The first (and probably craziest) thing that Ally and I did this summer, was that in the beginning of June Ally had a follow-up MRI. We knew she'd be getting one from her neurosurgery appointment back in January. Once we finally got it scheduled and all the details worked out, the day finally came. Luke was still in school, and Ben stayed overnight with Russell's parents. Ally and I went to the hospital in the morning and checked in, then went to the imaging floor and waited for them to call us back. (One interesting thing- during our wait, there was a man who was deaf in the waiting room with a woman and an interpreter, probably provided by the hospital. Ally kept trying to talk with them and when I explained that they couldn't hear and talked with their hands, she was pretty fascinated.)
When we got to the room, they asked all the standard questions of both her and me, since I would be with her, mostly about having metal pieces in our body anywhere. We got Ally into a hospital gown, and took her into the room with the machine. She was not going to be sedated for this one, which I was glad about, but I also didn't know how she'd do with the machine either. The got her laid down, padded her head real good and put headphones on her, which pumped Disney tunes the whole time (but doesn't come close to drowning out the noise of the machine). They put a pillow onto her legs, and I laid tummy-down on the pillow and held her hands- which meant yes, I was inside the machine too! I had no idea I'd be getting an MRI that day too! They then put a device over Ally's head that had mirrors on it- so without either of us moving, she could see me and I could see her. It was neat- I'd never seen anything like that before. So I got to talk to her the whole time. I think she was a bit scared at first, and tried to sit up as they were 'packing her in', and again when the noises started. But I think once she realized it didn't hurt, she was okay. I kept talking to her, and when the noises would start I would say, "OK, they're taking pictures now, so we've got to be real still." The whole thing took about 20 - 30 minutes, and she did SO great! When she was done, she got to pick out a prize from a bunch of toys they had, and she found a Minnie Mouse puzzle and latched onto that- she still loves Minnie! I wish I could have a picture taken of us on/in the tube, but of course having a phone in with the machine is a no-no, so I just have this cute picture of her after it was over.
We went to neurosurgery for her check-up in July. We saw the same resident we saw in January, who said the images from the MRI showed her ventricles holding steady and she's doing great! They would not be ordering another MRI again in the near future, and we didn't have to come back for a year this time (unless she started having problems). One thing the resident did tell us was that if we did end up in the ER due to possible shunt problems, we are to direct the staff away from CT scans and x-ray shunt series, since it exposes her to radiation, unlike the MRI (it was non-contrast). Since her hydrocephalus is a life-long condition, the less radiation she is exposed to over time, the better.
Speaking of appointments, Ally also had her first dentist appointment this summer! I usually don't start them at the dentist until they are about 5, but we just got dental insurance back and its a family plan, so what the heck? We're paying for it! However, this turned out to be an adventure I wasn't expecting. When they did the consultation and found out Ally had shunted hydrocephalus, the hygienist said she needed to check with the dentist about whether they could do her cleaning. She came back a few minutes later saying she needed clearance from her doctor to have her appointment. I was dumbfounded- I had no idea this would be an issue. I asked what doctor it had to come from, and they said the one who took care of her hydrocephalus- which meant neurosurgery. Great...
So while Ben had his appointment (his first, I might add), I tried to get in touch with neurosurgery to get clearance for Ally's dental cleaning. I finally got through to someone who said they would fax it over. However, Ben finished up and it still hadn't come through. They received it as we were leaving, but her spot was already gone. I was so frustrated, but they said if we came back at 3 they could see her, and so we did. So she had her first cleaning (no x-rays, she's too young) and they said she was great and she did really well. As they started with her they said they hoped she didn't have any cavities, because if she did they wouldn't be able to treat her without more consultation with her doctors, but everything was good. I asked about it later on the Dandy-Walker parent page, and a few parents said that their kids have to take antibiotics before going to the dentist- with the risk of cutting places in their mouth, it can lead to infections, which could make their way to the shunt. Hopefully next summer I'll be able to get her neurosurgery appointment before her doctor's appointment to figure all of that out!
