2013 Family Vacation -- Eureka Springs: Saying "So Long"

Well, it was exactly how I had remembered it. Not much had changed and we got to do almost everything I wanted to. But I couldn't leave this place without stopping at my FAVORITE gift shop. I used to get my most favorite souvenirs here. AB thought it was fascinating because they sold specialty rocks. Treasure in her eyes.

We packed up and headed out for our long drive back home. This girl would miss climbing these stairs everyday at the hotel. I was the same way as a kid. Give me some stairs, and I was good. 

Goodbye, "Erka Springs" (AB speak for Eureka Springs). It was fun! Thanks for the memories and staying the same. I'm not big on change. Until next time, the Aldrich Four will be back as the Aldrich Five.

2013 Family Vacation -- Eureka Springs: Christ of the Ozarks and St. Elizabeth's Garden

One of the things that has left the biggest impression in my life is this guy. Lol...obviously, but this statue fascinated me as a kid and continues to fascinate me as an adult! I love the symbolism with this statue. Jesus is and should be such a huge part of our lives and he needs to seem so overwhelmingly in charge of our decisions and our actions. I feel overwhelmed with His presence when I'm here. I need to feel that way all the time, and I try, but I love how this statue is a constant reminder of His ultimate sacrifice and how He is sovereign and omnipresent. I don't think I could ever, ever get tired of seeing this sight.

It was 27 years ago that I first laid eyes on him. The same age AB is. She found him pretty impressive, too.

If you walk down aways, you can go and sit and look over the whole town at a little seating area. From Christ of the Ozarks you can see the oldest hotel in Eureka Springs, the Crescent hotel. Again, another one of my favorite things to do as a child. Such a peaceful and serene place.

My sad little iphone camera doesn't do it justice, but there's the hotel way back there.

Much better. We stopped at an observatory to take this one. Breathtaking! See the small bit of the red roof through the trees? That's St. Elizabeth Church.

The next day, on our way out, we stopped at St. Elizabeth Garden. It's part of the church and it's located right by the Crescent Hotel. We always made this stop the night before we left town. I love it because it's the opposite view of where we are when we visit the statue. Sadly, the trees are so overgrown now, you can't see the statue from the garden anymore.

We took some pictures and snapped my most favorite picture, ever, I think.

I've never seen anything sweeter.

Behind us is where you could use to see Christ of the Ozarks towering over the trees. Now the trees are so overgrown, you can't. Kind of a bummer, but I've had my picture taken in this exact place time and time again. Love to be sitting here with my AB.

2013 Family Vacation -- Eureka Springs: Shopping Downtown and a Trolley Ride

I have to admit, the three full days we were staying there just didn't seem like enough to get everything done that I wanted to do!! I knew the ins and outs of this place, and I wanted to do EVERYTHING! However, when you have two small kiddos, some sacrifices have to be made, but they were wonderful and very go with the flow.

After the zoo, we decided to venture downtown and do some shopping. No complaints from these two --all smiles and rearing to go!

First stop was lunch at little hole in the wall pizza/Italian place down town, Eureka Springs. AB requested her usual, spaghetti. And oh man, did she get some spaghetti!

The shops are quaint and just neat to go in, even if you aren't going to buy anything. We went into an old toy store. They sold old time toys and found a surprise when we checked out. This is why I LOVE this place. It's so homey and the shop owners will bring their pets and it adds to the experience for the kids. And apparently the Dads, too. It's not every day you go shopping and meet a huge standard poodle.

We stopped for ice cream and sno cones. Guess which one had the sno cone?

One thing that AB wanted to do ever since we arrived was ride on "Charlie." That's what she calls Trolleys. I try and explain that that the "tr" and "ch" sound the same in the word and the word is "T-ro-l-l-e-y," but she continued to call it "Charlie." Haha. She was fascinated by them because of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. So, we had to make sure we took a "Charlie" to and from downtown.

The second we got on the Trolley, AB crashed in Daddy's lap. LC, however, was fascinated! What's this? No car seat? No rear facing? You're buckling me into a big seat, Mom?

She even got to look out the window the whole time. I think she loved it.

Sweet girl. Such a snuggler. Love, love her.

After the "Charlie" ride, we tried to venture out to Blue Spring, botanical garden. Unfortunately, the drive out there and being in my first trimester didn't make it possible to go. I was feeling too nauseated. I was so upset. Blue Spring was always one of my favorite places to visit as a kid, and I knew AB would love it. Oh well, I had to give somewhere.

2013 Family Vacation -- Eureka Springs: Promised Land Zoo

When my parents took me to Eureka Springs the last time in 2006, we visited this sweet little drive-through zoo, The Promised Land Zoo. I was ecstatic to see it was still up and running and that we would get to take the girls. What an adventure it was, too. Some of the animals were quite friendly and had no shame when it came to sticking their heads right in the car to get some food. AB handled it quite well, and had almost no fear.

