Camping

Ok, not really camping, but we bought a new tent this weekend. Our 2 man was just not big enough anymore and I'm willing to admit that our 9 man tent is overkill in most situations!
REI was having their garage sale, so we got this really awesome Marmot 3 man tent for a steal.
I was also at Joann's fabric store this week buying some fabric for curtains when I stumbled across the cutest little camping chair I've ever seen, and it was on sale, so I bought it for MK.
We're so excited to go camping this summer, but we're trying to wait until MK is proficient at walking so she isn't crawling on rocks. So, unable to hold out any longer, Sunday afternoon we set up "camp" in the living room.

Robbie and I even took a Sunday nap in the tent!

I can't wait until we get to take this crazy little girl camping, she's going to love it!

Tarps, Cars and Driving

Yesterday I was driving home from work. I was on Bangerter Highway when I came across a small tarp in the road. Traffic was pretty bad, so there was no way to go around, so with much anticipation I just drove over the tarp. I checked in the rear view mirror afterward and saw the tarp floating away, I was relieved. You may be wondering why I was a little nervous to drive over the tarp or when this actually becomes even slightly funny, well, let me tell you. It all started in the fall of 2002….
I was living in South Jordan and driving to the U for school almost every day. The route I found to be the quickest was to take I-15 North to the 215 belt and head East. One nice sunny morning I was headed to school, about to merge on the 215 belt, when I saw a tarp off the side of the road. I thought nothing of the big black construction tarp until I was about 5 feet from it. Just then a gust of wind picked up the tarp and it landed on my window and it covered the whole thing! I was going 65 down the freeway with no way to see. I panicked, it was probably the longest 5 seconds of my life…driving blind on the freeway in traffic, I was so scared. I decided to throw on my windshield wipers and see if that would move the tarp, luckily that did the trick, the tarp went flying.
So, I continued to the 20 minute drive to school without a care in the world, assuming everything was fine. Once I arrived, I parked, got out and noticed the big black tarp was STUCK to the bottom of my car! I was running late, so I had to get to class and figured I would pull it out later. After all my classes were over I headed back to my car, put down my bag and crouched down to pull the tarp out. As I gave it a tug, I realized it was stuck. The stupid tarp had melted to my car! I pulled harder and harder, I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to get off. Finally after several minutes of trying and pulling with everything I had, it came loose and I went flying backwards into the car next to me. I hit my head on the side view mirror of the truck fell on the ground laughing and rubbing my head. This kid came up to see if I was ok, noticed I was laughing and holding a huge, dirty black tarp and I’m sure he thought I was crazy.
And that’s why I’m a little nervous when I see a tarp on the road and check my rear view mirror to see it floating behind me as I drive by!

Robbie Thinks I'm Tough, Can You Believe It???

Frankly I was shocked and amazed as I never really thought of myself as physically tough and always thought Robbie was super tough. Our funny little conversation went something like this:

Lins: Robbie you should totally take the cycle class I take. You would love it and I think it would help you prepare for your triathlon.
Robbie: I can’t.
Lins: Why?
Robbie: Because it would kick my butt, I wouldn't make it through the class.
Lins: What? I can do it, you could do it no problem.
Robbie: You’re tougher than you think.

That’s right, I’m pretty sure for the first time in my life someone really thinks I’m tough and for some reason I’m totally proud that Robbie thinks I’m tough! For the record, Robbie could totally make it through cycle class.

One Year Statistics

McKinley went in yesterday for her one year check up. The doctor says she's looking great, of course she always shows off when we go see him! Here are her stats:

Height: 29.25 inches, 75% (she's usually in the high 90s, so she's slowing down a little)
Weight: 20 pounds, 50%
Head: 17.5 inches, 50%

I'm a little disappointed that her head is so small. You see, we want to take her out rock climbing with us to hang out (no, we don't expect her to climb unless it's with someone) and the problem is I can't find a helmet small enough for her head! So, if you know where to get a little helmet, let me know, I can't have her getting hit by falling rocks!

She loves books, her new farm, her "bike", balls, opening the DVD cupboard, hiding in the pantry, going on walks and bike rides, hugs, high fives, macaroni and cheese, mandarin oranges, milk (the real stuff) and taking Robbie's glasses off of his face.

Our Little One Turned 1!

It's true, McKinley turned one on Wednesday...I can't believe how fast it came. Robbie, McKinley and I celebrated on her birthday by giving her a "bike" and having brownies. She completely loves her bike. At this point, she can only figure out how to go backwards, but loves all of the noises it makes too.

I'm also pretty sure that we now have a choc-a-holic on our hands. She LOVED her brownie and the frosting.

When Saturday rolled around we had her birthday party with some family. It was a lot of fun, though for some reason she was very clingy to her Mom. We borrowed a bounce house from a friend of mine and the kids (and some of the adults) really enjoyed it.

She got some nice presents from everyone too. Here she is while still enjoying opening the presents:

Here are her cousins helping open presents when she wouldn't open anymore:

And here is the cute little cake covered face:

And here she is near the end of the party daring Robbie to take one more picture of her!

It's been a crazy year and we're happy this little girl is ours! Happy Birthday McKinley, we love you!

Easter

So, McKinley was a lot of fun on Easter. This may sound horrible, but I didn't expect her to be because I didn't think she would get it. I still don't think she really got it, but I "hid" some plastic eggs in plain sight with treats in them so they made noise and she loved it. I would point to them and she would crawl as fast as she could to get to them. It got a little hard once she had an egg in each hand, but she LOVED it!

Here she found the toys the Easter Bunny gave her, but you can see she hasn't even noticed the eggs behind her yet.

Now she's on the hunt!

We also got her a cute little Easter dress. She would NOT let me do her hair Sunday morning, so it's a little crazy, but she's still so cute!

Progress

Today McKinley is 11 months and yes, I can’t believe how fast she’s growing up! However, today’s post is about me. You see, this is a pretty significant milestone for me as well. I’ve made it a long way in 11 months.
11 months ago today I was paralyzed (temporarily). I was in a wheel chair for a couple of months, then a walker a month or so more, followed by a crutch and by the time October came I didn’t have anything to help me walk. It was months and months of trying to be patient and going to rehab, falling down and getting back up and re-learning to balance, walk, move forward without staring at the ground and trusting the strength of my legs all the while doing my best at trying to be a mom even though I felt I just couldn’t meet her needs.
Little moments came along the way that made me feel like I was improving. Three weeks after I got home from the hospital my left leg moved about two inches and the following week my right leg did the same. When McKinley was 4 months old I stood up and held her for this first time, it lasted 10 seconds before I was too weak, but it was awesome! That was just one of the good days.
They told me I might have feeling back after a year and right now the feeling has mostly returned in my quads, but I’m still numb from the knee caps down. It’s a feeling I’ve gotten used to.
Anyway, today, 11 months later, I walk down the street and don’t have to plan each step three paces ahead. I can jog a little and I’m still working with weights to help with atrophy that exists in my legs. I have a little permanent damage in my right leg, but other muscles have taken over and compensate for those that won’t ever be the same. I can go for a walk and I’m not nervous that I’ll get too far from home and won’t be able to make it back. There are still struggles I have that I won’t go into, but mostly I’m just doing great. It’s been a LONG 11 months and I’m excited I’ve come as far as I have. Thanks for all of the support!