Etta's Journal

We're on our way back to Tennessee, in fact, we've just passed the big rocket ship at the Alabama welcome center/rest area, not too far from home now! I'm playing with the guitar that Granny and Pop gave me for Christmas, Momma is sitting back here with me trying to keep me happy and eating some Starburst candy, Daddy is drinking lots of caffeine and eating lots of sugar and being a champ driving us all the way home, and Cassie and Ferris are just hanging out in the back. Ferris is napping, but Cassie (who is always nervous) is just panting and having a hard time relaxing (as usual). Oh, we just crossed the state line! Welcome to Tennessee! We're SO close now!

So, I had a great time at Nana V and Grandfather's house in Alabama! I sure have a lot of family. There was never a dull moment and I was always happy about bedtime. We arrived Tuesday night, and since I had slept for the last half of the way, I was awake and playing with Nana V and Grandfather for a good two hours after we arrived. The next day, Momma and Daddy and I went up to the hospital where Nana V works and I got to see her office and play with Megan and Gina. Then, we went to lunch at one of Momma's favorite places, Mama Rosa's (Daddy likes it too, but Momma grew up on this stuff!). Grandfather also met us for lunch. It was a treat to see both of them in the middle of a work day! One of Momma's favorite moments of the trip happened while we were at lunch. The waitress (who has worked there for as long as Momma can remember- at least 11 or 12 years) was ooohing and aaahing over me and how cute I am. Then she went one table over to wait on them. While she was over there, Nana V said that she liked my ponytail (it IS cute!) and as the waitress was walking back past our table she said “I like her face”. Hmm.. maybe it was funnier in person? Haha. Anyway, after lunch Nana V and Grandfather had to go back to work and Momma and Daddy and I ran a couple of errands and headed back to the house. We hung around the house for the rest of the day. My Uncle Adam came over with my cousins Whit and Kessler. I got to play with my cousins a lot on this trip! They were really sweet to me. Whit would pat me on the head and call me “baby Etta” and Kessie kissed me a few times.

The next day was Christmas Eve. Daddy woke up with my cold that morning. Ick! He made sure to nap when I napped! Whit and Kess came over in the late morning and played with us and helped Grandfather cook food for our big dinner that night. Whit was “Jello Boy” and Kessie was “Vegetable Girl”. They were big helpers and I had fun watching them stir the bowls and pots. In the afternoon, Momma and Nana V went out to the mall to wrap gifts for charity (like they do every year) and Aunt Kimi met them out there when she got into town. While they were out wrapping presents, Aunt Deanne and Uncle Todd arrived. They were So excited to see me! There was a lot of activity as everyone arrived that day. I was in bed a few minutes before 7:00 that night (!!!). So, I missed the arrival of my Nana May and my Great Aunts Tammie and Jeanne and my cousin Nick. That night, while I was sleeping, the grown-ups had their big Christmas dinner and then they did the first annual Dirty Santa gift exchange. The rules stated that the items must be wrapped in a brown paper grocery sac in honor of the way my Great-Grandfather (“Papa”) use to wrap gifts. They had a lot of fun with this game and Momma was surprised that all of the roaring laughter didn't wake me up!

The next day was Christmas! Daddy got up with me that morning and since I was the only kid in the house and I'm still pretty little, there wasn't a rush to wake everyone up at 6:00am to unwrap presents. Momma even slept in until about 10:00! In fact, we ate brunch and I took a nap before we even did the gifts! This explains why I'm not in my cute Christmas pj's and I'm dressed for the day in all of the photos! When we finally did get to open presents I had a good time tearing paper! I got A LOT of stuff! I LOVED the big red wagon that Nana V & Grandfather gave me and I loved Peppy the Penguin and I loved the Winnie the Pooh telephone that Lito and Lita sent me. I wasn't too sure about that whinnying/flipping horse they sent.... but Kessie really liked playing with it! I have lots of other toys that I can't wait to get into one we get back home!

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We're home now! We pulled in our driveway just after 4:00. I'm happy to be in my house with my stuff! Daddy's giving me my bath now......

So, back to my (long) story!

Christmas day and Saturday and Sunday were really great, easy, laid-back days! I loved going for rides in my new wagon and I loved visiting with everyone! About half of the people there were in some stage of a cold, including me. So, there was a lot of nap taking going on!

Aunt Deanne taught me to stick my tongue out when she stuck hers out. It got to a point where I would stick my tongue out at her as soon as I saw her, I also started making a new Donald Duck sound while we were there. “swqaa swqaaa swqaa”. Momma will try to get video....

I was sad to leave today, but I'm glad I'm home. Looking forward to this weekend when Nana V will come stay with us for a couple of weeks!

I'm sick again. ICK! Momma caught a cold last week and it took me about 6 days to catch it. Just in time for the holidays.

On Sunday, Daddy, Momma and I went to Grandmomma and Granddaddy's house to celebrate Christmas with them and Granny and Pop and Aunt Jessi and Mike. I wasn't feeling great (about 2 days into the cold), but I still enjoyed my new toys and visiting with everyone. At lunch I got to sit in the (antique) highchair that first belonged to my Great Uncle Stanley. Lots of people in my family have used that chair and Momma thought that was really neat. I liked watching the Titans game and climbing on everything while we were there. I was very entertaining! We only stayed for about three hours because I wasn't feeling well, but I got to go back the next day!

