A sandcastle, a hair cut, and ice-cream

We have been having beautiful weather this past week tand have tried to take advantage by going to the beach.   Susannah loves checking out the sandcastles.

And running in the sand.

And the new development this year is that she also wants to go swimming in the ocean.   She is no longer phased by the noise and wanted to go in deeper even though her pants were wet and the water was freezing.   Summer should be so fun this year!!

I know this is a really random picture but a friend treated me to my first post-surgery pedicure last week and we had such a fun afternoon.   And we both opted for a fun pastel purple in honor of spring.  

Speaking of beauty treatments, Susannah had her first real haircut last week.   We went to this adorable place called "Pigtails and Crew-cuts" and had the best experience.   Susannah loved coloring while we waited our turn.  When they called us she got a little nervous and declared, "I want to go home."   But when I pointed out the animal cracker jar at each station, she changed her mind quickly.  

Susannah was allowed to pick which chair she wanted and she boldly asked for the airplane.

And proceeded to chow down on her animal crackers.

I was so thankful that she was brave and that the hair stylist was so nice.

They even had flat-screens with Disney movies playing at each station.

The stylist even took a couple of extra minutes to give Susannah a "princess braid."

All finished and still chowing down on our animal crackers.

To bad her Mommy doesn't know how to recreate this because it looked absolutely adorable.

They even have a treasure chest and each kid is allowed to pick out one toy as a reward.   They really did think of everything!

We decided to treat ourselves to a little chick-fil-a lunch to celebrate the haircut success.  

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.......She loves chick-fil-a ice-cream as much as her mommy does.

We are still doing awesome with the potty training and Susannah is really good about holding it during outings.   She is still wary of public restrooms though, so since we were out for a long time on Saturday, we decided to just bring out potty with us and it worked out great.   Just another reason why an SUV is so handy!

It is getting warmer which means we have started to frequent our frozen yogurt place again.   Just another way in which our little baby toddler is growing up.......she now gets her own cup and doesn't just share with mommy anymore.   Such a big girl!!

Happy Easter to everybody.   We love and miss you all.

Manicures and Soccer5g

We have had a fun week here in Coronado.   Peter ran a triathlon on Sunday morning and then one of Peter's best friends from Strasbourg came into town and we were able to spend the afternoon with he and his girlfriend.   Unfortunately, we don't have one picture of these events.    We do have pictures of some other happenings from the week though, so here goes:

Aunt Nancy gave Susannah her first manicure!!

Susannah was absolutely enamored with the whole process!!

We decided that springtime meant time for soccer class part deux.  

Monday was our first day back and Susannah had a great time.  

Especially playing the "doggy tails"  game with Aunt Nancy.

And doing "Wheels on the Bus" with the hoops.

And she really loved the relay with the tunnel crawl.

And running with her ribbons.

I can't believe how much taller and older she seems this time.  

Meadow is still her best friend.   This picture isn't the greatest, but it was the sweetest moment.....she had covered meadow up with a blanket and was reading meadow a bedtime story.   

So that was our week.   A pedicure and soccer class.   I'm still recovering a little more everyday and starting to reestablish a schedule.     Hope all of you are well.   Happy Spring!!

Big Girl

This week marked the 4 week anniversary of my surgery.   I am still shocked and grateful by my speedy recovery.   I seem to regain a little more energy and flexibility everyday and am starting to really feel like myself again.   (Exhibit A:  I made my first to-do list last week.   Peter noticed it and we both recognized the moment as a major sign that I was back to my old self.)    I went to my post-op appointment on Monday and the doctor was really pleased with my x-rays and my incision.   He cleared me to swim and use an elliptical machine so I'm hoping to start that next week.   I do have to wear my brace for two more months though, and my "no bending, no twisting, no lifting" restrictions are still in place too.   The restrictions are starting to really feel like restrictions now that I have my energy back.   Before I didn't want to vacuum or do laundry or unload the dishwasher because I was too exhausted, but now that I feel better I'm having to do lots of deep breathing and praying to stay calm and follow doctor's orders.   

While we are so happy with my recovery, that is not the headline news story of the Mallory clan this week.   The top story in our home is definitely Susannah's success with the big girl potty.   We started last Monday and used a plan that Nancy found on pinterest.   It is basically the timer method.   We started by putting her on the potty every 15 minutes and this week we have moved it back to every 30 minutes.   Everytime she sits on the potty she gets a sticker for her potty chart and if she gets an M&M for every tee-tee and a cookie for every #2.    Pinterest called it the "Three Day Method," but for us it has been more like 10 days.   We had lots of accidents the first 2 days and then everyday after that she has improved little by little.  Now, she is like Pavlov's dogs......as soon as she hears the timer on the iphone go off, she jumps up from whatever she is doing and declares, "Potty Time!" before heading to the potty.    We started leaving the house this weekend with little 30 minute walks to the park and we even went to a birthday party on Saturday.   She stayed dry each time!!!    And this week, today will be her third "dry all day" day.    She still needs to be watched like a hawk and there is about a 15 second window from when she says, "tee-tee" to when she is going to do just that.   So we know that we aren't completely out of the woods yet, but we are so happy with her progress and so proud of her.   Also, I must give credit where credit is really due, and say a huge THANK YOU to Aunt Nancy.   She has been so patient and so calm and so consistent and I know that is why Susannah has done so well.     Here are a few photos from the week.......

