Gaga Must Be Bored

Apparently my mom has some free time on her hands and dug into the old photos :)  She scanned a bunch and sent them my way.  

Thought I would share.

This is me, at 6 months or so (I think- is that right, Mom?).  I think I see some Gavin in there.

A sleepover at my neighbor's house.  I think I was around six here (that's me on the right).  Note the Cabbage Patch dolls.  Where was mine?
I think this was my 9th birthday party.  I'm in the giant red sweatshirt with the bad haircut.  Note my brother hamming it up in the back.  Spotlight stealer.

Bryan's senior prom, my junior prom.  I loved this dress because it was blue like The Tick.  You can't really tell, but Bryan's vest has the Tazmanian Devil on it.  I know.  We were all class.  Still are.  We are also thinking about going back to these hair styles.  Retro is in, right?

My job for 3 years was a server at Steak-n-Shake.  Becky spent the summer with me and I made her work there, too.  My favorite part of the uniform was the red bow tie.  You can put a red bow tie on any outfit and make it look good.

Now that I am remembering Steak-n-Shake, it reminds me of once when I was delivering 2 strawberry milkshakes and I slipped and fell on my tush in a crowded dining room.  There was strawberry shake everywhere (mostly on me, though).  Good times.

Thanks for the photos, Mom!

Friday again? Random end of the week thoughts...

These weeks are FLYING by.  

Ian and Chase go back to school next week.  We met their teachers yesterday and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  They will have a total blast this year.  Ian's class is so very Pre-K, and that is bizarre to me.  He is seriously growing up, and I love that, but at the same time, it makes me cry.  I honestly don't know if it is sad to me that he is not a baby anymore, or if I am so incredibly happy that we made it to 4 1/2 without seriously damaging him.  And Chasey.  He is in the 2 year old class!  They do real stuff in there.  Projects and games and stuff.  No more baby room for him.  I am just incredibly proud of all that he has accomplished, and am waiting expectantly to see what he will do next.

Bryan started his new job this week and now he works 7 minutes from home instead of 57 minutes.  It feels like he is leaving the bank early every day.  He has time to get home, change, sit down to dinner, play outside, and put the kids to bed at a decent hour.  This job change, even though it is a big change for him career-path-wise, is such an incredible blessing.

I am still juggling the 3 boys + 2 daycare kids.  It is rough sometimes...I feel like I just can't get enough time to do everything I want to...ie, clean the house, ever.  There is no pattern, everything is catered to when the babies sleep, which is whenever they feel like it.  And Chase, oh Chase, who wants to LOVE on the babies but doesn't quite understand the concept of 'gentle' all the time.  Oy.

And in the midst of that, I am still trying to get my body back (mostly because I have a very limited selection of clothes that fit right now) and attempting to do the P90X with Bryan at night (we are currently on a short hiatus...) and training for a 5K on September 19th (I am down to a 39 minute finish time...don't judge!).  I feel like I am sometimes trying to do too much, but man it feels good when I can finish a workout.

Oh, and I am going strong on the B90X, if you are wondering.  Just started 2 Kings :)  Those Old Testament folks were a bloodthirsty bunch.

Alright, back to real life.  Ian is playing Mario Kart and I over heard him say, "I just made everyone small!  I am such a funny guy!"  Chase is still sleeping off the tail end of roseola, and sweet Gavin is snoozing in his swing.  Must take advantage of this "free time"!

NDSC

Heads up:  

The National Down Syndrome Congress is holding their annual convention in Orlando, FL in July 2010.  Rooms are open to book right now (at a discount!!)  if you click on the link on this page.  

I booked us for July 15-19th, hoping that we can get in a family day at Disney after the convention ends.  

I'm so excited to meet new friends!

2 Months!!

Perpetual bed-head at 8 weeks.

