Olivia

We have the CT scan for Olivia scheduled for March 22nd now. Her surgery is still scheduled for April 25th at 7:15am, which means we have to be there by 5:15am!!! yuck. The week before the surgery we have an pre-op appointment at Dr. Apfel's office w/PA Amy, who've we've seen before a couple of times. Please pray for the CT scan next week...not sure how to explain this to Olivia. They will be medicating her so she'll be absolutely still for the scan, the images have to be so precise to send off for them to make the piece for her head. Probably won't be going back to school that day so we can keep an eye on her (Nana babysitting :) ) I tried to trim Olivia's hair tonight in the tub and not talking about what I was doing, since that didn't work at the salon last week...well this didn't work either "I DON'T WANT YOU TO CUT MY HAIR, MOMMA!!!" OMG, she gets SO anxious about this and will not sit still! Just like at the dentist! Brian had to help me afterward so I could trim the back all one length, as I'd already started the trim in the tub! and I just did some random cuts on her bangs...hoping I didn't chop it all up! We'll see in the morning. Girls sleepover at Aunt Gi-gi's last Sat. night, so fun!!! Girls love her so much and did not want to leave on Sunday!

Follow up on meds

Back to UVA this week to follow up on ADHD meds for Olivia. we've upped the dosage once and it's working well at pre-k. Her appetite is definitely affected at the beginning of the meds and when we upped the dosage, but seems to level off after about a week. She's lost a pound or two, and we're keeping an eye on that, it seems to be coming back up now. We'll be meeting with her teacher soon to discuss what's best for Olivia next Fall. Also got her fitted for a new brace for her right foot @ UVA this week, she picked a purple one with rainbow velcro :) It'll be taller than her current one, but will help her with dragging her right toes. We'll have to go back to C'ville in a few weeks to get the brace, then follow up with Dr Norwood in 4 months, then back to Dr Montero in 6 months, so we'll be seeing a lot of 460 & 29 in the upcoming year :) Getting ready to schedule Olivia's CT head scan to prepare for surgery end of April. Also, she has show an enormous amount of "anxiety" at dentist trip last week and hair cut appt today :( She's fine until it's time for her to sit in "THE CHAIR" The DREADED chairs...but I pray that most of her reaction is from her age and she'll outgrow it (please!). Madi did fine w/haircut once I held her.

Madi is wonderful, doing great at daycare still and learning new words every day it seems. Her fav's are "Where'd it go" while throwing her hands up; "Sissy!"; "Look" while pointing; among others...she will say two if you say one, she's going to be a smart cookie :)

Winter 2010/2011

Olivia's doing great in Pre-K so far. We were back at Kluge at UVA in December and Olivia has been diagnosed with ADHD due to her brain injury. So, she is on generic of Adderall and it's helping a lot at school! Her teacher is very impressed with her ability to focus more now and sit still, follow directions, etc. etc. So glad first med. we tried is working!
Madi is in the Small Impressions class at Daycare at our church and is doing great, as well. She is making little girl-friends and learning how to paint and color among other things!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas this year--girls are now 18 months and 4 1/2, hard to believe!
We have Olivia's surgery scheduled for April 25th at Roanoke Memorial to repair the same bone defect in her head...this time using a patient specific graft so it'll be permanent. We are also looking into a CIT program at UVA (contraint induced therapy) for Olivia maybe this summer or next, depending on our ability to pay, since insurance is not billed for this. Her new doctors and therapists think Olivia is a great candidate for it and it'll help her the most with using her right hand. Stay tuned for fundraising events this spring/summer to help us fund this!! :)

Summer Lovin'

It's a hot, hot summer in VA and we are still lovin' it! So far Olivia and Madi have been to Fairy Stone @ the lake, Splash Valley in Rke, few birthday parties (even rode a pony!), and enjoyed our pools in the back yard! Olivia is fearless, but doing so well with balance and climbing. Her dad and I are so proud of her every day. Daycare is going well, although she'll be starting preschool in the Fall in Rke City, right close to home. Madi is just growing like a weed and already weighs 21.5 lbs. I am so in love with my girls and thankful for all my blessings in my wonderful family! <3 Brian is my true love and the rock in the family. We stand together against the world! Love him.

update for June

Hi all, well, Olivia has grown into her 4 yr old shoes :) She "graduated" from Connect Threes in May and is ready for Preschool this fall. We've decided to enroll her in the Roanoke City REACH program for pre-k at Fishburn Elem. We meet with the teacher June 7th to go over goals for the upcoming year. Olivia has always been our miracle baby and she continues to impress us with her determination. I feel like this will be the best way to catch her speech up and work on OT while learning skills to prepare her for Kindergarden. We're excited to see how she does!

Madi is standing on her own and sidestepping around many toys (and people)...has cut her third tooth, first on top just this week!!! She's looking very tall for her age, just like Olivia was. Little miss also has a bit of a temper or impatient quality, we might say :) If she doesn't get her way, and right away, you will know it!

Currently, Olivia has pink eye (Madi's already had it twice this year) and bad sinus drainage and got put on Amoxicillin today. She's had a fever on and off since Sunday morning on the way back from Ohio. She's not eating well and seems to be dehydrated some. Please pray for our angel, she's staying home again tomorrow w/Nana... Madi has thrush for the 2nd time since April and appetite may be affected some, but not too bad.

Thanks for reading...

Madi's first tooth!

Last night her dad felt her gums again and there is a point on the bottom! Yay, maybe she'll be more happy now! Since last post our lives have been turned upside down. Water damage from the icemaker hose has us staying in an apt. for over a month now. they plan to have us back in the house by next weekend, finally. Olivia's bday party is this weekend, however, so we're having it at a nearby park! The apt we're in is the exact same one that Angie, Brian and I lived in back in 2001 when Brian first moved to VA :) It's nice that we have it, thanks to manager Angie, but it's been a challenge with sleeping, walking Dexie, no cable, etc. Dex even had us scared to death one night when he choked on a bone (won't do that again!!!)
Madi has had thrush, 2 colds, fevers, throwing up, all in the last month and finally cut her first tooth last night--milestones happening and i don't have access to their baby books b/c all our belongings are packed away in storage until the floors are down :( Trying to keep up with it all, pray it won't be long till we're back home!!!