Psalm 139:13-16

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Crawling!

"...God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26


Monday, March 12, 2012

Birthday Party

Saturday, we celebrated Grace's first birthday with family and friends at her birthday party!

Here are some pictures of the decorations.  My friend Anna helped me decorate and I think it turned out really good!  The theme was rainbow, which of course reminds us of God's promises.  


 
And, here are pictures of the birthday girl!




 This birthday party stuff is serious!
 Who needs hands??!

Silly face!

We also had lots of family and friends who came to celebrate our girl's special day.  Many of them traveled up to 3 hours one way to see Grace!  We love you and thank you so much for your presence at Grace's birthday party!  Also, thank you for the many gifts...Grace LOVES them all!  :)


Wow---it's been a great year full of ups and downs and many unknowns.  God has blessed us with the life of our precious Grace.  HE has been faithful! 

"You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."  Joshua 23:14

Thursday, March 8, 2012

"Toddler" Stats

Our sweet baby is now officially a toddler!  This makes my heart both happy and sad at the same time!  Her stats are: weight 22 lb, 13 oz; length 29 in; head circumference 40.5 cm.  She is 75th%tile for weight and 50th%tile for length.  She is <5th%tile for head circumference, but her head continues to grow.  It is VERY evident that her brain is growing!  She is learning like crazy!

So what is Grace doing these days?  Well first of all, she is growing!  She is eating some table foods finally (after seeing a speech therapist).  She is also taking liquids other than formula, including a little juice and some milk.  Our pediatrician recommended keeping her on formula for a little longer until she is eating more table foods.  Table foods we have tried include: green beans, pineapple, peas, and carrots.  She is also eating yogurt, pudding, salt free saltine crackers, graham crackers, and Cheerios.  She is unable to feed herself, but I am confident she will learn this skill!

Her most recent accomplishment with PT is getting into a sitting position on her own!  She did this for the first time two nights ago, and has really been working hard!  Our next goal is CRAWLING!  I can't believe it!  She did great in PT this week, and we practiced crawling at home for the first time today and she did great!  She is doing better with her legs...we've just got to get her arms doing the right thing!

In OT, we are continuing to work on grasping and holding onto (for longer periods) smaller objects.  Overall, she is doing really well with OT.  It's a little harder to see progress with OT, but she is certainly making some!  Most recently, she is consistently able to put her paci back in her mouth!  This is a great skill to have!  :)

She currently has three teeth (2 on bottom and 1 on top), and is working on a fourth one!  She looks SO cute with her teeth!  Teething has given Grace no problems! 

I think her vision is continuing to improve.  I was testing her the other day...we were laying in our big bed and without saying anything as she was looking at me, I gave her a big smile, and she gave me a big smile back.  We did this several times!  It was very encouraging!  We will see a new pediatric opthamologist in May.

Grace is on the waiting list for an awesome school in our area!  It's called Little Lighthouse, and it's a preschool for children with special needs.  The waiting list is long (we are #33), but we are praying that Grace will get in sooner than later.  

Recently, we have had appointments with her neurosurgeon and her pediatrician.  They are both very pleased with how well Grace is doing!  And of course Chad and I are too! :)

Thank you for your prayers for Grace, and thank you for continuing to pray for her!  As always, we give all praise and honor to our Father, who has Grace in the palm of His hands.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

O-N-E

Our little girl had a big day today!  She is one year old!  We have had a great weekend celebrating, and we will continue the celebration with her rainbow birthday party next weekend!

Our Grace is a good and perfect gift from our Father, and we give Him all the praise for her.  We have truly celebrated her and God's goodness today.

Here are some pictures from today.  I hope you enjoy.  Thank you for praying with us over the past year!

 Checking out my birthday cake!
 Proud parents



 Getting ready for church

 You can see my two teeth here!
 Being a one year old wears a girl out!
 Last picture with the bunny



 From my feisty little fighter...
 ...to my feisty little one year old!  :)