Eyes

I'm out of order, and I hate doing things out of order.  But here is the story, as it happens.  

Natalee as we know, arrived very early.  As a result, she's had eye problems since birth, mostly caused by the amount of oxygen therapy she received as an infant.  At the beginning, our first problem was Retinopathy of Prematurity, which is abnormal blood vessel development in the rentina. She had surgery at three months to reattach the retina to the optic nerve and fix the biggest part of the problem.  However, this has left her with scar tissue causing Bi-lateral Exotropia, which is a fancy word meaning that her eyes don't exactly line up.  It's also something that the eye doctor likes to pull residents and interns in to look at whenever he gets the chance. And speaking of the eye doctor, that is really what this post is about.  We started seeing the eye doctor every other week in the hospital and were required to follow up with him the week after we were discharged. At that first visit we were told that Natalee would be in glasses within six months.  She was nearsighted and he would wait for it to progress, but that was the expectation.  So we went to see him every 3 months for nearly two years.  Then we were moved to a six month rotation.  And, not to be a complainer, but the average appointment at the eye doctor is three hours.  So, in nine years I've spent more hours at this man's office than I care to think about. Throw in the fact that until she was about 5, she was kind of a huge pain whenever we'd go and it all just adds up to good times, good times. Her eyesight went from being nearsighted in both eyes, to being nearsighted in one and farsighted in the other.  She also developed a stigmatism. Last April she was finally put in glasses.  On April 10th we went for our appointment and were told that we needed a new prescription, but overall very little had changed.  As a result, he doesn't want to see us again until next April.  It's wonderful to kind of put the eye issues behind us and know that she's past the point that anything very degenerative will happen.  I told the doctor that I just didn't know what we'd do if we couldn't come and see him twice a year and he said he thought we'd manage. 

So, what does all of this have to do with the photo? 

Celebratory Gelato

If I Only Had a Brain

The other day Natalee and I ran into my OB/GYN at the grocery store. We each said hi and asked how the other was. It was nice to see him in a place other than his office since when he usually asks me how I am, if I were truthful I'd have to say "nervous, cold and uncomfortable."
As he walked off Natalee asked, "Who is that?" I said, "That's the doctor that took you out of my tummy when you were born." She said, "I don't remember him." I said, "Of course not, you were too little." To which she replied, in kind of a somber tone, "And I was born without a brain."
Natalee knows she was very different from other babies, but I guess we haven't been too clear on what it actually means to be born premature. At any rate, this gave me a good laugh.

One More Sleep Til Christmas

It's Christmas Eve!!!! Actually, it's almost Christmas, so I'd better finish this so Santa can come and visit my house. We stated our official celebration at the home of my brother Dallas. It's a lovely mish-mashed together college dwelling. Here are Grandma and Natalee admiring the Birthday Cake for Jesus that Dallas made. Then we prepared food to take to families at the NICU at IMED.
Here are Sunny, MarKey and Dallas waiting for all the people. In all we probably fed around 20, but it was nice and fairly low key.
Here are Sunny and Grandma telling Natalee that they hope they can get to our house tomorrow. We hope so too!!!


When we got home, Natalee had to get the food ready for Santa's Reindeer. She got a bowl of oats, some carrots and a bowl of water. Then she lamented that she didn't think 5 carrots was enough for 8 reindeer and said that Santa will probably make them share. Then she wondered how 8 reindeer would all fit on our porch to eat the oats. Then she said they would probably take turns. She's so smart....she's got it all figured out.
One last thing....if anyone reading this is looking for a last minute gift for me, and I do realize it will be very last minute, may I suggest a house plant? My friend Heidi, who is smart, beautiful, funny, athletic, skinny and popular (and I somehow wonder how it is that we are friends?) has given us an Aqua Globe!

Now, I appreciate this, and I must say have long coveted the Aqua Globe, but I do not have any house plants. I do eagerly await being able to keep one alive with the assistance of my new gift, so that's just a suggestion in case anyone out there hasn't finished their shopping for me.

Quick side note: When I pulled this out of the bag Natalee said,

"OH WOW....AN AQUA GLOBE!!"

I said, "How do you know about Aqua Globes?" She said, "I've seen them on TV." I said, "What do they do?" She said, "Oh, they really make your plants grow really better."

So there you go....Congrats Aqua Globe People....advertising mission accomplished!

MERRY CHISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!