Elissa's First Friend Sleepover

Wednesday, 8-25-10

Elissa has been asking A-L-L Summer for her best friend, Olivia, to be able to spend the night. I promised her that she could before school started. I couldn't put it off any longer, so the day finally came. Elissa was very, very excited!

Here is what Olivia's Mom, Tara, said about how excited Olivia was (so cute!):

Hi Heather -

I didn't tell Olivia until this morning because I thought she'd have trouble going to sleep! She asked to call her Grammy this morning and told her all about it and that she was going to start packing today. :0)
See you tomorrow, Tara

I asked Nana if Zach could come spend the night with her so that the girls could have all the time to themselves. Zach would definately want to follow them around.

 

After we dropped off Zach, we stopped at Top Food to get them some special treats. The bakery lady was very nice and decorated two big cupcakes with 3 Hannah Montana picks and 1 "Girls Rock" ring one each. Elissa was very excited to show these to Olivia.

 

We picked up Olivia at 1pm and Elissa told Tara that they were going to have "a rockin' party in her room". I don't know where she gets it! The girls played at the house for awhile and then we went to the pool at 2:30pm.

 

They had fun playing together and ....

splashing boys. :-)

 

Then we head to the beach to meet up with some other friends.

All the kids thought it was great fun to jump in the mud puddle they had created!

Here is Tyler making his great jump!

Then Keegan was the best at getting the mud from head to toe!

And Brady would go way far back for a good running start and then pretty much just stop in front of the mud puddle and jump. He is a crack up!

It was mostly the boys, but Elissa got in there too. Olivia stayed out of it - sensible girl. :-)

 

We got back home around 5:30pm and the girls played some more as I made their cheese pizza. Then they had their yummy cupcakes (wish I would have gotten a pic) and after that we watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" with popcorn.

 

The girls went to Elissa's room around 9:30pm and I told them that they could play quietly for awhile. At 11pm I came in and made them go to sleep!

 

The next morning I thought I was going to have a good hour to myself, but nooooo. Elissa was up as I was coming out of my room at 7am.

 

I made them french toast for breakfast and then they played until we took Livy (Livy & Lissy - isn't that so cute!) home at 10:30am.

 

It was a very successful first sleepover!

I lost a tooth!!

Tuesday, 8-24-10

At 6 years and 3 months Elissa lost her FIRST tooth!

I have been dreading this moment since she was five because I think this is one of the single most yucky-agonizing things to go through. Seriously. My parents had to bribe me with big bucks to pull my teeth out, since I was becoming very, very old and still with baby teeth. I would have preferred to just be put under and have the dentist pull them all.

My brave girl pulled hers all by herself. Granted, the adult tooth was already through and the tooth was just hanging by a thread, BUT she did it! I'm so proud of her!! :-)

She was brushing her teeth and showing me how wiggly it was and I told her that it was really time for it to come out. So she turned it a few times and out it came!

Her cute new smile!

I wish I was as clever as my sister-in-law, Holly, but sadly I'm not. I've known for a week that her tooth was going to come out any day and for whatever reason, it didnt really occur to me to get a plan going - a tooth bag and what I was going to give her. I had to scramble for something that resembled a tooth bag. Fortunately I had a cute sheer pink candle bag in my stash with a beaded pull - PERFECT!

So she put her tooth in it and put it under her pillow.

Then I had to figure out what to give her. I wanted to give her a little more then just money for losing her first tooth. I was hoping that Darin had one of those new gold dollar coins, but no. So a dollar bill would go into her bag. Then I remembered that I had a necklace I had bought for her on clearance at Macy's at Christmas time. I was going to give it to her for her b-day, but didn't. It is an $80 pink pearl necklace I got for $8. LOVE IT! Then I wrote her a note:

I love this girl!

(I'm using the kids computer. Just can't get behind in my blogging. LOL!)

Reluctantly Unplugged.....

I could cry!

My lovely little computer needs to be sent in for some maintenance work.

I have had the box to send it back since the 1st of August and I just haven't found the right time to send it back. I know that there will never be a right time, so off my computer goes tomorrow.

I know others of you have went through this and have survived (and even been a bit more productive). :-)

This will no longer be my view for a couple of weeks.

