First Sentence!

 

I have a feeling this is one of those things where I will announce Evie's first sentence here and then she won't do it again for several months, but we're gonna go with it...

We were supposed to go to the zoo today with our playgroup, but Evie is sick. She was really fussy at Bible study yesterday and sure enough when I checked her temp later, she had a low-grade fever. She woke up last night and her fever was a little higher, so we decided to stay home. :o(

I was supposed to pick up my friend Janna and her kids, so I called her up this morning to tell her we weren't able to go. Often as I wrap up my phone conversations, Evie says "Bye bye" (or her version of "Ba" or "Ba-ba."). I don't even have to say "Bye" myself...there must be some tone in my voice or something else that I say that clues her in...pretty funny. This time she said it again, but after I hung up she said, "Ba- Dada." (Bye, Daddy.) She said it over and over. She must have thought I was talking to her daddy (since he's probably the one I talk to on the phone most). The funny thing is, she hasn't been showing Richard much love for weeks (at least not in the sense of saying Dada). It's been Mama Mama Mama for several weeks now. But Richard is in Canada this week and since he's been gone, she's been saying Dada quite a bit. I guess she misses him as much as her mommy does!

Later in the day, I said the blessing and after I said "Amen" I said, "Can you say 'Amen,' Evie?" And she did! It was definitely "Amen." So fun!

In case you're wondering about the photo today, it is of Evie with her friend Katherine about a year ago at the Arboretum. They were so little!!

Bloodwork back!

I wanted to share our wonderful news: Evie’s bloodwork came back totally normal (This is for chromosomal/genetic abnormalities…we still don’t know about blood clotting issue—that’ll be different bloodwork). Praise God for such wonderful (and quicker than expected!) results!!!

Here's a picture of Evie hammin' it up at the Arboretum recently (one of the many posts I need to get done! Oh well, some day soon!!) It looks like she just told a joke, but she was actually doing her spitting routine (a personal favorite of hers which often gets her plenty of attention) :o)

Neurology Appointment

 
 

First things first! Here are a couple of cute pictures of Evie and "Little Louie." It looks like Louie is trying to tell her a secret. She must not have liked what he had to say though, because she in turn tries to poke his eye out! Hee hee. Louie is now a big brother to Gabriel (just a month old!). They, along with their parents, are sweet friends of ours who just moved into the neighborhood several months ago (but we've known them for years).

Here is the latest news on Evie...

We had an appointment with a pediatric neurologist this morning. The doctor was very nice—very calm and soft-spoken. Here’s what we’ve got, based on what he said and questions we asked:

--He does believe the stroke occurred in-utero
--We don’t know the cause…we’ll be doing further tests to see if we can come up with a “why”
--Evie seems to be doing very well considering what she went through, which bodes well for her progress
--He believes she will be fine speech-wise & will be able to catch up motor-wise (but may not be an athlete—fine with us!)
--He wants an “echo” (EKG) done and to get the bloodwork back before eye surgery to be sure there are no clotting issues
--Without having an official diagnosis (a “why”), we will probably need to have more tests done (on me too) to rule out the possibility of this happening in a future pregnancy
--I asked if the echo, bloodwork, etc might reveal something “even worse” (since I seem to always worry over this in my mind) and he said he believes the worst already happened and that these tests will just fill in the blanks to give us more information (Praise God!)
--There is a chance Evie could have seizures due to the “dead tissue” in her brain, but when we asked him to put a number on it he said maybe 30-50% chance. He didn’t seem overly concerned about this either though…it just might mean medication. (and he said if it happens just turn her on her side and time how long it lasts—usually it’s 30 sec. to a minute…the “put a stick in their mouth” is evidently a myth—there’s your random fact for the day!) ;o)

We have the ECI evaluation on Wednesday. I am really looking forward to us rolling our sleeves up and getting this therapy under way (which I’m hoping the actual therapy will start next week). Evie has been INITIATING with her left hand lately (“Lefty” as we call her left hand), reaching out to grab things even when her right hand is available. This is new! “Lefty” is clumsy but I love that she is trying. She’ll even sometimes follow our directions to “try it with Lefty” or “say Hi with Lefty.” How many 15 month olds do you know who know their right from their left? ;o)

Again, thank you so much for the prayers! In the last several days I have felt a much greater peace about things and I know that is attributed to the power of prayer.

First Muscle Up

I figured out (well, Richard figured out) how to put a video up via Youtube, so please go here to see Richard's first Muscle Up! :o) He added some more video of a Muscle Up he did today with my mom and Evie looking on so it would be easier to see (in daylight).

A Quiet Strength

I just finished a book that I would normally have never read (but I'm in a book club that is good about switching up genres). It is "A Quiet Strength," the autobiography of Tony Dungy. He is the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl. He is also a wonderful, solid Christian. Despite the fact that this book is full of "football stuff," it really kept my interest. I thought I would give it a little endorsement here on the blog so that others could give it a try who might not normally read a "football book." Tony Dungy is really an amazing man. He has been through struggles and heartaches and has, in the process, been an incredible witness for the Lord. There's my two cents. Anyone else got a good book recommendation? Any that you wouldn't have normally picked up, but enjoyed?

Richard's First "Muscle Up"

A lot of you may see this title and go, "Huh?!" but a "first muscle up" is a HUGE deal. Richard does a workout program called "Crossfit" (supposedly I do too, but I'm not near as dedicated or consistent as he is) and one thing that they do in this program, which he has been working toward is the Muscle Up. It is VERY difficult to do, so it is with great pride in my Hubsley that I present this video. You'll get to see several unsuccessful attempts leading up to the finale...Success! (at almost nightfall, although it was really only a few minutes later). Ruthie, this post is especially for you! (Richard's sister, Ruthie, along with her family, also participate in Crossfit, and they enjoy looking at each other's postings of their times and accomplishments online--it's a little fun sibling rivalry) :o) ***This is my first attempt at a video, so we'll see if it works...

Honeymoon--Part 2

 
 
 

Here are the other pages from our honeymoon...

Our trip to the ruins of Tulum, where we paid more attention to the iguanas than the ruins, some smoochy-smooch (blush, blush!), and me getting my hair braided and beaded.

The MRI Report

Well, we spoke to Evie's developmental pediatrician about the MRI report today. It turns out that Evie had a stroke at some point. They believe that it was probably inutero, but we will be seeing a neurologist (yes, another doctor!) who will be able to give us more information. The stroke was in the "right middle cerebral artery" and affected her Frontal Lobe and Parietal Lobe. The good news is that it is an old stroke and not acute (in other words, she isn't continuing to have strokes). The neurologist should be able to let us know if there is a danger of future strokes but this doctor didn't seem to think that would be the case.

The doctor said she was really surprised when she received the report because Evie is doing so well. She said that the fact that Evie has been continuing to develop recently is very good news and bodes well for her. Kiddos with strokes in this area of the brain are often able to catch up so that's great. One potential concern is her small head size. Evidently the growth of the brain is what causes the skull to grow, so they will be keeping tabs on this to be sure that it is continuing to grow as it should. On another note, the genetic bloodwork was sent to a lab that is VERY backed up. It was supposed to take 4-6 weeks, but lately it's taken more like 12 weeks. Please pray that this bloodwork comes back normal. I just don't want any more surprises.

Obviously this is a lot to swallow. It's good because it's an answer, but obviously not quite what we were hoping for. We are hanging in there. Thanks again for your prayers. The Lord will get us all through this.



Jen

PS--I included a picture of Evie getting ready to go on a walk because I've posted far too many times without a picture of our sweet girl lately! :o)