Torticollis Update

Friday, I had to take Eliza back to the Neurologist's office for a MRI of her brain and spine. I have been dreading this day all month, but finally we can move forward with treatment. On Thursday night, I had to sleep deprive Eliza- I put her down at 11:00 pm and woke her up at 3:30 am to give her a bottle because she could not eat or drink for 4 hours before the MRI. She would only drink a little of the bottle and wanted to go back to sleep. I gave in and let her sleep until about 5:30. We had to be at the office at 7:30 Friday morning and I had to give her chloral hydrate to sedate her. This was probably the hardest part- giving my baby medicine to "knock her out." It took her about 10 minutes or so to fall asleep. The actual MRI went fine- it took about an hour and I was able to stay and hold her hand the whole time. I didn't realize how loud those machines are, but thankfully, she could not hear it. After the test, she woke up as the nurse was getting her unstrapped from the table. Surprisingly, she woke up in a good mood. We met with the neurologist after the MRI and he said that her brain and spine are normal. It is definitely a muscle problem. He gave us 3 months of physical therapy and I have to meet with the surgeon just in case. If the torticollis is not gone by her first birthday, they will do surgery to lengthen the muscle on the right side of her neck. Please pray that the PT works, Steve and I do not want to have the surgery. Other than that, Eliza is a happy healthy child. Some children with torticollis have developmental delays, but Eliza has hit each one of her milestones on time or either early! She is such a blessing and I am thankful to God for her everyday.

Eliza at the Doctor's office after the MRI- waiting for the results

Heavy Metal Baby

Last night about 11:00, I thought I heard something in Eliza's room. She had been down since about 9:30, so I thought she was asleep. I went in her room and she was standing up in the crib dancing. I turned on the light and called Steve in there to come look at her. Eliza was "headbanging," so Steve and Eliza put on a show for me. This video is hilarious! I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Let me know if you are not able to watch it.

Petite Picasso Art Camp

This week Hazel went to art camp at the Florence Museum. She always loves to draw and paint, so I thought this would be a lot of fun for her; not to mention that Nana is an artist. All week the kids learned about different artists and their artforms. Today the parents were invited to an "art show" of everything they did during the week. I didn't get a picture of everything, but I managed to get a few quick shots.

The little artists- John Arthur, Gene, Jack, Amelia & HazelHazel poses in front of some art work
One day the kids had doughnuts with sprinkles for snack and then made one out of clay and paint. The artist Wayne Theibaud has a whole book of art of different sweet treats.

This is is kinda hard to see, but it is a non-objective line drawing by Hazel inspired by the artist Henry MatisseThis is a picture of some of the books and art that inspired their work

This red bird sits outside the museum and is made of recycled materials. Hazel loved to look at this bird everyday, so I let her take a picture of it.

I got a quick snapshot of the girls on a bench in front of the museum just because I love them so much and it was such a pretty day!

Brady Noah Rhodes

We are so excited that Cheryl had her baby boy yesterday. It all started yesterday about 11:00 am and Cheryl asked me to watch Lucy because she needed to go to the hospital to get checked. They monitored her about 2 hours and I called her to check on her. The nurse came in while I was on the phone with her and told her that the contractions were not strong enough, so they were going to send her home. Cheryl told me that she would call me when she got in the car. A few minutes later, Cheryl called and said "Well, I'm not coming home because my water has broken!" So, at about 8:22 last night, Little Brady came a whole 2 weeks early! I know Cheryl was glad he came early because he weighed 9 lbs 5 oz!!!!! He has a hair full of black hair just like Lucy did. Little Brady, welcome to the world and Happy Birthday! We love you already and can't wait until you get home.

Family time at the Beach

This past weekend, the girls and I went to Garden City to meet up with Aunt Rebecca & Gabriel. Rebecca is Nana's (Jaimie) sister-in-law. She and Uncle Mike adopted a little boy from China about 4 1/2 years ago (Gabriel.) Hazel and Gabe have seen each other a few times, but they really got to know each other in February when we went to see them in Hendersonville to go snow tubing. Rebecca and I just knew we had to get these two together again. They were so excited to see each other at the beach. Hazel asks about Gabe all the time and now she can't wait to see him again. We are already planning a trip to go see them this summer in the mountains.

Gabe & Hazel ridin' the waves

Gabe waits on another good waveEliza sits happy with her bucket of water- she loves to splash in water Eliza stands up holding onto the bucket- she is pulling up on EVERYTHING now!
Standing up is hard work- she has a nap on the beach
Hazel & Gabe right before we left. Hazel was so sad to leave.


Gabe gives Hazel a kiss on the foot. Don't ask me why....

Aunt Rebecca & Gabe- we had such a great time and we can't wait to see you again soon!

Princess Ballet Camp

So far this summer has already been extremely busy for us. I have signed Hazel up for about 5 summer camps and last week she had the first one- Princess Ballet Camp at South Carolina Dance Theatre. The day started at 10 am and ended at 1:00. They had ballet lessons, crafts, snacks, watched ballets on video and dressed up. Hazel's good friends Kennedy and Caitlyn went to dance camp too. They had a blast the whole week. She is excited about doing Fairytale Character Ballet Camp next month.

Kennedy, Hazel & Caitlyn the first day of Ballet Camp

Katie snapped a picture of the first day right before the mommies left. They were getting ready for their ballet lesson with Ms. Rowe

The girls just finished their ballet "recital" for the Mommies & Daddies

Hazel gets her certificate for completing "Princess Ballet Camp"

Hazel poses with Miss. Kathy. Miss Kathy was Cinderella in a ballet we saw earlier in the year

Eliza "dances" her way across the room- I have 2 little Princesses!

Caitlyn, Hazel and Kennedy pose for one more picture in their Princess costumes. I don't why they look so miserable- it was only about 105 in that parking lot!

Bubbles & Swings & Other Things

Friday was such a pretty day- we took it outside for some play time. Hazel got out the bubbles and bubble wand and entertained Eliza for quite some time. Eliza laughed chased after the bubbles. (She is pretty much crawling-not so much on all fours, more like a combat crawl, but believe me- she gets where she wants to go). Hazel pretended like she was a Bubble Fairy and the bubble wand was her magic wand. (Notice she is dressed up in a fairy costume).

Eliza crawls to "get" the bubbles

She is mesmerized by the bubbles

After the bubbles, we swung (is that a word?) on the swingset in the backyard. Hazel is really good now at pumping her legs and swinging herself. I thought she would never learn. Eliza loves to swing too. While we were in the backyard, I noticed the magnolia tree had some beautiful blooms on it. I took a picture for you guys to enjoy. I LOVE magnolias- there's something so southern about them.

My two girls love to swing

The magnolia tree is in full bloom

Lastly, we have had our first day at the pool at Oakdale Country Club with some great friends. Eliza loved her new float and Hazel is such a great swimmer. Those swimming lessons are finally paying off. She LOVES the water. Hope everyone is enjoying their first week of June!

Eliza rests on the lounge chair after her dip in the pool. I didn't get a picture of her in the pool, because Steve was not with me and I don't think you're supposed to leave your 7 month old in the pool while you get the camera But, I did get a picture of Hazel in Eliza's baby float. Anna Grace was chasing her.