Life Lately.....

Although lately much of our energy is spent dealing with my current state and preparing ourselves for my upcoming procedure, we do still (somehow) have a life that doesn't involve appointments or insurance or doctors or waiting lists!  We are still living life to the fullest and making some great memories!

It's been a while since I dumped all of my recent iphone pictures into a blog post, so I thought now would be a good time to do that.  I'm sad to say I haven't taken many "real" pictures lately, mostly because there hasn't been anything worthy of breaking out the big camera.  But there have definitely been some precious moments that would otherwise go undocumented if it wasn't for the convenience of my iphone!  

We've been working reallllllllllyyy hard on fully completing our potty training efforts and I think it's finally "clicked" for her!  After months and months of frustration, who knew this was all we needed?!

Kyndall is totally and completely obsessed with super heroes lately.  Like, almost to an unhealthy degree.  She calls herself "Kyndall Anne Hughes the Super Dog" and introduces herself exactly as such anytime she is asked her name.  She flies around our house casting her super hero powers on all of us and just today she got VERY upset with me because I could not turn our car into a flying car and just fly home from school.  Ok, you get the picture.  Super heroes (for whatever reason) are definitely her thing right now.  So, you can imagine her delight when we found these super hero panties at Target last week.  Once she put them on, there was no way she was ruining her newest, most prized possessions!  Hey, whatever works!

As much as I wish she had chosen the Minnie Mouse or Disney Princess themed panties, I have to admit these are pretty cute! (And yes, they are meant for girls!  Apparently she's not the only little "princess" out there who has a bit of tom-boy in her!)

She has done so well, with only one accident to speak of and I think it was simply because she got engrossed in something on TV and just forgot.  So, as a reward for doing so well for several days at home and at school, I let her pick out a prize on the toy aisle.  Again, I figured something along the lines of a Barbie, some dress up clothes, maybe even a new baby doll.  At the very least, something with the color pink or some glitter on it!!  Nope.  She chose Lincoln Logs.  I had no idea they even still made those things!  Well, they do and she is now the proud new owner of her very own set.  I can't tell you how many hours she's already spent building things with them.  

Last week while all of my Tallahassee friends and family were complaining about the frigid (ha!) temps they were experiencing, I snapped this picture of the display in my car just to make them feel better =)

Although I don't mind the cold so much, I'm just sick and tired of the freezing RAIN!  It's absolutely MISERABLE, not to mention dangerous and just a pain to deal with.  If it's going to be this cold and rainy, it might as well just snow!

Come what may, it's never too cold for this girl to enjoy a Baskin Robbins kiddie cone.  She's a creature of habit, always choosing the "mixed up blue" flavor as she calls it!  

Last week I got impulsive and decided to chop a good bit of my hair off.  I've gotten bored with it lately but more than that, I'm trying to think ahead to what will be easiest once this whole surgery thing happens.  I like it and it feels so much lighter and healthier!

As I shared last week on Facebook, my sister and brother-in-law FINALLY decided to announce their latest news, which is that they're expecting their first little blessing this August!  Kelly sent me this ultrasound picture just a couple of days ago and I just can't stop starring at it!  That's my little niece or nephew right there!!  Look at those sweet little legs and that beautiful profile.  Such a miracle!  Brings back so many sweet memories of when I was pregnant with Kyndall.  Although I have a major case of baby fever lately, I'll have to live vicariously through Kelly at least for a while.

Saturday morning, I opened my front door to find a package with my name on it from Vanderbilt.  This was what greeted me when I opened the envelope.  Things suddenly got VERY real.  I've already read the entire handbook from cover to cover and have even combed over it with my fellow transplant buddy, Jay, and gained even more insight on what to expect.  This is really about to happen, y'all.

