Disney!

Welp, we finally did it. We've been trying to get to Disney World pretty much since Gavin turned one. Although, in hindsight, I'm so glad we weren't able to get there. He was the perfect age to actually enjoy the rides and shows. And Maddie? The exact age I believe the place was designed for! We invited Bella to come and they were beside themselves! 

I'm honestly very conflicted about the whole thing...standing in lines for hours and spending a month's worth of pay to afford the whole shebang kinda irritates me and certainly does not sound like my idea of a good time but....It's Disney World. Ya just have to suck it up on occasion. It's a Floridian's rite of passage. 

We are lucky to have our own personal DW consultant, my friend Jen. This girl came over and literally planned our entire trip down to booking Fast Passes, suggesting a plan of action.... like our personal travel agent. I'm super loosey goosey, which I mostly prefer but because we were spending a gajillion dollars and eating Ramen Noodles the rest of the week, I did want to get the most out of the experience...within reason, of course.  With her expert advice and some great deals we found online for tickets, we were ready....

...and not ten minutes after we walked in, the girls spotted this face painting station. Eighteen flippin' dollars for a tiara made out of paint. Shoulda brought my kit and saved myself the agony but I made them promise not to ask for another single thing all day! They actually didn't. I almost fell over from the shock.

Because of the fast passes and the fact that we got there first thing when it opened, we waited no more than ten minutes for a single thing (until later in the day)! 

Gavin's first time was...well, magical. He had SO much fun! He could barely stand it! His eyes just darted around and he ran everywhere. No walking, legit, full-on running...in 10 hours. And the stroller? Pppffftttth! Held him back from all the fun to be had!

Jen wisely suggested we sit and eat lunch during the parade, which was perfect! We packed tons of snacks and drinks and sandwiches...it saved us yet an extra week of Ramen Noodles! 

The thing we waited for the longest and the one thing Maddie reaaaaallllyyy wanted to do was meet Rapunzel. I still can't get over the fact that she's so "over" Frozen...so while everyone's running to Anna and Elsa, she was super excited about Rapunzel and Cinderella. Fine with me...that other line was way longer. 

Aside from few toddler meltdowns from the fatigue and over-stimulation of it all it was a great time! As much as it's lines and open wallets it's also truly magical. To be there with my babies and see these things through their excited and awe-struck eyes really makes it all worth it! Thanks Mickey for opening up your house to the Copeland's!

A weekend of love...more than ushe

It all began with a fun, crafty play date! Our friend Amanda hosted it and the kids had a blast...as usual! Each child brought a goodie for all the other children so needless to say...SCORE! As if that weren't enough...

 We had a festive breakfast and then Daddy insisted we go to the park. Mmmmkkkk....

We came home to a SUPER fun scavenger hunt! A clue lead us around the house to goodies for us all!

 The kids absolutely LOVED it!! A: scavenger hunt B: presents. I mean....

 And, last but not least...we got to go on our grown up date. We always have such a great time together. There's no one I'd rather spend the day of love with more. I just adore this boy....

Baby bird's busted wing...

So Gavin was diagnosed 6 months ago with Sprengel's Deformity {"Sprengel deformity is a complex anomaly that is associated with malposition and dysplasia of the scapula. This condition also involves regional muscle hypoplasia or atrophy, which causes disfigurement and limitation of shoulder movement." }. We noticed at the beach that his left shoulder seemed "off", higher than the other. After consulting our local Pediatric Orthopedist, we were sent home with an order for physical therapy and an appointment to return in a year....we would have just left it that, but....


I have been doing my research and well, this is not merely a cosmetic issue in a lot of cases. There is a range of associated problems from kidney issues to fused ribs to hearing deficiencies. We just didn't feel comfortable with having no answers or even much of an opinion. At the behest of my new boss, an orthopedic surgeon, we consulted the partner of the original physician and wow, what a difference. He was interested, knowledgeable and eager to see what we were dealing with. His partner admitted he knew little of the deformity and because it was so rare, didn't much research it or know what to do. It didn't sit well with me but, Gavin seems to do just fine and although his range of motion is inhibited, he has no pain (thank GOD!) and is a happy healthy boy aside from this issue. I appreciated Dr Shannon's time and interest and a parent's understanding that this condition seems to worsen over time and cause many other problems. He's our baby and we obviously have concerns about the long term.

After some xrays (the boy was quite the trooper!), he confirmed the Sprengel's (didn't need an xray for that!) and he saw what he felt are fused cervical vertebrae and mild scoliosis. The fused vertebrae are the result of a syndrome called Klippel-Feil {"...patients who had a short, webbed neck; decreased range of motion (ROM) in the cervical spine; and a low hairline"}. ...this and Sprengel's are both congenital abnormalities that are very rare (1 in about 40,000 births!) but seem to go hand in hand. The concern is that he would be at greater risk for cervical injury with contact sports so, if this continues to present on future scans, we need to eliminate any contact sports from Gavin's future. It's tough to have to make decisions for him in this way....I hate to keep him from anything he may potentially want or have the talent to do.

I Googled "normal toddler x-ray" and found the pic on the right. You can see the obvious elevation of the shoulder and malformation of the upper ribs. 

Luckily, surgery still seems like a small consideration. His case is not severe and unless it gets worse, hopefully physical therapy and observation with xrays will be all we have to do long term. The larger concern is worsening scoliosis, cervical issues and we will be testing for another common occurrence with Klippel-Feil, kidney abnormalities. Growth seems to cause further issues and may often be inhibited by the fused vertebrae but we will cross those bridges if and when we come to them...

We're so blessed with such a happy baby....it's much easier to deal with scary things with this clown spinning in the doctor's swivel chair incessantly giggling! He is such a sweet guy I pray he doesn't have any pain or insecurity about the deformity as he gets older. I worry so much abut the future but now, in this moment, he is my sweet, happy, active boy and for that we are so very grateful!

Station #52

 We got to visit our local Fire Station! The kids LOVED it but it was freezing! I mean, for here, freezing! Kind of unexpected so as you can see my kids were not very warmly dressed but, ah, what're ya gonna do? They certainly didn't care!

We went with our "MOMtourage" as we have been dubbed. The kids got to climb the truck, explore the station, see how they do CPR/intubate and even got fresh cookies from the firemen themselves...AKA: they ran around the place like little nutjobs with a serious sugar high. Maddie promptly decided if she gets to stick tubes down people's throats, play video games and eat cookies, she was in. Yup, that's what they do all day....