tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30478232964150189892024-03-13T12:23:05.023-05:00Landon and his crazy family<center><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pOgM2ptGACI/UB3i7wTVfFI/AAAAAAAAF40/tgyRqF4FpcE/s512/websitetop.jpg"></center>Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-25189406725318460902013-04-19T10:39:00.000-05:002013-04-19T10:39:55.837-05:00Syd's first hair trimI finally broke down and decided to get Syd's hair cut. Not really cut, just a trim. I guess I wasn't THAT brave. :) I wanted her to still look little. No bangs or anything just yet. I'll save that for when she's older. <br />
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I took her to the same place that I took Landon for his first haircut, <a href="http://www.familyfuncutz.com/" target="_blank">Family Fun Cutz</a>. It's a place here in Omaha that is geared just for kids. They get to pick from a plethora of different fun cars to sit in and they get to watch any movie they want. Funny, but when Sydney saw all the different cars to sit in, she originally went for the princess car. After she looked around, she actually decided to sit in the Lightning McQueen car. The same one Landon sat in 4 years ago!<br />
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Before: Shaggy little Sydney checking out all the buttons on Lightning.</div>
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She watched Cinderella. She sat still and really didn't move around that much. The girl cutting her hair was so patient and sweet. She even gave her a pretty braid and some "fairy dust" when she was done. Sydney loved it and talked about the fairy dust to anyone that would listen. It couldn't have gone better. :)</div>
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Thank goodness for the movie, right?? </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Here you can see the "fairy dust" aka glitter. It took a couple of baths, but it finally came out. Whatever makes them happy, right? ;)</span><br />
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After: I couldn't have been prouder of her! She even got her favorite thing for sitting really still...a lollipop!</div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-3616861690598379252013-04-19T09:27:00.001-05:002013-04-19T09:27:14.794-05:00Our Little BallerinaAs I showed you in my previous post, Sydney LOVES pretending to be a ballerina right now. Mason gave her a tutu for her second birthday. After a couple of weeks of not wanting to have anything to do with it, she has finally embraced her inner ballerina and wears it pretty much all the time. She calls it her "ballerina". I even had to set rules with her on when she could and couldn't wear it:<br />
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1. You cannot wear your "ballerina" when you are eating.<br />
2. You cannot wear your "ballerina" when you are going potty...for obvious reasons. :)<br />
3. The "ballerina" cannot go to bed with you. (Although I've caught her with it on when she's "napping".)<br />
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This is the picture that started it all. I asked her to pose like a ballerina not really knowing if she knew how a ballerina posed, and she came up with this. Apparently she's paying attention more than I think she is. :) After that, I decided I was going to look into getting her into classes if I could. I wasn't sure if dance studios took kids her age. My good friend, Elissa, has a daughter that takes all kinds of dance classes at a nearby studio. She told me that there was an introductory class she could get into, so I signed her up! For $27 a month, she gets to go once a week into a class where they just do the basics. Tapping your toes on the floor, waving your hands in the air, and maybe a little turn every once in a while. I get to go in there with her to encourage her to do the movements. It's actually a pretty fun bonding time. :)</div>
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This was right after we got back from her first class. She had so much fun! There is only one other little girl in her class and they became fast friends. She was glued to me at first, but after she warmed up to what they were doing, she started joining in and giggling and running around with the other little girl. She (of course) wore her "ballerina" to class. Couldn't leave home without it!</div>
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Last week, when I took her to class, we ran into Elissa's daughter, Natalie. Sydney loves "Mad-alie" (as she calls her) and Natalie is so good with her. Here is a sweet picture I took of the two of them together.</div>
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Sweet girls. Maybe one day Natalie will get to teach Sydney...who knows? :)<br />
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Needless to say, I think dance will probably be Sydney's thing (hopefully for a long time). She comes up to me after she puts on her tutu and says, "Mom, look at me! I'm beautiful!" and does her original dance move (the one in the first picture). She's so cute, I just can't stand it sometimes! :)Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-38772333324624402932013-04-18T13:54:00.001-05:002013-04-18T13:54:59.986-05:00G-button woes.So, I know that being extremely busy is no excuse for not blogging, right? ;) Well, life has been getting in the way of me keeping up with this writing thing. I've finally gotten a big sigh of relief where I can sit down and catch everyone up on what has been going on with us. I think it might be easier for me to start with the most recent and work my way backwards. Here we go:<br />
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In the past week, Landon has come down with this mystery cold that no one else caught. He had a fever (with the shakes that almost landed us in the ER), runny nose, and a cough. I took him to the doctor where she seemed to think it could be his ears and gave me some stuff to clean them out with. His scary fever happened the next night. He woke up around midnight shivering and shaking in his bed, but the thermometer read around 102. I'm always weary about wrapping him up in a blanket because I've seen his fever get to super scary levels before, but Braydon trumped my decision and wrapped him up. Around 3am it finally broke and Braydon and I could finally get some sleep. He's doing much better now, and hopefully we won't have to do that again anytime soon!<br />
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Yesterday we went to see Dr. Zapata for a check-up/follow-up. As much as I would like to say it was a good visit, it wasn't that great. There isn't any wonderful news that came from it. He actually told me that Landon wasn't growing as fast as he should be and was actually staying the same as he had been before. On a growth chart, this doesn't pan out well. He's supposed to be moving with the growth curve, and right now he's staying the same as the growth chart is showing that he should be moving up. No bueno. So, I got a call today from the dietitian in his office that we needed to up his calories by 300 a day! So, that's an extra 6 ounces of formula a day. Right now, he's getting 14 ounces of formula and now he'll be receiving 20. That's a drastic increase. I have to say that I was a little worried when Dr. Zapata was showing me the growth charts. I kept it to myself, but I have noticed that Landon still fits into his 4T clothes almost perfectly when he is getting closer to being 6 years old. Apparently his lack of nutrition has affected his growth. A lot. <br />
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Don't I feel like a jerk. Once again, I've been so driven to get my kid off of this g-button, that I've been a little blinded by the fact that he is very much dependent on it. Most of his nutrition comes from it. He does eat meals, but he doesn't eat enough or as productive as he should for a kid his age. To give you an idea, he eats about as much as Sydney does right now, sometimes less. And he doesn't drink hardly anything. He'll drink an ounce or two from his cup at dinner, but that's after me and Braydon have a war with him about it. I guess right now he just doesn't understand the importance of it. So, I guess I've come to the realization that this is going to be a longer road than I expected. It's not a quick or easy fix. I've gotta step back. It's more important to me that my son is healthy and growing the way he should, than getting a g-button out. I've gotta learn to look at the big picture. Just because he has to have more formula right now, doesn't mean that in a year from now he will. Big picture, Dawn, big picture.<br />
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So, although I didn't have any really good news in this post, at least I have cute pictures to show. That really makes up for it, right? ;)<br />
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Landon's teacher gave him a dice "game" for him to learn how to add. He LOVES it! He really likes dry erase markers right now. I don't know. Sometimes the most random things make him happy. :) Sydney loves her tutu right now. She doesn't like to take it off. She calls it her "ballerina". I don't think these kids could be any cuter!</div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-65309272792341593122013-02-03T15:55:00.000-06:002013-02-03T15:55:00.255-06:00The official start of the dreaded "terrible 2's"Time flies, right? How can our precious little girl already be 2?! It's unbelievable how fast kids grow up!<br />
