A lot has been going on the last 2 months!
Kayla got her last (for this winter at least) RSV vaccine at the end of March. She weighed 19lbs 10oz. The doctor was very happy with her progress. She doesn't have another appointment until the end of May.
In March Kayla graduated from her physical therapy since she was walking all over the place. She was then assigned a 'special instructor' to help with her communication skills. The instructor comes every other week and does various activities with Kayla to help encourage her to communicate verbally and by using sign language. Kayla still isn't talking much but is getting pretty good at signing what she needs. She definitely understands us so we figure it is just a matter of time until she decides to talk to us.
At the end of April Kayla came out of 'quarantine'. First we had 2 Kuyasa kids come stay with us for Palm Sunday weekend. The Kuyasa choir is a group of 18 kids from South Africa that come to the US to sing and dance to raise money for HIV/AIDS orphans. We had Sive (aka Jason) and Luanda stay at our house. Luanda is 16 years old and Sive is 22 years old. He is the choreographer and assistant music director. He told us several times that 'he cannot sing' but then he was one of the lead singers during the concert. He was quite a good singer!! It was an amazing experience to meet these kids and to hear them sing and see them dance. They have amazing passion! Very moving! Check out their website http://www.horizoninternationalinc.com/kuyasa.asp. Kayla got to go to church and hang out with the kids and see their concert. She was quite entertained by the kids and loved hanging out with them and hearing them sing.
Kayla then had the opportunity to go to our local Kmart and share her story with the employees. Kmart raises a lot of money for March of Dimes so a representative (Scott) from March of Dimes asked if Kayla could share her story with the employees to encourage them to continue to raise money. Kayla enjoyed meeting everyone and was very excited to see everything in the store.
Kayla also got to go to church and hang out with our family for Easter. She had a great time in the nursery at church and then spent the afternoon hanging out with her cousins. We were worried that she might be shy around people due to her quarantine, but to our surprise she is quite friendly and outgoing! We are quite happy!! Kayla painted Easter eggs with Grammie and Grandpa and also had an Easter egg hunt. She really liked finding the eggs that Grammie hid with treats inside of them.
We all enjoyed the March of Dimes walk on 01-May. Kayla’s Krew ended up being ~40 people and we raised ~$2500. Kayla got to go up and receive an 'award' during the preemie parade for being a 'Miracle baby'. She proudly wore her 'metal' during the walk. Our team also walked in memory of Cole Alan Millhouse. In the beginning of April, our friends Scott and Liz had their son go to be with the Lord after only a few days of life. He was born at 25 weeks gestation and weighed 1 lb 13 oz. He unfortunately had bleeding around the brain that could not be stopped. It is extremely sad to hear their story and it is a reminder of the struggles other families with preemies face. We never forget how very lucky and blessed we are that Kayla is with us today and that she has been doing so well. Hopefully the money raised for March of Dimes will continue to fund research that will find ways of preventing preterm labor and find treatments for the babies born to early. For more info on March of Dimes, check out www.marchofdimes.com. Thank you to everyone who walked and for all of the donations!!
We also had a very fun Mother's day. We went to the cemetery to go to the graves of Kayla's Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Drake. Then we all went out to lunch. Kayla made friends with everyone in the restaurant. She was waving at everyone and trying to share her toys with others. She even gave the waitress a hug and kiss. Thankful she stayed happy at the restaurant and behaved herself for the most part. Apparently she is not afraid for strangers at all!
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