Christina's birthday party went well. We had a small group over on Saturday the 11th. Cole and his family, Cory and Deb, Dan, and Patti came over. Sammy and his grandma stopped by later.

And, Angela and I had a date night. Christina hung out with Cory and Deb while Angela and I spent some quality time together. No computer, ipod, phone, cleaning, picking up, etc. We stayed home and watched a movie together. We watched the whole movie. Have not been able to do that for three years. I enjoyed that.

Time for me to go to work and I hear Christina starting to wake up.

Derek

On the 1st, Christina had another appointment in the cities. We went to see Dr. Moore. He is pleased with Christina's progress. The good news... Angela and I get to deal with a typical two year old.

The next round of Phenol blocks and Botox is scheduled in two weeks. It will be a very long week. We will head up Wednesday, have surgery on Thursday, keep Christina mellow the rest of the day, switch hotels Friday and go to the rehearsal dinner for dad's wedding, dad gets married on Saturday and then head home on Sunday. Hopefully with time to enjoy Father Day with some Daddy and Christina time.

I also picked up another domain. I am trying to organize the domains a little better and keep the files clean. I have to import Christina's blog again before transferring it over to the new server.

The bedtime routine has changed since Angela came back from California. I still put Christina down for bed after her bath and meds. The plan is to have Angela try on Friday to put Christina down the same way I do.

Christina is by no means asleep, not even close the last few days. I lay with her for a couple minutes, give her a kiss and tell her goodnight. Then it is out of bed I go. Christina has been able to calm herself and fall asleep.

It is tough for Angela, her little baby is not a baby any more. And it is difficult for both of us to listen to her cry. Christina has come a long way.

Christina is still upset at Angela for taking holiday. It has been two full days and Christina has whined most of the day.

It has been hot here and I think she is uncomfortable. She feels like a furnace and is only wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt.

Bedtime has officially changed. I do the full bedtime routine; bath, lotion, bouncing, meds, cuddles(so she burps). Then we give mommy hugs and kisses and go to bed. I lay in there for a couple minutes and then give her a kiss goodnight.

We are going to continue this for a week or two then have Angela give it a try.

It has been an interesting few days, Angela left for CA early Thursday morning. Early being 03:30. She comes back late tonight, Christina and I will be snoozing.

Things have gone very well with Christina. I have kept the house looking like a house, laundry is caught up, and no dishes lying around.

Christina also learned to drink from a straw. She needs some practice, but she is doing very well. She caught on faster than I imagined she would.

Grandma Patti has been coming over to see Christina, and give me a chance to clean up without worrying about Christina. Christina does very well after I walk out of the room, she is ok when I come back into the room. Christina even walked while grandma helped her. A feat I am very impressed and pleased with. Christina's social skills are developing rapidly.

Naps have been as expected. She lays down quietly for at least an hour. Two of the days she did sleep a little. Bedtime has been wonderful. Christina has been doing so well that I recorded her going to bed last night. I haven't watched it yet(finished laundry), I hope it caught everything.

Deb comes over today to watch Christina. I meet with UCP, but not sure on the time. That will also give me the chance to pick up some groceries.

All in all, an enjoyable experience.

Derek

Good news from the neurologist!!!

Dr. Burnstein said he is impressed with how far Christina has come. And, we don't have to go back for a year. I never thought those words would mean so much.

Christina has been giving Angela and myself some grief, it seems she wants the other parent no matter which one of us is holding her. Her upper molars have poked through, yet still creep along making her uncomfortable. It is nice to have behavioral issues for a change. Although, they can stop now.

Not much else is new. I still have a few weeks of school. It is going well. I am trying to get the most out of it. Angela is ready for a break, I hope she can relax in California.

Christina has been vocalizing more, she tries so hard. The phenol blocks and the Botox are wearing off too. She is still willing to walk, it is harder for her. You can see how hard it is. There have been times her little legs shake as she tries to take a step.

Sad now, gotta go.

What's new? Not a whole lot.

Christina is doing pretty well. She has been working on her vervbal communication and enjoys hearing herself. Speech therapy has given us some things to work on. One of the words we are working on is "more". I am also working on the word "daddy".

Christina's two top second molars are still being slow in coming through. There have been some troublesome days and nights lately. They have gotten better. Although, the princess does not like to lay down by herself for a nap. And, on the weekend has been fighting naps more.

As Christina deals with her teeth and speech, her legs have taken the back burner. She has had more difficulty taking steps. We still work on it, on some days Christina wants to try to walk everywhere. One time taking steps is not a problem is bath time.

Angela and I are doing OK. Angela sprained her foot; not very bad, but enough to hurt a lot and make things more difficult. Both uf us are ready for a break.

I'm going to take a class online. It starts this month. It will take some time juggling, but I am looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Derek

Well, we made it home in one piece.

Christina's appointment went well. She had Botox in her calves and Phenol blocks in her thighs. Dr. Engel also checked Christina's eyes while she was under.

The nitty gritty update :
Christina's optic nerves did not develop entirely. They will not get worse or better. This, along with the brain processing, is what hinders her vision. We still will not know how much she sees until she can tell us.
The Phenol took effect right away. Christina's legs are no longer in a scissored position. They are a little spread out and she needs to learn to use those muscles all over.
The Botox will peak in about three weeks. I am confident it will help her as much this time as it did last time.

We were able to see Bonnie and Becky while we were at Childrens. We also ran into Dr. Perdue, Christina's first doc at Childrens.

The car ride there on Tuesday night did not go well. Christina had a different cry this time. It was more like she was scared. I felt so bad for her. Angela and I took turns holding her hand and that helped.

Christina and I had a chance to use the pool at the hotel on Wednesday after we were back to the hotel from the hospital. We also called Amber and Mark and had the chance to visit with them.

We stayed Wednesday night and came back on Thursday. With the time of the appointment and the Phenol being something new for Christina we felt it was better to stay another night.

The car ride home was typical. It was so good to be home.

On a very happy note, Christina is getting better with my putting her down for a nap. Today again, I was able to lay down with her in her bed and put her down for a nap. she is asleep all by her big girl self.

The weekend brings us to getting ready for another trip for Christina's appointments. Christina has her next round of Botox. We are also starting Phenol blocks.

I am a little concerned as always when we try something new. It is the next step to help Christina overcome the tone in her legs.

We talked with Dr. Tanaguchi about her arms and he is willing to start Botox there too. I am afraid that will be too much new for Christina. Angela agreed. We also asked her therapists, I wanted to be sure it was the right decision. We will plan on Christina getting Botox in her legs and arms on the next round.

Cheers, little firecracker!!!

I received a new iPod for Christmas. It is fun learning how to navigate and find the features.

To try my skill, I am posting with it. Typing on a screen is not easy. Maybe someday I will get used to it.

Christina is still sick. Or maybe I should say sick again. She can't seem to shake whatever is going around. Her preop is on the fifth. I hope she is ok for surgery on the seventh.