Great Grandma Smith loves her Eden! Eden isn't always too sure about her though! As long as she can see me she is all smiles! I love the corner picture of Adah and Leora up on the bunk bed in Leora's camper. Those girls just have so much fun together! Kezzie and Leora are putting on a circus act, balancing on the buckets! And don't you love Eden's smile in the bottom picture? Kezzie can always make her smile! And anytime Austin is looking up in they sky, it's gotta mean only one thing...fireworks! It was another great weekend at the river!
Eden had an eye check up today. We didn't have anyone to take our other two girls so they came along! It was the only apt. for that day so it made for a long day/quick trip but it could have been worse! The girls actually did very well. They napped for about 30 minutes in the car on the way there. At the eye doctor there is a really nice play area that has a playhouse in it that has two levels. The kids had a great time playing and making new friends. We got called back once and a resident did some looking at her eyes. Then they sent us back out to the waiting room. About 30 minutes later we got called back again. A different resident looked at her eyes. He then put eye drops in to dilate her eyes so we had to sit in the waiting room for another half hour to wait for them to work. We were finally called back to see our actual eye doctor, Dr. Drack. I always love seeing her because she has seen a few Aicardi girls and always has super positive things to say about Eden. She is very specialized in eyes and super smart and does a great job explaining things.
Eden has some discolored patches on the outer part of her retina but they don't seem to be a problem. They are so far out in her peripheral vision that they shouldn't ever be a problem even if they eventually turned into lesions. She still has the three lesions on her right eye but just like before they don't seem to be affecting her vision yet. It is possible that one of the lesions might prevent a nerve from reaching the optic nerve but at the most it will cause a blind spot. Her left eye is still completely healthy! We are praising God for another awesome appointment! We will go back to see Dr. Drack in 6 months!
I am amazed at how long this swing has lasted us. If you can believe it, it was actually used by Austin too when he was this age! Eden loves to be outside and is getting less afraid in this swing. You still can't swing her very high but she smiles from ear to ear at even the smallest movement!
Check out these cute little toofers! I know it's blurry but you get the idea!
She refused anymore pictures of her teeth! She isn't a fan of me messing with her mouth these days!
Eden's first bath in the BIG bath tub! I guess there have been a couple times where I have had Kezzie hold her on her lap while I wash her up really quick, but this was the first time she truly got to play! She absolutely loved it until she started sliding down, then she was just plain uncomfortable!
These girls are going to be such great friends!
Kezzie had to have a turn next to Eden too! Do you see what I mean about Eden sliding down? She looks a little concerned and probably feels a bit of discomfort!
I had to post this one because I love Adah's smile! I just couldn't get it with the other ones!
Eden woke up this morning with hives...the kid is seriously on breast milk and very simple veggies and fruits. We still have no idea what caused this but after having them pop up all day in different places we asked our doctor what we should do and they said to give her 1/4 tsp of loratadine and that took care of it. We never saw them again. Very strange!!
Eden is 9 months old and growing so fast! I love this age! She is learning all the time...here are some of her latest accomplishments:
Says mama (8/30/12)-not sure if it's intentional but she knows that if she has a need unmet that saying that will fulfill it! Eden will sit up for several minutes by herself (9/7/12). She is scooting around a little by moving on her belly in circles and backwards (9/8/12). She doesn't see an object across the room and work to get to it, she just accidently gets places. And the really weird thing is she knows how to roll, but never rolls to get places. I don't think she has figured that one out yet! She says the dadadada syllables (9/9/12)-again not necessarily intentional. Eden started waving bye-bye (9/10/12). She started clapping her hands (9/11/12).
Eden's schedule is pretty much the same as last month except she is more consistent with eating at meal times and is drinking water or breast milk from a sippy cup with her meals. I have even recently tried cutting up cooked veggies like carrots, green beans, peas and broccoli.
Eden is almost always happy unless she is hungry or alone. She rarely cries if she is tired until you are getting ready to put her to bed. For example she can be as happy as can be playing but the second I lay her on the boppy to nurse before a nap or bed, she can hardly focus because she is so tired and crying/rubbing her eyes, etc.!!
