The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good: My family was in town this weekend, we had a wonderful time! BaPa, Honey and Uncle Zach came to stay with us from Huntsville and Uncle John came up from Auburn. When they pulled up the driveway and Ella heard the car door shut she began clapping her hands high in the air and bouncing up and down...she loves company! She hadn't seen them in a little over two months, which in toddler years must seem like a lifetime. However, it's a lifetime in grandparent years as well. She immediately turned on the charm and did ALL of her tricks and was quite the little chatter box. Needless to say, she didn't make it to bed anytime soon after they arrived. Zach is thirteen, and he seems to share a very special bond with Ella. I guess it is because he is younger, but it is seemingly the sweetest thing to see her watch and look up to him the way she does. She called him "Zachs", why it is plural I don't know, but everytime she said it she had to do it three times and rather loudly. He now refers to her as "Ellas". She had a wonderful time with BaPa on Saturday playing outside and lounging in her wagon while he toted her around. Ella has been told that she must stay on the street and off of the grass anytime she is near the pond. And, she must hold a hand! At one point when she was outside with my dad, he stepped on the grass to walk and she quickly reprimanded him for doing so. Holding her hand out, she yelled, "No,no, no. Mere, Mere!" She repeated this until he grabbed her hand and got back onto the concrete. It is so wonderful to know that not only does she listen, but she teaches as well...either that or she's just going to be a tad bit bossy! I believe everyone was worn out that night.
Of course Honey brought goodies-books, new outfits and new jammies!! She modeled all of her new clothes with much enthusiasm. She LOVED her new pajamas. All she's ever had are cotton ones, so when she received the pink, princess polyester ones she called them "sof" and kept rubbing on them like she does her blanket. She is such a HAM and her personality grows and changes so much everyday. I get so tickled at her, she is really coming into her own. It's the single most wonderful thing in the world to watch the person she is becoming. We had good food, good fun and thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with everyone. It's such a blessing to have this time together. They left Sunday afternoon and Ella hated to see them go. She was pitiful waving bye and you could tell by her tone she was skeptical. She has continually asked about them since the days to come and if she could, would probably be counting the days until they return.

The Bad: Ella was diagnosed with vesicoureteral reflux when she was three months old. Simply put, this is a back flow of urine from the bladder into the ureter and possibly kidneys. Basically, she takes a daily antibiotic to prevent UTI's. We had a check up on Monday with our Urologist, Dr. Joseph at the Children's Hospital to check on progress. They ran two tests. 1. VCUG where they use a catheter to fill up her bladder and take Xrays of it as it empties. Ella did not appreciate this, I don't know of anyone who would. The hardest part for me was not only watching her cry in her discomfort, but the fact that she was looking at me as if she were wondering why I was allowing them to do this. My eyes welled up with HUGE crocodile tears. I had to turn my head and lay it on hers so as not to let her see me cry. I didn't figure that would be to comforting to her to see "mama" upset. Sometimes I don't feel strong enough to be a mother. 2. They did an ultrasound on her kidneys...not painful, not invasive, but cold and more importantly after she had been poked so pretty much anything at this point that required her laying on a table was just absolutely unacceptable in her eyes. Clearly, this was a stressful morning...Ella was violated, I was crying and Matt was sore from being so tense. The diagnosis, however, was good. The reflux has improved significantly and her kidneys look "fabulous". Dr. Joseph took her off of the antibiotic and now we'll see how she does. We go back in one year-only for an ultrasound. YEAH!!

The Ugly: Now as if Monday's debacle wasn't enough for little Miss Prissy to handle, today was her 18 month check up. You guessed it...SHOTS and they pricked her finger. Dr. LaTona said that for some reason this round of shots seems to have the worst reaction- GREAT!! As of now, she seems to be feeling very well. I think I speak for her as well when I say, "I've had enough!" She's been such a trooper and handled all of the poking, pricking, sticking, prodding, pressing, feeling and looking very well. I'm very proud of her and if I could've done it for her I would've. Anyway, she is 31 1/2 in. tall and 22 lbs. My little shorty is growing up!