Happy Days!!

Well it's been almost two weeks now since we left Doernbecher's Hospital and I have to say its almost as if nothing ever happened. We have slipped back into our daily routines almost flawlessly. Peyton is sleeping great through the nights (I wish I could say the same about Gwen...ha), naps are on schedule, and we even took a trip out to Bend this last weekend. Looking at our little girl you wouldn't even know she was fighting for her life 3 weeks ago. She is running, doing somersaults, singing her ABC's, and laughing like the silly Peyton I remember.

We are still keeping up with weekly blood draws and urine test to make sure her blood counts are staying stable and her kidneys are doing what they are supposed to. Her last labs came back pretty good and we have high expectations for this weeks. We have an appointment with the Kidney Specialist later this month and one with the Neurologist at the end of September so I am excited to see her progress. She is still on blood pressure and anti seizure medications until our appointments confirm she is OK to end them. However we did decrease her seizure medication by half last week and she has been doing great.

Like I had mentioned earlier we went to Bend this past weekend. We started our venture at McDonald's thanks to a gift card given to us by one our wonderful families from church. Peyton had her beloved french fries and almost ate her entire cheeseburger!! Then we were off on our 3 hour trip. Both the girls did great on the way and were well rested when we arrived in Bend at my families home. Peyton was so excited to see them and her favorite dog Bo Bo. The days were so gorgeous, sunny, warm, and not muggy. Peyton spent most of her time playing with her Uncle Dane and riding on the quad with her grandpa. She caught her first fish in the back pond. She was really excited until the fish popped out of the water...then she wasn't so sure. She also hit a few balls with her own little golf club...then found there were plenty of other fun things to hit with it. My mom found a great little wagon to pull the girls around, Peyton thought she was pretty cool being pulled around the yard giggling and laughing saying "this way, this way". Gwen had a great time as well of course. She spent most her time in my carrier walking around the property. There was so much for her to look at and she has become very observant. Like Peyton did when she was little, Gwen stares at everything trying to figure it out. I love it. I think it may creep some people out though. Its almost like they're being interrogated by a 5 month old...he he. Some people embrace how cute it is, while others look away hoping not to make eye contact. I can not believe how fast she is growing. She is already 5 months and I have no idea where those months went. Since she still isn't sleeping through the night I decided to break out my beloved Baby Wise book. The book I followed word for word when Peyton was born and the reason she slept through the night at 3 WEEKS old....yes 3 weeks!!! Being that you are supposed to start the program at birth and I am at week 20 makes for a difficult road ahead but I am hopeful she will get the hang of it and I will be able to sleep for more than a 4 hour stretch a night!! She is already falling asleep by herself at naps and bedtime which is a good start. These next few months will be quite busy with appointments, weddings, and baby showers and seeing how Peyton does as we countdown to eliminating her medications. We are so happy to be home though and to see our girls laughing and being their silly little selves. I am so happy to see how many people have come to follow our family blog. It is so much fun to share our stories and photos with friends and family. Here's to many more happy days!!