A Wonderful Holiday!

I had to work hard, but I finally got a grin on Christmas morning!

Alayna was beginning to not feel too good and her left eye has been bothering her.

We are working so hard on rolling over. As you can see getting her legs up seems to be step 1!

Then she usually has to put the hand to the mouth! By the way, this is the SPIO vest for therapy. She has "Mary Jane" socks on. She looks like she should be going to ballet class.

Then she rolls to her side! We were thrilled!

Then with just the littlest nudge of help, she can get over! But we are still working on getting the arm "unstuck." Progress is slow, but I have nothing but faith in what she'll be able to do! We'll keep pushing her.

Alayna, Drake, Douglas and Alexis with Granpa Denny and Grandma Diana on Christmas day. This was at the end of the night and everyone was so tired! As you can see Douglas had to force the smile and Drake's eyes are pretty heavy.

Family photo time...that is before we recognized that there was such a glare outside.
This is better! Add another photo to the "priceless" category. If I could only keep them little forever.
Dad sharing a moment with one of his "little girls."

Dana and Alayna again on Christmas morning. She patiently waits for a bottle while Dad tries to figure out one of Drake's new (and frustrating) Transformers. They know better than to ask Mom for help!

Grandpa Denny and Alayna enjoy a special moment together. She is even smiling!! I have a feeling that they will have quite a bond someday soon. He is taking care of her 1 day a week.

Alayna relaxing in Grandma Billie's arms on Christmas Eve. She gets passed around a lot. Everyone wants to have Alayna loves. She is pretty irresistible.

Mom helps Alayna open up some of her presents on Christmas morning. She got some toys, clothes, books, a mobile, money, pajamas, and lots of other goodies. Thank you Santa and family.

Alayna is in her new jumper and poses with her siblings and cousins at the DeKeyrel Christmas.

Alayna gets big hugs from Great Grandma Lucy!


I hope all of you had a nice Christmas. We all did just for the fact that we all woke up under the same roof (no hospital) and spent the day together. I was so thankful. I'm in heaven because Dana got us Broadband internet through Verizon as a gift and I can now do a post in 1/3 the time or maybe less! That's why you'll get to see more pictures. I don't have to wait as long to get them to post. No more dial-up!


Of course, it wouldn't be a normal time for us if we didn't have to go to see the doctor. And she was doing so good!!! Alayna woke up yesterday and was really congested and refused to eat anything from the bottle. This causes a problem because she takes her phenobarb in her formula. It tastes terrible otherwise. So, I finally got her to eat some oatmeal and fruit. I literally tried to feed her a bottle 4-5 times throughout the day and then gave up. I syringed apple juice and water into her mouth about every half-hour to keep her hydrated. We kicked Dad to the couch and she slept with me. When she gets sick I think it will just be normal for us to be more worried and cautious. The night wasn't too bad, but she woke up running a temperature.


The snow couldn't stop us, we were headed to the Pediatric Group in East Moline at 3:00 pm to see the doctor. Alayna was running a 102.3 temperature when we got there. I prayed it was nothing major. She ended up having a double ear infection and a viral cold to go along with it. Her eye has been watering and yucky too for the past couple weeks. That's part of the package as well. The doctor did a CBC and the results were good. It did show it was viral and most numbers were within normal range. With a prescription of augmentin and instructions to do breathing treatments, we were out the door. Mark another visit down in the books! She is now 18 lbs 6 oz and is putting the weight back on that she lost prior to Iowa City.


Alayna is getting so close to rolling over as a few of the above pictures show. We want to keep heading in this direction. We have a busy week of evaluations coming up. The massage therapist will be coming out to do a follow-up eval on her this Monday, December 31. Then on Wednesday, January 2, Alayna goes to see the ENT in Iowa City. That appointment was originally scheduled in November, but was cancelled because of being in the hospital. Looks like it couldn't be at a better time. Something needs to be tried. She has way too many ear infections. On Thursday, January 3, we have our evaluation meeting at the Children's Therapy Center with her physical and speech therapists and our case manager from Early Intervention. I really hope therapy will increase. I will keep you posted with how things turn out.


My mom just recently passed on some information to me about the New Kingdom Trailriders. Some of the families in our support group send their kids to this type of therapeutic horseback riding. It caters to people ranging from ages 3-adult that have disabilities of some kind. It is something I'm definitely interested in for Alayna, but she has to be 3. But I thought I'd pass on the idea for some of you who may know anyone that might benefit from it. Check it out!


One of the members of our Yahoo support group recently posted this line: "No stone left unturned - move mountains." I like that saying because it sums up what many of us special needs parents think like. We all believe in our kids and will not allow anyone to tell us what they can and cannot do. We will be the advocates that they need even if we have to be their voice. Anything is possible and I have a feeling that Alayna will show us this. I'll be right by her side cheering her on.