As I said in the prior post we headed to the zoo a few days after Dani’s surgery because a rare cold front came in and she was miserable laying around at home. It was a nice visit and not too crowded and once again reminded us of why it’s so convenient to have a membership. We can go for few hours, see a few things and then head home.
Pretty fox in Texas Wild!Hyenas
The Hyenas are a new addition to the zoo. I have never seen one in real life so this was pretty cool.
Pelicans
This photo in no way shows how HUGE these pelicans were.
Cougar
Look at the big paws on this guy. Such a pretty big cat.
Being out of the house seemed to help Dani and we ended our first week in the cast hoping the rest of the time would go by quickly.
The Fort Worth Zoo has a special display going on until July 6th called GIGANTABUGS! The girls were excited from the first second they saw a billboard and asked, “When are we going to see THAT?” We went once right before Dani had surgery, but didn’t have time to see all of the bugs. We went the week after Dani had surgery because a cold front came in and it was a good reason to get her out of the house since she was so miserable. So this post is a combination of our two visits and our search for all the bugs. The Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula shown above was 709 times its normal size, which gives you an idea of the rest of the bugs. All of the bugs had sound, animatronics or both.
The Stag BeetleBlack AntsSeven-Spotted Lady BeetleRed-Tailed Bumble BeeBombardier Beetle
The Bombardier Beetle “spit” it’s venom out and Nadia wanted to try and get hit by it. She was completely shocked when it hit her in the face because she wanted it to hit her body or legs.
We had a great time on both visits and the girls are hoping we can see it one more time before it leaves the zoo. I am not sure we can because it ends the day before Dani’s cast should come off, and it’s way too hot for her to be out and about in the cast.
Nurse Emily at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital recommended the Ivy Rose Spica chair website to have a custom chair made for Dani to play and eat in while in the cast. And let me tell you, we are 4.5 weeks in and it has been worth every penny. When I contacted Stephanie at Ivy Rose and asked her about getting a TARDIS-themed chair from the show Doctor Who, she was so excited and said she had been waiting for 5 years for a family to ask for one and had lots of ideas. We share a love of a favorite episode so we went with her ideas and it thought it would be perfect.
A message from Stephanie on the chair
When we opened the box this is what Stephanie had written on the chalk board side of the tray. So sweet.
The top of the tray
On the top of the tray she painted my favorite Doctor Who image. I have a coffee mug and blanket with this, that my sister gave me for Christmas.
Side oneSide two. Yes, the chair can rock.The backThe inside
As you can see, this is a Doctor Who fan’s dream chair. We figured that it wouldn’t matter to Dani what the chair had on it. We knew it was going to be in the middle of our living area and kitchen for 8 weeks so we might as well enjoy it. Thanks Stephanie – it’s wonderful!!!
PS. Dani calls it the “Tar Deeee” and says that while pointing at it when she wants to get in it.
Dani was really sad when she woke up on the second day after the surgery, and from everything the doctors and staff had said, I was expecting her to be very swollen and bruised when we got up that day. But even after a restless night, when they started coming in to check on her, medically she was doing great. She had no bruising and very little swelling. Nurse Rebekah told me to go down for breakfast and she would stay in the room with Dani, so I thanked her and headed down for some bacon and biscuits. When I returned Dr. Miller had just checked on her and he asked me if I wanted to go home today because she was doing so well. I almost jumped up and down with excitement when I said yes. I told him it would be much better to be home and dealing with a sad kid than in the hospital. He said Dr. Birch was going to check in again and then they would clear us to leave. I told Mike right away and he started getting the girls ready to come up and get us, and I started packing up our room.
After Dani had breakfast and they gave her the all clear to leave, I got her dressed. She watched Mulan while I finished getting our stuff together. Mike arrived and we waited on the final paperwork and Nurse Rebekah brought two red wagons to get us to the car. And I totally regret not getting a photo of Dani with Nurse Rebekah – she was so wonderful!
Just about to leave Texas Scottish Rite HospitalSad and confused by the car harness
Here she is really sad and confused in the car because she was still in pain and I am sure she thought the harness was strange. We needed to get a bean bag chair for her to sleep in so we headed to Target to try one out.
Tooling around Target in her new bean bag chair.
After picking up a few things at Target we headed home and I was so happy to take a nap in my own bed. SO.HAPPY!!!! One of the best things about going home early was that we weren’t going to have to criss-cross the town multiple times to get Amelie to her first ballet recital. She was so excited to wear her new costume and to wear make up. Roger, Paula and Grammie joined Nadia and I in the audience to watch Amelie perform while Mike stayed home with Dani.
Roger, Paula, Grammie, Louanne, Amelie and NadiaThe girls and their Great Grammie!
Amelie did a wonderful job and we went through the drive-thru at In-N-Out on the way home. I was ready to sleep for about a year after the last four days, ending with such a long final day.
