A new way to read

At bed time she decided she wanted to "read" before going to sleep.  It was already way past her bedtime but I went ahead and gave in.  The pictures below are how we found her an hour later.  I think she was tired. 

Halloween 2011

This year we decided on being a Barbie butterfly.  She would have made Barbie proud.  At first we were going to go trick or treating alone but got a last minute call from our neighbors to go with them.  We finished up eating, got dressed and ran out the door.  When last call was made Kaylie got super upset asking when she would get to trick or treat again.  By the looks of it she could have gone for another hour or two. 

Pumpkin Patch

 Every year we try to visit the same pumpkin patch.  I have fond memories of this place being that it was one of the first things we took Kaylie too once she was no longer in preemie quarantine.  I have pictures from every year but one.  I love being able to compare them to see how much she has grown and how much she has changed.  She now has no fear when it comes to feeding the animals.  I love it!  This year we got to go with the Pee family and had a blast.  The girls love each other and Gavin is little but holds his own.  Glad we got to go before the end of the season. 

FBC fall festival

The church that is affiliated with Kaylie's preschool hosted a fall festival for the community so we decided to try it out.  We decided to take advantage of her drawer full of dress up clothes so we didn't risk further damage to her "actual"Halloween costume.  At first I didn't feel like going and had decided my couch was more comfortable but after sitting there with intense guilt I decided to go.  I am glad we did  The two of use had a blast and created memories I couldn't have gotten otherwise.  Our major wow moment was when she decided to do the face painter with the stipulation that instead of her face being painted it needed to be her hand.  At first the lady didn't know what to make of it but humored her and made a masterpiece.  As you can see in the pictures she was quite proud.

 

Halloween Party

This year Jason and I decided to actually go to a Halloween party for families.  This would be the first dress up Halloween party we have been to since my senior year of college in 2000.  If you know me you know I hate dressing up not because I think it is silly but because anything that could fit my figure isn't the most flattering thing out there and I am not one to go in the more risque route so you can imagine the struggle I was having.  I was so stressed I snapped whenever Jason asked I had found one  Poor thing.  I am glad he understood and never snapped back.  The afternoon of I ventured out in an incredibly sour mood.  Prior to this I had no contentions of finding anything.  I decided my default would be a boa, tiara, and costume jewelry from Kaylie's dress up box...cheesy but it was something that didn't make me feel as if I was wearing a moo moo.  Thankfully, I gave in and tried things.  I found a poodle skirt outfit where the buttons on the shirt were busting out but figured with a few safety pins I might be able to make it work relegating the stress of having nothing.  That is when I decided to get gutsy and try one the costume that matched Jason's.  I had already written this one off before putting it on because it was long.  I was soon grateful I did.  I was over come with excitement over the fact I found something that fit and matched Jason.  I found some gold leave barettes and gold jewelry and happily went home ready to have a family night out.  I think we made a pretty cute couple.

Dress up

On a recent trip to Austin Kaylie and I went to visit a good friend of mine.  It is the first time we have seen each other in two years and time has flown bye considering she now has two kids and this was my first time to see them.

Kaylie and Ashlynn played so well.  The best part was when they played dress up with her stuffed animals.  They got to use newborn clothes and accessories.  The finished product was quit adorable!

Impromptu tea party

Jason went in to get Kaylie ready to meet me for lunch and found her door closed.  When he opened it he discovered a tea party in progress.  She told her daddy she closed the door so Bailey wouldn't leave.  I guess the half eaten birthday cake in front of her wasn't enough to keep her there.  The pink blanket was her table clothe and the animals around it had food as well.  I love the imagination of a four year old!

School festival

 

They got to dress up in their costumes for school.  They had a fall festivial for the kids with a petting zoo, bounce house, and carnival games.  We doctored her wings up before hand so she could wear them.  I was happy when I picked her up and saw they had made it without any additional damage.

dance halloween

After being out of dance for about a month due to her surgery she got to enjoy her first day back by dressing up in her costume for Halloween.  I decided to keep the wings off considering I had already broken them just by touching them the wrong way.  Didn't seem to phase her either way.

When I grow up...

I want to be a fairy princess just like Snow White.  This is what she came down the stairs wearing after a nap.  She has finally discovered her dress up clothes.  

The next fashionista

Jason had been on a work trip for the entire week so the day after he got home he took Kaylie out on a daddy daughter date to give her some well needed one on one daddy time as well as to give mommy some well needed mommy time.  She disappeared for awhile and when she came back down she was dressed from head to toe in clothes she had picked out and put on for the first time by herself.  Excluding the fact that she was wearing a sun dress in October I think she did a great job.  Maybe I should let her dress herself more often...nah!!!

