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

Just Dance 3

Here's one Christmas present still hanging on at the top of the entertainment list.

It's a way for Addie to find entertainment, while Chris and I try our best to find the motivation to tackle the day... at the crack of dawn.

Addie had us all entranced.

They are one very dedicated group of babies.

The ~~Cow~~ "Alligator" is one of our favorites...

as well as Dynamite.

The Little Monkey loves to put her hands up in the air, although not always at the right time.

Rounding out the family favorites are the dancing hamsters.

She is one very talented Baby Girl!

Speaking of Fungus

Julien's shoulder pads have started to grow something orange and furry.

Hmmm...

I came away unscathed and I do not feel any little teeth trying to break through.

That is obviously subject to change at any time.

Is A Medical Degree Really Necessary?

When we went in to see Dr. Dudgeon this past Thursday, he asked me if I thought Addie might be teething.

I gave my most intellectual, stammering reply of obliviousness.

Here I sit trying to figure out if I must have a medical degree to know when my child is teething.

I have decided that the answer is probably, "Yes".

By the age of five, teething is not the first thing that I think of when I start troubleshooting Addie.

On the way home Friday night, I witnessed this...

I haven't yet been brave enough to stick my finger into her mouth to feel her little gums, but for some odd reason I'm thinking that she might possibly be teething.

Stay tuned.

The next post might include pictures of my stitched up finger and/or hand.

July 27, 2012

Finishing Up At McWane

Addie loved having Julien and the cousins with her!

She was so tickled over everything!

She was even brave enough to go into the tornado with Julien and me.

Once again, the fungus encrusted bubble makers!

A family favorite.

I personally loved having the cousins with us because that meant that I got to stand back and watch...not that I don't enjoy having the cousins with us - just because - but having four extra hands around to help out sure is nice.

~~~

July 7, 2012

Fungicidalprimatialness

Yep.

I think that's the official diagnosis.

Fungus Monkus had an appointment this afternoon to check her little ears and to possibly get the last vaccine needed before starting school.

Our well primate visit turned out not to be quite so well.

Fungus has an upper respiratory infection - which thankfully - explains her atrocious behavior these last few days.

Today's visit had a few rare moments, which I can only explain away due to Addie's rare fungicidal diagnosis or an alien invasion - I'm not sure which one.

While in the waiting room, we had the opportunity to visit with one of my co-workers, our dentist and the owner of Chris's favorite lunchtime burger restaurant.
Who knew the Greenvale waiting room could double as social hour?

When Addie's name was called she basically ran to the nurse and straight down the hall.

I had to call her back to me.

Apparently, my sweet little Monkey remembered the room we were in a few weeks back and didn't feel the need to wait on us.

Addie had no problem stepping onto the scales - any other time, she would have been in tears (like her Mommy).

Addie is now weighing in at a whopping 33 pounds!

She stood still while the nurse took her temperature and then she happily walked to the exam room.

Addie never cried, whimpered or whined.

I tried to prepare her for the visit and a boo-boo shot.

I also prepared her for receiving stickers, which may or may not have helped the situation along.

When Dr. Dudgeon came in to troubleshoot the Little Monkey, she stood sweetly while he checked her ears, mouth and tummy.

I think Dr. Dudgeon was impressed.

I know we were!

(It was also so nice to watch Addie walk through the halls of Greenvale and to show off how much progress she has made...not that anyone was necessarily paying attention...but I was and she never ceases to amaze me!)

When Dr. Dudgeon left the room, Addie patted the exam table "asking" me to pick her up so she could lay down with her two babies.

It was like an alien life form took ownership of my child.

Sweet Dr. Dudgeon gave Addie a pass on her vaccine so she could recover.

Have I told you guys how much I appreciate Dr. Dudgeon and all he has done for us?

We go back sometime in the next three weeks to get the almighty Blue Form which will allow Addie an all access pass to Kindergarten!

~~~

...and just for the record, I'm blaming Boots for the cooties:

Fungus at McWane

It's a million degrees outside, so we opted for an afternoon in the cool fungusy air, along with the other half of Alabama.

Addie would have loved the vet area, but there were so many children that she was sidetracked by watching everyone else.

She finally managed to get her hands on a Monkey of her own, but she never did get a chance to finish his little Monkey check-up.

She moved on to the incredibly fungus encrusted tunnel.

