My Hero

Grace's school had the most PRECIOUS event tonight called Struttin Their Stuff, during which we celebrated each student's milestones they've met over the past year at school.  If only I had been able to video every child, you would be in TEARS!  It was beyond precious and humbling to be able to truly SEE God's hand at work in their lives.  Wow-I feel so privileged to witness this daily...to be so aware of Him.  His love is evident in every milestone, big or little.

Anyway, I could talk forever about how precious this event was.  But for now, I will just have to show you a glimpse.  Here is Grace's video.  I thought she would clap the entire lap, but instead she ate her goldfish.  Oh well.  Smart girl.  At the end, you'll hear Carrie talk about her being a drama queen.  That she is.  Ms. Beth says that when Grace wins her Academy Award one day she wants to be thanked.  She and Ms. Brittany certainly deserve thanks!  :)

We just love our little school.  God has blessed us to be a part of it in BIG ways.  What a great day.

One Week Bottle Free

Tomorrow, Grace will be one week bottle free!

We are still working hard on straw drinking.  We offer her drinks at mealtimes of course, as well as in between and right before bed since it is still a struggle to keep her well hydrated.  She just doesn't seem to get thirsty enough to have a strong desire to drink enough to be hydrated, so we still have to push her.

Our goal is 3 ounces of milk, juice, water at a time.  This would be 18 ounces a day, give or take.  This amount is less than what is recommended, but she has always taken less than what is recommended.  We just keep an eye on wet diapers, which she has plenty of.

So you see we have to push her to take that small amount.  She still doesn't love the straw, but will drink.  We still have to distract her a lot.  I hope with time she will like the straw and drink more.

We are looking at finding a good straw cup for her, but want to talk with our speech therapist before making any major decisions.

The next thing that Grace needs to learn is to hold her cup on her own.  :)

Ok, that's enough talk!  I am just praising Jesus for weaning from the bottle!

Another Praise!

Hey friends!  I just wanted to let y'all know that Grace had her first day today without bottles!  She did GREAT!  I think she had about the same amount of liquid that she normally has (which is always under what is recommended, but I've been told is okay).  We offered her straw cup to her very frequently, like every hour, and she did great!  Here and there she would get frustrated, and we still have to use a lot of distraction, but this is a big milestone in her life.

We have worked on this skill off and on for a long time, but it has always been very frustrating for all of us.  So frustrating so that we have started and stopped working this skill many times.  I finally decided that this was going to be a short term goal that we WERE going to meet, and really focused on it during Grace's recent break from school.  Honestly, I was discouraged when she didn't get it in those three weeks.  But I decided to keep trying and with a lot of prayer, patience, and guidance from our therapists, we finally did it!  I am SO thankful and proud!

The next step is to teach her how to hold the cup on her own and get her drink whenever she wants.  Thank you all for your continued prayers for our precious one.  We continue to see God's hand at work in her life, and are always amazed.  :)

And just because, here are some pictures from our trip to the pool the other day!

Father's Day

Grace gave Chad the most perfect Father's Day gift...she did great practicing walking!  Here is a video...this is her first time practicing at home!

BIG Deal

THIS happened today!!!

Join me in praising God for his mighty and amazing work in our lives!  I am blessed to get to see and touch evidence of His work.  To HIM be the glory!

Grace Creations

Chad and I have started a new adventure - Grace Creations!  We are creating handmade photo frames as a fundraiser for Grace's AMAZING school, The Little Lighthouse!  

Below are some examples of our work!  

Please visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/GraceCreationsHandmadePhotoFrames for more information!  :)  :)  :)

Break Update

Hello!  Today is Grace's last day of her break from school with me (I start my "long" week at work tomorrow).  We have been busy, but have had SO MUCH FUN!

We celebrated Grace's little cousin Lydia's first birthday, had fun with friends from out of town that we haven't seen in forever, had a trip home to visit with my parents, played in the pool, had Grace's first dentist appointment, and worked really hard with therapy.

Grace started water therapy during her break.  She has done really well with this, and her teacher is amazing!  Being in the water is so beneficial, not only for her muscles, but it also has helped her to build up her confidence and her social skills.  We have one session left.  I hope to continue the skills I've learned from her teacher in the pool for the rest of the summer.

Grace has continued to do well with pulling up and cruising.  She still isn't really pulling up much on her own except for at our babysitter's house (on her leather ottoman).  So I ordered us a leather ottoman to encourage her to do this skill independently!  She is doing well with cruising, although not independently yet.  She is sitting in the "w" position less and less, and is really learning how to swing her bottom around to sit correctly.  She is also putting her feet down on the ground more and more on her own.  All of these things are leading up to our next big deal: WALKING!  Our PT told me to bring Grace's walker to our next appointment (next Friday)!

Straw drinking.  We have worked off and on with this all break.  Basically, we have been working hard for Grace to tolerate the straw touching her lips, and for her to understand that her juice comes from the straw.  This took a while, but I've finally found the trick!  As long as she is distracted by her favorite app (Scout's Music), she does really well!  She has even started sucking from the straw some!  I am so proud!  I was getting really discouraged for a while, but God knows how to encourage and lift me up at just the perfect time!  I have prayed for patience for us, and He has provided it.  That is just like Him, He always provides our needs, but yet knows how to help us understand our dependence on Him.  Until Grace really "gets" straw drinking, I will continue to enjoy bottle feeding her in between meal times.  One of the benefits of prolonged bottle feeding is snuggling with an otherwise nonsnuggly toddler.  I love how she touches my face and plays with my wedding rings.  And then after she lays her head on my shoulder and puts her arms around me as I sing rockabye baby.  I hope we can wean her soon, but for now I will enjoy this lack of independence.  I'm sure one day I will wish she was more dependent on me.  :)

And some pictures.  These are from our visit at my parents.  Thank you for praying for us over this break.  We have LOVED it!