Ingram the Conqueror: Monday and Tuesday April 8th and 9th, All Kind Of Firsts!!

Monday morning we got to take G-Mommy and Uncle Butch to Ingram's favorite donut shop...Gibson's! I think they were very impressed and their donuts and coffee were gone pretty quickly. Uncle Butch had to leave once we made it back to the house, but G-Mommy got to stay till later in the day and made it to the school for lunch with the girls. Ingram and I went to Costco and had a blast talking to the Vitamix guy who was back giving demonstrations; I'm afraid the girls and Daddy aren't going to like all the new stuff I'm going to be making them eat! The girls had both had soccer practice and it was such a gorgeous day that we all went to the fields and took the jogger with us. Ingram ran a little bit then hopped in the buggy as Craig and I ran while the girls practiced; after our run, Ingram went on his own run to the playground where he and Daddy were the only kids at the playground!

When we checked the mail, the PROMISE magazine was in our mailbox and we were soooo excited because Elizabeth Walker had written a story on Ingram and his girls. Obviously, Ingram has been in lots of magazines with his cute little bald head being a part of the Thanks and Giving Campaign, but this is the first time Ingram and the girls have been in a magazine AND had a story written about them. She interviewed us a while back and Ann Margaret came out to the house to take pictures of the kids too; seeing it in print was great and made me cry and laugh all at the same time! The article is also online on the St. Jude website and it even includes an abbreviated video based on the girls video from last summer.

Tuesday was another fun day with a very hectic evening! The fun started at the Dr. Byrd's finally getting the girls eye exams; we're a little behind on getting Lindsey's recheck appointment then remembered it once Madison started complaining about her vision. After a little bit of playtime in the lobby, we headed back to see Dr. Byrd and they were all three in typical form! Why I had all three of them together in a small doctor's office is really the question?? They did great and Ingram even entertained Dr. Byrd while she was examining the girls' eyes. It turns out that Madison failed her vision test and will be the new owner of glasses at some point in the near future (aka as soon as we have time to go to the store). After they were all back at school, I headed home to gear up for our evening of 4 ball games; Ingram had his first T-Ball game and his second T-Ball game along with the girls each having a soccer game...all at the same time!

We made arrangements for the girls on their fields so that we could be at Ingy's first game and it was so much fun! In the first game, Ingram played against a fellow Vining Sparks employee (Chris Goodson) son's team so it was even more fun. Thankfully, I got there late after taking the girls to soccer and missed the Home Plate collision by a boy twice Ingram's size into Ingram. In true mother form and knowing all about Ingram, Katherine Goodson took care of panicking and gasping and getting upset for me and filled me in once I got there! Ingram and Maddox were chatting with each other on the field and seemed to be having a fun time playing T-Ball and playing with the dirt too; I guess they were taking the hint from the Daddy's on the sidelines talking to each other too. I got to see Ingram hit from the "T" a couple times and round the bases a couple times in his game and then they all ran the bases when the game ended. Pops, also know as my dad, was also there and his highlight of the night was when Ingram ran out of the dugout and in front of all the parents just to give his Pops a hug and a kiss. I would say he's just the sweetest thing, but Daddy and I had to ask for our hugs and kisses and I actually don't know if we got them or not!

During the second game, the coaches pitched 3 balls to each player then set up the "T" if they hadn't hit it yet so that was kinda fun too. Ingram hit his first pitch straight in between first and second base and ran his little legs out; lucky for the him, the outs don't count yet since they're just learning how to play and he got to stay on first base and eventually made it to home plate. It's so funny watching this age because at any given moment, half of the team will be playing in the dirt, laying on the ground, or doing cartwheels in the grass!! We ended our night talking with the girls about why we went to Ingram's games instead of theirs tonight and even though they were a little upset with us at first, they were super excited Ingram got to play tonight and can't wait until they get to see him play Saturday. After all, on April 8th and 9th 2012, Ingram was learning to walk all over again in the halls of LeBonheur and trying to reach Easter eggs scattered in his hospital bed. How amazing God has been to us to let Ingram go from taking his first steps after surgery to running to first base, second base, third base, and home plate in one year!

http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c57cacd77b5dd310VgnVCM100000290115acRCRD&vgnextchannel=fc0b221f1ed7d310VgnVCM100000290115acRCRD

The above is the link to the PROMISE publication story/video that is on the St. Jude website!