A few long days...

Okay, so the last few days have been a little rough. Kate is doing well and is very happy (as you will see in these pictures below). However, she does wake up a lot in the middle of the night to make sure we are still here. Thus, we are all a little sleep deprived. Also, we found out that her lead levels are a bit high and her iron is low. So, we are keeping an eye on it and will need to re-test soon. Any prayers or advice on these fronts are greatly appreciated.

Also, this week was Spring Break for Will and Harry. Their break literally began the day Kate arrived home. Needless to say, we had not really done much with them and I was starting to feel guilty. So, I suggested to Dave that on Friday (the 13th-- which I did not know at the time) we have our first whole family outing since Kate has been home. I decided that we should go to Maymont Park. It has a petting zoo, koi pond, trails and tons of other things to see and do. Well, as we were enjoying our beautiful day at the park joy turned to terror and fear.

Will and Harry observed some kids going through a bamboo trail that was adjacent to the regular path we were on. They asked if they could go into the bamboo. Dave and I saw where we thought the trail ended so we told them to stick together and meet us at the end. We did not go through the bamboo because the stroller could not go (it was steep and rocky). I thought to myself.... Will is almost 10 and Harry is 6, they'll be fine and we are right here. I was wrong! We waited at the end of the trail and they never came out. After a few minutes, Dave said, "I better go look for them." I replied, "Oh they're probably picking up bamboo sticks. They are fine." Then a few minutes later (when there was still no sign of them) Dave said, "I'm going in!" He searched the entire bamboo trail and they were nowhere to be found.

He decided to hike up the hill and look for them and try to find a park employee. The plan was for me to stay by the trail with Kate in case they came back. By this time about 20 minutes had passed and we were really staring to worry. To make a long story short...the boys came out of the trail at a different point and when they did not see us, they went to the children's zoo where we entered the park, found the office and told the employees they were lost. The employees gave Will and Harry the grand tour, let them feed the animals and go inside the fences with them! When Dave reported them missing, the park employee directed him to them but no one told me they were found! This is a HUGE park and it took Dave a long time to get to the boys.

Meanwhile....back at the bamboo trail..I am crying , calling 911 and asking everyone I see to help me find the boys. When the 911 operator asked me how tall the boys were I didn't know! I was so panicked. Everyone was searching the park looking for them. They were gone from me for almost and hour and a half before I knew they were okay. It was the worst afternoon of my entire life!!! I cannot even tell you the images that went through my mind but I tried mostly to pray and picture our reunion. We have all lost sight of a child for a few seconds but after an hour, I began to think they were not lost but gone.

So, my great idea for a day of family fun took about 30 years off my life! We did go out for BBQ after that and Kate had her first meal out (aside from Easter brunch). What a day! I am so grateful to all of the helpful strangers who went through the bamboo searching. One Mom even hugged me when we found out they were okay and she was a complete stranger.

Speaking of days...below is a snapshot of a day at home with Kate (we have had her home over a week now).

Some friends came over to play (Devyn, Peyton, Kate and Harry).

We wrestled.

We kissed.

They brought pizza (Kate's first--just the crust).

I started getting tired.

So, it was bath time!

A week ago, I hated this. Now, I love it!

Drying off in my hooded towel.

After my baby massage, pj's and bottle, I got a shoulder ride up to bed from Dad.