Just Because Pictures

A Long Week

So this week was a beast for our family. First of all Don was all the way in Montana for work... leaving me with the kids. It was the first time since Audrey was born that Don had to travel for work so it was the true test of my stamina.

The first day (with a full night of sleep because Don didn't leave until that morning) I forgot Ryan's lunch box for school- meaning that our normal 40 minute round trip drive turned into 80 minutes- thus cutting into Audrey's nap time which she decided to take 15 minutes of in the car so no morning nap once we got home. Not a huge deal except that her afternoon nap was only an hour so this was day one of her being really tired- and tired babies are cranky babies.

Well the normal day with my children starts at 5:30am, when Audrey wakes up. The day ends when Ryan finally falls asleep at 9:00pm. That is a long day of taking care of children. The doesn't include anything extra- like the final clean up of toys, all the extra cleaning, any moments of "me" time, and then giving myself time to fall asleep. We were actually making it okay- then on Thursday things started falling apart. Audrey was getting really tired- she is teething- and a rash started to appear (I think it was an allergic reaction to SOMETHING- I'm not entirely sure what, there are a few choices- I think for the time being I will avoid a few things). Then while playing outside Ryan got stung by a bee.

By Friday I got a call that Don had fainted in his hotel room, he woke up on the floor with blood on his face. He smashed his face into the floor when he fell and his face is pretty busted up. Instead of going to a doctor there, he went on his flight to come home as scheduled (luckily it didn't turn out to be a blood pressure issue which could have been made worse by the flight). My very long day was spent getting doctors appointments, worrying, taking care of kids, worrying some more etc. Instead of getting home at 1:45pm he got home at 5:00pm, after flight delays and the doctors appointment. The good news is that the initial test indicates that it could have been nothing but the beginning of an ear infection caused by his apparent allergy to dust mites which was exacerbated by staying at the hotel. He has to go back in for a heart echo and more blood tests to make sure everything else is okay.

It was a little much for me, I started to feel like I was falling apart, but at least everyone is under the same roof now. Hopefully we can get back to real life and now everyone will have a chance to heal.

Summer Dress Pictures

Sometimes I just can't help myself....

Quirks

Things that set my children apart from other kids:

• Ryan loves British Claymation (Shaun the sheep, Wallace and Gromit etc)
• Audrey loves accessories: jewelry, hair bows, hats etc but she hates shoes.
• Ryan loves cottage cheese and cream cheese but hates plain cheese.
• Every few months Ryan finds a stuffed animal in the house that he decides he loves and wants to sleep with.... he is now up to 6.
• Both Ryan and Audrey are pretty convinced they are awesome break dancers thanks to my love of dance movies.
• There are days that Audrey thinks she is 3 (okay most days) and there are some days when Ryan is convinced that he is a baby (Luckily not most days).
• Audrey wakes up earlier in the morning the later you put her to bed... yeah you read that right. If she goes to bed at 5:00pm she will get up at 6:30am if you put her to bed at 6:00pm she will get up at 5:30am... it took us a while to figure this out, life is better now that we know it.

Now I'm sure these will all change shortly... trust me when I say: when you think you have figured out your kids, everything is about to change.

Fire Station Tour

We went with a few of our friends to check out our local fire station. The fire fighters were super nice and let the kids sit in the driver seat of the fire truck and ambulances, they got to check out the fire suits and hoses etc. We also got to go inside the station and check out the common rooms and learn all about what they do. Ryan and Audrey both had a blast and Ryan wanted me to promise that I would take him back super soon.

New Classroom

My kids are always changing. One day they will be great eaters- the next they won't touch anything. One day they will be super shy, the next they will talk to anyone who is in earshot. One day they will sleep (okay they don't do that often- but sometimes) and the next they won't sleep a wink.