Of course, Julien was there to provide encouragement.

When we saw Dora and Boots, I thought Addie would turn the other way, but she readily agreed to a picture with them...

and even agreed to allow Boots to give her a kiss on the cheek.

~~~

July 7, 2012

Concierge Medicine

Now, more than ever before, I'm convinced that concierge medicine is the way to go.

Two pretty decent burns and one impressive blunt force trauma within the month of July.

Although, I'm not sure I will find a physician brave enough to commit to caring for our family.

Little Fungus

One step forward, 126 steps back.

According to the Little Fungus Monkus, every animal we see is a "Cow" and every fruit we eat is an "Apple".

I still love hearing the sound of her little voice - even when it's full of wrongness.

Well...We All Make Mistakes

Just some of us more than others.

I fall into the "some of us" category.

I like to think that I have so much going on that my brain fails to fully realize the full magnitude of a situation prior to me taking action.

Last Saturday, we decided to head out for a late lunch and to visit the wildly popular -

Steel City Pops....

and

let me just say that after standing in the blazing hot sun in a line that was out the door and finally making it to the counter to choose our pops, then having to squeeze past people to get back out the door and carrying a Little Monkey that was glued to me, while hanging on to the bag of pops, buckling said Monkey into her car seat with sweat dripping off of us, then somehow managing to open the pops and consume them before they melted - was

SO WORTH IT!

Oh yes, this place absolutely lives up to the hype - AND - it's in Homewood.

Anyway, my bad decisions actually started Friday night.

We took Julien out to buy a birthday present.

Bad decision #1: When we got home, I put Addie in charge of carrying the gift bag and tissue paper to Julien so that she could help him wrap the present.

After they were done, Addie watched the present for the rest of the night - like a hawk.

By the time Addie woke on Saturday morning, Julien was already gone for the weekend - and so was the present.

I rarely see the point in saving clothes for special occasions.

Bad decision #2: As I was standing and staring into Addie's closet trying to figure out what she was going to wear for an afternoon of shopping and Steel City Pop eating, I decided to grab a dress for her.

She loves to feel pretty.

I took the dress into my room and as soon as she saw it, she got so excited and asked, "Party?".

Bad decision #3: At that moment, I knew where the situation was heading, but so wrongly thought that I could make Addie understand that we were not going to a party, but that we were going shopping and she was going to look so pretty!

Bad decision #4: I actually continued dressing her in the "party" dress and then proceeded to leave the house.

No less than 414 times were we asked, "Party?".

It didn't matter what I said or how I tried to explain it.

We suffered through party withdrawals all afternoon and Addie even refused to enjoy her Popsicle.

After making it back to our little town, we stopped at Publix.

My sanity was teetering on the edge, so I sent Chris in, while we waited in the car.

That's when Addie asked me - yet again - "Party?".

Only this time, it didn't sound quite so much like "party" as it did "potty".

...and that's when I realized that the 415 time she said the word, it was no longer her asking if we were going to a party, it was her telling me she had to go potty!

My sweet girl might not understand everything we say to her, but she sure is trying her best to communicate with us and at that moment, all the cared about was getting me to understand that she had to go potty

and

that alone

was reason enough to have a party!

"On Belay"

I can't tell you how much of our lives are spent "on belay".

On this day, it was Julien who stepped in to help.

Given the opportunity, the little monkey probably would have scaled the wall and been halfway to the

Gold Coast before anyone could catch her.

It's a good thing her bodyguard never left her side.

The Elderly Fat Brat

I had forgotten how an elderly cat can be challenged by changes in their environment.

I didn't think a thing in the world about buying the cats new water bowls.

I washed them thoroughly, added cool water and added one of their favorite things - ice cubes.

Alley the Fat Brat heard the ice cubes and came running!

She came to a screeching halt and lost - what I'm pretty sure is one of her last remaining lives - as soon as she came upon the mat.

She was petrified of the bowls!

I called her back over and encouraged her to have another look.

She sat back from the bowls and just studied them and it took her a little while before she took a drink.

At her last Well Kitty Visit, all systems were a go, so I don't know if maybe she just didn't see the bowls or if she is just getting older and any change ticks her off.

Whatever it was, she has moved past it and has forgiven me - just as long as I keep ice readily available for her.

Hence the name, Fat Brat.

Uncle Carl

My Uncle's Shop is where Julien and Addie both had their first hair cuts.

He was featured in the Helena City News this Summer.

