An Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch & Orchard

On Friday, Olivia and I had an outing with our friends Andrea and Rachel. (Andrea is the mom and Rachel is her daughter.) We headed north of Grand Rapids to Sparta where we spent a few hours at a local farm/orchard. They had wagons for people to borrow, so we found one to put the girls in as we explored the sights.

Rachel and Olivia are ready to get rolling!

There were a lot of animals for the girls to see. Andrea took out a rabbit for the girls to pet. Olivia was SO excited! I had to remind her to be gentle with the rabbit because she wanted to pet it the way she does our dogs! :) The girls also saw baby ducks, baby goats, adult goats, and kittens. They really liked all of the animals.

We then made our way to the pumpkin patch. I couldn't resist the temptation of putting Olivia in the pumpkin patch for various pictures.

This is my favorite!

Rachel and Olivia stand by one of the big pumpkins. Okay, Olivia is really leaning, but she is there all by herself.

Andrea finally caught one of the kittens that was running around so the girls could pet it. Rachel wasn't as excited about the kitten as Olivia was.

By the barn (which is actually a store) there was a "horse" kids could sit on. Olivia thought it was great sitting there all by herself.

Momma and Oliva wrapping up a fun filled afternoon.

Time to baby proof?

Olivia is on the verge of crawling, but just hasn't figured it out yet. She does enjoy rolling around the living room, and I usually just worry about her getting close to the bird cage or eating the bird food on the ground. One evening she was rolling around checking things out and stopped in front of the entertainment center. I was watching her play with the door/drawer pulls, but quite honestly wasn't too concerned. She's played with them before and nothing has ever happened. Until this night. I looked up from what I was doing and discovered Olivia figured out how to open one of the drawers!! Here are some pictures of her "getting into trouble":

Olivia checking out an old game controler she found in the drawer. One of those cheap plug and play types that were popular for a bit.

"Hi mom! Don't mind me!"

Olivia then rolled over in front of the doors where the movies are kept. Thankfully she never figured out how to open the doors!

Finally, she rolled in front of the box of dog toys. And yes, she tipped it over trying to see what was inside. Mean Old Mom stepped in and removed her from these toys. I don't mind her exploring, but I don't want the dog toys in her mouth.

Ridin' with G-pa

For those of you who may not know, my dad has Multiple Scelrosis (MS). He was diagnosed in 1989 and the disease has gradually been limiting his mobility. About a month ago, dad had to start using his electric cart regularly. Well dad had mobility around the house, but it was difficult to leave the house. He had no way to get the cart out of the house. That's where the Knights of Columbus stepped in. A group of men built a ramp for my dad in the garage so that he can leave the house in his cart!

My family cannot begin to thank these men enough for what they have done. Chris, Olivia, and I stopped by to check out the new ramp and boy is it awesome! Here are some pictures of G-pa taking Olivia for a ride on his cart.

Strapped to G-pa's lap and headed down the ramp.

Olivia wants to help G-pa steer the cart and beep the horn.

Heading down the sidewalk and checking out the sights.

Coming back home!

Good news for Chris....

Today Chris had another appointment with his knee doctor and received great news! First of all, he no longer has to wear his brace!!! He is EXTREMELY excited about that. The doctor was glad to see that the petellar relocation has totally healed, but he is a little concerned about the screws in his knee. When he ran his hand over the area where the screws are located, he asked Chris if he could feel it. Chris told him he could and at times he is sore there. He wants Chris to continually monitor how his knee feels and note any changes he may experience. Next, he was told only one more week of PT!!! Again, Chris is grateful for this news.
When Chris went to PT today, he shared the good news with his therapist and experienced more great news. Today he was able to bend his knee the full 90 degrees that they have been looking for for the past few weeks. They also stopped doing the exercise that used electrodes to stimulate his quads. His quads were working well on their own and didn't need the extra help. He also started stair exercises at PT. His therapist said he can work on going up stairs "normally" now, but to continue coming down the stairs the way he has been (one foot at a time on each stair, not one foot after the other). At his last PT appointment, his therapist will give him additional exercises to do at home. He was told that if he ever feels like he isn't making the progress he should be or if something doesn't seem right, to give the office a call and he is welcome to come back in at any time.
As I said, Chris is very thankful for all of this great news. Each day he is making more and more progress and beginning to feel like his old self. Even though he has received so much good news and made tremendous progress, he still has a long road to go yet. He is definitely feeling like a dad again. Olivia willingly goes to him, sits on his lap, plays with him, etc. This has made a tremendous difference for Chris. He feels needed again. And not to sound selfish, but I am glad this has happened too. It's very difficult to get even a little break when Olivia won't go to her father without being forced to. Now that isn't the case. It's wonderful having our family back!