Family Reunion

Livi and I spent this last weekend in Georgia for our family reunion. Livi was a little bit more shy with everyone this year compared to last year--very clingy to Mommy. I didn't mind seeing that at all! I've been worried that she wouldn't develop any stranger fear, but she does seem to be more wary of unfamiliar people than she has been. I managed to get a couple cute photos of her--in this one Livi is trying out her new jaw in earnest on an ear of corn. She managed to do a pretty good job of it! The funniest part of it was that up until now she hasn't liked corn! I guess it's all in the presentation.

This photo is Livi wearing Papa's hat. I loved the gangster look she pulled off. Too cute! Livi also surprised me this weekend with her skill on a balance beam. I was holding her hands, of course, but she was very deliberate in the placement of her feet. It was quite impressive! I can see that we're going to have some gymnastics lessons in our future. And speaking of balance--Livi is walking more and more and better and better. I'm so proud of her!

~ Jeana

The Big Wait...

We have finished the "turning of the screws" and are now into the big wait for the final surgery to remove all of Livi's hardware. That will be some time in early December. We ended up moving her jaw forward 20 mm--a little more than 3/4 of an inch. The difference is incredible! I hope to get some photos this weekend.

On my health front, I still have a bit of a cough and my voice isn't yet back to full strength, but I'm improving daily. I have an appointment for a second breast biopsy on Monday--the first one came back negative, but they saw another mass that looks different, so we have to do it again... fun...

Other than that things are moving along nicely. Livi seems to like her new occupational therapist. Now that we have our whole therapy team in place I'm hoping we will see her making some good progress.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Fall weekend!

~ Jeana

Comparison Photos

We are now at 14 mm and the difference is just incredible! Here are some photos for comparison:

This one is Alivia's original chin. This was taken this past July when we were in St. Louis.

This one is how she looks now in profile. The difference is just amazing!

Here are a couple other new ones from different angles. As you can tell, Livi is doing just great! She's gotta be the most amazing child in that sense. Even her doctor is amazed at how well she is doing.


Enjoy!

~ Jeana

A Taste of Fall

We are finally starting to get some Fall-like weather here--lots of rain, but beautifully temperate days with nice breezes, too. I love it! If I could just get over this nasty bronchitis I'd be so happy!

Livi is doing incredibly well! As of this evening we have moved her jaw out 10 mm! You can really tell a difference. And she's tolerating it so well! No pain at all that I can tell. She is on antibiotics, but no other medications. We've also got her started back in speech therapy finally and, while she doesn't like it very much, we are already seeing some good results from it. Her new physical therapist will start on Friday and we should be getting an occupational therapist going in the next week, as well. Between those three and her cognitive therapist she's got a pretty full plate these days!

Speaking of full plates... you wouldn't believe how her appetite has suddenly picked up! She's eating much more now than she was before the two surgeries and drinking much more, too. I expect to see another growth spurt real soon.

We go back to the surgeon on Monday of next week for her next follow up appointment. I'm hoping that we will be able to stop the screw turning then and remove the rods. Then she'll have to wear the internal pieces another 6 weeks or so and we'll go back to have those removed. I expect it will mean another hospital stay, but hopefully only for a day or two at most. In the meantime, Livi continues to amaze all of us with her progress and her cheerful attitude!

~ Jeana

On the Down Hill Side

Livi's surgery went very well on Thursday. She was in the OR for about 2 hours and then in recovery for about 1.5 hours before they took her to her room. She was in a lot of pain all day Thursday and most of Friday, but they kept her on morphine every two hours to deal with that. Thursday she slept most of the day away and Friday she dozed in and out, but spent the whole day in my arms. She wouldn't let me put her down for more than a minute--she needed Mommy love big time! That evening she did go for a little walk around the ICU and laughed a couple times at jokes. My friend Diane came to visit and held Livi for a couple hours so I could go home and get a much needed shower and meal. While I was gone Livi's 2nd IV (she pulled out the first one) got bent and had to be replaced. Poor thing!

