Thankful

This week, I wanted to take a moment to talk about what I am thankful for.  This Thanksgiving is a big contrast to last Thanksgiving, and for that, I am very thankful!  I am also thankful for my family...of course my immediate family...Chad and I have been together for 10 years!  We have had our ups and downs (thankfully more ups than downs), and we continue to grow together.  Grace is now close to 9 months old, and has changed our lives for the better!  We are SO incredibly thankful for her and her sweet, miraculous life.  She has taught us and so many others about God's power and grace.  I am also thankful for our extended families...Chad's and my parents and siblings, our niece (and niece/nephew on the way!), grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  They made us who we are.  I am thankful for my precious friends...I won't attempt to list specific names for fear of my crazy mind forgetting someone, but you know who you are!  :)  You have loved me through the hard times and I will never forget that!  I am thankful for my church family, who are literally my extended family.  I am thankful for my job.  I LOVE being a pediatric nurse, and I love it even more since I work part time!  :)  And last but certainly not least, I am thankful for Jesus...my Redeemer, my Savior, the Lover of my soul, my Father.  It is because of Him that I live and breathe.

Pretty as a Picture

 Grace is going to be in our children's hospital 2012 calendar!  So today we played with her tutu and my camera.  What do you think??

Vision

Grace had her second vision appointment today at our state's School for the Blind Low Vision Clinic.  Everyone there was VERY friendly, and the doctor (Dr. S) was very helpful and informative.  Grace was very cooperative (an answered prayer!).  Dr. S said she has pale optic nerves, which is causing her low vision.  He stated that she is not blind (we didn't think she was totally blind).  Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment like I had hoped; however, he did refer us for the Comprehensive Home-based Intervention Program (CHIP).  This program will serve Grace in our home to prepare her to enter the most appropriate learning environment by the time she is school age---a certified teacher will come to our house and work with Grace, as well as teach us how to work with Grace to reinforce her learning activities!  Dr. S said that he has seen children with this improve.  He also said that Grace has an astigmatism, and she may need glasses in the future to help with that.  He predicted that Grace could possibly function normally, at least until the third grade (because print usually gets smaller then).  He also doesn't think she will need any assistive devices (like a cane).  Basically, right now it is too early to tell what Grace's potential will be, but we are going to do EVERYTHING we can to help her reach her highest potential!  After all of this, I should be a pretty good therapist!  :)

Can I just tell you that Grace's vision impairment has been a BIG source of anxiety for me.  I have always known that her vision was impaired.  When she was an infant, I was so afraid that she couldn't see me and wouldn't know my face.  I am so thankful for continued confirmation of Grace's visual ability.  I know she will overcome this obstacle in her life, just like she has done in the past!

And for your viewing pleasure...the princess!

8 Months

Happy 8 months baby girl!  What's up with Grace these days?  Well, she is in size 12-18 month clothes, and she is wearing size 4 diapers.  She is finally liking fruit!  She still loves her vegetables, and will sometimes eat 1.5 things of vegetables.  She is eating about three 6-ounce bottles, with sometimes one to two 2-4-ounce bottles after her food.

We changed therapy groups, so now she is receiving both physical and occupational therapy!  Changing groups was the right thing to do for Grace.  We are very thankful for our therapists, and Grace is making great progress with her development!  Before OT, she really didn't use her hands much, but now she is using them so much more!  She can sometimes hold in her paci, and recently for the first time ever she put her paci back in on her own!  That was a big milestone!!  She is also rolling all the time!  She can roll from her back to her tummy.  She is also really trying to sit on her own!  She is not quite there yet, but she is making lots of progress.  She is also focusing and following better than ever!

We also had a small vacation...we took Grace to the beach.  She did NOT like the beach...it was way too sunny and windy for her, but maybe next year she will like it!  Grace also celebrated Halloween by being the most beautiful ladybug I've ever seen!  I wish I had gotten a picture at our church's Paloween celebration when Grace got to see her Mamaw Rita, her Aunt Susan, and her Aunt Robin!  :)  They love Grace so very much, and we are so thankful for them (Mamaw Rita keeps Grace when I work).

Thank you all for your love and prayers for our baby girl!  Please join us in prayer for her!  Here are specific prayer requests for Miss Grace: the she would continue to make progress with her developmental milestones, that her vision would continue to improve (we have another vision appointment next week), that her shunt would continue to work correctly and remain infection free (we are almost past the 6 month period where she is most at risk for infection), and that she would continue to bring others closer to Christ.  We are so proud of our biggest blessing!