Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!


The Bury Family Top Ten of 2010
10. Kate’s Christening

9. Watching Zack swim in the backyard pool

8. Spending time with Maddy and Kate’s Great-Grandparents and Great-Great Aunt

7. Going to the Kennedy Center with Maddy and Granddaddy to see Mary Poppins

6. Moving to Georgia

5. David's swearing in as a Georgia lawyer

4. Maddy's Preschool Christmas Program “The Littlest Christmas Tree”

3. Visiting UGA for the first time with both of our daughters

2. Surviving Snowmageddon 2010 in Washington DC

1. Meeting and loving Henry Alexander Johnson



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Elizabeth Kate's First Year

For the past two days I've been sitting here trying to figure out what to say about Kate's first year. I've decided that there aren't any words that I can use to describe Kate. The video below is a slide show of my favorite pictures from her first year. The song in the background is Beautiful for Me, by Nichole Nordeman. The pictures and song together say everything and more about Kate and what a blessing she is to her family. So I'll let the video do the talking....hope you enjoy it.  Happy Birthday Kate!

Elizabeth Kate is One

Yesterday, December 28th, Elizabeth Kate turned 1. Since David was off on Monday we decided to throw her birthday party Monday night. She had an amazing "Pink Snowman" party complete with a candy bar, an igloo made by Uncle Charlie, and her own Snowman birthday cake. I know it was over the top for a 1 year old birthday party but that's how I like it, we did the same thing for Maddy. I look at it as a chance to reflect on how much babies change in that first year. They go from a completely helpless little bundle in your arms to cute, mischievous, mobile toddlers in just a few short months. It's truly amazing when you stop and think about it. Plus who doesn't like to watch a baby smear cake icing all over their face? It's pretty cute to see that little face covered with pink and white icing... :-)

There are a lot more pictures from Kate's party on our web album, click below to see the full lineup of pictures.
Link to web album

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Merry Christmas

 
Our first picture on Christmas morning using my new tripod and self timer.
Merry Christmas!  I know it's been a week since I've posted anything but I took a break to enjoy Christmas, so we've got a little catching up to do. We had a wonderful Christmas! It was the first Christmas that David and I didn't have to pack up and drive 8 hours or have anyone stay with us because they drove 8 hours. We woke up Christmas morning just the 5 of us (including Zack)1 in our own house. It was nice but also strange. I am hoping next Christmas some grandparents from up north will be here (hint hint Nana and Grandaddy).

We are so blessed to have so many friends and family in the area. We all started celebrating Thursday night with a party thrown by Mimi and Poppi on their 38th wedding anniversary. There was lots of food, friends, and fun. On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a nice family dinner and Christmas Eve service at church, followed by presents from Mimi and Poppi.  In fact I am writing this blog from our new office chair courtesy of Mimi and Poppi. :-) We truly were spoiled by our parents again this Christmas.

Maddy could hardly wait to get home Christmas Eve and set her cookies out for Santa. She was ready for bed and even told us that we needed to go to sleep soon so Santa could come. Once she was asleep Santa came. He had a hard time putting together a certain gift, who knew that high density plastic cars would be so difficult to put together. We're just glad Santa didn't bring two cars which he thought about doing. In the end he thought Maddy might be too old for the car and would much rather have a video game system. Well Santa was wrong....which brings us to Christmas morning.
Santa Came!
At 7:30am Christmas morning I finally ask David if we can get the girls up because I am tired of waiting for them to wake up. I was too excited to sleep anymore. We got them up, came downstairs, and let Maddy go into the living room first. All we could hear was "He come, he come, he come!" Then both Maddy and Kate made a bee line for the pink cozy coupe car. Maddy didn't even see the big pile of presents with her name on it. After explaining that the car was for Kate but that they could share it, Maddy finally started opening her gifts. I think she was just so overwhelmed with all that was there she didn't know where to start. So there's something to be said for "less is more." Remind me of that next year.
Woo hoo, my first barbie!
When everything was opened Maddy was a very happy little girl. She said it was the best day ever. Kate didn't know what was going on. Like a typical toddler she was just happy with paper and boxes. Once all the paper was up and her toys were taken out of the ridiculous packaging (is it really necessary to restrain a GloWorm with 10 twisty ties and tape?) she was excited to play. She even found a moment while Maddy was distracted to enjoy her car.

