Caroline's New Tricks!

Check out Caroline exploring new things!

Who knew taco soup would be such a hit?

Caroline loves to take her baby for walks.

How sweet it is to see Caroline smiling with food on her face!

How is Caroline?

Great!

You are probably wondering.... "Where in the world did Leslie go?" and "Why is she not telling us how Caroline is doing?" Well.....it surely isn't for lack of Caroline growing and changing that I haven't been blogging. Caroline is doing fantastic. She continues to fill our days with awe and delight. We've had a fun couple of months watching our Caroline shine.

Caroline heading to the park. As you can tell by her smile, its one of her favorite activities. She loves to swing, climb on the equipment, and check out the puppies.

We're definitely still working on eating. One of Caroline's favorite things to do with food is feed it to us! She is slowly getting used to touching and playing with food and on good days she will take small tastes.


We have made remarkable strides with her tube-feeding in the last several weeks. She is now tolerating small meals throughout the day....~4-6 oz at a time. Caroline eats blenderized table food and this seems to be agreeing with her! She rarely vomits any more, and she "tastes" the food as it goes into her stomach, which seems to be helping her grow accustomed to the idea of putting food to her mouth.

Caroline learned to crawl over Thanksgiving weekend, and our world has never been the same! She motors all around the house and is now learning the joys of being on two feet. It won't be long and she'll be walking too!

We had a relaxing Christmas at home. It was really fun to watch Caroline experience her first "real" Christmas.

I've now been back to work for three months. I work three days per week and we have hired a wonderful nanny who cares for Caroline in our home. Going back to work has proven to be a blessing in so many ways. I love going to work part-time and Caroline really seems to enjoy her time with Jillia.

Thankful!

Caroline turns 13 months today and we have so much to be thankful for!

She is growing stronger and bigger every day. She has gained over 5 pounds since her heart surgery in July!!

She is telling us what she wants/needs with sign language


She is holding her food down well and transitioning to table foods and boluses through her G-tube! Oral eating is still a challenge, but we are making peace with the idea that Caroline will return to oral eating when she is ready.

We love to laugh, play, sing, and watch our little baby grow into a healthy and energetic toddler.

We are so thankful for Caroline's progress and all of our family and friends who have helped us this most challenging year. We are so grateful for the blessings in our life.

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Caroline turned 1 year old last Saturday! We had a wonderful day, celebrating our momentous year. Thanks to everyone near and far that helped make it a special day for our family.

We had a small family birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Caroline enjoyed the attention and presents the most.

Birthday balloons....always a hit!

Caroline's birthday cake!

Caroline is growing every day!

All the toys in the world.....

and kids still love boxes the most!

Fall fun!

We've had a good week here at the Kot house. Caroline is continuing to put on weight and tolerate her feeds from the syringe really well. She is officially over 19 pounds, which makes us smile. More importantly, she is getting stronger every day and developing nicely in her play, language, and motor skills. Caroline seems to be so much stronger and happier now that she is off the feeding pump. We are breathing a little easier and enjoying watching our little girl grow!

Caroline learned about the swings this week!

We also visited our friends Lisa and baby Matthew. Caroline was so fascinated by the baby!

Congratulations Lisa and Jon! We are so excited for your new bundle of joy!

Feeling pretty good

Caroline has continued to feel pretty good this week. We are still experimenting with thickened formulas and alternative feeding methods. The changes are definitely improving her ability to keep food down, so we are pleased and motivated by her progress. Its a never ending process of counting calories, monitoring fluid intake, and questioning of whether she is really getting enough, but I'm sure all parents can relate to wondering if their child is getting all of the nutrition they need.

We are happy to have 2 months under our belt since Caroline's heart surgery. Its nice to know that with each passing week she is stronger and healthier than the week before. The cardiologists warn us that it will take about 6 months for her heart to heal from the surgery and strain induced by the hole in her heart. Until then, we are told to be cautious about her catching a cold or the flu. We will get all the vaccinations we can and in the mean time avoid public places where Caroline could potentially get sick. We're definitely sad to see the end of our summer weather and an early start to the cold and flu season.