Our Fourth of July Weekend

Ahh the Fourth. One of my favorite holidays. Sunshine, activities on/in/adjacent to the water, grilling out, and fireworks. Sounds pretty perfect to me (if you ignore the oppressive Florida heat, overwhelming humidity, and bloodthirsty mosquitoes). The Hubs always works on the Fourth (and this year the day after, too), but we usually find a way to enjoy the pool and a delicious dinner before the festivities begin.

But not this year. This year it rained. It rained a lot. All weekend. The monsoon rain started on Friday around lunch time, and I knew that all my plans for festive fun with the bambino before the Hubs made it home from work were not going to happen. Pool time and her first taste of bomb pop would have to be postponed. No biggie. We would try again on Saturday.

No. such. luck. It has rained every damn day since Friday. Nasty "tropical" kinds of rain. Thunder, lightning, and, you guys, just so much rain. In fact, as I type this post, it's raining. And there's more coming tomorrow.

The Fourth started with a festive breakfast. A patriotic waffle. I thought the kid would devour this -waffles are practically the only breakfast food she'll eat. But the cream cheese and strawberry jam, two things she loves btw, really threw Z for a loop. She ate the banana and blueberries, but insisted on her usual waffle toppings - lightly buttered with cinnamon. So I ate the festive waffle and it was delicious!

It wasn't long after breakfast that the clouds rolled in. So we treated the day like every other, hoping that tomorrow would be sunny enough to hit the pool. We got a little punchy...

The Hubs grilled burgers in the rain, and we enjoyed these yummy drinks, and had strawberry shortcake s'mores for dessert. (Grilled poundcake topped with Hershey bars, toasted marshmallows, and sliced strawberries. So amazingly wonderful!)

And although the rain had finally stopped, we decided to skip walking over to the bridge to enjoy the fireworks like we do every year. We figured the humidity hanging in the air would make them tough to see so we kept Z up late and watched some of the Macy's show, dancing along to the music. (Sorry for the poorly lit shot. Such amateur hour here! Jeeze!)

We took another shot at holiday fun on Saturday, and by Sunday, I was going stir-crazy. So between storms we went to lunch and stopped by Jupiter Inlet to run around before the rains started up again. Zoey loved watching the boats and jet skis run by, and of course, all she wanted to do was walk back and forth along the jetty.

On the short ride home, I'm talking ten minutes tops, the Nothing rolled in (ya, I just hit you with a Neverending Story reference!), and we were trapped in our car, in the driveway while a small tropical event happened around us. Once we made it inside, a festive snack made us all feel a little bit better.

Finally, on Monday, the sun was out long enough for the Hubs to get some wood cut for a project we're working on and for me to set up the kid with her new water table. She loved it, as we knew she would, but after about fifteen minutes, the rain started again AGAIN! It was light at first, so we played with the rock box on the porch, but eventually the porch flooded and we were sent inside, where we stayed for the rest of the day. Boo!

So. Not the perfect holiday I had planned. No pool time, sparklers, or fireworks. The bomb pops are still in the freezer (I'm thinking they're more of an outside treat). It was a mommy blogger fail. But we somehow managed to still have a decent weekend, even if we were trapped indoors the whole time. The rain forced us to slow down and just be lazy - something that doesn't happen nearly enough around here. And the good news is, although its rained 28 of the last 31 days, there is sunshine in the forecast later this week. Hallelujah! 

The Difference a Year Makes

Last week marked the one year anniversary of Z's spinal cord surgery. (you can read more about that here) To celebrate, the neurologist ordered a follow-up MRI. We wore the kid out the day before and kept her up late, as requested by the nurse, and tried to feed her a bottle of milk around midnight, which she hilariously refused since all she wanted was to go back to sleep. 

swimsuit | pool float

So, bright and early and with an empty stomach for the bambino, we headed to St. Mary's for the big test.