Christmas afternoon we had a lovely dinner with Mimi and Poppi and dear friends Peggy and Jim.  Maddy decorated a cake for Jesus and we all sang Happy Birthday. It was a nice time to sit down and reflect on the meaning of Christmas.

The aftermath...Maddy and Kate figured out how to share!
The celebration didn't end that night either. Sunday night we got together with my step sisters and their families for our traditional party food and $10 gift swap mayhem.... It's something that my step dad Jim and my mom started years ago. It's always fun and everyone usually ends up with a fun gift, except for my nephew. He is now the proud owner of Bumpits, the "as seen on TV" hair height extenders, also known as the Snooki look.... :-) Don't feel too bad for him...he also ended up with a nice gift card. It's the first time since Jim passed away in 2009 that we've been together. Part of the family missed the party either by choice, circumstance, or snow but I am hopeful that next Christmas things will be different and we can all be together.

So that's brings us to Monday. Our very own Elizabeth Kate is One today! On Monday night we threw her 1st birthday party. I'll share the pictures and videos from that on a separate post.  All the pictures from our Christmas are linked to Picasa so be sure to click on the picture below to view them. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!
Link to our Picasa Album

Friday, December 17, 2010

Unexpected

 Aunt Patty made this Nativity set for David when he was a little boy.
This is a different post for me, the focus is not about our girls or what funny thing Maddy said today. This post is a reminder to everyone (mainly myself) what the true meaning of Christmas is. I thought I was doing pretty good at keeping myself in line with the true meaning of Christmas but this week I have failed miserably. I've been wrapped up in finding the perfect gift for David, gotten on my pity pot about whose family and how much or little time we'll spend with them at Christmas, and gone totally overboard in planning a certain 1 year old's birthday party. Not once this week have I stopped to think and ponder the miracle of Christmas. I know, that's terrible.....

God knew my priorities were wrong so he sent me to the mailbox to check the mail for Christmas cards (something usually David usually does). There were no Christmas cards today. Instead there were several church bulletins (we have been "Church shopping" since we moved here). In the bulletin from Mulberry Methodist here in Macon was this poem. I read this poem and it put everything back in perspective...even if it was in an unexpected way.

Un-Expected
Even now we simply do not expect
to find a Deity in a stable.
Somehow the setting is all wrong:
the swaddling clothes too plain,
the manger too common for the likes of a Savior,
the straw inelegant,
the animals reeking and noisy,
the whole scene too ordinary for our taste.
And the cast of characters is no better.
With the possible exception of the kings,
who among them is fit for this night?
the shepherds? certainly too crude,
the carpenter too rough, the girl too young.
And the baby! Whoever expected a baby?
Whoever expected the advent of God in a helpless child?
Had the Messiah arrived in the blazing light of the glory
of a legion of angels wielding golden swords,
the whole world could have been conquered for Christ
right then and there
and we in the church - to say nothing of the world!--
wouldn't have so much trouble today.
Even now we simply do not expect
to face the world armed with love.

-- Ann Weems, "Unexpected," Kneeling in Bethlehem

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The Littlest Christmas Tree

Today was such a great day, it was Maddy's last day of school until January and boy was it busy.  Her class had a Christmas party, book exchange, and their Christmas program this morning. Maddy was super excited. I am not sure what she was more excited about, the presents, all the treats, or singing in front of parents and grandparents.

