First with the good news. I am pleased to report that tonight Genevieve tested for and earned her green belt!! It's been so fun to work with her, and she's put in a lot of hard work. I can't tell you how excited she is now! It's funny, but she's actually looking forward to learning her new form with Mommy **on the beach**. I'll do my best to get some video uploaded soon, but it depends on what I have going on in the next few days.
And on to the scary news. Benjamin has had a swollen eyelid for a little over 3 weeks now. We took him to the ped. and she initially thought it was allergies. Sooo, we washed all his sheets and blankets and anything else that might come in contact with his eye with Dreft and started giving him Zyrtec at night. It did reduce the swelling on his lid, but after about a week, he still had a round mass on his lid. I took him back today, and the ped. looked at him and then set him up with an appointment with an ophthalmologist. The opht. was able to take a look at him today, and give me some mildly frightening news. First, Benjamin appears to be nearsighted in his left eye and not his right. According to the Dr., that means that the mass has been there for quite some time, but it wasn't visible. He suspects that the mass is either a hemangioma or a lymphangioma that was irritated by allergies or an infection. I won't know until tomorrow, but his initial thought was to give Benjamin a steroid and see how much the mass might shrink. If that's the route we take, then we'll take Benjamin back in a week and have it examined. Then he will probably have an MRI (oooo boy, I'll bet that's FUN on a 2 year old!) Since it's on his eyelid and is impairing his vision, treatment might include injecting a steroid into the mass, or removing the mass surgically. I really don't know yet. I spent a good deal of time Googling both types of masses tonight, and I came to the conclusion that although it is good to be informed, sometimes it's more frightening to find out what **might** happen than to just go with what you know. So, for now, I'm just trying to chill out and not worry about what's going on until I have more information. Emphasis on the trying part. ;)
Okay, I'll admit it...our family is addicted to Splash in the Boro! After having our neighbor recommend going last year, Ken and I decided to check it out this year. I can't believe we've lived in the South this long and haven't gone already. I've honestly got to say if you have children, then Splash in the Boro is the ultimate place to take them in the summer. First of all, it is a mere 1.5 hour drive from our home. But better than that, it's relatively inexpensive. Our family is able to get in for $40 (at least right now, since Benjamin's so little...yay!!). I **LOVE** the fact that you can't help but trip over a lifeguard every few feet (and they are so friendly and helpful too!) and that the place is so well maintained. Lifejackets are provided for those who aren't quite up to swimming speed, which for us meant that Benjamin was able to go and enjoy himself. Not only that, the place has a great selection of activities for wide age ranges. For the older kids, there are the big water slide, a simulated surfing area, and a 45 foot tall racing ride. The mid sized folks (as well as the older ones!) will enjoy floating down the Lazy River, or spending some time in the Splash Zone. Heck, I had a dickens of a time trying to get Benjamin away from the little slides in the Splash Zone. And then of course, there is the large playground in the middle of the park!
At the time of this entry, we have now gone to Splash in the Boro three times this summer. It is **very** likely that we will squeeze one more trip in before school starts. I wish I had words to tell you how much fun the kidlets have had in our visits. Perhaps Benajamin summarized it well... "Wooooowww!!" :)
I hope all of ya'll out there had a fantastic 4th of July! The Knotts Clan have had a blast this holiday! According to tradition, we went to the fireworks display at Fort Gordon on Thursday. I can honestly say, I think this year's display was the best one they've had in a few years! The girls had a really great time, and Benjamin was absolutely psyched by the show. As an added bonus, Ken was able to go with us, so the night was extra special.
But the fun didn't stop there. Yesterday we celebrated the actual 4th with our neighbors. The celebration started with what is sure to be a new tradition...the Redneck Slip and Slide! Put together one plastic tarp, a garden hose, and 3 cans of shaving cream, and you've got 2 hours of non stop fun! Then we moved on to a water balloon fight. Of course, you can't have a 4th of July celebration without a feast, so we gorged ourselves on steak, chicken, hot dogs, Flag cake, roasted corn, chips, soda, and of course, homemade ice cream. Then we wrapped up the day by lighting off the fireworks that we bought earlier in the day. By the time we got home, everyone was so worn out that they passed out almost immediately. At least for me, it was the perfect end to a perfect day. :)
