September 15-16 Part I – Soccer Games

This weekend was crazy but great. Saturday morning Grace, Hannah and I went to the local consignment store because they were putting out Halloween costumes for the first time. We ended up with a couple to choose from so I won’t tell you yet what they will be. Rachael already had a costume but I can’t guarantee she won’t change her mind before October 31. After our shopping trip we finished packing for our trip to Cincinnati (Part II will cover this event), got lunch and girls into uniforms.

Hannah had a 1:00 game requiring her presence at 12:30. Craig took her to the game and Rachael, Grace and I arrived at kickoff. Rachael had a 1:30 game. The U-5 teams have the field for two hours with the first 30-60 minutes for practice so Rachael and I stayed until about 1:35 and then went to her game. Grace stayed with Craig. Once Hannah’s game was over they went to Grace’s game. They had to arrive at 2:30 for a 3:00 game. Once Rachael’s game was over we went to Grace’s game to pickup Hannah. We went directly home so I could shower and get ready to leave for Cincinnati. Grace left her game at half-time and took a quick shower. We left our house at 4:38. Grace and I got a quick bite to eat on the road and Craig, Hannah and Rachael dropped us off at 6:30 at the Cincinnati Zoo for an overnight with her Brownie Troop. They went on to get a great dinner and spend the night at my parent’s house. My head spins just writing about our crazy day! I have a lot to tell you about the Zoo so will dedicate another entry to that event. I guess that is a teaser like you see on the television news. I promise to write about that soon.

The big news about Soccer is that Hannah scored a goal!!!!!!!! Her team won 2-1 and yes we would be proud of her for working so hard and yes scoring isn’t everything but how great is that – her second true game and she scores a goal!! It wasn’t a fluke – she was in position and did the right thing. Unfortunately I missed it but Craig got a good picture and Nana, Papa and Grace were there. Nana and Papa really make an effort to be at the games and it is a big help when Craig and I can’t both be there. They even wear the team colors! When I picked Hannah up from Grace’s game I could see her self-confidence had gone up a notch. She doesn’t like to draw attention to herself and she didn’t want to tell anyone unless I encouraged it but you could see that she was proud of herself.

September 8, 2007 Fall Soccer Starts

For the first time all three girls are playing soccer. It is a challenge to juggle practices and games but as long as they want to play we will make it work. I guess I have become the stereotypical soccer mom – mini-van and everything.

This season we do not to have three games all at the same time – phew! We have several days with two games at the same time but not three. Craig once again is the assistant coach for Grace. She has moved up to a U-10 team – under ten – which translates to 8 and 9 year olds. Her team is now purple and although they were assigned the name the Angels they requested and were granted a name change to the Cheetahs, the name of her old team. With a move up comes a bigger field. In addition they now field 8 players rather than 7. Grace has grown as a player and in the first game showed she can keep-up with the older players. One of the 9 year olds who had played with Grace a year ago commented to Craig how much Grace has improved. Although she can play forward well she has found she likes defense. Grace’s team won 6-2 in their first game with Grace chalking up an assist.

Hannah has had what I would call 2 false starts with respect to soccer. The first time we signed her up I took her to the first practice and she planted herself on the side of the field and refused to budge. That was the end of that season. The second time we signed her up for the local YMCA league which is lower key than LYSA (Lexington Youth Soccer Association.) She was assigned to a team with young high school girls as coaches. She learned a team cheer but nothing else. She didn’t play much and had no idea what she was doing. No real instruction occurred. Looks like third time is the charm. Hannah is on Grace’s old Cheetah team - a U-8 team made up of 6 and 7 year olds. Their uniform is University of Kentucky Wildcat Blue. The coaches are both parents we know and like and they have been great for Hannah; helping her learn but always backing up their instruction with a positive comment about what she did right. The other players on her team have each played at least a couple of years so Hannah is a little behind but she is trying. The first game Hannah went after the ball, instinctively knew where she should be most of the time and contributed to the team’s tie of 1-1. She is a natural athlete and if she decides to stick with this sport she will be good in a short amount of time.

