First day of school

Monday was Eve's first day of school! She started pre-K at the county primary school and is in a special ed class. Here are some pictures of the bus picking her up Monday morning:

She laughed at first when she saw the bus.

After she caught on, there was no more laughing.

The bus driver said she cried until the end of the street and then was laughing. No more tears since that morning. She's laughed and been happy to get on the bus ever since. She also really seems to like school - and I think they're falling in love with her, too. One of the teachers told me that Eve got upset when she held another kid on her lap. Apparently little miss bossy is already laying claim to teachers. Hah. I can't express how happy we are. Her teacher is wonderful and I think this will be so good for her. It's great for me, too. I drag my butt out of bed to dress her, brush her teeth, and put her on the bus at 7am. She's at school from about 8-11 and gets breakfast and snack there. Then the bus takes her to daycare where she gets lunch and nap. I pick her up in the afternoon. It's given me tons of time in the morning. I can actually shower in the morning for the first time in literally over a year!!! No more night showers!! Oh, and in preparation for Eve's wheelchair, look what "Grandma Jan" had built at the daycare:

It made me misty when I saw it. This woman has the biggest heart ever. We are lucky to have her in our lives.

Other good news: Eve had her VCUG and renal ultrasound on Monday and we met with the urologist today. The kidney reflux is resolved!!! So she can stop the antibiotics. If she gets a bladder infection, she'll just take antibiotics. We also don't have to go back to him unless we have any problems. This is awesome.

And the last piece of good news has to do with the mtDNA sequencing. Some of you know that we had MAJOR doctor drama recently. Basically one doc has a DNA sample that he won't send to another doc to do the sequencing. I don't care who does the sequencing, but the second doc is in-network and takes medicaid. So we were talking of a difference of about 4 grand. After many tears and much frustration (and another doc intervening), the first doc has agreed to do the testing, but try to get insurance to pay the in-network rate and he will adjust any balance. I am sooooo pleased. So, we should have results in about 4 months (12 weeks after insurance gives pre-authorization). So cross your fingers that this all works out. :)

Vacation

Last week we went on a much needed vacation. We drove to Myrtle Beach to see Jim's parents for a few days. While there we took Eve swimming at the pool each day (which she loved!) and had fun visiting with Grammie and Papa. Then on Monday we flew to Atlantic City and spent the next 4 days in Ocean City, NJ. This is the place that my family has been spending a week in August since 1982. The nostalgic factor was so high, I can't explain. We were able to stay with my brother's family (thanks, guys!) and my parents were with friends in a house 2 1/2 blocks away. We were across the street from the beach. I don't think I could have asked for a better vacation. I took a bunch of pictures, but there's no way I can post them all, so I'll just post the highlights. Let's start with the boardwalk. One night, Dave, Trina, Alex, Giovanni, Jim, Eve and I went to "the rides" on the boardwalk. Oh, boy. What a different experience as a parent. Anyhow, Alex had a blast!! Eve...not so much. Well, that's not true. When she and Giovanni were not being traumatized by the loud hydraulics and screaming kids, she did manage to enjoy the train ride with Dave, Alex, and me.

We went on the merry-go-round as well. Alex loved it.

Eve....not so much.

She did manage to calm down after a few revolutions.

Alex was lots of fun to be around. He's so bright it's scary. Jim and I had so much fun being Uncle and Aunt to him this week.

Here's Giovanni (5 months!!! Can you believe it?). Just a few more weeks in his helmet to keep his little (big) head perfectly shaped. I think it makes him look like a little toughie. He's such a good baby. A true pleasure to be around.

Here's Oma and Eve.

Tina and Eve. Tina and her family have been vacationing with our family since 1982. I have some old pictures I'll post soon. Some real gems.

Much of the gang.

I believe this was a self-portrait. I like it.

Eve couldn't get enough of the beach. She LOVED it. The first day or so she stood at the water's edge. After that, no way. She wanted to go past the breakers and swim. Luckily the surf was pretty calm. We were able to carry her out with out getting pounded. She was able to do her little butt bobbing thing in the water. Totally cute. Oh, and our friends Eve, Tom and Lucius came for a day. I am bummed that I forgot to take a single picture. Duh!!

Eve liked having her feet buried in the sand.

Believe it or not, that's actually a tankini. The top piece only looks like a bikini because it kept riding up. I do think her belly is cute, though.

Josie had lots of fun in Myrtle beach with Grammie, Papa and Kirby while we were in OCNJ. She was a little terror (typical puppy), but enjoyed herself. She especially loved looking out the storm door!

EEG and EKG

The weekend after Eve's birthday I had to go to a conference in Providence. It was very nice to have some grown-up time. I got to see dear friends and even do some retail therapy. While I was gone, Grammie and Papa came for a visit. Eve had fun finger painting with Grammie.




