Chloe's Tooth Drama

So poor little Chloe who swallowed her first tooth and had to have the dentist pull out her second tooth tonight comes in and says "mom look how loose my tooth is." I said "well Chloe why don't you just pull it out" and sure enough she did!

Kevin and I were amazed and couldn't help but laugh. Chloe looked dumb-founded and amazed but at least with it so close to bedtime I'm pretty sure the tooth fairy will remember to make a guest appearance (one time she forgot for Conner and had to leave the only money she had left which just so happened to be a $20 bill!!).

What a week!

This week really started on Friday for us. Kevin and I took the kids to a storage auction where we won our very first locker. It was a 10x20 foot locker (think one car garage) full...did I say FULL...of shelving. This is going to be great for my moms thrift store but we moved about 8-12 TONS of steel and wood. Thank goodness for great friends who all helped!!

Then on Sunday we got stuck at sprint for 2 1/2 hours trying to get my new iPhone set up.

Monday was spent trying to catch up with everything. It included a trip to the dump for Charlee and I and Mr. Jeff. It was one of those days where we were perpetually late and the normal things we had to do got pushed aside for the makeup stuff. Then we had to retreat Chloe's head for lice as it had been 10 days since her first treatment. Surprise, surprise we found more lice even though I had checked her every day. So Kevin and I were up until 11:30 even though Kevin had to be at work by 4am.

Now we are at Tuesday. I forgot to buy the snack for Heart to Heart kids. I am in the middle of cleaning every possible surface in my house to make sure the lice stay gone this time. Then Conner spilled his Venus fly trap seeds all over the kitchen. No more than 10 minutes after that Chloe steps in dog poop. Then Charlee stepped in dog poop...while wearing footy pajamas! I have to admit i was going to flip if I had to clean dog poop off footy pajamas so I threw them away.

These are the days where I just have to remember how blessed we truly are so I don't have to stay curled up on the fetal position!

Swimming

We have been going to Mr. Jeff's apartment and using their pool a lot this summer. It hasn't always been warm but the kids don't really care and they have really enjoyed playing in the water and are making great progress towards learning how to swim.

Conner refused to get his head wet for a long time (including yesterday) and finally today, he started jumping in the deep end and swimming to the wall by himself! He made a video for Kevin to show him how well he was doing and how much fun it is to jump in the water.

Chloe is swimming underwater and will go anywhere with her swim goggles. She has been doing phenomenally well and loves getting her head wet by jumping into the pool or bobbing.

Charlee wears a puffy suit (a life-jacket built into a swimsuit) and she bobs around the pool motoring her way by kicking her little feet underneath herself. She often just enjoys sitting on the stairs playing.

Conner's Photo Shoot

Charlee's Photo Shoot

Old Disney Trip Photo Album

Click here to view this photo book larger

Chloe's Big Day

Chloe had her very first gymnastics class today.  This is at a place that specializes in tumbling so I haven't told her yet but they don't do the bars, rings, trampolines, etc. but I don't think she really cares because she LOVED it!  I'm pretty sure she is going to be hooked for a very long time.

After her class, she got to attend award night at Cubbies.  I'm so very proud of her for all of her hard work learning her verses.  She helped remind us every week to read her the verse.  She also did the extra credit to earn her apple tree.  I think this year she learned 26 Bible verses!  This was Chloe's last year as a Cubbie as she will be in Sparks next year and she's all ready to go!

Topper

Topper had surgery today.  He's looking like a pretty sad puppy :-(

He had to have 5 teeth taken out and a cyst removed from above his eyelid.  Although he might not like it I hear the cone is coming back into fashion...maybe?!?

Conner's Little Trick

So if any of you have ever seen me encounter a spider you know that I am a total sissy!  I jump, scream, squeal, and anything else that comes as a natural reaction.

Today, Conner tells me I need to hurry and come look.  He has something he thinks I would really like.  I go over to the kitchen and he shows me the area by the phone.  It took me a minute but I quickly zeroed in on a little spider climbing up and down his web!  I shrieked and Conner laughed hysterically!  What a little turkey!!!

Charlee's Special Kidney

Today we had the follow-up for Charlotte's kidney.  We did the ultrasound on Friday so today we went in to see the nephrologist Dr. Jenkins.  He said that Charlee's kidney could have shown signs over the last three years of deterioration due to the trauma caused by the block (if you don't remember there was a block at the top of her ureter.  This block prevented urine from draining into her bladder normally and was surgically removed when she was 3 months old).  Her kidney has grown, has good tissue, and has a slightly smaller than expected amount of fluid build-up.  All of these signs point to her kidney staying healthy!  For that matter, it is larger than it should be so we have been told it will compensate for some of the missing kidney.