The preschool program was called The Littlest Christmas Tree. It was adorable. All the children wore special shirts they made in class and they all sang really sweet songs.  Now I know why Maddy has been walking around the house singing "Mary had a baby boy." All the children did so well. It was really special that Mimi and Poppi could come watch the program. We recorded the show so I hope to post it here soon. With all the excitement and all the treats I was able to convince Maddy to nap today, she was so tired that she slept for 2 hours! Now I just have to figure out what to do to keep her occupied for 3 weeks..... :-)


The girls sharing stories and snacks
 
Bunnies and Birds in the Christmas Program

Daddy and Maddy

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Video from Santa

Here it is as promised.... the Bury Family Christmas Tree! So our first real tree is coming along nicely. We haven't burned down the house or stained our hardwood floors, Zack hasn't mistaken the tree for an outside tree, and Kate hasn't pulled it down. I realize it's only December 8th and we've got a long month to go but I'd say we are doing pretty good. Plus I just really wanted a chance to show off the stockings I purchased this year at Kohl's for $2.50 each with my Kohl's cash and $10 off coupon. And to think, I was about to break out the sewing machine and make us stockings and then have them monogrammed.

I also wanted a reason to share this Maddy anecdote. Last night at the dinner table she informed us that Santa's real name is Nicholas and that Santa is just his nickname. In fact she said his full name is Saint Nicholas and that her teacher, Ms. Jennifer, had told her that. This afternoon I asked Maddy what's your nickname?  She replied "Maddy. My full name is Madalyn Ruth (pronounced "Roof") Bury."

Maddy got really excited this afternoon when Santa, I mean St. Nicholas, sent her a video from the North Pole. You should have seen her eyes they were huge and the smile on her face was even bigger.

Click on this link to watch Santa's video to Maddy:


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

You think they might be sisters?

I was going through pictures of Maddy the other day and came across this one of her at Christmas in 2007. I love this picture, despite the dog hair on her mouth... Flash forward 3 years and the bottom picture is of Kate a few nights ago while we were decorating the tree.  Same PJ's, same big eyes, less hair. :-)  But I think they still look a lot alike. So blessed to have two beautiful girls.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Bury Cute Band

On Friday night Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Charlie came over for dinner and a little Rock Band competition. We might not be going on tour anytime soon but we sure had fun, who knew Aunt Kimmy could play the drums... :-)  Even though I am not pictured once Kate went to bed I took over on vocals. That's probably the reason I've had Eye of the Tiger in my head all day.... :-)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

The Bury Family Christmas Tree

Bury Family Christmas Tree - 2010

Most people are familiar with the movie Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. You know it's the classic movie where Chevy Chase tries to have the perfect stereotypical family Christmas including the perfect "Griswold Family Christmas Tree." Well this Christmas I am determined to have the perfect "Bury Family Christmas" tree and today we found it.

 We went to Double C Tree Farm in Forsyth with the girls and Mimi. This will be mine and David's 12th Christmas together and this is the first year we have gotten a real tree and we had no idea what we were doing.... They had several different varieties of Christmas trees; cypress, fir, blue smoke, and on and on. All we knew was that we wanted a sturdy green tree. Mimi found what we thought was the perfect tree until a very nice worker started to cut it down and showed us that the trunk was crooked. So we continued to look and finally found the "Bury Family Christmas Tree" as it was starting to sprinkle rain. Within 5 minutes the man cut down, wrapped up, and tied the tree to our car and we were off.

What happened once we got home can't be described with words...it is best described with a clip from Christmas Vacation. So enjoy the clip and be sure to click on the picture below the video for pictures from today. We'll post pictures of the final "Bury Family Christmas Tree" once we finish removing tree sap from our hands. :-)




2010 - Bury Family Tree



Thursday, December 2, 2010

Winston the Elf

This morning we found Winston in our pantry.
This is Winston, the Bury family elf.  Winston came to us last Christmas. When we found Winston he was in a box, nameless, and looking for a home. David and I debated for a few days on what his name should be. We asked Maddy and she replied "elf". Well that was too plain. We looked in books and on the Internet for the perfect name. After all this elf would be part of our family for a long time. Then we decided on "Winston" because both of our girls were born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Last year Maddy was too young to understand the concept of Elf on the Shelf. I'll admit I am not sure I totally agree with the premise of Elf on the Shelf. I love traditions and I love the innocence of "Christmas Magic" and believing in Santa Claus but I am not sure about "bribing" children to behave for 24 days so Santa will come visit. What happens on December 25th when Winston leaves and Santa has come and gone?

