Surgery and Fall Festival

Evelyn had her second and final surgery this week. It was for trigger thumb, but this time on the right hand. This second surgery was wonderful. The staff remembered Evelyn and even had a Beanie Baby bear waiting on her bed for her when we arrived. They took her back at about 7:30 AM and was done by 8:00. When they were wrapping her hand, the head nurse said that plain white would not do as she knew Evelyn loved the color purple. With that said, she insisted they place some purple wrapping around it. So, Evelyn now has a purple boo-boo! She is so spoiled =)!

On Sat., Evelyn felt good enough to attend my school's annual Fall Festival. She was careful not to get her boo-boo wet as she played in the duck pond. Evelyn loved getting to feed the sheep, pet the llamas, and hear the chickens at the petting zoo. She rode on some trikes, toured an actual school bus (which she always tells us that she wants to ride), bounced in a bouncy house, and just plain wore herself out!

Disney On Ice and Scooter

Two months ago we were in bed watching the news when an ad came on for Disney On Ice. Rob rushed down to the computer and ordered front row tickets for his little princess! Last night was our big night out as Evelyn attended her first Disney On Ice. She donned her Minnie Mouse ears and gleefully ran to the car to go see Mickey Mouse. She was a little apprehensive at first--especially when Genie from Alladin came out, but once the Princesses arrived, all was well! She loved watching the show and her little face beamed the entire time. It was worth every penny we spent to see her smile and enjoy the show.

The next morning, Daddy headed to Atlanta for a NASCAR race with some of the neighbors. Grandma Donna arrived for the weekend and we went shopping. Of course, Evelyn got something--a pink Radio Flyer scooter and new helmet with pads. Needless to say, she loves her first scooter!

Monkeying Around

Sorry it has been so long since our last posting, but Mommy is back to work and Daddy has returned to school for his final semester (yeah!). Evelyn's pumpkins are growing and she has her cast off from her thumb surgery. We have been enjoying the few remaining summer days with lots of playing and relaxing (if that it is even possible). Today, she and Daddy went to a place called Monkey Joe's, which is an enclosed inflatable facility for kids. Our good friends Mason and Jacob went as well. She LOVED it! Mommy was helping host a baby shower and the men decided to take the kids for fun and lunch. Rob said she just giggled and ran around. She actually began to cry when it was time to leave for lunch! Of course, she was sound asleep when Mommy got home, but she told me all about the fun she had after her nap. It sounds as if we will be going there again soon!

Planting Pumpkins

Okay, so if you know us, you know that neither Rob nor I have a green thumb. However, a kind woman with whom Rob works gave him three pumpkin seedlings this week. Thus, we are planting pumpkins for Evelyn. She was very excited and we hope this project works out so that she can learn from the experience. Evelyn had fun raking the soil and putting the seedlings in the ground. She even enjoyed pouring the Miracle Gro food on it with Daddy. Cross your fingers and hold your breath as we are embarking on the gardening path--one that none of us have ever trod before!

Happy 2nd Gotcha Day, Evelyn!

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Can this be real? Has Evelyn been home with us for 2 yrs. already?! We watch her and think to ourselves how blessed we are and how much she has changed in such a short amount of time. To celebrate the day, we ate lunch with Daddy and then had a special dinner out with just the family. Oh, and she got a new Imagination Movers CD to listen and dance (she absolutely LOVES them and their music). We didn't want to do anything over the top in the gift dept. as we want the focus to be on the blessing of her coming home to us and making the family complete. This is such a special day for us and words can't express how we feel: blessed, adoration, pure joy, and unconditional love. These are just a few words that begin to describe how we feel as we celebrate Evelyn's 2nd Gotcha Day.

Cakes, Magic, and the 4th

We did a lot of celebrating last week! It was Daddy's birthday on Monday and Evelyn surprised him by helping make a cake for him! Evelyn helped Mommy decorate the cake with sprinkles and had a blast! It was so fun, she didn't want to stop decorating with sprinkles--needless to say, Daddy had a very festive birthday cake.

Later in the week, we (the whole family) went to the Magic House for some fun. It was almost too much to take in! Evelyn loved the Once Upon a Time exhibit as she climbed up Jack's Beanstalk and slid down, pretended to be Cinderella in a carriage, and explored with bubbles. She and Daddy had a hair-raising experience with magnets and wouldn't you know, she found an old-fashioned tea set to have a tea party. We left with the promise to return as soon as she gets her boo-boo off as there were lots of water activities that we didn't participate in this time.

The next day was the 4th of July. We were preparing to attend a parade and later a baseball game, but mother nature had different plans. It was rainy and cool the whole day. Mommy and Evelyn made a flag cake to celebrate our country's birthday. Evelyn did a great job putting the blueberries and strawberries onto the cake. When the rain finally stopped, we headed out into the court to eat with our neighbors and celebrate the 4th! All that socializing and eating wore Evelyn out as she didn't make it to see the fireworks.

Thumb Surgery

Yesterday, Evelyn had surgery on her left thumb to correct her trigger thumb. We tried to treat it conservatively by putting it in a cast in April, but her thumb reverted at the end of May. We arrived at the hospital around 6:30 AM and her surgery was scheduled for 7:30 AM. Upon arriving, Evelyn made herself right at home--she quickly charmed the nursing staff and all the doctors. As usual, the surgery started late (8:00 AM)but was quickly over (8:15 AM). It was tough to watch her come out of the anethsia as she cried and flailed about (they say it was very typical for this age). Once she calmed down, she wanted milk and we were allowed to come home. We were home around 9:30 AM. She wanted to eat a little something (pink Pop Tart) and then napped for 3 1/2 hours. Evelyn will be in a stint for the first week and when we have our one week check up, she will be put into a cast for another 2 weeks.

Oh, and more good news (Mommy is being sarcastic)! It looks like her right thumb is now triggering, so we will likely go through this again in about 6 weeks or so--yeah!!!