it's a slide, sometimes it's a girl. I always answer, she repeats what I say and then merrily continues to look through it.

The sun is shining today and I think there will be some outdoor play time.

Enjoy the sunshine.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Weekend

Gracie and Jeff had some good bonding time on Saturday. I went to a funeral (rest in peace Uncle Delphin) while Jeff stayed home with Gracie. They had a good day and Gracie was very good for daddy. They even went out on a field trip looking for strollers that have a 75 lb. weight capacity. Most only have a 50 lb. capacity and well with Gracie at 45 lbs. she has totally outgrown her stroller. We have her wheelchair of course, but we are looking for something that is light and easily folds up. We just needs something for when we are out and about and she tires of walking. We have found one we would like to order, but it is quite expensive. So we'll keep looking.

My sister Sheila and I travelled to the funeral together, so Gracie had some bonding time with Aunt Sheila when we returned. She was very happy to see her and share some snacks and some walks.

On Sunday, cousin Jason came to spend some time with us and Gracie was thrilled to see him. Although she took a three hour nap on Sunday afternoon, so slept up some of her play time with him. I knew I was going to be in trouble with her sleeping that long. With the time change and her long nap, she didn't fall asleep until close to 10:30 p.m. This from the girl who is usually in bed by 8:30 p.m. Aunt Sheila and Uncle Chris joined us for supper too. So Gracie was loving all of the attention and company.

Gracie was very tired this morning. I was feeling thankful that she doesn't have school today. On the way to daycare, she usually talks or sings or reads a book. Not today. She sort of sat there in a zombyish state. When I would whisper "Gracie are you asleep?" She would whisper back "no"! She livened up a bit when we got to daycare though. They were planning a little field trip this morning and this afternoon another little girl that Gracie loves to play with was going to come over to play. I think she is going to be a tired little girl tonight.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Success

Gracie passed the "coconut challenge" at the allergy clinic today!!!! Coconut can now be returned to her list of things she can eat. This is huge for a girl who eats coconut milk and ice cream for her calcium intake. Not to mention all the foods that have coconut oil in them.

She was as good as gold for the whole thing. The nurses and her doctor were great. It took 3-1/2 hours, but she was a trooper. One of the nurses even asked me if she was always this good. She amazes me with how she always comes through when we need her to in a social setting.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

A Good Week

Gracie is having a good week. She has been healthy and has been sleeping very peacefully. I cherish these nights and I've had at least 5 of them in a row! This makes for a happier mommy too! :)

On Monday, Gracie was the calendar and weather helper at school. Her teacher sent a note home that shared this information, so I asked Gracie about it. Oh my was she proud that she got to do this and when asked if she did a good job, I got an adamant "yes". School is also working with Gracie on either saying or signing "please" and then holding her hand out when she wants a toy that another child has. Gracie has always been one to just let another child take her toy and not do anything about it or to stand up for herself, so this is a great step in her development.

On Tuesday, Gracie was the only daycare kid at daycare, so her daycare mom, her 10 month old and Gracie went on a field trip...they went to the mall and played in the play area, they also visited daycare dad at work and got to have fun with all the other workers, and they got to eat out too. She came home with a big pink balloon that one of the mall workers gave to her. She LOVES this balloon. When we got home it was quite nice out, so I suggested we go for a walk. She would not go for it. I couldn't believe my little outdoor girl refused and wanted to go inside. She was sad that she didn't get to see daddy this evening. He has been working a conference with very long hours.

On Wednesday morning Gracie awoke at 3:45 a.m. and was wide awake. She did fall asleep for about 20 minutes, but then got up again and was ready for the day. It is no surprise that she took a 2-1/2 hour nap in the afternoon. She was a happy girl last night and was happy to see daddy come home. She also requested that we call "Russ" on Skype. So she got to see and talk with Uncle Russ and Aunt Cheryl last night.

Today she was going to go to an indoor play facility. Her little daycare pal is leaving daycare and today is her last day, so to make it special they were going to the indoor play gymn. Gracie will be the only daycare kid at daycare for a little while, so they are planning lots of outings and field trips. This is right up Gracie's alley...she is such a little social butterfly. I love all the one-on-one attention she is getting and they are working on counting, ABC's, and colors. There is alot of reading of books too. I think the library is on the list of upcoming outings.