The deer were the most friendly and had no shame. They would push each other out of the way to get something to eat. I first made the mistake of having my window rolled all the way down, which only resulted big noses and sometimes antlers in our car. So, I ended up having to roll the windows up a bit.

AB loved feeding them and I was impressed with how gently they took the food. No missing fingers for this three year old!

They cracked me up how they would go around to Austin's side of the car, too. Even when his window wasn't rolled down, they thought they'd try and see what they could get out of it. It worked.

One of mine and AB's favorite books is Edward the Emu. We read it almost weekly and I love how the Emu is depicted in the story. Yeah. Whoever wrote that book hasn't ever met an Emu in real life I don't think. They're quite intimidating. These guys would walk right up to the car, and I'm pretty sure would peck our hands off if I hadn't kept the window rolled up. No fear, these guys. But they're smart and their mannerisms are hilarious.

Not all animals were able to roam freely, of course. But we had a wonderful glimpse of the zebras, kangaroos, peacocks, antelopes, and a bobcat.Very neat!

Oh, the camels were my absolute favorite. What friendly animals they were. I figured out that the reason they're fenced in is because they're a little too friendly. They would've come in the car had they not been behind the fence.

Five second after this picture was taken, this camel reached his long neck over the fence and put his whole head in the car!!!

Oh, this place was gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful. The rolling hills and green grass just made it so picturesque. All of these animals were rescued from their environment, and it made me happy to see how well they were being taken care of.

Oh, the Emus. This guy had his own little "station" set up. He would wait for the cars to come through the end of the tour where no other animals were - smart. And this worked well for him. He got fed. I fell for it.

This is the face of one happy girl feeding the animals. 

At the end of the drive, we could get out and go to the petting zoo. Lots of fun things to see and pet here. AB had her first experience with guinea pigs. If you know anything about my guinea pig experience, growing up, I told her to take a good look now, because we would NEVER own one!

She even got to pet a baby alligator!

The petting zoo had a baby camel, Jenny. It moaned and groaned at us when we would walk away or we didn't feed her. The zoo keeper said she was just grouchy.

Seriously. I want a camel.

I think this was the funnest part of the trip. We had such a fun time being with the animals and feeding them. Both girls enjoyed it! So did Momma and Daddy.

2013 Family Vacation -- Eureka Springs: First Night

Little Rock kicked off our vacation, and after such a wonderful visit with Dr. Schaefer, it made the start of our little vacation so much more fun!! We were going to head on to Eureka Springs after the appointment. I couldn't wait to get there! I hadn't been there since my parents took me when I graduated college. But the neatest thing of all was the first time I visited there, I was three. The same age as AB. I couldn't wait for her to see it and have the same experiences as I did.

After the drive from Little Rock, we were anxious to get the fun started! We arrived in Eureka Springs around 6:00 pm and we had to do my most favorite thing to do when I'm there -- drive through down town and spot Christ of the Ozarks through the trees and buildings. So neat to see! This, too, became a fun little adventure for AB. She would watch out her window carefully in hopes to catch a glimpse of the statue. The picture doesn't do it justice, but still, so pretty to see!

"I see him! I see Jesus!!!" - Annabelle

After our little drive through downtown, we headed to our hotel to get settled in before dinner. Whew. It's a lot of work unloading four people, two of them kids, and one of them who can't help carry anything at all - ha! But that's ok. What are dads  moms and dad's for? ;0)

We looked for a place that would be open for dinner at 9:00 at night and finally found one. It was in the middle of no where, but we ended up loving it! So, we took the girls and had dinner at 9:00 pm.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the next day's adventures!!

A Very Special Dr. Appointment

When we found out about Landree's chromosome issue when she was two weeks old, we did some research online, but quickly found out that only induced anxiety. I didn't feel the need to read about thousands of children with the same syndrome, when there was such a spectrum. Obviously, we wouldn't know what end of the spectrum she would be on, but I didn't want to worry myself about anything I didn't have to worry about. However, through my short-lived research, I discover there was one doctor. Just one. That had dedicated his career to Landree's syndrome. I knew immediately I wanted to meet him. I wanted him to meet my Landree. I knew that he would be able to give us answers. 

You have to understand that every doctor, yes -- every doctor -- we've seen hasn't heard of her syndrome. It's that rare. It's one of the reasons I very rarely share the name of it with anyone. It's not important. It doesn't define her. Plus, I know no one has heard of it, anyway. So, when they are examining her whether it be her pediatrician, the neurologist, the orthopedic doctors at Scottish Rite, or the surgeon, and the list goes on...they are puzzled by what they see and can't offer any advice, explanation and little help. Her neurologist, our favorite, offered the best advice and that was, therapy. She told us, "I can do a hundred MRI's on her, " but that will do nothing for Landree. Therapy, therapy, therapy. So we took that advice and ran with it. That girl is in EVERY therapy we could get our hands on. 

