A Day To Celebrate

Today started out like any other day. Except that we didn't have to set our alarm clark, and there wasn't any place that we had to go.

Those days are rare for us. Between Grace's preschool and therapy appointments throughout the week, as well as a hectic work schedule, there are very few days that come around where we don't have any of those things planned. But today was different.

Dr. Omurtag was very excited to meet Charlotte.

A few weeks ago, Grace's physical therapist in Springfield told us she would be gone this Friday for continuing education, and that Grace wouldn't have therapy today.  Kyle has been talking all spring about getting to a Maryville University game, where his brother, Shane, is the pitching coach. 

Family photo with Dr. Omurtag before we left.

Many of the games are on Sunday, which is paper day for us, so when the last home weekend of the season fell on this Friday, so we asked Kyle's sister if she and our nephew could join us.  It was actually one of the most relaxing days we've had in a long time.

Since we were going to be in St. Louis, I called our doctor's office at Washington University where we went through the process of in vitro fertilization and asked if we could bring Charlotte by to meet Dr. Kenan Omurtag and the rest of the staff, who had all been so good to us.  As luck would have it, that worked out as well.

Kyle and Charlotte being silly when we got to the game.

Per usual, we were running about ten minutes late getting into St. Louis, but we were surprised to run into one of Grace's former physical therapists in the elevator of the building. Grace had a big smile for Jen, and we hope she will stop by again sometime when she's back in Hillsboro.  

When we made our way to the doctors' office, the receptionist asked if we had an alumni of the program with us, and I just smiled.  At first, I wasn't sure we should bring Charlotte to the office. Every time we were there during the process, the waiting room was always full of people, and I wasn't sure about bringing a baby there. But Kyle talked about the possibility of bringing hope to some of those couples that the process does work.  

Game-time selfie.

Family selfie at the game.

And once we got there, all of the office staff as so excited to see Charlotte.  We thought we were going to miss seeing Dr. Omurtag, who was in surgery, but we managed to run into him on our way out of the building. He was so excited to hold her and asked if we wanted to take photos, which of course we did. His secretary told us that many times, they never know what happens for couples after they are released, and they were so glad to meet Charlotte.  It was such a special chance for us to say thanks for all their help in adding to our family.

After saying our goodbyes, we headed back on the road to Maryville, where Shane's team was already most of the way through the first game.  Kyle's sister, Mikaela, and our nephew, Quincy, were already there. We found a spot in the stands to sit so I could feed Grace lunch, while Mikaela picked up some Charlotte snuggles, and Quincy walked up and down the stairs about a million times.  It was fun to catch up, and such a beautiful day for baseball.

Charlotte hung out with Uncle Shane between games.

When I finished feeding Grace, we all found a nice spot on the grassy lawn to watch the game where Quincy could play and Grace could enjoy the sunshine. Quincy had brought a little baseball with him, and I started playing with Grace, letting it roll down her side.  Quincy thought it was funny, so he started doing it and playing with Grace.  It was so cute to see them together.  And Charlotte did great, so long as she got to eat when she was hungry!

Just hanging out at the game.

Just being silly.

After the games were over, we waited for Shane to get done, and then we all went out to eat.  Since it's Cinco De Mayo, we picked Global Quesadilla, which is not really Mexican, but it was still fun.  The food was great, and it was cute to watch Quincy dip his chips into Shane's ranch dressing.  We enjoyed more visiting, and just being together.

Nachos and quesadillas for dinner!

All tuckered out after a busy and fun day.

For a very rare time, we didn't have a schedule. We didn't have to be anywhere at any certain time (except for the doctor's office, which we were late to).  It was so much fun to relax and just enjoy a day together, a day without appointments or assignments. And while it may be awhile before we have another day like today, we are already looking forward to it!

mlh