On Saturday Livi was much better and actually let me sleep a bit, too. She wasn't nearly as clingy and walked around quite a bit. Saturday afternoon we did the first turning of the screws and she didn't even flinch. That evening they took her off the morphine and put her on an oral pain medicine that seems to be enough for her. She is eating a bit--her whole jaw and chin is swollen and it's hard to get her mouth open very wide, but she doesn't seem to be in much pain at all. She's been eating mac and cheese, yogurt and cream of chicken soup. Good comfort food! This morning they said Livi was doing so good that we could go home if I was comfortable with the screw turning. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all, so I am having no problem with it. Here's a photo of one of the screws.

The first photo above was taken right after we got home today. Livi's a bit swollen, but otherwise happy, as you can see! Now, if I could just get over this awful cough I have (bronchitis, I think... haven't found time to get to my doctor yet) everything would be great! Thank you, everyone, for your prayers, messages and phone calls! I'm still pretty much voiceless, but I do appreciate all the love and warm thoughts being sent our way!

~ Jeana

Surgery Update

I received a call on Friday from the hospital rescheduling Alivia's surgery again... they've moved it up to Thursday, September 20th. Hopefully she will be fully over her cold by then and everything can proceed as scheduled.

In other news... Livi is living up to the terrible two's! Today she threw a tantrum just because I wouldn't open a door for her. There was nothing terribly exciting on the other side of the door--we were at my office and it just led to another hallway of offices. She pitched a royal fit, though, for about 5 minutes before finally giving up. Hopefully Livi will quickly figure out that Mommy doesn't give in to tantrums and will stop trying to play that card. Also, Kizi, the younger of my two cats, has finally decided to allow Livi to pet her. She's still cautious and quick to get away if Livi pulls or pinches, but they do seem to be getting along quite well most of the time. My other cat, Treasure, is going to be a MUCH harder sell... (and, yes, Kizi is a really BIG cat!)

We have a busy week ahead of us... Monday we start with a new speech therapist. Tuesday is a new cognitive therapist. I also have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday--they found something suspicious on my latest mammogram and want me to come in for a diagnostic one. Probably nothing, but I'm still a bit worried, I must admit. Wednesday is Livi's pre-surgical check-up, followed by the surgery itself on Thursday. If I make it to the end of the week with all my hair still attached to my head it will be a miracle...

~ Jeana

Cruise Report and More!

Wow! The Celebrate Adoption Cruise was an absolute blast! I won $840 on penny slots (PENNY slots!!!!!) that I spent on a gorgeous set of blue diamond ear studs. Livi surprised me by gobbling down cream of escargo soup and other gourmet delicacies. The other families were great--especially Natalia and her daughter Marina and son Roman. Marina and Livi became quite friendly and I hope we'll get to see them again in the future! Livi won't wear her sunglasses often, but when she does...

Livi proved to be a terrific sailor. No seasickness or major problems of any kind. Of course she was ready to go home once the cruise ended. So was I. We did enjoy ourselves immensely, though, and I'm already planning our next cruise adventure. I'm looking at a 7 nighter next year in October that will stop in Belize and Cozumel. I've never been to Belize and love Cozumel, so it looks very promising so far! Anyone want to join us? This is Livi's formal portrait from the cruise.

Other highlights--I mentioned Marina already. She was such a cutie--just a few months older than Livi and only a little bigger, but she played big sister and helped Livi climb the stairs. It was so sweet! The kids all spent time together in Camp Carnival, but we were not, unfortunately, able to do much together outside of that. Everyone just had too many things they wanted to do and it was a busy 6 days.

My mother watched Livi for a few hours while we were in Nassau and decided to get her hair braided. She loved it and looks very cute with her hair beads. I have to take them out in a few days to get her ready for the surgery next week, but they are so cute that I want to leave them in as long as I can. Here's a photo I took of her in our cabin with her braids. She was in a serious mood that night...

Livi and I recieved some very good news today on the health front. We had her 6 month follow-up with the orthopedics specialist and he said that Livi has made some fantastic strides with her legs (no pun intended!) and now no longer needs braces or even shoe inserts! I felt like jumping up and down with joy! Her legs have become much stronger and straighter and she's walking quite a bit now. Here's a photo of her in motion--literally.

At the moment Livi has a slight cold that I guess she caught in Camp Carnival. I'm hoping it will clear up soon and not delay the surgery. That's scheduled for a week from Friday--on September 21. I just want to go ahead and get it over with so we can get on with the healing. Well, enough for now! I'll try to post again in a few days!



~ Jeana