At 2 months, you...

love to smile, but still stay serious in order to get your point across.

hold your head up high.

love to be on your belly.

nurse like a champ.

sleep 3 hours at a time at night if I am lucky.

are still content and happy as long as you are not hungry (or sitting on a stray cabinet latch that somehow got into your carseat and poked you in the back and made you scream hysterically in the car for 15 minutes before Daddy figured out what was wrong).

have chubby little thighs starting.

enjoy staring contests.

hold your little fists straight out into the air all the time (POWER to the PEOPLE!).

have taken 2 bottles with just a little confusion and a few hard feelings.

could stay in your swing all day long if we let you and didn't feel guilty about it.

Wrestling

Does anyone else have to wrestle their 2 year old to get him to brush his teeth twice a day?  How about to administer tylenol or motrin?  

I thought it was terrible enough that I have to basically sit on Chase, pinning his arms and legs, to brush his teeth thoroughly while he screams.  But now that he's had a fever for 2 days, I also get to do it every 4-6 hours while trying to get him to swallow the teaspoon of meds.  Mostly he gurgles them back up and out of his mouth, which is fun and sticky, and also makes me feel good about wasting his time and mine, plus the tears and frustration, for no apparent reason.

Serenity NOW!

Camera Shy

Just for documenting purposes, Chase now says "Alllllll done."  But not in front of a camera.

Funny- Obamacare

Regardless of your political views, you have to admit that this is funny (thanks to my parents for passing this along to me):

TOP TEN INDICATORS THAT YOUR EMPLOYER HAS CHANGED TO OBAMACARE

10. Your annual breast exam is done at Hooters.

9. Directions to your doctor's office include "Take a left when you enter the trailer park."

8. The tongue depressors taste faintly of Fudgesicles.

7. The only proctologist in the plan is "Gus" from Roto-Rooter.

6. The only item listed under Preventive Care Coverage is "An apple a day.."

5. Your primary care physician is wearing the coveralls you gave to Goodwill last month.

4. Where it says, "The patient is responsible for 200% of out-of-network charges," it’s not a typographical error.

3. The only expense that is 100% covered is "embalming."

2. Your Prozac comes in different colors with little M's on them.

AND THE NUMBER ONE SIGN YOU'VE JOINED OBAMACARE:

1. You ask for Viagra and they give you a Popsicle stick and duct tape.

Gavin's First Smiles

Here is a photo to counteract that nasty one that I posted earlier.

I finally caught Gavin smiling on camera:

Totally Disgusting

This is non-kid related, although I do have a few disgusting kid items to share, too (but I won't).

This was sliming its way across my porch this morning:

It is a leopard slug.  It was at least 5 inches long.  Thank goodness I didn't go out to get the paper in my bare feet this morning!

I told Bryan about it and showed him the picture, and he asked my why I didn't throw it on the grill?  Gross.  Men.

Buddy Walk 2009

It's that time again!  The annual Buddy Walk is coming up on Sunday, October 4th.

We walk every year to raise awareness for Down syndrome, and to support our favorite guy with 47 chromosomes (that's Chase, you nerds).

We raised over $2,000 last year, and hope to reach that level again this year.  The DSAC does so many awesome things for our kids, as well as for the parents in our group.  Your donations go towards camps that our kids wouldn't have the opportunity to go to otherwise, helping to educate doctors and nurses, supporting new parents, and activities for parents and children.  I could go on and on.  And we do all this with 100% volunteers.  It is really a phenomenal cause to donate to.

Click here to join our team or to make a donation in Chase's name.  Thanks!!

Chase Milestone

Chase can open his bedroom door.  Time for a doorknob guard!

On another note- how is it Thursday already?  Geez.

Mem.

