Edie's Dance Recital

Well. Today is the bid day! I have been practicing for this dance recital for months and it all boils down to today. Outfit: check. Food: check. Routine: down pat. This is a little stressful. I can't believe Lily is so happy. I'm a nervous wreck.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! This is where we have to perform? It looks like a whole nother town in here. I hear it seats around 400 people. Oh good, there is my friend Katherine!

"Yeah, and I was Like; Mommy, no problem, this will be fun. Relax."

Alright, let's go!

Just so you know, I'm the 4th one from the right.




Edie made us so proud!

Speaking Of Birthdays...Lily Turns 1!

Mommy made some great cupcakes for today. I couldn't figure out why. There were doughnut holes stacked on top of each other with vanilla icing and little scarves of candy ribbon, with white mini chocolate chips for eyes and candy corn for a nose. Then she sprinkled them with blue sprinkles. What a low sugar treat for the heck of it. Oh! I get it. Today is a special day! Today I turned 1 year old! It has been a long road but I finally made it. I have learned a lot in a year. I can eat with my hands. I can walk about 6 or 7 steps! I can even wave and say bye-bye. I can say Mommy, Daddy and Edie and clap my hands when they walk in the door. I received lots of nice presents in the mail from people I'm just realizing are related to me and even our neighbor Selma brought me a cute stuffed dog. Just when I thought things could not get any better, Mi-Mi brought over a giant birthday eclair! We even used Edie's 1st birthday candle on top!

I was a little sceptical of the massive eclair. Everyone had to coax me into trying it. I'm glad I did though. It sure was good!

Edie's Friend Turns 5

My friend Katherine turned 5 the other day and I got to go to her party! A lot of my friends from school were there and we ate a huge cookie with candles on it. Katherine is the one in the pink cowboy boots.

After getting pumped up with sugar we went to make our own teddy bears. It was really cool. We picked out a bear skin and stuffed it ourselves after implanting it's own heart. We all picked out 2 hearts and put 1 in our own bears and 1 in Katherine's bear too. Then we named them and stitched them up. Uncle Gene would have been proud of me. Then we bathed them under pressurized air and picked out clothes and accessories. When we left, they gave us birth certificates and everything.


We even got to sing a little song.

THANKSGIVING AT THE CABIN

I heard there were bears around here. I'll just use my handy-dandy "BINOCLEARS" to scope them out.

Here is Daddy, standing proudly near the fanciest "1 holer" in Highland County.

Posing for a quick shot by the pond.

The cabin was cozy and comfortable as always. Opa and Su-Su really keep it up well. Soon enough though, Opa will have to pass the torch in the maintenance department and let Daddy and Uncle Gene do the work.

Mommy was looking cool on her ATV excursion. Daddy was eating her dust.

Opa showed me how to correctly choose and use a walking stick. He's really smart when it comes to sticks. He must have done this before.

Su-Su and Uncle Gene were listening to my holiday reading of "Dickens"

"Mommy, what's that smell?"
"I don't know honey. Is it coming from in here?"
"Mommy, what's in that hole?"

Hey, where did everyone go? Hello. Hello. A little help please?

Opa took me in my 1st cave. It was quite a relief that there were no monsters in here. We brought our sticks just in case.

I'm going to cover you up Mommy. Then I will jump on top of this big pile of leaves.

Looks like Opa got Daddy and Uncle Gene working after all.

Me and Su-Su went for a spin in the cart behind Opa on the ATV. It was so so fun!

Uncle Gene really enjoyed seeing his nieces. And we love him to pieces.

RIVER ARTS DISTRICT

This weekend we got to see Mi-Mi in action at her studio at the River Arts District Studio Stroll.


There were all kinds of artists showing off their techniques and wears. We got to see painters and glass blowers and sculptors like Mi-Mi!


We liked her things the best and at the studio stroll, we did not have to worry about knocking Mi-Mi's things off the coffee table because they were displayed on the wall and on extra high tables. Pretty smart idea.

