Gracie's First Halloween!

Gracie's school does a costume parade every year so we needed to bring Gracie's costume with her to school this morning. We had bought a giraffe costume for her almost two months ago, but never thought about trying it on her, so we decided to see how it looked on this morning... and she hated it! She kicked and screamed until we took it off, so we panicked and ended up putting her into her Texas Longhorns cheerleader outfit as back-up. I dropped her off, and at 10:45 was back with Grammy Sherrie to take pictures of the parade! The infant classroom came out first, and the ones that weren't quite walking yet were in three of the rolling cribs (I thought that was a good idea). Gracie just chilled with her friend Carson for awhile (he's the red bat) and then when the other classrooms filed out into the parking lot for the parade she stood up and got more interested. I went and got her and we all walked around in the parade a bit. It was fun to see her friends all dressed up in their cute, silly costumes! Then we left because we had an appointment at Portrait Innovations at 12:40 to get Gracie's fall pictures taken!

We went to Target first to kill some time, and Gracie was a little fussy and tired when we stopped for lunch, so we decided to run home and feed her there. Well she ended up passing out for her first nap of the day 20 minutes before her picture appointment, so I called to reschedule and they moved us to 2:40. Gracie slept til 2:15, then downed a huge lunch, and we made it to the studio by 2:50. They got us right in and we put the giraffe costume on her at the very last minute. She stood it for just a few minutes, then she got mad (I think it was really hot, plus it was still a bit big for her). Then we had a cool-weather fall outfit and then a pajama shoot that was so cute. I would definitely say that her 7 month pictures were the easiest (remember the tutu, bucket, and flower pictures this summer?). At that point she could sit up straight, but wasn't as mobile. Now that she can go where she wants, she just crawls right out of the picture!Hopefully her one-year-old/Christmas pictures will be easier, although at that point we're predicting she'll be walking so she might just take off running! =)

Enjoy the pics! We have PLENTY (they had a great deal going on) so just ask if you want some!

Unfortunately, we decided not to take Gracie out Trick-or-Treating this year. Her picture appointment lasted until 4:30, and then we came home and played for awhile. Then Daddy wanted to spend some time with her when he got home, and it was dark before we knew it. I don't think she would have wanted to wear that giraffe again anyway. Well, next year she will get to pick her own costume, so she can pick out whatever SHE likes! =)

A party and a hat

Saturday we went to my Aunt Dyana's 40th birthday party at Gran's house! Gracie had such a great time visiting with everyone, playing with the balloons and dogs, and helping Daddy watch the Texas game!

Here is an adorable hat Gracie's Aunt Myka bought for her from Janie & Jack (I absolutely love that store!). It is great at keeping her ears warm on these cold mornings and is so cute!

It never ends....

Gracie's ear infections came back with a vengeance yesterday. She is now on her third antibiotic in one month for them. However, her doctor does not think she is resistant to the antibiotics, rather that the ear infections are recurring as soon as she finishes the medicine. Gracie is now on a stronger penicillin-based antibiotic that she must take twice a day, and also on a nasal spray-type of medicine that her doctor hopes will gradually ease the pressure on her sinuses and therefore allow her ears to drain better, preventing more ear infections from occurring. If in six weeks this theory hasn't worked to suppress the infections, Gracie will have to have tubes put in her ears.

The struggle with the insurance to get Gracie to see the urologist at Children's is still ongoing. They seem to care more about where the referral is coming from than Gracie's health. It is very frustrating; it's just a piece of paper, for crying out loud! I told Dr. Conger about the whole issue yesterday, and she got very angry about the way they are handling it and she is going to call herself and try to use some of her professional influence to get Dr. Len to write the referral for Gracie. Hopefully that works! We are so blessed to have found such a great, proactive pediatrician in Dr. Conger. She is busy and runs her practice, but she always takes the time to talk about everything going on and make sure that we can get everything covered, while all the time having Gracie's best interests at heart and as her ultimate goal. She is awesome!

Please keep my grandfather Gerald Harris in your prayers, as well. His multiple myeloma is in remission, but he has stopped treatment and is leaving the hospital for at-home hospice care. My stepmother Angela started a neat website for updates on his condition: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/geraldharris

Thanks, hope everyone has a great weekend!

