Yea Gracie!

Gracie got tubes on Friday & is doing great. I dreamt last night that she was talking so clearly & said the pledge of allegiance to me! When I got up with her this morning, I tried to get her to say her name & realized it was just a dream. Oh well. A funny thing happened at the surgery center. If you understand my competitive & sarcastic nature, you will appreciate this. There was a mother there with her very young child & she taught him how to say "Anesthesiologist." We heard this tiny little voice say that big word. Seriously! Ron & I looked at Gracie & I said, "Say it Gracie." Nothing! Then I lowered my standards a bit & said, "Say Momma." Nothing. "Okay, how about Dada???" Nothing! Oh well.

Gracie was so wonderful when we went to get her tubes. She had to wait for over an hour & she did fine & didn't cry or whine at all. She didn't like being awakened from her wonderful, gas-induced nap though. She was a bit grouchy afterwards, but has been doing great since then.

In other wonderful news, I have wrapped most of my Christmas presents & am feeling ready for the holidays now! Woo Hoo! Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

Tiffany was in heaven with all those babies to play with!

Countdown to Christmas break & Tubes...

Tiffany gives me the countdown every day. "Two & 1/2 days & there may be a 2 hour delay tomorrow!" She is so excited for Christmas. I haven't wrapped a single gift & Christmas is in a week! Where did the time go??? Gracie is getting tubes in her ears this Friday. Ronnie had it done twice & I know it's very minor. That doesn't stop me from the worry & fear that something could go wrong. Anytime a baby goes under anesthesia, it's scary. I just hope & pray it helps her feel & hear better than before. She's trying so hard to talk now & said "Yes" today. Every word is a milestone for her & I love hearing her talk. She has been laughing all day & just has the sweetest personality. When she gets in trouble, she will kiss you & that is supposed to get her off the hook! Sadly, it works most of the time with Mommy. Ronnie & Tiffany love to play the Wii every night. We play Wii fit & Mario Kart. Gracie thinks she's a big kid & she wants to do everything they do. So, she's now hooked on the Wii. I tried several times to upload a video of Gracie doing step aerobics, but I'm having technical difficulties, so I may try again in a later post. Pray for Gracie on Friday morning at 6:30am. Ronnie will be happily missing his last day of school before Christmas break & will be staying with Grandma & Grandpa!

Kind of blurry, but aren't they cute playing Mario Kart together?

Screaming times 2.5 hours! Yikes!

Well, I took Ronnie & Gracie to the ENT on Tuesday. Gracie wasn't thrilled to be there. That is actually putting it mildly. She screamed (the kind where she throws herself on the ground) for 2.5 hours. Yes, that's correct - 2.5 hours while we WAITED for a hearing eval. The regular person who does the hearing tests called in sick. They had someone else who came from another office, but they were so backed up that we had to wait for an eternity. By the time we left, I was in tears with her. The nurses suggested that I walk her up & down the halls to get her energy out. We tried that, but all it accomplished was to allow the other offices to hear her cries. I guess it was a smart suggestion for our doctor, because they couldn't hear her screaming from down the hall. By the time we arrived home, it was almost 6pm. Our appointment was at 3:10. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep in my arms & all of my frustrations melted away. (Until she awoke at 10pm & wouldn't go back to sleep, but that is another story...)

The hearing test showed that she had some hearing loss, but they attributed it to fluid in her ear & they think it can be corrected with ear tubes. Initially the doctor suggested more antibiotics. I calmly (but loudly to be heard over the screaming) stated that I could have received antibiotics from the pediatrician. I was here for something else because 4 rounds of antiobiotics couldn't clear her ears, so I wasn't interested in a 5th round. Yes! He agreed & we have our appointment scheduled for 12/19 at 6:30am. If all goes well, this could potentially help her with her speech. She has her first speech therapy appointment on 12/9 & we will see how that goes. Well, that's about all that's new for now. On to the pictures...

Gracie was pointing at the laptop, so we all did it. It was funny at the time...

Tiffany & Ronnie are so fun together!