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So, we had a birthday party to celebrate Sydney. She was super excited about her party. She helped me pick out what kind of party she wanted to have and I told her that her friends were going to come over and bring her presents. Of course she was excited about the presents. Then I told her that she was going to have cake and we were going to sing Happy Birthday to her, and that just added to her excitement. <br />
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Our friend's little girl, Roslyn, had her birthday a week before Sydney's. We went there for her party and Sydney kept saying "Happy Birthday to me!". I had to keep telling her that her birthday was next weekend, but she's two and didn't understand, so we just giggled every time she said it. :)<br />
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We kept it small this year. I'm starting to loathe birthday parties and I didn't want a ton of people in my house. We only invited 5 families and it ended up that only a couple of them could make it. Everyone was fighting off colds or other illnesses and didn't want to share anything. Thank goodness! So, it was us, our friends Pyper and Brad, and the little ones, Nevin and Roslyn. Just what I wanted...small. I think the saying "ask and you shall receive" works in this situation. :) We did a Minnie Mouse theme and here's some of the pictures that I took...<br />
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I made cupcakes this year. I kept it simple.</div>
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Cute little Nevin. I love that kids smile!</div>
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Roslyn is the sweetest little girl. She LOVES playing with Landon and Sydney. She's such a good friend.</div>
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We set the picnic table up in the middle of the kitchen for the kids to eat. We had Sydney's favorite: PB&Js, fruit salad, pretzels, and I made ham & cheese pasta salad. YUM!</div>
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This was my meager attempt to getting a picture of everyone together. Sydney decided she didn't want to sit with everyone and started throwing a fit and crying. At least Nevin is looking at the camera! :)</div>
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Landon thought Sydney's fit was funny, but Roslyn was not okay with it. She was very concerned and was saying "Sydney fell on the floor" in her sweet little Roslyn voice.</div>
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Next, we did presents. Sydney was really excited about the presents and opened them all herself. Roslyn got her some hair bows (which she desperately needed) and Nevin got her some princess underwear and a cute towel with her name on it.</div>
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Roslyn was trying to give Sydney the scroll that had some money in it for her piggy bank. Sydney was just interested in the cute bows.</div>
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I've never seen a little girl so excited over underwear before! She was so excited about it and just smiled and smiled over them. :) It's the little things people!</div>
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Sydney likes her junk food. Her favorites right now are M&Ms, ice cream and of course, cake. She really liked when everyone sang to her, but hadn't had enough practice with blowing out the candles. She did pretty good, but she needed some help from dad to get them out completely.</div>
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She was too busy being cute that she didn't even notice when Dad helped her blow out the candles.</div>
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She was bummed when she looked down and they weren't lit anymore. ;)</div>
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I think Nevin just liked the icing. :)</div>
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We had fun hanging out with the kids and they had fun playing with all the toys.</div>
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On Sydney's actual birthday, we did the candle thing again and she ended up blowing the candle out herself. Over and over. She wanted me to keep lighting it, so I humored her. :)</div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-9722922954575037682013-02-02T14:09:00.000-06:002013-02-02T14:09:52.964-06:00Trying to see into Landon's mindWell, jeepers, I'm not the best blogger now-a-days am I? We've had some things going on this past month, including Sydney turning 2. <br />
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We've also had some changes with Landon. Nothing bad, just changes. He's been doing really well without the trach and we've actually had a pretty descent winter as far as getting sick goes (KNOCK! KNOCK!). He's been doing pretty well in school too. He got a good report card and is actually reading above his grade level already! His teachers always compliment me on how smart he is, but he's having trouble keeping focused on what he's doing. I see that happening a lot at home too. He needs constant reminders to finish what he's doing, whether it be putting toys away or just going to the bathroom. He just can't tear himself away from what he's doing or what he's thinking to get things done sometimes. I find it very frustrating when I'm in a hurry and he can't remember where his shoes are kept or how to put on his hat. It's a struggle I have on a daily basis.<br />
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So, I brought it up at Sydney's 2 year check up (I'll get to that on another post) to Dr. LaCroix. She suggested that we get him evaluated by a neurologist and psychologist to see what may be causing him to be like that. I don't want you to think we are going to the extreme here. It's not just the staying focused. He wants to play the same activity all the time and he's having a hard time with coming up with words to say to finish a sentence. He'll sit and say "um" for a good solid minute before he can think of what he was talking about. Kim says that word retrieval is very common to people with brain injuries, so that comforted me a little to hear that it was normal for him to be doing that considering what he had been through. I just want to make sure that I know if some of the issues he is having are from the lingering effects of the brain injury or just him being a five year old. I also mentioned to Dr. LaCroix about it possibly being a little bit of autism, which covers his obsessive tendencies (like numbers, doors and doing the same thing over and over). She told me not to be surprised if it wasn't a little, if not, all of the above. Which I'm cool with. I just want to get tools to help me understand him better. I want to be sympathetic if my child is taking forever to complete a sentence due to the fact that he can't retrieve a word because of his brain injury. He doesn't deserve me getting frustrated at him if he can't help some of the things he does. I just need to learn the differences.<br />
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I find myself getting frustrated at him a lot because he can't do the things that I would like for him to be able to do. Like putting on his shoes, or his coat, or climbing into the car. There are so many things that other parents may take for granted that their child can do, where mine struggles. He can put on his shoes, his coat, and get into the car on his own, but it takes him double (or sometimes triple) the time that it would take any other kid. I can never be in a hurry with him. If I am, it's me doing everything for him just to get it done and get out the door. It's tiring. <br />
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I try my best to be patient. To teach him and slow down a little. I walk him through tasks over and over so he can learn what he needs to do. Please don't think that I am impatient and just yell at my kid all day! That is definitely NOT the case. I just want to help him. Help him to be a more independent, strong, and smart boy. I want him to know he can do anything he puts his mind to. As a parent, I need help to help him. I need to know what I'm doing wrong or what I'm doing right. It's very true that kids don't come with manuals, but sometimes I really wish I had one for him!<br />
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So, we are waiting for insurance to go through with all of that and then we'll be able to start that process. I'm not even sure what they will be doing exactly, but we'll just go with it and see what knowledge we can gain.Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-85513292190348117802013-01-05T14:52:00.002-06:002013-01-05T14:53:10.027-06:00Scared of SantaI had to share this one. Landon has always been a fan of Santa and we've never had any issues getting him to sit on Santa's lap. This year we went to a "Breakfast with Santa" on base and this is the picture we got with Santa. Sydney wanted nothing to do with him. She FREAKED OUT as I walked up to them. The girl wasn't having it. Oh well...maybe next year.<br />
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Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-54759277675311406572013-01-05T14:49:00.000-06:002013-01-05T14:49:20.880-06:00Christmas with the WalshesOur Christmases are normally pretty crazy. Coming from a divorce family, my holidays have always been busy. Trying to see two families on one day was busy, but it was my normal. I didn't realize how busy I was on holidays until I married Braydon. His parents have been married 30+ years and he's never had to be anywhere but with his family during the holidays. It was always a relaxing day for him. <br />
