Million Dollar Smile

Sydney is now "socially smiling"! It took us a while (and more than a little worrying from me) to get her here! She is just such a laid back baby, and sleeps so much, so it took a little longer for her to see the point in smiling. Now she smiles all the time and it makes this mommy feel so good! She especially smiles when Jack or Clint is in the room.

I finished the quilt! We are calling it "Park 2010" and will take it on our adventures this spring and summer, so look for it!


Yesterday we took the quilt to the Splash Park. We met up with several fabulous moms and their broods of children. The older kids had a blast (a freezing blast) playing in the water and jungle gyms while the babies and moms hung out on blankets and talked for two hours. It was a wonderful time.

And, I conquered a cooking fear yesterday. I made my first meringue pie. When I took this picture it was BEAUTIFUL!! And, by this morning it was weeping like it lost its best friend. Sigh. Oh well, it tastes like heaven. Ask Clint. He's eaten a lot of it.

Last....Jack's summer haircut. I brought him in and said, "Seriously...cut it SHORT." She took me seriously.

Beautiful Wedding!

This weekend I went to one of the most beautiful weddings of all time! Ellen Cooper is a dear friend of mine from growing up. Ellen, Courtney Duplechain Dressler, and I were called "The Three Amigos" more than I can count. Ellen married a wonderful man and she was a gorgeous bride. It was also fun to see some high school friends and their children! We wish we could have stayed longer and been able to visit and dance, but with two small children, 9:00 was late enough!

Engagement picture...told you she is gorgeous!Isn't that dress exquisite? Also, here's a plug for Jesse Reich photography, for any of you looking for a photographer. Aren't these pictures wonderful?
Married! And yes, that is the Cooper's house in the background. Beautiful, at home wedding!

We finally got a decent "family of four" picture. Of course, Jack isn't completely cooperative, but it's okay. And Sydney has been so cute lately! She is starting to smile and it just melts my heart every time. One day we'll catch that smile on camera! Today she was sporting her monogrammed onesie and a huge bow. She was stunning :)

Well Children

Today I brought Sydney Kaye for her two month checkup and Jack for his three year checkup. After two and a half hours in the doctor's office (by myself, too...whew!) we were out with a clean bill of health for both of them!

Here are the stats:

Sydney Kaye:



11 lbs, 10 oz: 75%
22 1/2 inches long: 50%

At two months, Sydney is...

1. Sleeping even better at night. Only up one time, and a couple of nights ago she even made it 7 hours! Usually, she sleeps one five or six hour stretch, eats, then sleeps another four hours.

2. Looking around and focusing on things.

3. Smiling occasionally.

Developmentally, she is a little behind, but Dr. Clark said not to worry! He examined her and said that she is still displaying a few premature baby tendencies, and it may take her a few months to catch up! She did well with her shots...her face turned bright red and her birthmark turned purple, but she only cried a couple of minutes. I really thought Jack would be more concerned than he actually was! He played with the toys in the exam room and never even looked up while she screamed! What a brother...

This is the only place she was happy this afternoon after her shots. You can see her band-aids on her roly-poly thighs!


Dean Jackson:



36" tall: 90% (which is hard to believe because he is shorter than most of his friends)
29 lbs: 50%

Jack is developmentally right on track. He talks our head off and his speech is very easy to understand. He knows all of his colors, shapes, numbers, and many letters. He has great hand-eye coordination and excellent balance!

We are very blessed with two healthy children! Thank you, Jesus!

Quilt Top Finished!

Drumroll please......







Not perfect at all, but overall I'm very pleased with my first quilt top! Now I'm itching to go back to Hobby Lobby to get the batting and backing to finish her off!

Bug Party!

I'm No Grandma

**Update: I got my squares laid out. Look below!

I have a new obsession...one that doesn't cost a lot and I can do while staying inside with a newborn.

QUILTING!

Yes, I know it sounds very senior-adult-like. But, don't be fooled! It's the "new" thing to do!

I found a book at Hobby Lobby yesterday that has all sorts of beginner quilts with pictures of
quilts made with modern fabrics.



I decided to do a blue/green/brown quilt. I bought some fabrics, and used some scraps I already had.



So, I have my work cut out for me (sorry...that was terrible. I couldn't resist).