Well this year is different. Maddy is totally into Christmas and believing. It's wonderful to see Christmas through her eyes. She is even beginning to understand the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ (more about that in a minute). Winston came back to us this week, he appeared at our side door on Tuesday morning. I am still struggling with whole "bribe" concept. Don't get me wrong, both David and I have already said "be careful Maddy, Winston is watching." We're not perfect but it does work! :-) So for now Winston is more about the anticipation of Christmas than a behavior modifier.

Switching gears here...earlier yesterday we put Maddy's Nativity set in the playroom and talked about the meaning of Christmas. Later in the day the girls and I went to K-Mart to look for Christmas tree lights. While we were in the Christmas department we walked past a display of big plastic Nativity sets for the yard. Maddy stopped me, pointed, and said "Mommy we have to get this." "If we put this in our yard everyone will drive by and say David, Jessica, Maddy, and Kate like Jesus and then they'll know that Jesus was born on Christmas." I didn't buy it but I have a feeling a big plastic Nativity set for the yard is in our future.

Monday, November 29, 2010

A Bury Cute Thanksgiving - 2010

Last Tuesday David and I loaded up the girls and drove out to St. Louis to spend Thanksgiving with some of my family. It was a special week because my grandparents met Kate. David reminded me on the drive up how fortunate I am to have 3 of my grandparents still living and that Kate and Maddy have 3 great-grandparents. Now that we are back home and I am looking at the pictures I am truly amazed at how blessed I am to have my grandparents in my life today. 

It goes without saying that it was wonderful to spend a few days with them. Grandmother and Grandaddy live in a beautiful senior apartment community. The entire time we visited Maddy kept saying "this is such a nice hotel I wish I could live there." I think Maddy was particularly impressed by the popcorn machine and the best chocolate chip cookies.

The weather was crazy. We arrived to beautiful sunny skies on Tuesday but woke up Wednesday to rain and fog. That didn't stop us from going to the famous Gateway Arch. David, myself, and my Dad took both girls up to the top of the Arch. Maddy loved the Arch. She loved the little "egg" elevators to the top, she loved looking out the windows, and she even wanted to slide down it. Then she got to the top and realized it would be dangerous. After the Arch and cookies with Great Grandmother we had a nice pizza dinner with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob.

Thanksgiving morning we woke up to more rain and fog. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and watched the Macy's parade. By 11am we were stir crazy, so Grandaddy (my dad) took us to see Tangled. Maddy loved it and for Kate's first movie experience she did great (thanks to David). When we left the theater we were greeted with SNOW! I still can't believe it snowed on Thanksgiving. Maddy was so excited, she kept saying "St. Louis is the best because they have snow." Well it didn't last long, by the time we went to Aunt Cindy's house for Thanksgiving dinner it was over.

Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob hosted a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. According to David it was the best Thanksgiving meal he's had in a long time. We had everything from turkey and ham to homemade biscuits and oyster stuffing. It really was the best. Aunt Cindy if you are reading; please, please type out your recipes and share with me. Especially the olive balls and biscuits. :-) And thank you for hosting all of us.

