WEEK 26 - November 18-24 - 25 Weeks Old

HELLOOOOO!!!!  It's been a mostly wonderful week.  Mommy tells me it's the week before a big holiday where we eat a lot of food.  I'm IN!  I Looooove Food! :)  Unfortunately for me (and my Mommy and Daddy), it was also the first time I have ever been sick, and it was at the time of the biggest snowfall/ice storm in Seattle before Thanksgiving on record!


Sick girl sleeping in Mommy's arms



It got COLD...Very Very COLD this week.  Seattle saw temperatures dip into the teens and we got over 4 inches of snow at my house.  Seattle traffic was NUTS and some people were waiting on the freeway to get home for over 7 hours!  Mommy felt lucky because, unfortunately (or fortunately), I was home sick that day, and she was with me, so she missed out on all the freeway antics :)  I had been feeling poorly all weekend, and then Sunday night I had a fever most of the night.  Mommy called to take me to the doctor, but they closed before I could get in there due to snow.  Fortunately, my fever subsided and mostly I'm just left a very stuffy girl.  Mommy keeps sucking green goo out of my nose with the blue bulb from the hospital.  Because of this, I've been pretty fussy and will only nap when Mommy or Daddy is holding me!  Well, almost.  I also had several instances where I fell asleep playing.  I was hoping nobody noticed, but Mommy got a picture.  I was desperately trying NOT to fall asleep, but when you're not feeling well and you've got a lot of stimulation, sometimes it's just necessary to close your eyes for a brief moment.  This is what happened in the following picture.  I *promise* it was only briefly! :)

Despite my sickness, I've had some really nifty events this week.  I saw and tasted my first snow!  We don't have pictures because I was outside for about .02 seconds because I've been sick and Mommy was afraid I'd get sicker.  I also got to sit in front of my first fire.  What a FUN thing!  It's very warm and I'm fascinated by the bright, flickering lights.  Daddy says the picture below looks like I have a halo like an Angel and he loves it! :)

Kaety's first fire

You might notice in the above picture that I am SITTING BY MYSELF!!!!  It only happens in about 10-15 second spurts, but hey, this is big news! I fall forward a little at the end, but I am starting to use my hands to balance and if I'm really entranced (by a fire or a toy), I can sit for almost a full minute without support.  I really like to sit...it lets me see the world from a whole new angle and I get quite smiley doing so...!

In other big news this week, I've found Daddy's beard!  That's right folks, I am absolutely entranced by Daddy's facial hair.  I like to run my fingers over it, pull on it, suck on it, and play with it.  Daddy calls it "Beard Patrol."  Mommy and Daddy think it's funny, but mostly, I just think it's soft and fun to pluck on!

Despite the fact that I have felt pretty ickky, I have been a smiley girl most of the week. Part of that may be that my Sissy came home from college to hang out with me in preparation for this big eating holiday (which I cannot wait to have!), or it could just be that I'm generally a pretty genial sort of gal...either way, it's been a good week and I feel pretty happy (as you can see below) to have my family around, fresh snow, warm fireplaces, fun toys, and crazy dogs.



I really love my Sissy...she's AMAZING!

So, until next week, when I get to experience big food, lots of family and more...and hopefully I'll be as smiley, as I'm having more pictures taken with my photographer friend, Nathania...TTFN (or, as Tigger says, "Ta Ta For Now!") 

WEEK 25 - November 11-17, 2010 - 24 weeks old

All good things must come to an end, so did our Hawaiian vacation.  BUT, I did have so much fun.  Before we left, we spent Veteran's Day in Hawaii and that day, we went to a place called Waimea Falls State Park.  On the way there, we got stopped by a parade and so I got to see my very first parade (from the car)! 

We hiked up to the falls (I got to ride on my Daddy) and my Mommy and Uncles went swimming in the VERY cold water and under the waterfall.

On the way up to the waterfall...

Sittin' w/ Daddy at the waterfall...

We also had one final family dinner before we all went our separate ways...here we are at a very fancy restaurant at the base of a big mountain called Diamond Head.

Dinner at Hoku's

The last night we were there, I got to meet one of my Mommy's oldest, dearest friends, Aunt Patty.  She is such a fantastic lady.  We went with her to a Japanese Temple, down to Lanikai Beach, and over to her very cute house to see all her fun beachy things.  I hope when we go back next year, we'll get to spend more time with her.  She's very snuggly!

Me and Aunt Patty

When we got home, Mommy commented how all of a sudden, it's winter in Seattle!  When we left, it felt like Fall; when we returned, it was cold, rainy and gray...and has been pretty much since then!

