Finally an update!

I've been meaning to post for days, but...

Anyway, Joanna's doctors appointments went great this week. On Monday she had an echocardiogram at Texas Children's and saw her cardiologist. Back in July, she'd had an EKG and a chest x-ray and met with her cardiologist. He diagnosed her with a tiny VSD (hole) between the ventricles of her heart, but she seemed fine and he saw no reason to worry. He ordered an ECHO and a follow-up. That was the reason for our trip on Monday. The ECHO confirmed what he had diagnosed, and now he wants to see her again when she's about 2 years old to check on her VSD (which may even close all by itself by then). We made it down there and parked in record time, and found again that everyone is SO NICE there! Joanna had her ECHO first. Now, she is a really good baby, especially when she's the center of attention, but she hates being on her back. As you can imagine, an ultrasound of the heart is a test where the patient is on her back. Matt and I held her down as best we could while the technician took the ultrasound. As Joanna got fussy and jiggly, she (the technician, whom I'm not sure I liked very much), started hinting that Joanna would need to come back and be sedated. I was definitely not having any of that, so I said, "um, I could nurse her, and she'll be really still." That's how I found myself leaning over the table, partially unclad, nursing my sweet baby in an exam room. It worked; she was really still, and they got all the images they needed.

Pictures of our Texas Children's Hospital Adventure:

Joanna and Mommy in the waiting room

Joanna and Daddy checking out the view from the 20th floor

Joanna having a chest x-ray. It's kind-of blurry, but look closely and you'll see the tech holding Joanna's cheeks up. She did so good, and got lots of compliments!

I think Matt needs a purple apron for Christmas -- definitely his color!

We ate in the food court after the visit. Matt and I had pizza. Joanna had broccoli or squash or something.

On our way out, Joanna got to have her picture made with a wooden giraffe. Almost as good as Santa. :)

And, of course we had to stop at A Woman's Work on the way home. I need to remember to take a picture of Joanna's new GIRAFFE shoes!

On Tuesday, Joanna had her 9 month well-baby visit. She was pronounced practically perfect (I think his exact words were clean bill of health, but I'm sure he meant perfect). She's still off the bottom of the chart for weight, but she is gaining, so she's fine. She is 26 inches long/tall, and a whopping 14 pounds. Whew. For those of you who care, she's wearing 3-6month clothes and size 2 diapers. She can wear some of her 6-9 month stuff: the length is great, but her tiny butt can't hold up the pants. I have actually started buying her a few clothes, not because she's necessarily lacking, but because I'm starting to feel a little tired of the things she's been wearing since like May.

This is getting to be a really long post, but I think I'm almost finished! Last night, we had the Women's Christmas Tea at the church, and I was invited to sit at my friend Kim's table. It was so beautiful! I got to drink wassail, sing Christmas songs, and feast on fudge and this incredibly delicious honey apple bread pudding thing. Yum! Here's my side of the table:

Also we had play group today, and it was Joanna and the big boys (sounds like a rock band, right?) She had fun watching them play and scootching around. She also enjoyed looking out the window, which she could reach.