Stories From July

We have had such a terrific summer!! I can't believe it is already coming to an end. The picture above and the ones below are all from "Movies Under the Stars." We saw "Shrek the Third," which Brad and I found very fitting, since our second date was to a MUTS in Atlanta, and we saw "Shrek." :) We took a picnic, let Alli play on the playground, and the girls had a blast!! A few days later, Brad and I began to get emails and phone calls, saying we were on the front page of the Augusta Chronicle online. We had been "spotted" at Movies Under the Stars.

We have been doing our "regular" activities, as well, as the summer has continued. I have been taking Alli to the Y to swim, and Brad has taken her across the street to Linda's house to swim, as well. We have enjoyed several playdates ~ especially one last week with a group of little girls that will be in Alli's class this year. What a fun way to meet new friends!

Brad and I had a special date this past Tuesday night. We drove to Atlanta to see Amos Lee at Variety Playhouse. OH MY GOSH!! He was even more amazing in person!! I was in absolute heaven and didn't want it to end! The artist who opened for Amos was terrific, as well; I think her name was Dana Kurtis. Boy, could she sing the blues! It was very worth the late drive back to Augusta ~ we would do it all over again, no questions asked! Beforehand, we got to enjoy a couple of hours hanging out at a tavern in Little Five Points and people-watching. Thank you so, so much to Alli and Elizabeth's Gigi (Brad's mom) for coming to Augusta to keep the girls while we went on such an extravagant date!! We certainly couldn't have done it without her! We also had fun hanging out with Mom and Ben ~ my ultra-cool Mom, who had tickets to the concert I was dying to go to before I did!! (And not giving her enough credit, I didn't even think she would know who he was. WHEN will I learn!?) :)

This year for the Fourth of July, we joined our friends the Lewises for their annual neighborhood parade and picnic. The Pattons came, as well. We had a great time, even though it poured on us as we paraded around the neighborhood.

Some of the "big" kids playing.

Ashley pushing the babies in her new double jogger: Lauren is on the left, and Elizabeth is on the right.

Peyton and Alli, looking like little drowned rats after it poured.

Elizabeth wore the same dress I wore on my first Fourth of July, and the same dress Alli wore on her first Fourth.

We actually got the children to be still for a group shot. Well, sort of.

This is Elizabeth in a little sunsuit that was mine as a baby; Alli wore it, as well, and I have a very similar picture of her.

Oh, the chubbiness!! She literally has rolls on top of rolls!!

One of Brad's attendings, Dr. Boedy, has a very impressive garden. He has given us all sorts of goodies and has even invited Alli to come and pick her favorites, blueberries and tomatoes, whenever she wants! Brad has taken her over there a couple of times already, and she loves it!

In order to help distract Elizabeth from getting into Alli's baby dolls, I got her a little one for herself. Alli got one, too, but hers looks a little bit different. Alli named her doll Miss Miriam, after her MDO teacher this past year; Alli named Boots' doll Fancy Baby.

Still not taking a bottle very well, so we have introduced the sippy cup!

Alli's new school, EDS, has numerous summer camps for the kids to enjoy. Alli attended one called "Fun With Fish" a few weeks ago. She had a BLAST!!! She got to meet and know her new teacher, Mrs. Scroggs, and got to meet several future classmates, as well.

Our little Drama Baby! Lord, help us if she is even half as dramatic as Alli!

I think I have mentioned previously that Alli loves to read these days! It is truly her favorite past-time!

Boots' favorite past-time is pulling herself into a standing position, and quite often, cruising the furniture. Here she is, waiting on me when naptime was over the other day.

I think this will forever be one of my favorite pictures. Alli was dressed up like Princess Cinderella, and she asked her Daddy to be her Prince and take her dancing at the "Glass Ball" (aka, the kitchen). This evening, she asked me if I thought her Daddy might want to marry her one day when he isn't at work, because she loves him so much. I told him I couldn't imagine a better Prince Charming for her!

Last, but certainly not least, after some of my recent posts, I have received numerous requests over email for more "Alli stories." And yes, she makes us laugh all of the time!! :) So, here are a few of my personal favorites....