Since I've been back, I got to go back to school and tell all my friends about my trip as well as play with Ms. Audrey...I really missed her!  I also had therapy with Ms. Colleen.  Ms. Colleen was so pleased with how well I'm doing on sitting...I think she was actually a little shocked.  I'm not steady, mind you, but I can sit and play with toys on my own without "folding over" for almost a minute before I completely fall over.  I think the seating support that Ms. Audrey bought for me to use at school has helped me immensely.  This week we're going to work on "transitioning" from sitting to the ground and vice versa and Daddy and Mommy are going to spend some more time working with me on eating solids.  I'm pretty persnickety about them and am learning to clamp my mouth shut rather than open it when food comes at me.  Except for cupcakes and pie...I always open my mouth for those.  I'm not completely uninterested in solids!!! :)

Practicing sitting at home...



WEEK 24 - November 4-10, 2010 - 23 weeks old

This week started my very first HAWAIIAN VACATION!  Let me warn you up front that there are tons of pictures and Mommy only let me put a select few up here.  I was probably the most photographed baby in all of Hawaii this past week!


To get to Hawaii, we had to fly on a big plane.  Once again, Mommy and Daddy were reminded how lucky they are, as I'm SUCH a good traveller.   I did GREAT on the plane.  I ate and slept and played (and puked...Mommy needs to remember to bring clean shirts for herself, not just for me when we go on plane rides!).  Here's a picture of Sissy, Mommy and Me waiting for the plane...

We made it to Hawaii in the afternoon and then went shopping for food for our condo at the Ko'Olina Beach Club.  My Sissy went to play with cousins who were already there.  I was surprisingly good on our shopping trip...in fact, as always, Mommy and Daddy were amazed by me!

The first night, we went to bed really early because we were all so tired.  The time in Hawaii is different from Seattle, so I got up at 4 a.m. Hawaii time.  Mommy and Daddy were SOOOO happy about that!  <insert sarcasm here!> Mommy laughed because I apparantly slept REALLY well...I had some good baby bedhead!

So, Mommy hopped in the tub with me, cleaned me up and I started the day looking respectable.

I got to experience all kinds of new things on this trip - my first touch (and taste!) of sand, my first time going in the ocean, my first time in a pool...you get the drift.  My first time on the beach, I really wasn't sure what all that gritty stuff was on my legs.  I was pretty skeptical about why Mommy was so excited to be standing in sand, but I did go with the flow.

Once I got used to the sand a little more, I realized it might actually be fun to put my hands in it and then put them in my mouth.  Now, that was fun and quite interesting!

Then, came the water.  Let me tell you, it was COLD.  But I thought the sand/water combination was really much better than the dry sand and I decided playing in it was not so bad after all!

After my foray into the ocean, Mommy and Daddy decided hitting the pool might be nice.  We spent a lot of time at the pool because there was less sand for me to eat, the water was warmer, and there was more shade than at the beach.  One of the pools does have a "sand" end for all the kids to play in.  The sand is a little more coarse than at the beach, but I actually enjoyed this a lot and got to play in the pool sand and a little warmer water for a while. 

Mommy, Grandpa Ward and me in the "sand" pool...

Mommy and Daddy also bought me a "floaty" to use in the pool.  I have gotten to the point where I really like being in the floaty and love to play in the pool and watch the big kids go down the water slide and play.

Daddy and Me in my floaty

 

I even have my own sunshade on my float!

Daddy and Me - love my floaty!

Man, this is SUCH FUN!

Though I enjoy the pool and relaxing by it, we did get to spend some time on the beach.  My Grandpa and Uncles built a "fort" for me so I would have shade to lay under while at the beach and they gave me a towel to lay on so I didn't get completely covered with sand!

Grandpa and me having a conversation on the beach in my "fort"

Mommy and Daddy cooked a lot of good food for us this week (I didn't really get to eat any, but they say it was good!), but we also went out to eat a lot, especially for lunch.  It was fun to go out and Mommy even dressed up like me one day...

I'm really enjoying the Hawaii life!  I'll get to be here part of next week and meet some more of Mommy's old friends before I have to go back to Seattle (and the rain!)...I'll tell more adventures then!  Ta Ta For Now!!

WEEK 23 – October 28 – November 3, 2010 – 22 weeks old

This week has been a week full of holiday fun as well as doctor visits and serious happenings for friends.  First of all, let me say that my friend, Kayla had major heart surgery on a large hole in the center of her heart (called an AVSD defect) on Friday, the 29^th.  SHE DID FANTASTIC!!!  I’m so happy to report that she is doing really, really well and is expected to be able to go home within one week of the surgery!

