Back from Leavenworth!

Before I talk about our trip, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, KELLY!!! Kelly turned 29 (again) on Saturday--we're going to lunch tomorrow to celebrate. We're going while the kids are at church play day, so don't tell Sophie...she's crazy about her Aunt Kelly!!

The trip to Leavenworth was good but exhausting. It was good to see Dad doing so well. He got tired pretty quickly, but that's to be expected--I didn't expect him to be doing as much as he did. You'd never know he'd been through such an ordeal!

Dad and Louise had all of the family over on Saturday afternoon. It was great seeing everyone, and I was so sad to see everyone leave. I miss the relaxed conversations that came before having kids--I can't remember the last time I had a long, relaxed chat with anyone, and I miss it!! I'd give anything to freeze-frame the entire afternoon and talk with everyone that was there individually. I miss you all so much!!!!

I got some good pictures, but not enough. Here are a few of the snapshots--the first one is the girls in the outfits I made them. Didn't they turn out cute?! The last picture is Aunt Judy with her grandson Carter--the newest baby in the family!

Blessings

It's fun to count your blessings, and I thought I'd share our "Tuesday blessings" with you. Don't get me wrong, life isn't perfect around here--Sophie pooped in the bathtub, Blake just had an accident all over the bouncy chair--but these are a few of the REALLY GOOD things going on in our lives today. :-)

1. My dad is doing great! His greatest complaints are boredom and the outrageous cost of medication--but he feels GOOD.

2. Blake is officially crawling!

3. The boys are sitting next to me holding their own bottles as I write this, while Sophie takes a nap.

4. We've been seeing swarms of bugs with wings on the outside of the house, and the exterminator just stopped by and confirmed that they are NOT termites--just carpenter ants that he sprayed for.

5. The kids went to Summer Play Day at church this morning, allowing me to go to an allergist appointment that lasted over two hours. Brent held my hand as they poked my back with 84 different substances--I'm allergic to a lot of things, but NOT cats! Good news for Heidi and Edge! :-)

6. Jessica brought by dinner for tonight--sloppy joes!

Not too shabby of a list, eh?!

Here are some cute pictures of Sophie and Brent playing in the sprinkler on Sunday!

Dad is on his way home!

I just talked to Dad, and he's on his way home! They kept him an extra day to make sure he was ready. He has to take it easy for a couple of weeks, so I hope he takes this time to kick back with his feet up. Easier said than done, I know...but doctor's orders are doctor's orders! If Dad is anything like Brent when he's sick, we might have to see about getting Louise some medication--Dad might drive her crazy. :-)

Dad's going to be fine!

HALLELUJAH!!! Dad was transferred to a Kansas City hospital, and they did a heart catheter. They found some blockage and did two heart stents. He's feeling MUCH better, and says the heaviness in his chest is gone. Again...HALLELUJAH!!! They'll most likely keep him until Sunday, then he'll go home to recuperate. I'M DOING A HAPPY HALLELUJAH DANCE TONIGHT!!!

Dad in ICU

Please pray for my dad. He's been in ICU since yesterday with chest pains. They plan to transfer him to Kansas City to a larger hospital today with a more specialized cardiac unit. He's in good spirits, and was grateful that they brought him some coffee this morning...it's the simple things in life! :-) I'll post when we get more information.

On a lighter note, today is our niece Emma's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!! She loves Hello Kitty, so Amy made her a Hello Kitty cake. I'll post picture when I get some.

Happy (belated) Father's Day!

We hope everyone had a great Father's Day! Brent had to work, so we fixed him french toast in the morning and then the kids and I took him lunch. Not exactly the most festive Father's Day, but at least we got to see him!

Saturday morning was Sophie's tumbling class. Brent was working, so I took her by myself. We got there too early (I thought the class was at 9, but it was at 9:30--oops!), so we played on the outdoor playground equipment for a while. She was MAD at me for making her leave the playground to come inside. She had calmed down by the time we got to the gym, but as the parents and kids were waiting outside the gym for class to start, Sophie tried to smack a little girl that got too close to her. A collective *gasp* filled the room (I'm not sure if that actually happened or if it was just my OWN gasp that seemed to fill the room), but when I looked up everyone was looking at me...I wanted to be invisible!! Sophie got a time out (and threw another tantrum), and it wasn't even class time yet. Class finally started...Sophie screamed during song time...then she didn't want to get out of the foam pit...dissolved when I wanted her to try the trampoline...more screaming during closing song time...and we left before she got a stamp on her hand. No way--no reward stamp for Miss Naughty!