Tomorrow we go to the clinic for Gracie's coconut challenge. This is where she will be fed small amounts of coconut milk yogurt and ice cream to see if her system can tolerate it. Gracie's allergy testing came back showing a very low rated allergy to coconut. Since this has been a big staple in her diet since she doesn't tolerate milk, it was suggested we undergo additional testing where she is monitored in the allergy clinic the whole time. So we are praying that she does not have an allergic reaction.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Weekend

Jeff worked all weekend, so Gracie and I got some good quality one-on-one time together. On Saturday we headed to Target in the morning, then picked up some lunch at McDonalds (one of the restaurants that are tree nut allergy friendly) and headed to work as I had forgot some meds there. When the drive through handed me the food they said "Have a Nice Day". The little mimic in the backseat then repeated that a few hundred times...all while smiling and being silly. We did stop and visit daddy for just a few minutes. Gracie asked about him all morning. Then back home where she took a 3 hour nap. That 3 hour nap worked to our advantage as Jeff didn't get home til close to her usual bedtime, but she was wide awake and they got some play time in.

On Sunday we watched mass on TV and Gracie was very into it...singing along and even doing a little dancing. Then we headed to the store to buy hand soap as I discovered all of ours has coconut in it...and Miss Grace is a soap eater. I also picked up a few summer clothes items for her. There was a solid color shirt in a number of color selections. I let her pick out which color she wanted and I was shocked that she picked out pink. Here I thought she would have to be in counseling when she was older because mommy always dresses her in pink.

On the way into the store, I was holding Gracie's hand and all of a sudden I felt her little lips kiss the top of my hand. The smile that followed was so sweet too. Ahhh, those are the precious moments that I cherish.

We ordered Gracie's Medical Alert bracelet this weekend. It was highly recommended that we get one for her nut allergies. We also added her seizure disorder to the info too.

All in all it was a good weekend. We hope you had a good weekend too.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday - Ear Appointment

Yesterday Gracie had her 6-month (actually more like 9 month) post-operative check on her ears from having ear tube removal surgery. Her ears have been fine, so I didn't expect any issues. I was kind of hoping they would say you're dismissed from our care. Well, her ears did look good for the most part, but her eustachian tubes aren't as flexible as they would like them to be, so we need to keep a watchful eye on her ears. We'll schedule another hearing test and follow-up in July and then decide if anything needs to be done or if we just need to keep a watchful eye on it.

We waited a long time for her appointment as they were pretty backed up, but Gracie was a trooper checking out all of the lobby computers, taking walks around the lobby area, and watching a show on TV that mommy didn't love her watching (Hannah Montana). She did good in the actual exam room and as we waited there she made a request of me...she said "sunshine"...she wanted me to sing "You are my sunshine".

Gracie is amazing me with her verbal skills, she is learning more and more new words and it just makes our life so much easier with her telling us what she wants and needs. Last night when Auntie Cheryl called us on Skype, Gracie went running to the refrigerator exclaiming "applesauce, applesauce"! Gracie thinks she needs to share a container of applesauce with Cheryl every time she calls. It's hilarious. She never forgets.

Gracie had a pretty good night again last night and woke up a pretty happy girl. Once again she got "cake" for breakfast...one bite of a brownie, one bite of applesauce laced with meds, one bite of brownie, one of bite of applesauce...well you get the picture.

Daddy has to work all weekend, so I'm thinking Gracie and mommy may have to go to the mall! :)

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Wednesday/Thursday - Happy Girl!!!

I've mentioned before how evenings are the hardest time for Gracie. It has been explained to us that she keeps everything together and is well-behaved at daycare and school, but by the time she gets home to us she can just let it all out - home is what she considers her safe place and we wouldn't have it any other way. This has gotten better as she gets older, but evenings have always been a little more difficult, some worse than others, some not all that bad at all.

