Happy Anniversary to us

9 years later, yikes.  Did being married to me make Jim's hair turn that gray?!  Guess so.

Yup, today is our 9 year wedding anniversary.  We celebrated with dinner out at Red Lobster with Helaina and Josh.  Helaina LOVES eating out at any restaurant and is a pro at ordering her food and asking the servers for anything she may need.  It's always funny eating out with her because she is so excited by food (not a good thing!), enjoys eating and is constantly thinking ahead to the next course, her next bite, drink or dessert!

Picture taken by Helaina while anxiously waiting for her food.  After she had bisquits and some of my salad, she kept asking "Where's my food?  When is it going to get here?"

Another pic of our thoughtful gal while looking out the restaurant window.  I put her hair in a bun (which she is obsessed with lately) and she wore my amethist necklast to match her purple dress, the earrings I wore when Jim and I got married, and the 2 hairclips I had in my hair on our wedding day.  When I brought them downstairs and surprised her with them she literally gasped.  "Can these be mine?"  Why not.  Everything else is.




Helaina is a parmesan cheese freak.  She loves the stuff and puts it on everything from macaroni to soups.  Helaina didn't get a salad with her kid's meal (I was going to share mine with her) so when ours came there were HUGE slices of parm cheese on them.  I picked one up to show her and said "Wow, Helaina.  Look at the size of the parmesan cheese curls in the salad!"  She smiled and grabbed it out of my hand.  I turned to the waitress and told her that Helaina loved parmesan cheese.  While Helaina was begging for cheese out of all our salads, the waitress came back with a small bowl filled with the parmesan cheese curls and some croutons.  She set it down on the table in front of Helaina and she again gasped, smiled, said thank you and dug in, devouring every single cheese curl in the bowl.  She then devoured her chicken fingers and rice pilaf.  All the while she was eating, she was eyeing what Jim and I had.  We both got the Seafood Bake - scallops, shrimp, mussels and a lobster tail served over linquini in a garlicy wine sauce - totally yummy.  At one point I turned to Jim and said "She's going to ask for some of my linguini any minute - just watch."  Seconds later, "Um Mom, can I have some of your macaroni?"  Sigh, it doesn't pay to sit within arm's reach of Helaina while eating, trust me, your food is fair game for her.  Helaina wasn't even finished with her meal when she asked if we could get dessert!   We ordered 2 desserts - one for Helaina and Josh to split (a chocolate chip cookie filled with warm "liquid lava" chocolate and topped with vanilla ice cream) and one for Jim and I to split (what else for my hubby chocoholic - five layer chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream).  We shouldn't have, we were already full, but it's a special occasion so we splurged - at Helaina's urging!  Happy anniversary to my thoughtful, wonderful hubby.  Hope I can keep turning those hairs gray for many more years to come.

All kinds of busy-ness going on

This little gal sure knows how to play hard!

This afternoon Jim and I were outside doing some yardwork and Helaina was on her playground.  After swinging for about 5 minutes this was the result.  I couldn't stop laughing.  She swung herself right to sleep.  I ran in the house and grabbed the camera so I could snap a pic before she fell off the swing.  We have had a hectic schedule lately - due mostly to her hectic schedule.

Both Dragonslayer plays Helaina was in were great.  She was anxious to get on stage that first night and was at ease quickly.  She sang, she danced, she acted, she hammed it up and she even got a few laughs from the audience.  We just love to see her happy little face on stage.  We have lots of great video from both shows and a few blurry pictures that need some editing.  It's pitch black in the theater and with no flash photography allowed, good pictures are tough.

We went out to brunch on Mother's Day which also happened to be the second production of Dragonslayer.  The show wasn't until 2:00 so we had the morning to kill.  Our table was near this window seat and I couldn't help but think that she was thinking about her performance on stage later in the day.

In the holding area for the kids before they go on stage.  What better way to spend Mother's Day than watching you daughter doing what she loves.

Pretty in pink sitting on stage as a child of the court.

Sitting on stage (again) with her fellow forest creatures - a bunny and a frog.

Yup, asleep on the way home from the play on Mother's Day.  She had her first show last Friday night at 7pm and didn't get to sleep until about 10:00 that night.  We had to wake her up the next morning for an early 8:30am soccer game, followed by the final Dragonslayer performance last Sunday afternoon.  Totally pooped out.  Hey, wait a minute.  Aren't I the one who's supposed to get flowers on Mother's Day?  That's ok.  I got what I wanted - a fondue pot and a gift certificate from a nursery for raspberry bushes.  Mmmmmmm.

Can't have a play without a celebration treat.  Giant chocolate chip cookie decorated with green dragon icing for "Helaina the Dragonslayer".  To say she loved this cookie is a giant understatement.

