The Princess and the Frog

Once upon a time there was a beautiful fairy princess. She loved to wear her pretty, pink princess dress, put on her crown and wave her wand. But she hated to have her hair brushed. This princess knew her own mind and was a stubborn little girl, but was very loving also.

One day, when the princess was still very young, a frog came to live in her castle. Even though the frog was very cute, the princess was hoping to be the only royalty in her home.

Luckily, she learned at a young age how to share and learned to love the frog. Because the princess was so loving she kept kissing the frog.

Fortunately the kisses turned the frog into a little prince...or in this case, a "prince" of a brother.

The End.

Mmmm, Candy!

Today was the Lambrigger's annual Halloween party. What a fun event. It's a quick hour of good treats, fun crafts and cute costumes.

I took both the kids today but only put Dylan in costume. I couldn't bring myself to put Isaac in his. How do you put a little boy in a fleece sweatsuit when it's 90+ degrees out? And to add to that, why is it 90+ degrees at the end of October?

But back to the party. Dylan loved to see the other kids in their costumes and even sat down to make her crafts. She made a cute ghost out of a tootsie roll pop and a Frankenstien finger puppet. Luckily all the younger kids had some help from the older kids in attendance.

Even though Isaac wasn't in costume, he was still involved with the activities. He loved sitting in his stroller and watching all the kids. And the kids loved to see him too. His cousin Kruz even shared his sucker with him. Isaac has never had a sucker before and it was so kind of Kruz to share. Once Isaac had a taste, you couldn't stop him. And once Kruz finally got his sucker back, he took off and never looked back!

Pumpkin Carving

I've been racking my brains for about two weeks wondering how I could get Dylan involved with carving a pumpkin. I wanted to capture this "kodak moment." I knew she could help clean the pumpkin out, but I didn't know if she would. But I also wanted her involved with the actual carving. Anybody want to give a 2 year old a knife?? I didn't think so.


I'd considered a few options and talked with people to find out what they were going to do. I considered letting Dylan paint the pumpkin or use markers on the pumpkin, or crayons. I figured that our pumpkin this year would be a work of art and not a jack-o-lantern.


As I was walking through Walmart on Thursday I walked through their Halloween section hoping to be inspired. I'm happy to report how successful the trip was. I'm sure you've all seen the little pumpkin carving kits available to anyone out there. They usually include some sort of carving knife and scooper to clean out the pumpkin. Sometimes they even include patterns to help get the creative juices flowing. I can't tell you how long it's been since I last carved a pumpkin. I don't think Todd and I have ever carved one together. Do you have any idea how many more carving kit options are available since the last time I carved a pumpkin??? Lots.


But back to me Walmart inspiration. It was perfect. The perfect kit for a two year old. Granted, the package said for ages 4+, but I also knew that if Todd and I handled the first part, Dylan could handle the rest.


This kit was like a Lite Bright for pumpkins. It was fantastic. If you don't know what a Lite Bright is, here's the scoop. It's a toy where you take little, colored, plastic pegs and create a pattern with the colors to make some sort of picture. You place the pegs on the board and when you plug it in, there is a light that shines through the pegs to illuminate your picture. Does that make sense??


This kit had 50 pegs, a mallet, a battery-operated light and 4 patterns to choose from. Dylan chose the cat and we proceeded to clean out the pumpkin and cut the holes for the cat. Dylan did help clean the pumpkin some, but only because she liked to use the scraper (which she called a shovel).

After Todd and I decided the pumpkin was good to go, he took a little knife and created the holes for all of the colored pegs. The we let Dylan loose and helped her push all of the pegs into the holes to create the pumpkin. She even used the hammer (that's what she called the mallet) and was able to get all of the pegs into the holes so we had a perfect cat.

Once that was done we turned off the lights so Dylan could enjoy the fruits of her labor. She loved her pumpkin cat, but I think she liked her hammer and shovel more. She had a death grip on them the rest of the night, and found them first thing this morning too. I'm glad we were able to find a safe, clean way for Dylan to carve (or create) her very first pumpkin. I'm looking forward to many more years of decorating with the kids.

The Punkin Patch

In case you couldn't tell, that's how Dylan says the Pumpkin Patch. We took the kids to a small pumpkin patch down the street on Saturday morning for some pictures and to let Dylan pick some pumpkins. She wasn't quite sure what to make of all the pumpkins everywhere, but certainly loved all the small pumpkins that fit in her hand. She would pick up three or four and carry them around and place them all over the pumpkin patch. Todd and I would follow and pick them up to replace them where they belonged. We were able to take a few pictures, but we are still realizing that getting an 11 month old and a 2 year old to look at the camera at the same time is a challenge. It's also a challenge to get either one of them to look at the camera!

Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying all the pumpkins and Dylan's "chosen three." One for her and two for Isaac.

Isaac enjoying the hay

Finally, Dylan sitting with the pumpkins

Dylan's three choices

Dad's choice

Another Techno Geek?

Most of you know how techno-savvy Todd is. Usually if there is some sort of computer or electronic problem or question, Todd seems to get the call. Those calls come from family, friends and work. I think it's rather humerous that I ended up married to a "computer geek." But I've also realized that term isn't accurate enough. I think "techno geek" is a better description. I've also never really had a problem with it. Besides, I need an electronic troubleshooter as much as the next guy. And trust me, I totally benefit from his knowledge.

But I'm starting to realize we might have a problem.

Dylan is starting to show some technological skills of her own. Not only does she enjoy playing with the laptops, watching and removing DVDs from the DVD player, and turning the television on and off, I've also discovered another hidden talent.

This is her own personal electronic toy. As you can see, it needs to be hooked up to the television in order to be used. It also needs to be hooked up to the DVR. As you can see, Dylan managed just that. And if you look closely, you'll see she even hooked it up right.

Not too shabby for a two-year-old.

Oh, What a Night!

Now that the weather has started to cool down, we are spending more and more time outside. Dylan loves to be outside playing in her sandbox, blowing bubbles or pushing her wheelbarrow. After dinner I enjoy sitting out on the patio with her while Todd cleans up the kitchen. Usually Isaac is ready to come out and play with us also.

Since it's so dirty in the backyard, I try to keep Isaac in his highchair or his exersaucer, but last night I put him in the swing. I don't think it was his first time in the swing, but I don't remember ever enjoying an evening quite so much. Isaac loved being pushed in the swing. Todd got some great shots of a very happy boy. He would laugh and giggle and then try to look down to find Dylan...wherever she was.

At one point Todd and I were inside and we came out to find Dylan pushing Isaac and saying, "wheee" each time she did. I was so glad that Dylan wanted to play with her little brother and make him laugh. I've always wondered if these two would be the best of friends or the worst of enemies. I'm sure they will be both, but for now, I love when I see them laugh and play together. It gives me hope that there will be peace in our home and not a lot of war.

All in a Days Work

With all the things that happened today, I think I could probably make up for all the days I missed writing this month. Isn't it funny how that works? In one day I probably have about 5 things I could write about. Don't get excited though, I'm saving all of them but one for the future.

Here's the biggest thing that happened today, but certainly not the best. Our kitchen cabinets came in! Oh, you didn't know we ordered kitchen cabinets? We are adding some cabinets and a countertop upstairs in our kitchen where our entertainment center used to be. Now you wonder where the entertainment center went, right? Well, that's now downstairs. I know, I need to get pictures posted, and I will, eventually.

So back to our cabinets. I was so excited that they got here so fast, until we opened them. When we ordered our cabinets we took an existing door with us so we could match the color correctly. The man who placed the order at Home Depot said this was the closest and put in the order. Once the order is placed, the installation company comes out to take final measurements just to make sure everything will fit. He came out last Monday and mentioned that the color ordered wasn't really a close match for what our existing cabinets looked like. When we called Home Depot to discuss it, we were told that our order was already boxed up ready to be shipped and it was too late to make any changes. Huh??? How does that work? The order is done and ready to ship before the actual measurement takes place? That made no sense. We were told to wait and see and hopefully it would be close because our cabinet color actually fell between the color ordered and another color.

They got here today and it is way off. I mean waaay off. Todd took in our cabinet door again and a door from the new order and talked to some people at Home Depot. We're hoping to get the order replaced and fixed with the new color, but we're waiting to hear back from Home Depot to find out if that's possible. They can't just swap out the doors (which is what was offered to us) because then the rest of the cabinets would be off and it would look worse. Hopefully we'll find out tomorrow that they will take care of it for us, otherwise, I'm going to be none to pleased.

