Snow

We went to FL for Christmas...and it was cold...we came home to NC, and guess what?...it was cold...and had snowed 5-7" in our area!!  BEAUTIFUL!



Winter Fun

Tree Shopping

We got our tree the day after Thanksgiving (TRADITION...Tradition! heh!) and had a great time.  We bought a coupon online for $70 worth of tree for $35. WOOT!  What a great deal.  Our tree rocks!



 Running through the trees with Will

 Our tree

 Tree shopping with the Thompson family

 Hanging the ornament one of her BFF's MNM gave her last year (there is a pic of them in it)

 Sebastian our elf arrived that weekend after we decorated!!

Smooches under the mistletoe with Daddy

525,600 minutes

1 year. I miss you Mommy.

Happy Fall Y'all!!

Back To School

Back to school and all is well.  OG returned to school on Wednesday and did just fine.  She is totally back to normal.  You would NEVER know she had surgery on Monday.  Big Girl!

Hernia Surgery

 

Our babe had her hernia surgery today.  We just got back from our 10 year anniversary cruise last night at 11pm.  So in a weird way, we really didn't have time to worry about it.  We loved on her last night when we returned, went to bed and then got up at 6am to head to the surgery center.  I don't think she really knew what SURGERY meant.  She was just thinking it would be cool.

Some time loving on Daddy in pre-op

 A quick hug with Grandma

 Just after surgery...a little loopy but happy

Nothing a popsicle won't fix.

She went in to fix one hernia, and they found another on the other side while in there, and fixed that too. They were surprised she was so happy and "normal" when she woke up. They said most kids cry and freak out and are angry when they come off the meds.  So we drove home, she got a little tired and we got her settled in PJ's and on the couch. And THEN, she came off the meds.  She decided that she did not like her geet geet/blankie, that she normally cannot live one second without if she is tired or sleeping or upset or riding in a car.  She said she wanted to give it away, and then attempted to throw it away twice while sobbing and bawling her eyes out.  Like she was told she had to let her best pet go.  She knew she had to do it but was soo upset.  I told her that NO, she could keep it and she kept saying she didn't want it anymore and had to get rid of it.

After we settled down with that, she freaked out that she didn't like her name.  She sobbed asking why we had to name her what we did.  She said she would be called that all of her life and she couldn't handle it.  She was going to change her name to Jade.  YES, Jade!  She even went so far as to write it on the NAME spot on the plastic bag they gave her at the surgical center for her clothes.

My favorite pic of the day!  Daddy and his girl pre-op!

All in all...it has been a not so bad say.  Lots of calls, texts, FaceBook msgs, packages in the mail and ballons and bears.  She is getting back to the regular OG and is asking for McDonald's.  Yep.  I'd say she was back to normal.

OG's "Mom, it is NOT a date" date

First Date

OG had her first "date" tonight.  With a boy from the neighborhood named Ryan  His mom sent me a message yesterday saying how much her son was "crushing" on OG, and that he wanted to have her come to dinner with him. LOL.  So we agreed to meet them at East Coast Wings. 

When we arrived, his Mom said that this was all he had been talking about for 2 hours. They were SOO cute at dinner.  They sat beside each other and according to OG "I talked to him the whole time...the WHOLE time Mom!".  CUTENESS!!  He even asked her to come to one of his baseball games.

When we left, I had a VM msg.  It was from ANOTHER Ryan.  This new Ryan left a msg asking her to go play golf with him!!!!!  So we called him back...they chatted (again, SOO cute!), and we settled on a Saturday date a week from now.

As we speak, Daddy is out buying a shotgun...and will be polishing it daily.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and go well with mustard.

In just a few hours, I leave for NYC for four days. I mentioned before that OG missed me when I was on a girls wknd last week.  A lot.  And I was surprised. This time I will be gone from Thursday - Sunday.

Last night as she was going to bed, she handed me this stuffed medieval looking soft dragon.  It was a dragon my Mom gave her probably 4 years ago.  For her to have by her bed to keep bad dreams away.  It just sits on her headboard and watches over her.  I don't think I have ever seen her touch it or play with it.

