So much has happened since my last blog post update. At the beginning of this semester, we got custody of my oldest niece, Britnee. Having a 13 year old is probably the craziest thing we have ever done, which is saying a lot seeing that in the last week, we made it to Florida through Stormageddon Cleon, Lydia turned one, we had our second Paley appointment, and did our first 5K. Since we were in Florida for Lyd's first birthday, we couldn't celebrate with the whole family or our big girl, Britnee (since we didn't know she was going to be with us when we made the appointment), but we had a little party on the beach - just the three of us. It was weird being on the beach, sweating, while pictures of snow accumulations back home line my facebook feed.
For her birthday dinner, Lyd had some chicken 'n dunplings and a banana moon pie. You don't get too much more Southern than that. The moon pie was questionable at first. . . but then she got to the marshmallow and it was like the heavens smiled upon her. All and all the first birthday was good. The weather was humid and windy, just like she likes, but MAN was it hot. everywhere. We went from 18 degrees to 77 degrees. When you are looking at snow falling all around you, it is almost impossible to believe that 77 degrees could be considered a cold front. Needless to say, it was an adventure in packing...
Every year, the Paley kids participate in the West Palm Beach Marathon. I think that it goes without saying that many of these kids cant actually run a marathon. Even if they had the training, their little bodies are already enduring a lot of stress so a marathon is just a little ridiculous of a concept - so instead they do a 5 K. It's a really nice thing to see so many kids in walkers and wheelchairs and fixators and lifts and prosthetics walking together in their yellow shirts. Lyd really, really enjoyed the attention. Shes a ham. The appointment itself was good. Nothing spectacular to write home about. We got her script for her new leg. I'll post pics as soon as we get it made. We are presently at a 3.1 inch disparity between the left and right leg and will be scheduling a super-hip surgery for this time next year. Thankfully, the doc told us that he expects her to need the superhip type I surgery. That surgery will put us in Florida for 2 weeks this time next year. Thankfully, the rehab on that one is the easiest, though the surgery itself is the most difficult. We wont have to be down here for any extended period of time for another 3 years or so . . . if everything goes according to plan. But in between now and then, we are enjoying our ever expanding little family. Xoxo - AC