As for now, unless there are any future issues, we do not need to follow-up with the nephrologist or urologist!  This is super exciting as Charlee is not a huge fan of doctors or tests.  The ultrasound was tough but between those two appointments she scored a rubber ducky, bottle of bubbles, and tube of chapstick.  The chapstick is already gone (although there are some remnants in her hair!) and the bubbles lasted maybe 3 minutes after we got home but Charlee still remembers why she got them.  She even sat in my lap and cried today that she wants two kidneys.  It's so sweet and a little sad but I'm quickly reminded how great of a healer our God is and how much he has held her hand during her lifetime.  I know that someday she will be grateful that she only has one kidney because that is one of the ways she was made special!

Chloe Lost a Tooth

Little Miss Chloe lost her first tooth today!  Best part of the whole thing is that she swallowed it, too!!!!

A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village

Today Jessy and I took the kids down to Salem to visit the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village.  This place is fantastic!!  There are 3 or 4 old homes to explore.  Each room in the different homes are decorated with unique themes.  I have some amazing pictures (thanks Jessy!!) that I will post as soon as I can.

Rainy Zoo

Saturday the kids and I decided we needed an adventure so we went to the zoo.  Yes, it was dumping down rain most of the time but we did it anyways.  I got some great pictures of the kids puddle hopping (Conner did actually hold his coat the entire trip because he didn't want that particular one).  The animals were all out and we had a lot of fun!

The most spectacular thing we saw while we were there was the chimpanzees.  There are four girls and I can't tell them apart but one came in the room standing straight up making kissing faces.  All of a sudden she started hopping around while making classic monkey noises.  She hopped closer and closer to the glass then, when she was about 4 feet away, jumped up and kicked the glass with both feet making a loud and startling noise.  Then she turned around and walked away.  This started everyone in the room who just thought the monkey noises were rad.  Chloe was terrified after that and would not stand any where near the chimps from that point forward (although she still tells everyone that there is a chimpanzee named Chloe and that's her name, too)

Conner's Big Day

When Conner was almost 3, he decided to ask Jesus into his heart.  We were reading the Easter story one night and he was asking some brilliant questions about why Jesus died on the cross and why that was important to us.  I was answering the questions as best as I could so that he could understand and I explained that we all do things that are naughty but Jesus saves us from those things so we can be with God in heaven some day.  He said he wanted to be in heaven with God and so he prayed to accept Jesus as his savior that day.

Conner has always remembered that he has made that decision and so Sunday January 16th, 2011 is the day Conner was baptized!  This was actually a very big accomplishment for my son who doesn't like to have his head wet in any capacity.  He went before the church and hopped in the little baptismal pool to be dunked backwards.  As he went down, his skinny little foot shot up into the air (the whole church erupted in laughter) and when he came back up he was absolutely glowing!!

During the next hour in Sunday school Conner also managed to lose a tooth!

Charlee's Growing Up!!

We just had Charlee's well-child check-up yesterday and she weighed in at a whopping 33 lbs!  This is so wonderful because right after her surgery she stayed really petite.  She was in the 10th percentile for weight and the 15th for height.  Last year she started the school year in 9 month clothes.  Her 2 year check-up had her in the 25th percentile for height.  Now she's in the 75th percentile for height and weight!  It's amazing how big she has gotten this year!!

We will go in next week for an ultrasound and the week following for an appointment with the nephrologist.  These are just routine check-ups for her kidney health.

Charlee has not only been growing in size but she has been growing in attitude, too.  Her words are endless (seriously, she never stops talking).  Charlee's shy when she's not comfortable in a situation but when she comes out of her shell she is a riot!!  She is onery, bossy, and can roll her eyes like no one I've ever seen before.  Charlee is so spunky and fun!  My favorite, though is when my little lady bug will curl up in my lap and snuggle.  She will look up at me at say "give me a kiss.  I love you mommy".  That just melts me!

Good Starts

This new year has been a fantastic start.  We started off with a traditional Thanksgiving feast and games with our friends.  Since then, there has been more food, more family, and more friends.  School has started for everyone.  Conner is back in his second grade class and loving it!  Chloe and Charlee are in preschool.  I'm teaching my two middle school science classes and Kevin and I are both working on our own coursework.  Kevin is getting amazingly close to graduation but he has two very difficult classes in the way.  As soon as he can pass those he will work on his portfolio and then earn his bachelors degree in IT network design and management.  How amazing is that?!?

God has been so faithful to our family with our time and our finances throughout our schooling.  I know that Kevin will finish soon and the timing will be perfect but in the meantime, we are praying he finishes quickly!