Just us - there’s a little of the before, but mostly it’s the after...: March 2012

Enjoying All Her New Gifts

Addie is having so much fun with all of her new gifts from her party.

It looks like Toy Land exploded in my living room.

Flowers

Today was the first day in a really long time that we have had the opportunity to take a walk in the evenings.

When it has been a while since we have made the trek around our neighborhood, I love taking Addie and watching her to see if I can tell what she remembers from our previous trips.

I love seeing how she remembers which houses have dogs and cats and I love to see how she remembers the flags or statues at random houses.

Tonight she was talking like crazy.

She asked me more than once, "What's that?".

She got really excited when she saw the elephant on a flag (That's right - Roll Tide!!!!) and got really excited when she spotted the big crimson "A" on another!

We were talking and I was pointing out anything I could see when I told Addie that I saw a car and a truck and a van and then I asked her what else we saw and she immediately responded by saying, "Flowers!".

WOW!

How right she was!

I am seeing a spike in her vocabulary this week, nothing overly dramatic, but a definite step forward.

My little Monkey makes me so proud!

3/26/2012

Thank You

Thank you for your prayers today.

My family sincerely appreciates it.

It was a long day.

The surgery prior to Mom's had complications, so she wasn't even taken from her room to go back to the O.R. until 3:30. That was a long and tough wait for everybody.

She was out of surgery by 6:30.

Our prayers for having a surgeon who was compassionate, knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated to conservative measures was answered.

The nursing staff so far has been compassionate and helpful.

Now we need to focus on complete healing without complications or infection.

What we thought would possibly be one night in the hospital has turned into two and I fully expect for it to turn into a stay that takes us into next week.

We appreciate your continued prayers.

You all are amazing.

Construction Story - That's a Tentative Wrap

After we finally got Addie settled into her stroller, we set out on an adventure to see all the diggers, trucks...and school buses!

Addie loves to see the school buses in the morning time - or as she still calls them - trains!

Had she not been exhausted, this picture would have had a different level of enthusiasm.

Wow...so Baby Girl was less than impressed at the truck because she was trying to tuck her arms behind her head and drift off to sleep, but my husband

was very impressed with the massive truck.

Notice the GQ pose and milky white, golf season hasn't officially started yet, lack of a tan on those legs!

YIKES!

I Don't Want To Talk About It

So, can you please just say a prayer for my mom tomorrow without me having to explain why?
Honestly, I just can't do it.

She is having surgery.
Please pray for the surgeon - that he is compassionate, knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated to conservative measures.
Please pray for the nurses who will be caring for her - that they will have compassion and the dedication to assist my mother with her needs.
Please pray that we encounter a clean, comfortable healing environment.
Please pray that my mother heals completely from this surgery and that the surgery is 100% successful without the need for any further surgery.

Thank you.

It's Either One of Two Things

To say that Addie was tired was a huge understatement.

She was exhausted, but yet we still had to go see the construction equipment.

Addie felt like she didn't really need to sit in her stroller and decided that pushing E.R. Baby around was a much more beneficial way to spend her time.

Daylight was fading quickly, so we were trying to hurry things along and when we tried to put Addie into her stroller, she hit meltdown.

She was PEEVED!

I knew her meltdown was coming from being overtired, so I was remaining rational and calm and allowed her to push her stroller a little further.

When she realized that she wasn't going to get her way, she started crying and did something that we have never seen before...

she turned and started walking back to the car!

She stopped when she was almost there, turned to me and said, "Come on" as she was waving her hand for me to start walking her way.

Since I was being slow about it, she tried to open the door herself.

Chris and I were stunned.

It took me a second to figure out what she was doing.

That rotten little Monkey tried to put herself back into the car!

We have a rule that if Addie is crying when we leave the car (because it happens for various invisible reasons from time to time), I will turn right back around and put her back into the car - which means that we wait on her meltdown to subside or we leave altogether.

I honestly never thought that Addie was making the connection.

The act of putting her back in the car was more for my sanity and well-being than for hers.

So, in the end, it is either one of two things.

Either, the little Monkey is way smarter than people give her credit for

She was mimicking me and thought she would save me the trouble and just put herself back into the car.

Honestly, Addie never ceases to amaze me.

I have to remind myself that although Addie may not be able to talk to me and tell me her wants and needs, that doesn't necessarily mean that she isn't soaking up everything that I say and do (which is incredibly frightening).

In that moment, I couldn't decide if I was irritated, amused or in awe.

Just The Perfect Balance

I'll begin this story by saying that when the pediatrician offered Addie the sticker basket last Saturday as a peace offering to get her out of his office, she politely reached past his outstretched hand holding some Disney Princess and picked out a sticker with a yellow dump truck instead.

I may have a Baby Girl who is all about babies, but she loves trains, trucks and all things construction as well!

Whew...she's my kind of girl!

We have been taking advantage of having an area of our little town covered in construction machinery as they work feverishly to build our new high school.

We take walks so that Addie can see the trucks and excavating equipment a little closer instead of just from the car in passing.

After Addie's party, we decided to take a few minutes and check the progress.

It's incredible to know that the area that used to contain wildlife and massive amounts of historical value, is now well into the phase of blasting solid layers of rock into smithereens.

For a five-year-old (and her Mommy) that's some pretty awesome stuff to behold.

Story, to be continued...

That's What I Call A Bargain

Last Saturday, after our trip to see the local pediatrician, we did what any good, community health-conscience parents would do - we took our snot harboring infectious Monkey to one of the busiest Chick-fil-A's around.

Try not to think of it as us spreading communicable disease, but rather, us doing our part to boost the local economy.

We not only bought local and contributed to the City Tax for Hoover, but we also potentially increased business for other local pediatricians, family practitioners and pharmacies.