Soccer has been fun.  She's played a few games already and is having a blast.  It was picture day this past Saturday before the game.  We had to be at the field at 7:45am - 45 minutes before her 8:30 game - on a SATURDAY morning.  It was like trying to wake the dead getting her up on a weekend  morning when she can usually sleep in and catch up from an exhausting week of school.  Jim and I weren't too thrilled about it either.

Helaina also had a birthday party to attend that same afternoon for one of her first grade buddies.  Coincidentally, the boy who was having the party was on the team she played that morning.  The party was at Fun Junction, a laser tag place that Helaina had never been to before.  She loved it.  The kids wear a vest that has flashing lights and "shoot" at them with the giant laser gun.  They play in a dark cave-type castle setting with floor to ceiling hiding places.  Jim and I went into the arena and watched for a while.  Funny stuff.  They also played arcade games, had pizza and cake.  Another exhausting Saturday.

I just love Helaina's sense of style.  Here she's sporting her new Monster High (of course) dress with Monster High skeleton socks and blue "patent leather" shoes.  She couldn't wait to get to the bus stop that morning and show everyone her new dress.  As I've said all along right from the start, Helaina's a tomboy in a princess disguise.

The stage is set, part 1

It's the big Dragonslayer weekend.  Helaina's super excited.  2 shows, 2 characters to play, songs, dances and a lot of fun.

The purple roses are ready for after her performance.

Celebratory ice cream cake decorated in her favorite icing colors with sprinkles.

Costume 1 ready - a child of the court.

Costume 2 ready - a snake in the forest.

She went off to school today in her long skirt and jeweled sandals, sassy and happy as can be (as usual).  It's the fourth play for our little showgal and she's ready more than ready to take the stage.  Good luck to our little Dragonslayer.  It's so exciting!

Nice weather

LOVE THIS LITTLE FACE.

Hello Kitty face courtesy of family fun day at our local YMCA.  Helaina had to wait in line a long time to get this done, but it was worth it.  Adorable.

It's been a beautiful week with temperatures in the 70's.  Helaina is thrilled to finally be wearing shorts to school.  Last Saturday she said "It's hot.  Why can't we open the pool today?"  A bit too early, little one.  We told her she could play with her water table instead and she ran into the house so fast it was unbelievable.  "Can I wear one of my new Monster High bathing suits?  The 2-piece one?"  Sure.  Jim unburied the water table from the shed, found some of her water toys and Helaina filled the table with freezing cold hose water.  Cold water doesn't bother her in the least.

First thing she did was plop her butt into the cold water.  Squeal heard throughout the neighborhood.

Jim and I just watch in disbelief.  Debut of Monster High bathing suit #1.

Wet and wild happiness.

Bathing suit gymnastics.  Helaina's got a sweet cartwheel.  It should be awesome because she cartwheels through the house, the yard, the playground, school, the grocery store (if she can get away with it) - ANYWHERE she can.

She's so proud of herself now that she can do a back walkover and get all the way around.  She'll stand straight up, put her hands in the air over her head and bend backwards down to the ground into a table, then kickes each leg over and stands up.  She's getting better on the uneven parallel bars too.  She's got really strong arms.

Our little gal has a style all her own.  Her "Monster High" outfit, as she calls it.  Monster High shirt, Monster High skirt, Monster High bracelet and Monster High hair clip.  Add in striped monkey kneesocks and purple glitter shoes and voila - ready for the kiddie red carpet.  Helaina's teacher loves some of the outfits she comes up with.  She told me one day that "Miss M said my outfit was wackadoodle!!!" 

A few weekends ago we took Helaina to her first Saturday morning Lowe's workshop.  The project was building a Croods planter, which was right up her alley because we saw the movie The Croods at the mall and it was great.  Take a look at Helaina's expression and her left hand position.  She's like "Dad, stop moving your hands when I swing the hammer!"  Jim learned with the first swing of the hammer that she was not very accurate.  After getting hit several times he was leary after that.  Every time she'd raise the hammer he'd move his hands and the wood pieces would fall.  So this is me:  "Oh for Pete's sake.  Just hold the wood.  Here, let me do it.  How hard can she hit?"  Well, I found out on the first whack because the blood blister she gave me next to my thumb took 2 weeks to go away.

We got through it.  Helaina's hammer wielding improved.

And tah-dah, a Croods planter.  They gave us a packet of tomato seeds and hopefully they will sprout.  It was fun.  She got the red apron to keep and a little Croods planter badge that I ironed onto her apron.  We'll go back for another workshop - hopefully the next one won't involve a hammer.

She sure does keep us busy...

Helaina's busy schedule (a 7 year old has a busy schedule?) has been keeping Jim and I running.  She missed 3 gymnastics classes while recouperating from her surgery so for the last 3 weeks she's had classes 2 nights a week.  Children's Theater ended a few weeks ago (this morning was the 3-hour dress rehearsal for the 2 shows coming up this weekend), but that free night has been replaced with soccer practice.  Warm weather is finally here and we've been trying to squeeze in some outdoor work around the house but it's been tough.  April flew by with some fun weekend activities thrown in

She likes the clowns now but when she was younger, she wouldn't go near them.