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When we got married, he had a little glimpse into what I had to do during the holidays. He had two more families to visit, which made things more stressful. Plus, Braydon wasn't a fan of running around everywhere when he was used to relaxing on a holiday. I didn't blame him. Putting myself in his shoes, I probably wouldn't have cared to do it either! Like I said, it was my normal. Plus, I liked getting to see all of my family within a few days. It was my holiday routine. :)<br />
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When we had Landon, things had to change drastically. There wasn't a choice. We didn't feel comfortable traveling with him being so unstable in his medical needs. Plus, the amount of stuff (including medical supplies, machines, baby items, and all of our clothes) we would've had to bring along was just enough to stress anyone out! So, we started our own traditions in Nebraska. It was then that I got to enjoy what Braydon had been talking about. It was peaceful to not have to be everywhere. I missed my family, but was enjoying making traditions with our new little family.<br />
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Now, we have a different kind of busy during the holidays. We've created our own traditions, while trying to incorporate the ones from our childhood. I think we've been pretty successful.<br />
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On Christmas Eve in Braydon's family, they open presents from each other on Christmas Eve. Having 4 siblings and a set of parents and occasional grandparent(s), I could only imagine how crazy their Christmas morning would've been if they didn't do it that way! We started doing it with them over the internet (on Skype) the first Christmas we couldn't be there (Landon's first Christmas). It makes things so fun and everyone gets to see the kids open their gifts. That's the best part anyways, isn't it?<br />
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This year, we met up with them to watch the kids open their gifts first, and then after we put the kids to bed, we all got to open our presents from each other together. It was a very different experience than last year. We didn't really have a chance to see anyone open anything last year because the kids were all over and just wanted to open their presents. Who cares about anyone else, right? ;)<br />
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Everyone loved seeing the kids open their gifts. Landon and Sydney opened their presents on their own this year, so I was able to take a few pictures. <br />
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The kids sorting through their presents</div>
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Landon and Aunt Rhea "playing" matching together. It was more of Landon just showing her the matches. :)</div>
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Sydney got a cute little lion from Grandma Bonnie that she now sleeps with (along with her normal two pup-pups)</div>
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Sydney checking out her baby bed from Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Joe</div>
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The fancy jacket that Bonnie made from scratch off of a picture Braydon found off of the internet. He couldn't take it off. I've caught him on several occasions modelling in the mirror for himself. Shhh!! Don't tell him I told you that! He's pretty amazed by it, but admitted that he's a little scared to wear it out of the house! ;)</div>
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Grandpa Joe made us all coordinating socks this year! These are Landon's.</div>
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After we put the kids to bed, we also got to play around and have a little fun. Hanging out with everyone was a lot of fun. Heather got Braydon and his brother, Garrett, some stick-on mustaches. So, of course, we acted like kids. :) This picture makes me giggle whenever I see it!<br />
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The next morning was pretty crazy. The kids played with all the things that Santa brought (which was too much). Santa is getting a note from mommy and daddy telling him to slow down next year. He went way overboard this year!! Then came stockings and breakfast squeezed in there somewhere before we started opening all the presents from my family and each other. Phew, right?? I'm tired just from typing it! :)<br />
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This was what the kids saw going down the stairs in the morning...Santa did too much!!</div>
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Sydney just stood at the bottom of the stairs with this grin on her face for a few seconds. She didn't know what to go to first!</div>
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Dad showing Landon how to work the piano</div>
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The "wild numbers" that Landon kept asking Santa for.</div>
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Poor Sydney. She was so overwhelmed. :)</div>
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But Landon was having the time of his life!! :D</div>
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Sydney loved the drumset! She didn't want Landon to play on it and had a hard time sharing just one drumstick with him! </div>
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We made her forfeit the drumsticks so Landon could try. He did pretty good...with his left hand. Sigh. Something to work on I guess. :)</div>
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Santa knows how much Landon loves notebooks. Silly kid!</div>
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This was Sydney's face after she pulled out a little tube of mini M&Ms. The girl loves chocolate.</div>
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Haha!! I love this picture! I tried getting a good one but when Sydney finally looked up, this is the face I got.</div>
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Sydney is pretty good at the shape puzzles, so Santa brought her something a little more difficult.</div>
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The rest of the day was just enjoying each other and the kids playing with/fighting over their new toys. Braydon and I had a huge sigh of relief after the whole things was over! We don't have to do that for another year! YAY! :)Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-35751509055289336172012-12-30T15:03:00.000-06:002012-12-30T15:03:56.140-06:00Our little elf, AnnieNot sure if everyone has heard about the "Elf on the Shelf" craze that is going on right now. The cute little elf comes with a story that explains about his/her purpose. Basically, your elf is sent to your house from Santa to watch the kids and make sure they are being good during the holiday season. He/She sits on the shelf (or other various places in your home) and keeps an eye on the kids and whether or not they are being good or bad. She cannot talk to the kids, but they can talk to her and tell her what they want for Christmas or anything else about their day. She cannot be touched by anyone because she will lose her "Christmas magic" and won't be able to fly home to the North Pole to tell Santa how good (or bad) the kid(s) were. In the morning, she can reappear in a different place in your home after reporting to Santa that night. That's the fun part. ;)<br />
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First things first. When you get an elf, you have to name it. Ours was a girl, so the kids wanted to call her Annie. They named her after a character on the show "The Little Einsteins". We read her book and I reiterated what her job was and how we couldn't touch her. They were super excited about it, and every morning it was a hunt to find where Annie ended up after her trip to see Santa.<br />
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Annie's being chased by the cops! Oh NO!</div>
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Swinging from the stockings</div>
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Annie enjoying a mug of hot cocoa after her long trip home.</div>
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Zip lining through the breakfast area (Landon loved this one!)</div>
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A note from Annie helped reinforce some good behavior at school. :)</div>
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Hanging out on the pendant light.</div>
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People get pretty crazy with the where-abouts of their elf, but I didn't have the time or energy to put into it this year. I tried to keep it pretty simple. The kids are still too young to really care about some of it, so it worked out perfectly. They just loved finding her every morning. I'm sure with Braydon's help next year (and his overactive imagination) we'll have a more active elf. :) </div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-88647640849220375142012-12-30T12:19:00.002-06:002012-12-30T12:20:29.649-06:00Nonna rocks!Thanksgiving is normally held at my house. We have a few other military families over for food, nice company and football. This year we were invited over to our friend's house. We had a lot of fun eating and hanging out with everyone. Of course, it wasn't the same without Dad, but we made due. :)<div>
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The day after Thanksgiving, my mom came to visit us from Atlanta. We always love when she comes to visit. The kids love playing with her, and she's so helpful that it takes some pressure off of momma too. :) We did some Christmas shopping while she was here as well as some Christmas decorating. I always put my tree up right after thanksgiving and I wasn't going to let Braydon being gone interrupt my fun. :) </div>
