Spring!

It is certainly feeling and looking like it is Spring here in Baytown!

...I know I put too many pictures, but I couldn't narrow it down any further :)

A Toast

In an effort to get Alyssa to drink when I'm not around, we are skipping the bottle (which she absolutely hates) and working on the sippy cup. She is pretty happy with it, even gets a couple swallows out. After a while she gets frustrated, though. I'm not sure she realizes that it is meant for drinking, I think she just likes to chew on it and some milk accidentally comes out.

Taking the lid off worked a little better. More milk actually went in her mouth, but a lot more milk also went down her shirt.

Hopefully, by the time we go up to Utah for Easter she will be a proficient. 

Teamwork

I usually leave all food blogging to my sister, but I'm really happy with some of our recent concoctions. Mark helping in the kitchen has some great results!

Mark has been producing delicious ice cream for a long time now, but his pomegranate and mango varieties are even better. Add fresh pineapple, and you have your own Red Mango treat.

We also dramatically improved upon our pizza making with the addition of the pizza stone. (Thanks Hayley!) Again fresh pineapple was featured heavily...I think I'm in a pineapple groove. We go through them so fast! 

Cinco (Abigail)

Miss Abigail has recently begun smiling, and laughing. One version of her smile involves her opening her mouth as wide as she can so that it appears she wants to eat you.  Abby coos and grunts and makes happy noises.
Abby is very interested in her hands. She loves looking at them, sucking them (especially her thumb). She grabs and follows toys and hands and bottles. She actually helps you hold her bottle now. She will push it away and pull it back when she wants a break or is ready for more.

Abby is still unsure if she likes eating from a spoon. She will eat the apples, avocado, bananas or rice if they are thinned out by enough milk. She doesn't usually eat very much though. She still prefers a big bottle. She weighs about 10 lbs 6 oz. 

Abigail rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time this week. 

Cinco (Alyssa)

At five months, Alyssa continues to be a happy (mostly) and energetic little girl. She currently weighs in at 11 lbs 1 oz. She loves to smile, laugh, talk to Abby, and sing. She is generally really happy unless she is hungry or going to sleep.

Alyssa is very good at following people and toys, reaching and batting at her toys, and giving hugs and kisses. She is very close to rolling from her back to her stomach. She loves to suck on her fingers. She prefers her first and second fingers. She recently has begun spitting, which is surprisingly adorable.

Alyssa is a great eater. She nurses really well, but refuses to drink much of anything from anyone else - we are working on this... She is more liberal with her feeders if they approach with a spoon. Out of apples, avocados, bananas, and rice cereal, her favorite is clearly the avocados (or anything mixed with them). She loves her avocados, but she will happily eat the others as well.  She still only has the one tooth, but it seems like another may be starting to push up.

Abby's Results

We went back to Texas Children's Hospital yesterday to meet with Abby's neurologist and to get the results of her MRI on Tuesday.

So far, her development seems normal with no obvious signs of any developmental delays. That was good - but we pretty much knew that, already.

The MRI showed that her corpus callosum did not change at all. It is still about 60% of the normal. The MRI also showed that her ventricles has increased in size 10-15% (after taking into account the normal increase in size). When she was born and the partial agenesis of the corpus callosum was discovered, we were thinking that her small corpus callosum was possibly making her ventricles look bigger. While that may contribute, it is now clear that there is some problem with her ventricular system that is resulting in a build up of pressure. There appears to be some aqueductal stenosis - which is where the small drainage "pipe" between the 3rd ventricle and the 4th ventricle, called the aqueduct, is at least partially blocked. Her aqueduct appeared small, which implies that she is not getting good flow through it.  We are trying to better understand the circulation system of the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). Whatever the cause, we are going to be watching more closely in case the ventricles continue to grow or increase in rate of growth. 

MRI

Abigail had her follow up MRI yesterday. She wasn't able to eat all morning but she was a real trooper waiting for the test, eventually even cuddling up and sleeping with Daddy. She was sedated for the test through an IV (took 2 attempts). She didn't have any problems with the test and recovered really well. We will get the test results tomorrow.