When we moved Kyndall into her big bed last month, I started the habit of laying down with her for just a few minutes each night when we put her to down for the night.  I actually LOVE doing this and look forward to it each evening.  I only stay in there about 10 minutes, but it gives us a chance to talk about the day we've had, say our prayers and just spend undistracted, precious time together.  She nuzzles up close to me and asks me to hold her hand or put my arm around her.  She's never been a cuddly baby, so I absolutely relish in these moments.  It's rare that she actually falls asleep before I leave the room, but one night this week it actually happened.  I watched as her little eyes got heavier and heavier and eventually they closed and she drifted off into a sweet slumber.  I could've jumped out of the bed right then, but instead I just laid there and starred at her and continued to hold her soft little hand.  I wish I could freeze that moment in time forever and carry it with me in my pocket like a cherished trinket.  I love this little person more than I could ever begin to explain in words.

Speaking of sweet babies, Matthew got some sweet baby lovin' last Sunday after church when we went out to lunch with the McNatt family and little Tyler conked out on us.  I haven't seen my husband hold a baby since Kyndall was this age, but for some reason he jumped at the chance to hold Tyler while he slept.  I couldn't resist a picture!  =)

Kyndall had a check up with the pediatrician yesterday and she was acting like a total goober as we waited for Dr. Amy to come in and see us

(Note the rain boots---perfect for the daily monsoons!!)

Out of boredom, I handed her my phone to play with and for the first time, she discovered the joys of a camera phone.....

The rest of the afternoon, she begged me to let her take pictures so I did.  When I finally looked through her photography "masterpieces" later that night, I couldn't help but laugh at what she captured.  Here are my favs......

I had no idea she was taking this one

Kyndall's first selfie

Our neighbor's German Shepherd (????)

They just get more random from here, but that's what made me laugh!

Pretty impressed with this one!!!

Today was parent watch day at ballet class.  That's great, except this Mommy has been so scattered lately that she forgot it was parent watch day and therefore didn't come prepared with her real camera.  So, I apologize for the crappiness of these pictures but I knew at least the Grandparents would want to see them!

It wasn't easy to talk her into shedding that coat once class started!  It was FREEZING today!

Kyndall is 4th from the right, the only ones with her legs not pulled up.....of course.

My little shortcake, bringing up the rear of the line

Can you find Kyndall?  Just look for the tiniest one in the class and you've found her!  

"Praying hands"

We are staying very busy, which I think is a good thing!  I've actually felt significantly better the past week, and I've fully taken advantage of it.  My most recently labs reflect it, as my billiruben went down significantly.  However, my MELD score still jumped from a 21 to a 22 in a month's time.  This is actually a good thing because the higher my score, the closer to the top of the list I will be.  If this is really going to happen, I'd rather things just hurry up and get terrible so that we can speed up the process.  It's a weird thing to wish for, but it's the truth.

I'm so excited because both mine and Matthew's parents are coming up this weekend to celebrate Matthew's birthday and to spend time with us since we can no longer travel.  My parents will arrive Thursday and Matthew's will arrive Friday.  We have some fun things planned while they're here and I'm looking forward to having a house FULL of company!  

On Monday, our Dads will travel back home, Matthew and my Mom and myself will travel to Nashville and my MIL will stay here in Jackson with Kyndall.  I'll be at Vanderbilt until Wednesday, having extensive testing done in order to gain clearance to proceed with being listed.  They'll be evaluating everything from my heart to my lungs to my bones to my nutritional state and even my mind.  Yes, I have to meet with several social workers as well as a psychiatrist so they can all decide if I'm mentally and emotionally prepared for what's to come.  This will be a first for me.  It will be a busy three days, but I'm anxious to get it done and over with so that we can move on.  I plan to try and blog at the end of each day, as long as I'm feeling up to it.  

Once we return on Wednesday, our Moms will stay on through the weekend and they'll even be here to celebrate Valentine's Day with us!  Yay....Matthew and I may actually get to sneak away for a kid-free dinner this year!  I'm so thankful that both of our moms are able and willing to drop everything and come assist us during our time of need.  I will probably be saying that a lot in the coming weeks and months, as they are both going to be playing huge roles in taking care of our family and essentially running our household once my surgery happens.  

That's about it!  This has been a good week for many reasons and it's only going to get better with the arrival of Grammy, G-Daddy, Nonie and Poppie!!