Susannah on her throne........Our bathroom is tiny, so her potty is right outside the bathroom in the hallway.   I guess we will eventually move it back into the actual bathroom once she is a little more confident.   And notice the ipad......the Thomas the Train app also deserves significant credit for our potty training successes.   

Legos are most definitely Susannah's favorite toy right now.   She loves to build towers and houses.    

Monkey still goes everywhere with us......including the birthday party on Saturday. 

Walking to the birthday party.......our first diaper-free social event!! 

The party was adorable and had a Robin Hood theme.   

Obviously her mama's daughter, Susannah couldn't get enough of the green icing from the cupcakes.  

Here is the birthday boy Chaz, opening his presents.   

In other news, Meadow went to the beauty parlor for a much needed bath and de-shedding.   She  was very proud of the St. Patrick's Day bandana they gave her.   

Susannah still considers Meadow her best friend and loves to share her toys with her.   Here they are playing legos together.   It cracks me up how Susannah puts the toys right next to Meadow's paws like she is really going to start building something.   

That is it for us this week.    Thanks again for all the prayers.   God is answering and we are so happy to have the worst behind us.  

Standing Tall

Three weeks ago today, I had an 8 hour spinal surgery.    They straightened my spine and fused it with 2 titanium rods.    The surgery was successful and we only experienced one complication when one of my lungs partially collapsed.   They solved this by inserting a chest tube which I kept for a couple of days.   I was in ICU for 2 days after the surgery and then transferred to a normal room for the last 3 days of my hospital stay.    Peter was amazing and stayed by my side the whole time.   And my mom did an wonderful job of taking care of Susannah so Peter could be with me.    I don't really remember my time in the ICU at all, but Peter tells me that on Day 1 they had me up out of the bed and on Day 2 I was walking.   The hospital staff was absolutely fantastic and we couldn't have prayed for anything better.

The recovery time in the hospital was pretty challenging.   My pain medication brought stomach problems which were pretty awful.   But everyday I felt a little bit better, and by Day 4 I was able to go outside and walk in the fresh air.   And after that and a shower, I was starting to feel like myself again.    I didn't really look in the mirror until the day I left the hospital, but when I did, I was absolutely amazed.   Shocked.  Floored.    First of all, I'm super tall.   5'10 1/2 to be exact.   And my torso is straight!   I have a waist!   It is truly remarkable.    I never thought it was possible.   I can't say thank you enough to all of you who sent cards and flowers and messages, and, most importantly, prayed.   God has been so faithful to us through this entire process and I know it is because of all the people who have been praying.

We haven't taken too many pictures lately, but here are the few that we managed to snag......

One of the many flower arrangements we have received.   I have never felt so loved and supported.   Thank you!

Meadow has been a good girl......After a few days and a few scoldings from Peter, she has figured out that she is supposed to stay out of my way, especially when I'm getting out of bed. 

After Grammy left, Aunt Nancy arrived to help and we are sooooo happy to have her.   She is so amazing with Susannah and has even started potty training this week.   

Susannah has been showing Aunt Nancy all the fun parks that Coronado has to offer.

The first couple of  weeks we were home from the hospital, I still spent a lot of time in bed.   Susannah quickly learned to climb into bed with me.   She calls it "climbing like a monkey."   We had so much quality snuggle time practicing our letters on the Ipad.   I think it lifted both our spirits.  

This is me in pre-op.   We were a little delayed because the ICU was full and they needed to make sure there was a free bed for me after my surgery.   So we used our extra time to snap a few pictures. 

As some of you know, the bad news about my new straight spine is that my running days are over.   High impact exercise will put too much strain on my remaining non-fused disc, so I am on the hunt for some new athletic hobbies.....swimming, biking, spin class,  elliptical machining.......these are all on the table as soon as I'm cleared by my doctor to go.    Anyway, this picture is from my last run. 

Don't think I could have asked for a more beautiful place to run my last steps.

Sunrise over the mountains followed by a couple of miles on the beach?   Yes, please!

This is my first breath of fresh air post surgery.   Peter got a wheel-chair and wheeled me downstairs so we could take a couple of laps on the sidewalk.   Then we just sat outside and enjoyed the afternoon.   I don't think I could imagine a better place to recover than San Diego.  I had beautiful mountain views from my hospital room.

This is the board that Peter and the nurses used to keep up with my meds.   As you can see, I was pretty well doped during my stay.  

This was homecoming day.   Getting into the car was an adventure.....I ended up in the backseat.    Our bucket seats seemed cool when we bought the car, but not so much after spinal surgery.

This past weekend was wonderful.   We had beautiful summer weather and I was feeling really strong.   So we took a walk to the beach and then had lunch at our favorite mexican spot.   I was tired and sore by the time we got home, but the sunny beach, the margarita and the cheese dip were totally worth it!

Susannah absolutely loves her aunt Nancy.   And now that Peter is back at work, we are soooo thankful to have her.   We wouldn't make it without her.  

As I feel better, I've been able to go to the park with Susannah which has been such a spirit-lifter. 

Before I was able to make it to the park, Susannah would walk with me in the backyard.   We would do laps and she would say, "Mommy's up.  Mommy is walking!"   She was the best little cheerleader.  

Well, that is it for now.   Hopefully the next post will bring news of Susannah's new potty skills.     Thanks again for being the best friends and family a girl could ever ask for.   I love you all!!