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We have a pre-lit fake tree that we got on a day after Thanksgiving sale about 5 or 6 years ago now. It was a fabulous deal and came with white and colored lights on it. You can switch which ones you want on or light up both. It has a remote control, so it's so easy. Last year, I remembered us having some issues with some of the lights working, but Braydon had fixed them. This year I took the tree out of the box and about 20% of the lights worked on it. I wasn't going to spend time finding which ones were broken, so Mom and I took them off the tree! An hour and a half later, we had a light-free tree. I bought some lights from Hobby Lobby and put new ones on it instead. It looked so much better and now we will have working lights for next year too. :)</div>
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Our finished product. :)</div>
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I have to add this in. I tried to get the kids involved with decorating the Christmas tree this year. Landon just wanted to steal all the ornaments that had a number or a door on them and hoard them. Sigh. Sydney, however, LOVED helping! She liked to help me hang the ball ornaments. Problem was, she was so quick! Before I could even help her, this is what I found at the bottom of our tree:</div>
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At least she's eager to help, right? ;) hehe</div>
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After tackling the Christmas decorating, we wanted to have a little bit of fun with the kids too. Mom loves the pizza place, <a href="http://www.papamurphys.com/Home" target="_blank">Papa Murphy's</a>. There aren't any in Atlanta, so when she comes here, we try to make a point to go there just for her. :) They are a take-n-bake place where you buy the pizza at the store, they put it together, and then you take it home and bake it in your own oven. The pizzas are super good and aren't as greasy as other places. If you haven't tried them yet, you should. </div>
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They have little mini pizza kits for the kids to make their own pizza. I remember doing that with my Grandpop when I was a kid, so I thought we would give it a try with Landon. Things like this are very hit or miss with him. I kept my fingers crossed that he would give it a chance and he loved it! He did such a good job. :)</div>
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Adding the cheese and pepperonis.</div>
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Before the oven...</div>
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Pictures while the pizza was baking. Sorry for the blurry pictures. I think I need to remind myself how to use my camera again! :)</div>
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This one would've been so cute too! :/</div>
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Okay, pizza, hurry UP!</div>
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Our finished product! :)</div>
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Landon and Nonna spent some time together and Nonna taught Landon how to play tic-tac-toe and hangman. He did pretty good with it. He really liked the tic-tac-toe!</div>
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As always, a big thank you to my mom for coming to visit! Especially this time! It gave me something to look forward to in that long 6 weeks and broke up the time so it went by quicker. We love you Nonna!!</div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-42193044894299339332012-12-30T11:19:00.000-06:002012-12-30T11:19:06.977-06:00Halloween 2012Our Halloween was a little different this year. Normally, Braydon will take Landon out trick-or-treating while I pass out candy. I hate when people leave bowls of candy out instead of answering the door. Unfortunately, I was that person this year. I had no way around it. There was only one of me and too many places to be at once. I felt no remorse leaving the bowl on our front steps. The fact that Braydon wasn't going to be here to share a holiday that he always shared with Landon, it was imperative to me that I make up for the missing parent. <br />
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One of our nurses, Theresa, (who is as sweet as can be) offered to come over and help me take the kids out. I'm so thankful and grateful that she did! Since Landon still needs help going up stairs that don't have railings, it was very helpful to have another set of hands. I put Sydney in the wagon since I knew she would just run from me otherwise. She didn't mind it, thankfully.<br />
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This year Sydney was a bumblebee. I found this costume at a consignment sale in August and couldn't pass it up. She wasn't very happy when I put it on her at first, but she warmed up to it. The back of the costume was the cutest...</div>
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I love the little stinger. :) She was very interested in the lollipops this year. She was pretty insistent that she have one, and it being Halloween and all we decided to humor her. :) She loved it, and had it all over the place within seconds. In her hair, all over her face, on her costume...you get the idea. :)</div>
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Landon decided that he wanted to be Pocoyo. Pocoyo is a cute little cartoon character on Nick Jr. that Landon LOVES! Here's a picture of the cartoon:</div>
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The little guy in all blue in the middle is Pocoyo. I was so happy that he chose something semi-easy to recreate! :) I did my best, and bought a white sweat suit and dyed it blue and added the cute little zipper on the top. Then I dyed a white hat the same color blue as the suit and wa-la! I was done. :)</div>
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Cute little Landon...I mean, Pocoyo and Miss Theresa :)</div>
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Getting a good picture of the two of them is almost impossible! You can see Sydney's lollipop...</div>
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A picture of all of us and Sydney with her lollipop.</div>
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The lollipop didn't last much longer after that. I had to take it away from her because I didn't want her sticking it to herself, or worse, the wagon and then putting it in her mouth. Yuck! She cried when I threw it away. A lot. I reassured her that she would get more, and thankfully, the first house we went to gave her a lollipop! Thank goodness! After she realized she was getting candy at all the houses, she was a happy little bumblebee. Towards the end of the trip around the neighborhood, she was saying "Halloweens" for trick-or-treat and " 'nother house" when we would leave one house and go to the next. She caught on pretty quick. </div>
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Landon took to it like a duck to water. He didn't need any reminding of what he needed to do. :) After the night was over, we came home and enjoyed some Fruit Loops that the neighbor gave out, and headed for bed. They did really good and I think it will be even easier next year. I even got to pass out a little bit more candy after we got back. :)</div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-69812181781702030762012-12-27T23:00:00.000-06:002012-12-27T23:00:01.995-06:00Our beautiful family!Is it really the holidays again?! Where does time go?? I swear I turn around twice and it's Christmas again! This year will be so much more special with both of my children getting older and having more of an understanding of what the holidays mean. I love being the one to pass on traditions and come up with new ones. This time of the year is so magical when you have children!<br />
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Again, it was time to get our family picture taken. Braydon always gives me a hard time about getting pictures taken, but it's one of those things that I feel is very important. Our kids are only young once, and I want to be able to freeze times of their lives in photographs. <br />
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We went with our friend Megan, who has grown so much in her photography in the past couple of years. She's fantastic and the kids are totally comfortable around her. Here's a few of the pictures she caught of us:<br />
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She always does a beautiful job! She does such a good job, that I have a hard time picking which one I want to get blown up for the house! Decisions, decisions...<br />
<br />Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-68848283858944300532012-12-27T22:28:00.000-06:002012-12-27T22:28:13.067-06:00Fun with Dad at the pumpkin patchSince Braydon wasn't going to be home for Halloween, we wanted to make sure that we enjoyed each other before he left and keep everything as normal as it usually is. Around this time of year we always enjoy taking the kids to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin to carve. We headed to the same place we go every year, <a href="http://bellevueberryfarm.com/" target="_blank">Bellevue Berry and Pumpkin Patch</a>, which isn't too far from our house and isn't as busy as some of the other places around Omaha. It's perfect for our family.<br />
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This year we ended up taking the kids right after Landon went to school, so there weren't very many people there. It worked out fabulous! We picked out pumpkins and walked around and enjoyed the scenery. The kids got to run around and burn off some steam. We had a lot of fun!</div>