Eden LOVES our puppies. I swear she is even making a puppy noise when she sees one of them. Bella is such a good dog. She just sits there and takes it! Every once in a while you will hear a yelp out of her but she likes the attention!
UPDATE:At Eden's 9 month check up on 9/26/12 Eden weighed in at 17lbs. 12.5oz. and was 27.5" long. Her head circumference was 45.5cm. She is developing right on track with a normal 9 month old! The Dr. asked me if we have ever been told her joints are extra mobile and I said, 'well, actually I have hypermobility joint syndrome so that kind of makes sense!' I guess she takes after me in one way at least...not that it's a good thing :(
We went to Iowa City today for another MRI to see if everything was still stable with Eden. Dr. Menezes met with us afterwards to discuss Eden's future care. The MRI showed no changes. The ventricles were stable and growing steadily with the rest of her body. Her head had grown and moved into the 85% but they said that really isn't in relation to her ventricles because like I said, they are stable. He didn't act concerned about her head size. He said the cyst that is in there has actually shrunk a little since our June MRI. This doesn't necessarily mean anything either since the cyst is hard to measure because of the shape. It is possible that it's pretty much the same size since birth. Dr. Menezes did exactly what I thought he would do. He basically told us if we aren't going to listen to his advice then he doesn't need to see us in his department anymore. I understand where he is coming from but wish we had more time. He really made me feel like he believes this would be the best care for her. He fought for why and I didn't hesitate to argue different things with him about my reservations. He was much more in tune with who Eden is. He asked questions about her development, played with her and interacted with her. I felt like he was looking at her as more then just another patient. Last time this was not the case. He could tell Brian and I were and have been really taking her care to heart and trying to diagnose her ourselves which we are completely under qualified to do. It has been a huge stress on my shoulders but at the same time I have never felt like we weren't doing what God wanted us to do. He got very sincere with us and grabbed my hand and I just said, "I really care about her and want what's best for her." He kindly said he cares a lot about her too and that we need to let him care for he like he knows how. I saw a softer side of Dr. Menezes. We agreed to do the surgery. I am scared but trusting. Dr. Menezes said since it isn't an emergency we could kind of pick when we wanted to do it. We asked what the longest was he would let us wait and he asked what the soonest was that we felt comfortable with? Together we came up with November 6th. It feels right and I feel like a weight has been lifted. God placed Dr. Menezes, this very intelligent, very skilled doctor in our lives for a reason...I need to trust. God is giving me peace about this and Brian is pretty happy we are going ahead with it too. I am so glad that Eden is this much older and we didn't do it way back in June like the doctor originally wanted to. God's timing is perfect! Now, let the prayers begin. I am going to be praying that if this isn't what God has planned for Miss Eden that he will make it very obvious. Eden has to have another MRI the day before her surgery and I am going to be praying that the MRI will show some kind of improvement and that Dr. Menezes won't need to operate at all! Hey, nothing is too big for God!
This is what happens when I leave Adah in charge for a couple minutes! Eden ends up wearing sunglasses with an overwhelming amount of toys around her! At least Adah is trying to keep her happy! Reason #3701 why I miss Kezzie when she's at school!
Keziah is just slightly excited to be riding on a bus! They are heading to Garnett Pond to learn how to do some fishing!
Sitting with friends!
Anybody have questions? Um yes, that is my daughter with her hand proudly held high!
Slimy gooey worms!
I'm sure she is telling someone about how much fishing she does and how many fish she has caught at the river! I wonder if they believe her with as much frill she has to her! Keziah insisted on wearing this cute skirt, sweater, sparkly head band and flip flops to her fishing field trip today despite my advice not to!
Waiting patiently!
Beau, Keziah, Paul and Abbi
Keziah caught one right at the end!
Paul was the lucky guy to take it off!
Just a little guy! The kids think Paul should give him a kiss!
Fish lips!
I didn't get to go on this field trip but April and Paul (Abbi's parents) did and were nice enough to take all these pictures for us! Keziah had a blast and even loved the bus ride! She is already looking forward to the next field trip!
AND on a side note...Keziah is officially an all day Preschooler! She couldn't be happier!!
I have a heavy heart. My mom called last night to let me know Dad had an accident. She right away said, "He's alive, he's going to be ok, but we are at the hospital." Dad was working on some shelves for the church and ran a board through the table saw. He pushed it through with his left hand, I guess and then reached across to pick up the board on the other side of the saw with his right hand. His perception was off and he got his right fingers caught in the saw. His thumb is fine but the first two fingers are hanging by a thread of skin, the next finger he actually pulled out of the chainsaw himself and laid it on the table, his pinky is still MIA. I can't imagine how he must be feeling. I can't imagine how he was feeling when it happened. I am so sad for him. He was aware enough to walk over to an area in the garage that had some clean rags and wrapped his hand up. He then called the neighbor who took him to the hospital. I'm not sure how mom found out from there but she was at aerobics until 6:30. She was the one who brought his finger from home that he pulled out of the saw. The doctor was giving hope as to whether the fingers could be re-attached so my sister and brother-in-law came to the house and looked for his pinky for an hour and a half. It turned out last night when the surgeon started working on his hand there wasn't any way to save any of his fingers. They had to cut away his knuckle to allow the skin to reach over and be sewn shut so all four fingers are cut below the middle knuckle. It looks like he has five thumbs. We know that God has a plan and that he will work this out for good somehow, but we are hurting for him. Please pray for him. He also has a very low tolerance to pain meds so just be praying that they can find one that works well and doesn't hurt his stomach.
We spent labor day weekend at the river and it was so much fun! We came up Friday after school. I opted to take Austin out of football just this once!! The weather was amazing! The older boys (Joshua, Austin and Jonathan) decided it would be a great idea to sleep outside one night...it wasn't!! They got eaten alive by mosquitoes! You could tell which body parts weren't covered because that's where all the bites were! For Austin, it was his ankle and foot...I'm surprised he had one left after that night! He also had a hand out at some point in the night because that is all chewed up too...it just gives me the willies!
Joshua actually had a cot to sleep on...the other two used cushions from various places!
Emily and the kids came up for a night. Adam had to work. Here's Alanna strapping in her Mini to give her some lunch! She would get so frustrated with that darn tray...it's about as big as her!
Kezzie caught another fish! She is becoming quite the fisherwomen! Dad just got back from taking Emily and the boys fishing!
I thought this was so sweet and a scene we saw often...Kez and Ethan fishing together!
Grandpa and one of his favorite people, Eden! We are so blessed to be able to spend time relaxing with family! Eden loves her papa!
The three boys (Ethan, Bennett and Austin) fishing out of grandpa's boat...LOVE this photo!
My boy is growing up...and so is the Joshua I held in my arms so many years ago! Now Josh is driving and has his own boat and there goes my oldest baby with him out on their own, navigating the river! Oh Lord protect them!
The water is soooo low that we are able to fish right off the bank. Ethan pulled this log over for somewhere to sit! We really didn't catch much (compared to the amount of tangles/snags) but it was so relaxing and the kids had so much fun doing it!
Here is our view from the bank...how could you not love this?! And when the kids aren't fishing, they are looking for crayfish and clams! Austin likes to boil them over the fire and eat them...I think he's crazy!
Here's my Aunt Cindy and Eden...again I can't say enough how blessed we are to have so many family members around to spend time with! This is Eden's great Aunt and she is going to grow up knowing her quite well...what a blessing!
And this face pretty much sums up all the feelings that my kids get when we are here! This is as big of a smile as Adah can give me! She is such a sweet princess!
Mommy and Eden! We get lots of snuggle time since there are a lot of rocks on the ground! Sometimes I pull cushions out of the camper for her to lay out on in the sun and play!
And the little ones keep busy with this most of the time. I don't think they ever take their suits off except to sleep!
Here's my Uncle Perry and his youngest boy, Jonathan. They went out and caught these big Northern together! They laid them out on the cement before cleaning them and they were a huge source of entertainment for all the kids!
Keziah and Leora always find ways to stay busy!
Keziah REALLY wants to jump off the dock like the other kids...she just can't quite convince herself to do it!! Maybe next year!
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