WOW!!

Callie had an appointment at the Hematologist today for a platelet count.  Her last count was in July and was 57,000, her platelet count today was 141,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I could not believe it!  I thought her platelet count would be up a little since she really had no petechiae, but I was not expecting 141,000.  

Callie was also the hit of the office.  Her doctor, the nurses and office staff were so excited to see her and could not believe how much she had changed.  Callie was all smiles for everyone and really seemed to enjoy all the attention.

Tomorrow we go back to Cranial Technologies to get Callie's Doc Band, so hopefully that goes well.  I'll have to get busy decorating the band.  I'm ready with all my stickers!!

Backyard expansion . . .

So this morning I woke up to see that our backyard expansion project was complete . . .  Turns out the wind we had all day yesterday and last night thought it would be a good idea to blow down our back fence!!  We have had problems with our whole fence since the day we moved in, so it is not much of a surprise to me that something finally happened.  The fence posts were so rotted that they broke right off at ground level, and it wasn't even that windy last night.  In March we had a storm with near 100 mph winds and nothing happened to the fence.  

I'm not sure what I am going to do about this.  The neighbors weren't home when I checked earlier and I hear they can be pretty tricky to work with, so we will see how it goes.  Ozzie hasn't been too bad about getting into the other yard, but I don't think that will last.  I will probably have to make a Home Depot trip either today or tomorrow to find some sort of temporary fencing to keep him out of their yard.  

A week of firsts . . .

So I can not believe that it has already been three weeks since we have been back home!  The time has just really flown by.  I have been trying to keep the two of us busy and apparently it has been working :)

This last week has been a sort of exciting one . . .  Callie has her first top tooth coming in, the only thing is that it is not one of her top front teeth.  So that makes five teeth altogether, four on the bottom and one on the top.  Hopefully she gets those top front teeth soon so I can stop worrying about it :)

Callie also said her first word on Friday.  Well, I'm pretty sure it was a word and will continue to think it is the first until I hear something more definitive.  I guess I'm also partial because the word is mama :)  When she says it she looks at me and smiles, so to me it seems as though she knows what she is saying!

Callie also had her first day care experience on Friday.  I went to a Mom's League meeting with my neighbor and they suggest using the day care service they provide for all kids ten months and up.  I was pretty nervous about leaving her, but she did great!  The workers even said that when the other kids were getting fussy and their moms came to pick them up Callie didn't even seem to mind.  This was great news for me since I plan to start going back to our local gym to do some classes and it makes me feel better about leaving her in the Kids Club.

First kisses were also given out by Callie this week.  I have a big teddy bear that was mine as a child and brought it out for Callie to play with the other day.  She got the biggest kick out of it, and when I asked her to give the bear a kiss she leaned forward and planted one right on the nose!  It was so cute!  Here is a picture of Callie with the bear.  She doesn't look very happy in the picture because once I got the camera out she wanted to play with it . . .

And to end the firsts, Callie had her first miniature train ride on Saturday :)  We went with Scott's family to a train in Fort Worth, near the zoo.  Callie and her cousin Haley had so much fun!  The train goes through a big park and over a couple of bridges.  There was lots of nature to see, people to wave at, and birds to watch.

waiting for the train to leave

Callie's famous "ooohhh" face.  I think this one was because she saw some birds

On the train with Cousin Haley

Cranial Technologies

On Wednesday we went back to Cranial Technologies to reevaluate Callie's head shape.  For those of you that are new to reading the blog, or have forgotten, I'll give some history . . .

When Callie was about three months old we noticed she had some flattening on one side of her head.  We talked to the pediatrician and she suggested repositioning.  We tried what we could, but it didn't seem to get better.  By the time we saw the pediatrician again Callie's head shape had not improved so she recommended that we visit with the people at Cranial Technologies.  CT is a company that makes a corrective band called a Doc Band to essentially remold the head back into a more correct shape.  It's a sort of helmet/band that needs to be worn 23 hours a day for multiple months.  

Callie was five months old when we had her head measured and a Doc Band was recommended and we were ready to start treatment.  The only bad thing was that it was two weeks until we left to go to Japan and starting treatment at that point was out of the option.

So, we are back to Wednesday.  We went back to CT, and although Callie has had some slight improvement they are still recommending treatment.  Usually treatment starts around four to five months of age, but older babies are still very treatable.  The only thing that's different is that treatment will last longer to get the same results.  So Callie will most likely have the Doc Band on for most of the off season.

We go back in two weeks to get the Doc Band and then we will see how it goes.  I'm sad that Callie will have to wear this helmet/band thing for so long, but it will be good for her.  The severity of her flattening can lead to possible vision, hearing and/or jaw problems so we are doing the treatment to prevent this, not just so her head will look more round.

I'm sure she will get some interesting looks while we are out and about, but I'm not too worried about it.  A lot of the parents decorate their kids' helmets.  When we were in the office on Wednesday there was a little girl with a Doc Band that was painted pink and said "I Love Romo" (that's Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys' quarterback).  So I am sure I will have fun with personalizing Callie's band.

I'll add some links to the right side of the blog so if you want some more info you can check it out.  The CT website has some great before and after pictures so it is worth checking out.  

So we will enjoy our next two weeks Doc Band free.  Hopefully Callie will still be able to wear bows with the band :)

Callie and I have been having some fun the last couple of days.  We made a second trip to Target :), gone on numerous walks, played in the backyard, and today we went to Red Robin for lunch!!  

And good news, I found the camera so here are some pictures . . .

eating bubbles!!

bubble mustache :)

It's kind of hard to tell, but Callie is drinking out of a straw!!  She figured it out on Wednesday night and loves it!

playing in the backyard with Ozzie

not so sure about the grass :)

What jet lag????

Our little Callie is quite the resilient girl.  We have been home for a week and for the last three nights she has been sleeping through the night again.  Last night she didn't make a sound until 7am this morning, so I also got a great night's sleep.  What's even better is that I went upstairs to give her a pacifier and she has gone back to sleep for another 1 1/2 hours.  She has definitely made the transition home well.  She seems to enjoy sleeping in her room (yeah) and really likes her new more roomy car seat.

We are off to visit with the Atchison family today.  I'm sure Callie will love playing with her two three year old cousins and new five month old cousin, and of course Great Grandma and every one else :)

I have some new pictures to post, but have somehow misplaced the camera.  So once I find it I'll put up some new pictures. 

Best Friends!

Callie and our dog Ozzie are quickly becoming best friends.  They always need to know where the other one is.  Ozzie even helps me wake Callie up in the morning by giving her a little lick between the slats of her crib :)  Here are some pictures from the last couple of days . . .