***Update: Sydney and I went walking and she fell asleep for two hours, so I kept on working! Here are my four big squares and the border laid out. Now I have to sew them all together. Whew! Now I'd better pick it all up before the crazy three-year-old comes home and we have a disaster on our hands!

No one has to know...

....that these pictures were not taken on Easter Sunday, but five days later, when Sydney Kaye was happy.





Well, maybe not completely happy.... :)

I know I've been a little heavy on the blogging this week, but like I said, I print these out at the end of the year and I want everything documented!

Three Years Old!

Can you believe it?? I absolutely cannot!

At three years old, Jack is:

1. Speaking in complete sentences.
2. Knows many letters.
3. Knows all of his colors and shapes.
4. Loves to sing songs...his favorites are "Farmer in the Dell" "My God is So Big" and "The Lord's Army"
5. Fully potty trained
6. Knows all of his numbers 0-10 by sight, and can count to fifteen.

We had a fun day yesterday! I kept him home from school and we opened his small present when he woke up...
A Bug Vacuum!! This goes along with his bug party theme for Saturday.

Then, we went to the park and met up with some friends. After playing really hard for two hours, we ate baseball cupcakes.


After lunch and naptime, we got a snocone and went to watch the ASH Baseball team practice. Jack brought his bat and tee and took some batting practice. The boys then showed him how to run bases. He got very confused when they told him to "run home." Jack's favorite part of the baseball field was riding the tractor!! Thanks Coach Tomlin and Trojans for making Jack feel special!

We then went to Hastings and played with Thomas the Tank Engine, then ate supper at Chick-Fil-A. Sydney and I then came home and Clint and Jack went to WalMart to pick up his big present! We still have to finish putting it together, but here's picture from the website:



And, just a bonus picture...look who is becoming alert!!

When it rains....

Truth be told, I mainly write this blog for myself. I can have it printed and bound in a hardback book for $30 and Voila! An entire year's worth of memories recorded forever. Easy!!

So, one day I will look back on Spring 2010 and laugh really hard. I'm sure I will. Today I'm not laughing :)

Let's back up to the beginning of February. Clint was in the middle of planting season and I was awfully pregnant. I had the fleeting thought that Rudy was probably entering a heat cycle and I should go get her spayed. I should have known that putting it off was a bad idea. I have a degree in animal science, for heaven's sakes. Well, one night at the beginning of February I heard this awful racket outside in the middle of the night. I ran out there and found a tomcat. I came back in, got in bed, and told Clint that Rudy just got pregnant. Lovely....


Throughout the month of February, Dr. Manuel kept a close eye on me because of my placenta previa. Every time I went to see him that month he moved the delivery up another few days. He told me to stay relaxed and to stay off my feet as much as possible. Not so easy to do when you're a teacher, you have an almost-three-year-old, and your husband is working 80 hours a week. So, on February 21st, I'm just trying to do laundry and the washer breaks. Of course I get all stressed out and mad at Clint (I thought he broke it...oops) and the contractions come on strong. Which led to this....

Which then led to this...

Because I have some hormonal issues and Sydney was in the NICU getting supplemented with formula like crazy, we're having to pay out the wazoo for this...
After two long weeks of calling different repairmen and those repairmen ordering wrong parts, the washer finally got fixed...
But then the next week, Clint hit Flapper with the Explorer. She had to have her leg amputated and she stayed in the laundry room for two weeks. I kept her pretty well doped up, as you can see...

Flapper is better now and living life outside again, the washer is fixed, Sydney is growing healthy and strong on formula and I've dealt with the emotional side of not breastfeeding, so there was only one thing left to worry about. You guessed it...

Rudy had the kittens. Four furry little tabby kittens. In our closet. Again....lovely. She won't let me move them to the laundry room. I've tried and she has a total meltdown and actually carries them back to the closet herself.

Actually, I lied earlier. I am laughing now...it all is quite funny when you think about it!!

Now, here are some blessings:
1. Getting the washer fixed was free.
2. We got a tax refund check.
3. My/Sydney's hospital bill was $46,000 and we paid $300.
4. I'm home for six months and not taking a paycut. Thank you short-term disability.
5. Sydney was out of the NICU after only five days.
6. I'm fully recovered and feeling normal again.
7. Clint is done with planting season and back to his normal work schedule.
8. The yard is green and the weather is beautiful!