Hey folks! Well, you'd think with a long weekend, we'd have some nice downtime, get some little projects done around the house, etc. Yeah, right! Friday morning, we had playgroup at my friend Melissa's house. She did some MESSY activities for the kids outside...you know the stuff you never want to do with your kids at your house because it makes such a big mess (fingerpainting, silly string, slime-making, playdough, bubble painting). The kids, needless to say, had a blast! Jake was excited to go since he had off from school. That afternoon, Jon learned to ride Jake's bike with the training wheels on! It was awesome! He took right off! He had one little fall as you'll see below, but landed on his feet. Never fell again after that! I guess we need to go buy another bike! Good job, Jon!
Friday night, we took the kids to the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball game (Single A, I think). The boys have been asking to go to a Phillies game, but this was a much better choice at $9 a ticket, so we didn't mind so much that they were more interested in dancing, playing I Spy, covering their faces with the Eagles baseball hats Aunt Kimmy and Mr. Don gave them, and taking silly pictures with Aunt Kimmy's camera (peanut shells, Jon's scalp, the sky, etc.)! Jake was interested for about two innings, so we were excited about that. After the game, there were fireworks, so that was cool. Lizzie's eyes were like saucers watching the display! We went with Kimmy and Don, Andy's folks, and the Reilley family (Rich is a childhood friend of Andy's and he was there with his mom and dad, brother and two little boys). We had a good time.
Saturday morning, my friends, Yolanda and Marie and I hosted a baby shower tea party at a local tea room for our friend, Andrea. It was such a girly place...mismatched china tea cups, luxurious kinds of tea (creme brulee, chai, chocolate raspberry truffle), fancy little sandwiches, scones, pastries, and chilled peach soup that was divine!!! We played a few games... I had to diaper and put a onesie on a baby doll with one hand!! Quite a challenge! But an even bigger challenge for someone like me who doesn't follow the latest celebrity news was matching the celebrity with the crazy name of their baby! I didn't get a single one right! We tried on fancy hats, took lots of pictures, and had a great time! Total girls' day out!
Sunday we headed up to Woodstown for a BBQ at the Merkles. I would say that Jake has learned to swim! It's been progressing over the summer, but he was all around the pool, putting his face in, stopping at the side for a breather, jumping in and swimming all around...it was awesome! Jon's getting better, too, and starting to swim further! And little Lizzie is taking after her big brothers. I put her belly down in the pool and held her under her belly and her little legs were just a kicking away and her arms moving like crazy! It was awesome! She loves the water so much. We all had a fun time playing homerun derby, shooting some hoops, sitting around the campfire roasting s'mores, and just hanging out with friends and family. Thanks, Mommom and Popsy! We had a great time!
And finally, the end to the long weekend: Monday. We did actually get some cleaning done and the grass mowed in the morning....so fun! Then we headed over to the Dye's for a BBQ. It was fantastic...great food, drink, and fun, as always at the Dye house. Then, towards the end of the evening, they built a fire in their little fire pit and everyone roasted marshmallows to make s'mores. As I was helping the boys, Andy sat by the fire holding Lizzie. Suddenly there was a pop and some embers flew from the fire. One landed on Andy's shoulder. That's when I had a moment I'd like to do over...I pulled his shirt taut to flick the ember off, but as I pulled, the ember fell onto Lizzie!!! My heart sunk, my stomach knotted as my little baby girl screamed! The ember was burning her neck and shoulder! I grabbed her, ran into the house to the sink, put cold water on a towel and onto her burns. My stomach is churning even now as I type this hours later. Marie gave me some Aquaphor to put on it and we left abruptly, trying to decide if we should go to the emergency room or not. We thought about calling Aunt Bev who's a nurse, Mike and Robyn who are EMTs, but ultimately, we decided to call Lizzie's pediatrician as soon as we got home and she instructed us to continue with the cold wet compresses for about an hour, keep it moist and come in to the office in the morning. So, that's what we did. Lizzie is a trooper. That little girl is one tough cookie! She was so calm and didn't make a peep from the moment we got home and I started to nurse her, even with the cold compresses going on and off her burned skin and rubbing more aquaphor on her. When we layed her in her crib on her belly, she popped her head up, started kicking her feet and moving her arms and grinning from ear to ear at us. I guess she knew we needed to see her beautiful smiling face before we went to bed. Not much sleep was had by Andy and I as we lay worrying about her and wondering if we should have gone ahead and taken her to the ER. We both felt so guilty for this happening to her and both blamed ourselves. Lizzie slept until almost 8. She woke up her normal happy self. Andy stayed home this morning and I took Lizzie to the doc. She has 1st and 2nd degree burns on her neck and shoulder, but the good news is that she won't need to have plastic surgery. We have some cream to put on her burns and she should be just fine. As tragic as this was for her and for us...and probably everyone at the BBQ, we thank God that it wasn't worse...the ember was so close to her ear, one could have hit someone's eye (the boys were much closer to the fire), it really could have been a lot worse. You know, we're thankful. We're thankful our baby girl is okay.
Is this not the sweetest picture??? Pop just turned 86 and Gram turns 83 next month. I think I'm going to blow this one up and frame it. I just love it!
Pop holding Lizzie. Pop's a a rehabilitation unit now in a local nursing home. He's doing much better and getting stronger every day. And below, Gram and Liz. After seeing Pop, we went to their house in Alloway, NJ and had dinner with Gram and visited for awhile. We brought my mom up to stay with them for the last few days of her visit.
I feel so blessed that my children are having the opportunity to get to know their great-grandparents! What a precious time. My grandparents just love seeing the kids. The kids always seem to brighten their day and put smiles on their faces. I'm so thankful for that.
