Shenandoah NP

This past weekend we took advantage of a beautiful weekend and took a drive along the Skyline Parkway in the Shenandoah National Park. The park is about a 2.5 hour drive from us. It is so nice having so many things to do and see around here. I think we picked the best weekend to go - the colors were in full glory. Addison and Nathan loved being out doors. Of course there were some "yucky" things Addie didn't like, but over all she loved it. We saw some deer and some wild turkey.

Enjoy the pics.

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The weather in DC has been wonderful!! There is just a small hint of chill in the air. Soon we will see the breathtaking fall colors THEN a week later we will be spending our time cleaning up all the leaves.

Last week we went to Addie's craniofacial appt. It is always such a long day. The good news is that her hearing is still normal and her ear tubes are both in. The Plastic Surgeon wants her to come back in 6 months to reavaluate her lip and palate. Overall he thought everything was healing very nicely but we all have some concerns about her ability to produce certain sounds. We will continue to work with ST and see what happens. It wasn't her surgeon we saw but his partner. We may go see her plastic surgeon in Jan. before we see the craniofacial board just to get his opinion. If she needs any additional surgery we want to make sure it is all done before the summer on the off chance we will be moving.

Nathan is doing well. The change of weather is causing some minor respiratory issues, but thankfully he has been healthier than he has been in years past. Addie and I went with his class to the pumpkin patch on Monday. All the kids really seemed to enjoy the tractor ride throught the "Haunted Forest," the story teller, the swings and slides. They all got to take one pumpkin home with them. Addison really enjoyed it while we were there, but last night she ended up sleeping in our room because she was thinking about some of the skeletons we saw.

Hope you all enjoy the fall weather.

Update

A couple of weekends ago we took the kids to the zoo. Addison has been there a couple of times since we brought her home, but she never really seemed interested. This time she LOVED it!!! At first she was a little scared, but we told her it wasn't scary and she was okay with it. She loved seeing the elephants and monkeys!! Nathan always the trooper thought it was great. We had bought Addison a "leash" a few months ago and kept it in the stroller. Addison saw it and wanted to wear it. We kept asking if she was all done with it and she told us know. I guess we became some of "those" parents.

Addison goes back to the craniofacial team on Tuesday. We are anxious to hear what they have to say. We think the skin above her top lip is pulling on her nose. We can see scar tissue that we didn't before. The surgeon did say that he was going to have to build up that area - it just may happen sooner rather than later.

Spelling

Okay - I am sure you have all seen my spelling mistakes:-) Please just ignore them....sometimes my brain just works faster than my fingers!!! You would have thought I would have learned to use spellcheck by now!!

Addison's First Day of School

Addison had her first day of preschool on Tuesday. She will be going for four hours twice a week, however this past week she went for two, then this week it will be for three. They try to make the transition as easy as possible.

Addison has done pretty good. They said the first day that she didn't ask for me or cry. However on Thursday when I went to pick her up they said off and on that she cried and asked for me. I know that she will eventually get used to it and love it. I am really looking forward to a few hours of "me" time.

Nathan's been doing good. He missed part of Tuesday because he was a little "off" but he bounced back. So far (knock on wood) he hasn't picked up any big bugs....though I am sure it is a matter of time.

The slideshow has pics of our trip to Fort Washington over Labor Day Weekend.