Who's a big girl?

Lola has peed on the potty five times in the past two days - 4 yesterday, and she went first thing this morning.
I am in shock.
Totally and completely.
I will be heading out to the store to buy the cutest, most awesome gotchies I can find.

YAY FOR LOLA!

Family photos!

Lots of stuff going on lately - don't know where to start.

On Thanksgiving weekend, our awesome neighbour, Denise Landry, took some photos of our family at a nearby park. A momentous occasion for many reasons, but most importantly because we've never had a family photo taken. And certainly not a professional photo! We have a snap from when Lola was born, and another handful of pics taken when we visited the McGraths a few summers ago. That's it! Anyway, it was a great experience, and I'd highly recommend Denise - not just because she's super nice and talented, or my neighbour. She captured some amazing memories for us - and it's so incredible to have a view into Lola's recovery in such a vivid way.

Lola continues to do well in her therapies, and with Deannie at playschool. Today is her Halloween party, and she's going as a bunny. We put her in the suit and laughed so hard as she marched around the kitchen. She reminded me of the kid from A Christmas Story - the suit is that ridiculous. Of course there will be pics. Liam will be a magician, and he has a very big bunny to pull outta his hat!

New Lola tricks:

- using her right hand - she continues to try to pick up very large/heavy objects using both hands. It's really exciting!

- snapping her fingers - now, of course, this will only add to her diva-ness - as we jump to get her whatever she wants - but that's okay. She knows the snapping is funny and cracks up while she does it.

And the best news - we finally got the call to start the Keto diet. It will be next week or the week after. What we know for sure is we are next on the list, so as soon as they have a spot for us, we're in! I'm nervous, excited, and eversohopeful that this diet will be a miracle for Lola. So we'll be inpatient for 5-7 days to initiate the diet. It involves so much calculating that I'm a bit concerned I can do it - but I'll have great support from the dietician.

Still a Lefty, but that's okay...

Lola used her right hand yesterday!! She bent over to pick up a piggy bank, which was heavy, and her right hand helped with the lifting this time!! I was so excited I was yelling, "Steve, Leni! Come look!" She did it a few more times after that. Usually, you can see that her right hand "wants" to help out - it does this kind of jerky movement in the general direction of what she wants to do, but then nothing really happens. This time it was so natural - she just put her hand on the toy and brought it to me!

Fall is here!

Lola has been doing really well at pre-school and Deannie always has good reports for us. She's made a few little friends, has done lots of dancing and playing, and has even made some crafts. We're so happy that she's going to pre-school and doing "normal" things with other littles her size (well, they're likely smaller than she is, considering she weighs 20.5 kg (times that by 2.2 to find out the lbs). She seems to have turned another corner - things just seem to be falling into place. She can now climb the stairs alternating feet while holding onto a toy/doll/book. She just seems more "with it" - she answers you right away, and does what you ask her to do. She has a few words and sounds, but somehow she lets you know exactly what she wants. She still gets really frustrated when we don't understand her, but she's improving little by little.

She just had her ivig yesterday, and it was a rough go. Four pokes, and they finally got the iv started - not fun. Still no word on when we're starting the keto diet. Waiting patiently.

Back to School!

Lola all ready to go for her first day of school. She's mad because she had to get her hair done.

This is Deannie - taking Lola to school. It's a great shot because Lola just conquered going down stairs like this this summer. Check out her high-top sneakers that Papa got her!

I love this picture for so many reasons. This is outside the hospital last Friday after Lola's ivig treatment. We've never stopped to play here before, but today was gorgeous so we did. I remember looking at this playground, watching kids play on it and feeling so upset because my child was too sick to play. Well, miracles happen, and here she is!

Liam with his big backpack on his first day of grade two!

We take the same picture each year - the tree's growing and so is he!

It's that time of year again - where the crazies set in and the rat race starts up again. Back to school. Liam's settling into grade two nicely, with his girlfriend (finally) in his class. Although they got separated for "chitchatting" they still get to play together, which is fun. He will be starting indoor soccer shortly, which will help him burn off some energy.
Lola started back with her program at GRIT this week, with her Developmental Specialist, Deannie. Deannie is so great with Lola, and I'm excited for all the new experiences they'll have this year - because they're heading to preschool! They went on Tuesday and Lola did great! She read books, ate her snack, played, then listened to a story! I'm so proud of her.
We're still waiting to start the Ketogenic diet - we saw the neuro who oversees the diet, did our intake dietary report/food diary, and had our labs drawn at Ivig on Friday. Now we're waiting for the call and we'll be staying at the hospital for a week to get things started. I don't think Lola will enjoy being inpatient again - I'm dreading it so much. This diet's going to be tough on her for a bit - but if the end result is fewer seizures and less meds, we'll do whatever we can.

The race that Steve planned in Golden (Western Cup at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort) was a huge success. He worked so hard to plan that event, and it all paid off. Lola's account got a boost to pay for her music therapy, as well as some developmental/physio tools that we have on our wish list (we're just deciding which ones to get). Her biggest thing - she'll be getting an ipad! How exciting! I've been doing so much research on communication and special needs apps that will help her to find her voice. It's going to take us some practise to figure it out though, no doubt! Anyway, we are so thankful for the volunteers who came out to support Lola at the race - especially Theresa, Gayle, Holly, Doug, Tenzin, Thuptin and everybody else who was lucky enough to stay at our house on the mountain. Now if only we owned that sweet place. ha. We're already talking about next year!

Update on the quest for sleep...

She slept all night long. In her own bed. By herself.
Steve said, "I hope she's okay" to which I replied, "Don't say that.Don't say that.Don't say that." all the way down the hall till I found her still snoring away. Thank God! Talk about panic.
This girl's a mystery. Why would last night be any different than any other night? We went for a wagon ride, had a snack, laid down with her till she fell asleep - happens in a similar fashion every night. Maybe it's because it's raining - and who doesn't like to sleep when it's raining? Let's hope this is a new trend - because I could sure get used to sleeping more than an hour at a time. The other night I got 5 straight hours and thought I was a new woman. What would 8 be like? And more importantly, what would the impact be on Lola's seizure activity if she wasn't tired all the time? That would be the best part...