Gracelyn is perfect.

According the umpteenth doctor we have seen regarding Gracelyn, in his words, Gracelyn is perfect. We concur.

Friday we saw a hearing specialist following a procedure a month before to remove her left ear tube that was stuck in her ear due to all the fluid and gunk. It wasn't pretty.
We have a wonderful family doctor we have started seeing, after the previous family doc dismissed my concerns and the pediatrician admitted she told other patients about Gracelyn and how we fed her HONEY and she contracted botulism. The new doc listened and agreed that Gracelyn's articulation isn't where it should be. Whether if it's from lack of speech therapy following her battle with botulism or her ears or both we weren't sure but there was an issue.
He sent us to an ENT and that is when he discussed her left ear tube that was still in and was actually the source of infection. The outpatient procedure to remove the tube took all of 10 minutes and when he came out to tell me how she did, he told me that her eardrum was totally healed underneath all of the fluid! WHAT?! He was even surprised. I exclaimed, "Praise God!" because it was nothing short of God's mercy.

So Friday we went to Hough Ear Institute in OKC and after over an hour of testing, which Gracelyn was a rockstar, we saw the doctor and in his words, "Gracelyn is perfect!" He confirmed that it was only through God that her eardrum healed underneath the infection she had in her ear. He couldn't believe all that our sweet girl has been through in her 3 years of life and when I told him she was a testimony, he agreed. The doc told us she can hear perfectly! And she doesn't need to come back to see him. He did agree that she needs speech therapy. :Last night at our Sunday School social I spoke to a speech therapist about Gracelyn. She said Gracelyn needed to be given time now that she can actually hear. Her tripping over her words is common as sheis just now able to hear sounds correctly. She probably hasn't been able to hear since she was a baby seeing as her ear infections started early. So we will work with her, she certainly isn't shy to speak, she doesn't hesitate to attempt to tell us what she wants or to tattle on her bros!! So we completely agree with the neurotologist, she is perfect!

and a bit of a showoff.

Miss Independent

In the last couple of weeks Gracelyn has become very independent. She wants no help eating, no help wiping her bottom, dressing or even buckling her carseat. The thing is though, she still needs help with just about everything. If we even come close toward her she yells "ME" over and over and over. It started out cute but now it can get kind of frustrating at times.


she did let her bro attempt to help. I absolutely love how she asks for a kiss, he tells her not right now but she kisses him anyway. She adores him and he adores her.

a result of her independence.

following the big kids at baseball practice ended in a skidded face.

the pic doesn't do the damage justice. Praying for no scars.

Follow-up Speech Eval

Gracelyn had a follow-up evaluation with a speech therapist 3 weeks ago. Since her first eval in August, besides for more single words, she really wasn't speaking better. Gracelyn says words, she is not mute, however it's very difficult to make out what she says. She doesn't speak clearly at all.
Like before, she didn't qualify for speech therapy. She is at the very bottom of communication, barely passing, but she passed. The therapist gave us more tips to help Gracelyn and said if her peers talk better than she does to ignore it. As long as she is able to communicate in some way then she is on the right track. Gracelyn still signs a lot of words. That helps so much because as she signs we repeat that word several times and then she does. The therapist was very concerned about her ears so we recently had a followup with her ENT and sure enough the tubes had slipped and the area around was inflamed. The doctor thinks there could be some improvement once her ears heal.

It's been awhile

I haven't updated the blog simply because life with four kids has been busy and, more importantly, Gracelyn is doing well.

I potty trained Gracelyn over Christmas break. She was 26 1/2 months old, my youngest of my 4 kiddos to train, and she did great!! I was very nervous about BMs because while she was in diapers we were having to do suppositories about every couple of weeks. I spoke to the pediatrician and she wanted me to increase the mirilax and obviously stop the suppositories. That's been an adjustment, just making her comfortable and able to go, but she has handled it fabulously! Seriously, gold medal, A+, excellence! I am so proud of her.

and she's proud of herself!

The only other area I can even think to mention would be her speech. Gracelyn doesn't say a whole lot of words and only says two words together at a time. She jabbers constantly but we cannot make out most of what she says. Before Gracie turned 2, she was tested and passed in communication because as an "infant," it wasn't just about speech, but just as long as she could get her message across. She did and can. Gracelyn can sign (which is a huge help) and will go over and point when all else fails.
I am trying to get an appointment to have her tested again because the assessment lady told me that she would absolutely qualify after she turns 2 but she couldn't be evaluated again until 6 months after her first testing, due to some mandate.

Gracelyn is such a happy girl! She has fun in whatever she's doing. We love her to pieces.

She loved Beauty and the Beast 3D!