Fun at the park

Wylie, Ashley and Rachel

Rachel & Bradley are playing Wylie's alligator game...

they're alligators and he keeps throwing them "food" to eat.

Bradley

Bradley, Eli & Raquel

Tyler and Bradley

On Friday morning, we met some of our friend's at the park to play. With everyone starting school next week, we wanted to get in one more play day. So, we met Wylie, Ashley and their cousin Tyler as well as Raquel and Eli at Bishop Park. We had so much fun playing, running and sliding. After a couple hours of hard play, we all went to chick-fil-a for a nice lunch. What a fun morning!!

Happy 61st Birthday Dad!!!

Gram and Rach
Gram with 4 of her 6 great-grandkids

Nan and Brad

Pop and Rach blowing out candles

Pop with Rach and Brad

Pop's birthday was yesterday (the 15th). He turned the young and wise: 61! We went over to mom and dad's for a yummy lasagna dinner complete with bruschetta, garlic toast, California salad and for dessert: CHEESECAKE!!! The food was outstanding and I ate WAY too much! Gramma and Aunt Linda were there to help celebrate and we all had a very nice time!

Happy Birthday Dad! You are such a wonderful father, husband, brother, son and Pop! We all love you very much and hope you enjoyed your special birthday!

Another day of Vacation

daddy tried showing Rachel the correct way to putt

little golfer

great form!

I just threw a ball down the green!

This is so much fun!

I like running all over the course!

PHEW! We need to cool off with some ice cream!

Rachel's favorite thing of the whole trip, was playing putt-putt. We had talked about this before we left for the beach and Rachel thought it sounded like so much fun. So, one night after dinner, we went to play putt-putt. They had kid-sized putters and Rach picked everyone a different colored ball. We grabbed a few extras, anticipating that we may lose one or two. Rach loved the whole experience. She didn't putt the "right" way even though Nick showed her how. She preferred holding her putter with one hand, with it turned backwards most of the time. It usually took her about 15 times before she got her ball in the hole and it finally went in because she just pushed it in with her hand. But, she enjoyed doing it this difficult way, so we let her. Bradley didn't care anything about holding a putter, but loved throwing the balls on the course. His favorite game was to mess up whoever had just putted their ball on the green. So, none of us were very serious about our game and we sped through the course as quickly as possible. Also, it was very hot and we all sweated tons, so we didn't really care about anything except getting done. Rach liked it so much that she, Nick, Papa and me did it again one evening while Gege and Bradley sat in the car, watching a movie and eating. This course went even faster than the first time. And, another day, Gege and Papa were driving the kids around and Rachel asked to play putt-putt again, so she and Papa played while Bradley napped in the car with Gege. Papa said this was the fastest course of all. So, we may have a little future golfer on our hands, if she'll only try to hold the putter so that it actually helps the ball go into the hole. The rest of us are sick of putt-putt and won't mind if it's a long time before we play again!

Vacation Day 3 1/2?

Rach and Brad loved walking in the tire tracks along the beach
This was their favorite time of day to play in the sand...just before sunset.

Gorgeous!! Makes we want to go back!

The kids decided to try a little dry wave running on the beach.

They loved sliding up and down the sand hills.

