Sweet Face

July 29, 2007: On the way home from Church.

Joanna's Heart

Matt, Joanna, and I went down to Texas Children's today for Joanna's cardio eval. appt. We had a chest x-ray and an EKG done on July 13th, but today we got to actually meet with a doctor. Dr. Nihill had read the tests and he examined Joanna today. He said that there is a small hole between the ventricles in her heart that is causing the murmur. He wasn't concerned, and said that in most cases the hole will close up on its own in the next few years. It doesn't appear to be causing her distress, and her heart isn't having to work harder than it should because of the hole. We are going back in November for an Echo and to meet with Dr. Nihill again. He wants to see a better picture of where exactly the hole is (holes in some locations are more likely to close up on their own than others, apparantly). We didn't talk surgery or anything. I got the impression that even if the hole doesn't close up on its own, it won't cause her any problems. He showed us on a little heart picture where the hole probably is and what it's doing to the blood flow. I took a picture of the diagram for you:

So, Jessica's version of the technical jargon is that the ventricle on one side of the hole has more pressure that the ventricle on the other side of the hole, so the blood flows from the high pressured chamber into the lower pressured chamber in addition to where it's supposed to go. Got it? It's called a VSD, and Joanna's is very small. Yea.

Joanna and Daddy in the waiting room before the appointment.

Joanna getting her blood pressure taken. It's such a cute little cuff! The PCA (Patient Care Assisstant), Rubi, took Joanna's BP on her arm and her leg. They're different, just so you know. Other stats: Joanna is 11lbs and 24 inches long. Her resting pulse was 126.

It took us no time at all to get down there this morning, which is really good because it took about an hour to find a place to park. We had to drive completely through 2 garages to find a spot. I wouldn't have thought that 9:30 on a Wednesday is a full-garage kind of time. I was wrong. With each visit, though, I am becoming more and more knowledgeable about the medical center, especially since I haven't actually gotten anywhere yet without having to turn around at least once.

After the visit, we decided to hit Rice Village for a little shopping. Daddy and Joanna on the way to A Woman's Work.

No Harry Potter spoilers here

July sure is the month for events. We had a wedding, a birthday party, and a 3-day 50th anniversary party this weekend, not to mention the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Although part of me wanted to savor every page and take my time with this last Harry Potter book, the other part of me knew I was bound to run across spoilers somewhere soon so I spent every available (and semi-available) moment this weekend reading. I was also sure I would be of no use to anyone come Monday morning if I hadn't finished it. So I did, although my brain is literally swarming with all the information crammed in there.

This little boy is Josh. He will be 1 in September, but we celebrated his birthday early because they're in the states now, but are headed back to Germany soon. Kathy (his mom) and I have been friends since middle school (!). Joanna loved playing with this ball of his. It lights up and plays music -- she was enchanted. Here she is with Kathy's dad. It is always fun to visit the Burchfield house -- they are definitely baby people.

Joanna and cousin Keelan at my Aunt Kalli's house on Sunday. We went over for the brunch that culminated my Aunt Pat and Uncle Val's 50th anniversary weekend. Talk about enchanted; this kid loves Joanna!

Joanna was 5 months old on Sunday. I feel it is my duty to take some naked pictures of my child, so here she is before bath time laying on a towel on the kitchen counter, one of her favorite (supervised) places to be.

A happy picture from this morning at home. I propped her up on the couch so she could properly watch me fold laundry -- fun!

Good News!

In about two weeks, I will be a part-time employee and a most-time stay at home mommy! They've hired someone who will start Aug. 1st doing the youth stuff and work for Rev. Evans. I really like the person who will replace me -- she's so nice, and has been involved the church in different aspects for a while. I will continue doing the bulletin and screen programs for Sunday morning. I'll work a couple of mornings at the church and some from home. I'm very excited! So now I'm in the process of getting things organized in my office, making notes for the new person, making it through every day, prepping for the end of the summer youth stuff coming up quickly, convincing Joanna it's okay to takes naps, making it through each day, clearing out my office, getting my home computer ready to handle new programs, and making it through each day.

In other good news, those of you who keep up with my mother ("Gran's Adventures," see right), know that she's headed back to base out of the Houston airport. Yea!! We will get to see her more often, and I know she's excited to be able to use her car and use her free time as she likes.

I'm not sure this is good news, necessarily... I guess for the days when she wants to eat steak... Joanna's working really hard on a tooth. I think I can sort of feel where it's going to come in.

Joanna sitting in a toddler-sized chair at a friend's house. She loved being propped up and looking around at the goings-on.

I think it's so cool how God can make such a beautiful flower on a rose plant in my yard, a plant I don't feed or water or do anything nice for.

Gran, Texas Children's, and other stuff

We have been so lucky this week to have Gran with us for a few days. My mom flew in Tuesday night and will leave Saturday morning. She kept Joanna all day on Wednesday so I could get a bunch of work done -- thank you Mommy! It is definitely nice to have a 3 adults to 1 baby ratio from time to time. Life is simpler that way.

