Growing in Grace: November Catch Up

November was a busy, fun, exciting, exhausting month at 10214 Canton Place!

The first hard-core month of "germ jail" for the 2012 - 2013 RSV / flu season. Addie got her first two Synagis (RSV) shots for the season this month.
Addie hit the 20 pound mark & the "regular" growth chart for her age (5th percentile in weight)!

We were told to NOT increase Addie's feeding volume for the 1st time ever.

We celebrated 1 year of Addie at home (see previous post).
Addie was fitted for KAFO's (Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthotics to those of us unfamiliar with the lingo. ..I am now becoming familiar tiny sad face. ..but really just thankful.. but still a little sad.. if I'm honest).
Addie had her first family Thanksgiving and "helped" decorate her very own small Christmas tree ~~by sleeping so that I could make the real cranberry garland I saw in Pinterest~~ by playing with the cranberries as I threaded into a small garland. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about them going into her mouth. We work the quirks to our advantage in this house! ;-)
Philip ran in the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot for the 3rd year in a row, 2nd year in a row with my dad. They had a good run and an even better brunch at Mimi's to celebrate!
Dr. Trainer gave Addie a great report! "No asymmetries, no tone issues, no obvious signs of CP. She's lucky. Really, really lucky. She is one of the success stories that other NICU moms will hear about." Thank you, Jesus!
Philip got to play football with the boys, and I got to spend 2 hours getting some help getting back to my once blonde roots. ;-)
My grandparents from West TN got to meet Addie for the first time! It was a mutual admiration fest if I have ever seen one. She was thrilled with all the attention, and Aunt Joan was a hit!
She started sleeping in "big girl" pajamas for the first time!
She is working on not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 incisors!! NOT a fun time for anyone involved. ..but a big deal, nonetheless!

On the move Thanksgiving morning...

Our feast!

They are so enamored with each other. ..

Must.Be.Moving.Always.

Tree!! Love!!

Family Photo! (Philip is manning the camera)

Lots of love all the way around!

Weight: 20 pounds!!! She had a 2 pound leap last month!

Height: 28 1/2 inches!! She's grown a whole inch since last month.

Clothes: Firmly in the 18 month and 18 - 24 month sizes, especially in shirts. Between her Buddha belly and her Mickey button, we need a little more room in the tops. Her "slim fit" pajama tops are a bit on the snug side!
PT/OT: We are working on crawling in PT and placing objects in buckets in OT, along with dozens of other things, but those are our focus right now.
Speech: We get to add another hour of speech each week to work on language development! Our first big goal is to teach Addie a few signs so she can communicate a little better, rather than just squawking at us all day long.
Eyes: Still patching 8 - 10 hours / day. I think it's making a difference, but we'll find out in mid-December what the expert thinks.
Hearing Aids: I'm ashamed to admit it, but this is one battle I'm choosing not to fight right now. Mobility is all consuming right now, and I'm honestly doing well to keep her patch on the required number of hours. I can't get one aid in without the other coming out, so I just don't even try a lot of days.. .It's bad, I know. ..
This month Addie loves: Reading! She loves her bedtime story - "How Do I Love You" - any time of day. She also loves the Hoodwink, the small Beanie Baby monkey her Aunt Laura gave to her during her last visit. It's just her size!

New Skills:

She was almost crawling and is constantly wanting to be on the move. I just have to "remind" her to move her legs and in what order to move them when she's trying to move forward. She can pivot in a circle and scoot backwards, but forward is just more tricky..
Addie pulled up to the couch on her own for the first time! Totally out of the blue. ..I can't take any credit for this one other than cheering her on when I figured out what she was doing.
She can "cruise" the entire length of the couch without assistance!
She is doing the cutest wave with her left arm now! She has such strong right handed tendencies, but suddenly she started doing this awkward/cute/enthusiastic wave with her left arm. I can't help but beam every time she does it (and she does it a LOT) because 1. It's precious and 2. This is such a huge deal for her. She is voluntarily using her left arm!! When she has a perfectly good right arm she could use. ..but she chooses to use the left! I feel like yelling VICTORY whenever she does that sweet little girl wave.
She hasn't picked up verbalizing any new words, but she can identify the fan, her teeth, her tongue (instead of pointing to her tongue, she just sticks it out at you and wiggles it around with a laughing smile on her face), and she ~~unfortunately~~ knows what I mean when I say "patch", so that has officially become "the P-word" most days.
Speaking of "the P-word", she has become even more adept at ripping it off the split second my attention is diverted elsewhere. We're up to 4 - 6 patches most work days now.
She giggles on command. .."Can you giggle" and she goes from deadpan to chuckling. LOVE.
The girl can flat out run, zig-zag, and almost skid into a parallel parking space (only slight exaggeration) in her walker now. The girl has a need for speed!

Prayer Requests:

We're still not a fan of food, so that's my biggest area of concern right now. She seems like she's regressing a little in that department, and we don't have very far to regress. Please pray something "clicks" soon.
That her vision starts to improve with the increased patching time.
Mobility!!!!! She is so close ...but so frustrated.
RSV / Flu season. ..please pray for a healthy winter! This early flu is scaring me. ..

More November Photos: