Love Bug

Love bug has had a whole slew of doctors’ appointments since turning 1.  We headed back to Dysmorphology.  Dr. Jones likes to keep tabs on Gracie’s progress about every 6 months.  She was excited for the progress that Gracie has made.  She even got her to say Dadadadada in the office which floored me, to say the least. Will said he heard her say it for the first time the day before when we were at Disneyland, but I hadn’t witnessed it.  That is the first word-like sound I have heard.

The fat and skinny is this: Gracie continues to have very low muscle tone.  This is one of the main reasons she hasn’t started crawling or walking yet.  She has started trying to crawl, but as she puts out one hand, her whole body starts to shake uncontrollably and she collapses.  It also impedes her eating and speaking since the lack of muscle tone directly affects her tongue and lips.  One ear opening is smaller than the other and curved, but we don’t have to worry about it as long as the doctor can still see her eardrum.  After looking over other 10p15 deletion cases, Dr. Jones decided to get Gracie’s eyes tested.  She also ordered an ultrasound of her kidneys to check structure.  A battery of hearing tests, including a tympanogram, and an Evoked otoacoustic emission were ordered.  Stay tuned.

My favorite parts: 1.) she loves to smile, 2.) she has started giggling, 3.) blowing raspberries seem to be HER favorite thing to do!

Christmas on the Prado

We’ve tried to come do Balboa Park December Nights for several years now.  This was the first successful trip.  I’m pretty sure this had to do with the fact that we left the kids behind and made it into a date.  We also got shuttled in for free on a charter which was a nice traffic-less trip.  With an estimated 300,000 people moving through the event over 2 days, a stroller stuffed to the brim with tired kiddos at 10pm is not the most calming family affair.  The museums open their doors free of charge, which we quickly discovered, we would rather pay full price any day.  So we wandered.

Will with a gourmet Monte Cristo in hand(They rolled it in the french toast, and layered the chutney and the brie between the ham and turkey and then fried it!) and me a steaming, creamy cup of hot cocoa.  We watched Christmas dancers and singing children’s choirs.  They even offered sneak peaks of, “The Nutcracker.”  Street performers kept a lively spirit.  Although there were thousands of people there, it didn’t feel crowded.  Everyone was constantly moving so it was very pleasant.  And really, what situation can’t be made better by a giant bag of kettle corn?!

Mele Kalikimaka

This is our first year where we spent Christmas at our house.  The whole experience has just shoved me that much further into adulthood.  Cooking a Christmas ham, setting out milk and cookies for Santa – an onion for the reindeer(that’s right, I didn’t have any carrots), watching a Charlie Brown Christmas and so many other traditions that surfaced made for great memories.

I love the abundance of pure joy that accompanies children.  Presents were so fun to open.  Rather, I enjoyed watching the children open their presents.  They helped each other open presents, which I found sweet.  They weren’t worried about who got to open what.  The absence of the “Gimmes and Mine, Mine, Mine” was refreshing.

They seemed to genuinely appreciate the things they got.  I hope it stays like this in years to come.  They even threw away their wrappings between presents.  I’m not sure I can be that lucky.

Good Tidings We Bring

Do you know what people do in a place that doesn’t get snow during Christmas?  Well now you do…

Merry Christmas from sunny San Diego…wish you were here!

Tis the Season to Be Jolly…

…or half way in the tree trying to decorate it.  I was pulling out boxes of ornaments, laying them all neatly in rows in the bay window.  I turn around to assess my children’s  progress on the tree and I see this.  Hudson was hiding as many ornaments as possible (when I wasn’t looking) on the inside of the tree.  Annie on the other hand was trying to figure out how many ornaments would fit on one branch before they all went springing across the room or crashing to a pile at the bottom of the tree.  This is why I love my kids so much!  The memories made are never dull.  Maybe I’ll just opt for a smaller tree next year so I don’t have to worry about him climbing inside of it.