John Mark Stallings SNAP - That's a Wrap - For Now

My brother bought Addie a bubble blower the night before and she was itching to get to use it.

After lunch, Chris brought out the bubbles and Addie immediately went about trying to fill up her bucket with bubbles.

It was kind of pitiful when she realized it wasn't going quite like she had planned,

but she moved past the disappointment like a sweet girl should.

When it was time to go, Addie asked me to help her with her Baby.

It is very important to her that Baby is well taken care of.

Addie was such a big girl helper and tried to collect all of our belongings.

Despite the awful Alabama heat, the day at John Mark Stallings SNAP of Morgan County was absolutely beautiful.

I don't think the average person understands how opportunities like this are so special and cherished.

We are so blessed and so fortunate to be able to seek out these opportunities for Addie.

Days like this make me so happy.

It was remarkably breathtaking to be able to see Addie happy and at ease.

She didn't need Chris or me right next to her to help her walk or climb anything or assist her in order for her to enjoy herself.

It was rare and unforgettable.

Part II - John Mark Stallings SNAP of Morgan County

Once the little Monkey got up the courage to step foot into the water - it was on!

Addie was anxiety free and full of joy!

It was so amazing to see her little personality at its best!

I think this was one of the rare moments when she stopped to breathe.

She was a little nut - going from place to place!

Baby was never far from Addie's grasp and there were a few times when Baby was left on the ground and another child came by and picked her up.

Addie's radar was immediately alerted.

Each time, she would walk quickly over to the child and stand watching the child with her hands clasped in front of her and her sweet face upturned, looking sweetly at the child.

It didn't take long for Baby to be returned to her each time.

I think if daggers were being cast my way, I'd relinquish the loot and back off too.

Addie would get sidetracked again and Baby would be momentarily forgotten.

Baby ended up in the most unflattering of poses.

Not sure how that happened, but Addie immediately rescued her from further embarrassment.

Addie's bucket also caused a great deal of distress to some of the other children.

If Addie even thought about putting her bucket down, a child would come by and take it.

I have no desire to spend my time telling my child how it's right to share while another child is throwing a tantrum over something that doesn't even belong to them.

Addie - was so very sweet - and did share, until the other parents realized what their child was doing and made them return the bucket.

When we return for our next visit, I will have several extra buckets on hand - seriously.

Addie had no problem trying to play with each child.

The pool next door was catching her attention as well.

THAT will have to be worked into our schedule as well.

At one point close to the end of our visit, Addie collided with another little boy.

He accidentally knocked her down and kept right on going.

When I picked Addie up, I could feel her heart beating so fast and she had the saddest look of fear on her face.

She was so confused and couldn't figure out what had happened.

She wasn't crying, but I still took the time to give her a good once over.

That's when I discovered the bloody knee - of course.

She is such a trooper.

John Mark Stallings SNAP of Morgan County

In case you guys haven't figured it out just yet, I have the innate desire to seek out opportunity.

Redundancy has the tendency to drive me mad.

On one of the afternoons in which I was desperate to find something to do outside of the Helena, Alabaster, Homewood, Vestavia radius that encompasses most of our lives, I happened upon a beautiful little gem of a place...and the name behind it made it that much more special.

Actually, I Googled "Splash Pads in Alabama" because I am trying to convince my husband to have one installed in our back yard - primarily for the fungusy primate who lives in our house, but also for the enjoyment of our entire family.

That's when Google popped up with the words "Morgan County's special needs Splash Pad" and my heart went all aflutter!

The John Mark Stallings Special Needs Adaptive Playground of Morgan County - Phase II turned out to be one of the most thrilling and independent activities for Addie.

It was one of those rare moments in our lives when Addie was happy and at ease with her surroundings and more than able to take part in each play activity!

That was....

after

she got over her initial shyness and anxiety!

The hike up to Morgan County took a little while, but with the promise of Addie getting to "play in the water", she was in great spirits and kept looking out the window trying to find "the water"!

Once we arrived, we were thrilled to see that there was not a crowd

and after coating the pale Little Monkey in sunscreen, I handed the bucket and baby over to her, fully expecting her to run with glee into the spray of water.

It didn't happen quite like I had imagined.

In typical Addie fashion, she stood back and surveyed her surroundings.