One day, when Alli was quite frustrated with me, she told me that she wanted to go and live with another family. I humored her and said, "Okay, but there will be a different Mommy and a different Daddy." Well, that was just fine with her. We went through several things that would be "different" ~ her sister, her toys, her school, etc. None of it mattered, and I was convinced I was going to pack a bag for her and let her sit on the front porch and wait for this imaginary family to pick her up and "rescue" her from her life with us, when she said something about Dede (my Mom) being there. I said that no, Dede would stay with our family. Well, that was it. When she realized that she couldn't take her Dede with her, Alli decided to stay with us. Needless to say, that really put Brad and me in our places!! :)

Ask Alli what she wants to be when she grows up, and she will tell you "A Mommy." Ask her what she will do as a Mommy, and she will tell you "Pump milk." That's right. Apparently, that is what Mommies do. We "pump milk." Actually, you don't even have to ask her these questions; she is more than willing to just share with you her life dreams and aspirations....

Just a she is obsessed with "pumping milk," she is also obsessed with anything else that has to do with babies and pregnancy. These days, a favorite activity is to walk around the house with a doll under her dress and "in her tummy."

And for those of you who love the little sassy stories....
When she doesn't want to do something, she will look us straight in the eye and say, "Princesses don't _______ (whatever we are wanting her to do ~ take a nap, eat supper, etc.), and I am a beautiful princess."

One of my favorite stories is from when she was not quite 2 years old. We were in Seaside, and Alli had found a stuffed mermaid that she wanted in a store. She walked straight towards it, picked it up, and said, "Have it," as she walked right back out of the store with it. Brad said he can just see it now: Alli is 16 years old and points at a flashy little car and says, "Have it." Being completely wrapped around her finger, he will say, "Buy it." :) Oh, and by the way, we didn't buy that mermaid for her, but my Mom did. :)

I was putting Boots in her carseat and told Alli she could play in the grass for second while I got Boots situated, but I told her not to go past the sidewalk. She told me that's where she wanted to go, and I reiterated that she needed to stay nearby. She put her hands on her hips and said, almost sweetly, "Please don't tell me I can't do that. Mom, I am not a child."

(This happened today.)

Also just today, a sweet story. Alli got up from her nap and told me, "Mommy, I dreamed about God. I told myself I would dream about God so I wouldn't have bad dreams, and I did! I had good dreams about God, because he is so nice!"

And one more sweet one.... Yesterday, when we were talking about hugs and kisses, she told me, "I have lots of hugs and kisses, because hugs and kisses grow from my heart."

So precious.
And yes, we definitely have our hands full!

Orthopedic Nightmare, Orthopedist's Dream: The Curse of the Orthopod's Daughter

Hello, all! I apologize for having 2 writing-only posts back-to-back. I actually have a ton of new pictures to post ~ I just need to take the time to post and write about them. We have had a busy summer!

So, are you curious about the title of this post? I have finally decided that my orthopedic issues deserve a little attention, mostly because I have finally begun to pity myself ~ in a very tongue-in-cheek fashion. :) I partly blame Keith, my brother, who has never had any orthopedic issues and simply didn't take his fair share of them, being the other child of our orthopedic Dad. Keith, you owe me! :)

Let's go back in time for a moment.... Growing up, I definitely had my share of bumps, bruises, and broken bones. My Mom can back me up on this one. It began when I was 5 years old and broke my elbow when I fell while climbing bookshelves. It hurt very badly, but I was much more concerned with my little boy friend from next door who got a glimpse of my panties during my fall. Years later, I broke my wrist while on a family vacation in Colorado. One Christmas morning, I broke my finger while shooting hoops outside with Daddy in the Wilsons' driveway. During my years of cheerleading, I had various orthopedic issues, including some broken toes and fingers, and not the least of which included a minor tailbone bruise and my being "forced" to carry a donut pillow around with me on which to sit.

I almost escaped my 4 years of Vanderbilt unscathed, save one very minor broken toe. My years in New Orleans were almost uneventful, as well, except a minor shoulder injury resulting from dancing. Don't ask. For those of you who know New Orleans, I was at F&M's; no, I was not completely honest with the doctor when I was explaining how I got my injury. I almost got away from Atlanta without any injuries, until about a month before my wedding, when I cracked a bone in my foot and had to wear a boot. Everyone joked that I would be walking down the aisle in that boot. Yeah, right. When pigs fly.