Josie had fun paw painting with Papa.



Last Friday, we went to Atlanta for an EEG. I totally forgot my camera, and I am so bummed. I need to figure out how to get pictures from my phone onto the computer, because Eve was a sight to behold. She was totally upset, but she was never in pain. They stuck tons of electrodes on her head and in her hair. Then we tried to get her to sleep. No luck, but she did get drowsy. After that, they put a strobe light in front of her (I assume to induce a seizure). One one of the cycles of strobes, Eve opened her eyes wide (and didn't blink) and stared off to the side. I am wondering if that was a mini seizure. I didn't see any crazy waves on the monitor, but I'm not that kind of doctor. :) They said we should get results in 3-4 days.



Yesterday Eve and I went for her cardiac evaluation. She was an ANGEL. She never cried (like she did for her last EKG) and was so good and patient. I think it helped that we had a 20 minute ride to the office rather than a 90 minute one. Her little heart is perfect. They even printed an ultrasound pic for me!



All else is well. Josie is growing up. She is settling down and is really really good around Eve. I can lay Eve on the floor next to Josie and Jo will either lay down next to her or try to sit on Eve's lap! Eve loves to pet her. They are going to be very good friends. Yesterday when Tracey came over, Josie calmed down in record time and just lay next to us on the floor and happily chewed her toy.



The only thing I am currently concerned about is that Eve has been taking a really long time to eat. Her meals (which are small), take her 30-45 minutes to eat. If she has trouble getting enough nourishment through table foods, a feeding tube for supplementary nourishment might be in her future. We'll see what the Docs say at her next appts (August - pediatrician, Oct - Neuro and genetics). Oh, and yesterday she was measured at 34 inches and 27.1lbs.

Happy Birthday to Eve!

Today is Eve's birthday! She turns 3. I can't believe it. She had a great day. Here are some pictures:

These are the cupcakes I made for school. I was pretty proud of myself.

I ran out of butterfly wings, so Jim made centipedes.




It looks like the stander tray is tilted from this angle, but I swear it's not.

Oh! And here are her new braces. We got them yesterday. They're really cool and fit her well. We had to get new shoes to fit them, too.

Thanks for all the birthday well wishes! Eve had a great day!

Bad dog

Josie has been doing so well lately that we've been letting her sleep on her bed in the crate. She loves it and sleeps through the night. I think we started trusting a little too soon. Monday I left the bed in the crate with her when I went to work. I totally forgot to take it out. Big mistake. This is what I came home to:


Bad Josie.

visit from Oma and Pop and doggie daycare

For the 4th of July, Oma and Pop (my parents) came for a visit. We had lots of fun. Josie took to my dad immediately. She also loved playing tug with my mom. It was a wonderful visit all around. We ate a lot and spent time together. Mom and I went blueberry picking and I made a pretty good (but messy) pie. Jim and I were able to go out to eat and go to Borders one night, so that was a treat. We never get to go out, so we were very grateful. Here are some pictures from the visit:

The downtown area where we live had a (very) little Independence day celebration. Bluegrass music, popcorn, watermellon, and even a few goats.




Last week we signed Josie up for doggie daycare. Never in my life did I think I would ever send a dog to daycare. Never. It's an animal. Here's what changed my mind. I can only leave her in the crate for about 4 1/2 hours at a time. With my summer teaching schedule I have to leave the house and race to work, teach my classes and race home (because there's a 90 minutes gap between classes). This means I get no other work done (manuscripts, etc). Also, with gas prices, I am not into making several trips back and forth (it's about 20-25 minutes one way). Also, Josie had soooooo much fun at puppy preschool. She loved playing with the other dogs. So we decided to sign her up and take her once a week for a few weeks. It would give me a massive break (and a full day at work) and it would give Josie a wonderful play day. So, the first day they have to give each pup a temperament test to see if they can come to daycare. I guess they just watch your dog interact with the other dogs. When I dropped Josie off and her tail nearly wagged off her body, the staff looked at her and said, "Ummm...I think she'll go in the medium group." Not for size, mind you, but because of her energy level. I guess the dogs her size wouldn't be able to take her exuberance. Ha. Anyhow, I picked her up in the afternoon and she had a report card. She did a great job and passed with flying colors. You can click on the picture of her review to see an enlarged image.


Josie also had a great time! She slept the rest of the night! Totally wiped out!!!!! I can't wait to take her next week. ;)

cardiac eval

Good news! We got the cardiac evaluation scheduled. And, they have an office in Athens!!!! Yay! I hate driving to Atlanta, so this is great news. Especially with gas prices lately. So that will be at the end of July.