Winter wonderland

We definitely got to enjoy a white Christmas this year. Unfortunately it was a COLD white Christmas filled with lots of runny noses and 102 fever. We did make it out sledding on Sunday but with the bit of sun and warmer temps, the snow had turned to ice. Oh well...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all. This has been a different Christmas for us. We were not able to fly to either of our parent's homes so the three of us celebrated alone. On top of that, Catalina is on day 5 of fever to 102 and Kevin and I are coming down with whatever yummy bug has been making her sick. But we are thankful to be together and for all the love and support of our families and friends. We are excited to be sharing Christmas dinner with our good friends tonight.

Cata opening up her gifts. As always, she loves new books!

This about summed up how she felt this morning - she didn't make it through all her gifts before laying down on the pile and closing her eyes.

Nothing like comfy PJs and a 3 hr nap to make her smile again!

Catching up

I can't believe that Christmas is this week already here! I have been busy with the normal Catalina therapy routine plus I took Step 3 (last part of the medical licensing exam) this weekend. Now maybe I can focus on the last few weeks of this pregnancy before our little son joins us soon! Well, things haven't been too exciting since Cata's birthday. We have had plenty of freezing cold weather, Cata's never ending colds, and plenty of family quality time (but somehow not many pictures).

Enjoying Grandma C's Christmas cookies!

Sick for our visitors, JP & Jeremy, but always happy to open a gift!

I promise, I'll have more pics or videos later this week.

Calling all beer lovers

This has nothing to do with Catalina but just getting the word out about a giveaway my friend is sponsoring. My friend is giving away 12 things on 12 days (12 days of Christmas giveaway). Most items are kiddo gifts as she has 3 kids under 3 years of age. You can follow this link to see what is on the giveaway list so far and to keep checking for the rest of the upcoming giveaways.
Well, the beer lovers comes in on day 5 of the giveaway. She was able to get a company to donate a kegerator conversion kit for her giveaway. I would explain it, but she does a better job and has a picture here. So, for anyone that loves beer (or has a spouse, brother, father, uncle...) who loves beer and would like to turn their minifridge into a kegerator, enter to win!

Well, I guess I can't post without putting at least one of our new favorite pictures of Cata.

Happy Birthday Cata!

Catalina is now 2 years old. It was 2 years ago on December 5th that Catalina was brought into our lives. It has been 2 incredible years and we cherish every day with her beautiful smile.




These 2 years have been filled with excitement and were changed dramatically just 3 months ago when we learned about her diagnosis of Rett Syndrome. She is still our smiling, happy, loving little girl who has been a blessing in our lives.

Abuela, Tata, and Tia Alicia flew out to be with Catalina for her birthday weekend.

Thanksgiving

We had a great week at Abuela and Tata's house celebrating Thanksgiving with my whole family. Living far away it's easy to forget how nice it is to have all of us together again. Catalina had the chance to spend some quality time with everyone which was really nice. Sophia, her little cousin, really loved Catalina. Sophia even took her first steps independently while we were there! I think watching Cata motor around motivated her to get up off the floor and try to walk. Since getting back we had a couple days to unpack, get settled into a routine again, and then get back on the plane to go to Birmingham (see previous post). Here are some pics from Thanksgiving week:

Cuddling with Tia Alicia (and Cookie Monster - thanks Amna!)









Towering over Sophia but still giving her kisses (we learned in Birmingham that Catalina has officially made it back off the growth chart again for weight - she was hovering at 95th percentile the last couple doctors visits, but she is now above 100th percentile weighing in at 33lbs!).


Reading and snuggling with Tata


First time ice skating! I'm not sure she enjoyed it, but the bucket ride was fun.


Posing with Abuela and Sophia


The whole crew before Thanksgiving dinner

Daddy time!

Sophia took advantage of one of the very few times Cata was not standing upright and able to get away.


A visit from Amna who brought a new toy - Cookie Monster!



For all those who have girls who love bows, check out this giveaway my best friend from medical school is running! I have added a button to the company who is sponsoring the giveaway - it's posted below archives on the right. Be sure to check them out as these bows are adorable!

Birmingham

It's been awhile since our last post because we have been out of town. I will post our Thanksgiving pics this weekend.
Back on September 3rd when we got the dreaded phone call from our neurologist telling us that Catalina has a MECP2 mutation, meaning her delays and loss of verbal language are due to Rett Syndrome, I became an pseudo-expert about Rett and figured out who the real experts are in this field. What I found was we had 2 options - fly to Texas to see Dr. Glaze or fly to Birmingham to see Dr. Percy. We called Birmingham and they said they could fit us in - but it wouldn't be until December 4th. December 4th?? I thought that was too far away and the day would never come. But it did. Finally. We met with Dr. Percy and Jane Lane (the nurse that works with him) yesterday. It was a great appointment and worth the travel. Of course I would have loved him to say she doesn't have Rett, but we all know that isn't possible. But it was encouraging. He says she is doing great. Even more, we were able to get all of our questions answered. I finally feel like we have closure to the initial phase of acceptance of Rett - we have a genetic diagnosis, we have done extensive research on Rett, we have reached out to our friends and family who have provided us with tremendous support, we have been seen by the Rett specialist, and we have had the opportunity to get all of our initial "what does this mean?", "is this common?", "can we expect...?" type of questions answered. There will undoubtedly be many many many more questions, many ups and downs, many hard days ahead, but at least I feel that one chapter is done.