June 23-24, 2012: Weekend in Louisville!

Saturday morning, Addy and I drove up to Louisville to see Steven. It was so good to see him! We stayed at The Galt House Hotel, and it was perfect! We would love to go back and stay there again.

Addy outside the hotel:

After dropping our stuff off in the room, we went out to explore the city a little and work our way over to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.

Addy loved seeing all the horse statues along the way!

After we stopped for a pizza lunch, we made it to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.

It was very cool! We took the tour through the factory and got to see how they make the bats. It was really impressive. We also looked around the museum. Addy got to hold David Ortiz's bat!

She doesn't know who David Ortiz is, and we really aren't fans, she just picked his bat because it was black!

Standing with Babe Ruth's statue in the museum:

Next we went to the kiddie batting cage!

And then Addy spotted the play area. It's a baseball glove and ball made out of Kentucky limestone.

Outside with the big bat:

When we left the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory we walked along the river back to our hotel. We stopped to take a couple of pictures though.

Across the river behind us in the first picture is the state of Indiana, and across the river behind us in the second picture is the state of Ohio. We thought that was pretty neat!

We made our way back to the hotel and went swimming. Addy was barely tall enough to touch, but she did it and liked being able to walk on her own.

Then it was time for dinner. As we walked out of the hotel Addy saw the horses lined up to give carriage rides. Steven couldn't resist! So we took a ride and had the drop us off in the area we wanted to get dinner.

Addy didn't enjoy the ride as much as we anticipated...she was so tired! By the time we walked to the restaurant, she was out! She slept the whole time we ate. Sweet girl.

Once we got back to the hotel we got Addy some dinner, and then it was bath time followed by bedtime.  It was a very full day for our sweet girl without a nap!

Sunday morning we treated Addy to breakfast in bed.  She thought it was pretty neat.

We decided to take it easy and just hang out around the hotel.  After Addy had her breakfast in bed, we went to the pool.  She had a great time again, getting a little more comfortable with the water.

Steven and I wanted to have brunch at the hotel's rooftop restaurant, so we headed that way after swimming.  It was really fun for all of us.  Addy loved that it rotated!  And she loved that there was a mirror on the ceiling above our table!

Unfortunately, after our brunch we had to head back home.  One last family picture before we left:

We dropped Steven off at the University of Louisville where his training was being held.

It was a great weekend away, we just wished Steven was going home with us!

June 20-22, 2012

Wednesday: I was at work and got a phone call that my aunt Carol (who lives near Atlanta) had a seizure and was being taken to a hospital in Atlanta. She'd been having headaches/migraines and some vision problems in the weeks prior, and had been in and out of her local hospital a couple times with no proper diagnosis or treatment. The doctor treating her said that family should come, it was serious.

One of my mom's siblings was already with Carol, and the other 5 traveled from out of state to be there that night. I left work and went home to pack some things, said goodbye to Addy (she stayed with Wendy since kids aren't allowed in the ICU), and arrived in Atlanta in time to pick my mom and aunt Diane up from the airport. When we got to the hospital, we got an update on Carol and then spent the night in the waiting room of the neuro ICU.

Here's a picture of all the siblings, each on their electronic devices. I thought it was funny!

Thursday: We met Carol's neurologist, who was absolutely wonderful, and he explained that what Carol had was a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. In very simple terms, blood was going to her brain, clotting, and not draining properly. The treatment is to be on blood thinners to reduce the clots and eventually eliminate them. The process of that happening takes a very long time, though, like months up to or around a year.

We were just so thankful that Carol was in such good hands. All of her tests thus far showed that she was stable and not getting worse, which was such a relief!

I stayed at the hospital that night with Carol and my aunt Linda. It was a really sweet time for me to spend with them.

Friday: Linda and I had a little devotion with Carol in the morning. Carol was more alert than Thursday, so that was also very encouraging! Then the rest of the day was filled with more testing (to keep an eye out for a brain bleed) and more visitors. My cousins Jen and Shannon stopped with their families as they were on their way to FL. Let me tell you, our family was rocking that neuro ICU waiting room! :)

I left after we saw the doctor on Friday afternoon to go back home. Steven and I had planned for Addy and me to come up to Louisville for the weekend to see him since 2 weeks was too long to go without seeing him! We also thought it was a great excuse for a fun little weekend getaway.

Well, I didn't get home from Atlanta until 8:30 p.m., so I just picked Addy up from Wendy and went home to sleep for the night. We thought it would be good for us to get a good night sleep and make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Louisville in the morning.

**Just a little update on Carol: She's doing quite well. She was in the hospital for a week and a half and has been doing remarkably well at home. Her complete healing will take time, but she's making great progress each day. We thank the Lord for His provision, timing, and healing!

June 18-19, 2012

Steven was in Louisville, so it was just Addy and Mommy (and Maggie!) at home for the week.

Monday: We met Jen and her family at Chick-Fil-A for family night. We LOVE Chick-Fil-A, but it isn't Steven's favorite. Family night at C-F-A means you buy one adult combo and you get 2 kids meals free. Sometimes they have an extra activity for the kids as well.

After dinner, we stopped at one of Addy's favorite playgrounds to play for a little while.

