updates galore

right now i'm sitting in Emmy's room, but she's not here. her dad swooped in and took her away. it's a beautiful day and he took her out back for a little sunshine. i can hear him talking to her. it's a wonderful sound. i should be utilizing this time to work. but alas, i am taken by hearing them and how could i possibly concentrate under these circumstances. besides, i'm long overdue for a blog update anyway!

the days at the palm ranch have been flying by. if you could see our schedule, i'm sure you would gasp aloud. each day is packed to the gills with therapies, doctor appointments, work meetings, travel, and general keeping it all together.

emmy continues to grow. she's quickly approaching 15 pounds and has gotten quite tall as well. she's swiftly descending beyond six month sized clothes into nine and 12 month sizes! her hair is growing and a barrette is her signature look. . .right up front in the middle with sprouts of hair coming out of the top. her dad was a little hesitant of the style, but we've convinced him it's her look. she has a bow to match every outfit.

a couple of weeks back, we ventured into a whole new realm. . .the blenderized diet. instead of giving her manufactured formula through her g-tube, we are now blending real foods! i've been anxious to do this for some time, and after a visit with a dietician and a little guidance, we are on our way. it's a bit more work and preparation, but it feels so good to be doing something for her. finally. . .something i really can do for her. the blend includes a meat (salmon, chicken or turkey), veggies (we've used butternut squash, sweet potato, spinach, broccoli and peas), fruit (we've used blueberries, mangoes, apples and bananas), avocado, oil (we've used coconut and flax), whole grain rice cereal and a milk of some sort (we've been using almond milk). i mix up a blend each morning, changing up the ingredients slightly and that feeds her five meals throughout the day. then she gets a bit of formula still overnight. but the goal will be to get rid of that pesky overnight feeding and omit the yucky formula altogether. she's already doing so much better. . .less vomiting and reflux. hooray!

she's also recently tried swimming, which she seems to enjoy. we have an organized swim group every wed afternoon, so when we can fit it in the schedule and she's feeling well, we go. so far we've only gotten to go once.


so many more updates, but i must get back to work. . .that and getting my new iphone up and running. yes, it's true, i finally bit the bullet and gave up on my old blackberry.