10.27.2008

Last Monday!!!

We had our last Monday appointment this morning!! Twas wonderful.
Grace is still doing really well. Her cardiologist is really pleased with how well Grace is doing developmentally. She can roll over, (not on 'purpose' per say...and not happily, but she can!), she can sit up on her own, and she is starting to stand frequently if you hold her hands. Can I say they are happy with her eating? No. But, oh well, what's a girl to do right??
Grace still will not eat, even after trying a new method, where she received NO FOOD FOR 12 HOURS, (throughout the night), and yet she woke up, happy as pie, and not wanting any food in any form. *sigh*
I just don't know what we're going to do with her. She can eat, she just doesn't want to.
But anyway, we are pretty darn excited about no more mondays. We also got some good news about her 'house arrest'. Although we still can't take her to actual places, like grocery stores, movies, restaurants or any where with crowds, we did get permission to possibly take her to family's houses. Of course no one can be sick, there can't be a large group of people, and it would be better if there was not an abundance of little kids, AND of course, everyone must have a flu shot.
It is something that will hopefully work out, and we'll be able to hopefully visit familiy a little bit more frequently now. I would think we'll still keep it to a minimum, but, its nice to know the option is there now! It may not seem like such a big deal, but this is huge for us!! Grace really is just doing so well. I feel so blessed to have things going as smoothly as they are and to have such a tough little daughter. She may be feisty in ways I don't like so much, but at least she's feisty in all the good ways too.
Here are some fun pics of the little Gracelyn!

She's always pulling on my earrings and necklaces, and trying to stick them in her mouth, so I decided to let her wear them the other day, and I got some cute pictures. :)My sweet visiting teacher made this ADORABLE hat for Grace and I absolutely LOVE it. She is amazingly talented, and you should check out her blog. :) hatsbyash.blogspot.com Thanks Ashly! You're the best!Thank you again everyone for your prayers in our behalf. I know they make such a difference in not only Grace's overall development, but also in my patience with her, my ability to take care of her, her moods and so many other things! Please keep them coming, and pray extra hard that the silly girl will want to eat her food! We love you all and are so grateful for your support, love and prayers! Have a wonderful week!

Love the Andersens

24 comments:

my life: said...

Look at your beautiful girl! She can pull off any look. :0)
The eating must be a Grace thing...or a Grace heart thing! Our Gracie can eat too...as in she is able....just not very willing. I prefer to think of it as she has so many ways she could chose to use her energy...food falls to the bottom. :0)
Much prayer is still coming...delighting in your miracle.

tHe sMiTh SaGa said...

She looks great! I love the picture with her hat on. Ash did a really good job. She really is so talented.
It's so wonderful to see Grace and her development since the transplant. What a miracle. You guys are one tough bunch.

princess jen said...

I love her in the sparkly dress-up gown!! And with all the jewelry. What a cutie!! I'm so excited you're not arrested anymore and you can come visit! I really wish you could come tonight.... Miss you!

RK said...

She's gorgeous, accessorized or not. :o)

Know that the frustration of the "she can eat but won't" thing is where we live too, and we have for close to 2 years now. For what it's worth, one thing we wish we'd have done differently is to have had her g-tube put in sooner, to get the NG out of her throat due to some of the resistance it has caused later on. I have no idea if they've talked about that or if you've considered it, or even if it's an option for Grace, but I really wish we'd have done it sooner. (We used the NG for 10 months before getting the g-tube.)

Please don't think I'm overstepping. Just offering our experience in case it helps. :o) If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask.

Gina and the Gang said...

Seriously, that girl is cute. And so it that hat. We were under house arrest when Casey was born in January. EVERYONE that entered our house had to immediately get doused with antibacterial hand gel. If they had kids of their own, they even had to change their clothes if they wanted to hold him! Don't worry, they'll get used to it!

Katie said...

Such cute pictures...she looked like she was having as much fun dressing up as you did dressing her up! On the no appetite thing...Maddie is the same way. We literally eat around the clock and don't even get her minimum on most days in. She is such a snacker, an ounce at a time. I contemplate the NG tube daily but she seems happy, content and is gaining so I can't complain. As long as she keeps snacking away...it's so weird that these babies don't have any desire to eat! She's always been pushed to eat though and has never gotten to tell me when she's hungry. Maybe that's the problem! Just wanted to share that from one heart mom to another. Gracey does look wonderful and quite chunky too! Congrats on getting a "peek" at freedom too. That will be nice to visit family. Have fun!
Love,
Katie (Maddie's mom)

Amy Finnegan {BookshopTalk.com} said...

All right, so I have had one of those crumby days where things just keep happening to frustrate me. And so I said to myself, "Other's have much worse challenges than your own, remember," and decided to click on a few of your heart baby links to remind me to be grateful for my own temporary trials.

And then . . . I was surprised by another post about Grace, and seriously laughed out loud when I saw that first pic with her tongue sticking out! Sweetest pictures ever, once again.

I'm sorry Grace is still not eating. How frustrating! But I love to read about your gratitude for her health despite that bump in the road.

You all inspire me. Please tell Gracey she made her Aunt's otherwise bad day bearable :)

Mythreesons said...

