Well, it has been a really great week filled with lots of fun, but poor Gwendolyn now has a few ouchies that are no fun at all.
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Date Night –> We did it. We had an actual real adult date night — just the two of us, at night, at a non-child venue. Just Bill, me, Eddie Vedder and the thousands of other people at the Santa Barbara Bowl. And it felt awesome.
This was our first “just us” date in ages. And while we have been happy with our system of taking Gwendolyn on dates with us to restaurants, on walks, wine tasting, picnics, etc., it was nice to get to do something we can't do with our little butterfly. We had hoped to do more dates this year, but, well, it makes us nervous and frankly we chickened out. But this week on a whim and with Gwendolyn stable and in a good place, we did it. It was nice to feel like a couple doing something we haven't gotten to do in a very, very long time. And FYI Eddie was awesome. His version of Bob Marley's “Redemption Song” was incredible! (Really, Eddie, you need to record that.) But, the best part of the night was holding hands with Bill 
Clutching the Sephora bag with her lip gloss sample
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So after so many days of goodness, poor little monkey is not feeling so hot. 🙁 Yesterday she came down with a bladder infection/UTI. She's had these in the past and they definitely make her feel lousy. We saw the doc and started antibiotics last night so we know she will kick this soon. But more concerning is that she has a cut in her throat and it HURTS. We think she was nicked during suctioning by, we think, a faulty catheter. A mouth sore is painful for anyone, but the problem is we keep re-injuring her every time we suction her throat. And sweet G requires suctioning frequently. She is now resisting and crying when she even sees the suction and is turning grey during every breathing treatment, which we have to do twice a day to keep her lungs clear and healthy. This is no fun for any of us and there is not much we can do. We are trying a homeopathic remedy that Hayden's awesome mommy recommended, we've ordered some new suction options recommended by other SMA families, and we are talking to Gwendolyn a lot about everything so she knows we understand that she is hurting.
Getting out briefly and distracting her a bit with something new seems to be helping her spirits. And since tomorrow is the Montecito Half Marathon and Daddy's first big race day, we are planning to do just that. We are so moved and excited that several friends have joined in and we can't wait to cheer them on. Making signs for the race is bringing some smiles, too