I honestly don't remember if this is day 3 or what. But, it was always fun to go back out after dinner and walk around and play. We did this several evenings. The sand would feel so cool on your feet and the sun setting was absolutely gorgeous! We had lots of fun while we were there but our favorite thing by far was playing in the sand! The only draw back was that you HAD to take a bath after this since the kids would be covered in sand from head to toe and there was NO shaking it off! So, even though they might have had a bath before dinner, they had to get another one! I was pooped half the time even though Nick did baths just as much as I did. Also, although the sleeping arrangements went FAR better than I expected, I still didn't sleep as well as I do at home. (duh!) After the first night's success, things changed for the second night. That night, Bradley didn't want ANYTHING to do with the twin mattress on the floor. He wanted to be in the big bed with me. So, poor Nick slept on the twin mattress (and banged every wall and piece of furniture during the night with his big body) and me and Bradley slept in the king size bed. I slept fairly well, but Bradley likes to touch while he sleeps, so he would put his feet on me and push them just slightly all the time. If I moved, he would just slide closer. So, it wasn't the most relaxing sleep, but I'm sure I was more comfy than Nick, whose feet were hanging off his mattress. Rachel slept with Gege in their king size bed and Papa slept on the twin mattress on the floor. They slept fine, they said. But, the 3rd night, things changed again and this time we kept them this way for the remainder of the trip. Again Bradley wanted to sleep in the bed with me, so we let him. But, Rachel got a little sad and wanted to sleep with us too. So, Rachel, me and Bradley slept in the king size bed and Nick was on the twin. The awkward thing was that Rachel has to be pressed up against you when she's sleeping. Her whole body is pressed against yours, if you move, she moves. Bradley's feet were on my other side, so there weren't many positions I could try. Also, since we were all sharing the covers, I couldn't get out to let my feet air out or cool off...and I got hot with all that extra body heat. Little sweet babies couldn't quite get close enough. So, the next night, we got smart and brought in another twin mattress for Rachel to sleep on. I knew she would sleep better if she was in her own bed too. But, all 4 of us ended up sleeping in the same room. Who would have thought? We had 4 bedrooms in the condo and only used 2 of them! Once we finally got everyone their own mattress in the room and me and Bradley on the king, we slept as good as we were going to. Needless to say, we were all very glad to be home and sleep in our own designated rooms and beds! There's no place like home!

Mr. Big Stuff

It's always funny when you finally notice that your kids are getting bigger. The other day, we were upstairs and Bradley was sitting in the Dora chair. He just all of the sudden looked like a big boy. I had taken off his shirt because it was hot and I thought he looked mighty cool sitting there. He's so precious and sweet and I love him so much!

Vacation Day 3: Shell Island

daddy and Rachel

suckers and sand are definitely a good mix!

Mommy and Rachel

"papa, my future's so bright, I gotta wear shades." --BFM

I think I prefer the sand!

Nick...way up on the rocks

a quick excursion with daddy

gorgeous beach babe!

the water's so calm!

Hey, this is no big deal...I like it!

I think day 3, Monday, was the day we went to Shell Island. (All the days have run together since we got home.) Shell Island is a small little island located in St. Andrews Park (I think that was the name). Anyway, we drove into the park and hitched a ride on a schoolbus to a large ferry pontoon boat that carried us to the island. Bradley was very scared of the bus ride and squeezed my finger very hard while we were in the bus and whimpered or cried for most of the 5 minute ride. The boat was cool...all open and a great breeze, but Bradley wasn't sure about that either. He's just not a boy for an adventure into "the unknown". It's gotta be something familiar otherwise he's uncomfortable for awhile. Even when we got to the island, there was a short walk to the main beach and we were in a kind of natural walkway of sand with water on both sides. Bradley made Papa hold him and wouldn't get down to walk. He was just unsure, and if he's unsure about something, there's no coaxing or convincing him otherwise. But, we all really enjoyed the island. There were huge rocks that went around a large part of the island and water pooled in between the rocks. You could climb on the rocks or wade in the shallow waters or watch the seagulls. There was a large portion of beach that wasn't on the main gulf, so it was very calm and you could swim in it if you wanted. There were lots of people there since the ocean had been categorized as "double red" flag which means NO water activity of any kind. And, the riptide was so strong that they had had 5 people drown over the past week at the regular beach! Sad! So, we walked around and waded in the water, climbed on the rocks, did some exploring in the watery caverns and played in the sand. Rach loved all of this. She was all over the water...running, splashing, enjoying herself. Bradley stayed in the sand for most of the time and then right before we were going to meet the ferry to go back, he got in the water and loved it. (Always in his own timing!) It was lots of fun and I would love to go back again and stay longer!