Here is a picture of the old and new cabinet. The old one is on the left and the new is on the right. Can you see the difference??

Tried and True??

This year we decided to put together a "family favorites" cookbook for Christmas. Unfortunately I don't see the cookbook being done in time for the holidays, but I have received some fabulous recipes.

Some of these are favorites from when all us girls were kids, and some are favorites from our own families. Whether these favorites are new dishes we've found through friends or the Internet, or whether we got them from our spouses' families, this cookbook will surely have an eclectic variety of new things to taste.

I've enjoyed getting the recipes from all my sisters and my mom, and a lot of them I've tried before at one point or another...except for the recipes Jamie sent. Because she lives so far away, I must say I haven't had the privilege of eating her cuisine. And I use the word cuisine because I've heard the girl can cook! For the last few years, Jamie has been part of a cooking club and I always hear about the wonderful foods she prepares and tastes. I must say, I'm so jealous! They all sound wonderful. So when Jamie started to send her recipes to me, two things happend. First I started to salivate, then I got really depressed.

I will be the first to tell you that I am anything but a cook. I love to bake, although I've yet to try anything from scratch. That's my goal for this fall and winter...to try out my hand at homemade pie crusts and cakes from scratch. But that isn't the point. The point is, I have absolutely no confidence in my culinary skills so I'm scared to attempt any of Jamie's dishes. I'm afraid I'd ruin them and do an injustice to the meal.

I did finally decide to try one of her recipes though. Todd and I belong to a dinner group with four other couples from Church. We met together Friday night and I was in charge of bringing a dessert. Todd really wanted a peppermint ice cream pie, but I couldn't bring myself to make one before Halloween. (But, I have eaten a bowl of peppermint ice cream almost every night this week!) Instead I chose Jamie's Brownie Heath Bar Suprise. I love to make trifles, and mostly that's because they look pretty without having to be perfect. It's almost impossible to make a trifle look bad and I'm not the greatest at presenting the food I make. I thought this dish would be perfect for our group. We all love chocolate so this would be a wonderful end to a good night. Jamie told me in her e-mail full of recipes that all of these were tried and true and some of her family's favorites. I decided to put this one to the test. Then again, how could I go wrong with a name like Brownie Heath Bar Suprise??

I spoke to Jamie to tell her I was going to try out this dessert and she was so excited to see how it turned out. She recommended I make it the night before, so Thursday night I bought all the ingredients, made the brownies, let the brownies cool, then at 11pm I enlisted Todd's help to put it all together. For once, Todd wanted to eat something I made immediately. Let me rephrase that, for the first time Todd wanted to eat something new I made immediately.

I put it in the fridge and let it sit until it was time for our dinner group on Friday. We took our dessert and it was a huge success. I believe the size of this trifle bowl I used is supposed to serve about 16. We had 8 people at our dinner group, and there wasn't a lick left in the bowl. It was devoured. I must say, Jamie's tried and true dessert was test-tasted by eight people in Arizona and loved by everyone. Thanks Jamie!

Now for Christmas I need Todd to get me a trifle bowl because I always need to borrow my moms. I have a feeling this dessert will become a staple at our house, and at dinner group!

Brownie Heath Bar Suprise
1 box Duncan Hines Family style brwnies-chewy fudge
1 box Jello instant pudding-white choc.
1 box jello instant pudding-cheesecake flavor
1 8 oz. container of cool whip-thawed
5-6 heath bars-frozen and crushed
2 1/2 cups cold milk

Make brownies according to directions for fudge-like brownies. Cool completely. Cut into 1" squares. Pour both jello mixes into a bowl and add milk. Stir until pudding like. FOLD in the cool whip. In a large serving bowl, or triffle dish, layer brownie, jello/cool whip mixture, and then heath bar. Repeat layers, top final layer with any remaining heath bar. Cover and chill in fridge for at least 4-8 hours or overnight.

I've Got Nothin'

How can it be so hard to find something interesting to write about each day? I haven't even written every day this month like I had hoped, and I have been sitting here trying to come up with something. How awful! I've got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

So here's this...(by the way, I've been stuck at this point for about 20 minutes) Isaac has learned how to stand up on his own. The boy still army crawls everywhere because he still can't support his body on his hands and knees, but he can stand that body up on his two legs. Go figure. Not only can he pull himself up to a standing position, but his favorite time to do so is in the middle of dinner, or lunch, or breakfast for that matter...when he's in his high chair!

