About a month ago we had your first Baylor checkup since being discharged. We figured why not make a fun getaway out of it and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge the night before. It was fun and special to devote so much one on one time to you. It was also cool to stay there because when we lived in Keller, we watched this huge sucker being built. You were born in Grapevine and about a mile and a half from the Great Wolf! We would always spend so much time around there and I remember you being a tiny baby and driving by this big place being built and telling Matt I couldn't wait to take you there when you were older. So, all in all it was quite special! You were comfortable in the toddler swim area and absolutely LOVED the slides! You went down them probably a 100 times. Mommy and Daddy definitely took turns taking you. We stayed in the indoor part the whole time cause it was easier to not worry about sunscreen. You loved seeing how much you could float in the water while wearing the big, red life jacket.
One of the slides that you loved sooo much.
We held your hand everywhere so that you were a little more confident while walking in that water. It was even hard for us to walk!
Every now and then you would see these ropes and get so fixated on them. You like them because Dora and Diego have some episodes where they have to use the rope to climb and they say, "Pull, pull, pull!"
These jet skiis were fun. Of course they didn't move, but they squirted water when you pulled the handles.
Here you are at Baylor in the hallway right down from your room. We think you recognized your surroundings and seemed to go into your "memory mode" as we walked around and talked to you about things that happened. I say "memory mode" because you just kinda go into deep thought and gaze into space when you start to remember something. Then, out of the blue you will say something that you remembered from that situation. We can't believe your amazing memory!
Here we are getting into Dallas and our smiles always get a little larger around this point! We LOVE Dallas and miss it terribly. So, even though we hate the doctor appointments and all, we love getting to go back to our first home.
Our first stop was Southlake of course. This is right around the corner from Keller and where we use to do everything such as errands, vet, pediatrician, grocery, shopping, etc. So, we went to to Chipotle (one of our favorites) and you didn't touch a thing! You just liked the people watching.
Then we went to the Town Square and got some soft serve yogurt.
Here is Great Wolf from the road. We told you a few days before we left that we were going on vacation and that is a concept that you still haven't totally gotten. Instead of vacation being a trip, you think of it as a place. For example, when we got to Great Wolf you said, "We're at the vacation!" Every time we would get in the car to eat or go somewhere you would say ,"I wanna go to vacation." We would say, "Addison, we are here! We are on vacation right now!" Oh, we got some good laughs out of this! We love to hear how you process things!
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| Pulling up to Great Wolf |
This place was INSANE on the inside. I have never seen so many people. We heard someone say that this was the busiest they had been all summer. It was the week before most schools start so that was a bit surprising. A little overwhelming!
Oh, before we left we told you all about the big girl bed that you would get to sleep in. (First time in a big girl bed). We talked it up and everything and you were so excited to finally see this cool bed. This was the first thing you did when we walked in our room. You were worn out from traveling and no napping that you kept asking to get in your bed! That night they let us use one of their bedrails which put us more at ease.
You also wanted to try out the top bunk! I can only imagine what you and Melody will be doing when it's time to bring both of you. Y'all will love the bunk beds! By the way, Melody stayed with Totsie during our vacation with you! You slept good that night because you were so tired but you woke around 5 that morning. We just put you in bed with us and that is when our day started!
As I was packing up the next morning I heard you whispering and talking. I look down and here you are having a full blown conversation with this little mouse. You were saying, "Are you hungry mouse? Do you want something to eat mouse? Do you want some purple flower mouse?" Mmmm is that good mouse? Do you want some water?" You would pretend like you were taking a piece of flower and feed it to him and then scoop some imaginary water out of the wood. It was HILARIOUS! These little creatures were carved out all over the kids bunk area. Sure kept you entertained!
Here we are pulling into the parking lot of Baylor!
And here you are with Dr. Raji. She is your Pediatric Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist. She was your main doc at Baylor and this is who our checkups are with. We really like her and she has such a fun connection with you. You loved your Physical Therapist (Margaret) and we told you for a whole week that you would get to see her. Yikes- she wasn't there when we showed up and I think you were quite confused and disappointed. Dr. Raji said Margaret would be so sad she missed you and she video taped you walking all over the place. She couldn't wait to show Margaret. You weren't walking yet when we left Baylor so everyone was thrilled to see your progress. They thought you were doing amazing. You sure did light up that place!
This was a huge fish painting on your floor that you remembered. You were pretty excited to see it! You walked passed that painting and told Daddy to get on the elevator. You remembered exactly where it was.
Here you are working the camera. You love to pose! It was so special for us to sit back and watch you storm up and down those halls by yourself. It wasn't like that when we left and it was just a wonderful blessing getting to watch you in that environment and see how far you've come.
One night after your bath I decided to try the side ponytail on you. I use to wear my hair like this all the time in the 80's and it was like looking at a little Laura. I wonder if we could bring it back?!
This was the second time you went to the dentist for a routine checkup. You went a few times to check on those front teeth you chipped last year. Anyway, it didn't go well at all. You are so much more aware of things and have all kinds of new fears. Everything freaked you out. You refused to lay down at the beginning and they even tried to use the typical spinning brush on you! I thought that was a crazy idea for a 3 year old! They finally quit trying and used a regular toddler toothbrush on you and some cupcake toothpaste (at least that's what they told you). They told me the same thing as last time. You have major crowding and we will more than likely be heading to the orthodontist around 5 or 6 years old. That sounds a tad young to me but we shall see. They took xrays and I could see your permanent teeth and how big they are compared to your baby teeth. Like, two of your permanent ones could fill the space of four baby ones. They said we will more than likely be pulling teeth to make room for everything as you get older. Your Uncle Greg had to do the very same thing. Yikes. I can see MAJOR bribing going on! We are also suppose to be flossing your teeth because cavities like to form in tight spaces like your teeth. AND they gave us some fluoride toothpaste for kids- this supposedly will help with preventing cavities.
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