Thanksgiving 2010 - much to be thankful for.

My blog photo uploader appears to be magically working again - I had pretty much given up on it if you couldnʻt tell from my lack of posts for the past 3 months!  One day I will get to all that youʻve missed, but for today...Thanksgiving 2010.  We did our annual family trip to Maui and stayed at The Four Seasons.  It was everything it always is...indulgent, impressive, relaxing, fun, beautiful weather, and most importantly, some great family time.  Grandpa and MomMom were able to join us.  The kids were so excited to see them.  This year Dayton attended the kids camp and loved every minute of it.  It was sort of sad that he didnʻt want to spend much time with us but I completely understood.  Each day was a different themed day full of both indoor and outdoor activities.  He was exhausted by the end of each day but full of smiles.  And that is what vacation is all about.  The girls spent their mornings in the pool and their afternoons napping.  The adults had time to do a bit of everything...pool time, shopping time, spa time, and the guys even snuck in a little bit of football time.  I decided to try our annual family photo again and for once the kids were somewhat agreeable.  Of course I did have to bribe them a little bit.

This was a test picture I took of MomMom with Saige.  It actually turned out really cute.  Wish Iʻd thought to tell Saige to take off her purple flipflops though.  

This picture was taken on our way out to dinner one night.  Not the best picture by any means, but at least all the kids are looking in the correct direction.

A sweet shot of the grandparents and grandkids.

Iʻm not going to nitpick this photo (although I could) - everyone is smiling AND looking!

My beautiful Saige.  Age 3.

I pat myself on the back for this one!  If you recall last year, all attempts resulted in tears and fussing and nobody would look at the camera.  I still managed a beautiful shot last year, but only because I made it a black and white.  Everything looks better in black and white.  Well, this year I am proud to show off my 3 beautiful babies in color!  Dayton (5), Saige (3), & Addley (16 months)

Iʻm very thankful this year.  For many things.

One Last Addley Update

We had our follow up neurology appointment this week with Addley to review all the tests and figure out where to go next.  The Dr. was pleased to know that everything came back normal, though she wasn't too surprised and actually gave us some positive news.  She prefaced it by saying "your child has NOT followed the typical pattern of breath holding" but typically children grow out of it by the age of 2.  She said it is possible that it last as long as age 5 or 6, but typically (again that word) between 18 months and age 2 you will see a remarkable difference.  I'm hesitant to type it or even say it, but we haven't had a spell since that bad one that caused the 3 minute seizure in early July.  We've certainly had LOTS of bumps and bruises and tears since then, but none have provoked an episode.  This is the longest she has gone without having one.  I am hoping, praying and keeping every finger and toe crossed that perhaps she IS outgrowing it and just maybe I can rest a little easier.  The more time that passes without incident is a GREAT sign.  Our next follow up isn't until 4 months from now.  In the mean time, she goes about her crazy business without a care in the world and certainly no concept of fear.  Her newest thing is to try and jump off the two steps in the office - she watches her siblings compete to see who can jump the furthest.  Of course, she cannot jump yet, so instead just sort of trips and falls down the steps and lands in a heap of giggles.

Addleyʻs Update

Today I took Addley to her cardiology appointment to have the EKG and echo performed that "should" have been done during her hospital admission.  She was of course traumatized by it all and the doctor was upfront in saying that typically children that age cannot undergo an echo without sedation.  I explained to him the miscommunication that happened and said I wanted to try, since I did not (and do not) want to undergo another sedation unless absolutely necessary.  Turns out the EKG was more difficult than the echo as she kept pulling all the wires off of her.  Once I held her arms tight enough she started using her feet to remove them...what a stinker.  For the echo I just held her and he scanned her easily.  She cried the whole time but I think she was sufficiently worn out and just wanted the whole thing to be over.  Poor thing whimpered and whimpered.  The good news is that everything looks great.  A perfectly healthy heart!  Relief.  So that leaves us with a follow up appointment Sept 8th with the neurologist who will likely say to monitor episodes and that this is just something she'll grow out of.  As YaYa recently told me (and yaya's know quite a bit of stuff)...."she's just another drama queen".