So then I moved to Augusta.... Well, most of you know the drama that ensued at that point in my life. Two months into our marriage, Brad and I decided to spend a week down at the beach, celebrating the end of his first month as an Intern. On our first full day there, it was late afternoon, and we were planning to go to Boondock's to eat and return to watch what was sure to be an amazing sunset. Well, that didn't happen. While Brad was bringing the chairs up from the beach, I was inside eating a piece of cheese when our beloved dogs (Stanley, a pug, and Doc, a golden retriever) began to try to get the cheese from me. I fell on the tile floor, shattering my left wrist. I ended up at Bay Medical, where they determined that I needed emergent surgery before I lost the function of my wrist due to the numerous bone fragments threatening to cause nerve damage. However, they were going to "make me comfortable" (ie, dope me up on morphine) for a few hours while I waited for the orthopedic surgeon. I decided I would rather drive the hour and a half to Dothan and let one of my Dad's partners do the surgery. However, I did accept their offer of lots of morphine, and Brad and I were on our way.

When we arrived in Dothan, I was feeling significantly better ~ enough so that I was willing to use the restroom and take a pregnancy test. You know, "just in case." Well, you guessed it! Sometime before midnight, a nurse popped in my room and said something along the lines of, "We'll be back in about 10 minutes to take you to the O.R.... Oh, and by the way, pink means your pregnant! Congratulations!" Brad and Annette Wilson (who was sweet enough to stay with us at the hospital) couldn't believe their ears; I thought it was the morphine talking. It wasn't though; I was pregnant with Alli and couldn't have been more thrilled!!! I had my surgery, and Brad and I returned to the beach for a very different vacation than we had expected.

After 2 months of wearing an ex-fix and 6 months of Occupational Therapy, my surgeon following me in Augusta decided I needed more surgery. (For those of you who do not know what an external fixator is, it is something orthopedists use to help stabilize a joint that has been fractured. It consists of four 4 inch metal pins which go into the bone and stick out of your arm; all pins are then stabilized externally by a metal bar which connects them. Make sense?) Being very pregnant at that time, it was decided that I would wait until Alli was at least 6 months old so I could breastfeed her for that period of time. The fall after Alli was born in 2005, I had another surgery during which bone was taken from my hip for my wrist, followed by another 6 months of OT. The result? Well, thanks to my fabulous surgeon, my wonderful OT, and the titanium now residing in my wrist, I have more function than I had previously. I do have chronic pain (I swear, I feel the changes in the weather!) and continue to have "issues" with my hip from time to time. But so be it. I consider myself very lucky for it to have ended up like this.

I also consider myself to have paid my orthopedic penance. Apparently, not everyone agrees. The "orthopedic gods" are still out to get me. :) In the past year alone, I have had several orthopedic injuries.... Last fall, I fell again (yes, while I was pregnant with Elizabeth ~ see a trend?), and I "hurt" my right foot (Brad and I think there was a hairline fracture, but I didn't want to see a doctor, so we don't really know). Apparently I do not learn from my mistakes, because I not only fell once, but twice...within 5 minutes of each other...in the exact same spot...in a hospital after having an ECHO, with about 15 medical students standing just a few feet away. Can you say, "Utter humiliation?" In my defense, water on a slick floor was the true culprit, and not my absence of ability to stay upright.... The day before Father's Day, I broke my toe, and since I still have pain and swelling in my toe and foot, I may have done something else, as well. But again, no biggie ~ I just deal with it.... The latest? Medial knee pain, which is worse when I am getting out of the car or hyper-extending my knee. Hmmm.... a possible meniscus tear?

My husband has decided I am a total clutz. I choose not to see it that way. Or, rather, I was not a clutz until I met and married him. :) But I have decided to make lemonade out of these lemons the orthopedic gods continue to toss to me. My plan? To write an Irma Bombeck- / Lewis Grizzard-type of novel about this and make millions! Brad, don't make fun of me; you may be thanking me one day when you can retire early. :)