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This year there were a lot more animals than they had in the past. Sydney really enjoyed seeing the animals, and Landon could've cared less. He just wanted to hold Dad's hand.</div>
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Apparently this pumpkin-loving pig lives in the right place. :)</div>
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Sydney was very facinated with the chickens. I had to tell her to stop poking her fingers through the chicken wire cause those chickens were licking their chops!</div>
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Landon didn't want to have anything to do with the scary pirate's cave! Dad tried to walk Sydney through, but she started saying "out" almost as soon as she got in there.</div>
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Sydney's a brave girl. Even through she didn't go all the way through, she did better than me!</div>
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Walking through the ghost town.</div>
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Taking turns on the tire horse. It's actually attached to a long wire thing and they "ride" the horse down the wire. Landon didn't want to do it at first (in his normal Landon fashion), but once he was on it he didn't seem to mind. :)</div>
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Sydney had to stop and say "moo" to the cows :)</div>
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Landon made it to the top of the pirate ship this year! He didn't want to climb the weird ladder to get up there, but he did it with a little pushing. :) He enjoyed walking around for a minute and then wanted to get down. At least he tried. </div>
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Sydney lost her seat in the stroller to the pumpkins. The kids were excited to pick out their own pumpkin and picked up several before we decided which ones we were taking home. :) </div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-44213640423367201102012-12-27T22:22:00.001-06:002012-12-27T22:22:57.943-06:00The blogging blues...I know. I'm so behind on blogging I just don't know what to do with all of the pictures I want to share! I've been contemplating just skipping over the fall and just starting off with the last major holiday. Then, I think about how many people that don't get to see my kids daily, or even monthly, and how disappointed they would be if they didn't get to see their cute little faces. :) So, no worries! I'm gonna work my little tush off to try and get as many pictures and fun stories up as I can! (I might even surprise you with a video! I know, I'm living on the edge, huh?) :)<br />
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Summarizing the past few months: It's been hectic. Braydon was gone to Mississippi, as I said before, and got back home on the 14th of December. We were all very happy to see him. Landon didn't let him out of his sight for a few days, and when he had to go back to school that Monday, he asked repeatedly if Daddy would be home after school. Poor guy thought Daddy was leaving him again. :( It made me sad, but I reassured him that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Even today, he asks me all day when Daddy will be home. I think he's just making sure I'm going to say the same thing every time. <br />
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Anyways, Braydon was gone right before Halloween, missed Thanksgiving with us, and a visit with my mom. I will catch up with pictures in the days to come. I'm hoping to be on track before the new year, so you won't have to wait long. :) But, please don't judge if I don't. Did I mention I have two small children? ;)Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-12452241903294846882012-11-21T16:03:00.000-06:002012-11-21T16:03:43.815-06:00The worst trip EVER to the GI ClinicEarlier this month, Landon had an appointment with Dr. Zapata, his GI doctor. We hadn't seen him in a very long time, because Landon was in the hospital when we had to cancel his last appointment last December. It's one of those offices that has so many kids scheduled that when you cancel you have to wait six months for another appointment. My mommy brain kicked in when I thought we had another appointment scheduled with him in June, and we didn't. I'm not sure why I thought that, but after I realized I made a mistake I called immediately to get seen. They didn't have anything open until this month so I didn't have a choice. Stupid mommy brain! <br />
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Anyways, I took the kids on my own because Braydon couldn't get off of work. I had to get Landon out of school because (of course) they didn't have any appointments open after school hours. It was a 10:30 appointment, so I calculated out in my head that Landon would be back in school by lunchtime. I should've known....<br />
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This office has been notorious for being incredibly slow, so I armed myself with snacks and toys for the kids. I was crossing my fingers that I was going to be wrong this time. We got there a little early after I picked Landon up from school. We waited in the waiting room, which is actually really big and nice. There are things to look at and places to walk around and even games to play. The kids were both happy meandering around. After about 10 minutes or so (around our appointment time), we were called back into the exam room. Landon was weighed and measured, then after a potty break (where the kids started misbehaving) we were put into the little room to wait.<br />
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The dietician came in to talk to me about Landon's feeding schedule and to ask me a few questions. The kids started immediately acting up and I gave them some of the things I brought for them to keep them occupied while I spoke with her. As she was leaving, she whispered an "I'm sorry" as she closed the door.<br />
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Half an hour later, I was going a little nuts with my crazy kids, when Dr. Zapata came in. Dr. Zapata is from Columbia and has a very heavy accent mixed with what I think is a lisp. I have to really concentrate on what he's saying when he talks to me. Most of the time I have a nurse or someone with me, so we compare notes of what we "think" we got out of the visit at the end. I didn't have that, so I was trying my hardest to concentrate while he was explaining to me that Landon was starting to slack off on the height and body mass index (BMI) part of growing. He was telling me that we should increase Landon's caloric intake in his formula to get him back on track with the growth chart. As all of this is going on, the kids are fighting with each other over the toys I brought, Sydney is starting to get hungry, tired, and isn't listening to me as I told her that standing in the stroller is a bad idea. I was losing control and was getting close to my wits end. Trust me, I did a couple of time-outs and they weren't working. The kids were over being in that small space. <br />
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After all of that talking with Dr. Zapata, we had to wait for the dietitian to come in and give us the game plan. Another half an hour went by, lunchtime had passed, and the kids were pretty much screaming. I was so annoyed by the fact that I had been left in the room so long, that I was letting them scream so that maybe they would get annoyed by it too and get me out faster! The dietitian came in and gave us a run down of what was going to happen as we switched formulas. I asked her if it would change how much he ate orally, and she told me it could. :( I expressed to her that that worried me since one of my goals for him is to be eating more orally than through his G-button. I guess she was frustrated with me. She said to me, "Well, we can't make him eat." and left the room while I was dealing with my fighting children. UGH!!<br />
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After all of that, we had to wait for a nurse to come in and reiterate to me everything that the doctor and dietitian told me. I was so over my boiling point, I was on the verge of tears. It was taking everything I had not to break down. We had spent an hour and a half in that little exam room!! Both kids were extremely hungry and tired and my blood sugar had dropped which was making me even more irritable (if that was possible)!<br />
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As we left, I had to make another appointment to come back in three months, where the receptionist sat on the phone while I stood there. On a personal call. UGH!! I wasn't very chatty with her when she got off the phone and she could tell I wasn't in a friendly mood. I made my appointment and made a beeline for the door. The worst appointment I have EVER been to! And I've been to A LOT!<br />
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I got in the car and broke down in tears not because I was sad, but because I was so frustrated with how they handled us and how my children acted. I felt like such a bad mom for not being able to control my children. I'm sure it won't be the last time I feel like that, but I had had enough for the day.<br />
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So, after all that, Landon is now transitioning from his old formula to a new one with more calories in it per ounce. We're slowly weaning him onto it now to make sure he tolerates it well and to see how much will work for him. The deitician told me that they will increase the amount of calories slowly just to get him caught up on the growth curve. So far I haven't noticed any changes in his eating habits orally, and if I have, they have been for the better. He ate a slice and a half of pizza last week!!! I was so happy with that!<br />