I Don't Want To Grow Up

What do you say when your 4 year old says "Mommy, I don't want to grow up"?  I suppose this is where I should add that it was said with a quiver in his lip and a tear in his eye!  Seriously.  7:30 this morning and that is what I am dealing with.  I asked him why and he got more tears in his eyes and said, "I don't want to get bigger, I just want to be who I am and be me."  I tried to laugh it off and say "I don't want to grow up either" but he was having no part of that.  This was obviously something very important to him and he wanted to have a serious conversation about it.  I told him that everything grows.  Trees, flowers, babies, grandparents....and no matter who or how big he grew up to be, he would always be my little boy and I would always love him.  He asked me if God decided how big he would be.  He told me he didn't want to be different and that grown ups don't have fun.  I told him growing up meant lots of fun things like: sleepovers, staying up later, playing sports, going on special trips, making lots of friends, learning how things work in the world....truthfully, I was having a hard time having this conversation.  I wanted to say, "I don't want you to grow up either", "I don't want you to change", "There are lots of things about growing up that are scary and difficult."  My little 4 year old IS growing up, and he IS changing and while I am super excited to share this journey with him, I am so sad at  how fast it is going.  Fortunately by the end of our conversation (just as I was putting breakfast on the table), he turned back into my sweet and smart little 4 year old and said, "Mom, I'm just not going to eat my breakfast so I won't grow."  Ahhhh....if only it were that simple.

You Be The Judge

Every so often I like to dig up pictures of the kids around the same age just to compare - I am always hearing mixed reviews about who looks like who.  These three pictures were taken at the 1 year mark.  Iʻve certainly improved with my picture taking - poor Dayton doesnʻt have any good baby pictures.  

So Sweet I Just Had To Share

So I bought Dayton some new socks for school (he starts Kindergarten Aug 24th) and I was second guessing his size because they just looked a little big.  I get really bothered when I see kids with their socks all munched up in their shoes for some reason.  This morning I was taking the tags off to put them in the laundry basket and I asked him to try one on to see if they fit.  He wanted to know why, so I told him they just looked a little big for him and I wasnʻt sure if I bought the right size....cause you know 4 year olds require an explanation for EVERYTHING.  He put one on and sure enough it fit...I said something like this:  "Wow, youʻre getting so big and it makes me so sad."  He said, "Thatʻs okay mom, Iʻll always be your little boy."  Talk about make my heart melt and bring tears to my eyes.  Kids just say the funniest and sweetest things sometimes.

Hanalei Bay, Kauai

It seems I am finally getting around to adding more pictures  to the blog from our trip to Kauai.  If you have never visited, I highly recommend it.  Such a pristine and slow paced island.  When I moved from Canada to Southern Louisiana, it took me some time to adjust to the slower pace of life and relaxed attitude of the locals.  Weather dictates some of that Iʻm sure.  In Canada it is so darn cold all the time it is no wonder most are in a rush to get somewhere.  Quite the opposite in the south - the heat and humidity cause you to sweat before you even go outside and once out there you are overcome by this hot blanket that causes one to feel and move slower.  (at least that is one of my theories)  In Hawaii, life is just...well, different.  Hawaii is on its own time.  The locals have no concept of deadlines.  If someone here says they will be at your house at 9am, they really mean 10:30.  While most would say traffic is to blame (and while that is likely), I say it is just the way of life here.  When I say here, I mean on the island of Oahu (where we live).  Well, Kauai is even slower paced.  Even the wild chickens and roosters havenʻt a care in the world.  It was very easy to feel as though you were on vacation right away rather than need a day to "unwind".  You wonʻt see a lot of people in any of my pictures (even though our resort was at maximum capacity).  

An early morning picture of Hanalei Bay.

A zoomed shot of the coast on the far side of Hanalei Bay.

Low tide at the resort beach.  We always love hunting for shells and sea life during low tide.  We saw quite a few sting rays (babies) but I never managed to get a picture of one.

A shot from the beach during low tide.

The same shot with the tide coming in.  Very cool.

Rainbows Of Kauai

I never really get tired of photographing rainbows.  Hawaii IS the rainbow state and it certainly lives up to its name.  While we were in Kauai, we must have seen at least one rainbow every single day - right outside our window.  My favorite picture is the last one.  I think it is remarkable how beautiful and sunny it is on one side of the rainbow and how stormy it is on the other.  Somehow, the camera just never does a rainbow justice.

Wednesdayʻs Hospital Visit And Todayʻs Update

An update for those of you I have not spoken to..Wednesday was Addleyʻs hospital admission for a sedated EEG and EKG.  While she was not a happy baby, sleep deprived and food deprived, she tolerated the procedure well.  She didnʻt particularly like having vitals hooked up to her nor the process of the oral sedation, but she doesnʻt know how lucky she was to NOT have to have an IV or general.  I am thankful for that.  I tolerated the procedure well and only shed a few tears - it really humbled me because there are so many parents that have to deal with medical procedures for their children on a daily basis.  I am thankful for my childrenʻs health.  Following the procedure we learned that the EKG had not been done and that apparently the neurologistʻs office did not feel it necessary.  I was a little skeptical of this since the doctor had told me otherwise at our previous appointment.  Following the EEG it took a little bit of time for her to "wake up" but she was able to stomach some apple juice and consequently they sent us home.  I was surprised at how unstable she was the remainder of the day.  It was like her brain was awake telling her to do all her normal activities but her body was non compliant.  I suppose it was equivalent to being drunk.  Funny to watch, but a little exhausting to care for.  We monitored her for 24hrs and of course by Thursday morning she was back to her old self.
On Thursday our pediatrician phoned to give us some preliminary results of the testing.  (Thank God because I wasnʻt prepared to wait for our follow up appointment with the neurologist September 8th).  Everything looked normal on the EEG.  Yay!  This wasnʻt really a surprise since the neurologist had said she was pretty sure it would come back normal.  And while this doesnʻt 100% rule out a seizure disorder, it makes it highly unlikely.  Good news.  I canʻt say I feel as though a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders because I still donʻt have any answers.  The pediatricianʻs opinion was that the neurologist would likely tell us to continue to monitor her episodes to see if they changed in frequency or intensity.  *sigh*
Thursday evening the neurologist called (I was shocked) to also tell me the preliminary results.  I asked a few questions and we talked about what the next step would be.  As suspected, the EKG was supposed to have been done and she has no idea who at the office would have indicated otherwise.  She hinted that perhaps the hospital was just being lazy and nobody actually called to verify.  I am aggravated at the communication mishap and wish that people would just do things right the first time.  Anyhow, we are now being referred to a pediatric cardiologist so that they can perform the EKG and do an echo (ultrasound) of her heart.  The reasoning behind this, is to rule out any possible cardiac arrhythmia's that may be predisposing Addley to having seizures when she breath holds.  If her blood pressure suddenly drops due to a sensitive vagus response; this could trigger a seizure.  Additionally, the neurologist mentioned that it is important to determine since it would be much more serious to overlook a heart problem than it is for a child to have continued seizures.  It sounds as though the procedure is actually quite quick and non-invasive and can be done in their office but I am just so aggravated that this all could have been done at one time while she was sedated and oblivious.  I mean, it isnʻt as though she is going to complacently lie on an exam table and allow them to ultrasound her heart! In the mean time, we just monitor.  We have her 12 month shots in 2 weeks and I am pretty sure the unexpected pain from that will trigger her to breath hold and seize so I will keep you updated on that.  In the mean time, I do my best to prevent injuries that most toddlers are prone to...a hard feat with my little daredevil.  This morning I caught her standing on Dayton's back while he was lying on the floor.  The travertine floor of course! Thank you for all of your calls, emails and texts.  Your support and concern has been greatly appreciated.

Addleyʻs Update

Addley is a year old now.  She is the sweetest little thing, loves attention, hugging, playing, laughing and following around her siblings.  Of the three children, she is the dare devil...the one with little to no fear to try anything she might see her brother or sister doing.  She was the earliest to walk independently at 10 months and since then there has been no stopping her.  With that independence and fearlessness comes plenty of opportunity for bumps and bruises.  Since she was about 6 months old we discovered that when she gets hurt she holds her breath when she cries.  At first we didnʻt know what was happening, but in retrospect I can see all the signs now.  There are different types of breath holding spells and I am by no means an expert in any of them, but it appears that Addleyʻs are the most rare type (and the most severe).  She experiences a combination of cyanotic and pallid spells that (unfortunately) trigger seizures.  Scott and I refer to them as "episodes" because at this point we have not been given a medical diagnosis or term to apply to them.  She experiences about 2 per month and all have resulted in varying degrees of seizures. (meaning how long they last or how long it takes for her to recover fully)  We finally got a neurological evaluation and the dr. agrees that they are breath holding spells of a severe form due to the seizures that they trigger.  They are not the common ones that people hear about in children who hold their breath during temper tantrums.  These are entirely reflexive and she has no control over them.  They do not happen every time she is hurt nor can we predict when a hurt happens if she will have a full blown episode.  Consequently, we have been scheduled for an EEG (to rule out a seizure disorder, which the dr seems confident it is not) and an EKG to determine if there are any abnormal rhythms in her heart that might be triggering the seizures during these injuries.  I have not blogged about this intentionally...mostly because I havenʻt had any answers to give to all the questions from friends and family, but also because Iʻve been in denial and hoping they would just go away.  From what Iʻve been told and read, children grow out of these episodes as late as the age of 6! Her tests are scheduled for Wednesday August 4th.  We both apologize if we have forgotten to give anyone updates regarding Addleyʻs episodes - at this point we have no answers.  Unfortunately, the test results will not be reviewed with us until our next appointment with the neurologist on September 8th.  I will try and keep you all updated as information is available.  

Kauai Part 2 Of Many

I'm not sure why, but each time we go somewhere I like to take pictures of the hotel rooms....and I like to take them as soon as we enter the room because they never quite look the same again.  We stayed in Princeville, which is on the northern side of the island.  Here is a picture of our room:

This was the view from our room.  The windows and screens slid all the way open.  I was a little nervous of the kids being up on the window bench because there was nothing to prevent them from ending up in the cliffs below.  I loved that you could lie in bed and feel like you were outside.

This was our bathroom.  Most fascinating to me was the privacy switch which fogged the window up.  How do those work?  

Here is a shot from inside the resort bar.  It had a huge outdoor space overlooking the Hanalei Bay.

This is the view from inside of the main dining area.

This is the bar/lounge.  

One of the many secret little outdoor spaces around the resort.

This was taken from the outdoor dining area.

Kauai 2010 Part 1 Of Many

As some of you know, we recently went on a 5 day trip to Kauai.  It is the third island that I've seen now and is by far the most beautiful.  I love how each of the islands has its own unique characteristics.  Kauai was more laid back and peaceful.  For those of you wondering, yes we had all 3 kids with us!  I know....kids and peaceful don't really go together do they?  Despite being surrounded by vacationers, it felt more low key and less busy than Maui or even home.  We apparently missed out on seeing Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler. Oh, and someone from Survivor got married while we were there.  Instead I spent a bit of time on a lounge chair and "talked story" (as the locals would say) with some folks from LA and another couple from NY.  Both sets were in the filming industry - the one lady worked behind the camera and the other guy was a real live actor.  Funny, the people you meet...turns out they had 2 girls the same age as Dayton and Saige.  They left their kids at home, and while they commented several times on how cute and well behaved mine were, I'm quite sure they weren't missing their own.  This trip we decided to take Miss Katie (our 2 day a week nanny - also known as my 2 day a week get your sanity in check to deal with the other 5 days).  It was great to have the extra hands and the kids loved having her there - it meant more time in the pool and at the beach.  I'm blessed to have her.  She loves the kids as if they were her own and my kids love them as much as they love me...perhaps even more on some days!  She has endless energy and patience and it was nice to be able to spend some alone time with Scott.  We had a couples massage at the Spa, went out for dinner and drinks to watch the sun setting and even went on part of the Na Pali Coast hike.  Okay, before I get too lost in my stories (which just might take me a year to complete!) let me get a few pictures posted.  Stay tuned (but not too tuned) for more...

