On the West Coast

Alexa and I made the trip this morning/afternoon to the Bay Area, connecting in Los Angeles along the way.  It is pretty amazing how easy it is to travel with Alexa now - she was a great travel partner and didn't whine or cry once despite our seven-plus hours of airport and airplanes.  Her first flight was a cross-country trip from Orange County to New Jersey at just two-months old, so she's a pretty seasoned traveler, but the difference a few years makes is remarkable.  I had some pretty hellish flights with her during her toddler years, so today's flight was a wonderful change from a few years ago....heck, I even had the opportunity to watch 'Law and Order' and read my People magazine.  Not a bad trip at all!

Needless to say, Alexa was very happy to see Damon waiting for us at the San Jose airport, and the three of us drove up to San Francisco later this afternoon.  Our hotel is in the Fisherman's Wharf area, so we took a nice tour of the area, grabbed some dinner and wrapped up the evening with dessert at Ghirardelli Square.  Thankfully there were a couple of nice San Francisco hills en route to dessert, a few that Alexa wanted to run with me, so I didn't feel too bad about a small indulgence!   Tomorrow should be another busy day too, as we're planning a boat ride and trip on a cable car before we drive down to Monterey.  Whew - what a vacation! :)

Enjoying some traditional San Francisco sourdough (in very cool shapes)...

Mission Accomplished

Tonight Alexa knocked off one of the major items on her St. Louis to-do list....she ate frog legs!  I have to admit that I was very impressed that she went through with it; I know I couldn't have done it.

We met tonight for dinner at a restaurant near my parent's house (thank you Aunt Midge for the recommendation), as I even called ahead earlier this afternoon to make sure they were serving frog legs tonight.  The hostess who answered the phone started laughing when I asked if they offered a kid's meal with frog legs, but she did let me know they had an appetizer featuring three "saddles" instead of the normal five saddles with an entree.  Perfect.  Alexa was very excited, as soon as the server came over for the drink order, she was already requesting the frog legs.  The preparation consisted of a coating in Italian bread crumbs with a flash-fry, so I was hopeful the fried element might make them more palatable for Alexa, but I did order a honey mustard dipping sauce (in addition the the standard tartar sauce and cocktail sauce accompaniments) just in case.

Alexa initially freaked out when the plate of three saddles was placed in front of her, but it wasn't the frog legs that were the problem - they had sprinkled parsley flakes on the top.  Yes, she was not freaked out at the three sets of legs but rather tiny green herbs....go figure.  Thankfully that was an easy fix (I grabbed a separate plate for her parsley-free legs), and she dove right into her meal.  I couldn't believe it, but she ate one saddle with no issues, navigating around the small bones in the legs and trying each of the three dipping sauces.  I tried a little piece and nearly gagged, so I have to give all of the credit in the world to Alexa for her culinary adventurousness.

Frog legs aren't on the top of her favorite foods list, but she was very proud to have tried them and taken them off her to-do list.  I'm just praying that she never requests them again! :)

Excited to dig into her first "saddle"!

The much-anticipated meal (after one saddle and parsley were removed).

Granty's Farm

Today Alexa and I, along with my good friend Molly and two of her sons, visited one of my favorite St. Louis attractions - Grant's Farm.  It's essentially a wildlife preserve with other animal exhibits, Clydesdale barns and an Anheuser-Busch products tasting area....unfortunately I had to pass on that one today.  We could not have asked for a more perfect day to visit weather-wise - it was another unseasonable St. Louis day with temperatures in the 70's.  It was a perfect break from the Arizona heat!

When Alexa found out we were going to Grant's Farm, she immediately modified the name to Granty's Farm  :)  As we rode the tram through the Deer Park, a tour guide provided some narrative from the back of the train.  About three minutes into the ride, Alexa looked at me and was a bit frustrated saying, "They keep saying Grant instead of Granty!"  I didn't feel like breaking it to her that it was a nice thought, but Grant's Farm was not named in honor of our Granty.

Despite being a bit tired from the long day yesterday, she held it together pretty well (a few dramatic episodes), and we had a fantastic day at Grant's Farm.  One of her favorite things was the goat feeding, although I have never seen goats as crazy as these.  As soon as Alexa and Patrick (Molly's three year-old) walked into the exhibit holding bottles of milk, the goats were super-aggressive and jumping on the kids trying to grab the bottles of milk.  Alexa and Patrick held their ground pretty well, even staying to brush the goats after the bottles were finished.  We wrapped up our morning with another one of my Midwest favorites....Steak-n-Shake.  Another great day in St. Louis!

Holding her own with the crazy, aggressive goats.

Unphased by the goat nibbling on her skirt.

Up close and personal with a python...eek.

