Elizabeth the Movie

I made a short vid to celebrate Elizabeth reaching age ten! Jx

Elizabeth's progress

We went to see the respiratory and surgical teams at the RVI today. We don't have to go back for six months now which reflects how thrilled they are with her progress. They are keeping her on her current medication ('preventative' antibiotics, twice daily inhalers etc

Guy Fawkes

Nothing to do with the baby (again), but we wanted to show off the amazing guy which is going to be burnt in Hexham tonight. Here's Chloe admiring it earlier today.

Elizabeth is now nine

Elizabeth is now nine and here she is on her birthday. Healthwise she is still doing well. She suffers with allergies and is never going to be an Olympic runner (87% lung function, so not too bad considering) but she is a thing of wonder :-)

Elizabeth is eight

First day back at school (year 4). Chloe, her big sister, is on the left.

Elizabeth is now eight. She is a very slender little thing and is felled by colds easily, but she is a very happy girl and bright as a button. She still has a scar on her tummy and a slight bump, but she loves it and calls it Christopher! She may have an op when she gets older - we need to go back and see her surgeon when she is eleven.

We all adore her!

Birthday ice cream!

Bruce, Ballet and Bobs

I finally got a photo of Bruce Jaffray, Elizabeth's surgeon, last week. His knowledge and skills undoubtedly saved Elizabeth's life so, as you can imagine, he is very special to us.

I also can't resist uploading these photos of Chloe and Elizabeth to show off a) Chloe's tutu and b) Elizabeth's bob.

J x

Elizabeth is three!

Elizabeth is three - it seems very grown up indeed and we are all thrilled that she has made it to such a great age! She is still keeping us on our toes - we had an admission for a few nights in February and she was ill for much of March and April, but she is getting stronger all of the time. We are still staying pretty much close to home, but planning a holiday in Holland (house swapping our house for my sister's house in The Hague) in August. We have been very lucky with Elizabeth in August in the past and paediatric services in Holland are excellent, so we reckon it's worth a go.

Putting her health aside for a while, Elizabeth is a funny, feisty little ball of energy. She is very sociable and loves a party. Her speech is coming on really well and she makes us laugh a lot (and occasionally cry with frustration!) She has developed a great line in funny dancing and loves to make people laugh. Interestingly, Elizabeth adores medical folk and hospitals in general. In fact, she demands to be taken to see Dr O'Brien (highly-experienced paediatric consultant) if she just grazes her knee. She also asks to go to the RVI when she is feeling sad. Feeling sad is a new emotion for Elizabeth and she does it beautifully with very sweet sighs and lots of leaning her head against walls.

She is an adorable little girl and she and Chloe have developed a lovely relationship despite the age difference. In fact, they have chosen to share a bedroom in our new house. They have already made some new friends since our move and are both enjoying their new town-centre life. I wish we had done it long ago.

J xxx

Elizabeth update

A belated Happy New Year to everyone.

We are pleased to announce that Elizabeth went the whole of 2007 without an overnight admission. Yippee!