Cute Pictures Bug! Love the hat and love the jewelery. Girl knows how to accessorize! We're excited about the changes in her house arrest... we'll contemplate a flu shot for little Gracey. Things are sounding good. Gracey never ceases to amaze me with how well she does... despite her not wanting to eat. Oh, and I want to see her hairy back!

Super Daysh said...

That hat is so dang adorable! Seriously, so cute! Love it and love all the costume jewelry you tried on her- very cute. ;) And yay! for no more Monday appointments and possible Gracey visits! We are so glad that she's doing so well, and that you and Topher and taking such good care of her. Love ya!

Mp said...

We are so happy to see that Grace is doing well. She is an amazing little girl! You guys are such great parents!

Hugs,
Mike & Rebecca Patton

The Simmons Family said...

Those dress up pics crack me up! It'll be great to venture out a little bit more and not be trapped at home.

The eating just kinda happens. Everyone kept telling me this and I didn't believe them, but it does. Owen eats everything in sight but only a few bites and he's done. I think they secretly like the tube shoved up their nose!

Prayers for you all for a HEALTHY winter!!

Lady of the Rings said...

For a baby that doesn't eat she looks very well nourished! Mommy and daddy must be doing a very good job. That red hat is a winner. What a cutie. She looks amazing with the jewelry... be careful or you'll have gotten something started here... this fashionable little girl knows what looks good on her. I am so excited to see you all this week. Well, I better get my guest room scrubbed. Love you lots, Mum

kalani said...

She is so cute and getting so big. We love seeing pictures of her so much. I am glad you will be able to see more of people now. That will be so nice for you. We miss seeing you and playing games so maybe soon we will be able to again. We love you guys.

Rachel's Mommy said...

Great pictures--how fun to play dress up! Thanks for the great post. Hopefully we'll be on the mend and see you all soon.

Liz said...

She is DARLING! What a nice mommy you are to let her wear your jewelry. I can only imagine how cute she would be dressed up in a couple of years in all those clothes we used to dress up in. :)

likeschocolate said...

Adorable Hat!!!

Anonymous said...

Howdy!
I look at these pictures at least once a day. They make me laugh so hard. What a doll! Last night we made 7 copies of these picutres to go into something we are doing for Christmas. Your blog has been such a blessing in so many lives. The picture with the serious face and the pearls makes her look like a little princess in the 18th century, somewhere in Europe. She has a face that can make anyone smile, no matter how dumpy they feel.
I can hardly wait to hold her again.
We will bring her Christmas dress down and take pictures of her in it and then snuggle her and pinch her rosy, round cheeks!

I love you,

Grandma Atkinson

Anonymous said...

Howdy!
I look at these pictures at least once a day. They make me laugh so hard. What a doll! Last night we made 7 copies of these picutres to go into something we are doing for Christmas. Your blog has been such a blessing in so many lives. The picture with the serious face and the pearls makes her look like a little princess in the 18th century, somewhere in Europe. She has a face that can make anyone smile, no matter how dumpy they feel.
I can hardly wait to hold her again.
We will bring her Christmas dress down and take pictures of her in it and then snuggle her and pinch her rosy, round cheeks!

I love you,

Grandma Atkinson

Anonymous said...

Howdy!
I look at these pictures at least once a day. They make me laugh so hard. What a doll! Last night we made 7 copies of these picutres to go into something we are doing for Christmas. Your blog has been such a blessing in so many lives. The picture with the serious face and the pearls makes her look like a little princess in the 18th century, somewhere in Europe. She has a face that can make anyone smile, no matter how dumpy they feel.
I can hardly wait to hold her again.
We will bring her Christmas dress down and take pictures of her in it and then snuggle her and pinch her rosy, round cheeks!

I love you,

Grandma Atkinson

Anonymous said...

Howdy!
I look at these pictures at least once a day. They make me laugh so hard. What a doll! Last night we made 7 copies of these picutres to go into something we are doing for Christmas. Your blog has been such a blessing in so many lives. The picture with the serious face and the pearls makes her look like a little princess in the 18th century, somewhere in Europe. She has a face that can make anyone smile, no matter how dumpy they feel.
I can hardly wait to hold her again.
We will bring her Christmas dress down and take pictures of her in it and then snuggle her and pinch her rosy, round cheeks!

I love you,

Grandma Atkinson

Heather said...

I came across your blog through google reader probably because I read about the other darling Gracie with a special heart. Your Grace is so adorable. I love that picture of her. I was telling my 6 year old daughter about her heart transplant and it made me cry. What a sweet little girl you have.

The B Family said...

BEAUTIFUL, GRACE! Those pictures are precious! (Love the hat, too!)

Keeping you in our prayers and Grace so close to our hearts!

Heart hugs & love to you~ Rebecca

Rosalie Ringwood said...

We are so happy to see Grace doing so well. She is so darling! You all look great. We continue to pray for each one of you! Lots of love - Pres. and Sis. Ringwood

M&M factory said...

Isn't it amazing how one little girl can consume your life and make you a different person? She is beautiful. Hey she is sitting up Maverick crawls and rolls and can get himself to sitting position but cannot stay sitting. They are all different. She looks healthy and like she is eating.