Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Mega-mega-mega Mind

We noticed a while ago that Grace has a big head and I gave her the nickname "Megamind".

The resemblence is uncanny.

I have a huge forehead (or fivehead as my sister used to call it) so we just assumed that she took after me. This is also can be a physical trait of someone with hydrocephalus, so in the back of our minds, we knew it could be because of that. 

Today at her well baby checkup, we got a bit of a shock.  A "normal" baby's head grows approximately 1/2 an inch per month. Gracie's appears to have grown nearly 9 times faster - a total of 9 inches in two months. She's acting like her normal, happy self and not showing any signs of shunt malfunction, but we have a call in to our neurosurgeon and he is reviewing the measurements. 

This could be a strange growth spurt (she only grew one inch lengthwise and gained four pounds), but it could also be much more. She's been such a miracle so far, I can't bear the thought of difficulties now. 

Would you please pray for our little Megamind? I'll post as soon as I know more.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Sweet Six Months

I can't believe she's six months old already. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, but it also feels like she's been with us forever. Grace is turning into such a happy baby. She's a lot more vocal than my other two were at this age. She loves to coo, babble and hum {according to the "experts" that means she's advanced verbally. :-)} 
Riley and Gracie


Brenna and Gracie
Physically, Grace is starting to fall a bit behind.  She is not rolling over or sitting by herself. We believe this is because of her impaired vision. Most babies start to roll over so they can reach for and play with toys. Since she can't see the toys well, she really has no incentive to work for them. She still doesn't want to use her left hand and likes to keep it tucked into a fist. We still work with a physical therapist once a week and have our own "exercises" we do daily.
My super cute pirate with her girly patch.

After seeming to move backwards this week (we have to increase the time we patch her eye because they seem to be getting worse, the physical therapist mentioned the possibility of adding an occupational therapist in a few months, etc.) I was ready to throw myself a pity party. She kicked my party to the curb by sitting up in her Bumbo seat with no additional support. (A pretty big step with her head control) It seems every time I start to get upset about what she can't do, she shows me that there's so much more she can do.
Her pal Minnie

So what can she do? She can blow the best spit bubbles. She can down bananas and apples like nobody's business. She can instantly recognize when her big brother is near. She can have a favorite song at such a young age ("Row, Row, Row Your Boat" always calms her down.)
Eating carrots. :)
Most importantly, she reminds me everyday that miracles happen. And that the sweetest thing that you'll ever see, in the whole wide world, is a happy girl. :)





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Monday, March 14, 2011

Candid Camera

This was suppose to just be a cute video of Grace trying peas for the first time (she didn't care for them). My darling 2 1/2 year old, Brenna, turns it into so much more about 40 seconds in. Listen for her laughing.



Classy Brenna. Really classy. :-)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Project Simplify: The Closet

Before:
After:
Before:

After:

Before:

After:
Over the past two years, I've whittled my wardrobe down to my unofficial SAHM wardrobe of jeans/yoga pants and solid colored v-necks. I didn't think I'd have anything extra to purge, but I still managed to get rid of two bags! It's nice to be able to actually walk into my walk-in closet now!

I'm linking this to Project:Simplify at Simplemom.net!




Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Luck of the Irish

There is just a little over a week left before St. Patrick's day and I'm excited! Weird, right? I've never really even thought about this holiday until I saw this:
Mmmmm, come to momma!
I've seen these on a few cooking websites, but the above picture is from Wee Kitchen. I have to make these cupcakes. I'm in love with them! I'm not sure eating only rainbow cupcakes is the best for my family, so I've been looking up some other things to make on St. Patrick's Day. Since my family would totally boycott any haggis or corned beef, I'm thinking we'll stick with shepherd's pie and I might try my hand at some soda bread.

** UPDATE! You can find a recipe along with a chart on which/how much food coloring to use here. **
Are you celebrating St. Patrick's Day? How are you making it special?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Hello March!

I have a few minutes before the kid's frozen pizza lunch is finished (nothing but the most nutritious food for my babies...) so I'm going to try and blog quick! Ready, steady, GO!

- I'm so glad it's March. I'm very ready for Spring!
Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.  - Lewis Grizzard
- Right now, Gracie is on her playmat grasping the rings with her left hand. This is a big deal! She doesn't like to use that hand.
- I put cloth training pants on Brenna this morning hoping speed along the potty training process. She soaked herself and could have cared less. Guess we'll still be in diapers a bit longer.
- I'm taking a cue from Flylady's habit for March and making it my goal to actually look presentable each day. No more being embarrassed when the Comcast guy randomly knocks on the door to let us know they are working in the area!  
- I took a 'break' yesterday and didn't do laundry, dishes or really pick up much. Now my house is a disaster and I have no idea where to start. How did it get this bad in ONE DAY?

On that note, perhaps I should take ANOTHER cue from Flylady and go shine my sink. Ugh, I need a maid.