We are so excited for the holiday season to begin and have so many things to be thankful for as we celebrate Thanksgiving. We are hitting the road next week to see both sides of the family and look forward to spending time with them. We will be in Pittsburg for Thanksgiving and then spend the weekend at the lake for our annual Stewart leaf cleanup project. The last couple of holiday seasons have been very difficult for us, so we are looking forward to this one more than ever. It is hard to believe that two years ago this week Josie had her first surgery and got her feeding tube. We spent Thanksgiving in the hospital and Christmas at home by ourselves so that Josie wouldn't catch an illness while she was recovering. Last year we had a newborn at home, the house was half packed, and we were desperately trying to find a home in KC. What a joy it is this year to go into the holiday season with two thriving kids and a settled home.
Chad and I have talked a lot lately about this shift we have experienced in the reduced worry and stress with Josie. For example, last night Josie was having trouble tolerating her feeds and retching at the end of her feed. We assumed she was coming down with something and adjusted how much we were giving her. In the past I would have gone to bed with a bag packed and clothes and shoes beside the bed to put on in the likely case that we would be on our way to the ER soon. Chad would have made sure the van was gassed up for a quick trip to KC. What a difference a year makes, last night I went to sleep knowing that she may very well be getting sick but she is able to handle it better now and if she doesn't we are close to good medical care. Our conversations are not centered around difficult medical situations anymore, but good things, like the new things that Henry did that day or how many signs Josie is learning. What a difference it is and we are really taking time to enjoy this period with both kids.
We received more good news for Josie this week when we got her test results from a American Sign Language assessment she was given as we prepare for her transition to preschool. Josie recognizes 135 signs and can sign 85 of those! That is a lot of sign considering we have just been working on this for 4 months. Our deaf educator was really impressed. Josie is also putting more and more signs together so that she is consistently forming 2 and 3 sign sentences. Henry is also taking off with his sign. He is signing about 10 words consistently, but is always watching us to pick up more. Josie really likes it when he signs and even has started interpreting for him. This week he asked me for a drink by pointing to his head. I wasn't sure what he was saying, so Josie pointed to her head and then signed drink correctly. I guess I'm going to have to start asking her what he is saying the next time I'm confused:)
I had to include the picture above so you could see Henry's method for waking up Josie from her nap. He is just the sweetest little boy:)
We hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving and has safe travels!
