Olivia and Abigail’s Pictures

I picked up the girls’ pictures today from their JC Penney photo session.  They are so very cute!

My new favorite picture of Abigail

My new favorite (and one of my all time favorite) pictures of Olivia

This one Olivia picked out to hang in her room.

This one I got in a canvas wrap.  It is beautiful!!

Haha! And this last one is for you, Shelley!

Anyway, we were very pleased with them. . .especially with the cost.  People spend hundreds of dollars on pictures!  We also received a CD of all the pictures that we can print or do with as we please. 

Feeling Much Better

Olivia is feeling so much better today. Her only complaint is that her eyes are really itchy and she can't rub them. She is eating and playing normally.



Olivia was so excited about a visit/play date from her best friend, Madison. It really raised her spirits and we love the sign!!
Thanks guys!


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Recovering

Well, they told us that she would sleep all day. I figured that's what a "normal" child would do, so Olivia would probably sleep for an hour. But, nope, she has slept all day and has only been up to eat two Popsicles and make me laugh. Her sense of humor always seems to shine through.

Olivia: Mom, do I smell? Smell me!!

Me: Huh?

Olivia: When Tobey ( our cat ) had surgery, he smelled different and Kelsey hissed at him. What if I smell different and she doesn't know I'm Olivia.

Kelsey: Purr, purr, snuggle.

Olivia then smiles and goes back to sleep.

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Olivia's top three favorite things to do are drink chocolate milk, eat Pirate's Booty cheese puffs and watch a show on Netflix. She's on a clear liquid diet and her eyes are still puffy and blurry so she can't open them. She was quite upset about not being able to do any of those things.



So, she ate a Popsicle and listened to one of her shows.

She is now back asleep, but not before she muttered," I want my normal self back. I miss my normal self!!"

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Eye Muscle Surgery

We are now home from Olivia's eye muscle/strabismus surgery. This surgery tightens the muscles in her eyes and helps them work better together. Surgery isn't always 100% successful as this is her 2nd surgery (her first was at 1 year old.) When she gets a bit older, if not corrected, she could develop double vision and headaches among other complications.

Anyway, it's been rough on her. Bloody tears and lots of dry heaving/vomiting. She has been sleeping peacefully since we got home. Praying it will only improve from here!



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In Surgery

Olivia is currently back in surgery for her eyes. She did so well and didn't cry until right when they took her back and away from mom and dad.



Baby Ally even got a gown and she got to go back with her.



Daddy told her lots of stories beforehand.



And she colored lots of pictures. We had to wait quite awhile. Check in was at 9:30 am and they finally took her back around 11 am. Surgery should take around an hour. I'll keep you updated!

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013:

We went to Exploration Place today with Shelley and Izzy. The girls had so much fun. Abigail was such a good, good baby. She just sat in her stroller looking at everything. Olivia begs me on a daily basis to go play at the castle.




We even caught a quick science show.




And said hello to the dinosaurs.










And the big news of the day:

Abigail can now sit up unassisted! She was so proud of herself!



I'm trying really hard to keep Olivia's mind off of her upcoming surgery. She had a great day with her cousin, so I think it's working!


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Feeding Evaluation

Olivia had her feeding evaluation today.  It was about an hour long and Abigail sat in her stroller the entire time and played with her rattle.  Did not make a peep!  The lady who did the evaluation said she had never seen a better behaved baby. LOL!  As long as she doesn’t expect her to act like that every time. 

The therapist worked with Olivia a bit and then talked with me. Olivia really liked her, which is a huge plus and makes our lives easier.  We will be meeting twice a week with her.  She thinks Olivia does have some sensory difficulties, but also some underlying digestive issues.  The past few months, Olivia has started this new thing with swallowing air and making her tummy growl.  It gives her awful, awful gas.  Seriously. . .embarrassing, loud, smelly gas.  We don’t know why she is doing it or even what she is doing exactly.  The therapist is going to talk with Olivia’s pediatrician, but we will most likely be referred to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for further testing.  Finally, though, someone is acting aggressively.  Olivia has barely gained 1/2 lb within the past year, which nobody is happy about.  Again, I’ve been concerned about it her entire life when no one else was.  She was never tube fed after leaving the NICU, so everyone just seemed to dismiss her and not identify her as someone needing help.  It is so so frustrating!!  It is also so hard because Olivia is the kind of child who is very anxious about any kind of procedure or test or surgery.  Poor girl has eye surgery on Thursday and then all of this to deal with.  Not to mention she is very anxious about kindergarten.  We could just really really really use some prayers.  I just want her to gain weight and I have no idea anymore how to help her.  I have stressed over it for almost 6 years now with NO assistance.  Needless to say, I’m ready for some help and for some answers.  I will keep you updated. 

So Big!

Vacation was wonderful, but it was so wonderful to see my baby's smiling face again!!



And because she didn't get to go on vacation with us, we picked her up a little something:



She is such a cutie patootie!



She loves to sit up and eat big girl food. She has even mastered the sippy cup! She loves to take nice big sips of water! Abigail is just growing up before my eyes.




Tomorrow is Olivia's feeding evaluation. Wish us luck as I hope they have some helpful advice for us. I'm really interested in food chaining and trying to incorporate new food and textures into her diet. I just want her to be healthy and happy.

Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone