At Home in the Mountains

We ran the Cowtown Half-Marathon in Ft. Worth today. Before we start the race and after we finish the race I always wonder why I run these things. But during the race I know why. Quick shout out to Hannah our baby sitter today. She was awesome! For those who haven;t heard and are interested in times: Aaron: 1.41.27 Mom: 2.02.49 Me: 2.08.34 So a few lessons and laughs from the cowtown: 1. Always leave earlier than you think you need to to get to the race. We left a little later than planned and poor Aaron had to start the race 30 minutes late. However, he was really proud that no one ever passed him the entire race. :) 2. As I was running, I came upon a guy running in a cow suit complete with udder. A little girl (about 6 or 7 years old) was standing in her front yard watching the runners go by. When she saw cow man her eyes got wide and she started yelling excitedly,"Dad! Dad! Look a Dalmatian!" She succeeding in cracking up all the runners in the immediate area, including co...

Maddy makes this same series of sounds every time she is reaching for a toy or gets a toy or has a toy that she want to show you. I personally think she's saying "I got this!" or "I got it!" *note-Aaron dressed her this morning. I think he did a great job!

Sometimes Maddy jabbers and jabbers just to hear herself talk. It is cute how she finds the sound of her own voice so entertaining. In this post I find myself jabbering for the same reason, but I'm not as cute. A cold blustery day and Dallas, TX don't really seem to go together but that's the mix we've got here today and, despite all the promises from the weathermen, no snow-or precipitation of any kind. Maddy got a "new" toy on Sunday. Someone from church thought she'd enjoy it and they gave it to her. She is absolutely in love with this thing. It is funny how the simplest toys are the best. This past Saturday we went to Bodies the Exhibition with the students who are part of the medical/dental student association. They needed a chaperon for some reason and Aaron was the only prof available to do it that day so we got to go for free. I was a little iffy about going. Viewing plasticized, dissected human bodies really didn't sound like a great experien...

Well, well, well. Have I mentioned that about a week ago Aaron ordered us some very expensive vitamins called Reliv? They are powdered vitamins that you have to mix in water or juice to drink. He also ordered some for Maddy. First of all, these vitamins are nasty in just plain water. I have been taking mine with oj. Although still not a symphony for the tastebuds, it does make the vitamin powder tolerable. Aaron got something for his joints that he mixes in with his as well and I guess that stuff is really disgusting. Maddy got vanilla and chocolate flavored powders. We mix a heaping baby spoon of it in a couple of her bottles every day. I really need to try hers one day and see how good or bad it is. The first day Aaron tried to mix the whole half scoop she was supposed to take in with her bottle and she completely rejected it. We have been mixing smaller amounts and putting it in her food and she really tolerates it well now which is amazing because it makes her formula gritty. We en...

This was how our trip started out. Snow in Dallas! Record snowfall this weekend. We left when about 5 inches has fallen. The roads were never frozen while we were driving and once we got around Longview the snow let up and roads were basically dry. Maddy and Aaron posing with a Louisiana snowgirl. It's not every day you see on of these! Baby alligators in the nature center at Black Bayou. They had all kinds of creepy crawly things in their including a bunch of snakes. None of the snakes they had were poisonous though so it did not have quite the creepy thrill of checking out the rattlesnakes behind possibly not quite shatter proof glass at the Big Red Indian in Ft. Sumner, NM. Black Bayou. So peaceful. We really enjoyed our little walk around the bayou and the lake. So this weekend we went to Monroe, LA to visit my cousin Jessica who is going to grad school there. We've been saying for the almost two years she's been out there that we were going to go visit and we finally m...

So pedi appt. was this afternoon. Maddy weighs 12 lbs. 3.5 oz. She also apparently could have a slight infection in her left lung so we stopped by Walgreens on the way home to get the prescription filled.So the doctor still isn't happy with her weight of course but I think he, like us, has hit a brick wall of bewilderment and loss and is starting to have to say that maybe this is just how she is. We will go back to the endocrinologist for a check up and follow up blood work (fun fun) at the beginning of March. Her blood work from December indicated that her calcium levels were slightly high. This is probably do to her arthrogryposis but it could also indicate a problem with kidney function. So please be in prayer about that for us over the next couple of weeks. On another note some blogs of interest that have recently come to my attention: http://cindysoccer.blogspot.com --shows newest updates on the Hall house in Denver! http://tammyjeanz.blogspot.com -- a scathing expose of ...

I don't really have much to blog and normally probably would not be posting but it is a rainy day and Maddy has some kind of cold or teething issues (not sure which) and so it has been a pretty long day. Right now she is watching a Baby Mozart DVD we got her for Christmas. This is the first time we've watched it. So far I can' tell if she loves it or not, but she is staying quite and not fussy and not having to be held for a few minutes so I'm calling it a hit. Maddy is doing better than this weekend. She had a mild fever almost all weekend. Now it is a very runny nose and coughing from the drainage. It just sounds horrible when she coughs. We have a pediatrician appointment on Wednesday so if she is not better by then, hopefully he can give her something. So I got scammed this weekend. It was on Friday and I'd just put Maddy down for a nap. The doorbell rang and normally I don't answer the door during the day because it is usually salesmen and I don't want ...

These last couple of weeks have been thankfully light on the doctor appointments for Maddy. She has mostly just had physical therapy and occupational therapy. We got a new physical therapist because her old one left and we met with her yesterday. Wendy seems like she is going to be a great therapist. However, Maddy was not impressed with having to work with someone new and cried through the whole session. Oh well. She will get used to Wendy (I hope). In other news Aaron and I signed up for another race in May. This is a crazy race though. It is called the Warrior Challenge and it is a 5K obstacle course. You have to do all kinds of crazy things like crawl up and slide down mud slopes, run through creeks,jump over fire, etc. Some of our friends were doing it and asked us if we'd like to join them. It is May 2nd. My cousins were able to finalize the adoption of their foster kids this week. That is great news for them and I am so happy that that journey is finally over for them. It s...