Tuesday: We didn't have anything better to do, so we went back to the playground! Only this time we had a "first time experience". Addy had to go to the bathroom. And there isn't one (it's a school playground). So, I helped her go in the grass! She wasn't so sure about that idea, but she did it! However, she didn't quite tell me in time and had wet herself a little. I only had a pull-up in the car, but it worked. So, she played the rest of the time with no shorts on! Thankfully all this happened with no on-lookers, we were the only ones at the playground!

At bedtime I took Addy to Wendy's house for a sleepover. I had a very early meeting on Wednesday morning, and Wendy and I agreed it would benefit both her and Addy to not get up that early! Addy was excited to have a sleepover at Mrs. Wendy's house!

A funny story from Wendy: When Addy went to bed she wanted Chris to lay with her instead of Wendy (she adores Chris). Wendy tucked her in and as she was leaving said, "Chris can lay with you for 5 minutes, but then you need to go to sleep". Addy replied back, "No, Mommy says only 2 minutes"! We all laughed about that!

Father's Day

Sunday, June 17th.

Father's Day was a little rushed this year. Steven had to leave just after lunch for Louisville, KY for two weeks of training for work. We went to church, had a quick lunch and took pictures!

First At-Home Haircut

Wednesday, June 6th.

Addy's hair needed a little trim. The ends were just getting so wispy on the sides and back, but it was such a little amount that needed to be trimmed I thought I could do it myself at home! So, I had her stand in the bathtub and I trimmed it.

I completely forgot about taking official before and after pictures, but here's a picture of Addy having a picnic lunch on the back porch a few days later:

I think it turned out okay, so I'll probably be cutting her hair at home for a while!

Addy's 1st Dance Recital

Saturday, June 2, was Addy's first dance recital. It was so sweet that her grandparents wanted to be here for it! She also had Jen and her family along with Wendy and her family in the audience. Everyone made Addy feel so special!

Friday night, Addy helped Grandma E. make lasagna. As always, it was so good!

Saturday morning Addy had rehearsal at 8:00 a.m.! The recital was at Trinity Music City (formerly Twitty City, years ago). This was our only opportunity for taking pictures of her on stage. They asked that no one take photos or video during the actual recital. So, both grandmas came with us!

Getting dressed and putting makeup on:

All ready!

Time to go on stage! She did so well. This was the part I was nervous about! I wasn't sure if she'd make it without crying. But, she did! She did great. These little girls were so darn cute!

Here's a video of her dance.  I forgot to attach the decorative shoulder piece before rehearsal.  I didn't attach it for pictures back in March in case we had to adjust the straps, but then I forgot about it before rehearsal.  So you'll notice Addy messing with the loose piece during her dance.  Grandma E.  fixed that for her once we got back home, so it wasn't a problem for her recital!

After Addy's class was done rehearsing, the rest of the students gathered on stage for the awards presentation. Addy got a participation trophy and certificate. She was so proud! She kept turning around and holding it up for us to see!

Addy with her teacher, Ms. Mende:

Done for the morning!

After rehearsal we went home to find Steven working on the tomato plant supports we needed in the garden. We looked for something that would work, but we just never found anything big enough. I know it seems like these are crazy big, but our tomato plants almost reach the top of them right now (July 18)!

When Addy went down for her nap, Steven and I left to go to Mackenzie's last softball game of the season. They ended up in 2nd place overall!

Then it was time for Addy's recital! We had to be there an hour early, which meant a long time waiting back stage for these little girls! They did so well, though. A couple families brought their little DVD players and the kids enjoyed that.

Mrs. Wendy came back stage to see Addy:

Addy being silly:

Then it was time for Addy's class to line up. And look at this face, she wasn't so sure she wanted to do this anymore!

Another mom, whose daughter was much older than Addy, came to the rescue. She had glitter! Addy let her put glitter on her, and it took just enough time for Addy to relax a little bit and be willing to go out on stage with her class.

I ran out to sit in the audience so I could watch. I was so nervous for her that she would cry since I knew she wouldn't be able to see us in the audience with the lights dark and only the stage lights on. But, SHE DID GREAT!!! No crying at all. She did the whole dance and looked very comfortable on stage! We were all so proud of her!

After the recital was over, we all had flowers for her. Such a little star!

Then we had to take pictures of Addy with all her fans!

Wendy and Chris had to duck out a little early from the recital, so we got their picture (with Belle) at our house afterwards. They brought Addy balloons!

The next day, Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa L. had to fly home. Grandma E. was staying a few more days, though! In the afternoon, we went to Jen's house for a softball swimming party.

Addy especially liked playing ladder golf. She wasn't so sure about playing in the pool with all the big kids!

Grandma E. fulfilled one of Addy's dreams while she was here...she bought Addy her own car! Addy has always loved sitting in these cars in the store. And now she had one of her own! She was super excited about it and wanted to help her daddy put it together! She couldn't wait to get the seats installed so she could sit in it!

The next day she got to take it for a spin. She wasn't really into that idea, she wanted to just sit in it, she didn't want to actually drive it! Eventually Steven got her to drive it! Here's Repunzel driving her new police car:

Thank you, Grandma E.! Tuesday, June 5th, Grandma E. had to fly home as well. Addy really enjoyed having all the extra attention all weekend! She's one very blessed little girl, that is for sure!