Doctor appointments...

Lyla loves her Scout (thanks Janet & Lyndon!)

Well, this morning Lyla had appointments with her primary pediatrician, her pediatric orthopaedist, and her pediatric nutritionist. It was a busy morning! Every day seems like a busy day lately... Anyway, in a nutshell, she is doing amazingly well. Both doctors commented that Lyla is writing her own book on Trisomy 18. They are continually amazed at her progress, as are we. Lyla's primary doctor said that Lyla is by far the valedictorian of her class. Lyla's orthopaedist actually said that when she saw her 3 months ago, she never thought that she would be doing what she is now. Sometimes I think that maybe the medical professionals see Lyla as somewhat of an anomoly because she is doing so much better than the vast majority of Trisomy 18 babies. The truth is, that's not it at all. I know with all my heart that Lyla is not only here with us today, but also growing and getting stronger and stronger for one reason--God is doing a miracle in her. He has heard and continues to hear the many, many, many prayers for her from both adults and children on a daily basis, and He has chosen to do a miracle in our Lyla. That is the reason she is doing so well. It overwhelms me, and humbles me, and gives me a grateful heart. I can't say thank you enough for all of your prayers, and I can't say thank you Lord enough for all that He has done.

She now weighs 18 lbs 5 oz and is 29 inches long. She is starting to get up on all fours, she sits up independently for long stretches (35 minutes the other day!), she stands next to the couch independently, she can stand up from a sitting position, and she's starting to take steps when we hold her hands. All this from a girl who wasn't supposed to make it to birth, or age 1, much less be on her way to walking! The miracles continue. Thank you Lord. And thank you to all the people in her life who have worked with her (and with us) here to help teach her all these things and to help her be as healthy as she can be--Grandma and Grandpa Alameida (2 of the 4 best grandparents in the world), Auntie Bryana and Uncle Faz; Tanya (PT), Cynthia (OT), and Jackie; Theresa (care coordinator), Dr. Jedele, Margie (nutritionist), Dr. Winterstein, Dr. Londergan. You are all amazing and wonderful and have helped us so much--we are so thankful for you and we will miss you! There were some tearful goodbyes at the clinic this morning. We are praying that we will be able to find as great of care for Lyla down in AZ as she has here. Sometimes it's hard to imagine... but we'll let God take care of that.

Enjoy the vids!

She really was taking some steps earlier!

Getting closer to crawling--we'll see what she does first!