A Fearless Explorer

Exploring the hallways of Aunt Stacey and Uncle Dan's house.

We were at Grandma Sue and Grandpa's house yesterday evening for supper. When Cayman insisted that she was all done eating [by throwing her plate of food on the floor], she was cleaned up and given permission to get down and crawl around.

She exited the kitchen and down the hallway she went, turning the corner and then out of sight.

We laughed to watch her confidently "own" the floor she crawls on. This can be anywhere we are at - the doctor's office, other houses, a waiting room. She fearlessly crawls into new territory.

It had me remembering a post I wrote over five months ago about her reluctancy to wander and explore. She has definitely conquered that. And I love every minute that I have to chase after her.

Givin' Some Love

Cayman actually showed baby Makenna some love!

What?!

Yep, that's right.

And I have the picture to prove it.

Leaning in for a sweet eskimo kiss that Cayman knows as "bumpy nose".

About Cayman's Hearing

Before surgery.

We are home from the hospital.

Our little Cayman now has tubes in her ears. There was definite fluid they drained but it is not enough to help her hearing alone. It turns out there is a much deeper issue than just the fluid in her ears. The CT scan and ABR hearing test both revealed a hearing loss.

There's more.

Cayman's inner ear is severely malformed and typically over time the hearing loss gets worse with this kind of condition.

Cayman loves music. She responds to songs we sing and shows we watch. Our hearts feel a little sting of sadness to think that one day she might not be able to enjoy those things in the same way.

Plus it greatly effects her balance and ability in walking. It's not that she will never be able to walk but it will take her some time to get to that milestone. Then you throw in her brain malformation with that and well...she just has some pretty big challenges to conquer.

Our hearts - as her parents - feel sort of heavy knowing there is more added to the list of struggles for Cayman.

But there was a piece of gladness we gripped at as we heard the doctor explain Cayman's hearing condition - It seems it's a miracle that she hears as well as she does.

In fact, for so long she's had us all puzzled whether there was even a problem or not. She responds so well to the things we say.

She will be getting hearing aids. I am looking forward to seeing if they bring any changes for Cayman. It makes me smile imagining her learning to talk and having a conversation with me someday. What fun that would be. But if not, that's okay too. I am deeply in love with my little miracle girl, just as she is. Cayman has us completely warmed with such joy.

Surgery Number 12 Tomorrow

***Surgery is scheduled for mid morning, around 9:30 a.m. It's outpatient so we will be going home the same day.***

Will you pray for our family as Cayman goes into surgery tomorrow morning [Monday] for tubes to be put in her ears?

It is considered minor, I know this. But when it comes to my kid, surgery is surgery, and I feel no "minor" regarding it. My heart always skips a beat when they carry her away to the operating room. I'm guessing that never goes away.

While sedated, she will also under-go a thorough CT scan of her middle ear and brain. Then an ABR hearing test will be conducted.

I'll let you know the news.

Thanks so much for caring and praying for our little girl.

Ssssh, Don't Wake the Baby

A conversation between an Aunt and her littlest and newest of nieces:

In a whisper I spoke, "Makenna, if I promise to not interrupt your sweet little nap you are contently taking right now, will you let Aunt Kristen try on all my favorite newborn hats on you that I've made?"

Silence.

Well, she didn't say no.

Do You Put on Your Shorts This Way?

Un-burrowing myself through a stack of mail (an effect of being gone on vacation), I sit on the living room floor watching TV to help entertain my mind through this daunting task I do not enjoy.

Cayman sits next to me. She's dressed in only her diaper and one sock. (Why? Well, that's another story.)
I tear open the outer envelopes, then hand them to her. She gets a kick out of being able to get in a few ripping actions herself.

But then she loses interest. She has picked up a pair of her shorts and manages to slip one foot into them all by herself. She is laughing so hard over this accomplishment that she nearly topples over.

I'm laughing so hard I can barely steady the camera.

It's the simple joys of life ya know. Now go and enjoy them today.

Myrtle Beach Vacation Part 7: Randomness

Have you ever been shot 300 feet into the sky reaching a speed of 120 mph?

Not me! My feet happily stayed on the ground.

But for Grandma Sue it's about all she could talk of whenever the Human Slighshot was within sight. She just had to ride it.

"Safer than riding a carousel" the sign says. Funny. When Mark read that I believe his reaction was to roll his eyes, pay the admission, and off Sue bounded toward the ride with a school girl smile on her face. She had an accomplice to join her on this "safer than riding a carousel" adventure - Sam! If there was a third seat on the ride I am pretty certain Mike would have been right there too.

Grandma Sue and Aunt Sam awaiting to experience the 5 G's of take-off!

And there they go, becoming a distant silhouette in the sky!

A very big, BIG candy store! It smelled delicious!

Tight curly locks, ankles crossed...oh she's so cute!

On the pier.

Cayman's first photo taken with a palm tree!

Sitting around at the airport waiting to go home. Our flight was delayed.

Cayman fell asleep during take off. It was 10:00 p.m. She "napped" the whole two hour flight. We landed a few minutes after midnight. The hustle and bustle of exiting the plane and retrieving our luggage, woke her up. She stayed awake. Wide awake. It was 4 a.m. when we finally arrived back home. I crawled into bed - more like fell into bed - while Mike laid Cayman down in hers. She cried. She did not want to go to sleep.

