What's up with us lately?

Push-ups: It is just too tempting to get on daddy's back when he is doing push-ups. Good thing daddy is super buff and can continue without even noticing!
Dancing: This little girl would dance all day long. As you can see she loves to pose for the camera!
Pedicures: Yep, I finally had my first pedicure! Loved it!
Fevers: Poor kid had a fever for a couple days. He did enjoy laying there and watching "Winnie the Pooh".
Cleaning: How young is too young?

Preschool: Lovin' every minute of it.
Last but not least....
Playing: What a mess! They sure had fun making it though. (Not as much fun cleaning it up.)

Preschool Photos!

Emily has absolutely loved preschool this year! Every morning she asks, "Is today a preschool day?" She has wonderful teachers and has made a lot of new friends. I can't believe that the school year is almost over. Luckily, she has another year of preschool to look forward too!She has grown so much this year. My little-big girl!

My Little Wii Fit!

In my pathetic attempt at trying to be more active, I decided to use my birthday money to purchase a Wii Fit. It is so much fun, but to be perfectly honest, Emily plays it so much more then I do. She will play it for about 2 hours before she is tired. She absolutely loves it. It is amazing to me how quickly she picked up on how to play it. Her favorite exercise is the Kung Fu. I get such a kick out of watching her. Embarrassingly enough, she is in first place for many of the exercises. Especially the balance ones. I do have to say though that I am the pro at Hula Hoop, and Brian has mastered juggling. With the way she is playing though, I wouldn't be surprised if she surpasses us soon.
Kung Fu Emily! Hilarious!

Beauty and the Beast!

I took Emily to see Beauty and the Beast on Broadway this last weekend. It is probably one of my very favorite Broadways. It is right up there with Phantom of the Opera. She didn't quite know what to expect, but once it started she was thoroughly enthralled. At one point she turned to me and said, "When is it my turn to go up there to dance and sing".
Thanks grandma for the tickets and opportunity to go. WE LOVED IT!

Dr. Dad to the Rescue!

Anyone who has even had or watched a child knows that they take a lot of falls. You just hope every time they do, that they don't get hurt. I know that my children have miraculously avoided many head and other injuries. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times. Emily, while throwing a temper tantrum, fell back and hit her head on the door hinge. Yep, you guessed it, stitches! The first thing I did was call Brian to see if he could look at it and tell me if she really needed stitches or if it could just be sealed shut. So, we drove down to the school on Brian's lunch break, and he took a look at it in the parking lot. Yep, definitely needs stitches. Brian got it all cleaned and then super glued it shut until he could get it stitched up later. I love having a doctor at home who knows how to do these things. He saved me hours at the Emergency Room. Emily was so brave. Of course she couldn't feel anything because he numbed her up pretty good. My kitchen table became the operating table, and I became the assistant. If you know me very well, this wasn't easy for me to assist with. I was worried that Brian was going to have another patient, but I pulled through. Emily was so brave. Dr. Dad did a fantastic job! She now has a total of 5 stitches in her head.

A Much Needed Vacation!

I was horribly disappointed this year when my Spring Break vacation plans fell through. Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who planned a week of fun right here at home. We have lived here for three years and haven't really had the chance to see some of the things in our area. He planned it himself and it turned out to be a wonderful week. Each day had a theme.

Monday - Cleaning Day
Tuesday - Beach Day/Charleston
Wednesday - Movie/ Park Day
Thursday - Zoo Day
Friday - Fish Day

Day 1 : Cleaning Day
I know what you are thinking. I thought the same thing. CLEANING DAY! How is that a vacation? It ended up being a lot of fun. We cleaned the inside and the outside of the house! (It is always nice to have a clean house and I appreciated the motivation and help.) The yard looks great and the kids got to have fun playing in the water.
Day 2: Beach Day/ Charleston
Now that it is warmer, we decided to take advantage of it and head to the beach. Our kids have never been to the beach and we hadn't seen Charleston yet, so we decided to try out the Isle of Palms. So much fun! We spend the day at the beach and then headed into downtown Charleston for dinner and sightseeing. A perfect day trip!
Ironically, my children didn't like the water. The dirt was where it was at!
Downtown Charleston.

Day 3: Movie/Park Day
Well, this day really ended up being Doctor Day. Emily had a follow up appointment and I had to have my immunizations before my surgery. As many of you know, I am a HUGE wimp when it comes to shots. This was the only time that Brian could go with me and be there when I passed out. I can have babies, epidurals, and IV's. Shots ..... let's just say... I don't do as well. So, we didn't make it the the movies or the park, but we rented a movie and had fun at home pretending we were at the movie theater. Hehe.

Day 4: Zoo Day
The zoo here is by far the best zoo I have ever been to. The animals were out, you could pet them, and you could feed some of them. I think this was probably my favorite of all the days. Even though I am still suffering from the allergies!
A very friendly flamingo!Emily on her pony ride!
This was hilarious. Brian had just finished asking someone if the birds actually drink the nectar when a bird flew right onto his hand and started drinking.

Day 5: Fish Day!
For fish day, Brian went and picked up some feeder fish and put them in the swimming pool outback. This was a lot of fun for the kids. They thought it was really neat to have fish in their swimming pool. Gavin did have to be banned from the fish. We call him, "Wild Man", because he could actually catch them with his hands.
Thanks for a fantastic Spring Break Dad!

It's Got To Go!

