Swimming and Talking

Molly continues to get "chattier" by the minute. She has been making lots of different D sounds. We think we have caught her calling Jim Dada, but we'll wait for more consistency before calling it officially.

She is loving her books and flips them over and over and over to look at the front and back and talk to them.

We went to the local pool last week and things went quite well. I tried it once when she was a few months old and things weren't going so well and hadn't wanted to go back. I decided to give it another chance and I'm really glad I did. She had a good time looking at all of the people and enjoyed the warm water. We went straight to pool side and I changed her in an inflatable bathtub, which worked quite well. I'm going to try and make this a weekly activity - it is so good for her muscles and bones. I will try and take some pictures one of these days.

Jim and I carved pumpkins last night and I have included a picture for your entertainment. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Kisses for Mom

Molly had her 9 month check up today and is continuing to hug the third percentile growth chart - hooray for being on the growth chart :) She now is weighing in at 15 lbs. 6 oz. She has been eating more lately, so I think she is starting to hit a little growth spirt... we'll see. The pediatrician noted that all 4 top teeth are almost through - I knew that 2 were on the way, but 4 is even better :)

Molly's new trick is that she has started "kissing" me. I wasn't sure what she was doing last night, but Jim noted that she was trying to give me a kiss. She will now do it on command (if the spirit moves her). It is ADORABLE and definitely a nice milestone for me.

It was nice to get reassurance from the pediatrician that she is on target for her milestones in the verbal/social department.

We will work on downloading the pictures from the pumpkin party.

Pumpkin Party and A New Video

We had a nice weekend here in NC. Yesterday was gorgeous. We went for a nice walk and got the house in order for a party today. We had some neighbors and some of Jim's coworkers over for a pumpkin carving party and it was a big success. I even had time to carve a pumpkin, which is a big accomplishment being the host and having a baby to boot.

It is hard that Molly is, in some ways, a "bubble baby". There needs to be a barrier to prevent kids from getting too close. I know that this is a problem that is going to get worse before it gets better, but hopefully with some direction we will have some kids that will be able to get close without causing harm. I know when Molly and her peers are older this will be less of an issue, but it will be a major challenge in the next few years. We put her in her chair and put her tray in front of her, which worked perfectly to allow kids to get close without being within reach. Molly had a ball at the party and loved having so many kids around, as well as all of the attention she received.

There is a new video of Molly in her seat "chatting" and playing.

A cool new chair

Good morning, I hope you all had a nice weekend. It is finally starting to cool off down here - we are loving the crisp Fall air. :)

Jim's parents picked up a special chair/stroller for us in Kentucky that someone was donating. The seat itself is a lot like that of a wheelchair. It provides great positioning and support for Molly's spine and she seems to be quite happy in it. It also came with a tray that allows her to play with toys and books in a new way. I am very excited about our new gear. It is called a kid-kart and apparently they can run as much as $6,000 new - YIKES!! A vendor came on Thursday and adjusted it to fit her exactly.

There is a new video (CLICK HERE) of Molly up in her crib on her stomach. She is getting to be quite active with her rolling. She rolls/wiggles around to get to various toys on the floor. So much for being able to turn our back for a minute or two!

She is getting more and more "verbal" these days with lots of "dee dee dee" and "da da da" etc. It is adorable. I think we are close to her understanding waving and saying hi. We are having trouble differentiating what she is doing on purpose, vs. what is merely a coincidence. She is getting stronger and "smarter" by the minute. It is fun to show off her new tricks to Jim when he comes home from work :)

Home again, Home Again... Jiggity Jig

We are home and all is well. We had a rather uneventful hospitalization and other than being a bit sleep deprived we are all doing well. Molly was a trooper as usual :). She wore a hat to keep the IV from her busy little hands, which worked quite well.

There are 3 new videos:
Click Here for a video of her on the floor playing,
Click Here for a video of her sitting for the first time,
and Click Here for a video of her in her highchair banging cups.

She is developing so rapidly these days. She is doing something new almost everyday. Such a busy little cutie :). She is now rolling completely over from her back to her stomach, which I have been eagerly waiting for her to do - hooray for Molly!

Infusion #6

If all goes according to plan, we will be heading to the hospital today for Molly's infusion. We shaved her head this morning in preparation for the IV and it went much better than it does in the hospital. We also got some Emla cream, which numbs the area, and I'm hoping that will make the IV less of an ordeal for her as well. We are working hard to improve this experience each time. Hopefully we will have less tears with each infusion. She is a very good patient and once the IV is in she is pretty much unfazed by it. What a little champ! Here's to an uneventful night.

Everything is OK

Hey, some of you might have been watching/reading the news and seen that there is a chemical fire in Apex, NC. The fire is at a chemical storage facility and has caused them to evacuate 17,000 people from the area. We are only a few miles from the evacuation zone and decided to pack up and get out of the area, at least for the day.

It is raining, which should help with air quality, but we would rather be safe than sorry. We are staying at our friends several miles away and may or may not stay the night with them - THANKS JEFF AND CASEY!!

It seems that there is nothing to be worried about, but with Molly being so young we wanted to play it safe. We will keep you posted if things change.

On another front... Molly has finally grown a little and is in 3-6 month clothing - way to go Molly!!

New Video

Some photos for the fans :). There is also a new video. CLICK HERE

Things are continuing to go well. She is happy and looking so good. Her legs are looking SO much better than what they were like in January. She has come so far. We are scheduled for her infusion next week. Thank goodness for that Pamidronate!

Caught on Film

Here are some pictures. Sorry it has been a little while!

She is continuing to do well and seems to have new "tricks" everyday. She is continuing to work towards waving and has started grabbing things with her index finger and thumb. According to the books she is on track or beyond with everything except sitting and standing. What a little Champ!