Our computer died on us somewhere towards the end of the summer, and
we finally have a new one! Which means more blogging joy! Since several
blog-worthy things have happened since the last post, I'm going to just
divide this one up into sections so I don't have to do a separate blog
for each thing....here goes!
ASPEN GROVE
In
August, Justin's grandpa treated the whole extended family to a few days
at Aspen Grove. Aspen Grove is a really cool camp up the canyon by
Provo (Provo Canyon?). Haddy was still in her cast while we were there
which limited some of what we could do, but just spending time with
family made the whole thing a blast! We each had our own little cabin
which was fun, Haddy loved playing in the loft!
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| Playing in the loft with Daddy! |
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| There were a lot of fun animal statues for Haddy to "ride" |
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| This one is a little blurry, but I just thought Haddy's face was so cute in it! |
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| Swinging with Gram! |
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| They
had several different playgrounds, but this one had a swing Haddy's
cast actually fit into! We spent most of the time here at this swing.
Here is Haddy with her cousin Isaac! |
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| Swinging some more with Isaac and Millie! |
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| This is a good view of one of the playgrounds and some field, to the right was the pool. |
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| The
last night there was "western night,", they had knife-throwing, games,
and a train ride we frequented because Haddy loved it! They also had
this cute little western town. |
GETTING THE CAST OFF!
Haddy
got her cast off August 28th (just a few days after Aspen Grove!! We
were bummed we couldn't move it up...). I had no idea her surgery and
her being in that stupid cast would be so difficult. As a parent, you
never want your child to suffer or ever miss out on anything. Watching
what she went through, even though she took it like a complete champ,
was definitely a trial. Throughout Haddy's surgery and the everything
that went along with it, including all her doctor's appointments and
obviously having to wear first the body cast, then the full leg casts, I
truly felt I was blessed with what I needed to get through it. I've
never had an experience where I could really feel a tangible evidence
that answers to prayers are real. When we took Haddy to the hospital to
have surgery, I should've been freaking out for the entire 3 days we
were there, but I felt so at peace and I felt the strength I needed to
stay positive for Haddy. If I had been crying and stressing out the
whole time, I know Haddy would've felt that and had a much harder time
being there in a strange place, in pain, not able to move, and hooked up
to a bunch of tubes. Whenever I look back on her surgery or see
pictures of her in that hospital bed, I start crying without hesitation;
yet while I was there I was okay.
When the day finally came to
get the cast off, we didn't quite know how Haddy would react. I think
she was definitely sore, and many of you saw the video I posted on
Facebook of her attempting to walk before we had even left the hospital.
She had almost no strength in her legs, because for the 3 months in her
cast she didn't really need it. She pretty much had to re-learn to
walk, but she's a determined girl! It only took her two days to be able
to take a couple steps completely on her own, and now her walking is
completely back to normal, except better because there's no hobble!
Technical
stuff: Haddy's surgery was due to her hip being dislocated from birth.
Since the ball of her femur was never in it's rightful place, the socket
never formed, so instead of her socket now being formed around the ball
of her femur, the socket is flat, so it wouldn't be difficult of to
dislocate her hip again. The hope is that now that the ball and socket
have joined, the socket will begin to form how it's supposed to around
the ball so it stays put. If this doesn't happen, Haddy will have to
have surgery again. I got the impression it was about a 50/50 chance,
though I was too scared to ask outright... We have been diligently
praying that she won't have to have surgery again, and would appreciate
your prayers as well if you're willing.
Having Haddy able to walk
and out of her cast has been beyond wonderful! Shriners Hospital has
been fantastic, and if anybody is looking for a deserving place to
donate money to for this Christmas season, or really whenever, Shriners
would be a great place to do it! Thanks to the wonderful people who
donate to Shriners, and to the incredible staff there, my sweet baby is
running around and doing great! Here is a video to show just how much
she loves being able to move around :)
HALLOWEEN
This
was the funnest Halloween ever! Having a kid who gets super excited
about a holiday makes that holiday way more fun....Haddy had two
costumes this year! Her Uncle Brad found an awesome puppy vest at D.I.,
so one costume was a puppy. The other costume was Wendy, from Peter
Pan....Justin's Aunt Karen makes these really pretty night gowns, and
she gave one to Haddy that looked just like the one Wendy wore! So that
was her other costume. Haddy had so much fun trick-or-treating! And she
loved playing with her candy for weeks afterwards (she thought they were
just toys....).
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| This was my awesome scary halloween shirt... |
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| That pumpkin Haddy's standing by? It's real. Justin grew it. What's up. |
Turns out I have no pictures of Haddy in her night gown, but I have a video!
ZION NATIONAL PARK
I actually think this happened before Halloween, but oh well....
My
sister's husband's family has an awesome cabin outside Zion National
Park, so we went for a little visit! Here are some pictures of a fun
mini-hike we went on!
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| It was way past naptime at this point... |
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OTHER
In
other news, Justin had surgery for a hernia the day before Thanksgiving
and is doing well! Also, it's almost Christmas, and Haddy has been
visited by one of Santa's elves! His name is Vincent Meyer and he's left
her a few presents...mostly books, but also a couple of My Little Pony
ponies, and a cute bag to put stuff in and take out! We are so excited
for Christmas this year, it's so much more fun now that Haddy can get
excited for stuff! Here are a couple random pictures....
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| When Haddy got her cast off, we took her up the mountains to play in this little stream and, of course, she loved it! |
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| For
my friend Rachel's birthday, we went to this awesome trampoline park!
This was pre-hernia surgery for Justin, and I had a gaping hole in my
foot, so neither of us were able to do as much as we wanted, but Haddy
loved it! We want to go back when are both fully recovered! |
