Family Reunion 2011

This summer was the Baucom family reunion. My Aunt Martha and Aunt Anita planned it in McQueeny, TX (outside of San Antonio). We had a house on the lake and each night we had a theme and activities. It was a lot of fun and Addi and I had a great time. Scott couldn't make it since he had taken off the week before to vacation in SC. There were 27 of us and we had a few visitors (my friend Emma, Annie's bf Trevor, and Ricky's gf Melanie).

When we arrived Hawaiian night had just begun. We enjoyed a Polynesian style BBQ and macaroni and potato salad. Addi surprised me by running around and visiting with everyone from the start. The next day the group went tubing down the Guadalupe River. Addi and I passed on this excursion and just relaxed at the house for some mommy-daughter time. That night we had Mexican food and decorations. Later that evening we had a family talent show (turned out great!) and the kids hit a pinata. We spent the next day at Sea World. We rode the roller coasters (twice!), visited several exhibits, saw Shamu, and hung out with Sesame Street characters. Addi took her picture with several of them (Telly, Rosita, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Zoe - Elmo didn't stay for pictures). She sat mesmerized when they came on stage. Afterward she wanted to go say hello and take pictures with them. She really enjoyed all of the fish, Shamu, and the dolphins as well. I really want to go to the Sea World here in Orlando now. The next day we went to the zoo, had a picnic lunch, and then to downtown for a riverwalk tour. Addi loved the zoo and feeding the birds. She fell asleep on the boat and slept through shopping downtown. That night the adults (Michelle, Charles, and I were included in this!?!?!?) went to New Braunfels to the Historic Greune District to the Gristmill River Restaurant. The food was amazing! We came home and played games. The next day we relaxed at the lake. Michelle and Charles had to leave :( and that evening Emma came and visited from Austin. Thank you so much Emma - it really meant a lot that you drove all that way to see us! Emma and I hung out on the balcony catching up and enjoying the breeze and view of the lake. After Emma left we played more games. It was oldies night. A large portion of our group left on Saturday. Those of us left (excluding Dad and Addi - they wanted to stay and swim) headed back to Greune for Market Days. I bought a handful of gifts for people (including a few Christmas gifts - all handmade), and we walked around all of the vendors. We came home and swam and then got ready for church. We went out for Mexican food on our way home. We headed back the next day and had a teary departure. Addison traveled well on all of the flights. On the way home we had to switch flights because our flight was delayed and we would have missed our connection. So we had to say goodbye to mom and dad earlier than expected. On a positive note, we were upgraded to first class and had so much room! We enjoyed it greatly as we were given lots of drinks and snacks. Addi even got bananas and cheesy sun chips. It was a wonderful vacation and it was nice to experience both the city and the "country" within Texas. Although the temperatures were in the 100s everyday, it didn't seem that bad most days because of the breeze. I was grateful to have so much help with Addi, and I know she enjoyed being around everyone. Once again it makes me homesick. She was a complete angel during the entire trip. Of course she is a sweetheart most of the time so this wasn't a surprise. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Charles watching the pinata "show"

Swimming in Lake McQueeny

The Family

Meeting Cookie Monster at SeaWorld

Grover!

Look fish!

Checking out Shamu.

The baby whale and big whale waving to us.

Baby Shamu

Zoe! Addi wanted to go back and see her again and again!

Hippo at the San Antonio Zoo

Asleep at the Riverwalk

Aunt Anita's birthday present to Addi - so adorable!

Holiday in SC

We had a wonderful vacation in SC. We spent the week at Scott's family's condo on the lake near our parents' homes. We had Mom and Dad's pontoon boat and a nice pool located in front of the condo. Most days we went out on the boat in the morning and after nap time we went to the pool. We spent the week with Derrick, Elise, Sally, and Ella Russell since they rented a condo right down from us. Friends and family visited all week and Addi had slumber parties with both sets of grandparents giving us a couple of free nights. Addi was of course shy at first and cautious of the water. However, by the end of the week she wanted to "jump" in the water and enjoyed playing in both the pool and lake. Every time we leave home I am homesick and miss everyone so much. I didn't take very many pictures :( but here are a few that I did take. Special thanks to everyone who visited us and to everyone who helped make it such a relaxing and nice vacation.