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Keep us in your thoughts as we move forward with getting Landon on a more normal eating pattern. Kim is backing me up with feeding therapy still when we go to speech therapy. She agrees with me that we should be pushing more solids with him. THANK GOODNESS someone sees my side and will help me stand up for my child!Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-69049029921286671862012-11-14T13:46:00.002-06:002012-11-14T13:46:25.178-06:00Grandpa love.Okay, here's my first attempt at catching up with the past month. <div>
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My dad came to visit on a spur-of-the-moment visit in the beginning of October. He was missing us and called one day with a date to come. It worked out that Braydon was gone on a trip for work, so we got to hang out together with the kids. </div>
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My dad is the ultimate handyman. He knows how to do a little bit of everything and I'm so grateful he's good with his hands. He helped us out with a few things that were on the honey-do list. He helped me pick out a microwave for above our stove...something I had been wanting since we moved in. He installed it and it was amazing how much more room I had! I was so grateful he did it for me because I know it's done right. I took some pictures while he was working on things, but I didn't get a lot because we were so busy with the kids. Here's the ones I captured...</div>
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My dad's handy work. Our new microwave (which I LOVE)!</div>
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Sydney trying on my boots. Grandpa was doing another project...our coat closet. He added another shelf because we desperately needed storage in there!</div>
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Sydney was very interested in what Grandpa was doing under that chair! All of the screws for the seats of my chairs were falling out, so Dad was trying to put them back in for a temporary fix.</div>
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I didn't even realize that I didn't get a picture with Landon and my Dad until the last day and he was getting ready to leave. :( </div>
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A big thank you to my dad for helping out with all the random things that needed to get done around here! He's amazing! :)</div>
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Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-61763026846280640582012-11-10T22:02:00.003-06:002012-11-10T22:02:34.456-06:00Skipping October, straight into NovemberI'm a super lame-o. I didn't blog the whole month of October. I know. I should be ashamed of myself. <br />
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I have to say that it wasn't because I was being lazy. The whole month flew by because I'm not sure I got a day to settle down and write! There were so many things that happened in October which I will catch up on (hopefully) in the next week or so. It was a jam-packed month full of fun and visits and pumpkins and Halloween.<br />
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The reason I don't have a lot of time these days is because my other half is gone. He's out of town, not gone. Just not home. :( He left the day before Halloween for six weeks. He's in the lovely state of Mississippi learning all sorts of things for his job. I'm hoping time flies. I'm on day 12 and so far I haven't hid in a corner in the fetal position, so I think I'm doing pretty fantastic! 34 more days...I'm not counting or anything. :)<br />
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So, no worries. I will keep everyone informed as to what is going on in our lives these days. :) To tide you over, here is a precious picture taken of my little bugs lovin' on each other. Soak it in people cause this is a rare occurance! :)<br />
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Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-55738603314595778212012-09-30T14:16:00.000-05:002012-09-30T14:16:00.195-05:00Attempt at a homemakerI try my best at the stay-at-home mom/homemaker bit. I have good days and bad days. I clip coupons to save us money, try to keep my house clean, keep up with the never-ending piles of laundry, and try to love on my children in between all the craziness that happens in life. I feel like for the most part I get a gold star. My kids are fed, clothed and happy. That's all that matters, right? I found this on Pinterest and thought that it needed to be on a big sign on my ceiling so I could see it every morning when I wake up. <br />
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Maybe then I wouldn't worry so much about the little things. Life is short, right? :)</div>
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I also found something else on Pinterest that I thought I would give a try this year. The past couple of years, we've taken the kids to pick apples at a nearby orchard. We come home with so many yummy apples and after the first few the excitement over the apples starts to dwindle. I was thinking about trying to make my own applesauce and found a recipe to make it in a crock pot. Sounded pretty easy, so I decided to try it. </div>
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Sydney and I went to the orchard and pick a bunch of apples. I'm thankful we went when we did because the lack of rain this summer made all the apples have a short life span. They were ready to pick a lot early that normal. The man let me know that the next week would probably be the last week to get anything good. </div>
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We picked some nice Jonathan apples which happened to be the best apples for applesauce. :)</div>
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I spent my "my time" while Sydney was taking her afternoon nap, peeling and chopping apples to add to the crock pot. With a little brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and some love from the crock pot, we eventually had something to work with.<br />
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I mashed up what was in the crock pot with a potato masher and put it in the blender until it was the right consistency. It turned out tasting like apple pie filling! Delicious!</div>
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Did that make me super mom? No, but it was fun to know I could make it myself and it not taste gross! :) On a side note, this jar didn't last long. ;)</div>
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-73220927823039126282012-09-29T14:44:00.000-05:002012-09-29T14:44:27.046-05:00Life is crazyHoly moley! Where did September go?? I apologize that I haven't blogged in a while. Life is a little crazy with two little ones, but that's no excuse, right? ;) I will try my best to keep at it. <br />
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Braydon is having to do some traveling for work, so I've been a little busy keeping the household running. My mom actually came to visit to help me with the kids while he was gone last week. It was SO nice to have the help as well as the company! I love my kids, but every mom understands that they aren't the best conversationalists. There's only so many times you can talk about they're favorite TV show or they're favorite thing before you start to get a little bored. So it was nice to have her around. <br />
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Apparently, Nonna was missed by everyone...including the cat. :)</div>
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It just so happened that her birthday also fell in the middle of this visit. I won't mention numbers, mom, so don't worry. ;) hehe I haven't gotten to spend a birthday with my mom in a while, so I was so grateful to have her all to myself on her special day. I tried to make it as special as I could as we kept up with all the other things going on in our day. We got a delicious pizza at Papa Murphy's and a frozen custard cake from Culver's. We ended up doing the cake by ourselves that night because we were so busy trying to get the kids in bed on time! It ended up being really nice because I got to sing happy birthday to my wonderful mom all by myself. :)<br />
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A big thank you to my mom for all of her love and help while she was here. She's a pretty amazing mom and I love her dearly. :)</div>
<br />Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-87627048441753524032012-08-31T14:50:00.002-05:002012-08-31T14:50:59.998-05:00My sweet cutie pies!I hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend! Please be safe and happy! Here's some pictures of my cute kids (and a couple extras that are just as cute) to start the weekend out right... ;)<div>
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Sydney and her "Pup-pups"</div>
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Tickle, Tickle!</div>
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Sydney and Hunter</div>
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The Jake and the Neverland Pirate boat was a hit with all the kids!</div>
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Sydney stole all the figurines and was lining them up in the window sill. Her face and the crazy hair just add to the cuteness of this picture! ;)</div>
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Sweet little man</div>