We also had Halloween.  Mommy is happy to report we had a 600% increase in kids…that means we are actually starting to have a neighborhood and she’s very excited about this!  See my earlier post for pictures of my Halloween cuteness!

I wore handmade boots this week.  Mommy is a HUGE fan of boots (for both her and me)!  My cousin, Leia made these FANTASTIC boots, that were Mommy’s “Good Luck Boots” while she was trying to get pregnant with me.  Well…they worked…HERE I AM!!! J  Here’s a picture of me wearing the boots…

This week, I got to visit two different doctors.  On Saturday, Mommy and Daddy decided that enough was enough.  I hadn’t had a BM in 8 days and they had tried everything (juices, fruits, prunes…) and no luck.  To say I was miserable may be a small understatement.  I stopped sleeping through the night.  I started whining a lot after eating, my reflux was working overtime and, really, I was just MISERABLE.   So, off to the doctor we went.  He examined me and pronounced me…NORMAL!  (Despite my crazy parents ;))  He suggested we try a tsp. of Miralax in my next bottle.  That’s what Mommy used when she was in this unfortunate situation during her pregnancy with me.  Well, I’m pleased to let you know that IT WORKED!  No less than 3 hours later, I had a moment…a BIG moment…that Mom says may be an “old man smelling-poo”…but it definitely made me feel better!  I have been able to go every day since then, even without more Miralax.  But the bottom line is that it got the pipes working! 

The other doctor I saw this week was Dr. Weiss at Seattle Children’s Hospital.  He’s an opthamologist who specializes in lots of eye conditions.  I went to see him because of my “eye jumping”, better known as nystagmus.  Basically, this is a condition where my eyes “wiggle” horizontally when I’m trying to focus on things.   Dr. Weiss looked at my eyes and determined that he needed to figure out how my “wiggling” occurs.  He put me in my Mom’s arms and spun us around on a stool 7 times so we were moving at a constant velocity, then watched my eyes.  He determined my nystagmus is most likely a result of vestibular disease, which means I may have some inner ear/balancing issues.  SO…we’re going to do another study called a “movement study” in December, which will validate his findings and give a little more information.  My nystagmus is not “curable”…it’s not really a curable condition.  Dr. Weiss says that it should not affect my vision, but we’ll have to keep an eye on it.  I compensate for it by tilting my head and focusing around things, so Mommy and Ms. Colleen will have to work to help me there.  The thing Dr. Weiss is more worried about is the fact that my right eye “leaks” fluid constantly.  It has since I was born.  He says I have a blocked tear duct, and says that it’s common in kids with DS to have problems with this due to our larger mucous membranes than our “typical” peers.  He says that 80% of the time, this will require surgery – either the insertion of tear duct tubes, or the insertion of these tubes associated with further mucosa reduction to prevent further issues.  Because I’m so young, I will have to be re-evaluated for this when I’m closer to 1 year old.  Then he’ll determine if surgery will be needed.  The dr. is doing studies in BOTH nystagmus and tear duct blockage in kids with DS right now, so I will be a part of his studies, which should help other kids and parents in my situation in the future.

In addition to seeing the doctors this week, I also got to spend some time w/ my OT, Ms. Colleen.  She continues to be impressed with how far I am able to improve every week.  My sitting unsupported has improved dramatically and we are working on it every day.  A lot of my improvements have to do with Ms. Audrey and my other teachers.  They are so good for me!  Ms. Colleen showed us exercises we can use to help me transition from laying down to sitting and vice versa.  Though I’m not sitting unsupported yet, I’m well on my way there.  Ms. Audrey has even ordered a special “sitting pillow” for me that will help me continue to grow in this area.  Mommy and Daddy have said that they think I’m the luckiest girl to have my teachers and therapists working together to help me on my way.  I think they are right!

I received an amazing package in the mail this week…my Mom’s Aunt Marcia (my GREAT Aunt Marcia) quilted a crib/play blanket for me.  I love to play on it and smell her smell.  Hopefully I’ll get to meet her soon to tell her, in person, how much I appreciate that!  Next week will be a LOT of fun! 

We are going to HAWAII and I will get my first taste of sand and sea!  Mommy and Daddy hope I like it.  Our journal entry will be a bit delayed next week, since we’ll be gone…but I expect it will be filled with all kinds of fun facts about our trip…see you then!