Adjustments

Apparently sitting up is not quite like riding a bike. Alexis was sitting up very well prior to serving her six-week sentence in a body cast, but she has been a little slow to resume this skill. She has shown plenty of interest in doing this (unfortunately sitting up has become her latest ploy to avoid taking a bottle), but generally has been a little unstable in her attempts. Like any major surgery or major life change, we just have to accept the fact that adjustments will take some time.

One of the toughest adjustments for Lexi has been the harness that she has to wear at night for the next six weeks. Lost in the excitement of saying goodbye to the body cast was the realization that the full healing process actually is 12 weeks, so she still needs to keep her hips in a position of flexion and abduction at night. In some respects, the harness she wears at night almost seems harder on her, as she often screams when it is put on at night and taken off in the morning. Whereas the body cast was a tough adjustment initially but soon became her new normal, the night harness is an unwelcome sight every night and a rude awakening (pun intended) every morning.

The other major adjustment is the fact that Lexi now has her tongue hanging out almost 24/7 these days. Okay, so that's probably not related to the body cast, but coincidentally she did start doing it consistently right after the cast was removed. We're not sure if the surprising playoff run by the Bulls has her doing her best Michael Jordan impersonation or what, but it strikes us a little bit odd. Perhaps she's poised to cut a tooth in the near future and is just playing with her gums right now, but whatever the reason, don't be surprised if this is the face that greets you next time you see her.

Celebrations

We traveled back to the Quad Cities for some celebrations this weekend. Laura's cousin Amanda got married in Geneseo with a reception at John Deere Commons, so we went back to our Deere roots and helped them celebrate in style. As a result, Lexi stayed overnight with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Kevin, while Mom and Dad stayed at a hotel. Grandma and Grandpa as well as Great Grandma Betty had a great time with Lexi, and we think really enjoyed having her all to themselves without Mom and Dad to enforce all the rules. In true grandparent fashion, Grandpa Kevin proudly concluded after his extended interactions with Lexi that she is so smart that she gets probably gets bored taking the bottle, which is why she has such a hard time with it. Although we know better, we thought this was pretty fun and were impressed with how well Grandma and Grandpa were able to get Lexi to take the bottle.

We also took the opportunity to celebrate Laura's Dad's life as well. Although it has been 2 1/2 years since Steve's passing, today we sprinkled his ashes in the church memorial garden that was recently completed. We had a small, short ceremony in the church chapel before proceeding to the garden to mix the ashes in with the dirt. Armed with 8 grandkids and YMCA umbrellas to ward to rain off our backs, it was a very fitting ceremony. Given Amanda was my dad's niece, and the chapel where the ceremony was held was the same aisle that my dad walked me down on my wedding day, it was a hard day. However, it was also a reminder of the fact that my dad is still with us and watching over us. During our ordeals with Lexi, we have felt he has been looking down on us and helping us in every way he can. We need to keep up the memories and story telling as time goes on, as it helps Lexi and all her cousins come to know who he was and how he lives in each of us through the amazing gifts he instilled in each and every one of us.