Macy rolls over

Macy rolled over for the first time the day after we got home from Oregon (at 11 and 1/2 weeks). Pamp was the lucky witness. She had been close for a week or so, but she finally figured out how to move her arm out of the way and she made it all the way over! Once on her stomach, she's not so sure what to do and gets fussy after a bit. She's really getting good at pushing her chest off the floor and we expect she'll figure out how to roll the other direction or get back to her back pretty soon.

Trip to the Oregon Coast

The girls and I went to the Oregon Coast to visit my grandparents. We flew into Portland with my parents on a Thursday and then rented a car to drive the 2 hours to Otis. Everyone did really well on the plane and car rides - I distracted Kennedy with some new toys and coloring books, while Macy slept most of the way. Grandma and Grandpa Burton were so happy that we could come to see them. It was their first time meeting Macy and they haven't seen Kennedy in over a year. We spent some time catching up, playing, walking around in the yard, relaxing around their house and eating Grandma's yummy cookies. The girls and I slept in the living room on an air mattress (that my grandpa pumped up with a leaf blower! The noise really scared Kennedy), so nap time and bed time were a bit tricky. We spent some time at the beach in Lincoln City collecting interesting rocks and agates. Kennedy did not enjoy walking in the sand and she didn't want to get in the ocean at all. She clung very tightly to my neck when we walked out into the waves. Then we had fish and chips after our stroll on the beach. Later in afternoon we did some shopping at the outlet malls and visited with my cousin Kenneth's wife, Marlene. She brought some fresh-caught salmon that my dad cooked on the BBQ. Grandma made a blackberry pie for dessert that was so good! I wish I could bake like that. The next day we went to the aquarium in Newport and saw lots of sea life. They had some exhibits with beautiful local blown glass art in the tanks. We also got to see them feed the otters, watch a diver clean a tank and Pamp touched a shark and still has all of his fingers. Macy seemed to enjoy looking at the fish, especially the tunnel tanks where you are completely surrounded by the water. We stopped in Depoe Bay for a strange lunch - they were out of just about everything on the menu and barely seemed to be in business. On Sunday, our last day, Kenneth and Marlene came over again and then we packed up to head back to the airport. We got there early because there had been a crown when we landed - well, this time the airport was practically deserted. The Delta Crown Room and several of the restaurants closed at 2:00, so we were left to wander the terminal and find a sandwich in a gift shop. The return flight was just as smooth, and we were so excited to be greeted by daddy, who couldn't come with us on this trip. We sure missed him, but we had a great time anyway!

4th of July in Torrey

We spent a great weekend in Torrey and Capitol Reef with my parents at the ranch of Kathy and Eric, our family friends. We had a great BBQ dinner where Kennedy ate two hotdogs and her first s'more. She had a fun time playing with three-year-old Chase and looking at clouds with the bigger kids. On the 4th, after doing some face painting, we went to the parade in town and watched the cars, trucks, horses, dogs and marching band. The kids loved collecting the candy tossed out to the crowd. Then we went for a six-mile hike through Sulfur Creek. We took sandwiches and took our time walking down the river bed. There were a few places where we had to take the backpacks off and pass the kids down while we negotiated the rocks. Kennedy wasn't too sure about the waterfall, but she loved it when we went down the water slide at the end. The weather was great, but we finished just in time before a big storm came in. Pam and David hosted the group for dinner and fireworks (a few sparklers and some fountains) to round out the day. The last day we did some geocaches and enjoyed the national park before heading home.

On the floor

Here are the girls playing around on this cute quilt my grandma made for Kennedy. We'll be going up to Oregon soon to visit Grandma and Grandpa Burton! Kennedy got to meet them last February, but this will be their first time seeing Macy.

Another visit to Primary Children's

Kennedy was scheduled for more tests at Primary Children's Hospital after having two UTIs in the last two months - and after the surgery last fall to fix her reflux. With the most recent one we ended up spending nearly three hours at an after hours appointment with the on-call doctor to treat her 103 degree fever! I've been talking to her to prepare her for what's going to happen with the tests. Here's almost a word for word account of what she told grammie earlier this week: "first they're going to put the jelly on" (for the ultrasound) "and then they take pictures of my tummy. Next we go to the other room and they put the catheter in. That part hurts. Then they put the dye in. (then I reminded her that they will take more pictures with the x-ray machine) And then I get a sticker!" She also told me that Macy can't come to the hospital "because she's too small."

Videos coming soon of: Kennedy before the appointment talking about it, but she's a little distracted by the toys in the waiting room. I'm amazed that after all she's been through, she still seems to have no fear of doctors or tests. It's just another way that she amazes me and proves she's not a typical two-year old. Pamp also brags how amazing she is to the ultrasound tech in the second clip of her test. The last movie is the child life specialist (she was so great with Kennedy during the procedure) showing Kennedy on a doll what will happen during the VCUG test. For all the preparation that we did, and as calm as she was up until the minute they started to clean her, Kennedy still cried and was very uncomfortable during the x-ray test - just like a two-year old should be! The day after she was saying, "I cried at the hospital. My tummy was hurting a lot." I just keep telling her that it's all ok, and that I'm so proud of her! I'll get the movie files from Pamp and post them ASAP.

So, the good news is that the surgery was successful and her kidneys both look healthy. The bad news is that she has developed grade 2 reflux on the left side now. Our options are surgery, or a low dose of daily antibiotics for the next year. We chose the latter option because 80% of kids will outgrow this condition. We'll have to repeat the tests again next year to see if there has been any change. If she gets another infection while on the drugs, we may need to evaluate the treatment plan.

Take me out to the ball game

We went to a Bees game with my office for our summer party. We had a nice BBQ dinner in the outfield - Kennedy loves every opportunity she gets to eat hotdogs! - and then enjoyed watching the game from our great seats. Jake bought Kennedy some strawberry ice cream, but I think I ate more of it than she did. Macy seemed to enjoy being held by many of my co-workers, while Kennedy got to ride on the train with grammie. This was Kennedy's fourth baseball game - three years with my office and last summer we went to a Rockies game. We'll have to get the girls to a Padres game some day!

How big is Macy?

Sooooo big!

Macy had her two month appointment, and she is looking great. She's now 24 inches (95th percentile) and 11 pounds 8 ounces (65th percentile). I am amazed that she has grown nearly five inches and three and a half pounds in only nine weeks! After the three shots and one oral vaccine, she was pretty sleepy and a bit cranky for the rest of the day, but Macy was very thoughtful and got her big sister a sticker from the doctor's office. We'll go back in two months for another round of vaccines and a general check-up. The physician's assistant we met with (not our regular pediatrician this time) said that between now and then, we can expect to see lots more smiles and laughs. He said if the world were run by four-month-olds, there would be no more wars. According to him, this is a very happy age, and I would agree based on what I can remember of Kennedy when she was 4 months.