Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday, America!




Well, she tried to get out with a winter hat and patent leather shoes in hand.... But considering it was close to 100 degrees, we settled on this:



Bow and sandals.

This morning Rowan watched the annual 4th of July parade. She really enjoyed all of the people and excitement, but it was HOT.












Afterwards we headed back to the house for a nap and then it was off to lunch!






YUM!

Then, I forgot to take pictures... But she got in the pool a few times.

She's been LOVING going to mother's day out! And even staying for the full day taking a nap!
Tomorrow we are going to drop her off and YaYa will pick her up, then bring her to Austin to meet her new baby sister!!!

School Time!

Big girl is all grown up!

We have been ready for Ro to have some "school time" for quite a while now.
However, due to the decreased immunity issues, she has basically been quarantined from anything like pre-school or daycare.

We finally got the OK from the drs, and we've been anxiously waiting for Mother's Day Out to start their summer session! It's from 9-12, so nothing too crazy, but some great time to play with kids and get her learn on.

Today was the day!
Woooo Hoooo

Rowan was SO excited! She wanted to go in her PJ's before she even ate breakfast.

But I made her get dressed. Notice she already has her backpack on :)



Walking in...





Checking out the other kiddos.



In her room, and not taking her backpack off yet.

When I came to pick her up, Ro's teacher said she did amazing! There were never tears (not that I expected any) and she was really well behaved. Rowan even told a little boy to shhhhh when he cried.

I have a feeling she's going to wake up asking to go again in the morning!

BIRTHDAY

Haaaaaappppppyyyyy 2nd Birthday, Rowan!




Tired and puny, our little birthday angel. Eating breakfast... At Home!




Checking out some new loot.



Look- new PJ's with Jessie and Bullseye! And a new table!

We took it easy on the b-day day. It was absolutely fabulous :)

It's easy to remember that a year ago we were in Houston, in the PICU, with a very sick little girl. She was 6months post- transplant, but battling autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The whole time, her liver performed like a rockstar.
Thank you Angel Donor for the most amazing gift we've ever received.... We are truly blessed!




Check out the bounce house we rented for the party ;)

Remember: she loves Toy Story.

Obviously, there was a ton of bouncing:









But it was hot, so we had to take breaks...



Like reading books in YaYa's lap.



Snacking...






Opening gifts...

And



Blowing out candles on her cake!

Rowan had a BLAST and we were so excited to share such a special day with her friends London and Addison, and so many family members!

Houston, we almost had a problem...

June 5th Rowan threw up 5 times... Not. Good.
I called H-Town, but they weren't too concerned because she didn't have a fever. The throw up ceased, so I figured it was something she ate.

She seemed a little under the weather on Wednesday, but she appeared better until the end of her 2year old photo session.

CLICK HERE to see a preview of some of her pictures :)

She started to run a low grade fever that night... But everything went south on Thursday.

Unfortunately, we ended up having to take Rowan to the ER at Dell Children's that night.

She was a real trooper... Seriously, the best ER experience we had with her thus far--

Her fever was now 103.5.









I was soooo upset assuming she would be admitted, and be in the hospital again on her birthday. Miraculously, her labs looked surprising well when the results came back.

I called H-Town while we were in the ER, after getting the good lab news, and did my best to persuade them we would follow up ASAP if we could just go home.

They bought it :)

The lab results showed her liver #s were great and there was really nothing out of place, so they chalked the fever up to a virus.

Birthday. Intact.

Beach Baby!

We headed to Galveston... After Chance got off work, leaving Austin around 8.

I assumed Rowan would sleep in the car after it got dark. Wrong.

The child is just not a car sleeper, or hotel sleeper, or anywhere besides her bed sleeper.
She stayed up and talked until 11:30pm. We arrived at 1200am.

Then the next morning she woke up at 6:30am.

So we did the logical thing and let daddy sleep just a little longer and went out for a girls breakfast. I think the baby wanted waffles so we went to Waffle House.

An. Experience.



Watching this:



So entertaining.



Then when we got back it was time to put Ro's feet in the ocean for the first time :)



Naturally, she LOVED every second. Even the salt water splashing her face and the disgusting sea weed that washed up on day 2.






And after a very busy morning, she actually took a nap in the condo! WooHoo! Thank goodness, because we had wedding festivities that night.
















Day 2:















Rainforest Cafe:


Under the restaurant boat ride:


Like mother, like daughter.








The Volcano:



We rested up when we got back home because you know who did not sleep again on the car ride back home.

Rowan had the time of her life in the water. She's already had us fill up the pool at the house several times. "simming" :)

Liver/ BA Q&A

Rowan had her 6 month check up in Houston this past Wednesday.  We have been thinking she looks fantastic, and everyone there agreed.  After labs and then the appointment with Dr. Himes, we visited the 12th floor and said hi to some of Rowan's old nurses.  It was good to see everyone and show them how well Ro was doing as compared to a year ago. 

Her labs came back fairly great, but not perfect.  Her GGT was elevated very slightly from the last time they checked.  Also, her Prograf level was a little low. 

GGT is one of the Liver Function Tests.  There is AST, ALT, Bili, Albumin, and GGT.  They basically all show if there is any damage to the liver.  Rowan's GGT was elevated from the last test, but still within normal range, so no real reason to worry... but it shows that there may be some small insult to her liver at this time. 

Her Prograf is the medication she takes to prevent rejection of her liver.  As I said, this level was a little low, so they have decided to increase her dose.  By getting her Prograf back into the normal range they are thinking that it will also help to bring her GGT down. 

We go to Austin in a month to recheck levels. 

Now for some other BA/Liver talk:
Chance and I have been getting a lot of questions lately because of the upcoming arrival of our second little girl, Collins. 

Most often:  
Will she have Biliary Atresia too?

The answer is... BA is not a genetic disease.  Neither Chance or I are "carriers" because it is not something that is chromosomally wrong.  They still aren't sure what causes Biliary Atresia and that is why research is so important to help find a cause, and possibly a cure other than the process Rowan has been through.  In a very basic nutshell, some research is showing that there is a possibility the baby gets a virus in the womb.  That virus causes the body to react in an autoimmune way and starts to attack the biliary tree (the place where the bile escapes from the liver).  After it has been attacked, the biliary system gets all scarred up and inflamed. When the baby is born, the bile stays trapped in the liver because there are no open routes due to the inflammation and scarring.

Biliary Atresia affects approximately 1 in 15,000 infants born in the US.

The likelihood that Collins will be born with BA is the same as anyone else, 1 in 15,000.   However, if we were to have two children born with BA, I think they would put us in the medical journals! 
We actually know of a family through the internet who has twin girls, one has BA and the other doesn't.

If you have any other questions, we'd love to try and answer them!  
 

Didn't take any pictures in Houston. It was a whirlwind trip considering we had no nap for two days in a row...

But after some good sleep in her own bed, and NO CAST, or rain, we busted out the pool :)
She's a fish!