Conversations With A 4 Year Old

Entertaining to say the least.  Sometimes frustrating.  Complex.  Can I say scary too?  Since sometimes they include questions I'm just not ready to answer.  I really need to do a better job of writing these things down because one day I won't be able to remember all of them and I really want the kids to be able to laugh about it and share it with their own families.

It's only 8am here and this is how it went...

Dayton was sticking his hands in the back of my hair (I recently got almost 5 inches of hair cut off)... "Mom, I don't see your special eyes."  "Oh they're there dear...they are magic so you can't see them."  "But mom, I don't feel them either."  "Do your special eyes only come out when I'm doing something bad?"  I'm still laughing about it.  I wonder how long I can get away with having these special eyes.

Dayton was making himself waffles this morning and offered to make some for me too.  I had already poured a bowl of cereal so I told him if I was still hungry after finishing that I would let him know.  He said, "Eat your cereal and if you're still hungry then remember in your mind I will make two waffles." "Don't freeget (forget) okay mom?"  "Remember that in your mind."  "If you don't know, your mind is in your forehead."

Mother's Day 2010

Some people think that Mother's Day is a day to celebrate family...spending time with those you love, honoring thy mother, making special trinkets to be saved for years yet to come, recognizing how special the role of "mama" is, a special meal or whatnot.  I like to celebrate mine alone.  Every day is "Mother's Day".  To me, every normal day is a day to celebrate with loved ones.  My children tell me they love me every single day...they also tell me why.  That alone is plenty reason to make me feel special in my job...caretaker, nurturer, nurse, doctor, teacher and all other shoes I often find myself wearing.  (some more comfortable than others)  So, I like to celebrate by taking time to myself...not to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a mother, nor to think about my children....time to just do things for me to recharge my batteries.  And that is exactly what I did this year.  I started the day off with crepes on the beach....my toes in the sand, the morning sun on my back, the salt breeze against my face...pure bliss.  I took my camera and spent 3 hours capturing the beauty around me.  4 hours of peace and quiet.  Then I went home and "celebrated" with my loved ones.  Scott had spent some time with the kids making me a card.  Each of them put their footprint on paper and colored it in and then drew one special thing.  Dayton drew a heart and printed the word "heart" under it.  Saige drew a picture of me.  It will be a card that I will treasure, that I will look at when I'm old and think "wow, where did all the years go?"

I recall making gifts and cards for my own mother when I was younger.  I'm pretty sure she kept most things - I wonder what she thinks of when she looks at all those memories and years gone by.  I hope that she always felt loved by her children the way I feel loved by mine.  I'd like to think that she is proud of who I've become and where I've gone in my life yet also feel proud of herself for bringing me into this world, loving me, guiding me, teaching me..for I am today, a mother.  And while I am learning as I go, I take all that great wisdom she shared with me to be the best mother that I can be.  I am thankful for her role in my life and all that she has given me and taught me.

