Heart Healthy

Allie had her follow up cardiology appointment today. It has already been a year since she has her last visit and 17 months since her heart surgery. Wow! Time really does fly past us doesn't it? I'm happy to announce that the cardiologist says the repair looks perfect. I even got to see the patch on the ultra sound! There appears to be no sign of high blood pressure or any leaks and both holes are closed. So, all is wonderful. And to emphasise this he let us know that she is not due to come back to his office for 2 years!!!

Another good note is that Allie didn't want to lay still on the EKG table (okay.. this isn't the good news as we had to skip the EKG), nor did she want to stay still for it while I held her. She didn't want to be weighed or even sit on the big person scale. Nor, did she want to lay still for the ultrasound of her heart. Why are these good things? Why do I seem happy that my baby cried big tears and looked so sad and pitiful? I'm not happy about that part, but I am happy that Allie is acting very typical. This is what 22 month old children do. They want Mommy or Daddy, they don't want to go to the doctor and they don't want to do the scary things. Oh... want to know another typical thing my lovely lady did today? She took her classmates milk (yes... regular milk) and drank a whole lot of it before the teacher got it from her. Luckily, her classmate didn't want it or drink it in the first place. But, the teacher felt the same way we do... that is exactly what typical kids do at this age. Allie is very typical, she wants her favorite things - crackers and Signing Time Videos, to get into things we don't want her to (IE: the blinds next to her changing table), is starting to explore more of the house, gives us the most pitiful expression when the word NO starts to sink in and she realizes that, yes... we are talking to her. She is very typical. .... other than she knows more words than most 22 month old children. I say "most children" because I know there are lots of exceptions out there... LeLe... I know you can read - or at least say all of this - so you are an exception. :-)

As you can tell, Allie is doing well. She weighed in at 14.5 pounds, but we know she is closer to 16 pounds. Scales vary and we aren't worried about that. Right now, she is watching her signing videos and "practicing" signs. She is trying to perfect the signs for "Pajamas", "Blanket" and "Play". As you can tell from the close up picture here, if she is watching her video, she really doesn't care what else is going on around her. She is so tuned in to it! Anyway... as you can also tell... she is amazing to us!!!

Here is Allie practicing. Her signs look a little different than the "book" versions, but she eventually gets them worked out and we also are deciphering them - not as quickly as she is mastering them, however.

Wish you all lived closer so you could come play with this child and help us figure out what she is saying. :-)

X's and O's from your Lil' Allie and her folks.