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| Just wanted to give a quick update on our first day at Riley's feeding clinic:
Grace did great! Basically, we offer her food every 2-3 hours or so, and there are some different doctors/therapists at each scheduled meal time. In the down time, we ran around the hospital, checked out the fish tanks and fountains, and went to a craft time. I am totally encouraged by how much she ate and drank, and I feel really hopeful about making some major progress in her oral eating this week. If we can just survive the hanging out time, we'll be good. :)
Another exciting thing we found out today is that Gracie DOES qualify for speech and physical therapy through the school system! They are recommending that she go to the developmental preschool 4 days a week! This is way more than I expected. So she will go to a nearby elementary school, where half of the kids are normal and half have mild delays like her, she'll get help in those areas where she's behind, and they will pick her up and drop her off. I am sooooo thankful that it turned out this way! I think she'll really thrive in that environment and will also continue to get help progressing in a couple of key areas. She'll start in January!
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| Last night, our family went to the Scott's for dinner. We were going to watch college football and have hamburgers with them and other staff families. But it also turned out to be a surprise baby shower! I was totally clueless, and it was so great! Everyone was so generous, and we got tons of really great stuff for our little man, including our first boy-type toy ever, which was a tool set. We may need tons of boy toys to overcome the doll population in this house, but the tool set was a great start!! :)
Darin with the tool kit...right up his alley
Everyone helping me open presents
I felt so loved and was thankful for friends who are celebrating this child with us!
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| Two pieces of good news:
-At Grace's monthly weigh-in this week, we discovered that she's gained a WHOLE POUND! She now weighs a whopping 22 pounds. This is a BIG deal b/c: 1. a pound is like 5 times what she's been gaining in a month for the past 18 months, and 2. it means she's been healthy enough to keep all her formula down! Not to jinx the situation, but Grace has been really healthy for quite a while now. I'm actually getting used to it! So far God had protected her from all forms of the flu (no small feat in Fishers, IN lately), she's only had like one cold, and we are at an all-time vomiting low. REALLY EXCITING!
-The second thing that has surfaced this week is what Darin affectionately refers to as "fat camp." After a good bit of research and some persistent phone-calling and prayer, it appears that right after thanksgiving, Grace will spend a week at Riley for their feeding clinic. Basically, we are at the place where Grace may be ready to be fully weaned from the g-tube so that she can eat orally 100% of the time. But I need some help getting her to that place, and this feeding clinic is supposed to do that. From Monday to Thursday, she won't receive any feedings in her tube, and at each meal and snack time a team of people (speech therapy, occupational therapy, doctors, behavioral therapists, etc) will come coach her in eating orally. Staying at the hospital will also ensure that she won't get dehydrated, etc. While I'm not looking forward to the actual stay, I am really looking forward to her being able to eat orally all the time. This g-tube has certainly preserved her life, but I will not miss it one bit when it's gone!!!
So, if we wanted to add a little chaos to the last two months of the year, we get to do it. It wouldn't be true Travis life if we didn't. :)
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| The last few weeks have been very busy around here...
My stepsister, Rebecca, got married last Saturday. We left the day before and drove to New Orleans, planning to stay for a week. The wedding itself was so fun! Rebecca looked beautiful, and Darin and I got to enjoy at kid-free night out. This is us with my brother, Beau, his fiancee Chelsea, my sister Casey, and her fiancee Kevin.
On Wednesday, my cousin Tisere got married, so Darin and I had another chance to go out without the kids. We were spoiled this week! :) Here's Tisere and I:
The weekend before we went to Louisiana, we took the girls camping for one last time this season. It was beautiful!!! The leaves were all changing, and the weather was cold but awesome. We had a good time just hanging out together.
 
Finally, here are the Halloween pictures. We made it back from New Orleans the night before, in time to trick-or-treat with our neighbhors. The girls had a great time, and it was fun to watch Grace, who won't even eat candy, go from house to house like she had a mission. :) Abby was a fairy, Lexi was sleeping beauty, and Grace was snow white.
It was freezing here Halloween night, so these are the bundled up princesses:
Finally, here is the morning after count-and-sort-the-candy session
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