Let the detox begin!

Because, yes, it is an addiction. :-)

Amazon Company Picnic

Sunday, 8-15-10

So FUN!

This was my first year attending the Amazon Company Picnic. Last year Elissa had just gotten home from the hospital, so just Darin and Zach went.

It was at Mountain Meadows Farm in North Bend. This is such a great place for a company picnic! It is a huge area so that everyone can spread out and easily take in all the different games and events that are happening. The food booths were good with little to no wait and lots of fun things for the kids.

It was probably the hottest day of the summer, so we got there right at 11am to get a couple hours of fun in before the 96 degree weather showed up.

We hooked up with Gary, Jennifer and their daughter Roslyn at the start.

We started with crafts - Elissa painted a little sign and Zach colored a balsa wood airplane and both Elissa & Roslyn colored some bracelets.

BUT then they saw THIS:

A huge Radio Flyer wagon filled with toys!

Here is what Zach and Elissa got.

Then an air brushed fairy for Elissa while Zach ran off to play on the bouncy(s).

The kids had so much fun watching the reenactment of jousts and sword fights.

Roslyn is trying to keep the fast melting ice cream off of her. :-)

It was getting REALLY HOT at this point, so we were looking for a way to cool off. The people running the little water boat station decided to take all the boats out and just let the kids wade around. This was nice!

Elissa and Roslyn are doing a pedal cart race.

And then Elissa found her own way to cool off.

Then the Crazy Cool Motorcycles!

This was definitely the highlight of the day!

The last thing we did was the climbing wall.

Elissa was a little scared. She made it about a 1/4 of the way up.

It was the funnest company picnic that I have been too!

Clean Room

Thursday, 8-12-10

Zach

He cracks us up!

It seems like he has gotten older in just the last couple of weeks.

The things that come out of his mouth make us wonder where he heard it or how he figured out how to use the words appropriately.

 He goes around hitting and kicking everyone and he is not trying to be mean. He is just showing you some affection, I guess. He really doesn't understand how much it hurts (though he is learning as he gets in trouble).

Another quirk of his is his morning routine. When he wakes up, he immediately goes to the restroom and throws his pull-up in the garbage. Then goes back to his room and shuts the door. Then he decides what he is going to wear - though sometimes he does have us lay it out the night before and he has a specific place where he wants us to put the clothes. He gets his underwear, pants & shirt on and if there happens to be shoes in his room then he might come out with those on too. He likes to rise and shine and get ready for the day! This is definitely a trait from Darin. :-)

He comes and wakes me up and wants me to go downstairs with him. He immediately wants chocolate milk and for me to sit with him and watch a cartoon. I love that he still loves a little cuddle time. :-)

Today he came down stairs and said "Mom, I cleaned my room." I smile thinking wondering what that means. I said, "You cleaned your room?" and he said, "Yes, I cleaned it all up." So he takes my hand and tells me to close my eyes and he leads me up the stairs and into his bedroom. I open my eyes and he has a very clean room! He is smiling from ear to ear and I give him a big hug and tell him what a great job he has done. He is very proud of himself!

I ask him why he decided to clean his room. He tells me that Daddy called while I was on my phone (my cell) and Daddy told him to clean it. I texted Darin to see if he called and he hadn't. So I have no idea what got into him, but now I know he can do it. hee, hee

ONE YEAR Seizure Free!

Elissa is doing great! Praise God!

I can't believe it has been 1 year since she had her seizure. Here is a refresher on what happened. Also day two and three in the hospital.

She has been on medicine to lower the risk of having another seizure since it happened and it seems to be working. Her follow up visits with the neurologist have been great. There seem to be little side effects from the medicine. I think it makes her more easily tired and emotional, but thankfully we have not seen any of the slow learning issues that could arise.

She has her 1 year visit on September 1st. I don't think they will do another EEG until her two year mark. There is a high chance that Elissa will grow out of the abnormality and that, of course, is what we are praying for. If not, it seems like the medicine is working well to control her proneness to seizures.

I'm so thankful that I haven't had to go through the terror of that day again. I pray I never have to. But since there is a likelihood that it could, my mind is never quite free of worrying about it. It is not a forefront thought, but one that pops up when she sleeps a little longer or squirms around at night or is quiet for too long.....then the fear rears up and my thoughts are immediately "Is today the day?"