Friday morning came quickly and we started our trip back to Macon. We had arranged it so that we could stop and spend Friday night in Nashville with our best friends Ben and Elizabeth. They were kind enough to put us up Friday night and make us chili on Saturday after their busy Thanksgiving. We arrived safely home Saturday night just in time to watch our Georgia Bulldogs beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the final football game of the season. It was the perfect way to end Thanksgiving week. :-) Now on to Christmas.... Maddy woke up this morning asking "is it time to celebrate Christmas and when will Santa come?" It's going to be an exciting Christmas season.... :-)



Click on the picture for all of our Thanksgiving pictures


Kate - 11 months old


Kate, I am a little late in getting this up today... but today (11/28) you are 11 months old. This picture perfectly sums up your little personality. You are cute, sweet, cuddly, funny, and mischievous all rolled into one beautiful little girl....

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The week before Thanksgiving....

Maddy's Thanksgiving Party
It's been a very busy week here in the Bury house. We spent a lot of the week preparing for Maddy's Thanksgiving party at preschool. It was Friday morning and it was a blast. The class dined on turkey sandwiches, popcorn and cranberry trail mix, pumpkin pudding, apple juice, and rice krispy turkey treats. Yummy stuff! All the girls got a pilgrim hat and they made Indian headbands.  They were so cute!

The other part of our week was spent with David's Aunt Cindy who flew into Atlanta Thursday to surprise David's, Aunt Pam. Aunt Pam's birthday was Saturday so we had a nice "surprise" party Thursday night. After the Thanksgiving party on Friday we spent the afternoon with Cindy and had another lovely dinner with the family.

Some of you that read this blog may already know this but Aunt Cindy's son, Andrew (David's cousin), is active duty Air Force and has been serving in Afghanistan. He returned back to the states safely on Friday afternoon. Hours after landing he was walking back to his hotel in North Carolina and was hit by a car. He is stable but in critical condition awaiting transfer to another hospital for more surgery. Aunt Cindy and Poppi left Saturday morning for North Carolina to be with Andrew. Please keep Andrew and all of his family in your prayers. It's just another reminder that life is fragile!

This will be my last blog until after Thanksgiving. Early (and I mean early) Tuesday morning David, myself, and the girl's are heading out to St. Louis to be with my family for Thanksgiving. My grandparents live out there along with my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob. It's been a couple of years since we have seen them and they have not yet met Kate. We are excited and will take lots of pictures. Maddy's only question about the trip was "do they like children and will they have turkey?" Everyone have a safe and fun Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble.....

Turkey Treats

This week Maddy and I made turkey treats for her preschool Thanksgiving party.  They were so easy and delicious that I thought I would share the idea here. Basically you make a batch of rice krispy treats (we used cocoa krispies for color) and roll into 1.5 inch balls. Then take Oreo cookies pull them apart and scrape off (and eat) cream filling. When the balls are cool spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting on both Oreo halves. On one Oreo half press rice krispy ball into frosting. On the other Oreo  press three pieces of candy corn into frosting to make "tail feathers" and press cookie onto back of rice krispy ball. Finally spread a small amount of frosting to a piece of candy corn and place on rice krispy ball for a turkey beak. They were a lot of fun to make and eat. Gobble Gobble...


Final product...

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Two spoons of wishful thinking....

It's a rainy, chilly day here in Georgia. The kind of day that makes me stay home with the girls and have tea parties. So this morning Maddy and I had a tea party in her playroom. I poured tea while Maddy made snacks. I poured some cream into my tea, Maddy poured cream into her tea. As I started adding sugar to my tea she stops me and says "that's not sugar, it's wishful thinking".... I admit that I laughed so hard that fake tea came out of my nose.

I asked Maddy where had she heard about "wishful thinking."  With that look only Maddy (and maybe myself) can give she said from "Alice in Wonderworld." Last week Maddy and I did watch Alice in Wonderland but I must have been on Facebook during the wishful thinking part because I don't remember it. So my lesson learned is always pay attention because Maddy always is.....


