Grace and I spent the last couple nights alone together, because Michelle was away at the funeral for the father of an old friend. I realized in those few nights how much I can't do. Tubby night was a big-time adventure, but it paled in comparison to hair time in the morning. Grace was crying big tears yesterday morning when she realized that mom wasn't going to be there to put her in a pony tail. So I made a valiant effort, but by the time we arrived at preschool the pony tail was gone. Thankfully her preschool teacher was willing to help out.
On the baby front, everything is going well. Michelle is definitely feeling better the last couple weeks. We're scheduled to get the amnio test done the last week of April, and it's only supposed to take 7-10 days for us to get the results on whether the baby has SMA or not. Those will be a nervous few weeks, but we're prepared for the news either way.
Grace's names for the baby change daily. For awhile it was Dylan for a boy and Peppermint for a girl, but then it was Josh for a boy and Emily for a girl. Then, on the way to preschool this morning she told me the new baby should be named Pepito, regardless of whether it was a boy or girl. I'm not sure how much of a say she'll have in the final decision, although sadly it will probably be more of a say than I'll have.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
March 15, 2009
Just checked the site for the first time in awhile and noticed the new design, which looks really good. My sister Beth started Race 4 Grace and the website a couple years ago, then last year Michelle's brother Austin began running the website. He does a great job, and hopefully we'll get him some current pictures to get on the site (now that basketball season is over, our lives return to more of a state of normalcy!).
I feel some momentum building for RAGBRAI. My good college buddy Pat is planning on riding a couple days, and that will surely cause others to want to ride. Michelle is definitely planning on being around, although her pregnancy will keep her from riding this year. On that note, we're planning on getting our new baby tested for SMA via amnio testing. If we stay on what we think is the schedule, we should know sometime in May whether our new little one has SMA or not. We are praying every day for a healthy baby, but we're fine with either outcome. If you have any prayer leverage, please pray for our new little one to be SMA-free.
I feel some momentum building for RAGBRAI. My good college buddy Pat is planning on riding a couple days, and that will surely cause others to want to ride. Michelle is definitely planning on being around, although her pregnancy will keep her from riding this year. On that note, we're planning on getting our new baby tested for SMA via amnio testing. If we stay on what we think is the schedule, we should know sometime in May whether our new little one has SMA or not. We are praying every day for a healthy baby, but we're fine with either outcome. If you have any prayer leverage, please pray for our new little one to be SMA-free.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
February 28, 2009
Big news: Grace is going to be a big sister. Michelle is expecting our second child, with the tentative due date in late September. We are really excited, and Grace is over-the-top excited. We were talking the other day about changing our guest bedroom into the baby's room, and Grace said she had decided that the baby would just be moving into her bedroom with her.
There is a 75% chance that this baby will be SMA-free, and a 25% chance that we'll have another child with SMA. We have been well aware of these numbers when trying to decide whether we wanted another child, but in the end we decided it'll be well worth it. We'll rejoice if we we have a healthy baby, and if we have another SMA child, we'll hope and pray that it's another one with Grace's personality. Plus, Grace will be able to teach her little sibling all about driving wheelchairs and other cool things.
There is a 75% chance that this baby will be SMA-free, and a 25% chance that we'll have another child with SMA. We have been well aware of these numbers when trying to decide whether we wanted another child, but in the end we decided it'll be well worth it. We'll rejoice if we we have a healthy baby, and if we have another SMA child, we'll hope and pray that it's another one with Grace's personality. Plus, Grace will be able to teach her little sibling all about driving wheelchairs and other cool things.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
February 14, 2009
Grace had a Valentine's Day party at preschool yesterday, and she was fired up big time for it. She made Valentine's for all her classmates the night before. She's gotten pretty good lately about drawing rather than just scribbling. Currently she can draw flowers, the sun, trees, and people. Her people are pretty hilarious. They're big circles with four lines coming out of them--two arms and two legs. She does make sure to include all the facial features as well.
She had an appointment with her brace maker last week, and he said it was pretty evident that she's grown quite a bit in the last six months. She has to get two new pairs of braces--her full length ones called KAFO's (Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthotics) and her small ones called AFO's (Ankle-Foot Orthotics. She wears her KAFO's to school every day, but on weekends we usually let her wear just her AFO's. Needless to say she's not crazy about wearing her KAFO's, because they're pretty big and unfomfortable. However, they do wonders for her stability in standing, and they keep her knees from buckling in.
She had an appointment with her brace maker last week, and he said it was pretty evident that she's grown quite a bit in the last six months. She has to get two new pairs of braces--her full length ones called KAFO's (Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthotics) and her small ones called AFO's (Ankle-Foot Orthotics. She wears her KAFO's to school every day, but on weekends we usually let her wear just her AFO's. Needless to say she's not crazy about wearing her KAFO's, because they're pretty big and unfomfortable. However, they do wonders for her stability in standing, and they keep her knees from buckling in.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
February 3, 2009
As the home page of the website says, the RAGBRAI route has been announced. It starts in Council Bluffs and runs through southern Iowa. A southern start will present some challenges because we have more connections in central and northern Iowa, but the Race 4 Grace team is determined to get things going again this year. At this point our main goal is to come up with some sort of small bus to have as a support vehicle during the ride. In the past we've used a bunch of mini-vans and cars, but we're thinking it would be ideal to have a single large support vehicle.
On a different note, Grace is the "Star Student of the Week" at her school this week, and she's loving that. She had to bring a big poster that told all about her and the things she likes, and other than that, I'm not sure what they do for her at school. She definitely doesn't mind the attention, however.
On a different note, Grace is the "Star Student of the Week" at her school this week, and she's loving that. She had to bring a big poster that told all about her and the things she likes, and other than that, I'm not sure what they do for her at school. She definitely doesn't mind the attention, however.
Friday, January 23, 2009
January 23, 2009
Yesterday Grace and I were eating breakfast together, and she changed my day. I was in mourning from a loss the night before and hadn't slept much because of the loss. Then Grace asked, "Daddy, do bunnies talk?" Followed up by, "Daddy, will you tell me a spooky Halloween story on the way to preschool today?" I thought to myself, Grace doesn't care if we won or lost the night before, so stop pouting. She's pretty good about that.
Incidentally, the Halloween story is one of her favorites and usually follows a similar plot-line. Either Petey the Puppy and Sammy the Sheep or the Three Little Dollies end up getting chased by a ghost down a dark street until Grace decides that the story has gotten too scary--at which point the ghost turns into a friendly ghost and all the characters live happily ever after.
Incidentally, the Halloween story is one of her favorites and usually follows a similar plot-line. Either Petey the Puppy and Sammy the Sheep or the Three Little Dollies end up getting chased by a ghost down a dark street until Grace decides that the story has gotten too scary--at which point the ghost turns into a friendly ghost and all the characters live happily ever after.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
January 17, 2008
Not too much new on our end. Grace is getting her fill of Briar Cliff basketball games. Her policy is that she must wear one of her two cheerleader outfits to each game, no exceptions. I brought her into the locker room with me after one of our home wins in December, and now she wants to do it every time. It's fun, she'll go around and give all the guys high fives.
Grace got her new wheelchair delivered yesterday. She's still going to use her Dani as her primary means of mobility, but it'll be nice to have the wheelchair at home when the Dani is at school.
Grace got her new wheelchair delivered yesterday. She's still going to use her Dani as her primary means of mobility, but it'll be nice to have the wheelchair at home when the Dani is at school.
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