Well, it's Sunday and Bella's foot is going into a tough phase.

We opened her bandages Tuesday and found the largest blister we've ever seen on her. (See video). Through it all, she never made a peep that anything was hurting her. So, we drained it and wrapped it and expected it to start to bother her right away. Well, it took a couple of days for the hood of the blister to start to break down, and now it's really bothering her. We're looking at probably 4 weeks of pain before it heals completely.

We had been very lucky in that for quite some time we didn't need to medicate Bella for dressing changes. Time to reintroduce our friend Mr. Tylenol. We are grateful that she is not allergic to pain meds as our EB hero Sam is. I can't imagine what she's gone through. She is so strong. YOU are an inspiration, Sam! We installed a mobile over Bella's changing counter as well, and she LOVES it. We only wind it up when she gets upset, and you just wouldn't believe (or maybe by now you would) how fast the music returns a smile to her face. We also keep "You are My Sunshine" and "The Belly Button Song" (we like to call her Belly) on hand to sing to her whenever the smile turns south. Thanks to Grandma for getting her hooked on "you are my Sunshine!" She LOVES it!

Also, the other day we lost 3 fingernail/toenails in one dressing change! That was kind of sad. Bella's nails are swiftly falling off her toes, and she's lost her right thumbnail, and the left pinky nail is on its way out. That's kind of a bummer. We didn't expect her to lose them so quickly! We weren't even sure if she would lose them or not. We were hoping that she would go through the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) soon enough to avoid any permanent loss of any part of her body. Oh well, losing fingernails is pale in comparison to losing Bella.

Anyhow, Bella also LOVES the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer doll we have. She wrestles with it and is fascinated by his glowing nose. When you squeeze Rudolph's left ear, his nose lights up and he says a couple of different samples. Bella's eyes get all wide and bright. It's sooo cute.

Bella's grip strength is improving as well, which is very encouraging. We keep the mittens off when playing with her as much as possible so she can get used to using them. She loves her little purple maraca and can grip it with both hands and slam it into her torso, thereby actually "playing it." It's really cute! (See Video)

Lastly, enjoy the first Holiday picture of the girls!