That's "wishful thinking" on Maddy's mouth


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Operation Christmas Child

Maddy had her first lesson in "giving to others" Monday night. Our church as well as Mimi and Poppi's church are participating in Samaritan's Purse - Operation Christmas Child. For those of you not familiar with "OCC" visit their website: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/ for details but the basic idea is to fill up a shoe box with small toys, goodies, and personal hygiene products for children. Samaritan's Purse then collects the boxes and distributes them to needy children in war torn and third world countries. I read that over 8 million boxes in over 130 countries were distributed last year!

Poppi had the great idea that this would be something Maddy could help with that would teach her about giving. I took Maddy shopping for things to fill a box for a girl 2-4 years old.  At first Maddy wasn't too thrilled with buying things for someone else especially when we weren't buying her something too. But she caught on very quickly and loved picking out hair bows, dolls, and coloring books for "a girl just like me."

We gathered at the church last night to assemble the boxes. Maddy also included a note in her box and hopefully we will hear back from the little girl that receives Maddy's box.  I was very proud of Maddy, at the young age of 3 she caught on very quickly what it means to share and give to others. She even mentioned that she hopes the box makes the girl happy and that maybe one day she can come over to our house and play.  How sweet is that?

I checked the website today and collection of boxes doesn't end until November 22nd so there is still time for everyone to fill a box. The website tells you everything you need to know and there is even a great video to watch before you get started. 

 





Sunday, November 7, 2010

Bury Cute Construction Crew....

It's been a slow blog week for me. Mainly because I suffered my first allergic reaction to a drug in 30 years. I learned the hard way that I am allergic to the antibiotic Bactrim. I started taking the drug last week for a minor skin infection and 3 days later I noticed a rash on my chest. That quickly turned into a rash on 80% of my body, which felt like 80% of my body was sunburned!  No fun at all.... It's fading now and the infection is healing (thanks to a new antibiotic) but if anyone is with me when they ask "are you allergic to any medications" please yell BACTRIM!!!!!

Anyways, onto the cute part of the blog... On Saturday we loaded up the girls and headed to Mimi and Poppi's house. Mimi and Poppi are in the middle of some house repairs/renovations and this weekend they needed to paint their house. So who better to help than the Bury Cute Construction Crew...Not sure how much help we actually offered but we had fun while we were there.
Bury Cute Crew checking out the supplies. Maddy is ready to paint.
Maddy surveying the job site.

Kate in the pack n' play. She didn't last long, I guess
babies today aren't trained to play in a playpen.


Maddy painting the house.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Trick or Treat....

You saw my baby elephant last week well here is my little Tinkerbell. My little fairy woke up at 6:30 on both Friday and Saturday mornings anxious to dress up and get Halloween started. In fact when she went potty she thought it was time to get dressed.  She told me "my pants are off so that means I better put on my costume." How could I argue with that logic?

We had a great time at her school party and lots of fun trick or treating with "Bob the Builder." By the way, Bob's flashlight came in very handy towards the end of trick or treating, it got dark quickly. Maddy was pleased with her treat bag full of candy, but if the person who handed out round peppermints is reading this please get tootsie rolls next year. They are just as cheap but taste so much better. :-)

Click on picture below to see all the pictures from trick or treating and the school party.



Thursday, October 28, 2010

Kate- 10 Months Old

Kate you are 10 months old today. October has been an exciting month for you. Nana came to visit, you learned how to cruise along the couch and ottoman, you had a fun week with family from Indiana, you got a few more teeth, and had your first antibiotic. Oh, lets not forget that scary night in Atlanta when you had your seizure. 

You just have to put up with Mommy carrying an instant read thermometer in the diaper bag and kissing your forehead (aka..the mom thermometer) every time I look at you until you go to college. Even then I will probably call you every other day and ask you to take your temperature. Don't worry, we've already set aside money for therapy when you're older.... :-) But seriously, you scared everyone. We are very blessed that you are okay. It was a good reminder that life is fragile and should be handled with prayer (Thanks Mimi!).

