Surgery dates & 18 month update

Addie is 18 months. She is 29 inches and 19.5 pounds. We have two upcoming surgeries. The first is this Monday June 29th for the tubes in her ears. This is a quick outpatient one but she will be put under to keep her still. The tubes will fall out on their own in about 9-12 months. When they fall out we will treat her ear like a brand new ear and hopefully it will not fill up with fluid again! The second surgery is for her hip. That one is in St. Louis and will require a one or two night hospital stay. She will be under for about 4 hours while they cut the bone in order to move it into place. She will then have metal plate put where they cut it to hold it steady while the bone heals. The metal plate will be taken out in 4-5 years. The hip surgery has been scheduled for September 10th although we are the first ones on the waiting list so if there is an earlier cancellation we will move up. After the hip surgery she will be in a cast from her belly button down to her ankles for 6-8 weeks. After she is removed from the cast she will most likely have a brace but I am not certain on the length of time or how often she will have to wear that. We decided to take a vacation before her surgeries and she is just loving the pool and the beach. She loves to meet new people and try out her new word "hi." She is also starting to say "ma-ma" and "da-da" like sounds when she wants Mike or I. She is making progress and she so wants to be big! It is hard now because her mind is able to think like a typical 18 month old but her body can't keep up. While I am not excited to go through these upcoming surgeries I am excited to see her progress after them. God has been good to us and has blessed her with a determined personality but also an extremely happy and easily content personality. Life with Addie is fun! And we are so thankful for all God has done and all that He will do in her and through her. We have seen miracles in her life and the lives of those around us and we are continuing to pray for the miraculous as we prepare for the surgeries. We continue to wait and to hope on God because as psalm  71:5 says "God has been our hope and confidence since our youth" and we aren't giving up on Him now! Our prayer is that our boys and girl are learning the same thing as we continue to rely on Him each step of the way.