June was a busy month for all of us. We spent about 6 days at my parents' house, visiting with my family and especially Granny who had come up from Florida, as she does every year at this time. All 3 kids also went to VBS at the church where they attend AWANA. I was surprised that they allowed kids Ally's age, but they did and she had a great time. We bought the CD of the songs they sung that week and have just about worn it out in my car. All 3 also begged for a t-shirt, so Papa and Grandma supplied the money for all of that. Every morning when I would drop them off, I would return home and work on Ally's room. It had been the same since we moved in and Luke was a baby- tan walls, with red, blue, green, and yellow bedding with peek-a-boo animals on it. It was time for something different (and girly). So Ally now has a pink and purple room (when I ordered purple paint, they mixed a gallon instead of a quart. Lucky mistake- they sold it to me at quart price! So she has a purple 'accent wall'.) I painted not only her walls, but her name letters, bookshelves, and mirror trim. We moved a dresser out and some other things around and it now looks like a little girl's room, complete with princess pop-up playhouse for tea parties! I must REALLY love Ally, because I REALLY hate to paint.
At the end of June we took our first family vacation with just us- ever! We stayed at the Thomas bed-and-breakfast (also known as Mom and Dad's house) and four days drove up to Springfield where we took the Metro into DC. We went to a Nationals/Cubs game (Go Cubbies) on Monday night. Tuesday we went to the National Zoo. Wednesday we went to the mall to see the monuments (Luke really wanted to see the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial) and went to the Spy Museum. Thursday we went to the Natural History Museum (fav!) and a little bit of the Air & Space museum. The kids loved riding the Metro everyday, and really enjoyed our outings. They got a bit tiring (we walked A LOT), but thankfully we had great weather and it wasn't super hot. Ally still takes naps, so we would put her in the stroller and lean the seat all the way back and she'd nap as we walked around and between museums. (It was also great for carrying our stuff, because we packed our own lunch everyday along with phones and water.) It was a lot of fun and I think the kids enjoyed it- they all said the zoo was their favorite. Luke especially thought it was so cool to see these places that before he'd only seen on TV or in pictures.
With the lions (top left, lying down- get it?)
July brought with it swim lessons. We'd been swimming all summer as we usually did, and Ally has gotten extremely brave- she will now jump into water up to her chin without holding anyone's hand! She LOVES the water so much, and she did great in her swim lessons. The instructor was so impressed after the first lesson with her she felt she could have moved up to the next level, which is completely without a parent, but felt she was so small she'd get lost in the shuffle so we ended up keeping her where she was. It's hard to believe this was my last summer having to be in the pool with one of them for swim lessons! They are growing up so fast!
In August our pool membership ran out (I go back to school in August) so we went to the water park a few times. The kids had a blast, and there was one water slide (the purple slide) that even Ally was tall enough to ride. The rule is you can't sit on a parent's lap- it's one at a time ONLY. Of course, that didn't stop Ally. Just put a life vest on her and wait for her at the bottom and she's good! She went down over and over again. She even got to the point where she'd try to be sneaky and cut in front of other kids close to the top! The lifeguards would put a stop to that- smiling at her cuteness as they did so.
Ally went back to school the same day I did. She is now in the 3s room- the Green Room. I wasn't sure she was going to make it with her potty training, but she has done great and is now completely potty trained- she just wears a diaper at night because she hasn't quite mastered that yet and still sometimes has accidents at naptime- especially if she's REALLY tired. She was my hardest one to potty train, but she made it! (We didn't even do swim diapers. I was nervous about this, but she did good. It helped one day to show her the EMPTY water park that had closed down due to a biohazard and say to her- "See that? They had to close the pool- because someone POOPED in the pool. So if you have to go potty, we need to get out and go on the potty, or else they have to CLOSE the pool and we can't swim anymore." Problem solved!)
First day of Green Room
We also started AWANA at the end of August, and Ally is now a Cubbie! She has been so excited to go to Cubbies since Puggles ended in May. She loves working on her Cubbie book and listening to the CD in the car. Apparently one night I found out that during 'story time' in Cubbies Ally was called on to answer a question and basically gave the whole Gospel story- the leader kept shushing the other kids and trying to let Ally finish talking! She is one smart and blessed little girl, and we pray that all that she is learning will take root in her heart and lead her to a strong faith in Jesus.
We are now back to 'normal'. Everyone's in school and back to work (Ally and I have now had 7 weeks of school as of today!) and we are getting into the swing of things. We are excited for our fall events, including our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, and Halloween (we already have costumes, and I won't give Ally's away but it is the CUTEST thing ever!). Thanks, as always, for your interest in our girl!
Every year we do family photos. Enjoy some photos of Ally and family courtesy of Beth Preston at Rebel Photography. Aren't they great?
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