It's the very least we could do.

Honestly, what it all came down to was the fact that we had a hungry, miserable little Monkey who had missed out on lots of Mommy snuggle time and tossing her a breakfast burrito while strapped into her car seat was not what I had in mind.

After ordering, I strategically found a booth right smack in the middle of booths at the window overlooking the drive thru line.

Anyone who is familiar with the Hoover Chick-fil-A well knows they are busy and the potential for having to sit in the line for more than 3 seconds is highly likely.

That presented us with an hour long opportunity of a bargain of a deal!

For under $10.00, we spent the better part of an hour watching each car, truck and van as they pulled into line.

Addie couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a puppy sitting on the lap of one driver and that's all it took.

We sat and - much to the delight of many drivers who had yet to receive their coffee - watched the cars and the people inside, all in an effort to find the cars that had the puppies inside!

Sure we made a few drivers feel uncomfortable, but it was all to benefit my child.

It was quite the educational moment as we counted people, talked about the color of the cars and learned the difference between small and large - puppy dogs.

So, thank you to the citizens of Hoover and the patrons of Chick-fil-A for making what started as a miserable morning into a very special bonding and educational moment for our little family.

Another Birthday Present

Addie received another present last week and my sister put it up so that Addie could open it when I got home.

It was definitely worth the wait!

Tanner has some very good taste!

Addie didn't miss a beat when I told her that we would have to wash her new pajamas before she could wear them.

She grabbed the hanger and my hand and led me to the stairs.

When we got to the laundry room, she tried to take the tag off, couldn't..so she went ahead and put the pajamas with tags and hanger still attached right into the washer.

I took a minute to show her how to take the tags and hanger off and then we put the pajamas back into the washer.

She was very excited about her new gifts!

The books are on our reading list for this week.

Thank you Tanner - Addie missed you at her party!

Check

Whew.
I can check one more thing off my list.

I had to go out of town for six days last week.
My sister and mom came to stay to watch Julien and Addie.
I can't tell you how happy I am to be back home!!!!
I was back home for all of just over 12 hours when I found myself sitting at Greenvale.
While I was away, Addie's cough continued to get worse.
Throw in some lovely sinus issues and voilà, we got a trip to Greenvale, followed by a trip to Walgreens, followed by a weekend with one very mean little Monkey.
Chris was with me this time when we went to Greenvale.
This was his first time to see how Addie reacts while we are waiting to be called back.
Once again, she sat on my lap, quiet as could be, but shaking out of fear.
It was pitiful.
Addie can return to school tomorrow and I sure hope she is better quickly - this round of fungus is causing some definite Addie-tude!
~~~~

and...the doctor told me yesterday that Addie's left ear does not look perfectly healed...at six weeks post op.
ugh.

Hello Kitty Bye-Bye

Wow...

I had taken Hello Kitty off the cake and sat her on a plate on the kitchen counter - not for any reason other than to get her out of the way.

Addie spotted the plate, opened the drawer and retrieved a spoon, grabbed the plate and promptly walked over to the table.

I didn't really think she was going to try to eat Hello Kitty, but I grabbed the camera...just in case.

I was so wrong!

This is where it all ended.

Hello Kitty went Bye-Bye straight into the trash when I realize that Addie really was going to take her apart piece by piece.

It's kind of painful to look at.

Birthday Presents Galore!

Addie received so many wonderful gifts!

She took her time opening each one, making sure to look at the card before she even began to open the present.

She makes me proud!

A fuzzy little duck from one amazing and very special person!

Of course Rudy was right in the middle of it all

literally!

Thank you to everyone who made Addie's Birthday Party so special!

The day was amazing!

More Dancing!

I just don't get tired of looking at the pictures!

Happy Birthday Cake!

When it was time for cake, I was asked if I wanted everyone to get in a circle.

I said, "yes", thinking that everyone would sit down and watch Addie blow out her candles.

Chris, Julien and I were busy trying to get the candles on the cake and we were not paying a bit of attention to anyone else.

When I had the cake and turned to start walking, I was left breathless when I saw that everyone was standing in a big circle and holding hands and then

everyone started to sing, "Happy Birthday".

It was a very emotional moment and I was very proud of myself for keeping my emotions in line.

I spotted Addie and focused on her sweet face...

and all I saw was pure joy!

She was amazingly thrilled - look at my sweet girl - she is so happy!!!!

...and levitating!

Once again, the picture quality is awful...

but we almost had a huge mishap when Addie leaned in to try to blow out the candles.

She got way too close and luckily, I was able to move the cake out of the way before her little mouth got burned!

Whew, Addie keeps me on my toes!

She was happier than I could have imagined!

If You Don't Mind...

I would appreciate prayers this week.

Please pray for a week of peace, good health and safety for our family.

Today begins a very stressful week for me.

It doesn't help that Addie's cough seems to be getting worse and she is in an awful mood today, which is the worst timing ever.

I won't have time to update the blog this week, but I have the rest of the pictures from Addie's party ready to automatically post....I hope you enjoy them!

WOW....

Julien, Addie and I had to go by the pharmacy today to drop off a prescription.

While waiting at the drive-thru, I heard Addie say, "Rudy?"....and it took me a minute to make the connection.

Addie was with us when we dropped off the prescription at Walgreens for Rudy a few weeks back.

It was a huge deal because we had to set up a new account for Rudy the Feline and apparently, Addie remembered!

She remembered that we went to the pharmacy to drop off a prescription for Rudy, so when she saw me put the paper in the drawer this time, she immediately thought of Rudy!

I was stunned...and so was Julien!

I am absolutely amazed that she remembered!

WOW, being a part of an everyday miracle is a pretty amazing gift!