Rachael is playing on a U-5 team, i.e. 4 year olds. Although Grace and Hannah are playing on girls only teams, at this age the only option is mixed gender. Until the first game Rachael was the only girl on the team. She thought that was cool and was hanging in during practice. We did have to teach her not to pick flowers during practice. In addition we are working on, “your tough brush it off,” when she gets hurt rather than stopping in the middle of the field yelling, “He hit me! “or “Someone hit me from behind and I didn’t see who it was!” (Presumably she was upset because she didn’t know who to tell on or maybe who to hit back?) At the first game several new players arrived, all girls. Rachael’s team is the Power Rangers and she wears Forest Green. It is funny to watch kid’s soccer games at this age. They have a very small field and field only five players per team. There is no goalie, score keeping or referees. The coaches act as referees and they stay on the field instructing and corralling the kids the entire time. It is sort of like herding cats (or Dan and Nicki’s chickens.) The assistant coach’s son likes to hang on the goal post rather than play and if a kid doesn’t want to play any more they walk off the field to mom. Tying shoes takes up a lot of time as does setting up for kick offs, corner kicks, etc. For some reason the ball ends up out of bounds often – very often. By the end of the season they should all be great at throw-ins. They have no concept of position and just run after the ball in a pack. Sometimes you have no idea who is on the field. Rachael’s first game she kicked a great goal kick, threw several great throw-ins and scored a goal! The first goal that was scored by her team made her mad because she wasn’t the one to do it. We are working on explaining the team sport concept and that we will be proud of her if she plays well, that she never has to score a goal, but that doesn’t fit well with Rachael’s personality. She had a great dance after her goal and ran off the field straight to Mom and Dad asking where was Grace and Hannah?! For a second she was mad. Grace and Hannah had front row seats from Nana and Papa’s van. Once we pointed out her sisters hanging out the window screaming for her she was better. I guess Craig and I are chopped liver. I thought that didn’t happen until they were older! Attached is a picture of Rachael’s goal. Not pretty but she got the job done - with her left foot!

Labor Day Weekend 2007

We traveled to Cincinnati for Labor Day weekend. On Saturday we went for a boat ride on the Ohio River. Mom’s former co-worker and good friend Maureen Hannon and her husband Bob very generously took us on their boat. The girls loved the ride and it was fun to see Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky from the water. After many weeks of temperatures in the high 90’s Saturday was beautiful and cooler. Sunday and Monday were both hot again, we couldn’t have timed it any better.

At the start of the ride we sat at the front and Rachael was a little surprised by the movement and spray of water. Grace was the perfect big sister and put her arms around Rachael to reassure her and make her feel protected. It was a sweet moment for me as a parent and hopefully one I will remember when they are fighting over the same seat at the dinner table! As you will see from the pictures Rachael quickly became comfortable on the boat even taking a short cat nap. Hannah is a great observer of people and things. She was very content during the ride and took everything in. I think it was very peaceful and calming for her.

The boat has a small toilet. Grace and Rachael both tested it out and decided it was cool. Rachael wanted to stay in the little “room” because it had a small window and no water spray.

During the weekend we also got to meet Drew’s new dog Will. Will is a Boston Terrier that is about 6 months old. He is a bit hyper and was very excited around all those little girls. He is also smart so we expect to see a well behaved dog soon. I love that Drew has Polly and Will because it allows my girls to have exposure to animals they know and love without my having them live in my house!

Hannah's Surgery

Surgery to repair Hannah's herniated belly button occurred August 15. At first the idea of scheduling two surgeries a week a part seemed to border on certifiable. However, both surgeries have been hanging over our heads and with a $4,000 deductible on our health insurance policy it made sense to get them done so anything else that needs to be done this year will be covered. Having both of them behind me has lifted a 100 pound weight off my shoulder and I am sleeping much better than I have in a long time.

While Rachael's surgery was at the Central Baptist outpatient surgery center, Hannah's was at the University of Kentucky's outpatient surgery center. My good friend Lori works at UK's outpatient center which was a blessing for us. Although Hannah's surgery was much less invasive and the recovery less painful in some ways it was the surgery that concerned me the most. I was worried about how Hannah would handle having to go into surgery and how I was going to "hand her over" if she got upset. Lori went above and beyond to make sure Hannah was taken care of and prepared for surgery. Prior to both Rachael and Hannah's surgery Lori brought over a surgery mask, gown and smock as well as anesthesiology supplies - mask, tubing, etc. We showed the girls what the people in the operating room would look like, what would happen with the mask on their faces to go to sleep, and how they would go into the operating room without Mommy and Daddy. They also practiced on their stuffed animals. The night before Rachael's surgery the two of them put about 30 stuffed animals to sleep and took out their tonsils. Lori made sure the right staff for Hannah were assigned to her case - from pre-op to post-op. She talked to each one of them ahead of time explaining Hannah's personality and I bet her mother's paranoia. The day of the surgery Lori was on vacation but came in and dressed in scrubs to walk Hannah into the operating room. Hannah was very brave and walked in holding Lori's hand. The staff took great care of her.

