April

I haven't posted on here in forever because mostly I've just been sending mass emails to family but I thought I'd post something for the rest of you who don't get regular updates.

Mamie is doing great. She got her braces remade today. They were going clear up to the top of her legs but these ones are only going to go to under her knee. For those of you that have not seen them, the braces she had had a really cute ladybug print on them. They have all kinds of prints you can choose from. I was excited to have new ones (for her), and Wade relented and let me choose the pattern I really wanted-skulls. She won't have them forever, so for those of you who think I'm crazy to give a 91/2 mon. old skull printed braces, it's just temporary. Well, they will still be for awhile, but someday we'll go to sunflower print. Before she was born, I had this joke with my sister Jeni about Mamie liking pirates. I don't remember how it got started, but that's where it comes from. And I think they show her tough personality. lol

Mamie is spoiled rotten by both sets of grandparents. And spoiled with love by all her cousins too. She is a VERY smart little girl and learns quickly.

Mamie is the happiest little thing ever. I could listen to her giggle all day. She LOVES to jibber-jabber and is such a chatterbox. She is always smiling and wherever we go, people are always commenting on how sweet and alert she is. She absolutely loves people and always manages to get everyone's attention-from sweet little old ladies, to cranky men who look like they don't even like kids but just can't help smiling in spite of themselves when she gives them her little grin. I think she thinks the sun shines just for her. :-) She can sit up, rock back and forth on all fours, roll over from back to tummy and tummy to back, and loves music and singing. She knows the word, "kisses", and loves to give mommy kisses, which mommy loves to receive, no matter how wet they are. She has 2 teeth with more on their way in. She loves to eat and although she had some initial trouble tolerating eating peas, she now eats everything we give her.

I've been having a lot of struggles with my epilepsy lately. I decided to try a new medication with the hopes that the constant sleepiness I've been experiencing my entire life might subside. Well, it did, but along came a whole bunch of other problems. After many months of trying to convert to a new drug, we came to the conclusion that it was not gonna work. I had more seizures since the beginning of the year than I've had since I was diagnosed at the age of 12. A few weeks ago, I had a several day inpatient EEG at the hospital. I don't remember it really well, because seizures do funky things to your memory and I had 2 while I was there. Well, the dr. put me on another new drug which seems to be controlling the seizures very well but I'm dealing with some other side effects. The dr. said they weren't typical for this drug, so maybe it's just my body dealing with these changes and I will get used to it and not have those effects anymore. So I'm just waiting and hoping they'll go away. I've had a lot of severe anxiety but I think it's getting a little better.

It sure is nice to not be so sleepy all the time though! It's amazing how much more time and energy I have! I've been having trouble falling asleep though. I just get so anxious and cant' stop thinking. When I first got out of the hospital, it was so hard to think that I could barely answer a question or make a decision. I still have trouble thinking of a certain word or way to express what I want to say, but it's gotten a lot better. I can take care of Mamie on my own now. The first 4 days of last week, I had friends and women from the ward "babysitting" me and Mamie till I was with it enough to care for her by myself. It has been a great way to get to know people and make friends though.

We moved into a house towards the beginning of the year which we are loving. Wade's parents bought it as an investment and we are renting it from them. It's pretty nice and has a big yard.
Wade recently got a job selling insurance so we're super excited about that too. Well, I will go give going to sleep another try. Sigh.