Wash and Fold...Repeat

Packing for an eleven-day trip ranks very low on my favorite things list...I feel like I have been washing and folding laundry non-stop.  There was a point tonight that I actually started to calculate the cost of simply buying new clothes on the trip instead of taking a suitcase.  Needless to say, I resumed my packing activity shortly after I derived that dollar-figure.

Alexa did provide some much-needed comic relief from the mundane activities.  As I was pulling laundry out of the dryer, I had Alexa peering over my shoulder to see if any towels had been washed.  A couple of weeks ago I showed her how to fold towels using "Mommy's neat and puffy way" instead of "Daddy's floppy and messy folding," and as a result, she has become hooked on folding towels.  She does a pretty good job, and I can honestly say my bathroom linen closet has never looked so perfect.  Alexa has definitely inherited my perfectionism, and she will fold a towel as many times as needed to make it perfect.  Next up, t-shirts...

Tomorrow's an extremely early flight (6:30am...I have no idea what I was thinking), but I know Alexa's just as excited to get to St. Louis as I am.  As she fell asleep tonight, she was plotting which toys from NeNe's basement she wants to play with first. :)

Ready for a trip back to The Lou!

Eight Months....

Despite the excitement and joy of yesterday's announcement, as another 25th of the month passed, it was impossible not to be affected by the gravity of the day.  It's been eight long months since Granty passed away....and I continue to relive various moments of his life in my mind on a daily basis.  Granty's life changed my own life in so many ways.

One of the most challenging aspects of the past three months have been my initial doctor's visits, both with my OB and the perinatal specialist for the first trimester screening.  At each visit, I have had to recount Grant's story, as I explain why I don't have a vivacious infant boy at home as my medical chart would indicate.  These routine doctor's visits have actually become very emotional and draining experience.  There aren't too many people who can say they elicit tears from every doctor and nurse they encounter...my OB was especially crushed when she heard what happened.  Each time I walk the doctor through the history of Grant's life, I marvel at what my little boy endured, keeping that signature grin on his face the entire time.  It's hard to believe almost a month of his life was spent in the hospital.  When I tell his story, I always make sure to include mention his effervescent personality and wonderful demeanor....in his life, Granty was never defined by his cancer and I certainly can't let that happen now.  I wish everyone could have known him like I did.

My little guy was so much more than that tragic brain tumor....he's my hero, my daily inspiration and guardian angel.  Eight months have passed, but he'll always be with us.

Cancer schmancer.....always rising above the situation at-hand.

Fantastic News!

Damon and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting Baby Hovey #3!  I am 14-weeks pregnant, so my due date is estimated around January 24th.

Needless to say, we are thrilled by the pregnancy, but we have definitely been more thorough and cautious with this pregnancy than we were for the first two.  It was torture for Damon not to tell anyone, but I wanted to make sure we made it through the first trimester without any complications before revealing the good news.  The desire for a healthy baby has taken on an entirely new meaning after the ordeals of the past year.

I did contact Grant's neuro-oncology team a month ago to inquire about potential screenings for brain tumors, and the Chief of Neuro-oncology at PCH assured me that Grant's type of tumor (astrocytoma) has no genetic markers nor instances of family clusters.  He was very excited for us and very confident that we will have a healthy baby.  The perinatal specialist I saw last week also reiterated these assurances and explained the cancerous tissues were likely in-utero with Grant but it was unlikely that they were in a tumor state...meaning no ultrasound would have ever detected his brain tumor.  All first trimester tests came back with good results, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!

We broke the news to Alexa tonight (I was surprised that she hadn't noticed my growing stomach..she's a tough critic!), and she was excited but also demonstrated the same level of cautiousness Damon and I have had.  It was tough, although not unexpected, to hear the question, "Is this baby going to die too?"  However, after some reassurances, she seemed genuinely happy to have another sibling....she's pulling for a baby girl this time.  She really wants to name her "Elizabeth."  :)

We'll have to wait until probably September to find out the gender, but I think Alexa would be overjoyed with either a brother or sister.  I think the tough part for her is going to be waiting until January!

Hovey #3....a first photo (~10 weeks)
(Head is on the right and the right arm is visible.)

Quiet Hour

While Alexa watched her second and final television show of the day (SuperWhy) and started to wind down for the night, I should have been folding laundry or packing for our upcoming trips to St. Louis and Monterey.  Instead, I found myself sitting on the edge of the couch, blankly staring at the wall as my mind raced with thoughts of Grant.  He was always wide-awake around Alexa's bedtime, so the hour from 8:30-9:30 was usually one of quality bonding time with Granty.  Tonight was just another one of those nights where his absence hits like a ton of bricks and leaves a palpable void.  The treadmill, laundry and work just don't fill that hour like my one-on-one time with Granty did.  It was truly one of the highlights of my day.

Putting Alexa to bed and getting ready for our quality 1:1 time....