SIX.

SIX.

Can you believe it???

We had a GREAT time celebrating Grace's SIXTH birthday at

Great Wolf Lodge!

We brought her most fantastic nanny & her 3 year old daughter.. we swam, and swam

and floated.. Grace absolutely LOVES the water so she was in heaven.

I think this might be her yearly birthday gift.. the house party happens tomorrow.

 I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!

At SIX.. "unoffically" weighing in at 40 lbs!  Approximately 42" tall (will confirm at six year old heath check next week.  LOVES playing basketball, loves music & swimming/water.

Frequently washes her hands (in school & at home).

Walking & gaining strength daily.. walking in walker & by holding ones hands.. has been seen 

letting go & taking a few steps on her own!!

Eating, especially with her friend Zoaria.. hash browns, bacon, SOUP, fishies

on a new formula- Nourish/an organic blend of vegetables - food based.

Sassy & pinchy.

Expresses needs & wants by signing.. learning signs quickly & efficiently.

CUTE!!! VERY CUTE!!

To my little love bug.. Thank you for making ME your MOM!!

And to my lovebug in Heaven- Thank YOU for being my Heavenly Angel.. 

it does NOT get better with time.. please don't say that phrase.. 

Love,

pattie & gary, Grace & Maxwell

Less than a month...

And Grace will be SIX.. (6).. how can that be??

I was in a store at lunch today and saw a new mom & dad 

with three week old twins,

A Boy.  And a Girl.

I was sad... 

I wished them the best.. told them Congratulations.. and i meant it..

but I secretly I wanted to tell them, I was a twin..that I had twins (one in a more heavenly home), 

but then I didn't want to appear like the crazy lady in the store. 

So I wished them well ..and left.  Sad.

As I've always said.. I think my sadness is What could've been.

What would they being doing together?

Grace is so adaptable & very loving..but she is also at times a terrible three year old..

She's chronologically six, but developmentally maybe 2-3.. certainly in 

some ways.. entering that 'terrible 3 year old stage'

Anyway.. she is having a GREAT summer!  We have a great sitter watching her, last week

she enjoyed a splash park, a pool with a friend & is learning to go on the potty among

other things.  This week it's back to school for the next five weeks.. monday thru thursday, 1/2 days.

She's eating by mouth more..not 100%, but definitely more.. it takes discipline from

our part too.. and sometimes that's the last thing we want to do..

"she'll get there" by dear father in law would say..

She will.  She still melts my heart with all her hugs & kisses!

She is a very loving child!!

  Notice how she is holding her FORK :)  Yea!!

I think this might just have to be her birthday picture!

I love her.  I love you too Maxwell!!

love,

pattie, gary, Grace & maxwell

Rough Patches!

Sometimes LIFE is rough!  We've experienced some recent rough patches..but Thank God we

have our own little village & they are taking care of our bellies (with good food), our soul (with lots of

conversations) & keeping our family in their prayers.. 

I'm sad to tell you.. that my MOM has passed.. it's been slightly under a year that my dad passed..

and now my mom has gone & joined him.  She has a difficult time this past year.. with being in/out of the

hospital with her own sicknesses & let's admit they were married & together 50 years.. I'm sure

she was a bit lonely.

For my immediate family, it was a visit to Vevo's house every weekend..

Grace would get very excited when we pulled up to the house..she knew who was inside.

My  mom & Grace would go back and forth with "mama", Grace's favorite word & my

mom trying to get her to say "dada".. 

Grace was able to 'facetime' Vevo a week ago while both sat in different hospital beds..

Yup.. Grace just had a 2 week stay at Hasbro Children's Hospital..

she went in for a revision of gtube or new one..of course it was the latter.

She had a couple of complications with an immediate 24 hour fever & 

it was a very scary time for her dad & myself.  But as we all know Grace's strength

& resiliance is something out of this world.. SHE is destined to do something huge.. 

we are sure of it!!

Now, she's home.. finally going back to school tomorrow & more loving than usual..

Eating more by mouth.. soup with a spoon, water through a straw & different cup..

I hope her next surgery is to take it out completely.

And to MY personal village - THANK YOU!!

A fruit centerpiece from an old but great friend, that I've just been lucky to reconnect with!!

Our Princess!! Looking healthier than ever..with her 2 new favorite dolls.. from my co-workers..

whom has just made this last week manageable!

Another set of beautiful flowers from one of my part-time jobs.. Ty!!

Love,

pattie & gary, Grace & Maxwell

Jan 2017 Update

What a nice winter we are having.. aLOT of snow a few weeks ago, but it went away 

within 2 days.. that's good!!

