Week in Review

It was a busy, fun-filled week and weekend.  Just to recap...

On Wednesday, Harlie had a check-up for her SMOs (ankle braces).  She's had this pair for a looong time (over a year), and they felt like they were getting too small.  And he agreed.  So, he measured her and they are working on getting them rushed back so she can get them before we leave for DC.

On Thursday, we all went to Busch Gardens for the day.  When I heard that the weather was going to be nice and not super hot like it has been, I cancelled Harlie's feeding/speech therapies, and we went to play!  It was awesome.  The weather was perfect.  And one of my nieces (Jordan) and her college roommate (Kayla, they start at Virginia Tech in the fall) came with us to help us with the kids.  It worked out great and they made the day so much easier and better!  I was so thankful!

The kids had a great time.  There were a couple of funny things... on the balloon ride, Harlie had to sit with a little boy (that wasn't one of her brothers) and they had to face each other.  I cringed, hoping it would go okay.  And while they were checking everyone (before the ride started) we saw Harlie signing "no" to him.  We were too far to be able to hear what she was telling him no for.  But, it was pretty clear that she was taking care of things her way.  Although he probably had no idea what she was doing!

And Cooper is nuts.  He wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth.  And that is no exaggeration.  He was on the kiddie swings and he was licking the plastic tubing that covers the chains (you know, where every kid puts their grimy, germy hands?) and the metal bar that sits on your lap.  Ugh.

On Friday, I took Murphy to the pool (my older brother and his family are members so we go with them).

Oh!  On Wednesday when I picked Murphy up from Summer Blast, I was walking down to get him with Cooper.  We passed one of Murphy's "girlfriends" returning home.  She told me that Murphy made a new friend.  I asked her if she was her same age and she said (with attitude) "I don't know how old she is."  She did not appear to be too happy about this new friendship.

So, when I got Murphy, he told me about his new friend, C.  He said that he carried her backpack for her and that he gave her a hug when her mom came to pick her up.  Oh no.

Later that night, I told Murphy we had a lot of walking to do the next day at Busch Gardens so he needed to get some good rest.  About 30 minutes later, he was still awake.  I went into his room and said, "Murphy!  What are you doing still awake?"  And he said, "I just can't stop thinking about C, Mommy.  I really like her."

Oh geez.

Is this really happening?  He JUST turned six for crying out loud!

On Saturday I ran 7 miles for my marathon training and Tom biked 85 miles training for his century ride next weekend.  Then we had some people over.  My other niece, Maggie, and her boyfriend came over to play with the kids.  That worked out great!  They were a huge help, and that allowed us to "relax" a bit more.

On Sunday, Tom and i went to a party.  This party was huge.  They hired a band and there had to have been 200 people there.  It was crazy.  Once it got dark they started a fireworks show.  And I have to say that we were so impressed!  The fireworks themselves were professional quality.  And what I mean by that is that you would see the same exact ones at a bigger event.  The only difference was that they couldn't get them into the air as fast.  The show lasted over an hour.  And it was GREAT!  It was so cool to be sitting in a neighborhood with tons of people watching fireworks fill the sky right above you.

Today (Monday) we went to the Mattaponi River with some friends (Brandy and Joe).  They have a boat and we brought our jet ski.  Even though it was very hot out, the water felt good and we had a great time.  Cooper LOVED being in the water.  And Murphy loved jumping off the side of the boat.

We had to be super careful with Harlie.  And there were certainly times that I felt pretty stressed.  It is such a delicate balance of being safe with Harlie and her trach (which does NOT go well with water) and allowing her to have fun experiences just like other kids.

I will post some pics later.  I am wiped out, and you are now, somewhat, up to date.  For now.

And Harlie's surgery is a week from, gulp, tomorrow.  Which means that in a week from this moment, we'll be at the Ronald McDonald House in DC, trying to get Harlie to go to sleep.  If you've ever slept in the same room with your toddler (on vacation or something) you know what I mean.  Oh, I just can't believe it is now so close.

Okay, pics coming soon!

Thanks,
Christy