Chuck-E-Cheese

Last night, we went to Chuck-E-Cheese. Holy Spirit PTA was having a fundraiser night. When Macie found out we were going to there she was so pumped! I asked her if she knew what it was and she said, "you throw balls in bucket". Sure enough she remembered her favorite game from when we went for Gavin's birthday. From the moment we walked in, Macie was overstimulated and wanted to play every game and run around like a crazy person. We did convince her to eat some and then we were off! Gavin was content eating and then he was all over the place as well. The cool thing was, we only spent a little over $4 for a night of family fun. We had some leftover tokens that we brought with us, we had a sticker for 10 free tokens, and I got a free drink and personal pan pizza for being a teacher. The only thing we bought was an order of bread sticks. To be honest, that is all Brian and I had time to eat anyway! The cutest moment of the night was when Macie was dancing with Chuck-E. That girl can boogie down! Too bad I didn't have my camera on me at the time. Although it was hectic, Brian and I both said...that was fun! We even left with a few tokens for next time!

Weekend Recap

Even though I already posted about Gavin's appointment on Monday, I need to back track and talk about the weekend: We had a very busy and productive weekend. On Friday, we ate dinner and then all four of us made a trip to Target. We rarely all go shopping together and Friday night made me realize why! Macie is too independant and wants to walk/roam around the store and touch/buy everything. Gavin was annoyed with being in the cart for too long. But, we did get what we set out to buy. I hadn't been to Target since the remodel so I was anxious to see the new grocery section. I wasn't all that impressed, but it is nice that there are more options. After shopping, we went home and put the kids into bed. Then, it was time to get to work! Brian and I cleaned our kitchen. We cleaned the fan, table, chairs, and trash can. I cleaned out some cabinets, the tubs on the washer, and went through our stack of papers on the counters. The last thing we did was get on our hands and knees and scrubbed the kitchen floor. It really needed it. Our kitchen was so clean and sparkly when we were done! On Saturday morning, Grammie and Pops came by for a quick visit. They left when the kids laid down for their nap. When they left, my dad brought by a hutch from Grams B's house. I'm glad that we cleaned our kitchen because it fit perfectly! My dad forgot one of the shelves, so I met my mom and Allie at KFC for a quick bite and to pick up the shelf. They invited the kids and I over for pizza and to watch some basketball. Brian had to bartend. I came home and just as the kids were waking up from their naps. We all went outside to play for a bit before we had to leave. The kids and I went to my parents for pizza, but came home in time to put them to bed. I was pretty tired too and ended up going to bed by 9! It was nice to get a good night's sleep! Sunday morning I decided it was time to go to church again. We always have some excuse or something going on, but I know how important it is to go to church. The kids did pretty well, especially since it went a little long. After Mass, I had to do a few things in my classroom because I wasn't going to be at school on Monday. Brian and the kids left to run a few errands while I finished up because the kids were into everything! Then, Allie and I met them at McDonalds for lunch. It was nice to do something special like that! Then, we took the kids home for a nap. Our next project was cleaning out the shed. We emptied out the whole thing and I reorganized it. We just have to much baby/kid stuff. The problem is, I don't really want to get rid of anything until we know if we are done having kids. I was able to find a few things to go to Goodwill and throw some things away. After cleaning out the shed, the kids played outside until it was time to start getting ready for dinner. Every one relaxed a bit until dinner. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out. Aww...love a fun filled weekend with my family!

Pops posing with two of his grandbabies

Vascular Lesion Clinic

Gavin's birthmark has been called many different things. It's gone from a Port Wine Stain to Hemangioma to Geographic Mixed Malformation to Vascular Lesion. The MRI clarified everything and we finally know that it is a Vascular Lesion (which is a broad term used to describe all of the above). Dr. Haggstrom wanted Gavin to come up to Riley yesterday and be a part of the Vascular Lesion Clinic. We were told that 5 different specialty doctors (pediatric dermatologist, radiologist, plastic surgeon, ear nose throat, hematology oncologist) would look at his MRI and make a decision about his future. They said the appointment would last an hour or so. Brian and I were nervous/anxious/scared/overwhelmed, but we knew it was the best thing for Gavin. My mom kept Macie for us. We made it to Indy in 3 hours despite the rain. When we got to Riley, it was a little difficult to find exactly where we were supposed to go because of construction. When we finally found it and parked in the garage, we ate lunch. I packed a lunch to save a little bit of money. After eating and a quick diaper change, we went to check in even though we were an hour early. We figured Gavin needed to stretch his legs. They said they would call us back in a few minutes, but I figured it would be a while. Gavin found an activity table to walk around so he was happy. Sure enough, a few minutes later they called us back. They weighed Gavin and he is up to 25 pounds 2 ounces. Growing boy! We were put in a small exam room. The nurse told us the radiologist couldn't be there because there was a death in the family, but that he would look at the MRI results and follow up with us if there was anything he thought needed to be done. Brian and I are bummed because we thought he would be the most important doctor outside of our dermatologist. At first, the nurse explained that doctors would be coming in and out, but 8 doctors showed up at one time! I have to admit this was a bit overwhelming! We did get good results though. Basically, there are a lot of things that could go wrong in his leg in the future (blood clots, one leg could be longer than the other, throbbing, pain, the veins could grow larger) but for now we just have to wait and see. Dr. Haggstrom wants to see him in six months. Hopefully, he will be walking by then so we will know more. Brian and I were a little in shock. That's it?? Dr. H did say that she was expecting the results of the MRI to be worse. All I can say it is a complete blessing! After we asked a few questions, we were good to go. Crazily enough, we were back in our car and headed home before our actual appointment time. We made it home in three hours and picked up Macie a little after 4. We had planned to eat out, but instead ran by Hardees and picked up some turkey burgers. They were pretty good. Since we were home so early, we had movie night. It was nice to end the evening hanging out as a family.

Eating lunch in the car

He's Off!!

Gavin continues to make unbelievable progress! Brian and I are just blown away with everything he can do. On Monday during Gavin's physical therapy, we practiced pushing the shopping cart. He could take a few steps behind it, but we had to help steer it. It didn't look like he was ready to do it on his own yet. Later that night, he just took off across the living room floor. He did it over and over again! Words can't explain how amazing it is to see him so close to walking!