Randomness

* Happy Fourth of July! We are going to spend the day at the City Market, by the pool and grilling out with my grandparents. Here are some picture of AnnaKate at the pool yesterday with her new "float". She really likes it! She feels a little more independent which she likes. We start mom and tot swim lessons next week. I will let you know how those go!! :)

*Last week we had a play date with Taylor. AnnaKate loves Taylor and Cassie and she especially loves their dog, Baxter. He gave her lots of kisses!

Taylor playing with play dough and AnnaKate loving on Baxter!

Taylor and AnnaKate giving Cassie hugs.

*Last week we went to have our yearly appointment with the geneticists. Since this is a relatively new profession, many people don't understand what they do. The geneticists try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. They look at a persons anomalies (a strange or unique occurrence) and put them together with test results or other data to try and diagnose an issue. It can be overwhelming to go to a geneticist for the first time. They will point out everything that is "wrong" with your child. Most of the things don't mean anything...but some certain anomalies can match up and lead to the diagnosis of a syndrome. In AnnaKate's case, her thumbs, hair, small stature, facial features and a whole host of other small things is what led to her diagnosis. I told our doctor on this visit how much I appreciated how he gave us our diagnosis. He has a child with cerebral palsy and he was able to put a personal spin on it and it did not seem so devastating. Some people have horror stories on how they got a diagnosis. When you receive your report from the geneticist, you have to go to google to decipher all that has been written. I have gotten pretty good with the lingo. Yesterday, I got the report in the mail and I stood in the driveway as I read it. I thought about how different I feel now than I did when I got the first report, which I really did not even read because it hurt to bad to read all of those things. This current letter made me smile, here are a few of my favorite parts:
*Today I met with AnnaKate, a delightful and engaging 3 year old.
*She is doing extraordinarily well.
*She is in the 50th percentile based on the RTS growth chart.
*In every way her family is doing a top-notch, super-duper job.
Our doctor did recommend another hearing test and another sleep study. I don't want to do another sleep study but it is necessary. I really love seeing our geneticist!!

*AnnaKate is doing some cute things right now. We have been working on blowing kisses. She could not figure out how to make the kissing sound so she started putting her fingers in her mouth and pulling them out to making the sound. What a cute girl! It always makes me smile when she does it because it exhibits problem solving skills.

Have a great holiday weekend!