21-month update

Seriously, can a girl get much cuter?

Here we are, just three months from turning 2, and having a ton of fun. Alivia is a complete joy - full of personality that I wish I could adequately capture in words. She's smart, goofy and extremely sweet. And still doing remarkably well!

We visited her local cardiologist today. Her growth was great, vitals perfect. Because we go to Children's in about four weeks for our biannual visit, he didn't conduct any tests, so she won't have any bloodwork or an echo until we head to St. Louis. But based on her blood pressure, pulse, oxygen sats, etc., the doctor was very pleased with how she's doing. The improvement she's shown in less than a year is remarkable. This time last year, her heart was functioning so poorly that she was at risk for a heart transplant. Now, she's regained a lot of function and is on one medication, which she'll likely stay on long term. It seems as though she is falling into the category of kids who regain most of their heart function back. We'll continue to watch the anatomy of her heart, which is still enlarged (but not nearly as much as it was), and her function. When the doctor listened to Alivia today, he said her murmur (caused by the enlargement) seemed quieter and her heart rate was nice and slow, meaning it's not needing to compensate to do its job by beating faster. All good things to hear!

I asked her doctor today if the fact that her heart is recovering provides any indication of what caused this to begin with. He said, yes, that it suggests (but we'll never know) that it was viral endocarditis, meaning a virus attacked the heart muscle. Scary to think that could just happen. But as far as recovery goes, the fact that it's likely not a genetic issue means that her body won't be fighting against the medicine to re-enlarge (this is my opinion as I understand things). Keeping Alivia on her one med will further ensure the heart doesn't try to enlarge by continuing to help the heart pump without stressing out.

Current stats:

Weight: 23 lbs 5 oz (the nurse said that was 25th percentile which is AWESOME for Alivia, but that was under the assumption she was 20 months old. Either way, she is moving on up that growth chart!)

Height: 32.5 inches (50th percentile)

Current likes: Drawing/coloring on anything! We have to keep all pens out of her reach, or next thing we know, our floors or walls have an Alivia Original on them. My mom had the smart idea to put her in the highchair and THEN give her a pen. She had a ball. Alivia also still likes baby dolls; my mom got her a small one for Halloween, and it's been a huge hit. I think Santa is going to enjoy shopping for her. And her favorite video right now if Baby Songs, which Tyler was "eh" about but my brother loved. It's cute to see her so interested in something I remember Adam watching 20 years ago.

Milestones: Continued interest with, and success using, the potty. Incredible language development. Great at associating people with where they go or live.

Halloween was fun this year - Alivia wore Tyler's monkey costume from when he was 2.

Here they are about to hit the neighborhood!

I had some slight mommy guilt about making her wear a hand-me-down, so here she is in a flower costume I bought two days before Halloween. It was very cute, even if she refused to wear the hat that went with it.

 

We also made a quick trip to Chicago this past month and visited the Sears/Willis tower. The kids had no fear, and it was very cool to step out into those glass boxes that place you over nothing but thin air.

I'm greatly looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. We had so much to be thankful for last year, and this year, we have even more to praise God for! As challenging of a year this has been, it's been so, so wonderful.