A few months ago Dan and I noticed that Evelyn's right eye was starting to cross when she got tired or was looking in a certain direction. I mentioned it to her pediatrician at her 12 month appointment, but because it only happened a few times a day he said to keep an eye on it and we would see how she was at her 15 month appointment. Three weeks later and after no improvement I couldn't wait any longer, so I called the pediatrician and asked for a referral to an opthamologist. After evaluation and eye exams we thankfully found out that her eyes are healthy, but that the vision of both eyes are slightly different. This is causing her brain to "turn off" the weaker eye especially when she is tired and it starts to wander. This is known commonly as Lazy Eye. (My dad had this when he was younger and had to have it surgically corrected in his 20s.) The first intervention is for us to put a patch on her "good" eye for 90 minutes a day to strenghten her lazy eye. If this doesn't improve the situation, we will need to put her in glasses.
This hit me like a ton of bricks. Although I am so thankful that her eyes were otherwise healthy, it is so hard for me to think about putting my baby in glasses at such a young age. Her vision really doesn't need that much correction, it is more to even out the vision in both eyes. I will do whatever is needed to help her, but want the world to see my beautiful baby girl exactly the way I see her, and not only see glasses.
As you can see in the picture, she doesn't mind the patch at all. We've been back for a 3 week checkup and the doctor saw enough progress that she sent us home for another 3 weeks. She is hoping for 100% improvement by then. We have two more weeks until that appointment, and although I wouldn't say that I never see her eye wander, it is much less than it was. (Keep in mind, before we took her to the doctor we observed it 3-4 times a day for a few seconds each time.) I may see it wander once a day now when she's really tired.
Things like this are by far the hardest part of parenting. I can deal with behavior issues and sleep issues anytime, but my heart just aches at the possibility of something being wrong with my babies. I just continue to pray for strength to deal with whatever comes at us.
Madeline has developed a love for watercolor. Here, her buddy Simba is specially placed to watch her. 
Before Evelyn falls asleep, she likes to twirl her hair to soothe herself. When she woke up from her nap this day you could see the knot she twirled.
This one just makes me laugh!
Brrr! It sure was cold, but we weren't about to miss a parade. So we bundled up with our hot chocolate and went downtown Naperville to see the bagpipes!
Our good friends Maureen and Adam bravely hosted a Mardi Gras party including Jambalaya and a real parade with candy and beads! Much fun was had by all... except for the crying ones.
A few weeks ago we decided that our weekly Wednesday playgroup should go bowling. Fortunately for us, Naperville Central's PE class was there and the teacher offered some of her students to bowl with our kids. It was WONDERFUL for everyone involved! The kids loved to have the full attention of these teens, the high schoolers enjoyed the little ones, and moms enjoyed a moment to sit back and watch.
And of course we had to ride the mechanical horse!
A few months ago Dan and I noticed that Evelyn's right eye was starting to cross when she got tired or was looking in a certain direction. I mentioned it to her pediatrician at her 12 month appointment, but because it only happened a few times a day he said to keep an eye on it and we would see how she was at her 15 month appointment. Three weeks later and after no improvement I couldn't wait any longer, so I called the pediatrician and asked for a referral to an opthamologist. After evaluation and eye exams we thankfully found out that her eyes are healthy, but that the vision of both eyes are slightly different. This is causing her brain to "turn off" the weaker eye especially when she is tired and it starts to wander. This is known commonly as Lazy Eye. (My dad had this when he was younger and had to have it surgically corrected in his 20s.) The first intervention is for us to put a patch on her "good" eye for 90 minutes a day to strenghten her lazy eye. If this doesn't improve the situation, we will need to put her in glasses.
While it's been cold and miserable outside, we've been doing a parent-child gymnastic class on Saturday mornings. Madeline has loved it, and enjoys practicing her forward rolls and cartwheels. Today was our last day, so here she is with her certificate of completion.
