Well, we are still full from Thanksgiving. The leftovers are tapering off and we’re still trying to work through all the pies I baked.

And now, Josh has been fighting a cold over the past few days. Ella’s cough did go away over the course of 5 days, once we discontinued using the Nasonex. Without it, I think she has slept better at night too. Although now, we are back to baseline which is very thick secretions and mucoids thorughout the day. In other words, her sinuses don’t drain and drip as they should and the secretions are extra thick causing an occluded airway at times. So, I called the ENT back today for some direction. We are going to try giving the Nasonex every other day until we have a follow-up appointment on Dec 11th. Hopefully, that will be just the right amount and/or the ENT might have another medicine that we can try. That day should be fun because we also have to go to the pediatrician to get the 2nd booster shot of H1N1 for Ella. We’re thankful that she is able to be vaccinated. She definitely would not do well with the flu (she can’t even vomit, so would that just present as constant retching with a fever?)! We’re hoping that we do not have to find out. So far, so good.

Ella was in a great mood this morning and did amazing during her OT session. I’ve been working on getting her to sit in her high chair more often. Then, I pulled out the beads and tried to get her interested. It has taken a long time, but she decided that she was ready to touch them and play with them. So, below are some pictures from the last couple of weeks in the chair. Besides beads, Ella also likes to catch up on her fashion and beauty tips in magazines.

The OT session this morning started with beads, then we added soap suds. She still touched the beads and played with them which is huge. After that, we placed the beads in a bowl of water. After some coaxing, she started to touch the water and then try to get the beads with her hands. We were having such good luck, we kept pushing the boundary. So, we went and put whipped cream on the tray and let her test that out too. It was great because we simply followed her lead and tried it out. She was still calling the shots, but for whatever reason, she was in a great mood and seemed more tolerant. Along with letting us put things on the tray, she was exploring with her hands more. When she was touching the water and then the whipped cream, she even put her hands in her mouth a few times. You can see in the photos that she was not expecting a taste. Her expressions were classic!

And yes, Lola has decided that she is part of this family and quite comfortable in her role as canine in the West Family. It’s been challenging at times with a puppy, but it’s also been fun too!