He thinks it's great. A new found freedom. I wonder what he'll think the first time he falls. But not to worry, we now strap him in. Yes, that's right, we never did so before today. Apparently the time has come for Isaac to be buckled into his high chair during meals.

Another great thing...he's off the baby food. Completely. And in a few short weeks, no more formula. Any guesses how much money will be saved by not buying baby food or formula??

Anyone? Anyone? Guesses?

I may not have the exact number, but I do know it will be a lot. Now if I can only get them both out of diapers. Oh, to dream!!!

For Sale

I know that I've been alluding to lots of things changing in our house lately, and haven't posted any pictures. Don't get excited, I'm still not going to post any. I've been taking pictures as we've gone along, and as soon as I feel like things are starting to shape up more, I'll post some.

In the mean time, I thought I'd post some things for sale so you know what's leaving our humble abode...even if you don't know what's taking their place.

Enjoy!

Three-Piece Sectional

Antique Dining Table with 6 Chairs

(Don't mind all the dust!)

Intent to Injure

If you read my last post, you'll know about what a stalwart daughter we have and her ability to ignore the pain her brother can inflict. No flinching or reacting to Isaac's little nibble until it was done. I believe she just decided to wait to respond.

It took 10 months and 3 weeks for Dylan to go after Isaac with the intention of injuring him. Maybe not really the intention to hurt him, but certainly she reacted out of anger to get him to stop what he was doing. Here's how it all went down...

Dylan enjoys sitting on the couch downstairs. She brings over her blankets and crawls up onto the couch with her dolls and books and asks me to help put both blankets on her. This happens multiple times a day and we always need to fix the blankets if a toe or a foot is sticking out. Today was no different. I laid both blankets across her and she sat quietly reading and laying next to me.

Isaac was on my lap at the time. It was close to lunch time, which means close to nap time, which means Isaac is clingy and wants to be held. But he's also antsy. He decided that the toy next to Dylan's leg looked exciting and he rolled off my lap to crawl across the couch to get a closer look. Unfortunately, this toy was on top of the blanket and when Isaac crawls he tends to grab whatever he can to inch himself forward. In this case, the blanket.

You can probably guess that Dylan freaked. First she started whining and grabbing hold of the blanket. When that didn't work she attempted to push Isaac off the couch. That didn't work because I had a good hold on him so she started to kick at him. As that didn't get him to stop either (and please don't ask what I was doing, Dylan went through each of these phases in nanoseconds so I really couldn't prevent what happened next) She started slapping at Isaac and reared back with her beaded necklace and swiped it across his face. She was mad.

But Isaac's reaction was worse. He went beserk. If you know Isaac at all, you know how even tempered he is. He's happy. Always. Even when he's hungry or tired, he's happy. Boy, he was not happy when he got whipped in the face with a plastic necklace. He cried and cried and I of course got angry with Dylan, took her necklace away and told her she hurt Isaac.

What happened next made me think that all might just be okay between these Bailey siblings.

As I stood and tried to calm Isaac down, Dylan looked at me and said, "Isaac crying, Isaac sad." I told her that yes, he was sad because she hit him and hurt him. She jumped right off the couch and came and gave me a hug. I sat down and she put her arms around Isaac, kissed the side of his head and said, "Sorry." It melted my heart. She said she was sorry twice, without being asked, just because she knew that what she'd done was wrong, and Isaac was crying because of it.

Of course, Isaac laughed because Dylan was right in his face and they started giggling together so I knew all was forgiven in his mind. Forgiven yes, but not forgotten. He grabbed a fist full of Dylan's hair before she got back on the couch and that resulted in Dylan's tears. Too bad Isaac doesn't understand to say "sorry" yet, but since he grabs her hair often, Dylan understands that Isaac didn't mean to hurt her.

I think today gave me a glimpse of what the future holds for these two.

They may hurt each other and not want the other one around at times, but I have a feeling they'll be quick to apologize and even quicker to forgive....and forget.

Dental Records

It's been a few days. It's also been a busy few days. I have lots of material for posts now, so stay tuned.

But first is today's short story.