:)

No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one. ~Elbert Hubbard

The End.

Myrtle Beach Vacation Part 6: The Aquarium

Besides the beach, there was only one other thing on my top priority list to visit while in Myrtle Beach - The Ripley's Aquarium.

I love aquariums. So relaxing and interesting to watch.

Moving through the long winding tunnel with the walls and ceiling completely being the aquarium itself was an amazing experience. I will probably never scuba dive in my life. I have no interest in swimming with the action of the mysterious waters, but the curiosity still remains. So an aquarium like this allows me to indulge that curiosity without it killing the cat.

Sam touching a Horsecrab.

Lethel Weapons is a killer exhibit at the aquarium - Literally. It features some of the most dangerous and deadly creatures of the sea.

For example:

The Fugu (blow fish) contains deadly poison in its organs which is fatal to a human being. Despite the risk, fugu sushi remains a delicacy in some Japanese restaurants. But it takes a specially trained and certified chef to serve it. One wrong cut of the knife can make the sushi deadly for a human to eat. Your life is literally in the hands of the chef if you ever eat fugu sushi.

The Moray Eel is aggressive, dangerous, and above all, real ugly! They like to sit around leaving their mouths wide open. Indeed not a very welcoming sight these creatures are. They have a second set of teeth resting in their throat waiting for prey to swim by. Once the moray eel secures its prey with its first set of jaws, the pharyngeal jaws from within its throat reach out and grab the prey, pulling it down through its esophagus.

This is a slugger shrimp (mantis shrimp). It uses its claws as boxers use their fist. With amazing force and speed, this featherweight champion can deliver a knock-out punch at the force of a bullet in just 2 milliseconds - 50 times faster than the blink of an eye. They use their club-like claws to smash the shells of their prey. It's a bullet-proof tank that houses this creature.

Be careful not to stand too close to this fish, which I think is called a surgeonfish. It has blades on the side of its tail that can extend out to stab its prey while it casually swims by. The prey never suspects a thing.

These are needle-spine sea urchins. I think they contain some kind of deadly poison. Truthfully and honestly, all I can really remember about them is their eye-ball like feature on the top of their body is not an eyeball at all but in actuality is their anus. Weird.

The clown fish made the Lethal Weapon exhibit. It has no dangerous qualities of its own but rather its what it is immune to that makes this fish dangerous for its predators - the anemone. For other fish, the flowering plant is deadly but to the clown fish, they cannot be harmed by its stings. For that reason the clown fish seeks its home and safety within the anemone.

The beautiful, fluid movements of the jellies. They are great to watch but never to touch!

Myrtle Beach Vacation Part 5: Eating

I have never experienced food the way I do when I am pregnant. If I get hungry for something in particular I just cannot get it out of my head until I eat it. I have always had my favorites but never in such an obsessive, dramatic way that when I sink my teeth into it, it leaves me near tears it's so wonderful!

I do experience days when absolutely nothing sounds appetizing. Those are my rocky feeling days. It's created a feeling of enjoyment over the cravings I get because usually I feel better after I eat the food of my up most highest desire. But my cravings change from day to day, making them largely unpredictable. While on vacation, having miles of restaurants available with a menu selection before me at nearly every meal was heavenly and oddly enough that is what I miss the most since being back from vacation. Sometimes the food stocked in our cupboard and fridge just doesn't always cut it.

This restaurant got me on an egg craving kick that week. So delicious.

We didn't eat at "Crabby Mike's" but we took Mike's picture with the sign because...well, I think you get it.

Hamburger Joe's was packed!! We waited nearly two hours before we finally had our food in front of us.

Sitting on the porch of Hamburger Joe's.

Hamburger Joe's was kind of like a country house - large porch, wood paneling, wood floors. And dollar bills covered the walls and ceiling. To count, it was currently up to $8,000.

Captain George's had a large buffet. Mostly consisting of seafood. Here I had a big craving for the crab legs but was careful about the amount I ate. A thing called mercury ya know.

Boat Buffet. How amazing does that look!

Cayman's face cracks me up! The look she has as she stares in bewilderment over the crab's pincer...lol...oh it gets me every time!

Dirty Don's Oyster Bar & Grill. This was one of Mike's favorite places.

We ate at Senor Frogs on our last day there.

The most memorable {that does not mean most favorite} part about Senor Frogs was probably me throwing up in the trash can in front of the restaurant. And thanks to my husband, we have pictures to commemorate the moment forever!

Myrtle Beach Vacation Part 4: The Beach

I love my little crawling babe. She moved around the beach like she's always been there. So comfortable. So familiar.

She would not keep that crazy sun hat on for anything!

At the water's edge she clung tightly. The sand she loved. But the ocean, she did not find a natural bond with.

Grandpa made it onto the beach - once. For those that know Mark, know just how much of a big deal that is!

That is the face of pure enjoyment.

It was a sweet mommy moment for me.

The ocean air made Cayman's curly hair come alive! It was full of body and bounce. Simply beautiful!

See all the sand on Grandma Sue? That's there courteous of Cayman.

Cayman's sand toys.

Someone made this cool sand sculpture.

Sam getting swallowed by a wave.