Annie gets a personal trainer

Annie went to Lenox Hill yesterday for her assessment. She continues to do well but her tone is weak (Annie is still not sitting up). So...Annie should be starting physical therapy soon. I'm hoping that if she and I get on a good abdominal routine now we should look fabulous in our bikinis this summer!!

The Storm Abates..

It is with so much joy that we share with all of you that Annie has been well for over three weeks. We waited to share this with you until our impression was 'made official' by Annie's doctors. This week we have been to her pulmonologist and pediatrician. My favorite quote was her pulmonologist who said after listening to her breathe, "I don't believe it. This is just not the same baby." It's at times like these, when we can take a moment to breathe a sight of relief, that we realize just how scary it has been.

Too many days these past several months, our time with Annie has been spent counting down the minutes until she can have her medicine again. Praying that the coughing and gagging will stop. Scared because nothing seemed to be working. These past few weeks, we have tickled her belly and heard a hearty laugh. Played school (Annie and Luke are the teachers and Steve and I are the 'children') or watched her happily rolling and cooing on the floor.

It's not over and we know that. Annie could get sick again tomorrow but we will face that when it comes. For now, we celebrate the blessing of this happy, healthy girl.

We are so thankful to you, our friends and family, who have been unfailing in your support and love. Most of all, I think of (and thank!) our precious boy, Luke, who has done nothing but love his little sister with all of his might.

Next week we are back at the hospital when Annie was born for an assessment for developmental delay. We will be sure to post an update afterwards.

Love to all!

Happy New Year!

Well, we were running around with the baby caravan (why is it baby's have so much stuff?) for much of the holiday. Annie is still in need of frequent breathing treatments so she had her own bag of meds and equipment. We survived an ear infection for her on Christmas Eve (thankfully the doctor's office is always open!) and, unfortunately, Annie's breathing took a turn for the worse. We all most had to put her on some heavy duty steroids (she continues to be on one steroid) but she improved just in time. I would like to point out that our pediatrician, who went to great lengths to make herself available to us throughout the holiday, told me to put on my 'dunce cap' because I did not reach out to her soon enough when Annie wasn't doing too well. I was forced to wear the dunce cap for several days. It was bad. It has now been removed and I am back in her good graces (a place where I hope to stay forever -I don't want to get in trouble again!).

Good news is we are all doing quite well and even went back to toning down Annie's steroids a bit on Monday (we had to up them when she got sick). Let's see how long this will last!!! Holiday photos to come. Luke is a BIG fan of Santa.