On Friday I was sitting on the floor downstairs with Dylan on my lap. Isaac was playing nearby and decided that he wanted to join us. He started climbing on Dylan's lap and was really struggling. Dylan was watching Beauty and the Beast and wasn't paying much attention to Isaac at all. I thought it was strange because usually she tries to push him away or starts to whine to have me move him. Friday she said nothing.

I reached down to pick Isaac up and put him on my lap too, when Dylan started to whine and say "oww, oww," and "hurts." I didn't know what the problem was, but she was holding her arm.

This is what I saw:

The poor girl got Isaac's dental records imprinted on her arm...and never even flinched! Didn't scream out in pain, didn't push her brother, didn't hit her brother, she just sat there and let him bite her, then mentioned it hurt after he was done. The girl is a trooper!

The mark stayed red on her arm all day long and I often found her checking it out.

And here's a picture of the guilty party. All we need is a black sign around his neck with his name and case number.

Fantasy Football Widows

Is there anyone else out there that has lost their husband to fantasy football? Todd is playing with some co-workers, which is awesome, except for the fact that the kids and I become completely invisible to him from 8 a.m. Sunday morning until about 10 p.m. Monday night.

When he is in the room with us, he either has his laptop out checking scores (scores of his Fantasy team, his opponents Fantasy team, other co-workers Fantasy scores, current game scores, and scores of games that have already ended) or he's running into his office to check the scores.

If we are in the car, he is checking scores, listening to games on the radio or reading the numerous text messages his co-workers are sending him. Don't ask me how many texts he gets between Sunday morning and Monday night.

Add to that, he's even starting to re-adjust his work schedule so he can attend Monday Night Football parties with the guys. And have I even started to mention all of the side bets??? My goodness. What started as a simple $20 per person pot has turned into a miniature Vegas venture. I can't tell you how many different bets there are each week. Lucky for us these bets are usually for a soda, but sometimes someone bets a little large and offers up lunch. Of course, Todd is undefeated, has a huge head and will take any bet offered. Anyone have a number for Gambler's Anonymous?

Any other wife out there feeling my pain? On the bright side, he tries telling me that football season is almost over. I'm not a sports idiot, so I know he's full of it. Doesn't he know that??

So, here's to a very short fantasy football season!

The Doodlebops

I decided to take another topic offered by Jamie. She asked what me what is the most annoying show I let the kids watch.

That for me is easy. Hands down, the Doodlebops! I'm sure I'd have more "most annoying" shows, but since my kids sleep until about 9am everyday, I only have so many options. Plus, Dylan loves movies and Isaac enjoys the music of Baby Einstein. Again, it sounds like my kids watch a ton of television, but I promise, they don't. If the tv is on, it's background noise. Neither of them have the ability to sit in front of the tv and watch anything for any length of time. Usually it's a calming force for either of them when they are ready to settle down for the night or ready for lunch and their afternoon naps.

But back to the Doodlebops. Have you seen this show??? It's a Disney Channel morning staple. It drives me insane. It's about a music group called the Doodlebops and each episode has lots of singing, dancing and a concert at the end. There's usually some sort of lesson to be learned, which is good, but still a little on the annoying side. The characters aren't exactly easy on the eyes either. They are real people, wearing these funny costumes that give them fake hair and hands and their skin is painted all different colors. I feel like I'm doing a horrible job explaining it. Maybe this will help:

See what I mean?

The show all in all isn't so bad, but the darn songs tend to get stuck in your head. Not good. Actually, very frustrating, but, Isaac loves the singing and listening to the music and Dylan loves to dance with the Group. I guess if it makes them both smile, I'll just have to deal with it.

Pet Peeve

When I decided to write each day this month I asked for suggestions for topics. Only one person was kind enough to give me options. Luckily, one of the ideas struck a cord with me, especially recently. Please forgive my minor rant.

I'm tired of blogs. Not tired of writing this one, but tired of reading them. About 80% of the blogs I read seem so fake. And trust me, I read a lot of blogs. I read family blogs, and blogs of friends, scrapbooking blogs and blogs I come across just by following links. But to me, 80% seem just unreal.