Chase's words are few and far between, but he has been making some strides lately.  Here's his list as of now, although they take a practiced ear to identify them:

Mama

Dada

Gaga

Papa

Baby

Cup

Go (as in ready, set)

Go (as in here you go)

Hot

House

Eyes

Bye Bye

Hi

Bubble

Ian

Chase

Pretzel

Cracker

...and the latest we heard tonight as we were finishing up dinner.  He was finished and wanted down so that he could play with the bunny that he could see laying on the floor (we knew because he signed "all done"  "down" and "bunny"- how amazing is he?!).  So Bryan put him down, and he went right over to the bunny and squeezed it (it says that "Now I lay me down to sleep..." prayer).  Then he tried to do it again, but he wasn't pressing it right, so he signed "help" and "bunny" and looked at me and verbally said, "Mem."  Then he said it again and again...and then we realized..."Mem"= "Amen".  The bunny says it at the end of the prayer.  And he's also been saying "Mem" at the end of our blessing before dinner, but we never really caught it until now.

I asked him if he meant "Amen", and he got a huge grin on his face and said, "Mem!!"

So- add that to the list.  Mem!

Quick Updates

1- Chase has been sleeping in his twin bed consistently (all naps and all night long!) for 2 1/2 weeks now!

2- Gavin now smiles at us and is rolling from belly to back!  I thought the rolling thing was just an accident, but he did it 3 times in a row this morning!

3- Ian loved summer camp this week, and is totally excited to start preschool again in September.  He is such a social kid.  He has also discovered my brother's box of Legos and is a Lego Maniac, officially.

4- Bryan and I committed to the B90X...reading the Bible in 90 days...with our couples group from church.   Here's the link for the reading plan if you are interested.  It is pretty whirlwind, but it is kind of cool to have a challenge.

5- Along with the reading, we were also challenged to start the P90X.  That begins on Monday.  Here's hoping that we will be able to walk, dress ourselves, and otherwise function normally on Tuesday.

6- Goal for this week:  gettting Gavin to take a bottle so that Bryan can handle one night feeding and I can enjoy 4 hours of sleep all in a row.  Last night there was some cluster feeding going on (growth spurt maybe?) and I saw 11pm, 12:06am, 1:20am, 2ish am, 3:30ish, and 5am.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  It is a good thing he is so freaking cute.  

Me and My Dad, by Gavin

Wait!  I'm not ready yet!

OMG, Dad.  This is SO embarrassing.
Just two dudes hanging out.

Garden Update

Remember when we put in a gigantic garden?  This is what it turned into!

We have green onions and herbs, tomatoes, cukes, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cataloupes, watermelons, pumpkins (well, pumpkin blossoms...), and sunflowers.

See the melons in there?  I hope they grow big enough to eat.  Well, I guess you could eat a softball-sized watermelon, but it wouldn't be very satisfying...Love me some sunflowers :)

DSAC Picnic

We had the DSAC Roots and Shoots picnic this weekend...and my camera battery died.  These are the only photos I got of the kids having a blast on the splash pad.

On the left is Chase's little friend Michael, who is a day older than him.  Last year the two of them just sat in the water, but this year they could run around with the big kids!  What a difference a year makes.

Ian and Michael's older sister, Emily, enjoyed the water, too.  This was before we could get Chase changed into his trunks...he went in wearing just his diaper and soaked up most of the water by the time Bryan got there with his swimmy.
Aerial view :)  The pavilion was above the splash pad, which made Chase happy because there were a bunch of stairs to go up and down.  And up and down.  And up and down.
We had so much fun.  I wish I had more photos of the kids and families that participated.  It is amazing to me that without Chase we would never have met any of them...how much we would have missed out on!

Wildlife Encounter

We had a visitor on our back porch a few days ago:

Ian spent quite a while outside talking to his new friend.  I asked him later what he was telling him, and he said, "Just that he could stay here and tell his family and his friends that they could stay here, too, and that I would be a good friend to him and not drop him really hard."

Things that are not funny with girls, but are HI-larious with boys.

So, Ian bought some new toys with the change that he has been rolling.  They are these weird robot things that fold up into little balls, and when you crash them together or on the floor, they open up.  Ian loves them.  But he keeps saying things like, "I really really like playing with my little balls" and "I'm breaking my balls back here" and "Tell Chasey not to touch my balls!"  

They have brought endless entertainment to all of us.