Tomorrow Maeve turns 3. Hard to imagine it's been 3 years since she came into our lives. Full head of hair, determined, strong willed Maeve. So much has changed over the last 3 years and so much has remained the same. Her use of language growth amazing. Her attitude and determination unwaivering and the same as always. Our Maevy Gravy has grown into a little girl who makes us laugh daily and at the same time makes us shocked at how tough a little kid can be. We love the dynamic she adds to our family and are thankful for every day, every second we have had with her.

Its been a long few days for Maeve up to her birthday. On Wednesday the 27th, we checked into Childrens Hospital Boston to get her tonsils and adnoids out. Hoping this would help with her snoring, sleeping, and eating. A tough surgery and an even tougher recovery. Mix that with a kid with more determination then I have ever seen and the mix becomes crazy. When the PA came into look into her through, a firm no from Maeve set the stage. 10 minutes later 4 nurses took everything they had to hold down this 2 year old to get her to open her mouth. That is the level of strength she has. Getting her to eat her pain medication and antibiotics has been a challenge to say the least. Begging and pleading didnt work. Bribery didn't work. Trickery of hiding it in icecream, gatorade, smoothies didnt work. Finally we had to use scare tacticts. Not what we wanted to do but it worked. She is smart and tough, but such a loving and caring kid. Always playing with her babies. Always excited to give hugs and cuddles. Which makes her Maeve and we are thankful for that.

So with a few hours left before your birthday Maeve, we want to tell you how much we love you. How much we appreciate your attitude and personality. If we were ever going to get in a gang fight, we would want you on our side. If we were ever going to box Mike Tyson, we would want you in our corner. If we ever had to care for 50 babies at a time, you would be hired in a second. We cant wait to see where your determination brings you and dont worry, we promise to get out of your way!

Dad was allowed to "check out" of the house on reprieve for a couple of days to do his best impression of a bad ass biker. I don't think he fooled anyone, but he certainly had fun. He loaded his bike up with everything he needed to camp out for the night, then hit the open road for the two hour ride up to the lakes. The weather was perfect and stayed that way on the ride there, the whole time there, and even his ride home. However 20 minutes after arriving home on Sunday the sky opened up and unleashed its fury. He was so happy he left when he did. Riding in the cold rain is no fun.



Laconia:



Charlotte enjoyed the rain that suddenly appeared when dad came home. She even liked the flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. Hopefully she will never pick up the fear of thunderstorms that torment so many kids. She splashed and frolicked in the puddles while dad watched from the dry safety of the front porch. Crazy kid.





Maeve also enjoyed splashing in the water. However it was the water of her bath and as you can see from her picture with wet hair, she really didn't enjoy it.