Side note...the drum sticks were a present daddy brought back with him from his business trip.  Wonder why he kept this gift a secret?!?

My what a big nose you have...

Many mornings this is what I have staring at me.  It is her "feed me" look.  I think she needs to figure out something new because it doesn't seem to work to her advantage!

My what sharp teeth you have...

 

Another major milestone.  Was floored to see her put these things in her mouth.  I am so proud of how far she has come with all her feeding issues.  This would have NEVER happened prior to all her therapy.

Halloween craft

 

Halloween craft.  The black one was originally the one she made for me.  It was a big deal she actually put the mask on and kept it on for awhile.  It became picture worthy when she put the mask on her dog.  She was proud of herself.

Rainy day

First rainy day in awhile...why not go outside?!?  Only problem, we couldn't find her rain gear so we improvised.  I think mommy's coat is a little big but it protected her stitches from getting wet.

Brown dog

  

Photo taken by: Kaylie Macmurphy...my future photographer.

Styling in her over sized scrubs

This picture was taken right after she had been given her silly juice in preparation for her surgery.  Once the juice kicked in she tried hard to do anything she could to stand up.  At one point she had become such dead weight I had to have Jason take her from my because I couldn't hold her any longer.  The funniest memory was when she stood up her incredibly over sized pants came flying down to her ankles.  You would think in a children's hospital they would have sizes that fit children a little bit smaller than most. 

All and all the surgery went well and the hospital stay was fine.  Their were a few moments that she will not remember but her mommy and daddy will.  After she was moved to her room she ended up falling asleep.  While out she touched the wires on the side of her head and whimpered the words "why?!?"  Absolutely broke my heart.  It is ridiculously hard for a little one to understand why they are going through this.  It is just as hard for a parent to have to try and explain it especially since they would trade places with their child in a heart beat.

The other one was the day we were being discharged.  The sounds that came out of this poor child's mouth and the things she yelled would make any parent fall to their knees in tears.  She was in another room when the removed the monitor as well as tape and IV.  We could hear her coming to the entrance of the wing.  Definitely a moment that will stay with me for a long time to come.  Afterwards, she was rewarded by child life with two brand new Barbie dolls of her choice.  Thankfully, that is the part she remembers :).

Courage bear

Through a fluke we found out that Kaylie has Craniosagitosis.  This is where her brain plates have prematurely fused together and allowing her brain to grow in the areas that are not closed.  Because of this we found out she was going to need surgery to check for Intercranial pressure.  To do this they had to go in through the forehead and then through the skull to insert the monitor into her brain.  From there they took it around and had it come out on the side of her head near her ear where the looped it in a circle and taped it down so she would not pull it out.  They ended up keeping her in the hospital for 2 1/2 days which allowed them to monitor the pressure in her head to determine if a future more serious surgery would be needed to create room for her brain to grow.  Thankfully everything looked great and we are able to hold off for a little while before we have to follow up with the neurosurgeon to make sure she is still doing all right.  We are definitely greatful for the final results and are happy to put this behind us for the time being.

The night before her surgery we decided to have a "Kaylie" night.  She was spoiled rotten.  Now that she is old enough to understand what was going on we had to find a way to tell her how things were going to go.  We were impressed with the way she handled the idea that she was going to have surgery.  It wasn't until the next morning that it sunk in what was about to happen. 

The first thing we did was take her to Build a Bear where she created a courage bear.  We let her pick out what ever she wanted.  At this point in time we probably would have bought her a pony we just wanted her to be happy.  She dressed it and accesorized it.  Her bear has three hearts in it, one from each of us. 

After we left we took her to Gattitown for pizza and games.  Why not include her two favorite things in one stop.  By the time we got home and did her pre surgery stuff we were exhausted and ready for bed.  Thankfully she slept well. 

Gig Em Ags

This year we decided to attempt the impossible and take Kaylie to her first A&M football game at Jerry's World aka Texas Stadium.  This game was against a soon to be SEC conference opponent Arkansas.  At first she was a little overwhelmed with all of the people and noise.  She started to settle down once we got to our seats and really started to take everything in.  At times she would even stand up and participate in the cheers. When she started to get antsy in the third quarter we went to the souvenir shop and got her some pom poms.  This was all she needed to make it to the end.  In regards to the outcome of the game...we should have known we were doomed from the start.  Kaylie loved watching the cheerleaders as well as mascot from the other team.  She loved both bands but was in love with the flag girls.  Needless to say her first game would have been better with a win but with that aside she did great. 

Sad she is in the shadows but still a good picture.

She was so proud of her outfit and loved showing it off to every one.

Actually participating in the yells.