A little bit of "mad" in me

My kids have me laughing all day long. I wish I would have thought to record some of the things they have said in the past. It's amazing how quickly you forget the cute little stories and the cute ways that they once pronounced a word.

So, without further ado, here are a few funnies from the past few days.

Lexie has a difficult time saying Eric, which is Grant's brother's name. On Easter Sunday, he walked into the room, and she happily greeted him with, "Hi Dork!!!" He was appalled..."Did she just call me a dork?" Aww, she didn't mean it. ;)

Lexie slept in her pigtails the other night, and when she woke up, her hair elastics were gone, but the hair was still in place. Dylan kept telling her, "Wow, Lexie, I like your hair horns! They look so cool!"

Dylan was a bit ornery at my parent's house tonight. It was out of character for his usual, happy go lucky self, so I asked him on the way home what was wrong with him. "Were you feeling sick, buddy?" He responded with, "No. I wasn't sick. I just had a little bit of mad in me."

I'm hoping we never see the lot of mad in him.

The Easter Bunny has arrived!

We kicked off our Easter weekend with an Easter Eggtravaganza on Friday. It is a huge egg hunt and Easter festival at a local church. An estimated 3500 people were in attendance. And it was pouring down rain. I'll just put it this way: mass chaos, but great fun for the kids! It was our third year attending the Eggtravaganza. Dylan loved it, but Lexie was a bit overwhelmed by all the people.

Donut decorating

Dylan and Lexie waiting for the egg hunt to begin...that was a zoo!

Dylan and his cousin, Brady, after the egg hunt

Lexie's reaction to the Easter Bunny

Dylan and the Easter Bunny
I had to hold Lexie on my lap to see the Easter Bunny. She was happily talking to him (or is it a her?) from a distance, but did not want to get too close!

Today, we went to Chuck E Cheese for my nephew's fourth birthday party. The kiddos had a great time. Chuck E Cheeses...where a kid can be a kid...and where a mom leaves with a migraine!

Tonight, we made cutout sugar cookies and dyed our Easter eggs.

The kids took a brief hide-n-seek break before dying the eggs.
Right before bed, Dylan and Lexie put their empty baskets on the table.
While they were sleeping, this happened: (I know, I know...but I really did get great deals, and I'd rather go easy on the candy!)

I found a trail of bunny footprints leading to the baskets.

Hopefully the kids will be well behaved at church in the morning!!!

Two Year Appointment

Lexie went in for her 2 year appointment today...just a month and a half late. The poor little girl hates doctors now, thanks to all the appointments, poking, and prodding. Despite the constant diarrhea and anemia, she's doing great! She weighed 26.5 lbs and was 36.5 inches. I never really think she's tall, but she is...no wonder her pants don't fit her anymore! ;)

As for the diarrhea, we still have no real answers. All of her tests are coming back normal, although we are waiting on a result. Right now, we are cutting out one food each week from her diet, to see if we notice an improvement. This shouldn't take too long, considering how picky she is. I just wish we could do the food allergy testing now. The elderly pediatrician that we saw for the first time today seems to think that she just has "toddlers diarrhea" which she'll grow out of sometime before she's 5. (Hahaha...FIVE?) However, Lexie's main pediatrician spoke to us after the appointment and told me to continue seeing the Pediatric GI specialist, because the extreme bloating and pus are not consistent with toddlers diarrhea. So we are waiting for her next appointment there.

I have some good news to share about her...according to her doctor, she is speaking at a 3 year old level. He was very surprised by her vocabulary and how well she talks. I'm not surprised...the girl NEVER SHUTS UP. She talks nonstop from the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed. Life is definitely not quiet with Lexie around!

---------------------
My dad started his cancer treatment today. It will continue for 5 more weeks, and then he may need one more round. Luckily, it's not chemo or radiation, so he won't have any side effects. I do feel bad for him, though. He was laid off from his job today, and he really liked working there. He already has a great pension from a previous retirement, but retirement just isn't for him. He's very upbeat about it, though, and says he's going to find something to do! I'm sure he will!

Picture Perfect

I took so many pictures of the kids on my birthday, and figured I'd have to post them now before I forget about them! Yes, I realize there are so many more of Lexie than Dylan. She is just so much easier to photograph right now!

It was gorgeous outside on my birthday. I love watching my kids play. I love stalking them with my camera. I love the fact that I can capture the moment forever in pictures.

Dylan and Lexie were picking violets for me, and storing them in an empty bubble container. Dylan is going through a phase where he wears his bandanna (ahem-technically it's a kerchief that matches one of Lexie's dresses) every day, thinking he's a cowboy.


Lexie never puts down her bunny. When she needs her hands free, she tucks him away in some other convenient location.
Little Miss Bean decided she wanted the sled off of our sun porch. And yes, the kids did go sledding! I can't get over how grown up she is looking these days!
When we can't visit our horse, we have a good alternative. (Excuse the swingset boxes still in the background...ahem...honey...)
Dylan and Lexie just love their new swingset. Their favorite thing to do is swing like this:
There's no more baby left in Lexie. She really looks like a toddler now. Her cute factor is through the roof!
I love this one. Dylan and Lexie absolutely adore each other.