Time To Post But No Time To Title

So, I was about to give a nice update since Addley is napping and Saige is busy eating lunch (a late lunch as it is already 2pm here) and here I am on the second line and I've already been interrupted twice.  "Mom, look at my legs..they're shore."  Short?  "No, shore."  Cold?  "No, shore."  Ah...shore.  And now Saige is finished her pizza and strawberries.  Didn't get much accomplished did I?  Followed up by a conversation about not putting your teeth on cabinet handles so that they don't get chipped and whether or not her feet and legs will fall off when her teeth fall out.  As I was saying....
Dayton is in tune with Spring right now and seems to be blossoming developmentally - his artwork has progressed from scribbles and potato people (circles with sticks for limbs and big features) to alphabet designs and houses with flowers.  It is now more than one color as well!  He finally has figured out all the uppercase and lowercase letters, how to write them and the sounds they make and is now starting to spell and sound out words when reading.  It is all very impressive to me.  Perhaps most 4 year olds can do this but I certainly don't recall being able to do this when I was 4.  Regardless, I am so proud of him and at the same time, so sad that he is growing so fast.  The big K next year...I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with homework and the seriousness of establishing good educational routines.  Why can't they be little and innocent for just a little longer these days?  He is also playing soccer now and he absolutely LOVES it!  He is so cute in his little shin guards and cleats and out of nowhere has developed this running slide kick.  I need to video it - looks as though he's done this before.  It has been nice to spend our Friday evenings together as a family and supporting his talents/interests.  Dad keeps him focused and warms up with him and us girls sit on the sidelines cheering him on.  Okay, I'm the one cheering...Saige and Addley eat.  It is the only way to keep Saige contained and prevent Addley from putting everything in her mouth (like grass, sticks, seeds, dirt, rocks bugs etc).
Saige is still Saige...fiercely independent, strong willed and challenging to raise!  She is emerging as the dreamy, creative one - very interested in tea parties, picnics, school lessons and such.  Lest I not forget her need to always tell others what to do and how to do it.  She is so funny and I really must do a better job of writing down all her silliness.  Last week after bedtime she apparently got out of bed and put in every single hair clip that she owns.  Daddy found her sleeping on the floor with 20 clippies in her hair.  Occasionally I will find her asleep on her belly on the floor wearing a backpack or wearing a second set of PJ's on top of the ones she already has on; including double sets of socks.  One day she will read this and not believe it...fortunately I try and take pictures!  She still refuses to fall asleep in her bed!  She will be starting preschool (with her big brother; though he will be in a different class) at the end of August.  I am tempted to keep her home, but she needs the structure, exposure to rules and the socialization.  She needs someone else to boss her around a bit.  My beautiful sassy diva.
Wow, I can't believe I've gotten this far in my post....and onto Addley...sweet little Addley.  She is 9 months old now and I am starting to really see her personality.  Quarky, loves attention, quick to learn and will let you know if she is upset!  She's either talking or crying.  She pulls up on anything and will push around anything that moves.  Another mama's girl...always climbing my pant legs and cries if I walk by her without picking her up.  She adores her big brother and is a little scared of her overbearing sister.  She has 3 teeth now and is working on a fourth and FINALLY is eating some solid food...along with anything else she can shove in her mouth.  I do the scoop and sweep routine several times a day.  I vacuum daily, hoping to suck up anything her little fingers might find.  A pointless and time consuming task since she still manages to find so much.  A magnet, a clove of garlic, paper, dog hair, crumbs, sticks, bugs...you get the point?  And now my update must come to a close...I know there is more to say, but duty calls.  Dayton is home from school and is running around in his underwear, Saige is half naked running around scooping the air with my wooden spoons and Addley is emptying the DVD cabinet.  Just enough time for a small update....

Retro-blogging

Is there such a thing as retro-blogging?  Several people have pointed out that I haven't posted anything since January.  Really?  I could swear I wrote something in February...hmmm, perhaps not.  Well, now it's March...where to start, what to say?  I'm not really sure what actually happened in the month of February.  I know Valentines Day was in there.  Most of the month was ridden with illness that got passed from child to child to parent to parent.  It was a pretty sick month.  Fortunately nothing serious...just back to back upper respiratory virus type stuff.  You know, that stuff that makes both parents and children somewhat miserable...and most of you also know, that being a mommy means that you aren't allowed the luxury of getting sick...and if you do, you don't get to take time off from motherhood.
What else happened?  Scott went away for a week.  Actually, he just got back from another week away too.  Those weeks are never fun.  It always amazes me to think about how all those single parents survive.  Or rather, how all those children of single parents survive.   I mean, it's no wonder some species eat their young!  Seriously.  The highlight of my week came on my last night of flying solo.  Dayton and Saige were watching a show before bedtime while I got Addley fed and ready for bed.  I told them I was going to put her to sleep and that when I got back I would read them their bedtime story.  I was gone less than 3 minutes; which is apparently A LOT of time for a 4 year old and 2.5 year old to be up to no good.  During those 3 minutes, Dayton doused himself with Scott's cologne and Saige squirted hand sanitizer all over my bedside table (which is less than a year old I might add).  They then wiped it around with a kleenex (to clean it up they say), spreading it over half the table and then decided they might experiment with cleaning the rest of it off with my nail file!  The sanitizer nicely removed the finish off the wood and the nail file nicely damaged it with pretty scratchy designs.  Well, I pointed to their bedroom and said nothing because I was more than a little mad.  Saige said, "I guess no bedtime story?"  A double point from me.  On the way to their bedroom she asked me I still loved her (my head said no, but my heart said yes) and my finger kept pointing towards their bedroom.  Dayton didn't say a word.  He just climbed in his bed and pulled the covers up...I might have heard him say sorry, but I'm not certain.  They both stayed in bed (a rarity) the whole night.  I was thankful Scott was returning the following day.  The morning of that day I discovered several presents in my closet...compliments of the dogs.  Need I say more?  And that folks, is what you all have been missing out on...
Perhaps my next post will focus a little more on the good and cute things my kids have been up to...

