Friday, June 27, 2008

We're baaaaack!

In so many ways!

First, we traveled back to Grand Rapids on Thursday for a family reunion of sorts... almost my whole family is in town so we thought we'd join them. It is SO WONDERFUL to see everyone again - I missed them terribly!

Violet is doing GREAT! She is just a tiny bit sore, but other than that you would never know that she spent the last 3 months in a body cast. She's crawling all over (with her right leg straight still - it was the one in the long-leg cast), pulling up on anything that looks steady (and a few things that do not) and sitting up perfectly on her own. I can't tell you how great it is for her to SIT! She can play by herself so much easier and just already seems so much happier. Hurray!

AND now that I'm FINALLY able to take some regular photos of her in regular poses (no more high chair pictures, I promise!!) I took her out in the back yard at my mom's house today and took these:

AND we also had her SECOND BATH in 3 months! She loved the bubbles and getting all soaped up. She smells so yummy when she gets out! And of course I haven't gotten remotely tired of holding my squishy, snuggly kid.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Goodbye, Spica Cast!

Helllooooo Squishy Kid!!!!

Violet got her cast off this morning and we are soooo soooo excited!

The whole cast-cutting went okay. She was pretty terrified of having this scary stranger coming at her with a saw (gee, I'm not sure why). Luckily our cast-cutter was very very fast and got it off with only 4 cuts and in about 3 minutes. The feeling of lifting her little body out of that cast and hugging it again was about the greatest thing ever!



She also got an x-ray (also traumatizing) and fitted for her Rhino Cruiser brace (even more trauma). Somehow she made it through everything and was a pretty happy kid by the time we got home. Oh, and we are now the proud owners of a Violet-shaped spica cast. Since it came off so good, it is now sitting on our mantle. It's a little creepy, but a good momento. I'm going to have to force myself not to burn it tonight at our "Cast-Off Party". I think I'll burn her babylegs instead :)

First, she GREW!!! I don't think you can usually tell so much when your kids grow because you see them everyday, but in the cast it's hard to tell. She is HUGE and LONG and is going to be SO TALL when she stands up straight! I can hardly get my head around that!

And she is already back to her usual self... she is sitting up okay with a pillow behind her (she can sit up on her own on her knees... it's so WEIRD to see her in that position. She hasn't been able to sit upright in three months!). And is crawling around. AND tried to stand up by the coffee table already! She actually lasted a second or two, but she's still trying it in "spica pose" which I imagine is harder without the support of a cast. We'll see how long that takes her to figure out!
It's so cool to watch her play with her toys and NOT be stuck on her tummy. And to have her sit in her carseat without the straps all funky to accomidate her. And this afternoon I'm going to *gasp* the grocery store... and NOT bring her stroller! Ah, it's the little things :)

Here is a video of her trying to sit up right after we got home.


This was literally the first time she tried to crawl. I can't believe how QUICKLY she tried everything out! I'm hoping that if she isn't sore today, that she won't be that sore tomorrow. Crazy kid!


And last but not least, she already tried out her kneeling and standing tricks without the cast. She did it!



If you found this blog searching for info spica casts,
please visit this wonderful and incredibly helpful forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/
Also, please take a look at my Spica Cast Survival Guide, which you can download here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/files/
It's the first thing on the list.
Sending lots of good hip healing vibes your way!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

One last look...

Here is our "cast decor". Hope you like it!

The back:
Thanks to her talented Uncle Mike for his perfect rendition of the "banquet beer" - it's all we drink here in Colorado (okay, and some water once in a while)
The front:

Monday, June 23, 2008

Finally!

So after almost 2 months in this house, we have FINALLY MOVED IN!! Moved to our permanent locations, that is. This weekend Jon and I moved our bedroom downstairs, and Violet now has her OWN ROOM! Complete with a door that closes. She's pretty excited. She's in the Master Suite upstairs, and Jon says she better enjoy it now 'cause it's the biggest room she'll ever have!


She also had her very first HAIRCUT today! My friend Sarah did a little trimming so her hair is all one length and won't flip out so funky when it's down. You can't really tell, probably, but I can!

And Violet's newest Spica Cast Trick is kneeling hands-free! She has also stood up once or twice and let go. Silly! If only she knew she only had THREE MORE DAYS in the cast!




My next blog entry will be when she is CAST FREE!! I can hardly believe that we MADE IT! Hurray! I'll try to post some pictures and an update on Wednesday when she gets it off. Violet and I are also headed back to Michigan for vacation on Thursday morning... I'm going to bring my laptop with me but don't worry too much if you don't see any posts for a while!

If you found this blog searching for info spica casts,
please visit this wonderful and incredibly helpful forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/
Also, please take a look at my Spica Cast Survival Guide, which you can download here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/files/
It's the first thing on the list.
Sending lots of good hip healing vibes your way!!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there! Here are some pics of Violet and her daddy.

