The Hutchinson Family: Weekend without Daddy home

Kevin was in Rochester this weekend with his mom and they had a great visit. She is doing much better and seems to be getting stronger and stronger each day. We are so thankful she is home from the hospital and recovering! We had Friday night at home so we got out the sprinkler as soon as we walked in the door. They really liked playing with the streams of water. The did not like the grass and dog hair that collected on their feet (photo in the web album), but other than that they had a blast.

On Saturday morning, Riley had her EEG. Gramma came to stay with Ryan and Grandaddy met us at the hospital. They attached 16 probes to her head and then wrapped it in gauze. At first she did not like it one bit, but they let me hold her the whole time and between Grandaddy and I we were able to entertain her for the 45 minutes of the test. We took pictures with the phone so she could see what she looked like (she laughed), ate crackers and acted silly. All things to try to keep her distracted. Luckily she didn't have to be still. The best part of the whole weekend was when the lady told us her brain looked great!!!! Praise God!!!! Now we just have the MRI to go on June 29th and hopefully we'll be smooth sailing from there!

When we got home we took a quick trip to the pool for a celebration! They enjoyed showing Gramma and Grandaddy their skills. We did have one scare when Riley was on the side of the pool about to jump in to me and she took off running toward the deep end. Grandaddy was the closest to her, so he jumped out of the water to go after her. As soon as he hit the ground his feet slipped out from under him and he hit the ground hard, but he jumped right up to get Riley. As soon as we knew she was safe he slowed down enough to realize he was hurting bad (although he said he was fine). He scraped his arm up and hurt his shoulder. We caused quite a scene! I had a little chat with my darling princess after that reminding her that she must listen when we call her...not squeal and run in the other direction. I know - in one ear and out the other, but maybe one day it will stick!

Our future football player:

That afternoon (after a much needed rest), we headed to the ImagineIt! Children's Museum. It was a great time for all of us. They were able to paint, play with sand, fish in the water, play with the balls and blocks, slide, well basically you name it and they did it. It was a bit crowded, but overall it was a great time. I think we were there for about 2+ hours. The Cole family met us again and they loved calling Avery by name (as she did them). It's so much fun to watch them looking out for one another and recognizing each other. They were perfect examples of "parallel play"...they didn't interact a whole lot, but loved knowing that the others were around. I think Riley enjoyed the balls and the grocery area the best and Ryan loved the dress up area and fishing.

Ryan loved these hats and couldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror:

Riley kept throwing the fabric over her head and then pulling it off:

Fishing with Grandaddy - I be he can't wait for the real thing!

The crew:
After that all of us grabbed dinner at La Parilla, our favorite Mexican restaurant. We had 5 adults and 4 high chairs. What a sight! We loved introducing The Coles to our favorite place (we're there about once a week) and they took good care of us there. They gave the kids balloons while we were waiting to be seated. As we were walking to the table, Riley's balloon got loose and the moment it hit the ceiling it popped. Not just a pop, but a POP!!!! The whole restaurant seemed to stop! Everyone laughed, but what I learned later in the meal, the remnants of the yellow balloon landed on the table next to us. They were picking pieces of balloon out of their drinks and food. We always seem to make an impression wherever we go! After dinner, it was bath time and then we all collapsed. I'm tired just trying to remember all we did!

I have a feeling that these 3 are going to be nothing but trouble as they get older!

Gramma spent the night to help us get to church and we made it not only on time, but early! It was great to have her help us. We have just had a quiet day here today to recover from yesterday. Daddy just got home, so I'm off to catch up with him. We look forward to a great week and hope you have one too!

I have a new all-time favorite photo of Ryan: