September Fun

Catelin is recovering well; I would say she is about 98% back to her old self.  The first few days/weeks home were hard on her – she was deathly afraid of strangers for awhile (I don’t blame her since every stranger that came into her hospital room poked her!) but that seems to be getting much better.  She even had a blast with her brothers at the Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech tailgate last week…





We were so excited that Lindsey and Joe were able to make the trip from Sandersville for the game!

More fun on the Bud bus:




Last Friday I was the mystery reader for Ty’s class- he was sooo excited.  He sat in my lap while we read There’s an Alligator Under My Bed and The Foolish Tortoise. 

After class was over, we walked over to the “big school” to check MJ out early.  MJ announced to everyone in the front office that he was going on a trip with mommy and daddy to watch mommy’s race.  Ms. Lisa was kind enough to watch Ty and Catelin while the three of us drove to Darlington, SC that afternoon.  Packet pick up was at the Darlington raceway stock car museum – MJ had so much fun looking at the old cars.




The next morning, we woke up early to get to the race.  It was pretty cold at the start – Steve and MJ warmed up under blanket and wished me good luck.





The weather was perfect for a marathon (upper 50’s /60’s the majority of the race).  There is not much in terms of scenery in Darlington, but I loved being out there.  The last mile was a lap around the NASCAR race track, so that was really cool.  Because it was a small race, they let Steve and MJ onto the finish line.  It was awesome to see MJ’s little face light up as I crossed the line– he was so proud.  He even got to put the finisher’s medal around my neck!

26.2 miles later - marathon #16!

After the race we jumped back in the car and headed home.  It wouldn’t have been been feasible to do such a quick trip with all three of the kids.  MJ did such a great job; he didn’t complain once about being in the car that long.  I think we may have a future runner on our hands.  :)
 

She’s OK

Catelin gave us a scare last Wednesday.  I was just arriving at my office when Lisa, our nanny, called to tell me that Catelin was extremely lethargic, not eating/drinking, and barely able to move.  I face-timed them and immediately verified that something was wrong…very wrong.  My response: Get my baby girl to the hospital right now; I’m on the way.   Thankfully I have incredible partners who were able to take care of my patients while I raced up there.  To say I was hysterical would be a gross understatement.  Steve was hunting in Colorado and by the grace of God was still at the house when I called to tell him – needless to say, he frantically tried to get on the first flight home. 

When I got to the hospital, Catelin was lying on Lisa’s chest, barely able to respond.  I took her back to the exam room where they put in an IV and took some blood…she didn’t even flinch.  I spoke to the doctor while choking back tears. 



After everyone left the room, I took the above picture of my precious little angel.  I laid my head in her lap and wept.  I prayed to God that He would take care of my baby and nurse her back to health…that He would keep her safe and calm in this terrifying environment where she would be poked and prodded and put through test after test…that He would help me be brave for her and give me the strength to face any obstacle in her path to recovery.  And most importantly I thanked Him for giving her to us..for the incredible joy and unconditional love she has brought into our lives. 



With my parents out of the country, my sister in Florida and my in-laws also out of town, I was beyond grateful that Eddie was here – he is in his third year of law school so this is a really busy time for him, but he dropped everything to be with us.  I will never forget that and I am eternally grateful.
 
The ER doctor came back in to tell us that Catelin’s blood sugar was critically low and that could certainly be the cause of her symptoms.  We ran through the days leading up to this and nothing unusual had happened.  She was eating and drinking normally…we even had her 15 month appointment two days prior and she looked great- she remains off the chart for height (33.5”) and weight (29 lbs).  She didn’t have access to any medications, etc that could have caused her blood sugar to drop like that. 

After they gave her a bolus of dextran (sugar) through her IV, off we went for her CT scan.  She started waking up around that time and cried as I tried to hold her head still so they could get clear images.  While I hated seeing her that way, I was thankful that she was responding.  The next 20 minutes were the longest of my life – then the doctor came in and said that her CT scan was normal. Praise God.



They decided to admit her to monitor her blood sugars and try to get to the bottom of things.  We were there for two more days, both of which are a blur… she had numerous tests done – more blood work, frequent blood sugar checks, an ultrasound, and an EEG (to look at brain waves). 



The first night she tried to play with her brothers in the playroom on her floor, but it required too much energy.



Steve and his mom got in late Wednesday night- I am so glad they were able to make it.  The boys were such troopers through it all; especially Ty who hung out at the hospital with us the majority of both days while MJ was in school.  They were worried about their baby sister and constantly tried to shower her with hugs and kisses.  They also had a great time doing arts and crafts, playing basketball, checking out the fish in the koi pond, and riding around the hospital in the wagon!




Catelin started feeling much better the second day – here is a video (narrated by Colleen) of her walking to the playroom:

Catelin’s blood sugars held steady our last night in the hospital and we were discharged Friday morning.  We still aren’t sure what caused it- they think it may have been viral and hopefully won’t recur… at this point, I am just glad my baby girl is better.  Thanks be to God.

Back to School for Ty!

First day of M, W, F two year old class!

 

We had a meet and greet with Ty’s teachers the last week in August.  When the two of us pulled up to the school, I saw tears filling his eyes.  It made me so sad; I know he has really enjoyed hanging out with us this summer and going on all of our “adventures.”  But I am also excited for him to get back into the school routine, especially since he loved it so much last year.  He cried silently the first ten minutes and my heart was breaking.  When more of his school buddies filtered into the classroom, they all started playing together and his tears quickly turned into smiles.

I was worried about drop off on his first day this past week,  but I could tell that morning he was in good spirits as he goofed around while we took his first day pictures…





And tried to sneak some trains into his school bag…



I walked him into the classroom where the teacher sang a song while they washed hands.  He looked a little apprehensive at first, so I sat down with him and rolled out some play-doh.  He gave me a kiss, smiled and said “I love you mommy.”  My heart melted while I said goodbye to him – at least he did not shed a tear. 

Happy first day of school, my Ty Ty.

Little Yellow Jackets

We were so excited to take the kids to Georgia Tech’s first game of the season against Elon this past weekend.  MJ’s face lit up when I told him we were going downtown to watch the Yellow Jackets.  He ran to the closet, put on his jersey and said “mom, can we get some dippin’ dots when we get there?!”  As a side note, MJ thinks the only place you can get this delicious treat is at Bobby Dodd Stadium – I plan to keep it that way for now. :)

Last year Catelin was too little to go to the games so this was her first time!  I have dreamt of putting my little girl in a GT uniform since I was in college and it did not disappoint:



We have about a 3/4 mile walk to the stadium from where we park, so we put all three of them in the sit-to-stand stroller

Riding in style

 

 

It was hot out there – thankfully we had some cloud cover for awhile. 

 

 

MJ sure enjoyed his dippin’ dots

 

 

But even ice cream couldn’t cool us down once the sun came out.  We stayed about an hour and since we were already winning 42-0 at that point we decided to go.  The kids did great.  Oh yeah, and in case you didn’t hear we won 70-0…GO JACKETS!!!!

 

 

Here is how we spent the rest of Labor Day weekend…

 

Visiting Eagle Rock’s new warehouse- it is ENORMOUS!

 

Splash pad!

Having a ball at the country club (when it wasn’t raining!)

 

 

 

And of course a trip to the zoo!