Snow Day!

After working two weekends in a row, Michael finally had a weekend off the weekend before last. He spent most of the daylight hours Saturday and Sunday raking leaves, a chore which Gabi thoroughly enjoys because she gets to jump in all the piles. Both girls love to be outside, even though it has been extremely COLD here. Michael managed to bag about half of the leaves before it started raining, and it was time for evening church, anyway, so he just moved the rest next to the fence where the wind would be less likely to blow them into our neighbor's yard.


Bella helping rake leaves


The girls raking just like Daddy

Bella had her ENT appointment this morning. In taking the history, the doctor asked, "So, you're here because your pediatrician referred you, but how do YOU feel?" We admitted that we aren't really concerned because her condition has greatly improved since her birth, but it would be nice to get his opinion since Bella's laryngomalacia has persisted longer than expected. He explained that laryngomalacia typically disappears before 24 months if it'll go away on it's own (so we're still in that range), but he's seen it in 5-year-olds and 12-year-olds. He asked if Bella had any episodes of sleep apnea, and we do not think she has. However, she STILL doesn't sleep through the night (and she'll be 16 months old on Thursday!), so that could be a sign of sleep apnea. At this point, I am attributing her waking up to her cold and teething, so the ENT doctor said we'd just wait for her cold to go away and then note whether she is able to sleep all night. Then the doctor looked in her ears and found fluid (but no infection). For her language development, he wanted to schedule a recheck to make sure that the fluid didn't persist more than 3 months.

The doctor offered to scope Bella's throat so we could look at it, and I thought he was just offering it because we were there and might like to go home with some extra piece-of-mind, so I was about to decline. However, he was actually recommending the scope, so we ended up doing the procedure. We were told that the anesthetic nasal spray didn't taste good; however, Bella smiled and laughed and asked for more. Silly baby! She did, however, cry during the scope. A nurse held her still while the doctor snaked a long cord with a camera and light on the end through one nostril and down into her throat. Her crying should have made everything move and open up more, but it did not. Bella's aryepiglottic folds are so tight that we couldn't see past them, so we didn't get a view of the vocal chords. Also, her mucosa was thicker than it ought to have been, which is a sign of her reflux. So we definitely need to continue the Prevacid, but that should help both her reflux and her laryngomalacia.

All-in-all, nothing serious, but the ENT wants to see her back in 2-3 months. The treatment (if needed) is a very simple surgical procedure called supraglottoplasty to clip the aryepiglottic folds -- just cut each one a couple millimeters so they can open. With as severe as Annabelle's is, he would have done the procedure if he had seen her as a baby. With babies, it dramatically improves quality of life by helping the baby sleep better and eat better and calming down parents (who are already worried about SIDS). However, Annabelle definitely eats well, and we've made it through the worrisome newborn phase, and she doesn't seem to have any symptoms besides stridor, so he is not recommending the procedure at this point. Good to know!


Gabi: "I'm skating in my shoes!"

We awoke last Tuesday morning to a world of white. School was canceled, so Gabi got to sleep in. (My little alarm clock - Bella - doesn't sleep in.) The girls and I spent some time outside enjoying the winter wonderland in our front yard. Our mailbox was frozen shut, and the grass appeared to hold patches of snow. However, Gabi asked why she couldn't pick up the snow, and we realized it had turned into ice.


Bella spies our neighbor's puppy out for a walk


Bella venturing back from our neighbors'


Gabi skating on the icy snow under the tree


Bella enjoying the snow day

It was very cold, and eventually Bella walked back to our front door, knocked on the door, then turned around and looked at me and pointed inside. I took the girls inside (against Gabi's protestations), and Bella was immediately ready for a nap. That baby girl knows when she's tired and is very easy to put down! Gabi and I then went to check out the snow on the deck.


Gabi making footprints next to some cat pawprints


Gabi loves being outside

I didn't stay outside nearly as long as Gabi would have liked. I sat down inside by the sunroom window to read and watch her play, but Gabi decided it wasn't as fun playing by herself and soon came inside.


Tiny icicles hanging from the deck rail

This past weekend, Lolo and Lola asked to take Gabi to see Despereaux so they could give Gabi some individual attention. We agreed, but we didn't set a time because of a busy weekend. We met up with Lolo & Lola for dinner Saturday evening following Grant's birthday party, and after dinner Lola asked, looking at her watch, "Do you think we can still go to the M-O-V-I-E tonight?" Immediately animated, Gabi started cheering, "Yay! A movie! We're going to see a movie!" We were all shocked to hear how quickly our smart little girl picked up on the meaning of the spelling.


Alex is just a couple weeks younger than Annabelle

We've had a few playdates since we've moved, but I haven't been good about taking pictures. This time I made a point to grab the camera.


Bella still waking up from a long nap


Bella and Alex putting together the puzzle


Feeding the baby dolls


Bella resting on the slide

Annabelle's fourth tooth (the other top front tooth) is poking through the gums. It looks like she'll get her two front teeth for Christmas this year!