This month you also started eating a lot more solid food. You love cheese and turkey. Cooked diced carrots and green beans are some of your favorite vegetables. You like gelato and there is even a rumor that Poppi gave you chocolate ice cream one night. :-)

For your first Halloween Aunt Kimmy and I decided to dress you up as an elephant. I must say you make a pretty cute elephant but you also remind me of another animal I knew 3 years ago.... Maddy Monkey. No doubt you two are sisters.


Maddy's First Halloween as a monkey!
For more Elephant Pictures click on the picture below.





Monday, October 25, 2010

Hmm...I wonder who Maddy is going to be for Halloween?

On Saturday morning I took Maddy to the Jr. League character breakfast with another friend and her son. It was a fun morning of just me and Maddy time, which doesn't happen often. Maddy was so excited to see all the princesses and superheroes at breakfast, but there was one person in particular that Maddy was really happy to see.... Tinkerbell! Maddy wants to be Tinkerbell for Halloween so be on the lookout for more pictures this week of our little fairy, minus the fairy dust, I am still finding dust in her hair, clothes, and in my car.... :-)
Tink giving Maddy some fairy dust...


Throwing fairy dust


Add caption


Sunday, October 24, 2010

The scariest night in my life ever...

My last two posts I have shared pictures from the past week with family from Indiana. We really did have a great week but what you don't see in the pictures is what turned out to be the scariest night in my life thus far. I've hesitated to share it here on the blog but then I realized I needed to share it here partly because it's therapeutic to write about it and mainly because one day Kate will want to read about it herself. So here goes....

Wednesday was a really busy day. The morning started out with Maddy's class field trip to the pumpkin patch in the rain, afternoon with David in Atlanta for his appellate court swearing in ceremony, and dinner with family in Atlanta at Atlantic Station. All day Kate seemed okay, kinda grumpy but I just attributed it to not getting a good nap. At dinner I thought she felt "warm" but we all concluded she wasn't feverish, she ate a great dinner, and then eventually fell asleep in her stroller. We finished up a very nice dinner and all walked back to our cars to head back to Macon.

We left Atlantic Station and made our way onto I-75, David was driving. We weren't on the interstate for more than a minute when something (God, mother's intuition, or probably both) made me turn around to look at Kate. What I saw was something no parent is ever prepared for. My sweet baby was having a seizure. I mean a full blown arms and legs thrashing, head jerking, eyes rolling back into head seizure. I instantly threw my seat belt off and jumped into the back to see if she was breathing while screaming at David "she's having a seizure, find a hospital."

In the other car following us back to Macon were Mimi, Aunt Barbara, Megan, and Kayla. In a panic I call Mimi and tell them what's going on and to follow us to Emory Midtown Hospital because when you're in downtown Atlanta it's either there or Grady and I knew that if we got to Emory they could transfer us to Egleston Children's Hospital if needed (not to mention Grady is a rough rough place to be). Then I think I hung up on Mimi to concentrate on Kate and help David drive. By the time my cell phone rang again the seizure was over and Kate was trying to fall asleep, it didn't last any longer than a minute but it felt like an eternity. On the phone was Aunt Barbara, an RN with over 30 years experience in nursing and pediatrics. I was trying to keep Kate awake, I didn't want my baby to fall asleep, I thought she would never wake up again if I let her sleep but Aunt Barbara convinced me it's okay to let her sleep, just make sure she's breathing.

Truly by the grace of God David made his way thru the streets of midtown Atlanta in rush hour traffic to the front doors of Emory's ER. I grab Kate and run into the ER, meanwhile Maddy is in a complete state of panic too she has no idea what's going on but she knows somethings wrong with her baby sister. Once inside the ER the nurses drop everything and take Kate immediately back and within 2 minutes of walking into the ER we have a room, two nurses, and a doctor evaluating Kate. Kate is awake and crying as soon as they start poking and prodding her. It was the best sound I have ever heard, even better than the sound of her first cry when she was born.