Well, the time has inevitably arrived. For years now I have known about a cyst that is attached to my spleen. Seven years ago when it was discovered during an ultrasound, it was determined to be about the size of my fist and not a danger to me. Because of some discomfort around my left rib cage area, I recently had it checked again. To give you a visual, I have included this picture.
The cyst, that was once the size of my fist/spleen, is now only slightly smaller then the liver. It is attached to upper part of my spleen. My stomach is being smashed so much that it looks like a pancake pressed up against my other organs. My left kidney is being pushed down and my large intestine is almost up into my diaphragm. Everything is just a little squished in there by this thing. Which would explain the acid reflux, the tenderness on my left side, and my decreased appetite. So, as I am sure you have already concluded, it needs to be removed. It is scheduled for sometime the end of June. The procedure will be done laparoscopically (robotic removal). The surgeon hopes to be able to removed the cyst without the spleen, but most likely I will be having a partial or full splenectomy as well. (Just to be sure that the cyst doesn't grow back.) I will be in hospital for 2-3 day following the surgery. To be perfectly honest, the thought of surgery scares me to death. I am very fortunate to have, first of all, a loving husband who is familiar with the procedure and is willing to support me 100%. Second, a supportive family who will fly out here at a moments notice, if needed. Finally, friends who are willing to help out in whatever way they can. I am truly blessed, and I thank you all in advance.

Our Little Book Worm!

Gavin loves books. I mean he really LOVES to read books. I probably clean up the books two or three times a day. It is sad to admit, but sometimes when Gavin gets a book, Brian and I run and hide. The person he finds first has to read it. Well, there is one book in particular that he really likes. It is a car book that makes all kinds of car noises and even has a steering wheel. For some unknown reason whenever he plays a particular song from the car radio selections, he waves. He does it every time and it is one of the only buttons he likes to push (besides the horn). Why it prompts him to wave, I will never know.

Later that day....

The Look!

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to capture "the look" from Gavin. He gives me this look when I am trying to have "a talk" with him, but he doesn't want to listen/look at me. It is similar to having a child roll their eyes at you. It only lasts for about a second, so getting a picture is impossible. (Of course, he won't make this face when I am holding a camera either.) Well, a photographer was able to catch "the look" while she was taking his 18 month pictures. She had asked him over and over again to stay sitting in the chair and that's when it happened...the perfect moment. She thought I was a little crazy for wanting a copy of this picture, but it was worth the money. It still makes me laugh when I see it! He is even cute when he is in trouble.

The Dancing Duo!

Gavin 18 Months!

It really is hard to believe that Gavin is now 18 months old. I have been waiting for this day for a while. He can now go to Nursery! Last week would have been his first week except.....what did he wake up with on Saturday night? What? CROUP! Of course, he missed his first day in nursery. Oh well, there will be plenty more to come with many more diseases brought home. We decided not to share croup with everyone. You can thank me now. :)

What do I do with that hair?

Gavin's hair sticks out no matter what I do to it. I have tried it all. I tried growing it out, and it still sticks up. I even tried hair glue. I have resorted to buzzing it, but when it starts to get long, (after about a week) he looks like a little clown (see picture). The best I can do is keep it short and stick a little gel in the top. The gel only lasts for about 2 hours before it won't even hold it down, but at least it makes it through most of church!?
As a side note: I still think he is adorable!

Bribing?....I like to call it "Positive Reinforcement"

Emily has been wanting a "Ponyville Salon Shop" for a while now, and I decided to use it for some "positive reinforcement" (not to be confused with bribing). I told her that if she could stop sucking her thumb for a month, then she could have it. Well, a month is a little hard for her to comprehend, so we broke it down into days. She would get a sticker each morning if she woke up with the bandaids still on her thumbs. If she didn't suck her thumb all day, she could have a popsicle in the tub at night. Again, "positive reinforcement" not bribing. After she had 28 stickers she would earn the much wanted "PONYVILLE". Secretly I already had it. Hehe. Well, she did it! I can't say that we are 100% weaned yet, but I would say about 99.5%. (My mom caught her one day. Emily asked her not to tell me.) What can you expect from a 4 year old girl who has had her thumb to comfort her since she was 2 months old. It was sad to see it go, but it was to her benefit. Way to go Emily!
After Emily had been thumb free for a few weeks I decided that while I was weaning one, I might as well do the other. Binky training is a little easier because I could take it away. It is a little hard to take away someones thumbs. I started out by taking it away during the day. He didn't seem to notice much, but he would giggle when I gave it to him at bedtime. A couple of weeks later I decided to see what it would be like at bedtime without it. He didn't even notice the first night and he slept great; however, nap time was a lot harder. I tried snipping the end of the binky first. He immediately shoved his finger in the end of it and held it up to me. If looks could kill..... wow. Eventually he gave up on the broken binky, cried for a while, and then only napped for about 15 minutes. What could I expect from a little boy who always had a binky to keep him asleep. Slowly things got better, and we are back to our 2 hour naps and mere whining when it is nap time. Wahoo!I never realized that this little guy could even talk until I took the binky away. It has been a real eye opener. All of a sudden he became a chatterbox. He knew his animal sounds, he could count to three, and he knew about 20+ words. Weird words like, "Kroger", "Eww poo", "alright", "1, 2, wee" and, of course, "NO", and "MINE". (Which I think should be taken out of every child's vocabulary.) It was hilarious. Just the other day Emily came to me frustrated and said, "He won't stop saying what I am saying." It was amazing what he was hiding behind that binky. Again, hard to see it go, but much to his benefit.

Family Photos 2009

My Adorable Children