We ran to Sam's afterward (trust me--I thought twice about this given Sophie's mood), and saw a friend of mine from church. She's one of those people that has such a sweet peacefulness about her--she completely turned my day around. :-)

The day ended with Jess and Ellie coming over for dinner (Jess made the BEST chicken salad). Sophie was on her best behavior--whew!!

Tooth #6

Graham (aka "Creepie Crawlie"--he's quiet as a mouse and sneaks up on us now) has tooth #6! He's eating two full jars of food at each meal, and likes EVERYTHING. He won't be a picky eater! It's funny to see the differences in the boys...Graham--loves food, lots of teeth, and prefers crawling to being held. Blake--loves his bottles, no teeth, and looooves being snuggled.

When Sophie woke up this morning, she was searching her bed for something. I asked what she was looking for, and she said "Where's my paci?" (not clearly, of course, but in a very cute toddler language). Three words together!

I took Graham to swimming class last night, and he seemed to like it. The water was pretty cool, though. He was getting the concept of kicking his feet by the end of class! I took Blake last week--I'm alternating so they all get the experience!

New Teeth

Happy birthday to three new teeth in the family! Unfortunately...NONE belong to Blake. Sophie has TWO new teeth (#14 & 15--she's got a mouthful!) and Graham has tooth #5!! This one came in on top--that makes 3 top ones. His 4th top one will come in within the next few days, I expect. When will Mr. Blake get his teeth?!

MORE NEWS--Graham started crawling yesterday! He and his teeth are officially on the move. He also prefers solid foods over his bottles, so he'll be eating from a spoon more now. Blake still prefers formula to food, except he did like a beef & vegetable dinner the other day. Maybe he'll be a "meat & potatoes" man??

Tumbling, Peanut Butter and Diaper Bags

My birthday was a lot of fun! I went to Old Chicago--MY FAVORITE PLACE--for lunch with the girls from our office (my friend Jeannette treated me to lunch--how wonderfully unexpected!), Brent and I had Pei Wei for dinner, and Melissa took me to lunch at the Olive Garden on Saturday. We also wandered around Borders for a while (BLISS--Brent hates bookstores). Thanks for the cards, e-mails and calls--and even the singing. :-) It warms my heart to have such wonderful people around me.

Sophie started TumbleTots class at the YMCA this weekend. We weren't sure what to expect, since parents participate with the kids. They pretty much greeted us and told us to play on the equipment for 30 minutes! Now that we've had a session to get familiar with everything, I think next week will be even more fun. The second picture is of Brent and Sophie in the big foam pit--it's a really deep pit, and Brent was pretty comical when he was trying to get out. It's like quicksand!! I thought I was going to have to send in a life preserver. The last picture is of her teacher giving Sophie a stamp on her hand for a job well done. Cute!

I was getting the boys settled in the living room with bottles, and accidentally left the pantry door open. Sophie helped herself to a jar of peanut butter. Who knew that she knew how to get the lid off?! Peanut butter was EVERYWHERE. Needless to say, I threw away that jar. Don't be afraid of PB&Js from our house. :-)

Sophie has a monogrammed diaper bag (okay, two of them...), but I don't have a personalized diaper bag for the boys (gift idea alert!!). I bought some paint pens and personalized the ones the hospital gave us. I needed something for church and the Y, and I think these will work perfectly!

It's my birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! I'm 35 today...I can officially run for president of the United States now. Move over candidates--I'm throwing my hat in the ring! Speaking of hats, we went to Burger King to celebrate my birthday with Brent's dad and Pat. Life sure changes when kids come along, don't they?! We used to go to great places like P.F. Chang's...now I pick restaurants based on play equipment. :-) Here are pictures of the kids in their crowns!

My friends at work had treats here for me this morning, and Ronda brought her dog, Piper! I requested that the party be open to four-legged friends, and my boss graciously obliged. Have I mentioned that this job rocks?! Piper was the perfect guest.

Here are a couple of vidoes that make me laugh--I watch them every time I need a smile. The first is of Brent tickling the kids, and the second is of Sophie dancing in the rain. Enjoy!