Holidays

Visits have been OK I suppose.  There was some drama on Thanksgiving. I don't know what Christmas will be like, but we're taking a vacation to Florida the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  The university is closed so this is my only opportunity for a vacation.  I use most of my days for Carrie's appointments and court.

Carrie doesn't seem to mind wearing her glasses for the most part. Occasionally she takes them off to play with them.  I'm really surprised and pleased that we aren't having any difficulty getting her to wear them.  The ophthalmologist said that we will know within the first month whether or not the glasses will correct the turned eye (strabismus).  If not, we will schedule surgery.  Her follow-up appointment is on January 9th.

More Medical Milestones

As you can probably imagine, life has changed greatly for us.  I am quite busy these days.

 

Carrie is doing great.  As of October 20 she no longer needs to go see any doctors at the CCHMC Feeding Team.  Her 24-month check-up with her new pediatrician was yesterday.  She has gained a little more than 2 pounds since coming to live with us.  Other than the usual toddler quirks, she eats like a pig.  She started physical and speech therapies with Kentucky First Steps in early August.  The therapists visit her at daycare for her sessions, so her routine is not greatly interrupted.  If I can't be there, they always leave notes for me.  The notes usually tell me how good she did on that day.  She walks quite well now and runs quite well.  She is curious about jumping and standing on one leg but isn't quite there yet.

 

The outcome of last week's hearing still leaves us hanging a little.  Her mother completed parental rights surrender paperwork but didn't show up to the hearing.  Her dad wants the opportunity to have unsupervised visits and isn't willing to surrender.  The court mandated a detailed case plan in which he must complete parenting courses and arrange for one-on-one observation and coaching from a professional.  We go back to court again in March.  For now, she remains with me.

Halloween

Trick-or-treating was not as exciting as I had hoped.  Carrie was a bit overwhelmed with the everything.  Even though we had practiced saying "trick or treat" she didn't say it when we went to ring doorbells.  In all, we made about 5 stops around the Bell House block.  Once back home, she sat on the porch with me and helped hand out candy and treats.  We only managed to get 3 photos. This is the best one, in my opinion.