20 Months, A Wedding and the $%#* Shunt!

We have been constantly running since my last post.  I started work (so far, so good!), we've packed up a lot of our house, had a garage sale, went to a wedding, and made an extra trip to the neurosurgeon.  And, yes, somewhere in there, we slept (some).

In the sink/bath, her favorite spot in the house!

Scarlett is now 20 months old!  She is not much different in size/weigh/height this month; still in 12-18 month clothes and size 4 shoes.  Her 16 teeth are nearly fully grown in, and sometimes she lets us brush them - just in time for molars to start sometime soon.  She says mama and dada every once in a while, and we thought we caught a buh-buh (maybe bubble?  We were in the pool blowing bubbles!) among the constant jabber.  Her biggest trick right now is being a copycat!  If we clap or say "yea!" (or she hears clapping anywhere...like on tv) she will clap, even if it means dropping everything she has in her hands.  She waves "bye-bye" if you give her enough time to consider it.  If I blow raspberries with my lips, she will, too.

Getting mobile at therapy

She can pivot and rock on her hands and knees, but hasn't gotten up the courage to go anywhere just yet...and that's good, because once she starts, there'll be no stopping her!  She likes to stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down holding our hands, and can almost push herself to sitting from laying down.  She loves to take baths and swim, and now helps turn pages in books rather than just chew on them.  She thinks it is hilarious to throw things on the floor (thanks to Daddy!) and to pinch and pull hair (not fun for Mommy!)  We've really hit the point where we have to keep an eye on her because if there's a way, she will get into anything!  We're seeing some gradual improvement with eating; still very dependent on the g-tube, but she is more willing to eat from a spoon, more interested in finger foods (Annie's Graham Bunnies are the current favorite) and even attempts to drink a little water here and there.  All in all, this month has been just as busy for her as it has for us, and we are never bored watching her grow and develop!  Before we know it, her birthday (and our big blood drive!) will be here!

Relaxing pool-side

No glasses are safe around Scarlett anymore.

This morning, crashed in mommy and daddy's bed watching Sesame Street after she woke up extra early.

Over the weekend, we got to go to my friend Wendy's wedding.  Scarlett was pretty good, despite the heat, and had fun listening to the music and clapping as people walked down the aisle.  The real fun started when Grandma and Grandpa came to get Scarlett, and we got to stay for the rest of the reception baby-free!  Other wedding guests managing their own babies were quite jealous!

Dressed up!

A quick shot with the bride!

However, our days are not without incident:  last night, as I went to lay Scarlett in bed, I felt a large swelling of fluid around the shunt valve on the back of her head.  It caught me off-guard, since the neurosurgeon had just seen her to adjust it a few days before.  We had the joy of calling the on-call doctor (who turned out to be the main surgeon) at 10:00 last night.  It took nearly 30 minutes for him to get back to us; as we waited, in the worry and anxiety, we planned out how we would deal with taking her to Oakland in the middle of the night, and getting me to work in the morning.  Luckily, the doctor decided he could wait to see her until the next morning, so we got to sleep.  This morning, it was decided to dial her shunt back to it's previous setting, and give it some time.  We're on watch for any change, but so far, it's still just a squishy lump on the back of her head.  We'll see where it takes us.

We still have a ton to do as we pack to move and learn to manage a working mommy, so please excuse my long gaps between blog posts!