Calleigh Turns Two

It feels a little weird to go back to writing about this and that with the sadness that is around us right now. But I know things must continue on so that's what I'm going to do.

Yesterday was Calleigh's second birthday. We had a little party for her at Ron & Elaine's and invited over Braelyn and Jonathan to help celebrate. In fact, since it's Jonathan's birthday on the 21st, we decided to make it a joint party. The cousins also came over and Aunt Wanda and as it turns out, my mother. She wasn't supposed to fly in until today but because of my uncle, she flew in on Sabbath. Obviously it was wonderful to have her there despite the reason for her coming early. The kids played in the pool and then played with a sprinkler in the back yard that would spray in all different directions. Calleigh, in particular, seemed to enjoy this activity as it garnered her attention for at least a half an hour - - to the point that she was the only one playing with it. She does seem to love the water. After subs for lunch, we sang Happy Birthday an attempted for her to blow out her candle on a cupcake. Unfortunately, she didn't want any part of it. But at least she didn't cry! She did enjoy eating the cupcake, or at least the frosting part of it. She said the rest of it was "yucky" which is why she left the stump untouched. However, I did notice that on her second cupcake, she did eat pretty much the whole thing so apparently it wasn't quite so yucky after all. After that, we opened presents and she got what she was wishing for - a new wagon! At least, it's new to her. We got it off Craig's List. She has been enjoying it very much with putting the seat up and down and crawling in and out. She got a bunch of other things too but I think the wagon is the biggest hit.








This morning my mom and I took Calleigh in for her 2-year doctor's appointment. I had gotten her a little doctor's kit for a gift and I had her play with it as much as possible yesterday in the attempt to make her more comfortable with the stethoscope, etc. I'm not sure that it worked really well. She refused to step on the scale so I had to weigh myself and then hold her. She weighs about 30 pounds which puts her in the 85th percentile. She barely would stand still to get measured but we think it was 34.5 inches which is the 75th percentile. I had never heard this before but supposedly you can take their height at two years of age, double it, and that's how tall they will be as an adult (this is what the nurse claims). That means she will be 5'9. So maybe she'll take after her two tall uncles! While the nurse and then the doctor were there, naturally she bawled her eyes out. It was so pathetic especially when she said between gasps "I want to go home to my wagon." Thankfully the doctor was able to look at what she needed to and proclaimed her in great health. And, I was pleased to tell them that yes, Calleigh was able to say 50 words and speak in two word sentences. Ha!

After the doctor, my mother took Calleigh and drove down to Aunt Shirley's in Largo to pick up my dad (who also flew in on Sabbath morning but to Tampa). We hoped that Calleigh would spread a little cheer and apparently it was a successful endeavor. Her being gone, of course, meant that I had most of the day to myself which is always a very weird thing. I suppose I could have used the time to chill and relax since I won't be doing that for quite some time but I decided to clean the house. Whenever I'm going somewhere, I MUST leave a clean house or I feel very disturbed. So I vacuumed, dusted, did laundry, organized my shoes, got a few groceries, cleaned out the fridge, and even cleaned the bathtub which I will be enjoying after this post (I won't be able to take a bath for a long time so this is my last chance to enjoy it!). I feel like I'm leaving things in good condition although there will be other people here while I'm gone so it's not like it will stay like this. Anyway, by the time my parents returned with Calleigh at about 7:30, I was very excited to see my little munchkin after being apart all day. My mother reported that she behaved very well. Yay!

So tomorrow is the big day. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 and the actual surgery will be taking place at 7:30. I'm not nervous, just excited. Although admittedly, I'm not especially looking forward to the IV and spinal. They weren't bad last time but last time, of course, I was in labor and was a little distracted by all that stuff. It is nice, in a way, to know the day and the hour that this will all go down but on the other hand, there is a special excitement of not knowing when it's going to happen. But maybe that's just me!

Anywho, at my doctor's appointment on Thursday, I told my doctor that I was disappointed about the windows and the fact that my mother wouldn't be able to come into the recovery room. He said that it wouldn't be a problem at all for her to come into recovery so I'm relieved to hear that. Hopefully they won't give me any trouble on it. The plan is that Duncan and my mom will come with me in the morning while my dad stays here with a sleeping Calleigh. However, we won't make my dad be in charge of getting her up and fed so Grandma will come at 7:00 so she can be on hand to do all that. Once I get into my room (which I'm hoping will be around 9:30 or so), we'll call them so they can come to the hospital. And then will be the part that I'm most looking forward to - - Calleigh meeting her sister. It will be so interesting to see how that goes!

I have some additional family that wouldn't normally be here. It's so sad as to the reason why people have flown in but I'm going to appreciate it nonetheless. Ricky and Aunt Lori came in tonight and they're staying over at the cousins. They'll come in to the hospital in the morning with Shannon. At one point, I wasn't sure if my mother would even be here tomorrow but as it turns out, both my father and brother will be there from my immediate family.

I will close here. It's 10:18 and I suppose I should think about going to bed since I'm getting up at 4:30 but I know I won't be able to sleep yet - - too early! Plus, I need to eat some pineapple and take my bath. I leave you with a couple pictures of Calleigh. This past week, for whatever reason, she decided she wanted to pose for pictures (that's a first!) and I was able to snap some good ones.

Take care and I hope to post here when I have a few minutes tomorrow.