Superhero Ronnie & Amazing Grace: 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!