I love looking back on these photos and remembering our day. I feel so blessed to have Dylan and Lexie in my life.

A much needed weekend of birthday fun!

My birthday on Thursday was great! It started out with a wonderful rendition of the birthday song by Dylan and Lexie. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so I spent the entire afternoon outside with the kiddos. Chasing them around with my camera, of course! Practice, practice, practice!

Of course, by the time we were ready to leave the house, they didn't want to smile for the camera. (Way to go, Grant! You figured out the prime lens!)
My sister watched the kids for a few hours, so we could go to my best friend's mom's viewing. That was very emotional, but I needed to be there to say goodbye and to offer all the support I could to Jocie and her family. After we left the funeral home, I let the sadness wash away for a while, so I could enjoy my birthday dinner.

We went to my favorite restaurant, The Olive Garden. My mother in law had given me a gift card for my birthday, so dinner was on her! The restaurant was actually quiet for a change, because it was so late. I stuffed myself with salad, breadsticks, and chicken parm, and took a slice of lemon cake home for dessert.

We picked the kids up and they sang Happy Birthday to me. The entire way home. Very sweet. Even the 30th time around. Grant and the kids gave me my birthday gifts when we got home.
I got 2 books that I really wanted and a TON of clothes. Thanks, hon!

On Saturday night, I had my first ever "surprise" birthday party. But, you see, it wasn't really a surprise anymore. It just became a party. My mom slipped and told me the news. She had made me a birthday cake on Wednesday night, and said, "Wait until you see the cake I made for Saturday night...uhhhh...I'll have dad drop it off this weekend." A few seconds later..."I guess that was supposed to be a surprise."

The party was fun! My sisters and mom spoiled me with books, pajamas, shoes, candles, and money. Some of my favorite things in life. The kids were all there, dressed up in costume for some reason. We had food and cake, and played games until 3 AM! The kids had a late night and we interrupted their sleep to bring them home, so they slept in until noon. Ahhhh...Noon.

I had a great birthday this year. I was showered with love from my family and friends. It was a welcome relief from all the stress, and I feel so much better now!

And now I get to celebrate the last year in my twenties! ;)

I Heart Faces-My friend & I

This weeks theme at I Heart Faces is My Friend & I.

I decided to do a slightly different take on friendship. This photo just kept drawing me back. Lexie absolutely adores our horse, and he has come to love her every bit as much. When we arrive at the stable, her voice alone brings him up to the pasture gate. He no longer greets me first. He heads straight to Lexie and nuzzles her head. In return, she reaches up to grab his face and bring it down to her level so she can give him a "mooch." The bond between my 25 pound two year old and my 800+ pound horse is just amazing. The love between the two of them at every greeting is evident and brings tears to my eyes. He is just so gentle with her and loves her every bit as much as she loves him. This is friendship at it's finest.

Here is my photo for the Kids category:


I wrote a post about their friendship in the past, and have Part Two coming in the not too distant future.

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see the other amazing entries this week!

A rough day

Today was the funeral for my best friend's mom. It was truthfully one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. My thoughts and prayers are with Jocie and her family during this incredibly difficult time. Jocie's mom, Val, was an amazing woman, and I feel blessed to have known her.

29 years young!

Today, I celebrate my 29th birthday! It's a gorgeous day for a birthday!

Everybody keeps commenting on how OLD I'm getting. That's not true. I still feel so young!

Updates and maybe a few pictures to follow. For now, I'm off to enjoy my birthday!

Ice cream!

After a year of turning her head away from ice cream, Little Miss Picky decided to give it a try.

We played in the park this evening with my dad, and stopped to get ice cream on our way home. While we waited in line, Lexie stared at an elderly couple enjoying their ice cream cones. Every few seconds, she said, "Ice cream cone. Ice cream cone."

So, I handed her my cone. She eyed it warily, and then gave it a lick. She pulled back, spit it out of her mouth, and got a horrified look on her face...the same reaction she had when I first tried to feed it to her, many months ago.

As I struggled to strap her into her car seat while holding my cone, Lexie helped me out by removing the cone from my hand. And then refused to give it back.

When we got back to my parent's house, Lexie finished my entire cone. When I tried to take a bite, she told me, "No, Mama, no! That's MY ice cream! All mine!"

After she had polished off MY cone, she walked over to my dad, kindly removed his cone from his hands, and polished that one off too.

So I guess we can now add ice cream into her diet of bread and water.

Of course, in typical Lexie style, she will refuse to eat it the next time around. Perhaps this was her April Fools joke on us!

March Madness

I have to admit, I am glad March is over.

It's been a rough month. My dad found out he had a tumor, had surgery, and found out it was cancerous, so he will need more treatment. We got into a car accident. We still have no idea what's wrong with Lexie. My horse's health started to fail. My best friend's mom died.

It hasn't been all bad, though. Grant and I did celebrate our 10th anniversary as a couple. We got an awesome swingset