Bye Bye, Mrs. Amy :(

Since Etta is starting "school" on Friday (it's only a 2 hour early learning program once a week on Friday mornings), we lost Mrs. Amy as her TEIS teacher.  :( 

Amy has been Etta's EI teacher since she was 2 months old.  She has come to our house once a week for two years.  She's been SUCH a great resource and I hate that we're losing her.  I mean, we have facebook and I know we will still see her around, but it's not the same!

So, Amy came one last time today to give us a copy of her closing report and say goodbye.

Bye bye, Mrs. Amy.  We love you!

Mom's Birthday Weekend/Our Final Goodbye to Uncle David

Seven years ago, while at the beach with my family celebrating Mother's Day, my sisters and I went down on the beach one night.  We talked a lot that night, but one thing that became clear was that were were all about to go in different directions.  Deanne was living in Pensacola,  Kimi was about to graduate from Auburn, and I had already moved to Nashville and had recently started dating Keith.   The sad reality was we were not going to have as many opportunities to see eachother as we grew up and spread out and went our own ways.  So, that night, on the beach, we made a sort of pact that we would always come home to Mom's for Christmas in December and for Mom's birthday at the end of August.  That way, we were guaranteed to see eachother at least twice a year. 

This year was a little different. 

This year we buried our good friend David Perry on Mom's bithday weekend.

We talked about going home to mom's next weekend for Labor Day and celebrating her birthday a week late, but Deanne is not going to be able to make the trip (due to medical reasons).  Kimi is living at home now and was able to make the trip up here with Mom and Bill for David's graveside service.  AND I just saw everyone last month when we went to Alabama and Florida.  So, the decision was made not to make a trip home for my Mom's birthday.

Mom and Pops and Kimi arrived late Friday. Friday was Momma's actual birthday.  I baked her a cake, but by the time they got here, it was a little late to celebrate.  We stayed up for a bit visiting, but soon found ourselves in our beds.

The next day, we got going a little later than we'd planned and because of that we didn't think we could include Etta on an outing because she would soon need lunch and a nap.  Keith volunteered to stay home with her and the rest of us went out.  Momma is considering a new car for herself, so we spent the first half of the day at the BMW dealership test driving 3 different cars.  We then went to a late lunch at Calypso (yum) where Momma decided that she really preferred this little suv/crossover made by Mercedes.  After lunch we made a stop at TJ Maxx Homegoods and then home to pick up Keith and Etta. 

We all went over to Aunt Becky's house for dinner.  Etta played in the "game room" with her Nana V for a while,

but then she was ready for "nite nite", so Keith went home with her so she could go to bed.  While we were at Aunt Becky's we celebrated Momma's birthday with a lopsided cake and some icecream. 

Sunday morning was pretty lazy around the house.  We left around 1:00 for David's service in Nashville.  Keith stayed home so Etta could take a nap.  It was a much smaller, more intimate group than his memorial service back in July.  It was emotional and tender.  In Judaism, it is custom for the mourners to actually pick up a shovel and help bury the loved one.  Symbolically, this gives the mourners closure as they observe the grave being filled in.  For me, the finality of hearing that first shovel of dirt hit the box slams my soul- hard.  It was very emotional.  It's a great mitzvah to literally bury our loved one because it is a mitzvah which the deceased can not repay or show gratitude for, thus it is a pure gesture.   After the service, we were invited to a cousin of David's house.  They had a beautiful home and they offered some great food!  :)  We stayed for about an hour before heading back home. 

Once home, we all changed clothes, did a little dancing, and went to dinner at Logan's here in The Hill.  Etta sat in a booster seat for the first time.  She usually sits in a highchair and I was a little nervous about not actually strapping her into a chair, but she did really well sitting there between her Momma and Daddy.

My family left around noon on Monday.  Etta had a great time playing with her Nana V, Grandfather, and Aunt Kimi before they left.

Nephrology- Lab Results

As E and I were wandering around T.J. Maxx this morning, I got a call from a nurse over in Dr. Hunley's office with the results from yesterday's blood work.  I was pleasantly surprised when I heard her tell me that Etta's labwork shows... "normal kidney function".  Her creatinine levels were within normal range!  A year ago they were slightly above normal, and I was under the impression that they would pretty much stay that way for the rest of her life.  Guess I was wrong.  Her urine sample also looked great!  No protien or any other microscopic thing they might be looking for in there.  So, we'll just follow-up with him in a year (don't tell Etta, she hates having her blood drawn!).

Busy Thursday

Sweeping up after breakfast this morning:

We had a very cranky appointment with Etta's Nephrologist (kidney doctor.), Dr. Hunley.  It's always neat to see him because he's been on her team of doctors since she was just a couple days old in the NICU.  Well, she wasn't cranky for him.  She got cranky after she saw him and while we were waiting for her to be called back in to have blood drawn and of course she was cranky after the blood draw and after they snatched the sticky bag off of her most sensitive of sensitives.  At least they got their urine sample. 

Etta fell asleep on the ride home.  She got to sleep for about an hour.

Then, we had lunch and she played for a bit before Annabelle and Angalia came over to play.

As Annabelle was leaving, Liam and Erin showed up!  :) 

Etta had fun playing with her friends, but she was VERY tired by the end of the day!  She had a bath and dinner and I put her in her bed a little early.  She's passed out (and Keith and I are watching Alice In Wonderland).

Wagon Ride and Stuff

This morning, after Etta's EI teacher Ms. Amy left, I decided to take Etta for a wagon ride because it actually wasn't blazing hot out.  While I was getting the wagon out of the garage and trying to figure out how to attach the canopy, my friend Angelia called.  She lives very nearby, so I asked her what she was doing and if she and Annabelle wanted to come over for a wagon ride.  Fifteen minutes later, they were in our driveway.  :)  We strapped the girls in and started up the sidewalk.  We didn't make it very far before Etta started getting fussy.  It was a little out of character for her to do that, but I think she was a little tired (she's been getting up EARLY since the switch to the toddler bed AND she's still feeling a bit under the weather).  So, I ended up carrying her as we walked back to the house.

When we got back home, we went up to the playroom so the girls could play and so Angelia and I could visit.  Then, it was time for them to head back home so the girls could have lunch and take their naps (though, I have it on good authority that Annabelle never napped). 

While E was napping, Laura from KidTalk came over so we could tell "The Story of Etta".  Then she just hung out and visited with me for about 20 minutes until Etta woke up because she still needed to get a couple of baseline videos for the project. 

All-in-all, it was a pretty eventful Tuesday.