Ohio trip and Birthday fun......

Makenna celebrated her 11th birthday on Monday. She saw all three of her grandmas and got exactly what she wanted, peanut butter and money. Unfortunately she also got a trip to Grandma's local Urgent Care for a severe headache and rash that spread over most of her face and body. She is finally on the mend this evening.

Ty was also celebrated at Grandma Carol's. Greg saw his surgeon and is happy to report he doesn't have to go back for another year. I spent an evening with my friends and enjoyed the relaxing time out. We saw old neighbors and distant relatives. The older girls went on a brief shopping trip with Greg's mom and we all saw our favorite beautician, Miss Beth. Our nephews stayed with us. All in all, it was a good couple of days.

Brennen is swimming now...and loves being free of his life vest

Ty was not sure about the water this year and hung out on the side lines rather than join the splashing

Kate practiced back flips and can barely touch the bottom of the pool. She is looking forward to being without her life vest next year too.

Check out Kate's expression! Cracks me up!

Our neighbors decorated our mailbox as a birthday surprise for Makenna.

Her Mother's Child

This girl has been a mess. She has been grounded more often than not. She likes things to be her way. All the time. She is persistent. She is strong and determined. She is just like her mother.

Give her a craft or project to channel that energy and she is at peace. Did I mention she is like her mother? She loves the fabric store and has been talking about a "sewer" since she noted the kid's sewing machine at JoAnn's.

Today I started the "cloth napkin" marathon because they will be needed in one daughter's lunch box this year. Kate took the opportunity to play with scrap pieces I couldn't use to make baby doll clothes. She was in her glory and needed to dress up for this "special day". She wore her flower girl dress! Now that is special. I love how she plans outfits and accessories for any given activity and so much of the time, I just have stifle my giggle and go with it.

In elementary school I remember tying a sweater around my neck in the dead heat of the summer because the new JCPenney Fall catalog showed a really pretty girl wearing hers that way. So it appears that practical dressing may also be a gift she's been given from her mother!

We've struggled with bedtime battles for quite awhile now. She isn't afraid. There doesn't appear to be any anxiety. She just wants to see if we are as persistent as her! We are. So I started a responsibility chart on Monday. I can't honestly say what prompted it, but it turns out that girlfriend likes to mark things off a list! No reward. No incentive. No bribery. Just a list that includes "go to bed without crying" and I'll be darned, she is going to bed without crying so she can mark it off her list! Now, I happen to be an index card junkie because I LOVE to make little lists reminding me to do everything from menu plan, laundry, clean the house (which has sub-sections, of course!), appts, errands, etc......I need the reminders at this season of my life, but it all started because I get great satisfaction marking things off my list.

The cloth napkin saga started when I read the teen commitment letter from Lauren's new school stating they require cloth napkins in their packed lunch everyday. Apparently they are "green". Me? Not so much. I suppose I will be learning a little along the way too. However, once I started making them, I realized this would be pretty simple to apply at home. I made quite a few today and have some additional fabric Kate and I plan to use tomorrow to make more. They are so small that I believe I won't notice the additional laundry and I could certainly afford to cut back on my paper product purchases at Sam's Club each month. Who knows, paper towels could be next to go???? I may just have to put that on my list.

Two Year Check Up

Ty saw Dr. Rezaei today and was ready to leave from the moment we arrived. He had a great check up and left without any blood tests or vaccines, so as far as he was concerned, it was PERFECT! Our little man is up to 35" (70%) and 25lbs 8ounces (20%). He is projected to be around 5ft 11inches as an adult. She wants us to start a protein shake every night with Lactose free milk since he is still not tolerating milk and has only gained one pound in six months. His language meets 3year old criteria as does his physical ability.
She also agreed our Infectious Disease doctor made the best decision in ceasing his acyclovir treatment. If he still deals with cold sore outbreaks in a few years, we have another medical option, but we hope he establishes antibodies to fight it on his own before that becomes necessary.
I had the idea that this would be a fun post with some two year old photos. Ty had the idea that my chasing him around would be more fun. I snapped a few shots but was wiped out in the end! I really should be thinner!

Naptime.

Greg couldn't resist a photo today when he checked on Ty at nap time. Do you think he has enough toys in that bed?

Busy boy

Ty has a new found interest in breaking off pieces of his window blinds. Lovely. I first hear, "Greg! Mom! Help!" As I enter the room, I firmly say his name and he replies with broken pieces in his hand, "uh-oh, what happened?" I'm not impressed. So, I plan to put the curtains from our bedroom over his window until it is safe to replace the blinds. Greg is not pleased. He likes the curtains over the blinds in our room for the daytime darkening effect.

Tonight Ty was busy once again at bedtime and when he was finally quiet, I checked on him and discovered this scene.

He dug his birthday gifts out of the toy box and brought them into bed with him. The drum is full of musical toys from Makenna's friend and he picked out the cell phone with his birthday money from Uncle Brad. They are not particularly cozy for sleeping, but apparently too much fun to sleep without.

Why not?

Happy 2!

Ask him, "how old are you?" and Ty replies, "eat cake" every time! And now Erin has declared that she wants to be "eat cake" too! He helped make his cake and of course had to clean the bowl afterward!

We celebrated Ty's birthday early to include my parents when they visited last week and Lauren who is in Florida this week. He loved everything and kept saying, "wow" as he opened each package. We gave him two tee shirts with his favorite characters on them and a really cool toy that recycles bath water to provide a continuous stream. Mom and Dad decided upon a basketball hoop that will grow with him when he tried to make a basket into their kitchen light fixtures Easter weekend. Good call! He is so much exhausting fun.