Last year, our tiny three month old went through the second MRI of her little life (the first was the day after she was born and we, thankfully, we not a part of it) and it was a total effing nightmare. (read more on that here) This time was muuucchh better. Still not the best time I've ever had, but it went pretty well. This time we opted not to sit in the noisy darkened MRI room, and went back to the little exam room and watched the Today show. Time flew by. And when Z woke up from sedation (just in time for Sesame Street), she was right back to her old self, albeit a wee bit drunk. If she was already talking, she'd end up on You Tube, for sure..."Is this real life?" I so wish I had been allowed to have my cell phone so I could video how funny she was acting.

The doctor and nurses warned us that she'd be groggy for the next few hours, so we had planned to snuggle in and watch Frozen--something the Hubs and I were looking forward to since our nerves were shot. No such luck! By the time we got home from the hospital, Zoey was bouncing around-you would never had known what she had just been through.

Fast forward to yesterday--we met with Z's amazing neurologist. Actually, Zoey walked into the office. Kind of a big deal, considering. 

And although we both felt totally confident (I mean, have you seen this kid walk?!), seeing for ourselves that Z's spinal cord was doing as well as we hoped would definitely put our minds at ease. 

I am happy to report that Zoey is beyond awesome...something we all knew, obviously. Without getting all science-y on you guys... there are no signs that her spinal cord has re-tethered. The fatty mass that was hugging the base of her spinal cord (80ish% of which was removed during surgery) has gotten bigger, but only because she has gotten bigger, so no worries there either. And, her spinal cord, which had been stretched longer than normal due to the tethering, has ascended (which sounds bad but is actually really good) up a bit in her back, closer to the spot where it should be, though it will most likely never get to that spot. And that shouldn't be a big deal either as Z grows. 

black & white top - similar here

Looks like we'll have to endure the MRI adventures once a year for a while, just to check in with her growth and progress. The last big hurdle will be potty training, since the nerves that are involved with that whole nightmare process could have been affected. Thankfully, it'll be another year or so before we even have to worry about it. 

So, huge sigh of relief. 

We couldn't have been more pleased with how well Zoey recovered and hit all of her milestones. Not only is she a walking fool, but she dances, jumps, runs, climbs, and throws herself all over the place in typical toddler fashion. Not too shabby. In fact, as I type this post, Z is running back and forth, moving magnets from the kitchen to the family room. 

We are feeling especially blessed.

She Likes to Move It, Move It

We have a fabulous park at the end of our street. It's huge, with two separate playgrounds (one for the littles and a mega one for the big kids), basketball, skate park, fitness trail, and picnic pavilion. It's part of the reason why we chose this town to live in, and that was before we even knew about the green markets, food truck invasions, and movies on the lawn. Like I said, fabulous.

I try to venture out to the park at least once a week, if it isn't too miserable out. But the kid love loves being outside, so heading to the park is a wonderful thing. And it doesn't take much drama to get her ready to go either. Just say "park" and she's ready to suit-up.

Tank | Shorts | Converse 

She used to be satisfied by the swings. Swinging for days. 

But since she started walking at thirteen months (and two weeks), Z only wants to walk. That's it. Walk. 

Sure, she'll side-track up the steps onto the playset, play the chimes and contemplate the slide (which I'm so glad she isn't into yet cuz, as any Florida kid knows, the hot plastic will fry the skin off your sweaty legs!)...

but usually she's right back down the steps where she begins her trek.

She starts by wandering around the toddler playground, always heading for the benches.

Then makes her way out to the path with mommy in tow.

Up the ramp...

to the concession stand...

where she is distracted by this outlet box - every. single. time.

Somehow we end up in the grass, ignoring the shady winding sidewalks that meander all around the park.

That's about the time that the heat gets the best of us and it's time to head back home to the blessed a/c. But you-know-who is less than enthused to be leaving the park (even if it does feel like a bazillion degrees outside.).

Constitution Park - for the win!