When Ryan was younger, probably until he was about 2 1/2, he was really shy around people he didn't know. He was terrible with transition because he was nervous about who would be in charge of him. Moving classrooms/ classes/ really any change in schedule would send him into a tizzy. Well, Ryan just changed classrooms at school this week- he went from being the oldest in his class to the youngest, he went from a class of mostly girls (who tend to be calmer) to a classroom full of crazy boys, he also has brand new teachers. His reaction? Nothing. He loves it, his teacher today (after a week of being in the class) said that he acts as though he has always been in that class. If anything he is blossoming because of it. His imagination has gotten really amazing, he can play whole games with different characters etc. just playing alone with a truck. When I came into his classroom to pick him up he was playing "super hero's" with his new friends. So I guess all my worry early on that transitions would always be super hard with him were a little premature. I guess I should learn my lesson from that one and continue to hold out hope that one of these days he will enjoying trying new foods.

Happy Birthday Husband!

Happy Birthday to my dear wonderful husband. It is hard celebrating when there are two kids in the mix so I made him a special dinner of Buffalo Chicken Stromboli/ Salad with Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (All homemade). We are going out this weekend. My husband turned 30 today- which is crazy. We started dating when he was 20. He has now been putting up with the likes of me for 10 years. I am so blessed to have him as a husband. I hope his birthday is great, okay he was in meetings at work from 10am until 3pm so probably not the best, so instead I will hope that this year will be a great one for him.

Sprinkler

It's still spring and we have already hit a week straight of 90 degree weather. It is of course the week my kids wanted to spend all their time outside and I decided to do lots of yard work.... So we hauled out the sprinkler and spent lots of time trying not to get a sun burn.

Sibling Love

My kids are starting to discover that they can (and will) be partners in crime. Audrey is getting older and therefore able to figure out basic games Ryan plays with her, and she thinks of him as a combination of playmate and parent- when she is upset and neither my husband or I are available she goes to him for a hug/snuggle. It's super cute. Today after bath they picked out some matching jammies they were super cute hugging, snuggling, and playing together. It's afternoons like these that make it all worth it (even with Audrey NOT taking a nap this afternoon).

Polka Dots at the Pool

Don took off a few days from work this week because his parents were in town. This morning before his parents came over from their hotel we decided to go to the pool with Audrey. She is a total convert- she went from hating it the first time we went (a few weeks ago) to loving it today! It probably helped that it was 95 degrees out this time and the water felt really good. She has a lot of polka dots going on in these pictures!

Grandparents Visit

This weekend (until today) we had some super fun guests, Ryan and Audrey's grandparents, all the way from Massachusetts! The kids loved all the extra attention and we loved seeing them (and they babysat one night so we even got a date out of it!)

Ryan convinced them to play baseball with him (even on the 95+ degree day)

Ryan helped them remove a stump in our front yard (they also helped install a fan, fix the garage door, install bathroom hardware)

Playing in the house the grandparents got them

We can't wait until they come to visit again! Hopefully we will make it out their way as soon as Audrey gets a little bit better at traveling.

Rainy Day

This afternoon was rainy and dark so we first went out to watch the rain (ie get SUPER soaked) then we came in and changed into sweatpants and we are now watching movies. I think my kids are finally getting the hang of this whole relaxed rainy days thing. As soon as they are old enough for (and like) Hot Chocolate and Popcorn we will be all set.

Love to Read

I read that children will do as you do not as a you say, and I certainly agree. I have also read that if you want your children to be avid readers that they need to see you reading for pleasure, that they will get more from that then even you reading to them (though reading to them is also really good for them). Last night I was reading, Ryan went to go get a book, got himself up in the chair with me and we had a little quiet reading time. I have a feeling I will have kids that like to read as much as I do!

First Step!

Audrey took her first step today! It was amazing because 1) I had my camera out and I was taking pictures 2) Don and I were both watching her. She of course was all dressed up for the event- all the way down to the jewelry.

She stood up in the middle of the floor (which she has been doing a lot lately) and then decided that she wanted to give me the camera case she was holding so she stepped towards me to give it to me! I told Don yesterday that it would be any day... he didn't believe me, but Audrey wanted to prove her mom right.