Being home.

Just a little update about us being back home now...

All seems to be going pretty well. Piper is now back into her regular routine of 2 naps and is pretty much able to do most things she could before.

She is not quite as active (squirmy, scooting) as before, but I know that will come back pretty fast. It is almost like she has taken a small step back a few months. She has lost some of her words (sounds, I should say), but, again, I am sure they will come back.

She is eating really well now that she is home. Lots of her favorite foods are still pretty bullet-proof (yogurt, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, cereal, apples). And she is nursing really well, too. She had me worried for a little while there, but everything seems to be back to normal there. The poops and the pees are all good, too. (oxymoron, I think so...)

We've tried to keep things kinda low key for the last little while, a bit of going here and there, but not over doing it. We still need to be careful about sick people for a while, as she is a bit more susceptible to getting something, just being post-op and all. But blowing bubbles in the backyard was a good time! That yellow suit (we call it her Zoot-suit) is meant for an 18 month old kid, but I am going to make it last! It was passed down from her cousins, so I am sure a few of them have worn it too. Just roll up the sleeves and legs and you've got mess-proof fun!

Piper's newest thing these days is pointing at EVERYTHING. That is new for her. Now, as soon as she can, she just points at anything, though she is quite specific. In my head, she is saying "that, over there. What? Why? Can I feel it? Taste it? Now?", so I usually oblige her. I am always surprised what she can see, as obscure as it is. Good eye sight! (that would be a Daddy trait, not from my side...)

This is the perfect time to be reinforcing signs, too! We have been doing a bit of signing here and there for some simple motivators for her (milk, eat, more, cat -oh, those last three sound bad), but now she is really seeing and hearing things, so I feel like this is a prime opportunity to tell her what they all are. I feel like I've got a good number of signs under my belt, so we'll see how this goes. I think she signed "light" to me today, as she is always pointing at lamps, and light fixtures. Communicating with your child is so exciting, so I want to try to do that in any way I can. And I have always been really interested in signing anyways.

Here she is playing with a pack of flash cards that are kinda cool. You can see that little pointer finger, working like a crow-bar on prying up or open everything in sight.

And physically, I think she is doing well. It is hard to tell, yes, but I feel like she is moving in the right direction. She has really clear ups and downs, but they are getting to be ups and she is a tiny bit more tolerant of some things. You can tell when her Tylenol wears off... she'll be sitting and playing and then kinda stops and just cries like "why does that hurt? oh, it makes me sad and crying just makes it hurt more!". So we've been keeping the Tylenol up pretty regularly. She has been sleeping a little better, not up as often, but I am still pretty tired. I've going through a rough sleeping patch right now... which means, I am not sleeping all that well.

Here is Piper in an "up" moment, happily shuffling around and talking to her bear.

We go to BCCH on Thursday for a check-up, and I am sure everything will look a-ok. We have yet to hear about the blood work from today, but hopefully by tomorrow morning.

**note: did you know, that at BCBioMed, the day after the Easter long weekend is their busiest day of the year? Well, we found that out the hard way... like walking into the mall on Christmas Eve. Wowza. Luckily we had the same awesome lady who knew us and was so thrilled at how Piper was doing and knew her condition well, so that was a high point! Anyways, if you don't have to get bloodwork done on this day... don't.**