Addison's latest trick and other news

Addison is up to new tricks every day! Wednesday I was babysitting our friend Lacey and I looked up and saw Addison sitting at our little Elmo table. I thought maybe Alex or Lacey helped her into the chair. But no, Addison has figured out how to get herself into the chair. It's really cute to watch! The only problem is she can't really get down/out of the chair. Often it's a nose dive to the floor that gets her down! But she is so proud of herself once she does get up on that chair! You can see her in action below. This is another big step for Addison because she pulls herself up to the table and actually moves her feet or scoots her feet as she climbs into the little chair. I'm excited to see how this boosts her confidence and maybe encourages her to explore standing/walking more!

And I haven't really blogged about Alex lately. All the attention has been on Addison and her plethora of medical issues. Alex is doing really well. He had vacation bible school this week. It was everyday from 9-12. It wore him out! He hasn't really done anything like this before that was everyday. But I think he had fun. And he's really into trucks lately-- thanks to Grandma buying him a book about Caterpillars. And the book came with a very entertaining and informative DVD about Caterpillars. He's also really into Bakugans (sp?) thanks to his cousin Cadence. And again, thanks to Grandma, he now has a DVD of Bakugan episodes that he watches. Roger and I are still working really hard to get Alex to expand his diet. It's been very challenging! And some nights he goes to bed without dinner because he is so super stubborn. I have NO idea where he gets that from! (My eyes are rolling back with sarcasm here). He comes by that trait honestly. He is getting so big! Roger and I swear he's getting taller every day! He's still a really sweet, compassionate little boy. We've enjoyed swimming together so far this summer. It's been fun having him home everyday with me!

Appoinment with the GI

The highly anticipated doctor's appointment was this morning! After Addison's one-year check up, her pediatrician wanted to refer Addison to a pediatric GI (gastroenterology) at Cook Children's. For those of you who don't see pediatric specialists like my kids do, this is a fancy doctor who knows all about poop. Just kidding. Dr. Ogunmala knows much, much more than just poop. In all seriousness, Dr. Ogunmala asked and took down an extensive background on Addison. He then said there are pretty much three reasons why a child isn't gaining weight: 1. not enough calories, 2. enough calories, but essential nutrients are being lost through bowel movements, or 3. enough calories, the food is being broken down properly, but the body isn't disbursing the nutrients -- it doesn't know what to do with it all. He then said the only real way to figure out what is going on with Addison is to run tests.

Now I knew this was coming. I knew the GI would want to run more tests. But I didn't know it would be to this extent! Dr. Ogunmala wants an MRI done. He explained that Addison would be under anesthesia. And then said while she's under that he would also collect some biopsies of her esophagus and stomach. And they would also test for reflux. Now this is a fun test: the test for reflux is some kind of probe that they insert into Addison's mouth and down her throat to measure how often she refluxes. For a 24 hour period. Nice, huh? I asked the nurse today how you handle a child with a probe down their throat and she brushed me off and said "they" would go over that with me when the time comes. Can't wait to hear what "they" have to tell me! In the meantime, I also have an appointment for a sweat test. Not sure what exactly this will tell the doc, but it's been ordered. And since the sweat test will be at the lab, I can go ahead and drop off her stool and urine samples while I'm there. Yup. Fun times ahead for me. And have I mentioned getting to see a dietitian AND an allergist?

So this is my silver lining -- I love my child. I love her enough to entertain all these tests in the hope that one will shed some light on why Addison hasn't gained any weight in seven months. Seriously. She was 15 lbs 11 ounces at 6 months and today she was 17 pounds. Ok. She's gained one pound in six months. No matter how I feel about all the tests, not gaining weight for six months isn't right. In closing, I'll keep blogging about all this. It's therapeutic for me and cheaper than a shrink.

Viruses and Car Buying

Viruses and car buying...hmm. Both sound kinda yucky right? Well, the virus I'm talking about isn't a human virus. It's the w32.koobface.A virus that infected my computer -- what a pain! Apparently, this is a computer virus courtesy of social websites such as Facebook and Myspace. And since I'm an admitted Facebook junkie, I'm sure I infected my computer with this virus somehow. Thankfully, Roger worked and worked to get the virus off our computer. But now I'm afraid to get back on Facebook. Guess I'll have to blog more! Ha!

