Much better

We started Audrey on a different medicine, Prevacid, last Thursday and within 24 hours she was a different baby - Praise the Lord! She's now taking Prevacid and Zantac and only getting medecine 3 times a day instead of 5 times a day as it was before with Zantac and Reglan. Her awake times are full of smiles and she's much more content. Now if we could just get the teeth that are bothering her to come in she might be a really happy baby. :0) We're still struggling with getting her to take good naps but if we can keep her up for about 3 hours at a time, she'll sleep for about an hour. It just takes lots of entertainment, patience, and distraction to keep her up that long and sometimes it just doesn't work. She loves chewing on her hands and is usually a slobbery mess.

Tiptoe Troubles

We took Anna to the pediatric physical therapist yesterday for a check-up. She started walking on her tiptoes again a few months ago and I mentioned it to Dr. Miller at her 3 year check-up. She wanted her to start seeing the PT again after checking her range of motion in her feet and noticing how tight she was. The PT, Miss Vicky, (which Anna can now say correctly - it used to be Miss Bicky), said that she probably reverted back to toe walking because of a growth spurt so it's something we'll have to deal with regularly unless we go after this aggressively. To walk comfortably your range of motion in your foot needs to be 15 degrees and Anna is at a 6. So, unfortunately, we're going to have to try leg braces to see if this helps her stay on her heels and stretch her tendons enough that she can overcome this permanently. We take her to the orthopedic specialist in 2 weeks to get fitted and once they are made she'll have to wear the braces for 8 hours a day during awake times. Thankfully the weather will be getting cooler soon and her pants will cover them. She'll need to wear them for at least 6 months or possibly a year. If we don't do anything now, she'll more than likely end up needing surgery that will require cutting the tendons in her heels to loosen the muslces in her legs. We definitely don't want to go there. She also doesn't have much of an arch, is almost flat footed which is genetic, so the braces will have an arch in them which help create one for her. This should keep her from having leg, hip, and back pain and injuries later on. Prayerfully she'll only have to wear the braces for the minimum amount of time and we won't have to deal with this anymore. We're also greatful she's young enough that wearing the braces shouldn't faze her much.

Giggly Girls

The girls were having so much fun this morning and I'm so glad I captured it. I wanted to get positioned so I could get Audrey's face but I was afraid that if she saw me it would distract her. Enjoy the laughter! This is the happiest Audrey's been in weeks it seems like. We've decided to switch medicine as the dosage increase hasn't seemed to make a difference. Hopefully this will!

Wild Hair

Anna's hair is so pretty after we wash it and blow dry it. It has lots of natural curl and is very easy to do. I often wonder how it can go from being so "tame" and pretty at night to absolutely wild by morning. :0)

Bath time

I am so greatful that Audrey likes bath time. She can be very fussy and we'll start her bath water and she immediately calms down and is very content in the tub. She's been fussy quite a bit lately, even with the dosage increase in her medicine. Dr. Miller told us last Friday to give it a week to see if the increase in meds helps any and if not, we'll switch to a different medicine. She's continuing to gain weight and stay on the 12th percentile mark - she was 12 lb. 14 oz. and is now getting closer to the 75th percentile for length at 25 1/2 inches. She's long and lean and very healthy despite her reflux troubles.

Beautiful weather

We've been enjoying the awesome temperatures around here lately...so atypical for August! Anna has played outside lots which has been good for her and mommy. She's getting bored more quickly these days and I sometimes find myself wracking my brain trying to come up with things for her to do. She plays quite well most of the time and is such a great helper - usually, sometimes a little too much. :0) She starts preschool after Labor Day and while she's excited and will absolutely love it, mommy is a bit apprehensive. My little helper, companion, chatterbox will be gone for 2 1/2 hours 2 mornings a week - what will I do?! I keep reminding myself that she's not leaving for college, just going to socialize for a short time. It'll be good for Audrey and I to have one-on-one time and like they say, absence always makes the heart grow fonder. I think Audrey will miss her too as she's so used to Anna entertaining her or playing right beside her.

5 Months Old

It's hard to believe how much our baby has changed in just 5 months! Praise the Lord she's growing, continuing to gain weight, and developing on track. Our first month was so stressful with her not gaining weight but we praise God for medecine and a good pediatrician. We go back for a check-up this Friday which is much needed as she's having a lot more reflux discomfort again and not enjoying being flat on her back. Our typically happy baby has been quite fussy lately. :0( She loves to play with her feet. She even chews on her toes! Keeping socks on her is about impossible. She either pushes them off with her heels or pulls them off with her hands. :0) Here she is playing in the Johnny Jumper. She was chattering away before I turned on the camera and of course once she saw it, she got quiet and then fussy. She's just going to have to get used to seeing the camera because it rarely leaves mommy's side.

Definitely Sisters

You can tell they're sisters although they don't look exactly alike. Audrey has the same shape of face I had as a baby and Anna had the same shape of face Michael had as a baby. Audrey is a bit older than Anna was, about a month, in these pictures but it's still fun to compare. Audrey Anna Audrey Anna

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma Murphy!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Murphy! 80 years old...Wow! She's been through so much the past few years having had 2 major abdominal surgeries, a broken hip, broken arm, and the list goes on. She's a strong woman, definitely a fighter, and very special to me. Audrey was able to meet her Great Grandpa Heidenreich while we were there as well. She did great letting everyone hold her.

Jump, Jump, Jump

The Johnny Jumper has made it's way out of the closet and Audrey is loving it! Anna thinks it's a swing to push her in so we have to watch closely when Audrey is in it but she has a great time jumping around and watching everything her big sister does. Anna does a good job entertaining her. She likes to bring all her toys right beside wherever Audrey is and play beside her.

Green beans

Last week Daddy and Curt picked us some green beans. They smelled so good! There's nothing like fresh vegetables straight from the garden. Anna enjoyed helping Daddy snip the beans...a task Mommy and Daddy did lots of when we were kids.

Pears anyone?

As you can see, Audrey's not too into pears but she seems to really like bananas.