Cuteness

Updates in the “cute things my kid is doing” category:

Roxanne has learned the word “brush” – the verb, evidently, not the noun. She'll grab any longish object (a fork, for example), run it over her hair and say, “brush.” This often results in food in the hair.

She's been swaying and bouncing to music for a long time, and now she's trying to snap to music after seeing me do it. She doesn’t make a sound yet, and doesn’t seem to mind.

When she sees cars go by, plays with her toy cars (I made a point of giving her dolls and cars. No gender stereotyping here!), or sees a picture of a car, she makes a “vroom, vroom” sound. Evidently, this counts as a word because she does it consistently.

She’s started “reading” to herself. She picks up a book, usually holds it upside down, turns the pages and babbles.

Yeah, she's cute. Here she is with my stepson, K. (Notice the softball. Dan is starting early.)

Tough chick

Roxanne totally got tackled by a boy today. I had plans to meet my friend, LP, and her daughter at a lovely park/garden for long walk today. But the desperately-needed rains scratched that idea, so we went to Tysons’ mall instead. While in the kids’ play area, Roxanne was tackled by a kid slightly bigger than her. He kind of jumped on her back, and grabbed her around the neck. The whole thing was a tad startling, but Roxanne didn’t make a peep. On the other hand, when I accidentally slammed the back door at home yesterday, she wailed. Huh. I guess she was being cool in front of the other kids.

Last week, Dan and I hosted his mom and aunt on their second annual D.C. getaway. They are the best guests! We all got along beautifully, they cooked, they entertained themselves, and having a doting grandma and great-auntie here was heaven for Roxanne! One of our outings was the Old Town Alexandria Ghost Tour (I've always wanted to take one!). The tour was mostly about the history of Alexandria, with a few ghost stories thrown in, but still a lot of fun.

Roxanne’s eating is coming along, slowly but surely. On good days, she eats about half of her calories orally, and the other half she gets from the tube. I consider that a great success! More importantly, she’s interested in eating and curious about new foods. Her favorites at the moment: avocado and yogurt. Despite how well she’s doing, I’m in no hurry to get rid of the tube. Roxanne has an even longer way to go with drinking than eating. We were able to make her hungry to motivate her to eat, but dehydration is a more touchy area. Also, I recall that a kid has to be totally weaned off the tube for at least 3 months before a doctor will remove it. So, I’m being patient for a change. How unusual.

Anniversary

Today is a day of reflection for me.

Exactly one year ago, Roxanne was admitted to Fairfax Hospital for seizures. She was quickly diagnosed with Infantile Spasms (IS), and my research uncovered the bleak outcome for most kids who have IS: only about 20-25% develop normally. The worst case scenario? Roxanne could have been stuck with the development of a 2 month old.

October 10, 2006 marked the beginning of a horrible, frightening time in my life. I imagined the worst for Roxanne, but was determined to give her the best chance possible by getting her to the right doctors for the right treatment.

But October 10th also marked an amazing time in my life. Friends like you came out of the woodwork, asking again and again: “How can I help?” At first, I asked everybody to pray for Roxanne in their own way. Then I asked for food, and you brought me food. I asked for babysitters, and you came to watch Roxanne. I asked for support, and you kept me company. I asked for help at home, and you took out my garbage. I have never felt such love and gratitude.

I also found a network of parents of kids with Infantile Spasms, and one of them led me to Dr. P, who ultimately recommended Roxanne for the surgery that stopped her seizures. Again, I was blessed to have found people who helped me so much, and I owe them more than I can ever repay.

Roxanne is one of the lucky ones, and she helped me learn that I am, too.