Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween from Little Red Riding Hood and her posse.  I think Matilda had a pretty good Halloween this year.  She first dressed up for her school Halloween party.

Then the following Saturday, we dressed up as a family for our neighborhood's festival at the park.  I was the wood cutter and Jason was the sick grandpa.

On Sunday, we went to our church's fall fiesta.  

I think Matilda was a bit tired, but perked up after snow-cone and cookie.

She had fun at the petting zoo section and doing arts and crafts inside.

On Halloween proper, Matilda helped us pass out candy to all the other kids.  We had two big bags, which were all gone by 7:15. 

Matilda took her job very seriously, but would run to Jason every time a kid walked up in a mask. 

Overall, it was a great weekend.

Blessington Farms

Today we headed to Blessington Farms for their annual fall festival.  There are a few of these "farms" outside of town that do these types of things, but Blessington Farms is actually a working farm where you can pick berries other times of the year. 

The weather was great, and we met a few of our friends there as well.

First we got in a few obligatory pumpkin patch pictures.  She's actually wearing the same dress I made for her two years ago.  This year it makes a nice festive shirt.

Then we headed to do some of the fun activities they had.  Jason walked the barrels a couple of times.  (Matilda was interested, but couldn't quite figure out how to walk it in.)  There was also these big slides that a ton of people were playing on.  Matilda would walk up the hill to the top, but then decide not to go down them.

Then we headed to see the animals.  We saw snakes, chickens, goats, sheep, camels, donkeys, cows, and birds.  Matilda got to hold a chicken and then feed them.  We even saw a chicken lay an egg while we were there.

About that time, Laura, Joel, and Elijah joined up with us.  Matilda and Elijah had plenty of fun on the huge jump zone.

 Then we rode the barrel train and got a snow cone.

 We got a few more pumpkin pictures in before we left.

Other than crazy bad allergies, I thought it was a pretty fun morning.

For funsies, here's a comparison pic from the pumpkin patch two years ago.  At least she didn't do the deadpan face in every picture this year.  Hehe.

A Few Summer Trips

Why, hello there, poor neglected blog.  Sorry I took the summer off.  We've been rather busy.  Lots of changes... a new role at work, bought and sold a house, Matilda started a Mother's Day Out program, and a few other projects I'll let you in on in future posts.

But, I'm back, and wanted to share a few quick trips we've taken the past few months. We didn't have any big vacation plans for the back half of the year, but we managed to fit in a few weekend trips here and there.

Sam Rayburn Reservoir

In early July, we visited Ferryn & Steve at their cabin at Sam Rayburn Reservoir.  It was a nice trip, as always.  We took the boat out on Saturday.  Matilda and Ferryn nearly floated off to sea.  Then Matilda fell asleep on the way back in.

I think we took the boat out again the next day, but mostly just enjoyed relaxing on the deck.

Austin

Then, for Jason's birthday, we headed to Austin for the weekend. We mostly went because there was some special release that Jason had been looking forward to at Jester King Brewery. 

We also managed a quick trip to Pedernales Falls State Park. Jordan and his girlfriend joined us as well.

The next day, we wanted to hike to the falls at the greenbelt, but they were dry.

So, we headed to Barton Springs instead for a quick dip.

Galveston

We didn't have any plans for Labor Day weekend, so we took a quick day trip to Galveston.  Jason and his brothers actually made it an overnight fishing trip, then Matilda and I joined them the next morning at Galveston Island State Park for a little swimming. 

Lake Charles

Last weekend, we joined Jason's family in Lake Charles.  I'm not a gambler, so we tried to get in a few other attractions.  We hiked a bit at Sam Houston Jones State Park.

And swam plenty at the hotel.

And then explored Millennium Park the last morning.

So, overall, a few nice trips. 

Update on Matilda's Hip Dysplasia

We had another one of Matilda’s 6-month hip checkups this past week.  Her x-rays are showing no signs of improvement despite still wearing her brace every night.  Due to how severely shallow her socket is, the doctor is preparing us for another surgery followed by another 6-weeks in a spica cast (chest to ankles).  We’ll have another round of x-rays in 6 months, and then he’ll likely schedule the surgery for the following couple of months (so I’m guessing the surgery could be 7-10 months from now). 

 

I believe the doctor would perform a Dega or Pemberton osteotomy which would reposition the socket to make it deeper.  He would use a bone graft instead of pins, so I don’t think follow-up surgery to remove the hardware would be required (at least that’s how I understand it as of this point.)

 

Here’s a good explanation of the Dega osteotomy:

 

http://hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/child-treatment-methods/osteotomy/

 

Furthermore, her femoral head is still not ossifying which could be from a complication from the first surgery (AVN – basically where the blood flow to the ball was compromised when they shoved her dislocated leg into the socket).  This could lead to a deformation of the femoral bone/ head over the long term.

 

Here’s a good explanation of AVN in young children:

 

http://hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/problems-after-treatment/avascular-necrosis/

 

The good news is that her leg is still in the socket, she’s not complaining of any pain, and she’s really showing no signs of her hip dysplasia as far as walking/ running/ jumping/ etc.  She acts like a completely normal 2 year old!