Morning at the park...

Today we went to a beautiful park and had our family pictures taken.  It was a 'fast & furious' photo session...just the way Glen likes it...and the only way possible with the 3 little munchkins!  After our photographer left we stayed and enjoyed the park for awhile...the kids loved it! 

Of course, I couldn't resist taking a few photos of my own...starting with Thea's first solo swing ride!!  As per usual with new experiences...she wasn't so sure at first, but quickly decided that she loved it!

And what's a morning at the park without some duck chasing...

It was a fun morning together, and thankfully with this 'non-summer weather' we've been having...it was a perfect day for picture taking.  I am anxious to get our family pictures back from our photographer as i'm sure they will be better than mine!

It has been a very busy month for us with all of Thea's appointments.  We are seeing our family doctor every 2 weeks to in order to monitor her as she adjusts...he is especially keeping an eye on her growth as eating has definitely been a concern for us.  Our little miss definitely has a big appetite, and is still not showing that she can tell when she has had enough to eat...we basically just feed her a 'hefty sized' one year old portion at mealtimes... which by the way is still more than either of our boys eat!!  Our doctor feels that Thea's body is playing 'catch up'...and since she has already gained almost 5lbs and grown 3cm since we met her not quite 2 months ago, I think he has a valid point! :) 

In addition to our family doctor visits, we have also seen the opthamologist, plastic surgeon, audiologist, as well as having her x-rays taken, blood tests, urine tests, etc. 

The opthamologist determined that her eyes are okay (whew)...but that it looks like she will most likely need glasses later on.  At least she doesn't require surgery as this was what was originally suspected.  As it turns out, because of her asian decent it just sometimes looks as if she has a 'wandering eye' because of her eye folds.

The plastic surgeon visit went well...and I am excited that Thea's cleft palate surgery will be done sometime in September, we are just waiting for the official date.  I am so happy that it will be done sooner than later...definitely not looking forward to those 3 or 4 days in the hospital and seeing our baby girl in discomfort...but I think the younger she is the better!

We saw the audiologist this week as well, and the testing revealed some slight hearing loss.  I have now learned that this is common in children with cleft palate, as fluid builds up behind the ear drum in the middle ear.  It looks as if Thea will need to have tubes put in her ears to help with the drainage.  We are now being referred to the ENT (ears, nose, throat) specialist...and they will make the final decision on this.  Thankfully if she does need the tubes, they will be able to do this surgery at the same time as her palate surgery in September.

We are still waiting to see the pediatrician...and will finally get to see him at the beginning of September.  As well, we will have an intake visit in October with the Child Developement Association through which Thea will receive services for speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy as necessary.

Whew...as you can see, this is just a tad overwhelming!!  All these crazy appointments kind of make Thea feel like this...

Well...okay...actually, that is actually how Thea feels when mommy has taken just one too many pictures of her!! lol 

Anyways, that being said, we are feeling beyond blessed that we have all these specialist and services available to help our little Thea right here where we live...how lucky are we!!

With that...it's off to the hospital this Friday for some blood tests... 

Gayle xox