crazy hair

Seriously! Adorable even with crazy bedhead. And, by the way, we love our Illini, but sometimes a girl just has to wear red in this land of Orange & Blue. Go Tops!

just a few fun pics

sweet sleeper

 "you gonna let me out?"

 no words...this one makes me smile so much

"what do you mean you ate all the fries?!"

"what? you didn't want me to re-organize the tupperware?"

fun at the park with sis

happy target shopper...like mama

11 months!

Four weeks from today this happy little pumpkin will be ONE! And, yes, we are savoring every. single. moment. She's scooting everywhere. Getting stronger and stronger. Working hard in PT twice a month and at home daily. Still not a fan of food but loves her bottles. Loves blocks, books and Tupperware. Great sleeper. Happy, happy baby. 

just a little longer

There are some nights when I just want to get her to bed so I can have some down time or even extra sleep. And then there are some like tonight when I sit in the chair an extra long time with her snuggled up on my chest, her soft, little cheek pressed into my neck, as I listen to every deep and sleepy breath. So grateful for these sweet moments. Thank you, Jesus.

standing

Went to get Brooklyn up from nap yesterday and she was STANDING in her crib...and quite proud of herself as you can see. :) Huge progress and huge milestone for this little monkey! Praise Him!

life is good

Life has been quite a whirlwind settling into new routines with school and Fall activities. Thus the long delay in posting. 

Brooklyn's cardiology check-up in mid-August went very well. Though she protested through both, her EKG and echo showed good heart function. Her oxygen level and heart rate were good, and, though she's still a peanut and probably always will be, she continues to gain weight and grow well. Our cardiologist, Dr. Lee, pictured below, said Brooke is doing so well overall. In fact, we don't have to go back for SIX MONTHS! Like, NEXT YEAR! What?! So amazing. We made time to visit one of our favorite places in the hospital, the rooftop garden, while we were there as well as the CICU. Everyone was delighted to see how good Brooklyn looks and how well she's doing. 

We are continuing physical therapy appointments every other week and do most of her PT work at home. We are currently working on getting her into the crawling position (trying to move her from scooting to crawling...which she hates), stretching out her tight hip flexors as well as supporting her in different ways--on a ball, on my knee, on her feet at a box or table--to build strength and balance. Though it's often hard work for her, she generally enjoys physical therapy. She has showed great gains in upper torso strength, leg strength and balance. She is scooting on her bottom everywhere. Though she gets anywhere she wants to go in a matter of seconds, progressing to crawling is important for her hip joint development and impacts the progression to standing and walking. So fun though to have messes all over the living room floor where this little peanut has been. :)

At Brooke's nine-month check-up, her pediatrician was amazed at how well she is doing overall. The only even slight concern he had was her lack of interest in eating pretty much everything I try to give her. He offered a feeding evaluation with a speech therapist, which we had last week. Brooke was a show-off for the therapist and ate better than she ever had. :) The therapist indicated that she is really only delayed by a few months with feeding and doesn't consider her to have any real oral aversion. Yay! And thankfully Brooke is still getting the calories and nutrition she needs from the fortified formula. 

I often say that if you didn't already know she had a heart defect and has had two open-heart surgeries, you wouldn't know...unless, of course, you saw her mid-line scar on her chest and/or felt the pronounced protrusion of her sternum. She is such a happy, content baby who loves to scoot everywhere, watch herself in the mirror, chatter, smile and laugh at her sisters, pick up tiny crumbs of food and pieces of lint, chew on everything...normal baby stuff. :) :) One of her favorite things? Swinging at the park...

To say we're grateful for how well Brooklyn is doing and how normal life seems at this moment would be a HUGE understatement. Praising God for His faithfulness!

nine months old!

This sweet little monkey is nine months old today! Not sure how that happened already! It has been quite an uneventful summer full of normal stuff...like trips to the park, play dates with friends, visits with family, trips to the library, water play, family vacation...all the fun things of which summer days are made. Ahhh, normal! :) 

We are so grateful Brooke is doing so well. She loves to sit and play (and scoot around on her bottom) on the floor. :) Loves her Jumperoo. Loves to smile at her sisters. Loves kisses from her daddy. Loves to snuggle with her mommy. Loves her bottles. Loves bath time. Loves to sleep. An all-around happy, smiley, chatty, growing and thriving baby! Praise The Lord! 

Brooke has physical therapy appointments once a week, then we work on things at home to help with core strengthening and skills like going from laying to sitting, getting into crawling position and eventually crawling. She is steadily gaining strength and working toward those major milestones. 

Our next cardiology follow-up in St. Louis is in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to seeing our SLCH family! We miss them!

Enjoying the water on our recent vacation...

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Big sisters enjoying the water...and their baby sister in the water...