It has been a while

It has been a while since I have posted not too much exciting except sickness... Mikayla had a horrible virus that last about a week and a half - it started with red bumps that I thought were chicken pox but ended up with a viral infection in her throat that caused the bumps and lots of yucky stuff in her throat and roof of mouth! She was so pitiful! To make matters worse(which I did not know at the time) she has been cutting 3 molars at the same time. She has really been a super trooper to have gone through all that.

Had a pretty busy weekend. Friday, Mikayla and I went to the church to help Mrs. Shannon prepare for the carnival birthday bash happening on Saturday. Then, after Mike got home we went to eat at Zaxbys and grocery shopping at Walmart- how exciting! Saturday, Mike went hunting and Mikayla & I just hung out around the house until the bash at the church. Shannon(nursery director) gets invited to lots of b-day parties but of course cannot attend all so she decided to throw all the kids in the nursery one big party! It turned out wonderful... great job Mrs. Shannon! There was an inflatable bounce house, duck pond, ring toss, baseball throw, etc games, cupcakes, a huge birthday cake, popcorn, cotton candy, lots of prizes!! The kids had a blast - everything was perfect!!! Mikayla had fun - she went in her chair so she could really participate. On the games where she had to throw a ball she wanted to keep the ball instead of the prize... she loves throwing ball with us at home.
After the party, Mikayla went to stay at Grandma and Papa's. Mike and I went to see a movie (I think only the 2nd or 3rd ever for us together). We saw Fireproof. I recommend it to everyone! It was a wonderful movie... of course Mike made fun of me afterward for crying throughout the whole thing. The movie is a lot about doing nice things for you spouse so... afterward Mike took me to the Marble Slab for ice cream(my weakness) without me even asking- it was soooo yummy!!! Points for Mike!!!
Sunday, we went to church- it always feels a little strange to go on Sunday mornings without Mikayla. It is a little easier but still weird. After church we went to the Titans game with our friends Geoff, Tammy, and little Jackson. It was a great game and the atmosphere there matched! The fans reminded me of the fans of the days when we were undefeated at home! It was great! Thanks to the Reids for letting us tag along! After the game we went to Mike's parents to pick up our baby girl and to say bye to his grandparents who have been in from Pennsylvania. Was a great weekend but flew by!

She loves being under the coffee table now... she is scooting all over the floor- it amazes me how well she gets around that way. Her arms are getting so strong now she picks her bottom up off the floor and pushes herself around.



Mikayla is really getting good at feeding herself with a spoon. She gets tired of using it after a while and goes back to using her hands.

Pictures of the b-day party Saturday... Duck pond with Isabella

Baseball throw

Dart throw

Bucket toss

Eating cotton candy!

Blue mouth from the cotton candy.

With her princess wand

Mommy and her girl!

Mikayla and Mrs. Shannon!

Mike and me at the game.

Tammy, Geoff, and Baby Jackson... yes he slept through a lot of the game!

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. Friday- Mikayla, Grandma, and I went to story time at the Portland Library. They read stories, sang songs, and got stickers. Mikayla was very interested in the stories except when another kid got in front of her- this week will be sit in front. She was of course very shy- I don't think she said 2 words the whole time we were there. Hopefully, the more we go she will come out of her shell. After story time we ate lunch at Five Chefs and looked around in the Occasions shop. Saturday we just hung around the house and watched football. Sunday, we went to church. This was our first service in the tent. The tent will just take some getting used to for everyone. Mikayla is getting more used to being around people in her chair... she did not want to leave church. One of the men in our church that has a wheelchair has been wheeling around for Mikayla. She watches every move that he makes. This week he was doing wheelies for her... then she showed him how she can wheel herself. After church - we had our Sunday naps and then went Grandma and Papa's. Monday we went to the Spina Bifida Clinic. We met with Orthopedics and Occupational Therapy(OT). Everything went fine. We are a little concerned with her lack of weight gain. She is under 14 pounds. I am going to try to give her milkshakes at night made with Pedisure to see if that will help. Please say a encouragement prayer for our little one. The orthopedist talked about her curve and talked about surgery in the future to put a rod in her back to straighten things up. Well one the rod is inserted... she will not grow anymore. There are lots of not fun things to go through with Spina Bifida - I really don't enjoy some days. I think a lot about her future and its uncertainty... it really makes me upset. I just keep going with God's strength and peace about ever obstacle. We do appreciate continued prayers for our little one.
Mikayla has her two favorite things here... the remote and Elmo!


This is her showing her teeth!

Our neighbor (Cierra)comes over to play with Mikayla every day. Mikayla loves her... when she sees her she starts waving and smiling. Mikayla chases her around the driveway.

Here she is giving her hand a hug and saying "awwww, so sweet".

Here she is chasing Duke and Cierra around the driveway.

Labor Day Weekend

Mikayla and I were so excited to have Daddy home with us for four days. Don't know if I mentioned that Mike had changed jobs but he now works for NES. He has been there a little over 6 months. He LOVES the job and really enjoys the guys he works with. Ok - I have to admit that I had to get the calendar down to remember what we did this past weekend. Does that mean I am getting senile or just have too much going on???? Lets see... Friday night we went over to our friends the Gourleys house and helped them pack up a few things (getting ready to move), had pizza, and the kids played(there were 10 kids there). Saturday we grilled steaks and just hung out. I got a phone call late Saturday night that my former step-grandfather passed away the night before - so that was sad news. Sunday, we went to church, the funeral home( in Ashland City), Grandma & Papa's for dinner, then a cookout in Hendersonville. We had a SUPER busy day. Mikayla spent the night with Grandma & Papa so we could go to the cookout. Then, yesterday, our friends Isabella and Heather came over. The girls had fun playing together. Mikayla does a really good job sharing what she has but always wants what the other person wants- even if it is Mike or I. I guess that makes her a typical child her age. She spends a lot of time watching other kids. She studies everything that other people do.

She is doing incredible in her wheelchair. We let her go freestyle in the garage and driveway while Mike grilled on Saturday- it was unbelievable to me that she is as young as she is and can handle a wheelchair the way she can. She was turning in circles and backing up. It really blows my mind.

I have found a way to post our videos. The web address is www.dropshots.com/lleigh023

For now I have mostly older videos on there but I will probably change them out in a couple of weeks for new ones. For some reason I cannot post them on here. Anyway - enjoy. It is amazing how much she has changed in 16 months. There are videos on there before she could even make any noises - so funny to see her now.