Cool white tiger.

Funny doggies

The favorite of all the kids - Tiny the Elephant.

When this motorcycle came zooming across the high wire with the 2 girls dangling from it, Helaina gasped.  She was so mesmerized by it.  Then after it was over she said "Cool.  I want to do that.  How do I join the circus?"  Cringe, the question you never want to hear your daughter ask.

 
Mid April we went to the zoo one Sunday afternoon with Helaina's buddy T.  They had a blast running through the entire zoo.  As you can tell by the winter jackets and hats, it was still quite chilly.

Can't go to the zoo without a picture on the elephant and the tiger.  I must say, the tiger is very realistic looking.

Helaina's imitation of a roaring lion.

Now that's a menacing stare.

Mmmmm, feeding time at the zoo.  A beautiful owl with a white mouse hanging from it's beak.

Helaina decided to play "surgery" with Jim one afternoon shortly after her surgery.  When she gets out her doctor's kit get ready to be pounced on.  She jumped on top of Jim and told him it was time to go to sleep.  He protested and said he didn't want to go to sleep.  "Now Daddy.  You're going to have surgery and it's time for your anesthesia.  Breathe into the tube."  After he was asleep she woke him up and pretended he was in recovery.  "Now Daddy.  How's your pain?  You don't have to talk, just point to the picture."  Poor kid knows way more about surgery than any 7 year old should.  Point to the picture - too funny.  While she's in recovery if she doesn't feel like talking, the recovery room nurse will hold up a card with 10 yellow smiley faces on it numbered from 1 to 10, all with different expressions ranging from a happy face (#1, no pain) to a crying face (#10, lots of pain).  Our tough little cookie consistently pointed to number 2 for this surgery.  Wonderful what that post-surgery morphine will do for you.

 

Doing much better

Helaina recovered very nicely from her surgery.  The timing of the surgery over the Spring break was great because she had 2 full weeks at home to recover.  For the first 10 days post-surgery she tired quickly and napped each afternoon for at least 90 minutes.  By the end of the 2nd week she was pretty much back to her normal energy level.  The tape holding the sutures tight came off after a week and we were finally able to gently wipe away the remaining dried blood.  The few scabs that were left got ointment applied directly to them and they softened and fell off within a few more days.   The skin is still pulled in tightly but has already begun to "relax" some and will continue to relax after the healing is done.  In about a week we'll start massaging the area to help loosen things up even more.  Helaina's happy with the result, we're happy with the result - all is good again.

The Saturday before Easter we finally got down to business.  We made 2 bunny cakes - one for us and one for the cousins - pretzel whiskers, jelly bean eyes and chicklet gum teeth.

Oops!  Our bunny cake even made chocolate chip poopies!

Yikes. Egg coloring is always a messy experience, but we made it through with no spills.  Helaina had multi-colored fingers and hands when we were all done.  One good thing, she loves hard boiled eggs.

The completed basket - finally assembled at about 10pm the night before Easter, then Jim and I hid plastic eggs around the house and prayed that the cat left them alone all night.  The Easter bunny made Helaina very happy this year.  Monster High movie and perfume, Junie B Jones puzzle book, bubbles, candy, Muno clippy for her backpack, giant Dora pen and a bunch of other fun things.  The Easter bunny just loves shopping at Hobby Lobby!

Helaina thought it was hysterical that the Easter bunny floated a pink plastic egg in Peaches and Elly's fish bowl.

Thankfully Zoey left all the eggs alone that night for Helaina to find.

It took Helaina a while to find her basket.  It wasn't hidden that well but she kept walking right past it.  We had to give her hints to locate it!

My family ended up going out to brunch this year for the first time ever.  We've NEVER celebrated a holiday at a restaurant, ever.  This year was different because my sister had surgery 2 weeks ago, then Helaina's surgery was a week later and just 5 days before Easter.  I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off while caring for her post-surgery.  It worked out great, though.  Eleven of us let the Ramada do the cooking and it was very good.  They had their usual huge variety of breakfast items plus eggs benedict, prime rib, carved ham, chicken parmigana, macaroni and lots of desserts.  Super yummy.  I cooked a small ham that afternoon for sandwiches, so it was an easy holiday - no muss, no fuss this year.

THE REVEAL!

