So, here goes. I'll start with the little things.
Olivia got a school room in August! I've been wanting to repaint my old craft room for awhile. But, we weren't sure what to turn it into. Once we decided that Olivia would be homeschooled, we knew that she would need a space for school work. So, that's what we did. I might do a post later on and let you know where we got everything. I really love how it turned out.
We continued taking weekly trips to the library. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it has been having a library card. Olivia's really enjoyed it and I've actually managed to read about 4-5 books this year myself.
We went to Disney and they had all of their halloween and fall decorations up. Some friends of ours that we met a few years back on social media were there so we got to meet them in person. That made it a special trip.
A dentist trip, an eye appointment, and a cold that didn't cause a flare also happened in August. We found out that Olivia wasn't getting a good check-up at her current ophthalmologist, so we had to get a new referral to one in Gainesville. Not that she's shown any signs of uveitis, but she hasn't had a thorough check-up since she was diagnosed.
In September she officially started pre-k work. We dressed her up as Fancy Nancy and she had a cute little tea party. She was on a low fiber diet that day, so we tried to make it fun. She had a procedure like a colonoscopy two days after, which she had to fast for and she rocked it. We were super proud of her! The results from that procedure showed inflammation in her colon, which is why we have been doing other tests for IBD. Cdiff also came back a few weeks after her procedure and she had to start another round of vancomycin. We could tell that she wasn't feeling well because she had a low grade fever along with it.
We finished up September with some sleepovers, school crafts, and swimming at granny's. When she gets older, she says that she wants to be an artist.
The benefits of doing school work at home is that we can take it to the park. The weather was gorgeous! Livi hid about six rocks and found two.
Olivia's monthly check-ups have all been good lately with Rheumatology. We saw her GI doctor and discussed more testing for IBD. She had genetic testing done for IBD at the end of October and we've been checking her stool every 2-3 weeks for cliff and the calprotectin levels (which measures the inflammation in her stool.) IF she ends up being diagnosed with IBD, they will have to adjust her meds and maybe add another biologic. We're pretty sad about that. So, we're hoping her levels have just been raised because of the cdiff.
We did A LOT of yard work at my mother-in-laws house. It took a few weeks to get it all done because of all the rain. Poor Livi got eaten alive by the mosquitos. October 12th was World Arthritis Day, so we celebrated by getting some blue added to Olivia's hair because that's what she requested. She wore her arthritis shirt and we made a new video to help spread awareness.
The toy bribes have been crazy lately. Trips to Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Five Below in Gainesville. All to bribe her so that she will use the stool catcher (TMI, I know!) Apparently, we need to make a treat box so that we have them on hand and don't have to run out every time. Look at her dino collection! Who knew the Dollar tree had such a big selection!
Of course we made it to the McIntosh Festival this year. We mainly just go for the food. But, it's been a family tradition since we moved here. October is one of our favorite months because of Halloween. We probably watched every Halloween movie and colored every Disney halloween page there was. She painted a pumpkin at the library with cousins, we picked out fall and halloween books, and we made it to festival at the airport. Which she got to dress up for and loved it!
Rapunzel, Let down your hair!
Disney days are the best days, especially with family.
We're looking forward to the holidays and I can't wait to share that with you. <3