Unfortunately the illness haven't gone away that quickly.. & Grace has had a tough

winter with being sick.  After Christmas vacation, she was home for 2 weeks with

a cold that went into a pneumonia!  She was hospitalized for 24 hours..

we are Thankful that she is feeling better & now back to school full-time..

and progressing wonderfully!!!

A note from her teacher this week.. Grace is learning her colors (picks 2 out of 2 at 100%)

& when at 'task' she does wonderfully.. of course she is soo SOCIAL that she

loves to see where her friends are around the room & what they are doing.. 

At school & now at home, Grace is using sign language very consistently.

She says, 'mama' by voice & has called her friend "noah" at school..

she also has said 'nona' (her grandma in NY) on the phone..

Her core strength is really improving..and she is close to standing independently..

she is scooting on her bum to get to places on the floor

and she is riding a scooter at school during her PT sessions.

Thankfully, she has restarted her outpatient PT sessions.. and trying to get a couple of days a week.. 

her strength should just continue.

Here she is yesterday.. in her cute outfit on her way to school..

Love her!! 

Finally.. she is in a size 5.  

Two new pairs of sneakers this weekend - size 8.5

Still loves MUSIC, especially playing the drums.. & listening to her cd in the car

attends a music class weekly.

Signing on a regular basis.. "me", "want" "my turn", "baby", "dada", "nurse", "help"

"eat" & "drink".. among others...

Thanks for thinking of us & reading about our precious little one!

Love,

pattie, gary, Grace & Maxwell

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

Grace is getting so big.. she is in size 4/5 (XS).. no more 'toddler'.. although she is still fitting

her little bum in size 4T pants, although i think that is also starting to get a little tight.

A nice family Christmas was had.  This year, is the first year, she really enjoyed

the lights & the wrapping/unwrapping of the Christmas paper.

We visited houses that displayed lights & Dada even put lights up

on our own house.  We even named our tree, "Mr. Tree".  He will stay up til January 2nd, so Grace can

enjoy the lights on it... she enjoys walking up to the tree & feeling his little arms (bristles)..

  Daddy & Grace, Christmas morning..

Santa visited... Princess Tent & Red Cube chair

Grace was really a JOY this Christmas Season..

it's fun to be a child at Christmas, but it's even better to see Christmas through

your child's eyes!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Keep the magic of this season in your heart throughout the year!!

love,

pattie & gary, Grace & maxwell

Grace.

Transitions happening & Grace is doing great.. 

I started a full time job in mid September, just after we got back from our cruise..

and Grace is at her new school & program full time.

We had a few bumps in the road in the beginning, but things are running smoothly.

Grace is really learning with more 1:1 (one on one) assistance in the classroom..

she no longer throws her stuff/toys, when she's done with them.

She's getting PT, OT, & Speech through school and her outpatient speech therapist

says she's doing great with tongue movements & making some extra vocal noises..

 (she thinks we're getting close to talking.. whoohoo!)

As far as eating by mouth, Grace is doing great.  She has mastered closing her mouth on 

a sippy cup to drink water & a spoon to eat food.

She loves soups & we just keep practicing!!

Here she is eating her snack tonight.. Doritos!  She loves strong flavors..has always

loved them.  She does great with her tongue lateral & pushing from side to side

as well as swallowing some of the chips.  

As papa Louis would say, "She's getting there!"

Grace uses her walker alot at school & walking around by just holding an adults hands (over her head).

her favorite thing is music & playing ball.  Her teacher reports that they play ball with the other

kids in the hallway & at recess & Grace is full of belly laughs.

Tonight, we played ball (with a very big ball) & she tries to bounce it .. (basketball player in the making?)

We are enrolled in a SouthCoast Music Together class & have been for the last

9 weeks.. Grace absolutely LOVES it..

it's on Saturday mornings, so dada gets to come with us too.. Grace

used to go when she was alot younger.. it's much more enjoyable to watch her now..

as a matter of fact the class comes with a song book & a couple of cd's of the songs & she listens

to it at night to lull her to sleep.

Thanks for keeping up to date with Grace!

I'll have to post again with weights & heights.. she is getting very tall.

But I can say she is in a 5T shirt & 4T pants!

Love,

pattie & gary, Grace & maxwell

Cruising..

HI! We all just got back from our yearly Cruise Vacation

& it was wonderful!!

 Our first day.. on our balcony..watching us sail from Boston!

Splash Park fun!!

Love her!!

BERMUDA!!

This was Grace the whole trip.. "Fist-Bump" Queen!! Here's one of her favorite crew memebers..

we also met another from India, who has a 5 year old daughter, Grace!! He was wonderful with

our Grace.. hope to see him next year!!

Great trip..if you've never been.. I highly recommend..

#Cruising!

Love,

pattie & gary, Grace & maxwell