One Month Update

We went to Minneapolis this weekend to witness our dear friend Robin marry Ernie Parker.  It was a very fun outdoor wedding.  They planned lots of family activities including a scavenger hunt and bocci ball!  The park was also an educational farm, so Aubrey got to see some cute farm animals.  The hotel had a nice pool with a HUGE hot tub.  Aubrey really enjoyed swimming.  And we all enjoyed the Mall of America!  

Yesterday, Aubrey had her first check up with at the cardiologist in Anchorage.  It has been one month since we were in Texas.  We were very encouraged by what the echo showed.  The pressure gradient was much lower than the first time she had her heart looked at in Alaska and the number was very consistent with what they found in Texas.  The bottom line is that the medicine seems to be helping and the disease hasn't progressed over this past month.  He also thought that her mitral valve regurgitation had decreased some (most likely because the pressure in her heart had gone down.)  That is another good thing.  The doctor increased the dosage of her medication since she seems to be tolerating it well so far.  We are very pleased.  

Aubrey Ella is growing and developing new skills so fast these days.  She is so close to crawling--she does get around pretty well using an army crawl technique.  She will get up on hands and knees and take a couple of steps before resorting to the belly crawl.  She stood up in her crib the other day--that was so exciting and scary all at once!  She LOVES to walk around if anyone will hold her hands.  She takes very deliberate steps and the faster we make her go, the bigger her steps get (not faster!)  She is so much fun.  We have been enjoying getting outside more.  She really likes playing in the grass.  She is up to 27.5 inches tall and weighs 17 lbs.  She fed herself some graham crackers yesterday like a pro!  

We are enjoying our time together as a family so much these days.  We are doing well and constantly remind each other to keep trusting the Lord.  We have many unknowns in our future--I guess the future is always unknown, but ours is different from the plans we had imagined so it feels a little scarier at times.  We have a lot going on for the next couple of months.  Grandma and Grandpa Buck come to visit for the first part of June and Grandma and Grandpa Krause come at the beginning of July along with Julie's Aunt and Uncle.  Our next appointment in Texas is in a month so we'll be traveling again very soon.  Our softball season has begun and we are also organizing a soccer team that is starting soon.  On top of all of our activities and visitors, Brian is very busy at work and will soon be traveling more for that.   Thank you for taking time to read and catch up with what is going on with us.