Rockin' the braids. They are very small but very cute.
She has gotten very good at crawling around in her cast. Here is a good video of her. Special note to her cousin Claire - I used your picture as "bait" which is why she crawled so fast!


Hope you all have a great Father's Day!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Let the countdown begin!

Just 16 days until the $&@(@ spica cast is GONE FOREVER!!! Hurray!!! For some reason these last few weeks are the hardest for me. The first 10 weeks I just try to not think about it, not let it get to me, etc. However I think the last weeks it actually hits me how much we've MISSED. Not only the squishy hugs, the little rump, the shopping carts, baths... but also the regular milestones that most kids get to do. I admit I do get a little pang of jealousy every time I see a tiny little person walking along. Violet will pretty much be a little GIRL, not a baby by the time she walks. But she will! And gosh darn it, you'll all hear about it about the millisecond it happens 'cause we'll all be so excited!

Anyway, I took some more pictures of her in her cast. Here is the back of it:

She was playing in the mirror for a while and thought it was SO FUNNY that this "other baby" did all the same things she did! She also gave her lots of kisses. Sweet.This is why Jon and I sometimes refer to Violet as "Baby in a Bucket"

She just LOVES to stand up. It isn't exactly recommended in a spica cast but we couldn't stop her if we tried! It also goes to show what a instinct it is to walk - she is bound and determined to do it, with or without her hard candy shell!When she's not standing around, or crawling around, she is also dabbling in the fine art of finger paint. Luckily she seems to understand that she's not supposed to eat it. She has been making some fabulous masterpieces!
This weekend we went into the Capital Hill area of Denver to the People's Fair. We sat and watched some of the bands play.
My friend Beth and I have been meeting at Washington Park (Wash Park to the "natives"). I took these pictures of Violet at our last trip.

Now that I have a season pass to the zoo, we're taking full advantage! We had a "girls morning out" and just Violet and I went this past week. It was so fun! We watched the seal show, the elephants, and then a "wild bird" show where they fly all around. She LOVED it and yelled and screamed at all the animals. It was pretty funny. This is the only (fuzzy) picture I got. The one downside of going to the zoo alone!

In other news... I went to my first Red Rocks show!!! We saw Modest Mouse and R.E.M. last week. Here is the view from our "cheap seats"... if you get out your magnifying glass you can see downtown Denver just to the right of the center.
Date night!
Ah, good old R.E.M. Both Jon and I have been BIG fans since middle school. Right before we left Michigan I said "If R.E.M. comes through on tour, we're GOING!!!" so we did!
The crowd
Heather and I being silly. Her and I snuck down and got a lot closer to the action. It was SO FUN!!
And last but not least, this past weekend I made a garden!! I planted cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, strawberries, and lots and lots of tomatoes. My goal is to have so many great, homegrown tomatoes that by the fall I am totally sick of them and can live without any sort of tomato (including the gross, no-taste orange colored ones at the grocery store most of the year) until next summer. Ha! Good luck with that, self.


If you found this blog searching for info spica casts,
please visit this wonderful and incredibly helpful forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/
Also, please take a look at my Spica Cast Survival Guide, which you can download here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hipbaby/files/
It's the first thing on the list.
Sending lots of good hip healing vibes your way!!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Adventures at Home

We haven't done anything too exciting lately, but here are some cute pictures of Violet from around the house. I can't wait until she's out of the cast and I can get some proper pictures of her! It's hard to get cute pictures in her high chair ;)

She can ride on her little bike for a minute or two on her own. Here she is sportin' her "nubs"

She is also learning how to use a spoon and fork. In fact, she is now insisting on having a spoon or fork whenever we eat, even if whatever she is eating is not at all possible to eat with either one (crackers). Here she is testing out her spoon on some Cream of Wheat which is her FAVORITE!! She eats two packages every morning and gets M.A.D. if she runs out.

And she also tried sour cream with her quesadilla the other day. Apparently she has the Vredevoogd Sour Cream Gene because she could NOT get enough. Jon and I like to incorporate sour cream (and hot sauce) into every meal. She'll be fitting in just fine.

•••••••• And something special for my ••••••••
HORSE FRIENDS

This weekend my friend Jenna and I went to the Colorado Horse Park to watch a three-day event. It was SO COOL!! This place was pretty amazing! The 300 acre x-country course was designed by David O' Connor and was so fun to watch... because I would need a waterproof saddle pad if I ever thought of doing this - just watching it made me almost pee my pants! For those non-horsie people reading this, these crazy people go FLYING at top speed around this jumping course made up of very difficult fences up and down hills and into and through water. They are timed so they go really fast. And these fences are really crazy! For the most part the horse has never seen them before they are aimed at it. It's pretty incredible!

There are TWELVE arenas. Here are three of them. A H/J show was going on too so we got to watch that too. I've got the jumping bug!Here is the main barn. This place has 300 stalls, and at least 2 indoors that we found. The stalls are HUGE and the horses inside were just as nice :) Oh, and it's for sale. Who's making the first offer?