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"CHEEEEEEESE!"</div>
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Sydney and Mason having a milk stare-down...</div>
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They were watching the sprinklers outside</div>
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Crazy kids!!</div>
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Not sure if you can make them out, but my son drew all of his numbers on the sidewalk by himself without asking for a lick of help! Aren't they beautiful?! *tear* ;)</div>
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Coloring in mommy's ladybug</div>
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A rare, quiet moment of my children playing...</div>
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Daddy and Sydney talking </div>
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Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-58132911161244173342012-08-27T12:24:00.000-05:002012-08-27T12:24:00.097-05:00Grandma Bonnie made it!!We have been begging Braydon's mom to come out to visit us. She runs a small store that I think I've mentioned before, <a href="http://www.shopbumbleberry.com/" target="_blank">Bumbleberry</a>, in the north Georgia mountains. It's really hard for her to get away since she only has a few employees. It worked out that she got some coverage for this week so she could visit some family (including us!). We were so happy to see her since the last time she was out here Sydney was only 2 or 3 months old! A LOT has changed since then!<br />
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We had so much fun spending quality time together. Braydon and I both love her company and the kids really loved her too. Landon remembered Grandma Bonnie, and wanted her to play with him. Sydney took a little bit, but she warmed up pretty quickly and they spent time playing together. For only four short days, we got to have Bonnie all to ourselves. :) It was great!<br />
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Sydney and Grandma Bonnie were mailing post cards</div>
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Putting a stamp on a letter</div>
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In the mail it goes...</div>
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Right back out again</div>
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Sydney loves her Grandma Bonnie</div>
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While she was here, we even got Landon outside to play with his new t-ball set. I noticed Landon has a pretty good arm when he throws a ball, and wanted to see if he would enjoy playing t-ball. Come to find out, he's pretty good!! He needs some reminding to keep both hands on the bat, but he picked it up pretty quickly and more importantly was having FUN!! He hit the ball around and Sydney gladly tried to take it away from him...it was a rat-race! I think if I was one of the neighbors, I would've been laughing at Bonnie and me. Both of us were scrambling around trying to keep Landon interested and Sydney where we could see her, but not where she could steal the ball! It was funny but tiring at the same time! We both had a huge sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from our brow when we went inside. :)<br />
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Grandma Bonnie giving Landon a lesson in hitting the ball</div>
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Landon doing it all by himself. He did pretty good for a first timer!</div>
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Now Sydney wanted a turn.</div>
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Landon getting the ball he hit while Sydney took her turn.</div>
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Grandma Bonnie turned into the target at one point. :)</div>
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This was Sydney the whole time we were playing in the front yard. At one point, I peeked around the corner and she was in the neighbor's sprinklers! Silly Sydney!</div>
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Landon loves his Grandma Bonnie</div>
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Off Sydney goes again! Sigh.</div>
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Braydon and I wanted to steal Bonnie and keep her here, but unfortunately, that didn't work. I'm thankful for the time we got with her and we can't wait till she comes back! Or maybe the next time we see her will be in Georgia...who knows?!<br />
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<br />Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-58161234807191633752012-08-25T11:47:00.001-05:002012-08-25T11:47:24.797-05:00Our new front yardSince September of 2009, when we moved into our house, I've dreamed of the day we could landscape our front yard. We built our house, so our front yard was just a bunch of grass...a clean slate, that's the best. :) Other projects took precedence over our yard and this year we decided it was time. I was excited and went back and forth with different ideas that wouldn't make us broke. :) We finally decided on an idea and we went with it.<br />
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Braydon's happy face while working on the retaining wall</div>
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Sydney really wanted to help Daddy</div>
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"Good job, Dad." -Sydney</div>
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Then she started digging...such a good helper!</div>
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This is the side we started with. I tackled this one on my own, therefore there are no pictures for evidence. :)</div>
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After we were finished and the plants were put in.</div>
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Front view of the house. Please excuse the grass. Right after we completed this project was when Mother Nature decided that it needed to be 100* everyday for about 3 weeks. Our grass didn't like it very much and frankly, we gave up on watering it. Water bills doubled that next month and we were glad we gave up. :)</div>
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Even after all this work, it's still a work in progress. We will be adding in a small island for our third attempt at a tree in the front yard. :) We haven't had much luck with our front yard tree, so if anyone has some good suggestions for a nice shade tree that's easy to grow, let me know. Apparently we need help. :) Since we face east, we need a good tree to block the morning sun. It gets hot out there in the morning!!<br />
<br />Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-66263106624614475402012-08-14T15:17:00.000-05:002012-08-14T15:17:19.932-05:00Kindergarten?!?! Already??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, speaking of time flying, why is Landon already going to kindergarten?? This summer, Landon attended a program for incoming kindergarteners called, "Jump Start". It's basically a program to get kids accustom to what will be expected of them. I signed Landon up based on a recommendation from his preschool teacher. She thought he would really benefit from the program, since it takes Landon a little longer to do things, and also get used to new situations. We were hoping he would get used to the way things went, so when school started, he would be an example for other children. <br />
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The program lasted three weeks and was only for four hours a day. That's a little over half the time he would actually be in kindergarten and about the same amount of time he was in preschool. He got to eat lunch and breakfast while he was there. I ended up packing his lunch since he is still working on biting things and he has some foods he can't eat yet (like carrot sticks, for example). So I figured it would be easier if I just packed it for him. He got a new "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" lunchbox from my dad for his birthday, so he was excited to get to use it. <br />
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The first week of the program was hard. The first couple of days, he did really great and didn't cry or anything...the next three were a mess. We wouldn't even get near the doors of the school and he would break down in tears! I would ask him what was wrong and he would tell me in between sobs, "You have to leave!". It broke my heart. His preschool teacher was one of the teachers in the program. She actually had to unglue him from me everyday. The last two weeks were the complete opposite. He was a champ and would tell me when I dropped him off, "See you after lunch!". :) It made the whole process so much easier! I spent a few days that first week worrying about him and hoping that wasn't how he would be in kindergarten! Mrs. Ackles (one of the preschool paras) reassured me that it was completely normal and it was probably because they were expecting more out of him than in preschool. That made a lot of sense to me and it comforted me. I knew all those teachers wanted what was best for Landon. Plus, we all know that Landon needs a little pushing sometimes. :) The rest of the three week program flew by and Landon became more independent everyday.<br />