Now on to the other yucky thing...car buying! Last weekend Roger started talking to me about buying a new car -- and he's wanted to get into a bigger car for some time now. I guess I just kept thinking we weren't quite ready -- not ready for a car payment, increased gas payment, etc. But he talked some sense into me and we started seriously looking this past week. What another pain in the you know what! After several trips to various car dealerships and dealing with numerous car sales men, we've managed to purchase this....


It's the 2010 Honda Pilot. And it's soooo nice! We finally worked out a deal with David McDavid Honda in Irving. They got the price down and actually found the Pilot we wanted -- a 2 wheel drive EX, dark cherry pearl exterior with a tan interior. The only hiccup is that the car is in Austin. So while we are waiting for the car to make its way up to Irving, Roger and I have reflected on how screwy (is that a real word) the whole car buying business is! And just when you think you've managed to walk away from the whole thing without getting too screwed, you discover another hidden way that the dealership made some extra money off of you. All I have to say is that I think I negotiated a decent price for my new Pilot and that I held my guns on the figures that I actually saw on paper. And I won't have to do this again for some time! And in the meantime, I'll enjoy every little minute in my new Pilot!

Food Funnies

Addison has such a great time eating! It's messy, but fun. And I keep reading about how important it is at this age for children to explore food and self-feeding. For example, "As soon as your child starts to handle a spoon and a cup with something approaching control, let him. Meals will take longer and be messier, but this is the type of independence you should be encouraging." Oh, so it takes every ounce of self-control to just let Addison eat and make a mess. But I know it's for the best. And I want her to be a good eater, so I know it starts now. Until she masters utensils, I'll try to smother the urge to feed her myself, and smile, try to laugh off the messes, and in the end, take lots of pictures.

Enjoying one of Alex's favorite treats: graham crackers with icing.

Another yummy meal -- pizza!

And finally, this was a messy one -- steal cut oatmeal. I couldn't figure out what she wanted this morning until I clued in and realized she wanted some of my oatmeal. Really? I don't think it's that good...just healthy and filling in my book. But definitely not that tasty. But she loved it! She tried feeding herself with the spoon and then finally decided her hands were much easier! Again, this took patience because it was so messy-- little kernels of sticky oatmeal all over the table, floor, Addison. I just kept reminding myself, Super Nanny said this is important and it would be slow and messy. If Super Nanny says so, it's got to be right, right? In the end, messes can be cleaned up. But bad eating habits are a disaster to correct and break!

Cousins

This is Addison with her sweet cousin, Caitlin. Aren't they beautiful? My sister was here over Memorial Day with her kids, Caitlin and Cadence. Addison and Caitlin are only about 5 months apart. And Tamara and I thought it would be fun to dress them alike a couple times. Poor girls, probably every time they are together we will do this! It was so fun and we got the biggest kick out of it! Caitlin will probably be the closest thing Addison will ever have to a sister. I hope they will be friends and love each other like sisters. It will be fun to see them grow up together. That would be easier if Caitlin lived in the United States...again, that's a whole 'nother post.

My parents with the Caitlin and Addison...Addison was pretty tired by this point.

Heehee, Tamara and I had taken the girls shopping with us. We wore them out! They both slept through dinner. Fun times with my sister and her family! Hopefully, we'll see them again for Christmas. Addison and Caitlin will both be so different by then...probably both walking and talking! They change so fast.

Milestones

To some, this is just a random picture of Addison playing. For me, this is the picture of a milestone! The reality of this picture is that Addison pulled herself up to stand on her feet to play with this toy. This is HUGE because Addison hasn't pulled herself up at all and really should have been pulling herself up months ago...around 9 months. This was one milestone her pediatrician was really concerned about because Addison hadn't reached it yet and even when we tried to stand her up, she wouldn't. And around six months, if we stood her up, she would stand on her feet. So technically, she had digressed in this area.

So for me, this picture gives me hope...that she will continue to develop and reach new milestones (like maybe walking one day), it gives me relief...that there really isn't something seriously wrong with her because honestly, I was starting to get a little worried, and pride...I'm so proud of her (come on, I am her mother after all)! I think she's averaging about a 3 month delay on some physical milestones, such as crawling. So I'm hoping that around 15 months my little AddiKat might actually start cruising! Go Addison, go!