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.

Tomato soup

Who doesn't love tomato soup?

Winter Sundays

Sunday was a bitter cold day (then again, that can describe every day from about now until April). It was our first really cold day of the winter, so we took full advantage - the fireplace was roaring, hot chocolate was enjoyed, and we just played in the living room as a family. It was nice. We did make it out of the house Saturday to go to an indoor park with good friends and their 3 adorable kids, but I didn't have my camera. We also went for a little stroll Sunday afternoon. It's fun getting bundled up (you probably won't hear me saying that in a couple of months - the fun of it will be LOOOONG gone). Anyway, onto the pictures:
A new hat for the winter (yes, the mittens are still attached to the top of the hat)

Look at me all bundled up in my snow suit! I swear the warm clothes was warranted, despite the lack of snow (it had already melted by the time we got out)

Therapy ball with daddy

Here is a clip (well, it's really 2 clips in 1) of Cata showing off her newest achieved skill. While it's nothing to write home about in most 23 month old kiddos, it's a huge achievement for Cata! She has developed enough core strength to be able to bend down to pick something up off the floor and to be able to stand up in the middle of the room by herself!

To finish off the day, Cata enjoyed a nice warm bath, got fresh PJs, and crawled under the
table in the bedroom to read a book.

TGIF

I don't really know where the week went, but I'm ready for another weekend! This is not a new video, but a cute one from this fall (yes, it is officially winter here). You'll have to have your volume on for this one.

Weekend full of fun

Yes, it's been over a week with no new pics. It's an improvement over my monthly posts of the past though! The week did not include much excitement except my Holton friend Sarah stopped by for a visit. She brought Cata this awesome toy which she just loves. Otherwise it was just a week of school and therapy.
The weekend was packed with fun (and sleepless nights for some reason). The weather in the 20s convinced us to stick to indoor activities. Fortunately the people of MN are smart enough to recognize that a 5 month winter with temps in uninhabitable ranges means we need lots of fun indoor activities.
Saturday we started off going to an indoor park. We hadn't brought Cata there since last winter and wow was it a different experience this year! She just loved running around all the little areas. Here are some snap shots:

Happy girl in the tube. Playing in the bounce house - she loved it! Sliding with dad

Who knew that Cata would be a rock climber (with a little help from dad)? :)

We then enjoyed dinner with friends Saturday evening. They have 3 lovely children under 2.5 years old so they also have lots of fun indoor entertainment including this little bounce house.

Sunday was a Children's Museum morning. What a fun place for kids.

Cooking in the play kitchen, walking through the beaver den, chillin in a log...and last but not least, with all the fun activities in the museum, what does Cata find - a TV! haha.

So she was tired out from all the activities. One final post of my 2 favorite cuddle bugs:

I think that about sums up our weekend.

Halloween!

Can you believe it has already come and gone? Our little lady was a duck for the day. Amazing all the hype that goes into Halloween and it's over. I guess it's kind of like a wedding day, no? Well, our halloween was particularly fast since Catalina got overtired and fell asleep at 6pm before any of the trick or treating had even started! We woke up our duck at 7pm and attempted some door to door candy hunting but she was having none of it. Oh well!
We had a fun week. Here it is in review:

I think winter has officially started. We have had several mornings in the 30s. That doesn't stop Cata though! She just gets bundled up in all of her pink glory. We can only hope baby #2 is a girl with all the pink we have! Here is one of Cata enjoying working on the therapy ball during her weekly Early Intervention session. She has gotten better with hard work.


Despite the cold mornings, we have had some beautiful afternoons. We joined our friend Nora and her Baby A. at the zoo. Cata loved the open space, the nice weather, and of course good company.


Then came our Halloween preparations. Cata and Kevin worked on carving our pumpkins.


Okay, last but not least, pictures of our little duck. It was tough to get good pictures since all she wanted was to go to sleep.


Well, that's it for today.