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So, when today came, I wasn't as worried as I thought I would be. I knew he would do great! Don't get me wrong, I was panicking on the inside, but not because I was unsure about Landon...I was mourning the idea that my boy was growing up! Today was a start of early week mornings with only 4-5 hours to spend with him after school before bedtime. I hope that time won't be filled with homework! Do they give out homework in kindergarten?? I guess I'll find out! :) I'm sad that for the next 12 years, Landon will spend the majority of his time with his teacher and classmates. I guess you can say I'm jealous of them. :)<br />
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On this morning's menu...waffles.</div>
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Showing off his new shirt...it's so him!</div>
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Sydney gave me a big "cheese" as I was putting Landon in the car. She was excited for her breakfast date with Mason. :)</div>
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So, today was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Neither one of us cried. :) Thank goodness! I think I was spending most of my time trying to seem excited so Landon wouldn't worry! If I hadn't, I definitely would've cried. When Landon walked in the doors of the school with one of his teachers, I sat there for a minute with Sydney and thought, "What next?". I didn't know if I should wait there...what if he needed something...or the teachers had a question...or he wanted one last hug? It took me a minute to realize he wasn't coming out and that I could go. Talk about a hard moment. <br />
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Standing outside the school. He's so big in this picture! Tear.</div>
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The little boy on the left is Jonathan. Jonathan was in Landon's preschool class and they were best buds. Landon picked him out of the crowd and said hi to him without any prompting. He loves Jonathan. I was sad that they didn't get in the same class...maybe next year.</div>
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Mrs. Ables helping Landon up the stairs. She is going to be helping him get to class so Landon doesn't get trampled by the other kids. </div>
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This is where I had to keep it together and put my brave face on. He turned around and started pointing at me. Mrs. Ables is explaining to him that I'll be back later. That was hard. Doesn't he look scared?</div>
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By the end of the day, Mrs. Ables was one of Landon's favorite people. She said that he was telling her that he loved her. My boy is such a flirt. He knows how to work it. :) Speaking of flirting, Landon made a friend today. Not just any friend, but a BEST friend...named Chloe. Oh boy! :)</div>
<br />Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-78610375168254935342012-08-04T15:13:00.000-05:002012-08-04T15:13:00.089-05:00A Zoo dayOur zoo, the <a href="http://www.omahazoo.com/" target="_blank">Henry Doorly Zoo</a>, is going through some major renovations. It's a nice zoo, but some of the buildings needed updating. At the end of summer last year, they closed the aquarium (which is Landon's favorite) for the renovations. It reopened this spring, and is pretty nice! They added some new features like an area to pet some stingrays. There is also an area that has a projection of water on the floor and when the kids step on it the water makes rings. There's a new jellyfish area and a new gift shop. They did a pretty good job with it and Landon was pretty excited when we actually got to go through it!<br />
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** Please forgive me with the pictures. I was having a hard time capturing small, excited children in a dark area. As we all know, my children don't hold still for very long so most of them came out a little blurry. <br />
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Heidi and I met Beth and Mason there with Landon and Sydney before all of this severely hot weather started happening here in the Midwest. (More on that later...) We had a lot of fun walking around together. We visited the aquarium, the butterfly exhibit (which we had never been in before), and the monkeys. </div>
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Landon was very excited to be at the zoo! (This is still his "CHEESE!" face! :))</div>
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Visiting the fish at the aquarium</div>
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A cute little puffin that just wanted to swim his way through the glass.</div>
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Pictures with the penguins</div>
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This one is fuzzy, but it's just so cute. Sydney and Mason hanging out in the bubble watching the penguins swim.</div>
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The butterfly exhibit is really cool! We had never been in there because you have to leave strollers and such out in front of the building (trusting, I know!) and go inside. They don't want you walking out with a pet butterfly hanging on your stroller. :) You get to walk down a path while the butterflies fly all around you. I must say that there is something about watching butterflies that brings you some tranquility. Sydney really liked it too and got upset when we left.</div>
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They have bowls of fruit all along the paths for the butterflies to eat off of.</div>
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Beth and Mason...Mason even gave me a little wave.</div>
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I loved the colors on this one! They were all so pretty! </div>
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On to the monkeys we go!!</div>
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These monkeys are so funny. Every time we visit them they are looking for you to throw them popcorn. They know what's up! :)</div>
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The monkeys were pretty fun to watch, but the kids lost interest pretty quickly. Heidi was telling me a story about when she brought her little boy, Hunter, to see the monkeys, one of them was super interested in him and was up by the glass hanging out with him for a while. They don't do anything exciting like that when we go...they just sit around. They've gotta be bored!</div>
</div>Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-71363963483940823832012-08-02T14:37:00.000-05:002012-08-02T14:37:20.998-05:00Growing and Growing and Growing and....Sydney is now 18 months old. Crazy, right?! I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my little girl is no longer a baby and is now moving into being a toddler. And a rambunctious one at that! She has a hard time staying out of anything and has something to say when you tell her "no!". She also knows how to work a crowd. She knows she's cute and milks it for all it's worth. I'm going to have some rough teenage years in my future! :)<br />
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We went in for her 18 month appointment at the doctor. She handled it like a champ. Well, except for the part where she got weighed and measured. Or when she got the shot, but who's really counting, right? She survived. :)<br />
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The doctor said she was 24 pounds 2.3 ounces and 30.71" tall. That puts her in the 67th percentile for her weight and the 17th for her height. Healthy. A sigh of relief. Like her brother, she has a very large head! The size of her noggin put her in the 96th percentile!! I just figure it's all the brains my kids have. :) So, all-in-all, Sydney is short, tubby, and has a big head...poor kid! ( ;) Just kidding!) She's beautiful and I love her and Landon very much! I wouldn't care if she had five heads and ten legs. I would love her the same.<br />
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Anyways, I told the doctor how I was keeping track of how many words she had, and I had stopped writing them down after we reached 36 and that was about a month ago. He was pretty happy with that and said that she seemed a little advanced for her age. Well, of course! ;) Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3047823296415018989.post-35365724810911420742012-07-22T16:44:00.000-05:002012-07-22T16:44:00.474-05:00Landon's new camera<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My mother-in-law called me some time before Landon's birthday looking for ideas of what to get him as a gift. I was kind of at a loss myself, but I gave her some ideas I thought would work. She owns a yarn and gift shop in Clarkesville, GA (<a href="http://www.shopbumbleberry.com/" target="_blank">Bumbleberry</a>. Whoop! Whoop!) and had noticed a little girl that came in to her store with a child's camera. She said that this little girl was taking pictures of everything and enjoying herself. She asked if I thought Landon would like one. I figured he would like it because he's always wanting to look at my camera when I take his picture. We decided to give it a try.</div>
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When we got the camera in the mail, I wrapped it up and gave it to him. He LOVED it! The video is of him right after we opened it. He got the hang of it pretty quick! :) It's pretty awesome. It is just like a grown-up digital camera, but totally kid proof. He can't break it, and we can download all his pictures onto the computer. There is even a button that puts funny hair or hats on the person you are taking a picture of. It's really cool! I'm sure he'll enjoy it for a while!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Thank you Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Joe!!</span></div>Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06132462537142593668noreply@blogger.com2