December 2009 - Birthdays, Christmas, Milestones And All That...

I celebrated my 35th birthday with the greatest gifts:  my children, my husband and some chocolate cake.  Logical Dayton of course wanted to know why there were only 3 candles on my cake!

We went to a The Ching Family's yearly gingerbread house decorating party.  This was Dayton's creation.  Saige started eating the pieces of hers before it got built.  Scott melted it and the tray in the oven a few days later.

Addley started to sit up.  The girls were "playing" (Saige was trying to "make" Addley take a pacifer) together on a beautiful sunny day.  Hard to see from this shot, but they are on Saige's new beautiful quilt made by a family friend.  Tula, the guardian.

Addley tried rice cereal for the first time.  She's never eaten it since.  Or oatmeal, or carrots, or sweet potatoes, or peas, or apples, or apple juice.... She's just not the least bit interested in eating anything solid right now.

Dayton's first tap performance.

Dayton's first hip hop performance.  I discovered that I have forgotten everything I learned in my sewing class in high school.  I really did hem his pants...

Sitting with the girls waiting for his number.

Where's Dayton??!

Dayton's Christmas program at the church.  He sang "Thula Thula".  Apparently it is a traditional Zulu song.  No wonder I never understood him when he was practicing singing it at home!  It wasn't even in English!

My sweet boy...all grown up.

A picture of me with the kiddos after the Christmas program.

Addley learned how to get into the crawl position.  She isn't crawling but she kind of gets around a little on her side.

Saige was the Christmas cookie helper this year.  Dayton apparently had better things to do and only wanted to partake in eating them.

She obviously needs a little more practice!

Caught on film stealing bites of raw cookies.  Gross!  But she sure is beautiful.

This year Santa got "pieces" of cookies (I used too small of a cookie pan and the dozen cookies sort of became one cookie) and some chocolate milk.  Dayton thought Santa might enjoy the one with the most sprinkles.

Our traditional Christmas Eve PJ picture!  Addley's first Christmas.  She isn't sure what to think about all the excitement.

The West side of the tree on Christmas morning.

The East side of the tree on Christmas morning.

My favorite part...stockings.  Often the most played with gift is found in the stocking.  This year umbrellas were a big hit.  The kids always want to play with them and Dayton took his to school for show and tell!  He was a little disappointed they wouldn't let him open it in class and demonstrate.

This year Santa left bags for the kids with their gift inside.

Santa brought Dayton a scooter and a sleeping bag.  I'm still amazed that Santa was thinking of me when he brought the kids their own sleeping bags...now they can sleep in them on my floor rather than flip and kick me in my own bed!

No idea what Santa brought for Saige - she was more interested in playing with some coins she found.

The day after Christmas we all enjoyed some leftover turkey sandwiches at the beach.  Addley enjoyed her hat strap.

After turkey sandwiches, the kids played in the water.  It was a beautiful and relaxing day after Christmas.

Dayton enjoys torturing the dogs by ringing the doorbell and making them nutty.  I thought the picture was cute because his crocs match the pointsetta.