Stone Mountain, GA

Since Jim's parents were in town for the weekend, we decided to checkout some of the sites. Stone Mountain is both a historical monument and a family theme park.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            View from the tram.

The look out tower from the top of Stone Mountain.

Soaking up the sun.

My favorite shot.

We didn't go to the BIG zoo at the park, but we did visit with a few animals at the plantation.

Not too thrilled to see the pig.

A little yawn after a day of play.

Ellie was so happy with I put a little water in her stroller tray. Splash splash splash.

All aboard the choo-choo-train.

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Since Jim's parents were in town for the weekend, we decided to checkout some of the sites. Stone Mountain is both a historical monument and a family theme park.

Two BIG firsts this week

I let Ellie color for the first time today. I was surprised she already knew how to hold the crayons. It is finally starting to feel like things are speeding up.

Other firsts: 
- Bought her first pair of BIG kid tennis shoes yesterday. They look just like adult shoes but with velcro.
- Can almost walk up the stairs by herself. Still needs to hold our hand since she those are big steps for er little legs.
- Walks around the house holding my old cellphone and pretending to chat with a friend.

Medical Advice

After countless requests from my mom to see a gastroenterologist for Ellie belly, we finally did.  To back up a second, the various pediatricians we have seen have all told us that Ellie’s reflux would get better once she began sitting up.  Then we were told it would get better once she starts walking.  All not true.  She refluxes throughout the day and night, leaving behind little spots on the carpet, bedding, and her clothing.  Some days it is so bad that it involves outfit changes.  Yet, every time I went to the doctor they looked at me like I was crazy and over dramatic.  My mom has a family friend that told us we needed to stay on the reflux medication for years not months, and if we went off the meds Ellie would be at risk for developing esophageal cancer due to constant acid from the reflux. Again, I got the same look from her doctors when I brought up these concerns.

Well, today I finally received confirmation that I was right.  In truth, my mom’s friend that is a retired pediatric nurse practitioner was right.  Jim and I agreed it was the best $30 we spent all year.  Once we moved to Atlanta, I was lucky enough to find a pediatric gastroenterologist group.  I picked Dr. Gold after reading about how he is a national leader in the pursuit of critical questions regarding the epidemiology and pathobiology of acid-related diseases in children, in particular, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

We were told that Ellie most definitely needs to stay on her medication and will be followed by a team of specialists.  In three months she will have testing done to make sure her GI is working properly. Children born with these abnormalities are of particular interest and Ellie will be tracked for long-term studies.  In conclusion, Ellie has been given a different prescription since her compounded formula goes bad after two weeks.  We had a prescription for once a month. BAD!! Some breathing issues were also detected.  Another thing people thought I was crazy for pointing out.

What a blessing this has all been.  Maybe the reason why the Lord sent us here.

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Visit with the Lowry Grandparents

Christmas Morning...

Ellie loves all her books.  She tasted each one just to make sure ;-)

A little ketchup

These were a few of my favorite pictures from our 

Lowry Family Reunion this past July.

All the Lowry men together (Keith, John, Jim, Rob) in order by age.

Jim's mother, Janet, with her four grandchildren. All girls of course!

Family photo with my parents, August 2011.

 

       My mom flew out the week before Halloween to help out while Jim 

recovered after getting his gallbladder removed.  It was Ellie's first 

Halloween and pumpkinpatch.  Not the most excited we've seen her, 

but she had fun playing in the dirt.

Love that look, so serious.  If she could talk I bet she would say, 

"put me down and let me eat a few bugs.  Just a few."

Ellie's first birthday.  It was on a Wednesday so we only had 

a few friends over for lunch before Jim headed off to work.

I made funfetti cupcakes since they are Jim's favorite.  

I think the frosting was the bigger hit!

Ellie received lots of presents from her aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  We gave her a leapfrog musical learning table and a few smaller things.  All in all it was a good time.  Love you baby girl!