I like things to be real. I like knowing the truth. Why wouldn't I? I like reading that I'm not the only one with frustrations with my kids. I like people I can identify with. I like it when people keep it real. I'm not finding that with the blogs I'm reading. The stories about kids are all about how cute they are and what was so adorable about them that day. They have perfect pictures showing smiles and laughs with perfect backgrounds. They talk about how wonderful life is and how lucky they are.

Is that real? I don't doubt that people are happy and their kids make them happy and their children are cute. But I do question whether that's what their life is like day in and day out. Unfortunately, I will never know. I only read about the perfection. Never the trials or the rough days. Why is that? It doesn't make a mom or a family any less happy if they have rough times. It makes them more identifiable, more real, and more human. I need that. I need to know that there are people out there with real everyday problems, real trials with their kids and that their life isn't perfect.

So, here's what I'm asking for. I doubt that the blogs I read will change, but I'm asking for someone to direct me somewhere so I can read more blogs that I can identify with. I don't mind reading about the happy go lucky families that claim their lives are perfect, but I need the "real" stuff more. So, suggestions??

Thanks for listening. I promise tomorrow I'll write about how perfect my kids are. HA!

Total Slacker

Alright, so my intentions were good. I really had planned on a post a day. But coming up with topics that are somewhat interesting is tough. I had a total brain block all weekend and couldn't come up with anything enlightening. I'm still not sure I have a great topic today, so it will just be a quick post to tell you about my favorite things that happened today.

Dylan, Isaac and I are now spending our days downstairs. This allows for the kids to roam free and play with all their toys and for me to do some digital scrapping in my office, or play with them. I'm trying to choose to play with them more often.

I love to watch Dylan play with her brother. She has so much patience with him and doesn't even get upset when he encroaches on her territory. There were a few precious moments that I wish I had my camera for today, but unfortunately I didn't.

Dylan sat on the floor and read a story to Isaac. Actually it was more, pressing the buttons so the music would play, but regardless, Dylan went and found the book and sat on the floor next to him and turned the pages while pressing the appropriate keys. I loved watching them "read" this story together.

Later, Isaac was on my lap and Dylan came to sit beside me on the couch. She scooted real close, leaned over and gave Isaac a kiss on the head, then put her arm around him the way I always put my arm around her. It was a priceless moment to be sitting with both my children so close and have my daughter show such affection for her brother.

Lastly was tonight. Again, we were playing in Dylan's room and Isaac was a little fussy. Dylan went and grabbed a musical toy, sat down right in front of Isaac, kissed his head and said "sshhh Isaac, it's okay" and proceeded to show him how to play with the toy. They must have played like that for 10 minutes.

I sat in the rocking chair watching them, and wondered how in the world I got so lucky.

"Bye Bye"

He speaks.

You may scoff and say, "no way," but, Isaac speaks.

During our stay in California a few weeks ago Isaac started to wave bye bye. Or hello. Whenever grandma or I would wave, Isaac would respond with a wave in return. It was so cute to watch him get excited as he learned this new trick. Todd didn't believe us for a day or two, but then he saw Isaac in action and decided that my mom and I weren't crazy after all.

As his waving has improved (he now has more control over his movements) he's also started to say "bye, bye." Dylan waves "bye, bye" to Isaac whenever she walks away from him and she always accompanies the wave with the words "bye, bye." At night when we tell Dylan to say goodnight to her brother, she wave, says "night, night" followed by "bye, bye." And Isaac waves and says "bye, bye" back to her. The first time or two I didn't believe it, and thought I must be imagining things but last night, Todd heard it too. He looked at me and wondered if Isaac said "bye, bye" and I knew I wasn't making things up. Isaac says "bye, bye" to Dylan.

He might have said "mama" yesterday, and I thought maybe he said it today, but I know that Isaac's first word is "bye" and it's reserved only for his big sister.

"Go, Go, Go"

Those were the words coming out of my tear-stained daughters mouth when we went to see the dentist.

Most of you know Dylan had a little accident in California a few weeks ago and jammed her teeth up into her gums. Yesterday was the follow-up appointment with her local dentist.

I think Dylan has a sixth sense. The minute we walked in the door her whole attitude changed. She just stood in the middle of the room and didn't move. I talked to her and got no response, the receptionist tried, and nothing. The hygenist tried, and she stood stock still in the middle of the entrance. I finally had to pick her up and carry her into the back room.

