Friday, April 25th

We received half of the blood test results back this week, and so far so good. Her TSH was elevated last time, but it was normal this time. We are still waiting on the rest to see if Addison has issues with her thyroid. Addison found her toes this week, and has started to pull her feet up to her face to grab them. I wish I were that flexible. I mean really, how cool would it be to pull your feet up to your face and start sucking on your big toe? See what I mean...awesome...

She's still gaining weight and is getting much better at holding her head up. We can hold her up for several minutes, and she can keep that head straight for the most part. I pick her up over my head and she stretches out like superman. I will admit that I don't keep her there for long, since she's gained the unique ability to spit up without notice or fair warning. It can happen at any time, so you have to be on your toes (assuming you're not sucking on them.)

I am pleased to say that as Rach works on Saturday, Addison and I get to spend the ENTIRE day together, which is going to be wonderful. I feel like I haven't seen her much over the past few weeks, so this will be some much needed daddy time with the kid. I thinking we'll play a round of golf together and then I'll teach her how to shoot a pistol. I'm sure both of her grandmothers completely approve... We've included an extra picture of her playing with her feet today. Enjoy!

Sunday, April 20

First of all, I want to let all of you know that I am extraordinarily impressed with all of you reading this page. The fact that you are still checking the page, and bugging us when it isn't updated regularly, shows us that you really care. We feel loved.

The test results came back from the first round of blood that Addison gave, and they showed some inconsistent results, so we had to go back for more. This past Monday, Rach took Addison in to give more blood, and it didn't work out too well. After sticking her a few times, they couldn't get any blood, so we had to reschedule yet again for this past Saturday when I could be around to help. After trying for this a couple of times, we weren't taking any more chances. So, we took her to ERgent Care on Riverside, where the caring hands of Mona and Kristy made it happen. Strong work ladies. Strong work.

Last week, Sooner Start came and was very impressed with Addison's progress. Her movements are more coordinated, she is able to hold her head up much more easily and she spends much more time talking to us. Not only that, but she's getting to the point where she interacts with us more. I'm sure she will be speaking in full sentences by the end of the summer. Addison has also been gaining weight as well. She is up to 11 lbs. which is pretty good for her, and we are still waking her up in the middle of the night to feed her. Hopefuly, that won't last forever.

It really is incredible to see how she is growing. I picked her up after being gone all week, and I could tell that she was thicker and longer. It's so weird to see her grow like she is, and to see her develop. One day, she just decided to start holding her head up on her own when I pick her up, as if she could have been doing it all along. Amazing.

Grammy Alana dropped in for a visit for a couple of days. She was able to take care of Addison while Rach worked. Perfect timing. It's always a pleasure to see Addison spend time with her grandparents and other relatives. To know that there are other people out there who love Addison every bit as much as we do is very comforting, and we look forward to the next time we have a visitor.

If you are interested in saying a little prayer for our little girl, please pray that the blood results, which should come back sometime this week, come back with no problems. The reason we started this in the first place was that there might be a problem with her thyroid. If the results come back normal, that's one more thing we don't have to deal with for now. Enjoy seeing the pictures. We sure enjoyed taking them.

Monday, April 7

Sorry it's been a while since the last update. I'll bring you up to speed. Last Tuesday, Rach and Addison saw the developmental pediatrician to measure Addison's progress. We asked him about Addison not gaining any weight and he responded by telling us to wake her up twice in the middle of the night to feed her and help her gain weight. We did, and she is.

We have also noticed that Addison's hands and feet turn blue and cold several times a day. While this happens with babies from time to time, it seems to be getting worse. On Wednesday, we called the pediatrician and he said he wanted us to see the cardiologist by the end of the week. Since we don't hear that very often, we were a bit concerned. We saw the cardiologist on Thursday, and discovered the problem is not her heart, and she suggested that we check her thyroid level. Today, we had blood taken from Addison.

A little side note here for those of you who have never held your baby down to a table while two, yes two, nurses try to hold down and draw blood from your four month old child; it's not a fun experience. You may recall a story from the Bible in Genesis when God calls Abraham to take his son to the top of a mountain and sacrifice him. While not exactly the same, I was holding Addison firmly down on a table, and a woman was holding a very sharp object next to her arm, while Rach is in the corner hoping the situation doesn't turn south. The first of many uncomfortable situations, I'm sure.

Apparently the blood-taking situation was harder on Rach and me than it was on Addison. The nurse was smooth as ice. In...Draw...Out...Done. I wanted to give her a high five for being so good at it, but she was still holding the needle. You should know that Addison didn't cry at all. No tears. She's hardcore! We find out the test results tomorrow.

In other news, we met with a woman today about keeping Addison on a regular basis when Rach is working. Her name is Peggy in Broken Arrow, OK. Retired kindergarten teacher, and mother of three older children (additional info provided upon request for our law enforcement friends), she's looking for a summer job as a nanny. We like her and you should too. She's starting on Wednesday.

Rach went back to work last week, which is good because there's no reason for that brilliant gift of hers to go to waste. Talk to you soon.