Post From Davis

Since my Momma has been such a slacker, I thought I’d get on here and let you guys know how awesome my summer has been so far. Since Baby Sister is coming soon, and I’m going to have to share her attention, my Momma has made very sure she and I have lots and lots of fun together.

At the beginning of June, we took our annual trip with Pa to Okaloosa Island, near Fort Walton Beach. Momma and I almost drowned the first day when a huge wave knocked her off her feet. She held on to me for dear life and we made it out ok. Her Oakley's were compromised in the struggle, but Uncle Ev eventually found them! While we were under the water (for what seemed like an eternity), I saw a crab*! *Sidenote from Momma...this 'crab' has turned into a giraffe named Lalla and two creatures named Bert and Ernie. Imaginations.

Playing cards with Dadda in the condo...

Pa said I needed a haircut...

I made some friends that were a couple umbrellas down from my family. We shared sand toys and built castles together.

Dadda and Me

Uncle Ev and Me

Doin' work with the Spiderman kite...

Pa turned 50 while we were there and we celebrated at Dewey Destin’s…which, according to my family, has the BEST food ever. They highly recommend the Parmesan Encrusted Grouper. I even tried it.

My Momma and Debbie had been planning Pa’s surprise birthday dinner for months and, after our beach trip, it was finally time to celebrate! They gathered a bunch of his work people, friends (old and new), and family at The Old Mill. We even got his Momma and sister to come down from Kentucky. He was so surprised and totally over-served himself with ‘Dadda’s juice’…go Pa!

Live music just for us...

For the past couple weeks, me and some of my friends have been taking turns playing together at each other’s houses. The first Mother’s Morning Out was at my house. We played outside and had a great time. The next week, I got dropped off at a friend’s house, while Momma went out for a spa pedicure. I’m pretty sure she bought a bunch more clothes for Baby Sister, too.

I turned 4 on the 20th and had an awesome birthday party!

For Father’s Day, we went out on the lake with Eva and her Mommy and Daddy. I rode with Dadda on an inner tube behind the boat for the first time and LOVED it! About a month ago, Momma and I met Vince Dooley and got one of his books autographed for Dadda on his special day!

Next week, I start an intensive therapy program in Lawrenceville. My Momma and Dadda are hopeful that it’ll help me walk better. I’ll make sure my Momma keeps you guys posted on my progress.

-Davis

Memorial Day Weekend

On Friday, Davis had an evaluation at All About Kids Therapy Services in Lawrenceville. They provide a service called 'suit therapy' that's supposed to be really beneficial for people with CP and spasticity. It's a great way to increase muscle control and strength. We're hoping he can attend the program in July since going to Orlando for Conductive Education isn't an option right now with the pregnancy.

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Oh Saturday, we spent some time at the pool with Uncle Ev and Elle. I came to the conclusion that my brother is officially going to be 'that guy' that Davis idolizes growing up. He's ALL ABOUT his Uncle Ev. He wants to talk like him, sit like him, get into whatever he's getting into. It's really cute.

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This is what my sweet baby turns into when Dadda takes him outside...

Pa and Debbie watched Davis on Saturday night while Justin and I went out. Davis came back to us all tatted up...

My personal favorite...

I dedicated Sunday to potty training. From 9:00 am to 12:15 pm, I kept Davis naked while we camped out in his room, playing and drinking lots of water. During that period, there were 10 different times where he'd start to pee on the carpet and I'd rush to sit him on the potty. Each time, I'd get really excited, let him pour his pee into the big toilet, and put a sticker on the door. We took a break for lunch where he peed in his pull-ups. From 12:45 pm to 2:00 pm, the same thing happened twice. We took another break from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm for naptime. At 4:00 pm, he peed on the potty. Then we left to attend a wedding and nothing else happened. The next morning, he peed on the potty and about an hour later, he poo'd in his pull-ups. We were gone the rest of the day, so the attempts were put on hold again. During these 2 days, Davis never once acted like he really knew what he was doing. He never told us that he needed to go potty. He rarely even flinched when he'd start peeing everywhere. And he still doesn't care AT ALL if he has a pull-up full of pee or poo. I'm about to explode.

In doing some research, I've decided that he's clearly not ready and that like every other developmental milestone, he's probably going to catch on late. I have an appointment with a pediatric urologist to find out if he has decreased sensation down there. I know that with some CP kids, this can be the case. So we'll see.

At the Butler Wedding...Getting cracked out before heading to a friend's RV site on Carter's Lake on Memorial Day...

Last Day of School

That's right. "Schoooooool's out...for summer!!!"

He was awarded Most Improved Communication Skills, Walking, and Following Directions! I swear I saw ...And Best Looking in fine print at the bottom, but that could have been a hallucination. The teachers threw a party with cake, ice cream, and Finding Nemo on the projector screen. Who LOVED the end of the school year growing up!?!? All of Davis' adventures just take me back to my childhood. Davis handed out gifts to his teachers and therapists. "Here, Ms. Wendy. This one is for you!" He was so excited.

Now we get to fill our days with pool time, playdates, and therapy sessions.

The Beach

Funny story, first. On Saturday morning, Justin, Davis, and I went to Alvin's Island to kill time before Evan woke up and the rest of the family arrived at the beach. Justin headed to the dressing room to try on a pair of swimming trunks while Davis and I walked over to the wall-o-hermit crabs. I was like, "Davis, do you want to get one?" "No," he said. "Ok, then let's go." I start walking away, thinking he's going to follow suit. I turn around and he's just standing there, frozen with fear, like he's surrounded by hungry sharks or something. "Hold me, Momma." Next thing I know, one of the hermit crabs rubs up against the side of its cage scaring the sh*t out of Davis. He screams like he's being kidnapped, jumps straight up in the air, falls onto this station of pet hermit crab accessories, slams his head on the ground, and starts FREAKING OUT. I swoop him up as Justin comes rushing over from the other side of this HUGE building (that's how loud he's screaming). I couldn't do anything to calm this kid down. Finally, I was like, "How about a toy?!?! And how about you stop flailing around in my arms." The plastic motorcycle did the trick. He's still talking about how that damn crab tried to 'pinch him'. Oh, really??? Is that what we're telling people???

The rest of the trip was a BLAST...

Got to spend lots of time with Davis' great-grandma...

Had amazing food, as always, at Peg Leg Pete's...


Went out on Mom and Jay's boat...

Field Day and Par-lay

Preschool Style...

Who remembers E.T. Booth's 'Olympics'? This totally took me back...except I remember it being way more about socializing, talking about boys, and planning your weekend than cutting lines, telling your mom to stop taking your picture, and fighting over the blue fishing pole. But whatever.

I can't believe the school year is almost over. But I plan to really enjoy this summer with Davis since it'll be the last one I have with him as my only child! (Someone needs to remind me of this when I complain about how bored we are...)

M.J.'s birthday party over the weekend...

We're beach bound tomorrow morning!!! Can't wait!