Life Ain't Always Beautiful ~Gary Allan

Aside from being busy, life has not been perfect as of the month of January going in February. In December we made the decision to surgically remove a small anomaly on Madelynne's nose that she has had since birth. As any mom could be, and should be, it was a bit nerve wrecking, to say the least, especially waiting out the process between anesthesia and the actual procedure. Madelynne requested Brad to be with her at the start of the anesthesia, which was better for him than me. I would've been a mess, for sure, as that discounts my pregnancy hormones and logical fear of the unknown. But Children's took great care of our little girl and she was very brave for the whole procedure and beyond.

Bright and early-waiting to be called back

Princess Unicorn even got her own bracelet.

Dressed and ready for surgery.

Papa dressed to go back with her.

After surgery---Not so coherent.

Recovery---Doing much better.

We ended up being in the hospital from 6am until about 10:00, where we retreated back to the hotel for some down time. She enjoyed Paw Patrol episodes on Papa's phone. Plus, she requested before we even arrived at the hospital, that she was hoping the hospital would give her a stuffed animal, a bird. I told her I didn't think hospital's did that kind of stuff and said we'll see. However, in recovery, she told the nurse and explained her love for hummingbirds, which we watch often from our bay window. The nurse said she would see if she could find anything, but could not guarantee a bird. However, upon her return, the nurse found three donated toys from volunteers that provide these for kids with serious illnesses and surgeries much worse than Maddy's. One of the toys ended up being a stuff Beanie Baby---a Blue Jay. Brad and I just looked at each other and laughed....Coincidence or not, this girl's intuition is pretty spot on.

Relaxing at the hotel

Paw Patrol time

Her Blue Jay, named "Elizabeth."

We ended up spending the next day or so in Seattle, since the doctor recommended we stay an extra night, to be safe. Maddy was pretty groggy, yet, so we played it low-key most of Thursday. We decided to head to the Ballard Locks and the Botanical Gardens for the afternoon, before retreating to the hotel for the remainder of the evening. Part of the excursion at the Locks included checking out the damn and the salmon ladder, but the salmon, of course, are not running right now. Maddy was disappointed, as she is learning about salmon in her classroom right now. We told her we would have to come back late summer or fall to see if the fish were there.

Signs of spring in Seattle, already.

View of the locks and damn.

Large barge pushing through the locks to Lake Washington side.

The smaller lock with a smaller vessel getting ready to go to the other side.

A catamaran getting ready to come in from the Lake Washington side.

Gates opening

Blossoms starting to bloom

Cool octopus artwork

The bridge open for big ships to come through.

Of course, since Ballard is close to Fremont, I had to take Brad and show him the infamous Fremont Troll under the bridge.

Fremont Troll

After our evening, we woke up early and took Madelynne to the Pacific Science Center. It was Brad's first time going there and we both agreed, although Maddy had a blast, it might be a bit better when she gets a little bigger. She was a bit ADD, running around from one exhibit to the next. However, she still got a lot out of the experience, even if it was a bit of chaos keeping up with an interactive and exploring preschooler.