Want to ride a hippo?

So much has happened in our busy little lives so I will try to give an abbreviated version, but I make no promises. I will start with me. In February I moved to my shiny new Pre-K classroom and after I was in it for a few weeks, I found out that my position was being cut. Gulp. My school was going to go from having 2 prek teachers down to one. And considering the fact that I was lower in seniority I was getting the boot. I could have chosen to stay at my school and be a Kindergarten teacher, but I felt that it was time to make a change. A big change. After lots of tears, stress, and waiting I was offered a 2nd grade position at a school near Grace's daycare. I am so very excited! Not only THAT, but I also get to team teach with my dear friend Natalie! She will teach reading to both groups and I will teach math. I am a little nervous because this is definitely outside my "box" but I am also excited for the same exact reason. It is going to be an interesting year...new school, new grade level, new way of teaching, etc.

Now on to Grace. The last time I posted I gave the wonderful news that Grace was being a champion eater and we were waiting for her April GI appointment to find out if her tube could be removed. We waited, and waited, aaaaand waited. April 13th finally came around and the good news came...her tube could be removed! He did it right there in the office and it really did feel like one of the happiest days in a long time. The next day...not so much. In fact, the next two weeks were absolutely terrible. There was so much leakage that my washing machine did not stop and we spent a small fortune on gauze and tape. We hoped and prayed that the hole would close on its own but after months of wishing we finally came to the conclusion that surgery was necessary. The only silver lining was that the surgeon could also repair a hernia that Grace was born with. We had known that this was necessary to fix but we had been putting it off because we did not want her to undergo another surgery. Two birds, one stone, yay. The surgery was almost two weeks ago and the hernia is healing perfectly. The hole closure...not so much. About a week after the surgery we noticed that the incision had opened. Yes, opened. It was also layered with a very un-friendly looking substance. Grace does not need another surgery to repair the area, just antibiotics and hydrogen peroxide for about a month.

More Grace business...she recently was given ankle and hip braces to help her to start walking on her own. She doesn't seem to mind them, thank goodness! She has also been talking up a storm and I think it is so funny when she gets into one of her chatterbox moods. I think that she is going to be just like her momma! One thing I do not understand is how a two-year old does not understand the value of a nap. Even though they are still way necessary for her, Grace hates naps. I mean realllllllly hates naps. Kicks, screams, cries, goes insane, then passes out for 3 hours haha.

This Wednesday Grace is going to go for her initial evaluation for hippotherapy. This is therapy where she rides a horse, not a hippo. Although that would be pretty awesome. I am really excited about it because I have heard/read that this type of therapy is really helpful when a child has trouble with balance and walking. So now Grace is going to be involved in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, gymboree, swim lessons, AND hippotherapy! Busy, busy, busy (but I can't lie...I like it that way).

Upcoming fun....my sister's birthday! Then the next day Jeff, Grace, and I will hop in the car for 2 weeks and travel up the coast to Washington. We will be stopping in Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, Klamuth CA for the Trees of Mystery, Portland, and last but not least Ferndale, WA. On the way back we will stop in Seaside OR and Mt. Shasta. Aside from Ferndale I am most excited to stop in Sacramento! Can't wait to see some awesome people :)

Well, that's all folks. I really hope that what I have written does not come across as a pity party or complaining. I just want to give facts and info because so many people ask me about Grace. I am really trying to look at life as a gift and I always remind myself that everyone is fighting their own battle and that things could be so much worse. I am so lucky.

K, that's all. Love you long time.

A little of this, a little of that

So much has happened in the past few months! No, I am not pregnant, so don't get any ideas. Let me take a moment to blab about my little lady. Grace has not had a tube feeding in over 6 weeks!!!!!!!!! Yes, all of the additional exclamation points were necessary. I am still in utter shock that we are finally at this point in her development. There were times that I would cry thinking that she would never get to this point because she was not able to drink one ounce or take the smallest bite of food without gagging. Grace sees a gastroenterologist and feeding therapist on a regular basis and over Christmas break we also met with a nutritionist a few times. After MANY conversations with Jeff about weaning Grace off of tube feedings we decided to just do it. We were really nervous because we did not want Grace to lose any weight and we just didn't know how it would go. She did not eat much the first day, but after that her appetite kicked in, and WOW. She was (and still is) an eating machine! We have seen such a huge improvement in the past month. She is able to drink so much more and can eat "normal" size bites of food for a toddler. If she can go another 6 weeks with zero tube usage the GI said she can have her tube removed! He will just want to make sure that she is eating enough and gaining enough weight. I cannot wait until her appointment in April! More info to follow.

Next order of business: our surprise visit to Washington! We had been planning this for months and it was so we could surprise Jeff's mom for her 60th birthday. While it was wonderful to see everyone, it was not as great as we had hoped because Jeff was super sick the entire trip. When we got back to Vegas our first stop was to Quick Care to get him looked at. I was shocked to hear that he had a double ear infection and bronchitis! On top of that the airline broke our stroller and when we were driving to Quick Care one of the windows in the Jeep broke. Fortunately, it has been a week since this all happened and I can happily report that Jeff is better and the window has been fixed. We are still waiting on darn Alligient to pay us for the stroller though grrrrr.

Another bit of news...I am moving classrooms. I will still be teaching Pre-K at the same school but I am going to be moving across the hall to a brand spankin new room. While it is stressful because we are doing this mid-year and I still have to teach surrounding the move, I am really excited. First of all, our new classrooms are going to have BATHROOMS! Believe me this is incredibly exciting news when you teach four year olds with weak bladders. Also, I like the idea of moving because it is as if I get a fresh start in the middle of the year. Since I love organization and I obsess over classroom setup I am super excited to get in there and make it better than before. I will try to post pics once it is all set up. Also, the new room is going to have tile so I actually get to use my sand and water table for things other than paper and beans! I cannot wait to get some messy fun going on in there! AND I am going to have an adjoining door with my good friend and Pre-K coworker. So long are the days where I would have to put my jacket on, walk out of my classroom, and knock on her locked door just to ask her a silly question. No, no! I will be able to bother her as much as I want!!! Bwahahahahaha.

Random final note: this picture was from Christmas. While we did get Grace some awesome stuff, all she wanted were the bubbles and owl bowls. Sigh. Maybe next year!