Driving the boat with Daddy.

Elise and Addi playing.

Elise showing off her swim skills - I swear she is a fish!

Playing in the pool

The birthday cookie cake that Ashley brought for Addi - she is such a sweetie!

Riding in the boat - this life jacket is the only one we can find in her size.

View from our balcony.

Swimming in the lake with Uncle D, Elise (not pictured), and Sitti.

The Road to Recovery

Addison's recovery from surgery was much harder than any of us expected. It didn't help that we were told it would be quick - a couple of days max and that most of the other people I talked to said their children's recovery was quick. Goes to show that all people are different and heal differently even if the surgery went well.

The day of the surgery - Wednesday she did well. She ate some of her dinner and went to bed fine. The next morning she played and was having fun. Then sometime later that morning she started whimpering and crying. When I asked her why she said, poop. So I asked her if she was trying to poop and it hurt. She said yes. One of the side effects from the lortab was constipation. So we tried multiple things but at that point she refused to eat or drink anything else and what we tried didn't work. She wouldn't eat Popsicles, ice cream, fruit - you name it we tried it. By the next morning when we talked to the nurse at the ENT about her really bad congestion and her constipation they told us to try a stool softener or a glycerin suppository. They said to force her to drink and use a syringe to shoot liquids down her throat and to only give her the loratab as needed. She didn't seem to need it so we didn't give it to her. The suppository worked but when she woke up from her nap she had a 102.7 fever and still had a lot of gunk coming out of her nose. This was well over 48 hours from the surgery that they told us to watch for. She was inconsolable during this time. So like we were told, we called again. They said to give her the loratab every 4 hours through Saturday and Sunday if needed and to get fluids in her. If we needed we could rotate the loratab and mortin to get the fever down. She wasn't sleeping well at this point either. We were told that she shouldn't have a fever or the gunk coming out of her nose at this point, and she did. I asked about switching her antibiotics since she has been on amoxil a bunch and in the past they have needed to switch but they said no and to ride it out. We kept getting conflicting information as well so it was hard. If they would have just told us that we might expect this, I would have been happier. Instead they said if *this* happens its not a good thing and call right away! Saturday she was the same and the fever seemed slightly less as long as there wasn't any lapse in the medicine. She was cranky as expected and her stomach was still upset. Sunday was a turning point. She had a low grade fever only and was able to poop on her own. We gave her Tylenol instead of lortab after the morning. She ate a little bit more and was up to a half of a cup of milk and a little water so progress. Monday morning she was much better. She ate an actual meal and had 3/4th cup of milk and some water. She didn't need any Tylenol although she still had a low grade fever. She slept until normal time Tuesday morning without waking. It was a hard time for all of us. She was hurting and had a fever and we didn't know what to do. My friend (ENT in KY) told me that kids can have low grade fevers several days after surgery and that was okay so I was relieved at this. Once again, I wish they would have told us this after the surgery.

Once we got to SC (Thursday the 2nd), Addi didn't really have an appetite. She travelled well and didn't fuss. The next couple of days she didn't eat and was fussy and clingy at times. We figured it was because she was around a lot of people she doesn't see often. She can be shy in large groups. Saturday was the pool party at the condo (pictures and posts to come). Sunday night she was up all night. Finally, at 4am I realized that her scab had fallen off and she was in the final stages of recovery. She didn't sleep but a few hours that night and had smelly breath again. It also explained her clingy behavior and her lack of appetite. The next day she was back to normal. So it took a total of two weeks for her to heal completely.

We had a great lake vacation and once I get back to FL I will post pictures (which I didn't take enough of! - I don't have my camera cord otherwise I would go ahead and post some now) and details. We miss our family and friends so much already and had so much fun with everyone. Scott is back in FL, and Addi and I leave in the morning for a trip with my family.