The beginning of new things

Arianna started speech therapy last week at the public school. I was really nervous about exposing her to germs but she it's only one other little girl. She had a really good time last week and already picked up some good speech skills. The reason she is there is for her articulation which has alot to do with her weak muscles. We just need to train her to say words the right way and hopefully she won't have long term issues. :)

I'm still without a camera but was able to snap this picture of her outside her class. This is such a HUGE step for us! I know many people think I'm crazy or over paranoid but I was told by her doctors to not let her do this and I'm making a mom decision and overriding them. It's not like I have her in a classroom full of 15 children. We'll work towards that one day but in the meantime it's nice to start having more normal days.

Another new thing for Arianna is going to Sunday school. I have found a nice small church that is just starting up and Arianna is actually the only child her age that attends. She has had a few guests attend so it's been nice for her to have some time away from mommy in her own class. She loves her teacher and talks about her all week. It's really cute!

We can't forget about our new heart baby we are watching on Mondays and Tuesdays. Arianna is having alot of fun having Brendon around and it's good practice for when her baby is born.

I can't end without showing you the cutest picture. Miss Arianna making cookies!! Let's just say I should not be allowed to have sugar cookies in my house. I'm pregnant and they are WAY too good. :)

Christmas 2009

Well my camera broke on Christmas Eve so I don't have any pictures. Luckily my mom had a few pictures I could share. I do have a video of Arianna getting her swing set but I'm waiting for Robert to upload it.

3 Year Old Pictures

I am so happy with how Arianna's pictures came out. Check her out!

Test Result

The genetic counselor called with our Ultra Screen results and it was perfect. Less than 1% out of 10,000. This was a huge relief. I know we're still not out of the woods but it brings me a little peace. Next step is getting the fetal echo to check on the heart. Hopefully we will get that scheduled in January.

Someone is going to be a....

BIG SISTER!!!!

We are expecting our bundle of joy on June 20th.

Baby - 12 weeks

The first 2 months were really hard and I spent most of my time battling morning sickness ALL day. I've feeling better but still not 100%.

We did the Ultra Screen this week and are waiting to get the results. Many people know the Ultra Screen as the "Down Syndrome Test." It take the amount of fluid in the neck along with blood work and gives you a percentage of having a child with Down's Syndrome but many people don't realize it can check for Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 as well. I was shocked when the stenographer told me it can also detect if you are at risk of having a baby with a heart defect. I know all this doesn't change the fact that we will have whatever God blesses us with but I was never given this option before so I decided to do the test. Plus I got to see my baby in the process!

We will definintly have a fetal echo done in the next month or so. I'm extremely nervous about this pregnancy. I had such a hard pregnancy last time that I don't know what to expect. So right now I'm asking for prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Another thing to add to our DiGeorge list

After having so many problems with our dentist I took Arianna to a new one today. He was really nice and way more thorough. Unfortunatly, she has gone from 1 cavity 2 months ago to 6 cavities.

I have been brushing those teeth like crazy so I know this is just a DiGeorge thing. Many DiGeorge kids have a lack of enamel causing cavities and other problems.

This is a really serious issue since she is a heart patient. She will need to undergo anesthesia and have her teeth x-rayed, cleaned, cavities filled, and hopefully nothing more. Hopefully, once this is done we can keep up on it and prevent future issues. We are now brushing more often, flossing and using floride. I didn't realize I could give a 3 year old floride so thats good to know.

Now we wait for the cardiologist to decide if this can done in-house or if it has to be done at the hospital. I have a feeling she needs to be at the hospital which means we might have a problem getting her scheduled. Apparently, the dentist only goes every few months and he is booked for December. Grrr! Hopefully, he will see the concern and make an exception. I have already told him the issues I've had with our last dentist and he reassured me we shouldn't have those issues and if I do to let him know personally. Nice to have a caring dentist!

Happy Birthday!

We had a very fun Thanksgiving this year. Arianna's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year! She woke up to this in her backyard....

Let's just say she was one happy birthday girl!

We had a wonderful lunch with family and then started the birthday celebrations.

I don't know how she did it, but she stayed up till 9 o'clock that night. She was so tired she slept through the entire night. :)

So I have to say this was one of the most emotional birthdays for me. I remember when she was born we would talk about "when she turns 3" all the time. We knew her birthday would fall on Thanksgiving and thought it would be great to host Thanksgiving at our house. Well that thought became a reality this week. I continue to be amazed at how far she has come. I guess every birthday is a bit emotional for me because it marks another year we've made it with our baby girl.

As for other news, Arianna has been excepted at the school district to receive speech therapy once a week. However, her pulmonologist does not want her attending any sessions at school during the winter. I'm still waiting to hear from the ST to find out how many children will be with Arianna. If it's one-on-one then I might allow her to go. If not, then I'll push for at-home therapy through another program.

Some of you may remember Arianna had a dental visit 2 months ago and needed to get a cavity filled and cleaning done at the hospital. I've been waiting for the insurance to approve this and finally I spoke with the dentist office last week and apparently I have to pay $400 for before they will do anything. I called insurance and they said everything is paid for and the dentist is trying to double dip. Apparently, the dentist office tried to get a professional hospital call approved for $88 and insurance denied it. Insurance has already approved this procedure to be done at the hospital so they will not pay for the doctor to drive there. So....this means they are trying to charge me $400 for the dentist to freaking DRIVE to the hospital!!!! You have got to be kidding me!!!! I'm waiting to talk with our pediatrician on Tuesday at Arianna's 3 year check up. I've already given her a call and she was going to call both my insurance and the dentist office. This is why I love our pediatrician! I'm hoping she has come up with a better answer than I have.

I thinks thats about it for us. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.