17 Months!

Our baby is getting big! She is getting more vocal and demonstrative about what she wants. She can say "hi" and is actively trying to learn new words. She can sign "more" "please" "eat" and "sleep." Every new step is exciting. She is also almost 20 pounds which is huge!!! We should hopefully be able to do the hip surgery sometime this summer. We will be going down to St. Louis on June 5 to see the doctor again and also to get cleared by the anesthesiologist. I am hoping we will schedule her surgery at this appointment. We did have her follow-up for her ears last week and there was still fluid. The doctor has decided it would be the safest route to go ahead and do tubes since we know the fluid has been there few month and is not allowing her eardrums to move properly. We will do that surgery June 29th. It is a quick surgery done in an outpatient clinic. The hope is that she will be able to hear more clearly so that she will have an easier time talking. All of her therapist have been pleased with her progress all the way around. For her arm when she is laying on her back she has full motion. When  she is on her side she has almost full motion. We are working on exercises in this positions to keep it loose and also to build strength. We are also working on some exercises in sitting to build strength. As her strength builds she should be able to do more in sitting and standing position with her arm. She is still having occupation therapy once a week to work on it and we do E-stem 30 minutes a day to continue stimulating her nerves from the surgery. She continues to speed up her army crawl in order to try and keep up with her brothers! Her feet are also doing very well. She sleeps in her orthotic braces and during the day wears AFO braces to keep the stretched and flat at the bottom. The braces she wears in her shoes when she is standing especially to help her ankles not roll. She can get her self up into the crawling position of all fours now but her left arm is too weak to hold it for long. The therapists are amazed that she is even capable of doing that between her arm and her hip being out of socket. Addie sees the physical therapist once a week also and spends about an hour a day in her stander strengthening her legs. The stander is also hopefully helping her left hip socket that was shallow to become deeper by bearing weight. She just got a new stander that is much easier to use, and was completely paid for by the Early Intervention program we are in. The Early Intervention program has been a huge blessing for us because it covers the therapy sessions as necessary so we are not worried about using too many as we would be with insurance because our insurance only grants us so many a year. Addie is also seeing a feeding therapist once a month. At this point we are working on placing soft chewable foods on the sides of her mouth and cuing her to chew. Her chewing has improved, but the majority of her calories continue to come from purees and things like oatmeal. We still have an interesting road ahead of us but God has been good! We are enjoying the weather and she loves blowing bubbles, going to the zoo, swinging, riding in the bike trailer with Stephen, and going for walks outside. She always wants to be involved in whatever her brothers are doing and Michael can make her smile all the time. Michael is a great big brother! He is always willing to help spoon feed Addie or stop her from crying. Stephen is also getting into the big brother role and trying to get Addie to help him do his chores! I can see Addie and Stephen causing some trouble in the next few years but I love watching their bond. It is hard sometimes to have our time divided so much between doctor appointments and therapy sessions. But then I see how compassionate already it is making my boys and I am grateful for that! We continue to lift Addie up for complete healing as we know the God that we serve is able! We just want God to get glory through all that we are going through in our life. He has been so steady and faithful to us in the midst of Addie and all the other things we have faced as a family this past year and a half.  He has been a God of encouragement (often through other people) and endurance and we are so thankful for that! Thank you all for your prayers and texts and notes as we go through each step. They are so appreciated! "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5-6