Week-end Getaway!

Tim and I have been toying with the idea of taking Kaitlyn to our hometown in Annapolis Royal for some time now. Both Tim's and my families are from and still live there. Kaitlyn and I have not been home for almost two years! She was in and out of the hospital sooo much that it just didn't seem safe enough to travel that far from our Children's Hospital. Not that now seems so much safer, but Kaitlyn has been very stable and all of her equipment is 100% portable now! We even have back-ups for most of our machines. (Back-up ventilation next!!) When my sister announced she was getting married this summer (29th of August) we had sort of toyed with the idea of attending her wedding. Then Kaitlyn got a tentative surgery date for the 27th of August. Anyway, when this long weekend arrived...we just decided to take off!

Travelling with an extremely fragile child....nerve wracking! We had a good weekend, don't get me wrong, but it is a little unsettling being so far from the one hospital that sort of GETS our daughter. It was Natal Day weekend in our hometown. Our town celebrates every year with reenactments at the Fort Anne Historical Site, a small parade, Sunset ceremonies, fireworks, Crowning of a Queen Annapolis Royal, pancake breakfast at the local firehall, etc. It's a busy weekend and while we didn't attend half the functions...we had a really good time with our family.

Kaitlyn's favourite part of the weekend was our visits to my mother's home where my youngest sister has turned the place into quite the farm!!! They have goats (at least three), two cows, five horses, chickens (complete with rooster), three dogs, and two cats. Kaitlyn is an animal LOVER!!! She beams for dogs and was particularly taken with the goats and cows too :o) And no bad reactions from the allergy department. But then like a lot of allergies exposure is key to reaction and Kaitlyn has never been exposed before. However, it's not likely that we will be repeating a trip like this again anytime soon!!! It was a LOT of work! We are also on alert for the next couple of days. Kaitlyn was exposed to sooo much this weekend that was completely outside of her normal environment. I guess we'll just have to wait and see and hope we kept her safe!

Here are some pics. of our weekend:

This is Kaitlyn on her way to Nanny's! She was so excited she talked for the first hour of our trip. Then.....she finally gave in and conked out for an hour long nap :o)



Kaitlyn in the middle of Nanny's kitchen table having a bi-pap break as she wouldn't take a nap! She's chewing on a popsicle stick....not of the blue variety this time folks ;o) She is laying on her first sheep skin! My great Uncle bought this for our girl...we hope to make her stroller and van travel more comfortable.



Alexander having his popsicle in the middle of Grampy's new chair!!! Please don't make a mess buddy!!!



Owen with his shadow ;o) My Mom's dog LOVES Owen!!



Kaitlyn giving the horses some lovin'. She was talking the ENTIRE time :o) The girl is a nut over horses!



And again....horse lovin'!



Time for some Cow lovin'!!! This was great fun :o) The baby cows just wanted to suck on her hands!!



One of the baby goats!! They wouldn't hold still for a picture...I snapped this one quick!!!



This is Kaitlyn earlier today on her way to the Parade. She really loves her new sheep skin!!



Here we are waiting for the parade! Kaitlyn sat up for the entire parade and was loving all the excitement!



Kaitlyn watching the parade :o) She really like it!! Want to know what her favourite thing was....scroll down!!



The TRACTORS!!!!! YUP ;o) Not sure why, but she was even saying "tractor...tractor".



Alexander after the parade with some of his loot! A sucker and his beads!! Settled in for the long haul back home :o)



Kaitlyn barely made it four minutes after we got her packed into the van and on her bi-pap ;o) She too got lots of loot. A balloon, foam lobster (what else in Nova Scotia??), and two sets of beads! She had sooo much fun :o)