PICTURES !!!!

Hmm...a swing .. what's this do ??

Not too sure ... but I think I'll try it !

Hey Poppy ... how about a push ???

Believe or not ... this was not a terrified look .... I was giggling !

I'm just a swinging ... lol.

Oh boy ... a slide !

YIPPEE !!! I want one of these !

Is it Groundhog's Day??? Cuz I See my shadow !

HOORAY !!! I'm swinging like a big girl now !!!

Like my hairstyle??? I only had to use half a jar of vaseline to acheive this look !

You should've seen MaMa trying to climb up on this 4-wheeler !

I told MaMa I could do it by myself .... Cousin Caleb would hold on tight ... but MaMa said no !

He He He .... Look at Aunt Kelley's Yard .... We are gonna be in trouble !

Mari-Grace decided to dress me up ... then put her drum around my neck.

Singing with MaMa

Go ahead MaMa ... toot that horn !

I love playing with MaMa ... she'll do anything to get me to laugh !

Mmmm Mmmmm Good .... Oreos in my convertable in the kitchen !!!

That's a good cookie !!!!

As Colonel Sanders would say .... Finger Lickin' Good !!!

Vaseline + 2 year old = MESS !!!

So ... Tuesday morning ... I woke up to Mari-Grace standing beside me patting my cheek.

She had fallen asleep in the floor ... and me on the couch in the living room.
I looked at her, and saw what appeared to be lotion on her hands and face.
I said ... "Oh boy ... Mari-Grace has been in the lotion."

Well ... I turned on the light and realized ... it wasn't lotion at all ... Mari-Grace had found a little jar of vaseline. She had applied it liberally to her face ... her hands ... her legs ... her belly and most importantly ... HER HAIR !!! Yes ... Mari-Grace had put a half of a 1 ounce jar of vaseline in her hair.

So .. we trapse to Omaw's house this way. I wish I had a picture of my Mom's face when she looked at Mari-Grace. It was priceless. She thought I'd brought her out with wet hair. But no .. MG was a petroleum princess.

I put her in the bath tub ... and I shampooed her hair 3 times before I left for work. My mom shampooed 3 more times ... and still couldn't get it all out.
Omaw gave up and took Mari-Grace to the beauty shop. They leaned her back in the chair and washed her hair with Dawn detergent. (If it works on the animals in the Gulf ... why not on MG's hair).

It took another washing on Wednesday to finally get the crud out. But her hair is certainly well conditioned now !!!

Will post a picture as soon as I can get it to download correctly.

Stay tuned for more adventures of Mari- Grace !!!

Toodles !

3 month post-surgery check up

We went for our 3 month post-op visit on 1-12-2011.

Dr. Buckmiller was pleased with how Mari-Grace's palate has healed.
It looks like we are definately on for her lip-repair on March 29, 2011.

MaMa is dreading another surgery. We are just now getting into a routine of sleeping most of the night again. (Just now as in day 4)

Dr. B says that she suspects we will have a great outcome from the lip repair, based on how the lip adhesion that was done in September 2010 looks.

So ... what does the lip repair involve?? Right now, her lip is attached only thru the skin layers. The muscle of her top lip is not attached, and therefore the top lip doesn't function properly.
The next surgery will attach all of the muscle layers so that she gets proper lip function.
We she'll also get a bit of cosemetic things done ... like the creation of the cupid's bow on the top lip ... the scars will get lined up so that they look more natural.

In making the lip more even, and cosemetically appealing, Mari-Grace's nose will be flattened out even more than it is now. MG has a flat nose as it is. SO .. guess what .... I'll have a 3 year old with a nose job. Dr. B says that 6-9 months after the lip repair, they will do a bit of nose work to lengthen the piece of nose that divides the 2 nostrils so that it is not so flat.

One of my customers at the pharmacy laughed and said " A nose job at 3 ... will she get boobs at 5 ???"

We also had her speech evaluation at the same time as the Dr's post op visit.

She scored a 90 (normal is 80-120) on receptive language ... that means she is understanding english and understanding what she is hearing.