Gracie's test results

I heard back from Dr. Conger today. She has diagnosed Gracie with Grade 3 VUR (on a scale of 1-4, with Grade 4 being worst/most severe). Gracie will now need to be seen by a pediatric urologist, and Dr. Conger emailed me a list of several in the DFW area. Most of them do not accept Medicaid, but I found out that the Pediatric Urologists at Children's Medical Center in Dallas accept it. So I called them to make an appointment, and the soonest they can get Gracie in is December 18th, to see one of the urologists, Dr. Warren Snodgrass. Upon further research, this Dr. Snodgrass just happens to be the chief urologist at Children's, as well as a professor of urology at UT Southwestern. So Gracie is going to be seen by the very best! Here is the website for Children's Urology: http://www.childrens.com/Specialties/template.cfm?groupid=4&pageid=12

Now we just need to work out some insurance headaches. Apparently Medicaid will only cover a visit to a specialist if the referral is made by the primary care physician listed on the insurance, which is Gracie's former pediatrician, Dr. Len. However, the tests and diagnosis have been made by Dr. Conger, who is not a Medicaid doctor. I'm now hearing that Medicaid can be suspended if a non-Medicaid doctor orders tests performed, which I asked over and over at the hospital registration before Gracie's tests Friday and was told that it was all covered. So now I am stressing big time and am at the mercy of the Medicaid caseworker to understand my situation. She was supposed to call me back, but I guess didn't get around to it today, so I will call her again tomorrow (and sit on hold for another 45 minutes, ugh). Pray for me, this financial insurance stuff is so chaotic and I just wish they would all put Gracie's best interests first and let her be seen without all these minute details.

Pumpkin Patch!

Whew! What a busy, fun weekend we had! This morning we went to church, then we were off to Terrell for cousin Lilly's birthday party! Gracie had LOADS of fun in the bounce house! Then we went to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch to take some pictures and to find Gracie's first family carving pumpkin. We had a wonderful day! Here is the evidence:

Bounce house with Daddy

Gracie loves to bounce!

Concentrating hard on tearing up this napkin, haha

Fun in the bounce house with cousin Lilly!

A ball makes it twice as fun!

In the fire truck at the pumpkin patch!

Pumpkin house

LOVE this picture!

Peek-a-boo!

Super-strong Gracie! =)

Just kidding! hehe

Hm, this doesn't taste very good...

Family picture at the pumpkin patch!

Here is a video of Gracie bouncing with her cousin Lilly

State Fair of Texas

First we went to the Casteel's house for Logan's 1st birthday party! We had a great time hanging out with our friends (Gracie had so much fun playing with all of Logan's new toys, lol). Then we were off to the State Fair! We were able do everything we wanted (tried a new fried food, went to the petting zoo and auto shows, and David had to get a corn dog), and had a blast! Here are the pictures!

Mommy and Gracie checking out the Honda Fit in the Autoshow

David's favorite place: The Sausage Barn =)

Had to try the chicken fried bacon. Yes, it was good, but no, it wasn't worth the long line.

Strollers weren't allowed in the petting zoo, so Daddy stayed outside to wait with it while Mommy and Gracie looked at all the animals!

Gracie checking out the goats
An enormous pig and a bunch of cute piglets!

Family picture (David holding his precious corndog in the background, lol)

Hanging out with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Bennie!

Daddy and Mommy

Aw, how sweet (gag)
Ashley and Sara!

Daddy killed this sweet picture with his weird smile

Ashley and Sara, being silly

Gracie getting her first bite of ice cream from Aunt Ashley...

...BRR it's cold! =)

Gracie's tests performed today

Gracie had the tests on her urinary system performed at Medical Center of Lewisville today. Here is some information on the reasons for the tests and what they look for:

You may remember that Gracie had a severe urinary tract infection when she was two months old. About one-third of children with a urinary tract infection are found to have vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), which is the abnormal flow of urine from the bladder back into the ureters (tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder). Severe VUR is urine that backs all the way up into the kidneys. VUR can lead to infection because urine that remains in the child's urinary tract provides a place for bacteria to grow. Here is a great website I found that explains VUR: http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/Kudiseases/pubs/vesicoureteralreflux/

Ultrasounds and VCUGs are the most common tests performed to diagnose VUR. The ultrasound looks for obvious visual abnormalities and blockages anywhere in the urinary system that could be caused by infections. The VCUG (voiding cystourethrogram) is an x-ray examination that uses a special form of x-ray called fluroscopy and a contrast material that fills the bladder via a catheter. Fluoroscopy makes it possible to see internal organs in motion. When the bladder is filled with and then emptied of a water-soluble contrast material, the radiologist is able to view and assess the anatomy and function of the bladder and lower urinary tract. Here is another great site that I found that explains VCUGs: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=voidcysto&bhcp=1

