Been awhile

I know it's been awhile, so I'm not sure anyone even reads this anymore. But in case you do, here's the scoop.

Hope is getting mobile. She rolls both ways now and can make her way most of the way across the room. She pushes up on her elbows and reaches for things. She claps her hands. She continues to be very good-natured. She is up to almost 15 lbs.

However, we had a recent scare. Her head size jumped from 5th percentile to almost 50th over a few weeks. We had a head ultrasound to check for hydrocephalus. Thankfully she came back in the normal range and the pediatrician is not worried. She just has a big nugget.

Today was her eye appointment up in Spokane. I have to say that I'm a bit surprised by the outcome. We've known all along that she would probably be one of those little kids with glasses, but I really haven't observed any issues. She responds when you smile at her, whether you're up close or across the room. She tracks objects and turns when she hears sounds. Nevertheless, the doc said she'll probably be needing glasses in the next 3-6 months. Not what we hoped, but not too bad considering some of the other worries we've had along the way.

I'll try to post more current pics soon.

Super Sis!

Gabe decided to make a superhero out of Hope today. I thought she pulled it off pretty nicely. (Notice she even has a utility belt.)

Trip to Sunriver, OR

We made a trip to Sunriver, OR last week with the kids. It was Hope's first trip and it went pretty well. We went to the High Desert Museum, to the observatory, and to Smith Rock State Park. It was a blast being out together, especially under the beautiful blue sky.

happy Easter

Not two days ago I was talking to Mike about how I didn't think Hope was going to be ready to start food this next month. She has an appointment with her GI doc on the 16th of May and we are supposed to start rice cereal the week before. I was thinking that there was no way she'd be up to it. She's just too little and completely uninterested in table food. But tonight we had our Egyptian meal to finish off our unit on ancient Egypt. I was holding her on my lap and looked down to realize that she'd swiped my pita off of my plate. She was gumming it for all she was worth. Then she got handed off to Grandma who decided she was up for trying some of the sugar water from our fruit mixture. Oh my goodness, was she excited about that! She's getting to be such a big girl.

She's done with the RSV, thankfully, as you probably guessed from the pictures with no cannula. She even went all night without oxygen the other night. How exciting is that?! (Of course, she hasn't been able to repeat it, but we'll get there soon.) She continues to be a happy, mellow girl who is so sweet. She even gives kisses now. Well, technically she just licks your face if she can get close enough, but it's still very sweet.

I've been told multiple times now that I need to update the blog, so here goes. Hope has been pretty sick. She came down with something about 3 weeks ago, but it seemed very mild, especially in comparison to Andy and Mary. It took a turn for the worse this past weekend. She started having coughing fits that were so bad they would make her throw up. Her oxygen needs started getting greater and greater. She has been to the pediatrician 3 times and the emergency room once. She has not needed to be hospitalized, but she's certainly scared us. I'm hoping she's over the worst now, but I guess we'll see. Her chest doesn't sound quite so much like a bowl of rice krispies today and she's down from needing 1.5 liters of oxygen during the day to needing 3/4 - 1. (She normally doesn't need anything during the day and is on 1/8 liter at night.) She's weighing in at 11 lbs now, down from her high of 11 lbs 5 oz. There is a bright spot in all this though. Hope rolled over 4 times on Tuesday from her belly to her back. Way to go, sis!

Big Week

For those who haven't heard, Hope got her broviac out on Tuesday. Hooray! Now she can have some tummy time. She can also have a bath. I gave her her first real bath this morning and she liked it. It was long over-due. Then we got all dressed up and took her to church. We went late, sat in the back, and left early, but we went. I'd like to point out the lovely outfit that she wore this morning. Someone from our friends' church, who wishes to remain anonymous, made this for her. Isn't it darling? It made a perfect outfit for her first time at church. Thank you, whoever you are! Lastly, I just wanted to point out the picture of her staring at Nate. Boy is she taken with him! She kept reaching up to touch his face, though of course I didn't capture any of that. She talks to him all the time and I think he's probably her favorite person. It's very cute.