Merry Christmas!

Pure Christmas Joy!

From our family...to yours!  We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying some down time for the holidays.  We have been blessed to spend time with my family over this Christmas and have plans to visit Jason's in a few short weeks!  Lucy enjoyed the time with family and the presents very much.

Showing off her new tractor

Chatting with cousin Jackson

Reading the ingredients on her fruit packet.

Trying on the elf hat!

Traditional picture in front of the tree.

Look how much she has grown since last Christmas!

Saying Thank You in a BIG way!

First time feeling the Pacific Ocean!

Jason, Lucy and I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Santa Barbara this past weekend and thank all of the people who made Lucy's shunt!  Medtronic's neurosurgery manufacturing facility is located there and we were invited to take a plant tour to see how shunts like Lucy's are made and speak as guests of honor at their Holiday Party.

It was an AMAZING opportunity and we had such a great time (I mean, not counting the sometime crabby toddler who was adjusting to West Coast time and dealt pretty well with an 8-hour travel day).  We got to walk on the beach and introduce Lucy to the ocean and enjoy 70 degree weather and have family nap time and get away from the hustle and bustle of the holidays for a a few days.

Visiting the zoo - best seat in the house!

Making friends? (And this mama is VERY glad there is glass between those two!)

And, best of all, we had an opportunity that very few families with hydro kids get to do - we got to personally meet, talk to and thank the people that contributed their time, labor and expertise to making Lucy's shunt - a tiny, implanted device that has changed the course of her future for the better in ways we will never know! It was an awesome, humbling experience and one that we were so blessed to have!

Watching the kids at the skate park and wishing she could join them!

The Holiday Party was a fancy, black tie affair and Lucy was definitely the hit of the party!  She was the youngest by a good 15 or 20 years and had probably the cutest dress there!  She smiled, danced and charmed her way into the hearts of every one of the 300+ guests at the event and I am sure that they will not soon forget how special she is and how important their jobs are to improving the lives of kids like Lucy.

Getting all dressed up for the Holiday Party! (And we didn't even get one picture of her in her adorable party dress!)

Esophagus Dilatation #12, Cardiology Visit and Meeting Santa!

Mama - please come get me!!

Lucy had her 12th esophagus dilatation on Friday.  These are, unfortunately, becoming so routine it doesn't seem like I have much to share about it.  The docs were able to get her through the 10's again (same as last time).  He seemed really optimistic about her progress, even though it's slow, he feel very confident that Lucy is on the right track.  Her recovery was pretty much standard, but she did have a very fast pulse for awhile - not exactly sure why.  It could've been because her IV was bothering her or her esophagus, so she got some Tylenol before we went home and then she was good to go.

Climbing - one of her current favorite activities

Earlier in the week, we had her one-year follow-up with cardiology.  The doctor basically walked in the room and told us that he could tell she looked great!  We didn't even have to do any EKG's or echo tests or anything, which was great!  I was geared up for a really long appointment, but it took us less than 30 minutes!  Lucy even came home with 2 stickers, which she thought was pretty special!  She still has a slight VSD (hole in her heart), but nothing of concern at this point and it will not likely cause her issues as she gets older.  We will continue to monitor with cardiology annually.

Yogurt face!

By Saturday, she was ready to brave the cold with us (for all you out of staters...it's been COLD here in Minnesota - lots of below zero days!) and go meet Santa!  We took her to the annual Children's Holiday party at my work.  She had a blast watching all the kiddos dancing and listening to the music, she got to spin a giant Price is Right wheel and won some stickers and she got to sit on Santa's lap (she didn't love it, but what one year old like sitting on Santa's lap?)

So, it's been a busy, busy week but full of fun, holiday treats and God's blessings!

Spinning the big wheel - if you know Lucy you know this girl loves the Price is Right!!

Whose lap am I on?

Happy Thanksgiving!

So I realize it is a few days past Thanksgiving, but we have so much to be thankful for I wanted to post a Thanksgiving blog anyways!  I think she is officially to the age that taking a picture is very difficult!  She does not sit still very long!!

For example, I am sure she was in this picture when I pressed the button to take it!

In addition, I am sure the turkey was in this picture with her when I took this one!!

To start out, her eye and ear appointments last week went GREAT! Her hearing was good, better than her previous visit last spring, so we will go back in 6 months to continue to monitor that.  Her sight was also good and we only have to go for annual check-ups for that!  With hydrocephalus, it often puts pressure on the optical nerve, causing sight problems so it is definitely monitored closely.  In addition, and something we didn't know is that VACTERL association also often causes eye issues - none of which Lucy was currently showing signs off.  We were over the moon relieved to have two more appointments behind us - both with such great news.  In fact, at the eye doctors, we heard a phrase that we rarely hear "...normal for her age." Yea!

Lucy:

I am so thankful to be your mommy!  I am thankful that daddy and I chose to give you life.  I am thankful that you are using your feeding tube less.  I am thankful that your hydrocephalus is not as severe as we were originally told.  I am thankful that you are sitting next to me coloring right now and are getting so independent.  I am thankful that we could spend Thanksgiving with your grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles and cousins.  I am thankful that we have access to health care that will continue to help you get better.  I am thankful that God chose to send us such a wonderful little girl!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

I am also thankful that you have such a fun daddy to play with!