Gracie did great during her ultrasound, even "helping" the technician move the wand around. =) I did not get much information about the ultrasound as I could not interpret the images myself, so we will have to see what her doctor says about them. The VCUG was a whole other story. Poor Gracie was so good at first but once that catheter went in she was very unhappy. She quieted down for a minute or two at one point, but was back to bawling by the time they finally pulled the catheter out. I was able to stay next to Gracie in the x-ray room while the VCUG was being done and watched a monitor as the dye backed up one of Gracie's ureters all the way up to her kidney. I should be hearing from Dr. Conger, Gracie's new pediatrician, by Monday or Tuesday at the latest on how we should proceed with these results. I've read that infants at this age usually grow out of primary VUR (reflux caused by an abnormality in a valve where the ureter meets the bladder), and secondary VUR (caused by an infection or blockage anywhere in the urinary system) can be treated with certain antibiotics, so that is encouraging. I'm still concerned that it did back up all the way into Gracie's kidney, though. That means it is severe, although it is only one and not both kidneys.

I will keep everyone updated on what her doctor says. Thanks for the prayers!

P.S. We have a very fun weekend planned, so stay tuned for lots of pictures come Monday! =)
P.P.S. On a random note, today we noticed that tooth #7 popped through! Now she has her four front teeth on the bottom, and three front teeth on the top!
P.P.P.S. And tally up the fourth night in a row (last night) that she slept all through the night in her own crib! Hopefully this keeps up for good now!

Gracie's Recovery and Tests

Gracie is feeling MUCH better. She is eating like a champ, playing and giggling non-stop, even sleeping 11 hours all through the night without a peep in her own crib the last three nights! We even discovered a sixth tooth! Her teachers at Primrose have told me that she is happier and more playful than they've ever seen her, and now I know they're seeing the real Gracie. She was sick for so long, just not herself, losing weight, very clingy, not sleeping well... it's a total one-eighty from how she was a week ago, even a month ago! She is still on her antibiotic for her ear infections, and will continue taking it for another 4 days, after which we will have a follow-up exam with her new doctor.

The hospital called to schedule the tests on her urinary system. They will be tomorrow at Medical Center of Lewisville. Her ultrasound is at 3:15pm, and VCUG at 4. Pray that these tests go well, and that we have great results!

Thank you for all the prayers for us last week. We certainly needed them, and we are all so uplifted by the positive changes in Gracie. I'm never happier than when she's giggling! God is great!

Gracie is very sick

I don't know if her regular pediatrician, Dr. Len, just overlooks things because Gracie is on Medicaid, but she has been to see him three times in the last month, and she's still sick. Her teachers have told me that she just hasn't felt good all week, but when I called her doctor's office they said she's just congested because of the weather changing. Well, last night she started running fevers as high as 102.8. We were able to control them with Tylenol, so we didn't take her to the ER, but we knew she needed to be seen by a doctor this morning. I did not want to wait for two hours at Dr. Len's office just to be told again that she's just congested, so I took her to another pediatrician today and paid full price for a second opinion. $240 later we discover that she has very severe and advanced ear infections with fluid in both ears, which would have been very apparent two weeks ago, when Dr. Len saw her last. He had prescribed her zithromax for what he called a "mild inflamation" that he saw in one ear last week, but I guess it didn't work or something. I really like Dr. Len, but I'm so mad that this was allowed to get so out of control. I trusted his diagnosis several times, but now it looks like I'll be second-guessing everything from now on. Gracie has also lost almost two entire pounds in the last two weeks!

This new doctor, Dr. Conger at Kids First Pediatrics, said she is also concerned about the urinary tract infection Gracie had when she was two months old. She called the Lewisville ER where we took her back then and got her records, turns out they had done a 72-hour urine culture and never notified me of the results, but they notified Dr. Len. He in turn neglected to inform me that there were some abnormalities in some of the structures of Gracie's urine (?). Dr. Conger said a high percentage of UTIs in babies less than three months old are usually caused by an actual abnormality in the kidneys or bladder, so she wants to check it out. We're supposed to schedule an ultrasound of her entire urinary system and a VCUG, which is a catheter dye test to make sure her kidneys and bladder and everything in between are functioning okay. Both of these tests can be done through the hospital, which can then be billed to Medicaid (thank God).

Dr. Conger prescribed an antibiotic for the ear infections. Gracie's very lethargic because of the high fevers, and once Tylenol kicks in every four hours she perks up just enough to drink part of a bottle and snuggle around. She is sleeping a LOT, which Dr. Conger said to let her do as long as she wants as it's helping the infection, we just need to continue to monitor her temperature.

