Perfection!

Remember all that whining I did about the TAKS test? About how I was really worried about Tay taking it because she has extreme test anxiety? That I wasn't sure it would be a good measure of her skills because of said anxiety?

Well, Miss Thang totally made a liar out of me and ROCKED IT OUT on the reading portion of the TAKS test. In fact, she did not miss a single question. Yes, you read that right...not one question...

Last Friday I picked her up from after school care and asked her if she'd gotten her results (the mom of one of her friends had written on her Facebook page about Caroline getting 100% so that's how I knew) and she quickly ran back to her cubbie because she'd left the letter there. When we got in the car, she insisted on being the one to open it but it's kind of hard to decipher if you're 9 years old so she didn't really know what it meant. 

Being the patient (not) parent I am, I just couldn't wait until we got home so I read it at a red light. When I realized that she had a perfect score, my precious little one just giggled and giggled and giggled. Then she shouted 'I'm SO HAPPY!' Over and over and over again this process repeated itself. Too cute!

And then it happened. Taylor proved, without a doubt that she is just like her mother. She said 'Well, this calls for cake.' I couldn't have agreed more!

So we went home and had celebratory pizza, called Nana and Boppy and Maw Maw as well. The next day was the Hillcrest ribbon cutting and my parents were coming down with Aunt Anna (my mom's good friend) so we went to Olive Garden (she wanted cheesecake) and had a feast. The waiter sang her a congratulatory song and we had three types of dessert...Miss Tay sampled them all. :-)

Now we're getting ready for the math portion on April 28. The only problem I see is that Tay told me she was now nervous because she's afraid she won't make 100% on the math test. So we've been having discussions about how it's ok not to be perfect, not missing any on a standardized test isn't all that common, etc. I'm just praying that her test anxiety won't crop back up with her trying to repeat her results...

In the meantime, this calls for cake!

Davey's New Hospital

When Dave first began working at Hillcrest (2 1/2 years ago), they had just completed the plans for the new hospital to be built on I-35. It was going to be absolutely beautiful, in a much more convenient location and a huge upgrade for the staff and patients.

So we've been watching it slowly change the skyline of good ol' Waco for some time and the entire town has been anticipating is opening. Each time we passed it, Taylor would check on the progress of what she termed 'Davey's new hospital.' Well, it's hard to believe but we're only a few days from it becoming a reality!

On Saturday, Taylor and I went to the associates' celebration and official ribbon cutting ceremony with Nana, Boppy and Nana's good friend, Aunt Anna. Both Nana and Aunt Anna are in the hospital business so they couldn't wait to see the newest facility in Texas. Unfortunately, Dave had to work but we had a great time anyway.

Hillcrest has a new partnership with Scott & White so I was able to see several of my friends from when I worked there and also got to see my old boss, Drayton McLane. It was SO CROWDED inside (had to be moved due to the weather) that I wasn't able to see him until I was leaving so we had a quick parking lot conversation.

The big move will happen on Saturday and, from what I can tell, everyone's really excited but also ready to get it over with. Dave will be transporting the neonates one by one on the ambulance so I'm sure it'll be a long day. For now, I'll leave you with a few shots of the new digs...

The new cafeteria has a brick oven for pizza...we can't wait to visit!

Standing in front of the NICU mural - that's 'where Davey works' and is the ONLY thing Miss Taylor wanted to see in the entire place...

Better shot of the mural

The walls of the NICU are lined with photos of NICU graduates...aren't they adorable?

This is the entrance to the NICU

The waterfall...the entire front of the hospital is glass so you have a great view from almost every room...

Looking out at the waterfall from the chapel...

The chapel...

Standing in the lobby and listening to MANY speakers...it was almost 45 minutes long...and three people passed out...

New and improved LDR rooms - can I just say what a HUGE upgrade this is from the one I had when Tay was born?

We really liked the waterfall...can you tell?

NICU...the top of the spokes now have murals on them as well...this was from a couple of weeks ago...

More NICU

Side view of NICU

A Little Friday Humor

My man and I have not had the most relaxing of weeks...you know those days that nothing REALLY bad happens but a few things keep you from feeling complete peace? We're not at all upset with each other (thank you, God) but it's just all the other stuff...you know?

Well, that's where we've been the last few days - at the crossroads of  Annoyance Boulevard, Lord, Help Me Be Patient Avenue and My Blood Pressure Can't Remain This High For Long Street.

You get the drift...

So I've been trying to keep a low profile today (aka shielding others from my attitude) and am just hanging in my office catching up on some work an

d filing before the weekend goes into full swing. Then I get this pic from Bo via text...

Could there be a more relaxed living thing on the planet? I submit to you the answer to that question is a resounding NO!

And after seeing it, I must say my mood has been lightened, I actually smiled once and may or may not have laughed out loud a bit. And they say animals have to be trained before performing therapy...obviously not...

A Heartfelt Letter

Dear Baylor Basketball Teams,

Our entire family enjoyed your last-second wins last night. We absolutely could not be more thrilled for the men to advance to the first NIT Final Four in school history. The Lady Bears' gutsy comeback against a streetball-playing South Dakota team was a joy to us as well.

We only suffered minor heart attacks in the process and are making a nice recovery this morning. Of course, victory is sweet so we could have some long-term damage that's not evident yet. I must admit we're not all that concerned about it because advancing to the Sweet 16 and NIT Final Four are really worth it. 

Wonder what that ugly reporter in Oklahoma has to say about Scott Drew now? Looks to me like his team is still playing while those who are supposedly so much better coached have fallen by the wayside. Coincidence? I think not. 

