The Ridgways

Last week I received a text message from Keisa (Eden's mommy) saying that they were on their way to California for a Disneyland trip. Our first meeting went so well, the girls and I has so much fun with them, I was more than thrilled to see them again. So on Friday the girls and I headed out to Anaheim to meet up with the Ridgways again. As soon as the girls saw each other, they picked up right where they left off as if they had just seen each other yesterday. They walked around the rest of the day talking and holding hands. We can't wait until their next visit, which will include their newest addition! Until then...

Carlie

Carlie had a recent well baby check-up for her third birthday and everything looked great! She weighed in at 29 pounds and 35 inches tall...that's six pounds in one year! She also finally hit the 25% for her weight, she had always been in the 5%-10% range. Her vocabulary has also expanded so much (even those who aren't around her all the time are able to understand her) and she always has something to say. Carlie is always trying to do exactly what her sister is doing, she even thinks that she is losing her teeth as well right now, and is constantly on the go. She rarely slows down! We have also been very successful in potty training! She has been wearing underwear for the past week and has only had a few accidents. We are still working on staying dry through the night, she is still on her Lasix, but I know that once she comes off of it we will have complete success. Carlie continues to amaze us with her energy and independence!

I also wanted to give an update on Lauren...she ended up coming home on the 12th, just five days after her surgery. She currently still has her Blake drain (our hospital sends their patients home with a chest tube and parents take care of it while at home. This allows the child to recover at home and not have to spend weeks on end in the hospital.) and is draining between 50-60 cc a day even though she is maxed out on diuretics; they want her to be at 30 cc or below before the drain is pulled. Her oxygen sats are 95, her heart function is great and her tricuspid valve regurgitation is so minimal that it is almost unnoticeable. Lauren will go in for a heart cath on May 12 to place a stent in her LPA that they were originally going to do a couple of days after surgery; Dr. Bailey felt it was better to wait for her to recover a little bit. Camille (Lauren's mom) sounds very upbeat and said that Lauren is doing great!

Caiteyn and Writing

Before Caiteyn started kindergarten, we attended an orientation where her teacher told us what she expected of our child and us as parents; I remember thinking to myself that kindergarten was nothing like I remembered. During the orientation her teacher said that ALL her students would be reading and writing by the end of the year. Coming into kindergarten, I had a fear that Caiteyn would not catch on to the reading and writing thing and that she would be the one that was not successful. The first part of the year she started off a little slow, but soon she was moving through her flashcards quickly and she was actually able to sound out words. As part of their daily morning work, they write in a journal, usually a couple of sentences on a topic that is given to them by their teacher. At the beginning of the year, it was hard to make out what she writing without the help of the teacher's handwriting below Caiteyn's. Her teacher encouraged her to write the word exactly how it sounded and soon we could actually read what she was writing.

Caiteyn has become so comfortable with her writing that she writes (and draws) all the time. I can happily say that she CAN read and write and I am so proud of her progress. Here are a few of her recent writings...

I walked into her room to find this hanging on her door. After I laughed, I explained that her that keeping her sister out of her room is not allowed. "No Carlie sorry, but Mommy" I love the fact that she drew Carlie with a line through her face...too funny!

"Can you come to my birthday please for me. We will eat pizza and we will have a fashion show. Thank you." And then she drew a map in case her friends got lost on the way to our house.

"On Monday I go to dance class and we are learning to dance Blue Suede Shoes."

Lake Isabella

This past weekend we took a trip up to Lake Isabella to try out some fishing. There was a fishing derby that was going on and we did manage to catch one fish, but unfortunately it wasn't a tagged fish that would have won us some money...oh well maybe next time. Here are a couple of pictures from the trip...

Lauren Hope

Update: April 7, 2009, 3:30 PM

I just got off the phone with Camille and she said that Lauren is doing well. She came out of surgery around noon extubated but had problems with her body warming up so they had to reintubate her for a brief time. She is now resting, asking for water and for her momma to hold her. Her heart rate is a little high but the staff believes that it is because she needs extra fluids. Lauren also has LPA stenosis and unfortunately Dr. Bailey wasn't able to repair it during surgery, so on Thursday Lauren will have to go down to the cath lab so that a stent can be placed in her LPA.

Camille sounded very relieved, as we all are after we see our child after surgery, and upbeat. Thank you for your continued prayers for Lauren and her family.

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Tomorrow Lauren, a very dear heart friend of ours, will be going in for her Fontan. Lauren's mom Camille and I met through an online support group and soon discovered that we not only live in the same city, but right down the street from each other. Please keep this precious little girl in your prayers tomorrow, as well as her parents, Race and Camille, and Lauren's older siblings Noah and Juliet as they have a very hard time coping when Lauren is in the hospital.