T-Rex

 Great time with Miss B this week. Dinner at Los Cabos with Papa, and "Finding Dory"!! Bella's newest line now while in the pool??..."Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!"    Speaking of swimming...Bella can now hold her breath, sink down and touch the bottom of the shallow end and push off the bottom! Momma came by after work today and swam! She got to help chase down those invisible ghost sharks with us!

Los Cabos here we come!

What makes your nose itch?  Bella and I were looking at pictures of bugs. We looked at mosquito pictures, mites, ticks and fleas. I told her just looking at a tick or flea picture makes my nose itch! "Grammy, do you know what makes my nose itch?" (No..what makes your nose itch?)  "T-Rex. A T-Rex makes my nose itch!" (Wow!!)

My little "blue jaguar" growling!

Shakey Island

My little warrior!

For some reason I did not know that I had invisible, ghost sharks swimming in my pool, as well as pirates!!...thank goodness for Shakey Island (Bella's name for the steps) because it is the only place to go to be safe!! Needless to say we have spent a great deal of time swimming away from those pesky sharks and pirates!

She thought they were pretty cool (until
she saw a worm in the smaller one!) LOL!!!

LOL! She wasn't tired
from swimming! Right!

Well..Bella decided that she was putting her face in the water and there is no stopping her now! "Grammy!! I love putting my face in the water. And I open my eyes, too!!"  (I know you do! That's so awesome!) "Grammy...did you know that I could do that?" (Well...I knew you would..just didn't know when you would!) "Well..I can!  I know lots of tricks!" The salt was added this week to the pool so now opening her eyes under water doesn't bother her at all. She is so excited and can't wait to show Momma and Daddy!!

Her garden is growing and her tomatoes are ripening...they are SO good!! I just wish she'd eat some! At least she eats her few carrots that have grown!

Fish

Full day in the pool! We were soaked to the bone!

What beautiful blue eyes you have!

We cleaned out the fish pond this weekend and discovered one goldfish had survived the winter. So we rapidly cleaned, filled, and treated the water and redeposited the little guy back in the pond. Bella was so excited to discover one had survived!  "Grammy!! He must have gone to the bottom and hid under a rock! He survived!!"  So today we headed to Petsmart to pick up some "friends" for him. With 14 little friends in her bag, Bella carried the new family members home. "You are going to love the pond! Be sure and hide under rocks! It's a nice pond! Oh and you'll meet a fish when you get there. He's nice, too! He survived winter!", etc., etc.  all the way home! Of course she has named them all! "Grammy who will feed my fish when I am not here?" (Papa and I will feed them.) "Okay..I hope they won't miss me!" (Oh I'm sure they will but we'll be sure to take care of them.) "Thank you, Grammy! I love you!" (Love you too, munchkin!)

Waiting for swim lessons.

Swimming lessons began today. Courtney will work with Bella again this summer. She is going to get her to swim with her face in the water.

Bella's Meme and Pappy and all her cousins came over to swim with her. She was so happy to see them all.

Just playing around with Snapchat!

Back float practice

New Routines New Beginnings

Bella had a busy week!  Clinic day is so stressful for her and all the way up to when we had to leave she was talking about the dreaded "swab" test. "Grammy..there are three things I don't like about doctor office check ups. First is the swab. I don't like them 'cause it gags me. Two is shots. OMGosh shots get inside your skin and body and that's just not right! And three..tongue 'pressors. I don't like them because it feels weird!"

Ready to get Clinic time over with!

I think we have all explained how necessary all three are but she could avoid the tongue depressor if she would just open her mouth, stick out her tongue and give them the biggest and longest "ahhhh" that she could! It worked this time and although it did gag her she flew through the swab culture! So proud!! :)

Before her visit I had talked to her about the possibility of them doing a new breathing test (PFTS) because she was almost five. Explained that they would put a little nose squeezer on her nose and that she would blow hard into a tube. "Grammy I can do that!"..and sure enough they did a trial run and she did awesome!!!

Her numbers were good all the way down the list of things they measure and we have a new routine. We are upping her enzymes to help with her digestion (two to four pills with every meal or snack). So now she will be looking at 12 or more pills a day. Adding additional fiber as well. She accepted that news with a thumbs up! I love her so much.  Big discussion about Kalydeco took place and the procedures to get her started on it have begun. This is a big decision and the doc says she is a perfect candidate for it. Statistics have shown, with follow-up sweat tests, that patient's numbers have dropped considerably when placed on the medication meaning their bodies are finally processing salt. This means the mucus in their bodies is thinning. Bryan and Jessica have weighed the good and bad and have chosen to start her. They both amaze me with the strength and unity and love they have for Bella and each other. So proud of them and love them so much. So now the waiting process begins for the approval of the medication.

My little video making sweetheart. Love her so much.