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I'm sure thankful for each day I get to spend with her.

She is a vibrant, intelligent, talented, very social and sweet little girl. She is so independent and just can't wait to grow up, but she also loves to snuggle too. :-) She would much rather be at a friend's house then at home. Her favorite color has been pink & purple, but this year she decided to buy a light blue & brown backpack for school because it was "older" looking. She wants to be a rock star as well as own a farm so she can feed all the kids who don't have food. She's a funny mix. I'm so excited (though can wait) to see what she does in her adulthood. I know it will be something great!

We are so thankful for your prayers and we ask for you to continue to pray that she has another seizure free year. Thank you!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Wednesday, 8-11-10
(the day before Nana's b-day)

We love you very much!!

We met Nana with her friends, Teri and John, at Dukes in Kent Station. One thing about Nana, she loves her free deals. :-) So she had her free birthday meal email and since we had 6+ people, then we all got free dessert! It was a great meal! Yum, yum!

Afterward, we came outside to a fun band playing in the plaza area. The kids ran and jumped around as we listened. A nice little surprise and ending to the evening.

********

Since it was the first sunny day in days, I brought the kids down early to Kent Station and we spent some time at the sprinkler park. It was a wonderful afternoon.

200th Post!

I started blogging back in November 2008.

Here is my first post.
Kind of funny that I didn't do any intro post. I just "plunged" in. hee, hee

Thank you Amy for talking me into starting (and reminding me that my 200th post should be coming up). I'm so glad I did. It has been such a great way to capture all the little moments that happen every day.

I'm going to make this into a book soon!

Blue Angels

Friday, 8-6-10

It truly is awesome to see the Blue Angels fly. 

It was the first time for the kids to watch an air show. They thought it was pretty cool when we watched the rescue helicopter and then a jet fly by and so fun when Fat Albert showed his stuff, BUT the Blue Angels had them yelling and giggling. It was amazing!

Elissa made a friend and watched the show with him and his brother.

Fat Albert

The Blue Angels!

They just make you smile!

AMAZING!

Good Bye until next year!

Church Camp 2010

Sunday - Wednesday, 8/1-4/10

Mayfield Lake

It was an even better time this year because we were camping with our friends this year, where last year we were just getting to know all of them. It really is a special way to get to know your church family better.

Lasts year we followed Zach around and around the loop on his bike and this year we let him run pretty free. Though in the first half hr he had already scrapped his elbows running down a big hill. Thankfully we he had no more injuries after that.

Elissa loves church camp. The freedom she has and the sheer number of people to talk to, can't be beat. LOL! We would track her down every now and then and there was no telling which campsite she would be at. Sometimes playing with the other kids. Sometimes - usually at meal time - at her babysitter's camp. Rachel's parents love her. :-) And one night she had brought our little camping neighbor girl, Ella, to the evening sing-a-long. Elissa whispered to people that Ella doesn't go to church. It was a little too much for Ella and she wanted to leave soon after, but came back around for ice cream.

We thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with our friends and getting to know others better.

Here are a few of my favorite photos.

A little fishing....

Rob, Elissa, Emily, Tommy, John, Perry & Payton

A little beach time....

Tyler and Zach rowing around.

The Sutherland's gave several of the kids a ride on their banana. This was definitely a hit! Especially when they all fell off during the ride. Elissa thought it was awesome!

Darin and Zach are waiting for their turn to ride a jet ski. Zach wouldn't let Darin rest until he took him on a ride.

John and Tyler got their ride in first.

Zach doesn't look very excited here, but he is bursting with excitement inside. He LOVED it! He had Darin take him on another ride the next day.

Here is Zach giving Pastor Tim five after that awesome ride!

Here is the banana the kids were being pulled on. It was fun to play on in the swimming area too. Also they had tons of fun on it at the Sutherland's campsite. They used it like a bouncy toy.

Around camp......

When we came back Zach zonked out while waiting to talk to Papa. Tired boy!

Rick showed Perry & Darin how to play this game. They had fun playing and Zach decided he really wanted to play too. Any game where he gets to throw things. :-) We are going to have to get it, whatever it is called.

Another great year!