This morning Joanna had to get an EKG and a chest x-ray down at Texas Children's Hospital. I took the day off and Gran went with us. It was really a good experience. TCH is an amazing hospital; hopefully Joanna will be done with it soon, though! This morning she just had those tests run; we'll go back later this month for the eval/work up for her little heart murmur. We left plenty early to get down there today, which is good because with traffic and getting a little confused (not lost), we made it with only about 5 minutes to spare. The lady at the infomation desk gave Joanna a Beanie Baby, which she loves! It's pink with a heart on it -- how perfect. We got in for the EKG in no time, and Joanna did very well! The tech stuck these blue sticky things with tabs on them to Joanna's chest, then she attached cables to the tabs which connected her to the machine. I think the tech wanted her to be a little more still than she was, but Hello, she's 4 1/2 months old! The hardest part was when she took the sticky things off her chest (it hurt!). It seemed similar to ripping a dozen band-aids off your chest -- ow! Then we walked over to another building to have the chest x-ray done. On our way, we stopped at the chapel which I had heard was very nice -- it was. As you sit there (and um, nurse) the ceiling changes to represent each part of the day. Night, sun rise, day, sunset, night again. It was very cool. The chest x-ray was also easy. Everyone at Texas Children's is so nice! Mom and I wore lead apron thingies and Joanna had one over her bottom-half (to protect her ovaries!). We held her down while the tech shot two x-rays, and that was it.

Joanna and the EKG machine

Gran and Joanna after the chest x-ray.

I'll leave you with some recent pictures of our sweet girl:

All wrapped up after a bath -- my sweet papoose.

The bib says "Diva"... that's about right.

More in the life of Joanna

This week has been pretty great. In the pursuit of a happy, healthy Joanna (and Mommy), I took most of the week off to concentrate on putting Joanna down for naps in her crib. While we're nowhere near an actual schedule (maybe we never will be!), Joanna is doing great and definitely sleeps better on her own than on someone. She still cat-naps (30 minutes or so) and has to cry a bit before she'll fall asleep, but she's doing really well. I've tried to stick close to home this week, but of course we were out and about a little bit. Joanna will nap in the car, but never for long so I like to be home around "nap-time," even though it's not always predictable. Little miss Fussy Pants has started fussing more in the car, but I think it's out of boredom more than anything else. She LOVES it when someone's riding back there with her, but of course that's unusual. Anyone want a part-time job riding around in the backseat of my car? Just kidding. We picked up some more colorful little toys that hang on the carseat so we can switch those out -- give her some variety of creatures to talk to. So far, the yellow circle with arms, legs, and a face is a big hit. Go figure.

Joanna has been on quite a feeding-frenzy today, wanting to nurse forever at each feeding. I guess it could be a fluke, or maybe she's hit a growth spurt. We're pretty sure she's also teething. She has many signs: drooling, chewing like crazy, but I can't feel any teeth yet. Time will tell, I guess.

My mom is headed to Houston this week. She has four days in a row off. Yea Gran! Together, we're going to take Joanna down to Texas Children's for an EKG and chest x-ray on Friday. Her actual work-up/eval. isn't until July 25th, but I'm sure this will be quite an experience in itself. I'm so excited to spend time with my mom!

On our only full day of work this past week. Joanna's stroller doesn't fit in the paper closet so she had to watch me make bulletin copies from the hallway.

"Yes? May I help you? I'm talking to this lamb right now."

Joanna with my cousin Josh from Illinois. He spent his vacation doing things like painting, grouting, drywall, etc. at my grandmother's house.

"I'm cute, and I know it."

The above picture is Joanna at 1 month old and below is me at 4 or 6 weeks old. Think we're related?

New Places to Sit and Time with Family

So these days Joanna is very into rolling over back to front. Unfortunately she then gets stuck and must be rescued. Even more unfortunately, she tries this rolling over thing in her bouncer while she's buckled in (I have no picture of this -- you'll need to use your imagination). This means is no longer very fun for Joanna to sit in her bouncer much. We have discovered that sitting in the high chair is pretty fun, though. (It has a 5-point harness, so no rolling over!) "I'm not eating food here yet, but I have a great view of my feet!

Here's Joanna in the Bumbo chair in the nursery at church. She loved it! She could relax and watch everything going on around her without having to hold herself up or worry about rolling over and not being able to roll back.

On Sunday, we went to my Aunt Kalli's house across town for a memorial service for my Great Aunt Bettianne who passed away last month. It was a sad reason to get together, but it was wonderful to see a lot of family, most of whom hadn't met Joanna.I have always been very blessed to have a very close extended family. My mom grew up with her cousins. I grew up with my second cousins. The little boy in the picture above is Keelan, Joanna's third cousin. Keelan just loved Joanna -- he is such a sweet 3 year old! He called her his baby sister. So cute!

Joanna getting a loving hug from Keelan. Also, Mikey, Joanna's other third cousin, and their mom, Kara, my second cousin -- got that? We simplify in my family by calling everybody older Aunt or Uncle so-and-so, and everybody the same age our cousins.

My Wonderful Aunt Gail held Joanna while I ate, even though she was crying and crying (just tired, nothing to do with Aunt Gail!).

At the end of it all, Joanna was pooped. We got her to bed a little late, and she sure was ready -- not a peep out of her before she fell asleep!

It was a very short visit to cram in time with everybody, especially with such a fussy Joanna! I look forward to spending more time with everyone. I really enjoyed getting to visit a little with my cousins (Joanna's 2nd cousins once removed!) from across the pond and everybody from the Dallas area. Everybody's growing up so fast! We have to get together more often...