Momma had a Dr. appointment in Nashville on Monday morning so I went and played with Grandmomma while Momma ran up to Baptist. I really enjoyed the extra special time with my GMM, but like I said, I was sick and when Momma came back for me around 11:30, I was pretty snotty and I felt like I had a low grade fever. I passed out in the car before we even got out of their neighborhood! Grandmomma sent some blueberry muffins home with us and I have had two of them so far and I LOVE them!

Tuesday afternoon we loaded up the car and took a road trip. We landed at Nana V and Grandfather's house in Alabama that night. It was pretty late when we got there, around 9:30- WAY past my bedtime. Momma and Daddy timed the trip this way somewhat purposefully so that I would sleep for the last half of the way (which I did). I also got to use my new DVD player! Momma got a great “doorbuster” deal on a system that mounts to the headrest on the day after Thanksgiving and we were all SO thankful that she did!! Baby Einstein kept me entertained for much of the first half of the trip! I'm still sick, but I seem to be over the worst of it (fingers crossed). I sure hope I feel better soon because I'm so excited to see everyone in the next few days!

Also, a quick update on just me in general...

I can stand up now! Unassisted! I just decide to stand up and I do it, without using something to pull-up on! Video has been taken and is on its way!

Also, I LOVE to clap and I love to tell people they should clap too! I'll put my hands over your hands and push them together, Then, if you just leave them together, I start clapping to show you what I want you to do. :)

18 Month Well-Baby Visit

Momma and I went to see Dr Hood on Friday for my 18 month check-up. I've gained a few ounces and grown a little less than an inch since my last weigh-in a couple months ago. I now weigh 18lbs and 1/2 an ounce (Hey! I need all the fraction of ounces I can get!) and I'm 28 1/2 inches tall! This still has me in about the 20-25% on the Down syndrome growth chart, which tells you that I'm pretty small. I'm in about the 5th percentile on a typical growth chart (this means that I'm smaller than 95% of 18 month old girls). It's okay though, I'm cute (and Momma likes that I'm still light enough to carry/wear for quick trips into a store)! Dr. Hood isn't too concerned. I've always been pretty little and I look healthy and I eat well. That being said, we're still keeping me on a pretty high-fat diet and supplementing with PediaSure. Also, Momma fed me peanut butter for the very first time while we were in the parking lot before the appointment (incase I had an allergic reaction). Good news! I'm not allergic to peanut butter and it tastes yummy AND it is full of good fat! Momma and Daddy are excited about finally being able to introduce peanut butter into my diet!

Momma and Dr. Hood reviewed all of the medicines I am currently taking and when we got to the thyroid medicine Momma had to admit that she had stopped giving it to me about 6-8 weeks ago. Dr. Hood didn't look too pleased, but Momma just REALLY felt like I shouldn't be taking it. The last couple of times that I had my levels checked (over the last 6 months) they kept coming back HYPERactive (over active). Well, I'm on this medicine because my thyroid is Hypoactive (underactive). This means that the medicine is causing my levels to be high. The Endocrinologost just kept lowering my dosage until I was prescribed half of the smallest available dose. We never just took me off the drug to see if my system was okay without it. Besides, when your thyroid is hyperactive, you have trouble with WEIGHT GAIN and trouble SLEEPING, among other symptoms. These are two things I've had issues with. So, since I had been off the Syntroid for more than 6 weeks, Dr. Hood had the lab draw to check my levels. Turns out that Momma's intuition was DEAD ON and my thyroid levels are PERFECT! My iron levels are also better than perfect, by the way! I didn't like having my blood drawn OR the one shot I had to get, but I was happy to hear that I am done with immunizations until I'm 4!!

While we were there, I showed off my new walking skills and Dr. Hood was very impressed. I also showed her that I don't like having my ears messed with! LOL!

Momma got a cute video of me playing with my reflection in a mirror while I was naked waiting for the fun to begin! She'll post it soon!

okay, so, I'm walking all over the place now. I'm about 50/50 with the walking to crawling ratio. If I can just figure out how to stand back up (without holding on to something) after I fall, I'll be SET!

Momma and Daddy and I went to Vanderbilt Children's this afternoon for the DSAMT (down syndrome association of middle tenn) Holiday Party. We got there kinda late because I was taking such a good nap that Momma didn't want to wake me. So, when we finally arrived, a lot of my friends had either already left or were about to leave. I did get to meet a couple of new friends, though I was more interested in walking around the room. I was a real show-off today!

Soon after we arrived, Momma made me sit on Santa's lap. At first I just stared at this guy in red. Then, I decided that I wasn't a fan and I started twisting and arching and fussing until The Man In Red finally put me down. Later, The Red Man tried again to hold me. This time he came around to where we were sitting. Daddy got a great picture of me clutching Momma's shirt with all of my might as she passed me off to Mr. White Beard. Eventually, Momma just held me and stood next to The Man In Red while Daddy took a picture. I made sure to keep a good eye on that guy for the rest of the afternoon. Good thing I did, because next he tried to give me a loli-pop. This time I ran to Daddy and CLUNG to his leg and REFUSED to have anything to do with The Man In Red. I told Daddy that his beard was the wrong color! I don't know it yet, but Momma still plans to take me to visit White Bearded Man at the mall one day soon...

I also wanted to report that I took a big girl nap ALLLL week!! It started on Sunday when Momma MADE me stay awake until noon. She fed me lunch and put me down for a nap around 12:15 and then i SLEPT for nearly two hours!! Now, incase you didn't know, I use to take two naps a day and they were both pretty short (never more than about 35-45 minutes). So, all week, Momma pushed my nap and put me down after lunch and all week I slept for about two hours!!! I'm SUCH a big girl!! "So Big!"