Ronnie & Daddy on his birthday! Ronnie got Daddy a Wii game (that was on Ronnie's Christmas list!)


Silly boy!

Ronnie & his webkinz eating dinner

Gracie loves to play on her computer. She sees me on my laptop & imitates me!

They took this. Aren't they cute?

Elfin Roberts' clan

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for & I love this time of year. Everyone gathers together to spend time as a family. This year has been especially special since Linda & Tiffany came to live with us. We have really enjoyed expanding our family, and Ronnie & Gracie love having a big sister. Linda is teaching me how to cook & helping me prepare for Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. She is hosting her family here on Thanksgiving Day while I am going to Ron's family's for the holiday. Then we have Black Friday where I tear up the stores & rush back home to make dinner for my family. Cameron's birthday party is on Saturday & we will have another Thanksgiving dinner with Ron's grandparents on Sunday. Somewhere in there, we will try to squeeze in putting up the Christmas tree & chasing Gracie away from it until Christmas. It's our first year with Linda & Tiffany in our family and we can enjoy Christmas with them this year.

I officially enrolled Gracie in First Steps yesterday. She will begin Speech & Occupational therapy this month. They are more concerned with her balance & falling than her speech. It is something I have noticed, but not realized was a concern. They discussed having her wear leg braces (potentially) to help with her gait. She walks with a very wide stance, has too much flexion in her hips & ankles, & this may be leading to her balance issues. We are still going forward with the ENT & she has an appointment in a week. But because she has learned to walk in such a wide stance, the braces could help re-teach her to walk with her legs straight & help tighten up her ankle muscles so she doesn't keep falling. It's all still up in the air & I'm willing to do what the experts suggest. Anything to help my baby girl. They also noted that she has an amazingly high pain tolerance. I would say so since she falls all the time. She's used to it!

Ronnie has been dealing with allergies lately & I guess I was under some sort of cloud of hope that he would miraculously never get sick again. He went through surgery to make him better & he is sick yet again. So he's back on multiple allergy medicines & I'm praying that he will eventually outgrow his allergies. We went to the doctor the other day for Gracie's sick visit & the doctor suggested we get flu shots for the kids. Ronnie started bawling hysterically. He said, "You said we were here for Gracie." Gracie started stroking Ronnie's hair, and hugging & kissing him - trying to calm him down. The doctor came back later & noticed Ronnie was crying. She immediately suggested the flu mist for him & all was well again. Gracie got the shot & shed only a small tear & then went on her way. She's one tough cookie! On to the pictures...

Tiffany's costume scared Gracie!

Grammy's girls. Don't ya like Neva's hair? Aunt Ruth fixed it!

Tiffany has 2 babies to play with!


Hot mama!


Santa found out Gracie wasn't good this year!

Santa's laughing as Ronnie's wish list goes on & on & on & ...

Playing Webkinz

Aren't they cute together? They sit like this every night & play Webkinz

Big Brother teaches Gracie great things! (Sword fighting???)

One Step, Two Steps, First Steps

Gracie had her First Steps Evaluation on Monday. It went really well. They were here for 2 hours and sat on the floor with her & observed her through play. It amazed me how they could capture her attention for so long & also what they looked at. Throughout the entire 2 hours, she fell countless times. I have always just attributed this to her being clumsy. They also noted that she rarely tried to talk or babble (though she does sometimes, it's not often). Their first recommendation was that she should be seen by an ENT to see if she has fluid in her inner ear. They were concerned that her hearing may be muffled & this could be her reason for slow speech & inner ear fluid could cause poor balance. It also may not be & if not, we will tackle that with speech therapy. I'm just excited to move forward & see if she may have some issues with her hearing that can be alleviated. She has always been somewhat fussy & this is becoming more of a concern now that she is trying to communicate. I can't wait for my baby to say "Mommy".

I'm posting pictures that we took at the pumpkin patch before Halloween. Enjoy...

More Birthday Pics...

My boy turned 6 on October 23rd. I'm attaching some pictures of his costume birthday party...

Baby Neva

Cousin Kacie

Grandma made this cake! Isn't is cute???