MRI

Last week we had to be in Houston at 5:30 am for an MRI Calli had scheduled. Thankfully, Mom was here to be with the big girls, so we didn't have to worry about waking them up. Randy and I got up WAY too early, got ready, and then just loaded Calli in the car in her pajamas. She was a little confused but totally great on the ride up.

Because they needed her to be perfectly still for the MRI, and because it would take about two hours, they had to completely sedate her with full anesthesia. Ugh. So we were back in the pediatric day surgery unit at Hermann. And can I just say that we are loving that place?! They are such an answer to prayer. This was the same place we were for her lip surgery just 2 months ago. Everyone takes such good care of us and of Calli and makes us all feel comfortable. This visit, 4 separate nurses looked at us and remembered Calli from last time. We thought that was so cool! Everyone is so sweet.

Last time we didn't walk with Calli from pre-op to the operating room, but this time we were able to walk with her from pre-op to the radiology room where she would have the MRI. Before we walked down there, they gave her an oral medicine (Versed) to chill her out a little. Then we carried her down to the room and were with her when the anesthesia nurse (who did everything! way more than the actual anesthesiologist!) put the mask on her and let her fall asleep. She did great! They put the iv and everything in her after she was asleep so she wouldn't fuss. Then we left and they had her about two hours.

Here she is in her beautiful hospital gown:

After a couple hours, they came and got us and took us to recovery. She was pretty upset coming out of the anesthesia this time. We held her and stayed there for about an hour and then were released to go home. She stayed pretty upset most of the way home but started feeling better once we were home. She still couldn't sit by herself, or walk, which made us laugh a little. :) Sweet girl - she's so brave and we are so thankful for such wonderful medical care!

Also - this is not related to her cleft at all. She has another condition that we just are monitoring and getting all kinds of baseline data so the specialist can know how to move forward. We've had an ultrasound already, lots of blood work, and now the MRI. Nothing major - just lots of tests and appointments!

Her Voice

Calli's palate surgery is scheduled for the middle of August. We are not looking forward to it, as the recovery will be much harder for her. We repaired her lip back in May, but she still has no roof of her mouth. This surgery will give her a palate and will help with her speech development.

I have been following another adoptive family's blog who brought their daughter home from China less than a year ago. She is just a couple of months older than Calli and also had cleft lip and palate. Her palate surgery was just last week, and her mom wrote this post yesterday about how her recovery is going and how her voice has changed. You can read it here - such a sweet post. If you have time, she has a wonderful blog and it's great to read.

We hadn't even thought of how the sound of her voice would change! She makes a lot of sounds, but doesn't have many words at this point. Reading this made me realize how even the sounds she makes will change, and it encouraged me to record her as much as I can before the surgery.

So last night, we were sitting on the couch and I was able to get some great video! I turned the camera where she could see herself and she just babbled so much! Such sweet noises. We love how she says Kendall's name and of course I am just loving how she says "mama." One word she says very clearly is "Mol" for Molly. That was one of her first words. We will treasure these videos forever!

 

 

 

Calli's First Fourth

We had such a fun fourth! This was Calli's first fourth of July as an American citizen, so we had a lot to celebrate. We look forward to the 4th every year because our friends the Gryseels have their annual party at their house. All our friends from church are there and it's just so much fun. We eat, hang out, the kids swim in kiddie pools, and then we have a great view of the fireworks that the city of Lake Jackson puts on. So much fun!

Granny got the girls matching dresses and they looked so cute! It's a little ridiculous how much I love it when they all three match. Jenny asked Randy how many sets of matching clothes we have and Randy said "as much as the grandparents will buy!" :) So cute.

 Gigi and Peeps were here for the weekend, so they got to come to the party with us! We enjoyed having them here and just had a laid-back few days of resting and being at home. It was great!

Our friends Laura and Justin came and had their son Easton with them. Easton's birthday is one day after Calli's, and we have been so excited for them to meet. You can tell they were pretty thrilled about it too.

 Fun times with Sarah and Caleb! Seeing them on the hammock reminded me about another fourth of July many years ago out on the Hancock's ranch when I flipped Alden on a hammock and she broke her arm. I told them that story and said be careful!!

 Cheetos for dinner....ok!

 Our little American!

 Getting wet in the kiddie pools! Calli was super excited about this. She loved it!

 

We didn't know how Calli would react to the fireworks. She was sitting in my lap when they started, and she watched the first two and then quickly turned around to where she was facing me and put her head up against my chest. She left it there the whole time and I covered the ear that was not against me. A few times I tried to sit her up and she would press herself up so hard against me. Sweet girl. When they were over, I said, "All done!" and she sat up, did the sign language for all done and said "Gwo gwo!" (That's Calli for "all done." And "thank you." And "goodbye." And pretty much everything.) She was totally fine when they were finished! It was a late night and we had three tired girls, but it was so much fun!

Watching the fireworks, listening to God Bless the USA, and holding Calli made me a little emotional! What an amazing thing that she is a new American citizen and has the opportunity to live in a country where she has so many freedoms. We don't take for granted where we were born, and know that it's only by God's grace that we have had the wonderful life we have. We're so thankful she is a part of our family forever and know that to whom much has been given, much is required. We want to steward the freedoms we have well and teach our girls to not take them for granted. What a wonderful way to celebrate Calli's 3 month Forever Family day (three days early)! It has been an amazing three months since she was placed in our arms!