So, When Landree was about nine months old, I called to make an appointment with the amazing Dr. Schaefer. I had connected with an AWESOME mom whose precious baby girl had the same syndrome. She raved and raved about Dr. Schafer and told me that he was so sweet, loving and would absolutely adore Landree...and the BEST part...he would know all about my child! 

That appointment was scheduled for this past Friday, August 9, 2013. A date that will go down in the history books for the Aldrich family. One of the best days we've ever had! We left the day before and stayed the night in Little Rock since our appointment was at 11:00 the next morning. I can't lie, I was overwhelmed with some fears and anxieties. I knew this man was going to be very accepting, comforting and knowledgeable. But....what would he tell me? What news was I going to receive? I felt myself tense up and become very preoccupied with my own "what-ifs" that morning. Austin at one point stopped me as we were loading the car back up and said, "Hey. Whatever it is that's bothering you, don't let it. It's going to be fine." I had to have faith. God lead us to this wonderful doctor.

Landree was in typical Landree fashion that morning -- happy, bubbly, smiley and downright ADORABLE.

The anxieties and fears were still creeping up on me. The nurse who took us back told us we would be seeing the genetic counselor, as well. I immediately was on the defensive and was upset that we had to see ANOTHER genetic counselor. Why? We saw one while I was pregnant with her, another after she was born and now another??? We already know there's a genetic issue?? Must I be tortured with more questions, and information. I had to pray myself down. The momma bear in me was coming out.

Finally, Dr. Schaefer came in the room along with the genetic counselor, a resident, and another doctor that neither Austin nor I can remember her title. Regardless, the room was full of doctors but it wasn't intimidating or an unfriendly environment at all. And the genetic counselor - LOVED her! She didn't do any questioning or anything. She just sat in there for support to answer any genetic questions we may have had. I instantly felt bad for my bad attitude.

Dr. S himself, what an amazing man! I remember Dr. Schurele, the geneticist at Medical City, described him as "a lovely man." She was right. He was downright pleasant, soft-spoken and approachable. I told him I had a laundry list of questions, and he told me to bring them on! He was glad we had made the drive and wanted us to get all the answers we wanted. When he looked at Landree, he looked at her as if she was the kid next door. Typical and nothing special. We rarely get that from doctors. They're always trying to figure out what's wrong and dissect each issue, whether they know what they're trying to dissect or not. Austin put it best. He said, "It's such a great feeling to take your child to a specialist, and they're completely unimpressed with your kid." Yes! Well put, Babe! Dr. S told us what he was seeing was normal. Umm...what? I'm sorry, did you just use the words, "normal?" Because I've never heard those words muttered by any medical professional when dealing with Landree. How refreshing!!!

All the things we've been "freaked out" about whether given reasons given by doctors or just because we're her parents, he put to rest. Her spine, which has been a source of worry since she was very small he said, "didn't look that bad." When we told her she doesn't roll over, sit up longer than five minutes at a time, or do any kind of pulling up, he told us that was to be expected. When he stood her up to see how her legs and feet worked he said, "I actually like how she's standing and compensating for her low tone." Really?! Because all we've been told is that it's sad she's not standing. And here he is complimenting it!

He told us she would lose the feeding tube in a couple of years, so not to worry about it and just try and  focus on the fact that we want to protect her airway in these early years, but that it will come. He said that she will walk in her own time and to keep up with the therapies. There was nothing that alarmed him or felt like he needed to keep seeing her. He was perfectly happy with how she is.

One of the things I've said all along is that Landree is a child, not a syndrome. This syndrome will not determine who she is or who she is going to be. Landree will define it, and let us know what she will be and what she will do. Dr. S basically said the same thing! I was so overjoyed!

Finally, he told us not to let her physical delays worry us about her cognitive development. The two are completely unrelated and does not determine her cognitive ability. That was so wonderful to hear, as well. He completely made the most of our time and made us feel comfortable and at home, as if we had seen him a hundred times prior.

He encouraged us to come to the conference next summer held in Little Rock! He said it's wonderful to be surrounded by families with children with the same syndrome to talk to other parents and have a network to be in touch with. I'm looking forward to that! 

We're thankful everyday that God has blessed us with Landree. We're thankful everyday for WHO she is and who she is going to be. She definitely already defines the syndrome in her own way and is the best kid with an amazing spirit and personality. Love this baby girl! Thankful for wonderful doctors and resources to help us better understand and support her however we can. 

And thank YOU for all your prayers and support over the last year. We couldn't have done it without the love of friends and family.