On expressive language she scored a 70 (normal 80-120). She is understanding what she hears, but not completely able to communicate what she wants us to know.

We will be starting speech therapy twice a week in a few weeks.

Thank goodness ... my insurance is awesome and will pay all but $25 each visit, and we are not limited in how often we go. Some insurances limit you to 26 visits per year ... my insurance does not. We can have a visit whenever we need it. I am also going to check into some early intervention programs to see if we are eligible for any.

Let's see ... what else.

She started at 24 lbs and 31 inches tall.
She is up to 32 lbs and 34 inches tall.

She has gone from a size 5 shoe to a size 7 ... almost a 7.5.

Just proof that what a little attention and a lot of love can do !

Snow Update

The snow falling is beautiful !!! It has been a while since we've gotten the pretty powdery snow.
Our snow is usually preceded by ice ... lots of ice.

Tonite ... the snow has let up a bit ... but is supposed to continue off and on thru the night. I'd say we have a good 2-3 inches...which for the Little Rock area is enough to shut down the town.
Mari-Grace wasn't pleased at having to sleep in her footed pajamas tonite. BUT ... since she won't sleep under cover ... she had to have something to stay warm !!!

Little toodles had a great time playing in the snow tonite. MaMa had a blast watching her. I started gathering essentials of snow play on Friday with a trip to Old Navy ... found rubber boots and a scarf. I tried to put Mari-Grace's sweet little pink hat on her today .... it was too small !!! The mittens didn't work out so well either. So ... as the snow began to fall ... I made a mad dash to Kohls. I found the cutest little gloves ... they have the fingers open, but a mitten cover to pull over them. There was also a set of regular gloves. Putting them on her was hilarious. I was telling her to put 1 finger in each hole ... and she was giggling up a storm.

Found her a cute toboggin hat .... it is actually for a grown up ... but it looks so adorable on her.

So far ... Only 1 fall and no injuries. LOL ... I was racing across the front yard to catch the family and give my nephew his insulated overalls that he left at my house. I completely forgot about the tree root that is on top of the ground. It's hard enough for me not to trip over it when I see it ... but alas ... covered with snow ... it was impossible to see. I tripped and hit the ground...I twisted my knee a little, but no injury. Silly thing, it makes me MAD to fall down.
Snow is really cold on exposed hands !!!! Needless to say ... I'm a bit sore tonite from twisting on the way down.

Luckily I wasn't carrying Mari-Grace. She was standing in the front door ... head hanging outside .... squealing with laughter and waving at me. Gotta love it !!!

PICTURES OF SNOW !!!

Looking out my front door.

Mari-Grace's scarf hung down her back ... looked like a little pink tail peaking out of coat!

MaMa made a quick trip to Kohls to find a warm hat to fit her head!

Uncle Greg and Mari- Grace

My little SnowBaby ... she got so excited ... couldn't wait to get outside and play.

Had her bundled for sure ... Hat .. scarf ... coat .. turtle neck...tights...leggings... sweats...extra socks and boots ... The people of China would be proud of me !!

Caleb and Hannah in the driveway.

Uncle Greg is petting the ceramic dog in the flower bed.

My 15 yr old neighbor is gonna kill me for posting this picture of her !!

Can we say ... "Deer in Headlight" (love ya Hannah !!)

Note ... these are not black Sunday dress shoes ... they are Pink rain boots that look like mary-janes. Mari-Grace picked them out herself. My little pink bundle of joy !!!

GUESS WHAT !!!

It's SNOWING !!! HARD !!! and STICKING !!!!

I don't know why I'm so excited ... I have to drag myself to the pharmacy whether it is snowing or not. Luckily Hannah works for me now, so I'll be sure to have help !

I'm still excited !!! Mari-Grace is stocked up on hats, gloves, snow boots, leggings, tights, etc.
I'm ready to play !!!

Caleb and Hannah have a sled ... and Mom and dad have the perfect hill for sledding in front of their house. Can't wait until we have enough to get outside and play !!!!

Stay tuned for pictures !