Last night, however, was a huge treat! Happy girl Gracie was there all night. She was agreeable, playful, silly, talkative, and just plain fun ALL NIGHT LONG. Jeff and I just kept looking at each other in disbelief, yet cherishing every minute of it.

At 8:30 p.m. she announced she wanted to go "nigh, nigh" and she went right to sleep. She had a restful night and woke up happy again today. This morning she insisted upon "cake" for breakfast. Cake consists of a chocolate brownie. Yes, she got it...a little piece intermixed with applesauce and her seizure meds. She thought it quite funny when I would tell her she couldn't have another bite til she ate a bite of applesauce.

This afternoon we have her 6 month post-operative ear check (from having her tubes removed). I foresee no issues. Her ears have been doing great. I have no question that she hears fine.

Have a great day!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

The Allergy Test Results Are In!

Gracie is healthy again. She still has a crazy cough, but it's productive and we were told to plan on it lasting for 3 - 4 weeks. I also came down with the crazy virus, so I was going to bed at night at the same time she was, therefore no blog updates. Sorry. Last night Gracie had an awesome night. She had such a peaceful sleep and slept the whole night through. That was pure bliss. She awoke with a big smile this morning.

Yesterday, Jeff, Gracie, and I met with an allergist regarding Gracie's recent anaphylactic reaction to a cashew. Gracie was so good, other than wanting to touch everything in the room. We loved the allergist, who is now considered a member of "Team Gracie"! He gave us so much great information, resources, and then ordered a blood draw to test to see what Gracie is and isn't allergic to. He also indicated we needed to have two epi pens in all locations for Gracie as one many times doesn't do the trick on it's own. So we now have two at daycare, two at school, two at home, and two that travel with Gracie wherever she goes.

Daycare, school, the bus staff have all been so awesome about learning how to use the epi pen, going through snacks to make sure nothing is given to Gracie that she shouldn't have. It is so heartwarming to see everyone pull together and do what is needed to keep our sweet little girl safe.

I just received a call with the allergy results (drum roll please) and she is extremely, extremely, over the top of their ranking allergic to cashews and pistachio nuts. Her tests also came in with a medium allergic response to all other tree nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, etc.) She had a very low allergic response level to coconut, yet their is a positive allergy result. Since we rely heavily on coconut milk yogurt and ice cream as part of Gracie's daily diet, we have decided to go back to the allergy clinic to have a monitored observation of coconut milk yogurt. This is where they give her small amounts at a time and monitor for any reactions. That will help us to know whether we need to eliminate this totally from her diet or if she can continue to have coconut. The bottom line here is Gracie cannot have TREE NUTS.

We also got some good news. Gracie is not allergic to peanuts, so peanut butter is back in the picture for her and she is not allergic to milk. She continues to have an intolerance to it, but it is not a full out allergy. So I have this little hope that one day she may be able to tolerate milk products again.

Once again feeling blessed to be surrounded by a great team of professionals at the clinic, at school, and at daycare.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, & Gracie

Sick With a Virus

On Monday night Gracie came down with a fever and a pretty nasty, yet productive, cough. She was also very itchy. I wasn't sure if that was part of the virus or some remnants of her allergy itch. She also has a sore throat -- the telltale sign of this is that she walks around the house sticking her fingers down her throat to try and make herself throw up. For any of you wondering why I'm turning gray...that might just be it! :)

I finally took her to the doctor yesterday as the cough was persisting, as was the fever. The said it was very viral in nature. We did do a strep culture but it came back negative. They said they are seeing this going around. The fever can last up to a week and a residual cough for three to four weeks.

Gracie is finally fever free today and actually had a fairly good night last night. She did have a few restless times, but much better than we've seen in a while. Today she is a bit more spunky as well, so I think we are on the mend.

Seizure meds have again become an issue. She keeps spitting them out. Her appetite has been very small. I have been making her strawberry/orange juice/banana smoothies and they have been a hit. Matter-of-fact, she went to the blender today and requested a "smoothie"!

My throat is hurting today too and I'm feeling a bit under the weather myself, so I think I'm going to go join Gracie and take a nap. She actually told me she wanted to go "nigh, nigh".

Stay healthy!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie