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?