Tooth Update

I had anticipated calling several dentists this morning and having one check Rachel's teeth to make sure everything was okay. But, thankfully, Nick's cousin called us last night to check on Rachel and while I was talking to her, I was voicing my concerns about Rachel's teeth and she let me talk to her husband, the dentist. He was so helpful and answered all my questions and relieved my worries. He basically said that the nasty purple bruising that's in her gums directly above her front teeth is very normal for the sort of trauma that her mouth suffered with having a tooth knocked out. He said that's a deep bruise and will take a couple of weeks to heal but that there's not much they would do for her mouth at this point. Even if her teeth have been shifted backwards slightly they will more than likely self-correct since children's mouths/teeth are changing and growing so much right now. I felt SO much better after talking to him and not worrying that Rachel's other teeth are falling out. He said she would probably be eating soft foods for a couple of weeks, so that stinks, but we don't have much of a choice. Matt (the dentist) also offered to check Rachel's teeth if we wanted, which was very sweet and much appreciated. So, we're going to let Rachel's mouth heal on it's own for now rather than have it checked at it's sorest time. But, I feel much better with all the info. Matt gave me and the assurance that he can check it for us if we need him to. By the way, Matt said the tooth she lost was a lateral tooth and they don't usually fall out until you're 8 years old, so she will be without a tooth for about 4 years! :)

Vacation Day 2

On Sunday, we decided to do go to the pool and beach again. We were all up early, so we went to the beach and had fun playing in the sand, pushing around our trucks and making sand castles. Everyone had fun and we went in before it got too hot for Bradley. That afternoon, we ate at Billie's Seafood, which was very good. We shared a shrimp/cream cheese dip with tortilla chips that was delicioius. I had a bowl of a very delicious authentic gumbo that had crawfish in it, a HUGE crab leg sticking out of it and several other types of fish in it. It was good, but I prefer the slightly less authentic tasting gumbo, without large crab legs sticking out of it.

An unwanted visit from the Tooth Fairy...

WOW!!! The tooth fairy gave me $5!!!
Yep, that's where my tooth should be...just one away from my 2 front teeth!

I certainly am not excited that Rachel got to experience the tooth fairy at 4 years old, but we made the best of it. After a long week at the beach and a fun birthday party, we came home last night and were settling down before bath time. Ironically, we had just been talking about dentists with Jennifer. She was telling us about a really cool pediatric one that's new in Athens. We were saying that we need to get Rachel an appointment since she's supposed to have gone last year. Anyway, we were all in the den talking and watching tv and enjoying the family time. Rachel was sitting in my lap and Bradley was trying to crawl behind me and we were all on the couch. Somehow, Rachel fell forward and her beautiful face hit the coffee table. The sound was horrible and her cries and tears came instantly. I picked her up and took her to the bathroom where her mouth was bleeding profusely. She was hysterical and so were me and Nick. (Bradley didn't notice or care that anything was going on...turned out to be a good thing since we ignored him for about an hour while we tended to Rachel.) I asked Nick to get me some washcloths and a cup of ice and I tried to calm down my precious little girl who was in pain and scared. While I was wiping her face with a washcloth, I noticed something white fall out of her mouth and it was one of her teeth! I couldn't believe it...a completely intact tooth with a tiny little root on one end and a tiny little blunt tooth on the other. I was horrified but tried to remain calm. I mean, it's certainly not natural to knock out a tooth! I've only lost mine the good old fashioned way, which is when they fell out and I was probably about 9 or 10...NOT 4!!!!! So, I asked Nick to bring me my cell phone so I could call my pediatrician's answering service. I was thinking, "can they put this back in or what? What do we need to do?" So, the answering service had the doctor call me immediately. As soon as they took my message and info., the on-call doctor called me back. He was very nice and said that they do not put baby teeth back into a child's mouth. He wanted to know if I could tell whether or not any of her other teeth were loose or broken or anything. I couldn't tell a darn thing because Rachel was still wailing in my arms and blood was still freely flowing from her mouth. The on-call doctor suggested that I take her the ER to have her checked. I thought about this and thought, "do I want to put Rachel through a long wait at a nasty ER?" and "what can they possibly do for her there?" It's not like they have an on-call dentist to come in and check her out, right? But, I wanted another opinion. Well, thankfully, we have a family dentist connection, so we were able to call Nick's cousin, who is married to a dentist and his whole family is in the dentistry field. Fortunately, several of them were together at a dentist's convention and I was able to speak to one who was a pediatric dentist. He was very nice and advised me to put either a wet tea bag or some cosmetic cotton rounds on the missing tooth cavity. He said to do this with light pressure to stop the bleeding. He also said that in his experience, he has found that when one tooth is completely knocked out like that, most times the others are not necessarily loosened or knocked out too since the one tooth took the brunt of the force. He didn't advise me to go to the ER, and I was very glad. He just said to stop the bleeding, give her soft foods in the next few days and that she would get to enjoy an early visit from the tooth fairy. He also said to have her checked at the dentist at my earliest convenience. Of course, since all this happened on a Saturday night, I have to wait until Monday morning to get an appointment. But, we're hanging in there. Rachel was very hysterical for quite awhile and would panic when she heard me on the phone with the doctors saying she didn't want to go to the doctor and she didn't want him to come to her house. (Like that has ever or would ever happen!) She also said she wanted her tooth back in and she asked how she was going to eat her food without her tooth. Poor little thing had no idea what to think except that she was scared because she knew she was hurting and that her tooth was out and there was lots of blood. I tried to reassure her that she would be able to eat just fine and reminded her of her baby cousin Heather who has only a few teeth but can eat just fine. We also remembered that this tooth was only part of her first set and that she gets a whole new set (from the Dr. Seuss Tooth Book). She started to feel a little better and calmed down some and the bleeding slowed down. We made it into the den in our blood spattered clothes and watched a little Tom & Jerry (Rachel's choice). Nick put Bradley to bed, but we kept Rachel up to make sure her mouth wasn't bleeding. We didn't want to put her to bed and have blood pooling in her mouth while she was trying to sleep. She was so sweet and brave about it all. She cuddled in my lap and said sweet things like, "I love you mommy." Or, "you're the best mommy ever." Of course, the trauma of the evening mixed with my fear and sadness that I had held in had to come out in some quiet tears as I held my sweet baby girl and just thanked God that she was alright. I know it could have been worse and I know how blessed I am to have a sweet child like Rachel. I certainly don't deserve her and can't take credit for her loving ways...I know that comes from someone much more mighty than me! But boy, am I thankful to be apart of her life and to be able to love her and bring her some comfort, especially when she needed it so much! We finally put Rachel in bed and read her a story and she fell asleep immediately.