So please pray for our beautiful little girl! We can tell she's absolutely miserable, and we're very anxious to see how this antibiotic works.

On a good note, Gracie's fifth tooth is through! It is to the left side of her bottom front teeth. It's actually out quite a bit, which makes me think it came in early last week. So yay for five perfect pearlies so far! =)

Busy October

First of all, congratulations to our friends, Brian and Whitney Goff, on the October 1st birth of their daughter Ainsley Marie! We're very excited to have another addition to the "babysitter's club" of all the little girls born recently. And now our friends Brandon and Amber Dion have found out they are expecting a girl! They already have three little boys, so this little princess will be spoiled rotten, I'm sure. =) We're very happy for all of our friends!

Okay. We've all been really busy with work and daycare, and some big plans have been made. David and I met with our Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor on Saturday, and we are excited to start working with him to get all of our finances on the right track! I read Total Money Makeover, but we couldn't quite figure out how to apply it to our unique financial situation, so we took an extra step to work with a counselor. He's going to help me get on top of all my past debt, as well. We're ready to get started on it, and we recommend it to everyone! His name is Mark Pooser, his office is in Old Town Lewisville, and his number is: 337-526-7504. http://www.markpooser.com/

I finally reached a point where my back was so bad that I couldn't put Gracie in and out of the bathtub every night for her bath, so I gave in and saw an orthopedist. He was great, did some x-rays and while my spine itself looks perfectly fine, he said that having a baby did something to the muscles and tissues in my back, and prescribed physical therapy. I went to a physical therapist the next day, and made some interesting discoveries about myself. Apparently, I have an extremely flexible spine. Most people, when standing with their hands on their hips and keeping their knees straight, can bend backwards only about 65 degrees. I can bend 8o degrees, which Brant (the physical therapist) made me do several times just to see. I can also bend forward and put my hands flat on the floor while keeping my knees straight with absolutely no difficulty. He also discovered that my right hip is set two inches higher than my left, and my left hip is actually rotated forward and inwards, which has set my lower left back all weird (which is where the worst of my back pain is located). He said that before I got pregnant, I had a very strong core (abdominal muscles) that supported the flexibility of my back. When I got pregnant, those muscles stretched out, but the baby inside kept the support intact. But when I delivered the baby, all of a sudden that support was gone, and the muscles were still stretched out, so that is why the pain started almost immediately upon leaving the hospital. He showed me some stretches that I have to do every day. The therapy is $80 per visit, but he recommended that I get a gym membership and join their Pilates class at least twice per week, which would be much cheaper. He wil show me exercises to do at the gym to help strengthen my core, and eventually all that support for my back will be in place and I will feel a lot better. So I'm glad I found such an honest therapist, who understands that I can't afford to see him three times per week, but cares enough to show me what to keep doing on my own. The LA Fitness by our house offers Pilates classes Mondays and Thursdays, so I will get signed up there and get that going. I have a physical therapy appointment tomorrow afternoon, and the last one probably on Friday. Wish me luck on all of that!

Gracie is doing really well at Primrose. She loves her teachers, eats well, and plays great with all the other babies. She is getting better at napping during the day. She wasn't used to all the commotion going on during nap time, but she's slowly started sleeping longer and longer, which is great. She still hasn't taken off walking on her own yet, but she will sometimes pull up on a table and then start playing with something with both hands, not realizing that she's standing on her own. I'm pretty positive she'll be walking confidently by Thanksgiving, maybe even Halloween! No new words, really. Mostly just babbling right now, but occasionally you can pick up an attempt at a word. Her first Halloween costume is going to be a giraffe! Haha... it's very cute.

Coming up for the rest of October we're pretty busy. My Aunt Linda and cousins Robbie and Chuckie are coming in town tonight and will be here for a couple of days, so we're excited to visit with them. David and I will probably take a weekday afternoon off one day in the next couple of weeks to go the State Fair with Gracie. This weekend is the Texas vs. OU game (GO TEXAS!) so we're going to a friends' house to watch that. Sunday the 12th is the tenth anniversary of my old church, Vista Ridge C of C, so I'm looking forward to catching up with old friends. Saturday the 18th is our friend Logan Casteel's first birthday party, and the 25th or 26th is a 40th birthday party for my Aunt Dyana. So lots and lots going on!

Hope everyone is having a great October so far! We love y'all!