"Tickle my feet!"

That's how Vaeh described having her feet casted & then the inserts applied. She was casted about 2 weeks ago for orthotics. I'd been wondering for a while if/when she would need these. She has always had a very flat arch which she gets from her Daddy! Mommy has the exact opposite, having VERY high arches (which can be just as bad, if not worse).

We didn't really worry about it last year & over the summer. Partly because she was just learing to walk & because the therapist that was working with her really didn't seem to care (lets not get started on THAT subject!). So when she started school/therapy this fall (with therapist that I trust completely!!!) we talked about her getting them to help with he walking/running/jumping.


This morning was her appointment to pick them up. She was so excited to go in - I think she remembered being there & having her feet casted. He put them on her to get a quick fit to know where to trim them & then put them in her shoes. She did really well with them when she first stood up & has seemed as if they aren't bothering her a bit! She has some red spots after wearing them, but overall she hasn't complained once!! I think there may be an adjustment in her future, though.

Hopefully everyone is having a good weekend (even though its nearly over:0( ) & that everyone is staying healthy! We're doing okay here, but unfortunately there were confirmed cases of H1N1 in our county this past week... so needless to say, I'm on alert! Here's to a fun, healthy week!

Potty training!!

Yep. Vaeh continues to become more "normal" each day. This past week, we started potty training... finally!

This was kinda new territory for me. With Gabby, she was potty trained by a friend of mine (Thanks, Angel!) when we were in Ann Arbor for Vaeh's 2nd open heart. Gabby was trained late, too, in part because of the chaos that was our life back then. Meds every two hours from 6AM to midnight, no sleep, you get the picture. So it was Angel who had the know how & the patience to work with her.

Miss Vaeh has been telling me for a few months now "I peed, Mommy," after she wet in her diaper. I had dabbled with attempting to train her, but each time I gave her her lasix it ruined any progress that we had made. So when we finally got rid of the lasix back at the end of August, I wanted to give her some time to adjust. She had been doing pretty well the week before last in pull ups, so I decided to just go ahead & put her in panties. And it worked... fairly well. She went all week last week with only 2 accidents!! She did so well that we even had her in panties for church on Sunday!! She made it the whole day!! She's just so darn cute. We have to do the "dance" after we go, & Miss Vaeh is in charge of flusing;0) - she likes to say "bye-bye, tinkle!"

Last week went great... today, not so well:0/ She is still wearing panties, but today we've had a couple of accidents. I did put her in a pull up for school today, just so that they wouldn't have to worry about it. I think next week, though, we'll go for the gusto. Her main issue is probably the same one that plagues most kids when potty training... the dreaded "#2." That's where most of her accidents come in, so if anyone has any tips please feel free to drop them in a comment! I'm just so proud of her!

Hope everyone else is staying healthy, or getting back to being healthy!! Thanks again for checking in on us!

Still here...

Yep. We didn't go anywhere... other than to the peds twice, but that was over a week ago. Boy, am I a slacker (as my husband so lovingly pointed out last night;0)! Let me just reassure you that the girls are both finally on the up & up. Here's how things went:

The last time I posted, I re-introduced everyone to our old trusty friend. "He's" still just hanging around, but not needed nearly as much now. We're going to keep "him" on standby throughout the winter, though:0) The following Monday after I posted of "his" return, I ended up taking Vaeh in to see the doc. It wasn't her regular ped, but I settled for seeing someone different that visit as the girls were both scheduled to see their regular gal that Friday. Basically on Monday they told us that Vaeh had 'viral bronchitis' & to keep using our friend. She had had a fever (which is why we went to see them) but it hadn't returned that day. Doc told me that if it did pop back up & stick around to call & he'd order a CXR.

She did really well, until Friday when they both were scheduled for well child exams. Gabby is a whopping 42 lbs & 48 inches tall! Miss Vaeh has dropped just a bit & is now just over 28 lbs, but is up to 38 inches!! She's such a tall thing anymore!! Of course Vaeh would have a low-grade fever... ugh. So, still no flu-shot for her this season. Silly girl, she hasn't ever had one! Every time we'd go to get one, she would be running a slight temp which means... no shot. Maybe she'll get one this year, although I'm not sure how things will pan out;0)

During that appointment I decided to have Gabby get the flu mist. You know, the one where they spray it up your nose vs. sticking you in the arm. Thankfully Gabby wasn't too resistant to that option & did quite well when they gave it to her. However, come Sunday Miss Gabby decided to run a fever, have a headache & be nauseous all day... ugh. Which went into the night & next morning, so Gabby missed a day of school. Come Tuesday morning she was ready to return - I think that had something to do with them roller skating in gym class;0)

So, we're finally all healthy again in the house. Which is why I'm sitting at home on the computer on Sunday morning instead of a church. There's been a virus running through quite a few families at church & I didn't want to expose the girls since they're just beginning to return to normal! That, & Daddy didn't get home until about 8:30 last night & this way we can spend some time with him - he has to leave later tonight:0/

So we're all just hanging around for today, spending some time together as a family. Hope everyone else is doing well & staying healthy!