The pancake and the pull-up

The pancake:

These pictures are priceless.  I gave Gab a pancake cut up on Saturday morning and she devoured it.  The second pancake I gave her was whole.  I was going to cut it up for her but the reaction was adorable.  I am glad that I had my camera close! 

The pull-up:
For those of you who know Gabrielle, you are well aware that her preferred method of transportation is rolling.  She barrel rolls to wherever she wants to go.  When she turned one, I started worrying about her because she did not show any signs of crawling.  As soon as I started asking our pediatrician and tx nurses, Gab started getting up on her hands and knees and doing the rocking back and forth baby thing.  Then just the other day, I saw her legitimately crawl.  I really think that she rolls because it is easy.  The exciting news is that Gab has started pulling up to standing on things all by herself.  Her two favorite pull up spots are the dishwasher door (when I am trying to load of course) and the bottom of the steps.  She likes the ottoman too...but she has to try really hard to pull up because it is a bit taller.  It is just so exciting to see her do new things.

Bikes and birthdays

Tomorrow, Spencer is turning 7.  I cannot believe that my baby is seven...now I feel old!  Anyway, we have had steady birthdays since March and Spencer ended up without a big party but a week full of parties instead.  This is mostly due to the fact that every time we asked him what he wanted to do for his party it changed and also his birthday his squarely on Memorial Day weekend.  The birthday celebrations started off with a new bike.  Spencer went with Matt to help pick the one he wanted and it was a good thing that he did because he  picked an awesome bike. 

 
Of course, the bike had to be assembled.  I was cooking dinner and Matt was trying to put together this bike.  Spencer was so excited he kept forgetting to hold the bike steady.  Karina wanted to help so bad...but Karina is not a very good helper if you are trying to get something accomplished.  Gabrielle also had to get in on the fun and rolled from the kitchen to the living room and was kicking Matt as he was assembling the bike.  I moved Gabrielle several times back to the kitchen but she really wanted to help and kept rolling back.  Finally, the bike was ready for a test ride so we all went outside.  In true Washington fashion it was sunny and sprinkling at the same time.  Spencer rode his bike and  Karina rode the scooter and Gab got her first ride on a baby toy.

At first, Gab was happy to sit and watch the fun. Just content to sit there and push the buttons on the toy.  But then, she figured out that she can push with her feet and backwards she went. 

Until she hit the grass...

After the bike riding was presents and ice cream with Nana.  It was a great start to birthday week!

SC appointments

Today was Seattle Children's appointments day.  6 and 1/2 months post transplant.

First off, the day starts way too early.  Me, Karina, and Gab get to SC by 7:30 for labs.  Blood draws are never fun, but Gabrielle does really well considering.  Thankfully, we get our favorite phlebotomist (sp?) and he gets all he needs the first poke. After labs, we head to the heart center to wait for echo.

Today was a relatively short wait and we go into echo where Karina demands to watch Dora.  Gabrielle always starts the echo being very cute and today was dancing to Dora.  But in true Gabrielle fashion, when she thought she was done, she was done.  Gab started pulling the wand off of her chest and after a bit of wrestling, we got all the pictures and went to wait some more.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.  Gabrielle had a few friends stop in to say hello and comment on how cute she is.  Then finally, a transplant nurse followed by Dr. Law.  Gabrielle was not going to let anyone listen to her heart without a fight and was pulling the stethoscope off of her chest for both Jason and Dr. Law.  But she remained happy and playful.  Waving, blowing kisses, smiling etc. 

Final outcome:  Everything looks great.  Her echo showed that her heart is growing nicely and proportionately.  No signs of rejection from the echo or labs.  All labs looked good and depending on her cyclosporine levels, we can go to twice a day dosing for her medicine.  That means I can be done waking up at midnight to give medicine.  I am very excited that this is a possibility.  Dr. Law, in his normal fashion stated that Gab is only 6 months post transplant and he would normally not suggest changing the dosing schedule but for Gab, there is no reason not to.  She meets all of the other qualifications and at some point he has to "take the jump". 

Everyone at SC is amazed by our little Gab.  I realized while attempting to add a tab about Gabs hearts, how crazy this journey has been.  Hopefully I can get that up with a few pictures in the next few days. 

A start at blogging

A friend of mine has mentioned that I should blog several times now...so I am officially giving it a go.  I realized that blogging is a great tool to reach the masses.  That is not quite what I am going for but it will reach those who are interested in my families hooligans  (both the noun and the verb).  I am hoping that this will be an easy way to chronical life and the attempt at some hobbies along with updating about Gabs health. 

You will have to be patient while I learn all the little things that can go along with blogging.  I also hope you find a bit of joy following this blog as I find joy in checking a few friends blogs to find a new post.  I don't know if I will be that entertaining, but I know my kids do plenty of crazy things to keep a blog flowing with stories. 

With that, I will end my first official blog post with a picture of my beautiful kids.