Living with gratitude.

Fall is for family photos.

Fall is for making memories.

And singing our hearts out and dancing for hours.

Fall is for book fairs.

Fall is for Wednesday Addams.

Fall is for leaf piles.

Fall is for sick days. 

Fall is for family.

And Thanksgiving and being grateful for this crew.

Fall is for 9 year old birthday parties,

Impromptu art shows, 

and the start of baking season!

 

And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.

Fall Weather, Fleece and Barbie Themed Soccer Practice!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

 

CPAP Yoga at bedtime and garage sale puzzle finds. 

Some old and some new outfits!

Cozy spots and trunk or treat pre-game outfits.

Twinning!

I went to Seattle for a week and ....

Lydia went on a girl scout camp out overnight without me!

First overnight without parents or grandparents. 

You rock, Lydia Rose.

Lydia who?  Hermione Granger ready to Expelliarmus all your candy out of your hands!

 

Human Growth Hormone - 10.5 inches in 3 years

 

Growth Hormones

October 2020 to October 2023

10.5 inches grown in 3 years.

We are hopeful for another foot, at least.

Lydia is predicted to have short stature because of her 22q11 genetic deletion.  It causes growth differences, primarily short stature.  These kids have a higher likelihood of their bodies not producing enough HGH.  Luckily there is a really good replacement therapy!

One injection, six nights a week, through late puberty.

Yikes, is that like 6-8 more years?

She grew 4.5 inches between October 2020 and 2021.

She also started to lose that chunky, pudgy, cheeky, squeezable cuteness.

She grew 3.5 inches between October 2021 and 2022.

She started to gain muscle and realize new things she could do, 

like ride a bike, roller skate, and conquer all the playgrounds.

She grew 2.5 inches between October 2022 and 2023.

Now she's just chiseled!

76 Country Boulevard

Every midwestern kiddo needs a Branson vacation!

We were lucky to stay at a childhood friend's family condo.  

It was perfect for the 3 of us and felt like home, 

with just the right decor and provisions to make our stay easy and carefree. 

We spent a day at Silver Dollar City 

and were pleased that their Harvest Festival had just begun.

Pumpkins for days!

The first ride we went on was Thunderation with an 80 foot drop, a full on rollercoaster and Lydia did it!

She didn't do any other rollercoasters, but mom sure did.  Time Traveler was unexpectedly awesome but Outlaw Run - whoa, that corkscrew, my butt wasn't in my seat the entire time!  I'd love to ride it at night.

Some things haven't changed, like the Flooded Mine with the original guns that still don't quite work.

Some things have changed, like Tom and Huck's River Blast which is an all out water gun fight!

We got soaked - or so we thought.

 

But then we really got soaked and the $6 dryer only helped a tiny bit.

Mystic River Falls was awesome - except at one point my seat belt came undone. Eek.

Think Fury of the Nile at WOF but then your raft goes up an elevator to a big water slide!

The next day we spent on the strip, starting at the Urgent Care end.  If you are grossed out by bodily fluids, skip this part.  Lydia has some ear drainage on Friday morning so I started ear drops, if you're Lydia you always have drops prescribed.  Then by Saturday morning one side of her face was swollen and there was icky ooze.  Urgent Care got us right in, put us in the SDC themed room, got us some better ear drops with steroids and we were on our way.  Luckily it was just an outer ear infection that the water rides the day before probably didn't help.  No fever, no pain!

Super fun mini golf that delivered us golfers to the first hole by train!

A very tasty taco and enchilada lunch!

Some serious go cart thrills.  The first track was pretty basic and was a track I know I went on as a kid.  Dan and Lydia lapped me!  The second track was like a spiral parking garage with an amazing hill you could fly down.  Dan rode solo and had all the fun.  Lydia was not loving the increased speeds.

Branson isn't what it once was!

Nature hike behind the condo.  A few paths to take us right down to the water.  

Hiking lessons learned.  

Dan is not a hiker.

Lydia is a hiker but needs a bug spray bath and long pants or socks 

so she doesn't feel things on her legs. 

So many Jenga towers.

So many rounds of dominoes.