Sorry, it has been awhile since I have posted. We had a nice Christmas. This would really be the first Christmas that Raquel was able to enjoy fully. She was surprised when she came out of her room in the morning and saw how the presents around the tree had grown. She got A LOT of great things. It's hard to say what her favorite toy was, but I am going to say it was the alligator xylophone on wheels that I picked out. :) She grabbed it, banged on it and then proceeded to drag it around the house with her. Some of her other gifts included a wagon, a cabbage patch doll, an Elmo airplane scooter, Elmo books and Elmo movies. She loves her Elmo!

On the liver forefront: Raquel is still going for blood draws every other week. She is still trying to fight off the EBV. Right before Christmas her blood tests indicated that the virus was decreasing, but our most recent blood draw shows it has started going back in the wrong direction. Her Anti-rejection drug is being decreased in hopes of giving her system enough ooooomph! to fight the virus off. Besides that, all is well. She is now over 24 pounds and outgrowing her 12 month old clothes. She still has an inch or so to grow to catch up with the other babies, but it will come with time. Thanks to everyone who has given us their support and prayers. We look forward to and wish everyone a wonderful 2010, full of nothing but good thing! Happy New Year! 

Everything is going well with Miss Raquel. She had a follow up doctor's appointment this past Monday. The EBV is diminishing slowly and her liver numbers are back to normal. She has also been taken off two more medications! Yaaayyy! It seems like a long time since Raquel's transplant, but it's been only a mere three months. Raquel is now almost 24 pounds and is about 29 inches tall. We recently bought her a new toddler car seat, exciting stuff!  Many babies outgrow their first car seat before their first birthday but not Raquel. It is great to see her outgrowing stuff. She is also beginning to outgrow her 12 month old clothing.

This is almost like her first Christmas because last year she was only three months old, she had just been diagnosed with Biliary Atresia and we feared that we would be spending Christmas in the hospital. We just made it out of the hospital about one week before Christmas hit. We barely had the tree up. This year, we have decorated the house with lights, the tree is lit up and she has her very own first stocking (a gift from our Katie's godmother). Raquel is much more able to appreciate everything around her so it should be a fun holiday for all.  

Here is a link to the Thanksgiving story done by NBC.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/station/as-seen-on/Woman_Donates_Part_of_Liver_to_Co-Worker_s_Daughter_Chicago.html