Last night, before she went to bed, she came to me with that dragon.  She said she wanted me to take it with me so I could remember her.  It brought tears to my eyes.  She NEVER does anything like that.  As we snuggled in her bed while we said prayers, I asked her why she chose the dragon.  She said because she loved it and it was soft and she thought I would like it.  I asked her if she knew where it came from, and she remembered it was from Meemaw.  I told her the story of why my Mom gave it to OG, and I told her it was there to ward off bad dreams.  She was quiet for a minute, then got a sad face.  She asked "what am I going to do about bad dreams while the dragon is gone?".  I told her if she wanted to, she could keep the dragon, and I would take somehting else.  She decided that was best.  And then offered me her soccer trophy.

Love this girl.

Just a Little Surgery

I wanted to give everyone an update on OG's hernia. Oh wait...what hernia you ask?  YEP, she has a hernia. As some of you know, we found a bulge in her groin last week (she was NOT in any pain) and we went to the pediatrician and he said it was a hernia. He referred us then to a surgeon.

We had an appointment with the pediatric surgeon on Monday. He was super nice and we liked him right away. His name is Dr Weiner (as in hotdog, LOL). He is from UNC, but comes to our city a few days a week for surgery. He said it WAS definitely an inguinal hernia, and it would need to be operated on. He said she has had it since she was born, but it is finally showing itself. With most people, they close up…but with others, especially preemies, they sometimes don’t. He said it seemed to be mostly fluid, but if they don’t fix it, the intestines, etc could slip through the hole.
The procedure is scheduled for Monday, November 15th at 7am. He said it will be a “simple” (to a Dr, NOT to a Mom and Dad) procedure. They will “get her drunk” as he said so she won’t be scared…then take her back and put her under with gas and give her and IV and put her on the ventilator to help her breathe. He said they will make a SMALL incision to fix the hernia. Then they will go over to the other side with a little telescope to see if there is another hernia on that side. If there is, they will take care of it while there and make another incision to fix that one. If there is not, then they will just do her left side.
I read that recovery was a day or 2, and then after that you should keep them from activity for a week…but he said NOPE. He said she would need to take that day off…and she may milk it for a 2nd day, but that the day after the surgery, she could go back to school and activity.
So that’s it…she is fine with it and excited about going to the hospital. LOL! I think Daddy & I are more worried than we need to be. The surgery part doesn’t bother me, but the thought of them wheeling her away from us and her going under is what makes me want to cry. But we know this will be fine and she will be OK and her Meemaw will be there watching over her.
Just wanted to keep you posted!!!! Let us know if you have any questions.
Info if you want to read more: http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site2133/Documents/Inguinal_hernias_girls_eng.pdf

My girl

OG loves both of us.  I know that.  But she is TRULY a Daddy's Girl.  If she had to pick one of us to go out with for an errand? Daddy.  Pick ONE person to stay with her while she fell asleep? Daddy.  Have one person to spend the day with? Daddy. 

It doesn't bother me.  Sometimes I wish I was the FAVE.  But it's OK.  She loves me and I know that. The bond OG and her Daddy have is wonderful, and it makes me smile.

Today, I came home from being gone all weekend.  I was glad to be back and see my family.  I expected OG to give me a "hi Mommy" and a quick hug and go about her playing.  And as I walked in the door and she saw me, she came running.  She gave me a big hug and a kiss and held on tight and told me she had missed me so much and that she loved me.  And for just that moment..she was Mommy's girl.  And I LOVED it.

UVA with our little HOO!

This weekend we went away for a much needed family get-away.  No friends, no extended family, just us.  It was wonderful.  We havent done that in I don't know how long. EVER? We went to UVA to see the Wahoos play (Daddy's FAVORITE team).  The last time OG and I went, was 2 years ago. We got up at 5:30 AM on Saturday, left at 6am, and got there by 9am.  We tailgated with friends until around 11, and then walked to the game.  After the game we toured around Charlottesville, had dinner and were at the hotel asleep by 9pm. LOL.  After sleeping in until 9:30am (WOW!), we got up and toured around some more.  We went to the Rotunda (which Thomas Jefferson designed I think), had a yummy lunch, and then left around 1:30.  Such a nice time!!!  I love my fam!

 At the Rotunda at UVA

 They took this same picture when OG was 4 months old...I need to find the other and put it on here. So cute!

OG & Thomas Jefferson

The UVA campus is so beautiful!! 

A happy Wahoo! 

I LOVE this picture!

It was White Out day in the stadium...everyone who came in got a white t-shirt.  It looked so cool with everyone in white.

My FAVORITE!!