The only good thing from this experience is that Rachel got to have her first visit from the tooth fairy. Right before we put her in bed, we took her little bitty tooth and taped it into a clear sandwich baggie. (I was afraid it would get lost since it was so small.) As soon as I left Rachel's room, I got Nick and we got some money to put under her pillow. I wanted to give her $20 since it was WAY too early for her to be losing teeth and since it was so painful. Nick wanted to give her .50 cents. We finally compromised on $5. Rach was so excited when she woke up this morning. She called us to come in her room and showed us the money under her pillow. She wanted to show the money to JuJu, so we took the above pictures for her.

We finally got up and got dressed and headed off to Toys-R-Us to buy a toy with the tooth fairy money. We looked and looked all over the store and finally decided on some My Little Pony accessories. Rachel was very satisfied and excited about the whole thing. On the way home, of course the poor girl was getting hungry. She had been afraid to eat anything except yogurt before we left. We tried McDonald's, but when she bit into a fry, she accidentally clicked her top front teeth with her bottom front teeth and started crying. No matter what we tried...chewing on the side, slowly, small pieces, etc...nothing worked. There is no worse feeling than not being able to give your child food. I felt awful that the poor baby was hungry but couldn't find something her teeth could tolerate. So, we went to Publix and got everything we could think of that doesn't require chewing. Poor baby is on a soft foods/liquid diet. We got pudding, applesauce, chicken noodle soup, ice cream, shredded cheese, mashed potatoes, etc...

She also has a slight speech lisp now. I don't know if it's because her top lip is so swollen underneath or if it's because of the missing tooth. But, she's adorable with it. Also, although I would NEVER want my children to lose teeth prematurely and I have always enjoyed her complete set of teeth in a smile, NOTHING could ever take away from her beauty. So, I will not be making a big deal about her missing tooth or making comments about how it looks. I don't want her to be self-conscious about it!

By the way, I have a list of about 20 dentists in the area that I'm going to call in the morning and see who can see us the earliest. I just want to make sure the rest of Rachel's teeth are okay. I'll update you once we go.