Within a few minutes David and Maddy are in the exam room with me and crying Kate. The doctor assures us that she's going to be okay. Kate's temperature was 103.7 and her seizure was a febrile seizure caused by a rapid spike in body temperature. They want to do some blood work and a urine dip to check for infection, especially since she had just gotten over a sinus infection and had finished taking an antibiotic a week earlier. By that time the whole gang, Mimi and Aunt Barbara are in the exam room. Things are beginning to calm down, Kate is in my arms drinking a bottle, Maddy is getting juice and crackers with the ER doctor, and David is filling out hospital paperwork.

We eventually convince Maddy to go home with Aunt Barbara and Megan since we don't know how long we will be there waiting for lab work. While David is helping get Maddy loaded into the car Mimi and I are holding Kate down while they get a urine sample and attempt to draw blood. They get a urine sample and attempt to draw blood but are unsuccessful. At that point Kate's fever is gone, she's playing and smiling so we all decide (doctor included) it would be better to leave the ER and visit her pediatrician in the morning for a follow up. 30 minutes later we are packed up and back on the interstate heading south.

After a sleepless night for most in the house Kate wakes up happy, standing up in her crib saying "mama". The pediatrician saw us first thing Thursday morning and confirmed the ER's diagnosis. It was a benign febrile seizure caused by what turned out to be a bladder infection. Hopefully Kate will never have another seizure like this but we have to be careful when she gets a fever and treat it somewhat aggressively. By the time she is 6 she will grow out of this. Coincidentally Aunt Kimmy and cousin Megan both had febrile seizures when they were about Kate's age and neither one of them had another one and they both turned out normal. :-)

So Kate is on another antibiotic for the next 10 days, her fever finally broke Saturday morning and other than having some trouble sleeping at night she's her normal happy go lucky self.  Praise the Lord!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Kayla, Kate, and Maddy October 2010

Don't have much time to write about the whole week but I thought I would go ahead and post the pictures from Kayla, Megan, and Aunt Barbara's trip to GA this week. We enjoyed having them and hope all the second cousins can get together soon for some ridiculous photo shoots. :-)

To enjoy the photos please click on the picture below:

Friday, October 22, 2010

Busy, busy week...


Grandmas and Grand babies posing in a pumpkin patch

Hello blog world... did you think I had forgotten you?  Well I did, temporarily. This week we hosted Aunt Barbara, cousin Megan, and 2nd cousin baby Kayla all from Indiana. They came into town Monday and left early this morning. We've had a great week full of eating, shopping, talking, and shopping some more, all of which I'll write about later once I recover.  But I'll leave you with two pictures from one of our many outings this week, Lane Southern Orchards, where we ate delicious peach ice cream and made our babies pose for ridiculous pictures.... Enjoy these and I promise to write and post more pictures over the weekend. 

 
Just because we think it will be a cute photo doesn't mean the babies will agree to it. Poor Kate and Kayla!

Friday, October 15, 2010

D is for Dirt

Every week one family from Maddy's preschool class is responsible for providing snack for the class. The rules are simple, no nuts, bring enough for 8 students, bring a 64oz bottle of apple juice, and at least one of the snacks must begin with the letter of the week. That last rule can be a bit tricky....

This week was letter "D" week and also our week to bring snack. When I first saw the "snack calendar" I was with Kimmy. Neither one of us could come up with a snack that began with "D", I think we were both sleep deprived or something. So we asked David and his first response was "Doritos", such a typical guy. :-) We asked Mimi and she immediately thought of  "donuts", well I really began to feel like a fool then. Both were perfectly delicious letter D snack options but I wanted something better!

So Maddy and I made dirt....chocolate pudding, with Oreo crumb topping, and a gummy worm on top! The perfect letter D snack for a room full of 3 year old girls.... I am just hoping we don't get letter "X" in the spring, I might need help with that one. :-)

Maddy adding dirt and gummy worms

Kate was the official taste tester
Final product, dirt cups...