The minute she saw the dentists chair, she started crying and whining and pointing at the door saying "Go, go, go!" It broke my heart.

It turned into a very familiar visit. Again she sat on my lap, again she screamed and fought, and again I had to hold her down so the dentist could get inside her mouth. Thankfully he was quick and the fact that she was screaming made her mouth open nice and wide for him.

The prognosis was good, sort of. I shouldn't say that. It was good, but her two front teeth are gray and the dentist told us that they could either lighten up or darken. That helps, doesn't it? He also said that it looked like one had dropped a little bit back into place, that we still weren't out of the woods regarding them needing to be pulled and that she could finally go back to eating her normal, everyday foods. Yeah!!!

Poor Dylan hated this visit and it was such a fast one. I wonder what's going to happen in three weeks when she goes in for her first cleaning!

Stay tuned...

Lucky Dog!

If you've ever been in our house, you know that we have a gate at the top of our stairs and one leading into the kitchen as well. These gates are for two distinct reasons: 1) they keep the kids contained, and 2) they keep Michael out of areas we don't want him in.

When Dylan started crawling we noticed she was picking up quite a bit of dog hair. Not just anywhere though; in her slobbery hands, in her mouth and stuck to her clothes. As new parents we were sure that being covered in dog hair was not a good thing, but eating it was worse. So the gates went up.

These gates assured us that once we gave the floor a good scrubbing, and the basement the once- or twice-over with the vacuum, Dylan was safe. And, soon after Dylan was walking, Isaac was on the floor so the gates stayed in place, the kids stayed contained and Michael was stuck wherever we wanted him to be.

Well, in the last week Todd and I have started to make some changes around the house. Each day poor Dylan wakes up to find that something new has happened in her home. Yesterday it was to find there was no more tv with breakfast (the tv was removed from the room) and today she went to open the gate to the kitchen, walked right through and then stopped and stared at where she just came from.

The gate was gone.

She looked at me with a puzzled frown, looked again where the gate was supposed to be, then climbed into her chair for breakfast. After those first few seconds of confusion she was fine and realized the freedom this entailed. No more asking mom and dad to open the gate. She could just go wherever she wanted (except through the gate at the top of the stairs).

We came back into the kitchen for lunch, and again the look of confusion before climbing into her chair.

That's when it happened.

You know those commercials or tv shows where the little kid is feeding the dog under the table?? That could have been filmed in our kitchen. Dylan decided she didn't want her chicken nuggets today for lunch and since Michael now has the same freedom as Dylan, he was the lucky recipient of not one, not two, not even three chicken nuggets. He got all five of them. And he got to lick Dylan's fingers!

For a dog that hasn't been allowed in the kitchen for almost two years, he sure made up for it today, and if I had to guess, will continue doing so as long as the kids can sneak food under the table.

31 for 21

I have to say I found this idea on Whit's blog, but I did know that October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

A few months ago Whit called to tell me one of her oldest friends had a little girl with Downs. It was totally unexpected and obviously, a huge shock. Then on Sunday Todd and I found out that friends of ours are expecting their third child in March and their little girl will have Downs as well. Again, a shock, but this time they will be emotionally and mentally prepared to bring this beautiful girl into the world.

So, what is 31 for 21?

The idea is to blog every day for the next 31 days to try to bring more awareness for Downs Syndrome, and Trisomy 21 to be exact, to anyone and everyone we can.

I'm not sure I can do this because I don't have a lot of excess blogging material to use, so I'm going to need your help. Add a comment and leave me some topics to cover. Ask questions you'd like me to answer or anything else I can blog about.

This is the goal, let's hope I can reach it. For more information, you can go here.

The Magic Number

Last night, after putting the kids in bed, Todd and I were playing an intense game of dominoes when we heard a "thump." I heard a little cry and was up and running immediately. After that first cry, there was total silence. Todd wondered which room it came from, but I knew.

It was Dylan's.

By the time we got to her door, she had got her breath back for the next wave of cries. And she was sitting on the floor. Hence the "thump." Dylan had fallen out of her crib.

Now, why is two the magic number??

Two times in the last two days we've been asked by two different people if Dylan climbed out of her crib. We've proudly answered each time with a "no" resulting in shock from those that asked the question.

Add to that, Dylan finally attempted this feat at two years, two weeks and two days old.

Who says two isn't her Magic Number?