There were even some funny sculptures of giraffes with baby heads we liked.

And the Gold Metal goes to....Mi-Mi!
Hopefully you all can come with us next year. They have the Stroll twice a year. Spring and Fall.

Visiting Daddy AT Work

Edie and I got to visit Daddy at his job site. Mommy drove us there and on the way we picked up some lunch for us all to have together. I even got to wear Daddy's hat while I we were there.

Edie spun us around in Daddy's chair and we "deleted some important programs" off his computer, whatever that means. It was fun to see Daddy during the day and see where he works. Edie and I still can't figure out why he can't be home all day with us but at least we know he's not just laying around all day. He actually does something productive!

AUTUMN IN THE AIR

Mommy worked on my kangaroo costume for days and it turned out great! I've got a tail and ears and even a place for my candy...or, I mean my joey.

Mommy and I have been having a lot of fun lately. We like to be silly together.

I got a costume for Halloween too! I'm a little monkey! EEE-OOO-OO-AA-AA

We had a BBQ Cook off right across the street the other day. They were out in the ball field running the smokers all night and the next day we went with Mi-Mi and Poppy. After Daddy ate about 2 lbs. of BBQ, I taught Lily how to dance.

There was lots of food and live bluegrass, all day long.

Down at the Hickory Nut Gap Farm we went pumpkin picking and apple tasting.

Lily loved being out with the animals while Daddy carried her around in the backpack.

Mommy and I spent some time down at the pumpkin wash after a cup of fresh cider.

With the air turning chilly, I'm surprised that the ducks are still here.

I'm glad I can still feed them though.

With festival season coming to a close, it looks like bare feet weather is about over.

Mommy, Daddy. Can we stay at the Halloween party a little longer? Everyone is dressed up.


And there are lots of treats to be had.

We'll See you around Thanksgiving time. Don't forget the pumpkin pie!

ASTHMA

This weekend Edie had to go to the emergency room for an ASTHMA attack triggered by a bad cold. It is a heart wrenching experience to see your child suffering and afraid in any circumstance but especially when they have no control over the outcome.

Edie was quite the trooper. The doctors and nurses at the hospital asked about her Halloween costume and thought the world of our little girl but we couldn't help but feel sad at the vulnerability of our angel. She is getting better now and we expect her back to her old self soon!

Jessie and her sisters grew up knowing first hand the problems associated with ASTHMA
Her parents would drive them around with the windows down to give them fresh air on the way to the hospital and through multiple treatments and doctor visits, were able to hold back the symptoms. I once visited Jessie in the hospital during one such an attack and never thought I would have to see our children in the same situation.

Medical advances and intermittent treatments help but there is no cure.

Environmental conditions, allergies, diet, second hand smoke and other factors spur on ASTHMA attacks but we are almost powerless once they begin. To see a typically bouncy, happy 4 year old given steroids in the first place is hard to deal with. Before they kick in, the happiness fades away into a helpless frantic need for breath then the bouncing increases for a while until things slowly return to normal. Normal in our eyes anyway. Not having dealt with the effects personally, I can only imagine how Edie feels after such an attack and how she must always be aware it could come back.

We have not seen any such symptoms in Lily, thank goodness, but we can't help but to be worried for the possibility.

I don't know if I can do any good or help anyone by writing this but I have never felt so powerless in all my life and this seems to be better than nothing. We always seem to have a felling of invincibility when we are children and once we get older, we realize we just got lucky a lot. Kids with ASTHMA are not lucky but if we can help them feel at ease and relaxed when an attack happens, maybe they won't be as frightened and maybe they will feel invincible for another day like we did when we were their age. (Never let them see you sweat)


If you smoke, stop. If you can't, don't do it around kids, EVER! If you know anyone with ASTHMA, don't have them sand the drywall on your addition or sweep out the crawlspace or attic. And if you ever are around anyone during an ASTHMA attack, help them to relax, get them something to drink and find their medication, and never let them see you sweat.