Rolling over with style

It's been awhile since I've posted any tricks from Allie. This is a video of her rolling over. Since we've been in Florida, she's had huge improvement playing on her belly. She lifts her head up high and then thumps over onto her back. It's fun to watch...

Re-connecting with therapy

Allie continues to amaze. Today we had intake appointments with our new occupational and physical therapists. At nine we met with Susan, our new O.T., at ten we had breakfast across the street at the International House of Pancakes, and then at eleven, we met with Joan, Allie's new P.T. All three appointments (IHOP included) were quite therapeutic.

Great first impressions were made all the way around. Allie made a good impression on them, the therapists impressed us, and IHOP with the un-ending supply of pancakes found a permanent place in my heart.

It's been a bit of an uphill battle getting into a new therapy routine. We were hoping to find therapists that could come to the house, but we've found that it's been good to get Allie out of the house, into the car, and up to Jupiter to this children's therapy facility. There was a steady stream of little kids coming and going and Allie was captivated. She did her best to be noticed and make new friends. She's much too social to keep at home.

We miss our Northern California therapy team, but we couldn't have asked for a better team than the one we've assembled here in South Florida. We are infinitely glad to be back home.

The Dedication of Allie Mondok

Not too hip

Today we took Allie in to see a new pediatric orthopedic doctor. It was an informative and sobering visit.

Last June, her doctor in Eureka shared the concern he had for Allie's hip development. Her left hip was growing 50% out of the socket and her right, 35% or so. Her muscular development is slower than her bone growth causing incredible disharmony and a mini tug-of-war in her little skeleton. Her joints are losing. To correct this, her doctor said that she would probably need surgery.

We, of course, wanted another opinion and that from a specialist. We got that second opinion today. Allie's new doc is a kind and articulate doctor who shares the same opinion. Allie will need surgery in the next six months to correct the abnormalities in her hips.

We are taking the next week to pray this through, but our initial gut feeling on this is that we're going to move forward with the surgery. Will you pray with us?

Allie's new-do

We had one of those heart wrenching decisions to make around here. The kind of decisions that keep you awake at night, you know?

To cut or not to cut? That is the question.

We decided to cut; to say good-bye to some of those precious curls.

What do you think? If you like it, it was my idea. If you hate it, it was Grandma Yolanda's...