11/11/22

 

This little turkey turned 41 months old yesterday!Yesterday Annelise also had her first dental cleaning.  She did so well, the dentist was able to do so much more than I anticipated.  She held still and just seemed thoroughly confused as to what in the world was happening, watching the dentist😄 when she did start to fuss, so we moved on to a quick polish and then were done!  No xrays.  Since she doesn't really use her teeth, being exclusively tube fed, and not cleared for tastes of anything by mouth since she doesn't know how to swallow on purpose... the main focus is to watch for any cavity risk and keep an eye out for any issues that might pop up, but the dentist saw no issues for her presently!🙌😁 So far she has 9 teeth on the top, and 9 on the bottom.  One missing from top front, and the corresponding bottom tooth is also gone.  She was made so special. We are so thankful that we get to see her grow! Thank you Lord for her sweet smile!😁

11/9/2022

 Today we celebrated my mom because it's her birthday! 

Annelise has also been working on some new skills😊

She seems happy and playful, even while the VP shunt in her brain might not be working as it should.

Her neurosurgeon alerted us that her last MRI showed her ventricles have gotten bigger... which raises the question of why are they bigger?  She will have a shunt study done to find out if her shunt is malfunctioning,  and if it is, a little brain surgery will be scheduled.  Will keep you posted!  

Meanwhile, enjoy her photos!

10/31/22

 Happy Halloween! We somewhat participated this year and left out a few buckets of fidgets and play-doh for the trick-or-treaters 🎃 I'm still a little too sleep deprived to trust myself to make good choices with a plethora of candy in the house... so toys for treats it is!

We are on Disney Princess #4 here.  FOUR!🥳🙌 My favorite part of her costume this year is that we really did lose one of her Cinderella slippers somewhere between the pediatrician and the house!🤣

She tolerated her costume and yarn hair this year.... but definitely showed us with her real smiles right after she changed out of her costume that she prefers her t-shirts to dress-up clothes!  

She's such a treat!

10/16/22

 Around this time is when we bring out the pumpkin pants and cuddle up with the Nebraska pillow that we bought in the hospital gift shop. 🥰

We got here one day at a time from those days of wires and lines and tubes and sensors. By God's grace, we will praise Him for all of our days!  Look what He has done here🎉

10/4/22

 Yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of Annelise coming home from the hospital for the very first time!🥰 

Here are some quotes from my past posts on this day:

10/2019 - Thank you Jesus, Amen. 

10/2020 - "Tired and exhausted and ecstatic for each day we wake up to this sweet face.  Thankful for the never ending love of our God, and for the encouragement from our people in all our hospital and home adventures." 

10/2021 "There aren't words to truly describe how I feel being her mom, so I'll use terrible grammar to make my point... being her mom is the most hardest.... and at the exact same time, the most best incredible ever thing in the world times ten.  It isn't like some days are hard and other days are wonderful. The feelings go together, all the time."

I see Annelise all day, everyday... so her gradual growth sneaks up on me until my jaw drops at seeing the ways she has grown since that first year!  🥰

I'm so proud of her.  God is so good.

7/17/22

 Smiles and feeling better!

6/29/22

 Yesterday Annelise was pretty miserable, but throughout today her rash has significantly faded. And she kept nearly all her food and water down today!  That's a big win, and it is soooo nice to see her more playful.  We put some aloe from a plant that my sister gave me on her from the fridge.  She wasn't sure what to think of that!😆 Sensory play and cool off the hives at the same time😁👍

Thank you so much for praying for us! 💖