Two days after Easter, Helaina and I went to see Monsters Inc 3D and part way through the movie she leans over to me and whispers very excitedly "The tape just came loose on my lip!"  I told her that we couldn't do anything about it at the movies but we'd check it out when we got home.  The minute we walked in the door I called the surgeon to see if enough time had elapsed with the tape on (thankfully it did), then we called Jim at work.  I wanted to wait until he was home later that afternoon but Helaina wanted it off immediately.  Jim said to go ahead but email him a picture.  Look at the excitement on her face - she couldn't wait to get that annoying piece of gross tape off!  I was so nervous.  I took a deep breath and gently peeled back and removed the tape and was amazed at what I saw.  "How's it look?" Helaina quickly asked with a bit of nervousness in her voice.  With a lump in my throat I took her little face in my hands and said "You were always beautiful just the way you were, but your lip looks ... amazing!"

With my hands shaking, I gently loosened and removed the dried blood with a moistened q-tip and covered the remaining scabbing with ointment.  I prepared Helaina for what she would see.  I told her that there were 2 thin red vertical incision lines with some scabbing still on that area, then I handed her a small mirror and let her have a look. She did a little gasp then said "How'd he do that?"  Helaina's doctor is amazing.  He's a board certified everything - plastic surgeon, ENT, craniofacial specialist and, oh yah, miracle worker too.  How did he do that - I have no idea.  Prior to the surgery Helaina had a  horseshoe shaped scar from nostril to nostril with multiple "railroad track" type suture marks (from her lip repair in China when she was 9 months old).  She also had a slightly uneven lip line with some puckering and dimpling right above her lip.  All of that is gone, totally.  She now has an even lip line, smooth skin and no suture marks because the stitching was done in layers from the inside out.  Happy happy joy joy. 

Helaina's post-op visit with the surgeon was Friday morning.  Helaina made a card out of pink construction paper and decorated it with hearts and flowers.  Inside she wrote "Dear Dr. T, Thank you for fixing my lip.  You did a good job!!  Love, Helaina".  She was so excited to give it to him.  The ears still remain an issue because he couldn't patch the giant hole in one eardrum because it was still infected and the patch would have "blown out".  We will most likely see his partner the eardrum expert this summer and possibly have the hole patched.  There's a concern of hearing loss with a hole that size.  In the meantime we had Helaina fitted for a second set of custom earplugs to keep all water out of both ears.  She chose pink this time.  We're very careful at bathtime but swimming this summer will be an issue because our little mermaid likes to spend most of her time under the water.

Nobody is more thrilled with the surgery result than Helaina.  Every time she'd pass a mirror in the house she'd make a different comment:  "How'd he DO that? "  "He's a scientist!"  "I look good."  "Dr. T is talented at surgery."  "He must have special tools and fingers."  So funny.  She may need a tweek here and there as the years go by while her face, nose and mouth continue to grow, but I can't stress about that now.  She's a beautiful child inside and out and I give a little chuckle when I refer to her as my Baby Beverly Hills!

You're the bravest little girl I know...

What a difference a day makes.

Monday morning before heading out for school - all happy with her new bunny she named Sparkle.

Tuesday morning with a breakfast of jello, popsicles and apple juice.  That could mean only one thing...

... surgery #6.  Helaina's been great about it.  A little whining and complaining over the last week but no tears.  She was comforted by the fact that she wouldn't have sutures in her palate or throat this time and that we could come home the same day.  She picked the root beer scent for her gas mask and they gave her stickers to decorate it too.

Daddy in his zuit suit prior to walking Helaina to the operating room.  I've taken her down for 2 of her previous surgeries and I'm not a fan.  I don't like it when they put the gas mask over her nose and she goes limp right before your eyes.  Too much for Momma to take, so Jim's the official OR escort.

"You're the bravest little girl I know."  That's the first thing I said to Helaina when I was allowed back in the recovery area, fighting back tears with a huge lump in my throat.  I definately wasn't prepared for what I saw.  Her other surgeries were inside her mouth and throat so nothing was visible.  This time she had both ears worked on again (no biggie) but her lip was worked on also.  She's got clear tape on the skin right under her nose to hold the sutures tight, but everything is visible, including the sutures, oozing, fresh blood and dried blood.  The surgery lasted just under 3 hours and she's one tired little gal.  Helaina and I spent the night on the couch.  She needed to be watched for bleeding outside the lip and the sutured area inside.  We had to keep her on her back and relatively still because when she moved a lot the surgery sites would start to bleed, which scared her (yah, me too).  She got up at midnight to potty and get a drink and then wanted to watch TV.  I found Mickey Mouse on the Disney Channel so we watched that for about 30 minutes then she finally fell asleep again.  Pain meds, antibiotics, ear drops, ointment, soft foods, no biting down, lots of rest and limited activity for 2 weeks - doctors orders.    Swelling was down a bit this morning and she doesn't appear to be bruised.  She ate some breakfast, got cleaned up, brushed her teeth very carefully, took all her meds and now she's been sleeping for almost 90 minutes.  She is the bravest girl I know.  She's my hero.