Cheese

Last night, during dinner, Delilah learned the art of 'cheese'. Nope, not the food. She has known about the yumminess of cheese for a while now. By 'cheese' I mean the squinty eyed, cheesy smile you get when you say "cheese". Luckily I had my camera on hand, so I was able to capture a few of her super cute expressions. (The gunk on her face is her dinner...obviously. We had red beans and rice. Yummy!) Due to the serious bad lighting in my house I changed all the pictures to black and white. Otherwise, she looks like an oompa loompa in all the pics.

Speaking of cheese, have any of you ever tried dipping Peppered Jack Cheese in caramel? DELISH! Thanks Jenn!

Santa Layout

Breakfast with Santa

This morning we headed to the Galleria for Breakfast with Santa. All the different Early Intervention programs for children with special needs are invited to this event. We decided to attend early (as soon as the doors opened at 7:30) to avoid the rush. Glad we did. The place started to fill up after an hour and I heard it just continued to get crazier and crazier.

After we nibbled on some breakfast pizza (aka Cheese) and a banana we headed to see Santa. We were only the second in line, with no one behind us. For there being no wait, we were seriously rushed. The girls weren't paying any attention to what they were doing and Santa looked like he was scared to death to hold her. Needless to say, the picture isn't the best. Luckily it was free, cause there is no way I would have paid. I plan to try again, but we will be going to the Bass Pro Shop. Not only will they take the photo for free, but they will let me take photos too. (Thanks Lindy for the info!)

Anyhow, here are the pictures from this morning. I tried to take some pics of Delilah in her dress before we left, but as you will see, she isn't very happy. We tried the Carousel again, but Delilah wouldn't sit on the reindeer, so I had to hold her. I think she still enjoyed it. The first pic with Santa is the originals, followed by some edits. I am trying to pick one I like to print, so let me know which you like best in the comments. I will number each. After the event we headed to Jennifer's house to change and relax before Physical Therapy. No sense going all the way home just to turn around and come back. Enjoy the pics.

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Trip Overview

As you all know, Sunday thru Tuesday we were in Valdosta, Georgia and Gainesville, Florida for our appointment with Dr. Miller. Quick trip, but well worth it. I will start at the beginning.

We left early Sunday morning for our 6 hour drive to Valdosta. The drive went pretty well. Delilah seemed happy watching Baby Signing Times and sleeping. I was expecting a much fussier baby, as she has some teeth coming in right now, but she did really well on the way down.

We stayed in Valdosta with our friends Monica, Michelle, and Alex, who used to be our neighbors in Alaska. (We wish Justin wasn't on TDY. We missed seeing him.) We have really missed them. Delilah was very happy to have some kids to play with. She was constantly laughing and crawling all over the place. Alex, who is 3, insisted on taking a bath with Delilah. They were so cute playing in the tub together.

On Monday morning we made the 2 hour drive to Gainesville for our 11:00 appointment with Dr. Miller. Delilah slept the entire way. Our appointment couldn't have gone better. Dr. Miller was beyond thrilled with Delilah's progress. She said we have been doing everything exactly right and shouldn't change a thing. We were relieved to hear it. 

My main concern was her diet. Delilah eats what every other "normal" toddler eats. Everything is relatively healthy choices, like veggies, fruits and meats, very limited sugar. I was worried that I may be giving her too many carbs, like pancakes for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Dr. Miller reassured me and said she needs the carbs for development and not to change anything right now. We will begin sending her monthly weight checks, and if she sees a spike in weight we will re-adjust her dietary needs. But even then, she said we will only be making slight changes. 

We also asked about toys related to food. Is it ok for her to play with 'fake' food and have a Play Kitchen? The answer, ABSOLUTELY. She will know the difference between the real and fake, and it's a great tool for her imagination. So happy to hear it. I couldn't imagine our house without a play kitchen in it. We really want her to have one like this:

Link: http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?SKU=16763594&RN=7246&

Two reasons: First, it's retro and pink. Need I say more! The other (main) reason is it is not made of plastic. The plastic kitchens are nice but they are too light and she would constantly be pulling it on top of herself. Definite safety issue. This one is made of wood and is very sturdy. Unfortunately this isn't in our budget at the moment. Maybe I can save for her birthday. Until then I can make her some felt food to use with her new shopping cart she got from the Martins. I am seeing a cute little Grocery Store project in my future!

Oops, got a little off topic. Back to the appointment. The best part about our appointment was John finally meeting Dr. Miller. I know the diagnosis has been harder on him, mostly because he was deployed for so long and hasn't really had a chance to make any appointments. He had some questions of his own, to better understand PWS. Dr. Miller answered them all and you could just see the relief just wash over him. He is so happy we have such a knowledgeable and caring doctor on our team. We left the appointment very, very happy.

After the appointment we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel before heading back to Valdosta. Delilah did so good we decided to reward her with a treat. She has some baked chicken and baked apples for lunch. If you have ever had the baked apples at Cracker Barrel, you know how eewy, gooey delicious they are. Delilah loved them, and has the face to prove it. 

 

The rest of our visit with the Martin's was very relaxed and enjoyable. Wish we could have stayed longer, but it's back to work for John and therapies for Delilah. 

Our drive home was a bit tiring. Delilah was very cranky. She no longer wanted to be in her seat, but who can blame her. The final three hour stretch I had to sit in the back with her to try to keep her settled. Not an easy task. We were thrilled when we finally made it home. It's a good thing we don't have any trips to make in the future. We are road tripped out! 

I think I covered everything. This is a pretty lengthy post. We will be having breakfast with Santa tomorrow, so I am sure I will post again in the next few days. Hope you are all having a good week!

Home

We are home from our three day trip. I will update tomorrow with the details. Right now, I plan to veg out on the couch and then get to bed early. I am EXHAUSTED!

On Our Way

We are on the road to see Dr. Miller. Our appointment is tomorrow. Can't wait for her to see all of Delilah's progress. But before we see her, we will be stopping in Valdosta, Georgia where our neighbors from Alaska now live. It will be so great to see them. It's amazing the friendships you can make in the military. I know that no matter where life will take us, we will always be friends with the Martins.

I will let you know how the appointment goes.

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The Christmas Dress

Delilah has a new dress, and it is perfect! I love, love, love it! She is going to look super cute in it. Can't wait for Breakfast with Santa! (The best part about this dress...no one else will have it!)

I almost forgot, I am on the lookout for cream/beige colored shoes and a sweater to go with this dress. If you happen to see some out and about, please let me know where. Thanks!

To read more about this dress, check out my other blog!