more pics

 

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Who's @ da zoo

Fun at the Zoo!

 

We took Bethany to the zoo yesterday, and she had a great time!  Her favorite animals to watch were the sea lions and monkeys.  We had fun watching her!  J She also loved the ducks and turtles and had a blast in the misting station.  She was drenched, but she loved it. 
 

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Saturday - April 21

 

As always, we've had a busy few weeks.  Our biggest news from the past few weeks is that Bethany had her appointment with the Cleft Team at Children's Hospital this past Monday.  We had a good – but long – visit and met her doctors and other specialists that will be working with her through the years.  They were all really good with her, and we were grateful for that.  Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Moses, will be doing the surgery to repair her palate on May 7.  We are glad to finally have a surgery date, but were surprised it would be so soon.  Dr. Moses could do surgery May 7 or July 2, so we opted to go ahead and get this out of the way.  Of course, we're thrilled that her palate will finally be repaired so that she won't have so much trouble eating, but we're also nervous.  It's a big surgery and is going to be so painful for her.  Dr. Moses will be repairing her hard and soft palate and also tweaking her lip to minimize the scar.  The doctors in China did a really great job with her lip repair, and even Dr. Moses was impressed when he saw her in person, but he feels that he can make it look even better, so we're on board with that.  We'd just ask that you continue to pray for Bethany – especially with the upcoming surgery.  We're trying not to be anxious about it, but it's definitely a battle.  J

 

Other than that, we really haven't done very much other than visiting family here and there.  We were really busy the weekend and week before Easter and also the weekend of Easter.  We think we were doing too much because Bethany started having a lot of nightmares that week, not night terrors, but she woke up crying every night of the week.  Finally, the Saturday night before Easter, we had apparently done way too much with her and she was hysterical that night.  So, the week after Easter, we did very little.  I kept her in and we didn't do much visiting or have anyone in.  She needed down time, so I made sure she had a very laid back week.  After that, she's been fine.  Sometimes we still forget that she gets overwhelmed after too much activity, and she'd had WAY too much for way too long.  Other than that one week episode, she's doing great.  She's so sweet and continues to show us that she's attaching with spontaneous acts of love. 

 

I've worked my final day, last Friday, April 13.  I went in for the day to clean out my office and process out.  I haven't worked since December 30, so it was quite an adjustment to leave my little sleeping beauty home with her Daddy and go to work.  It really cemented in my mind that I made the right decision in staying home with Bethany permanently.  I just couldn't imagine having to leave her every day when we've already missed so much.  She sure enjoyed her day with her Daddy though.  J

 

Guess that's all for now.  We're planning a trip to Audubon Zoo later this week, so we'll post pics from that day.  Thanks again to my friends at CNMOC for a gift we'll enjoy all year!  J 
 

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Fun with Cousins

These are some pics from the other week when Bethany's cousins from Atlanta were here.  Wish they were closer - she had so much fun playing with them!

 

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Aquarium visit

Our first visit to the Aquarium in New Orleans!  Thank you CNMOC!  :)  We're looking forward to a year's worth of fun!
 

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April 8 - Easter

Today, we're thankful for a risen Savior, an empty tomb, and the sweetest little girl in the world.  She has made our Easter even more special.  She seemed to really enjoy Easter.  Of course, she doesn't understand anything about it, but she loves all of the candy, hunting eggs, and the general "stuff".  We have laughed at how much candy she can actually fit in her mouth.  Her cheeks were about to bust at one point from all of the candy that she was hoarding in her mouth.  J

 

We've had another busy several weeks.  Busy, but good. We had a surprise shower at CNMOC – my workplace – a couple of weeks ago.  They were so sweet and generous to us.  The office went together and gave Bethany, Todd, and I a year's membership to the Audubon Institute which encompasses the zoo, aquarium, and insectarium in New Orleans.  We are so excited!  The zoo is right by Children's Hospital, so when we take her down for doctor's appointments, we'll get to take her to have fun too, so the day won't be quite so bad for her.  Thank you again to my friends at CNMOC!  J

 

Bethany attended her first birthday party a couple of weeks for our good friend, Ms. Presley, who turned one.  It was a really fun afternoon and Bethany loved being around the other kids – even if she won't play with them.  J  She loves to observe.  J  She had a really great time being outside for the afternoon, and she got to pet a horse for the first time.  Crystal, Presley's mom, had cheese puffs, so our little girl was in paradise – outside, other kids, and cheese puffs.  What more can a little girl ask for?  We also had a really good friend from Orlando come and the same weekend as the birthday party.  We really enjoyed getting to see her, and finally on the 4^th and last day of her visit, Bethany warmed up to her a little bit.  Enough so that she finally let our friend kind of halfway kiss her cheek.  It takes her a while to warm up…….Be warned!

 

Todd's dad and stepmom came back into town for awhile, so Bethany and I went to see them.  Her 3 cousins from Atlanta also came down last week for their Spring Break.  She had never met them, but she loved playing with all 3 of the kids!  They were so sweet to her, and we got some good pics of them playing with her.  We were amazed at how fast she warmed up to them.  My grown niece, Sarah, that lives here locally took our 2 nieces and nephew to Chuck E. Cheese last Thursday, and Bethany and I met them there.  Again, Sarah and I were both so surprised at how fast Bethany started enjoying Chuck E. Cheese.  I was concerned that the high noise level might scare her, but she loved it.  Her favorite things to do were the rides – she didn't want to get off, so we had some fit throwing at times.  It was so much fun to watch her having fun, so we'll have to go back soon.

 

Bethany has really started becoming a lot more affectionate in the last several weeks.  She'll walk up to Todd and I and grab onto our legs and hug us, and she has started giving kisses and hugs.  She also has gotten to the point that she will lay her head on our shoulders.  Before, she would only lay her head on our shoulders when she was tired or asleep, but now she lays her head on our shoulders for no reason whatsoever.  That is HUGE, and we are so excited!  Before, she would reciprocate some love, but now, she is showing love and affection without it first being shown to her.  It probably sounds crazy to be so excited, but we finally feel like she's starting to love us back.  She would never let us rock her before, unless she woke up in the middle of the night, but we've been rocking her to sleep for her nap instead of laying her in her crib.  Again, it's a huge step and really shows us she's bonding and attaching to us.  Of course, we've been bonded and attached to her, but it has taken her a little while, which is very normal for her situation.  We are so blessed to be at this point – God has done a miracle in her little wounded heart and soul, and we pray He continues to heal her emotionally and physically.

 

Bethany has also made lots of progress with hearing and speech.  She is imitating lots of sounds and words.  Every day she is saying something new.  It's hard to understand a lot of it, but we can tell by the inflection in her voice when she's repeating something.  Our favorite thing she's learned to say is her first sentence that she learned from her toy cell phone:  "I Love You".  J  I can't remember who gave her that talking cell phone, but I am so thankful for it.  It's worth a million dollars to us to hear her say that.  J  She also got a great report at her ENT visit last week.  He was very pleased with her tubes and their function, and he also ordered a hearing test while we were at Children's.  When we first went to the ENT back in February and she had a hearing test, she had hearing impairment, but this hearing test was normal!!!  J  We knew she was hearing so much better, but it was good to have it confirmed with an actual test.  Her appointment with the Cleft Team at Children's is next Monday, the 16^th.  We're anxious to finally get the ball rolling, but at the same time, really dreading her surgery as it gets closer and closer.   We'll post more on that after her visit.

 

Guess that's all for now.  Thanks for keeping up with Bethany!
 

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