Orthopedist and Water Park

Waffles for breakfast again then off to some stores before Abigail sees the Orthopedist. We went to big Dick's and found MG a pair of tennis shoes for school that were too good of a deal to pass up. I should probably explain...there is a big Dick's and a little Dick's Sporting Good's in Cincinnati and Ross just can't contain himself. Plus the big one is nicer. As he would say, "Size does matter." Enough of the off-color humor :).
We left Dick's and headed to see Dr. Wall about Abigail's legs. We were there for about two hours and literally 5 minutes was with the doctor, the rest of the time was spent waiting. The doctor was great though. He said that all we can do is wait and see how she does. Bracing will not help. Her legs will either correct on their own or she will need surgical intervention. The important thing he told us was that her legs will likely get worse before they get better. They should be at their worst at age 5, which is when he would like to see her again. Done with doctors for today so bring on the fun!
Kristen was so kind to ask her sister if she could get us tickets to the CoCo Key Indoor Waterpark which she was able to do. We had ALOT of fun!! Thank you so much Kristen and Carrie. Words cannot express our gratitude! It was such a blast watching and playing with the kids in the water and on the water slides. It was very age appropriate for each of the kids and us grown ups had fun too. Ross and I each road with one of the big girls on the big slides while Blair watched the little ones and then we all switched. Abbz had the best time just playing in the kiddie pool under the mushroom waterfall. After swimming for about three hours we went to Chili's for dinner and then back to the hotel to pass out from pure exhaustion.

A Scope and A Birthday

We were up by 5 this morning. That wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact our bodies thought it was 4! Abigail was such a big girl. We had explained to her before she went to bed that she needed to drink one more "milky cup" because she would not be able to drink until she was all done at the doctor's. I was quite amazed because she did not ask for one drink until she was done. She is such a smart little girl. When they were getting her prepped she was so sleepy that she was fighting to keep her eyes open; so I told her that if she wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep that I would wake her before they took her back. She laid her head in my lap and did just that, sleeping through her temperature check, pulse check, and placing of the lovely hospital bracelets...she always has three or four because of all of her allergies. I woke her to give her the Versiad or " goofy juice" as we call it. That stuff literally hits her in a matter of a few short minutes. You can always tell because her body goes limp and she laughs at the funniest things. This time she cracked up when daddy inadvertently raised his eye brow while talking. Once the medicine kicks in good we carry her back to the OR where I have the luxury of holding her while they put her to sleep. She fought drifting off to sleep a little more this time; I am assuming because she is older. I say fought, but it wasn't bad at all it just took a little longer then it has in the past. Less than 15 minutes later we got the report from Dr. Putnum that she did great and that by appearance everything looked good. We will have to wait for the biopsy results to come back to know for sure. We were allowed to see her in recovery about 25 minutes after the procedure started which is about normal. They used a different anesthesia for the previous scope and it took her a very long time to wake up so they opted to go back to what they had always used prior to that scope. I am glad they listened to my concerns and adjusted appropriately because she did great with the anesthesia this time. She was still a little groggy when we left the hospital so we took her to the room and let her sleep while Blair took the big girls swimming.
After a short swim I took Blair to eat lunch for her 18th birthday. Happy Birthday Auntie Blair!! Murders (Blair's boyfriend) surprised her with another present...an Ariel (you know The Little Mermaid) crown that I promised I would make her wear all day. Which I did, and I have pictures to prove it. Ok back to the day. She wanted to eat at the Cheesecake Factory so we shared an appetizer and then each got a slice of cheesecake. YUM! It was a fun sister's lunch. Then we picked up the rest of the family took a little drive looking around and went in a few stores. Okay, now it's time to end our day with a birthday dinner. Blair wanted Italian for her so where to we go? Yep, Maggiano's it is. So for the real reason we love it so much...Chef Karl. You heard me. Chef Karl. If you have allergies the chef comes to the table to discuss them and tell you what he can do for you. He has done this from the beginning and always remembers us. He may not always remember our names but he knows exactly where we sat the very first time we ate there. They prepare Ross' Fettuccine Alfredo from scratch to ensure nothing in it would make him sick, and Hannah was able to eat pasta with rice noodles so she was happy as a clam. For dessert Chef Karl sent a free Creme Brûlée and a plate of Lemon cookies to the table for Blair. After all it was her 18th birthday. Thanks Chef Karl, you made our day!

Sunday- Movie, Friends, & Food

Today was another day of fun. We started the day with Belgian waffles from the continental breakfast...yum...a great way to start the day. After breakfast we drove over the bridge into Kentucky to watch a movie. We all enjoyed watching Toy Story 3; poor Blair had already seen like 4 times, but it worked to our advantage when Abbz had to potty half way through. Ross nor I had to miss anything for a change ;). After the movie we grabbed a snack and headed to Mike and Ramona's. They were sweet to allow our whole family to infiltrate their home. Connor and Abigail always play well together, but this time was especially fun because they are both older and at the age where they can interact more. Plus with that many kids there couldn't possibly be a dull moment! Honestly they all played with one another better then I have seen four children play together. While we were there Mike made a bracelet for Ross' Medic Alert charm. It's more rugged then his last bracelet and more work appropriate. Plus, if we are in a pinch we have 12 feet of rope as long as Ross is wearing that bracelet! Thanks Mike, Ross really does like it a lot, and thank Mike and Mona for opening your home to us. We miss you guys already! We said our good byes and went back to the hotel to clean up a little before heading to Maggiano's for dinner. Maggiano's is our favorite restaurant in Cincinnati. Besides the fact that the food is delicious they are extremely conscientious about food allergies and more than willing to prepare something safe for you to eat. It doesn't get much better than ending the day with a little Italian food!