Following surgery Hannah was very calm and well behaved. She was told she had drink something to go home so she downed a cup of apple juice in record time. She didn't like the IV any more than Rachael but only shook her arm a little to show her discomfort. If you didn't know her you wouldn't have known that she was uncomfortable. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 am and left at 10:00 am and by lunch time she was ready for food. She has had some discomfort but Tylenol has been enough. The stitches will dissolve on their own so we don't have to go back to remove anything. She can't remove any of the bandages until Sunday night and probably there will still be some sterile strips in place for another few days. Once she is healed we will take pictures of the new belly button. For now we have posted a "before" photo and a photo of her stuffed animal Marie following surgery. Marie went with Hannah into the operating room and when she came out she had a mask, hat, booties on each paw and a band aid where her belly button was repaired.

August 13, 2007

August 13 was a hot and humid day in the 90's. Lazy Days of Summer right? No, the first day of school! I thought summer break fell between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Not in Lexington, Kentucky. It could have been worse. The cousins in Murray started back to school on August 6!

Grace started third grade while Hannah entered first grade. Both are attending Rosa Parks Elementary. For Grace the start of this year was a breeze. She stayed with her teacher from last year, Ms. Scruggs, as she is in a class that combines second and third graders. Her best friend Molly joined her class and she gets to be the older one in the room. Grace would have preferred to have a longer summer vacation but she is happy to see her friends and teacher. Mrs. Scruggs reports that Grace has been a big help the first week of school, providing leadership and aid to the students new to the class.

The first day of school Hannah started the morning with a frown. We were worried about how the day would go. Fortunately once she was at school the smile came out. Hannah has a new teacher and is in a class that combines first and second graders. Although her best friends are not in her room this year she does have several friends/classmates from last year in her class. She has a teacher that is highly respected at the school. Mrs. Grigsby is considered "old school" and is very structured. A great fit for Hannah. We have also been told that she is strict but since Hannah has never been in trouble in any way in school (from the time she was in day care to today) we don't see this as an issue.

Rachael will go back to Southern Hills Montessori next week. She has enjoyed sleeping in during the summer. Hopefully the removal of the tonsils will help her sleep better and soften the adjustment to waking up earlier.

The Walnut Sized Tonsils are Out

Rachael’s surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids occurred on August 8. After meeting with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and operating room nurse Rachael willingly stepped into a kid’s wagon and was rolled into the surgery room. I (literally) bit my tongue and waved goodbye. The surgery went well and was quick. Her doctor said that the tonsils were very, very large, as were her adenoids. In post-op Rachael was not at all happy about the IV and tried several times to take it out herself. Once the needed medication was administered and she had half a bag of fluids the nurse took out the IV and she settled down. She then asked to go play in the kid’s area in the waiting room. We took that to be a good sign. I had to promise we would come back another day so that we could go home.

The first couple of days Rachael watched television, colored pictures, etc. During the day she seemed to not be in a lot of pain and she surprised us with how well she could bounce back. She was (and is) very clingy to Mom and very sensitive. Grace or Hannah sitting to close is enough to set her off. Grace and Hannah soon were on another floor of the house to avoid her. They have been very patient with her and her need to have Mommy’s attention all the time. My biggest problem during the day was getting away to shower, use the restroom, etc.

Night time is another story. At night she hasn’t slept well and only Mommy will do in the middle of the night so of course I have been sleep deprived for days now. She was given a prescription for Tylenol with codeine. Unfortunately codeine does not help Rachael to sleep. One of the reasons we had this surgery was so she would sleep better and without waking up several times a night. So far that promise has not come to fruition.

We had been warned that her voice may change and but we have been surprised by what we hear. She now has a sweet little voice with a touch of a southern accent and a dash of helium thrown in. At first I thought she was making up the voice and told her several times to “talk normal.” Time will only tell if this is permanent.

The one thing that has surprised us is her sense of smell. Almost immediately she has talked about smells. Most of them bother her and seem to be too strong for her. I suspect that she hasn’t really been able to smell until now. The fact that she thinks things smell too much backs up my hunch but also her inability to describe smells accurately makes me think she hasn’t smelled before. One time she told me the bathroom smelled like chicken. Another time she told me the bubble gum flavored tylenol smelled like mud.

Hopefully Rachael is on the upswing as we close in on Hannah’s surgery to repair her herniated belly button. This is scheduled for August 15. I pray that Hannah sleeps through the night after the surgery or at least asks for Daddy in the middle of the night!

Grace's "official" eight year old portraits