Scott - we think your accomplishments speak loud and clear and that others just don't know how to deal with Baylor being a strong competitor. Kudos to you and your team!

Kim - I find it stinkin' hilarious that the first coach I've ever seen rip off her clothes in frustration (which was more than justifiable, by the way - those refs were terrible) on television was from a Baptist university. Anyone else find that a little ironic? I'm SO just kidding because everyone knows I love, love, love that Louisiana lady.

So go forth and whip some tail, Bears and Lady Bears. We're not absolutely certain how much more our hearts can take but we're willing to chance it. Sic 'em all the way to the championship games - we couldn't be more proud!

Sincerely,

Dave, Casi & Taylor

Bo, Prissy & Perkie too 

(after all, they have to listen to us scream at the television, rub their heads for good luck and slip temporarily into a rather unsportsmanlike state at time...don't worry, it doesn't last long and we feel really bad afterwards)

Cameron Park Zoo

Let me just preface this post by saying I've never included this many pics in a post but I just couldn't resist. We went to Cameron Park Zoo (boy, are we blessed to have such a great zoo in Waco) last weekend. All three of us are huge animal fans but, honestly, I don't hold a candle to Dave and Tay. They could do animal-related activities every day of the week and be happy as clams.

So the Dynamic Duo and I had an absolute blast - the weather was terrific and the animals were super cute. Since it wasn't terribly hot when we were there (I understand that wasn't the case later in the afternoon), they were also very agreeable and we got some great shots. 

I felt sorry for Geoffrey the giraffe who was locked up. Apparently the other two were out together for mating purposes so the third wheel had to stay inside his gate. He kept rolling his neck and doing tricks...it's like he was saying 'look at me, let me out.' The lion also cracked me up with his leg propped up while he was sleeping - what a man!!

Last Spring Break Activity

For our last hoorah on our drastically altered Spring Break, we headed north to Dallas. Tay had been wanting to go to Spaghetti Warehouse (she'd never been before) so here we are having lunch on the trolley.


While we really wanted to go to Ft. Worth Zoo, it was still raining so it just wasn't a possibility. I'd read one someone else's blog about Dallas World Aquarium so we headed there. It was absolutely awesome! You start out on the third level and wind your way down around a rainforest (complete with waterfall) while looking at all of the animals. As Dave said, "it's like an indoor zoo." 'Nuff said...

They had an area where they replicated sea life from different regions of the world. It was really neat...

No trip would be complete without a penguin sighting....

Or flamingoes...there were tons of these guys - they were beautiful!

You walked through a tunnel where the killer sharks were swimming all around you. It was quite eerie and I really didn't care for it (made me dizzy...remember, I was still sick) so Dave took this pic from the top of the shark tank. See the lady taking a picture from the bottom as he took one from the top?

These little guys were posing for the camera!

Watching the otters swim - our family LOVES otters...

They posed for one pic but only one...these two animal lovers were in hog heaven.

Speaks for itself...

Cutie pie...

After DWA, we took Tay to the Galleria so she could ice skate. She had never done this either but absolutely loves roller skating so we thought she'd like it. And we were right - she liked it and was very good at it. Unfortunately, because she was still recovering from being sick, her stamina wasn't what it usually is so she only lasted about 45 minutes. We'll definitely go back, though.

Hi there!

Taking a break...

Go, Taylor, go!

This concludes our Spring Break diatribe. Next up is our trip to Cameron Park Zoo...the weather was great this past weekend so we tried the outdoor version. As usual, it did not disappoint. :-)

My Little Leprechaun

One thing you might not know about my precious little one is that she truly LOVES every holiday (major or minor) and two of her favorite things to do in this entire world are decorating for them and dressing up for them. 

We decorate for all kinds of holidays...St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter, fall/Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras and July 4th...and, of course, Christmas. We had her St. Patty's Day outfit picked out for at least a month before the big day and now, for your viewing pleasure, are pics of the little cutie...

Notice the headband...it's a black bandana with tiny green shamrocks folded up and then tied under her hair...we are VERY into this look right now...

An outfit is just not complete without the right socks. These are green, yellow and white shamrocks on them.

And the bow tie...what can I say about it? It was really cute and I liked it MUCH better than the white carnation with green tips and a shamrock that she made me clip to her shirt last year :-)

Our green decorations are now stored away for another year and Easter is in full bloom at our house (both inside and out)...and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

OTB Precedes GTB

Sorry for the title...I was running out of clever titles for the many chapters of our Spring Break fun. On Saturday, Dave had to go back to work so Miss Tay and I set out for some girly-girl fun. We had to fuel up first so we went to On the Border. Mexican food is always a hit with the little one because they have 'chips and cheese.' Not queso...cheese... What?!

Then we headed to Got to Bead, which is a shop in Hewitt owned by one of the ladies from our church. I'm a jewelry junkie and Tay loves anything crafty so we had an absolutely fabulous time. And we will go back very soon...like next weekend when Davey's back at work and it's just the girls :-)...

Tay made this cute cross necklace flanked by yellow and red glass beads...

I made this silver glass bead/pearl bracelet and I absolutely LOVE IT...

You can't see it very well but this is Tay's bracelet. The tiny beads are like little disco balls. They reflect all kinds of colors. And the dangle charms are different animals...giraffe, zebra, monkey, etc. Perfect for my little animal lover! Less than 3 hours later, she was convinced she'd lost it but, thankfully, it just came off in my bed and we found it the next day.

She didn't want me taking her pic while the work was in progress...can you tell?

Only one more Spring Break post left to go...and it's a good one...so stay tuned...