2 Year Portraits

This morning I took the boys to Sears to get their 2 year pictures done. We also got a group picture with Zak, Ryder, Piper, and Madelyn. By looking at the pictures you will never guess what happened in the 2 hours we spent there. Zak has progressively gotten worse when it comes to getting pictures done professionally even though at home he loves the camera. As soon as we walked into the room Zak threw himself to the floor screaming and the tears were crazy. I had to pick him up and calm him down so Piper got her pictures done first. Eventually Zak calmed down so we tried to get some pictures of him and Ryder. Ryder was all over the place while Zak went back to crying. Finally I told the photographer just to snap pictures when ever one of them (or both) were near the big number 2. We told the boys to use it as a drum and climb on it trying to get them close to it. Some how the photographer actually got a few great shots of them between the tears and tantrums. Next it was Madelyn's turn and she did wonderful. At the end we tried to get a group shot of the 4 of them wearing the Redskins outfits. Once again Zak wanted nothing to do with it so I just had to hold him down and try to snap a quick picture which was successful.

I really wonder why I put myself and the boys through this every year just to get pictures, but I really hope that they will get better at some point. Ben told me he doesn't know why I even wanted to try again...Enjoy!

Upcoming Week

Today after my WIC appointment we went into Annapolis for the day. I went to visit Mum Mum at the rehab center while Ben took the boys to play with Josephine and Jamison. While at the rehab center we worked out a time to have the big family meeting with all of the therapists and doctors to discuss her progress and what the next steps are for Mum Mum. We have discovered that communication is not terrific between the therapists and patients (families) which is why we want this meeting to get all the information we can. While in Annapolis I made a trip to The Giant Peach with my mom to see some friends who own it and also to buy some cute outfits for pictures we are having done on Thursday. After eating dinner we headed back home since Ben starts working tomorrow.

This week we have a few things planned which should be fun. On Wednesday the boys and I are going into Annapolis and spending the night with my mom & Piper. On Thursday morning we are going to Sears to get 2 year pictures done of the boys as well as try to get some pictures with Piper, Zak, Ryder, and Madelyn all together. On Saturday Ben and I are going to see the new Harry Potter movie while my mom watches the boys for us. Sometime between now and when my mom leaves (Wednesday July 22) we are also going to make a trip to my grandparent's house to go swimming and so they can see Piper.

Sleeping on the way into AnnapolisPiper & Ryder hugging

Pictures

The last 2 days we have pretty much spent in Annapolis visiting with my mom and also Mum Mum. On Friday we also did some shopping with my mom and she bought the boys each a pair of new sandals and tennis shoes since they have outgrown their current shoes. Ben also got a new pair of sandals and I got a few tank tops. Tomorrow we plan to stay at home because there i slots of cleaning I need to do and Ben is going to do some work on the white truck to get it running again. Monday we have a WIC appointment and then possibly a trip to Annapolis for a meeting at the rehab center regarding Mum Mum's progress with PT. And then on Tuesday Ben goes back to work and we get into a new routine. Now for some pictures from the last few days....

My mom & Piper with Mum Mum

Piper giving Mum Mum a hug
Piper & Ryder on the slide

Piper wearing Jamison's underwear

Ryder, Piper & Zak

(16 months between Piper & the boys)

Zak on the big slide

Piper & Zak on the slide

Mountain Climbing

Zak (wearing his new sandals)

Ryder brushing Piper's hair

Lunch on the deck

Family Update

April: Yesterday was an extremely rough day for me. I woke up feeling really sick with a headache and upset stomach. All day I was not able to keep food or drinks down and then my blood sugars went crazy. My blood sugars were extremely high and I was having ketones in my urine which are all bad things. Finally in the afternoon I decided to change my pump thinking maybe the insulin had gone bad from being in the sun so much, but when I took the infusion set out I discovered the problem...the plastic piece that delivers the insulin into my body was completely bent in half meaning I was not receiving any insulin for a few days. Once I changed my pump I felt like my sugars would go down so I refused to go to the ER (Ben was trying to make me go). This morning I woke up feeling much better and my blood sugars had gone down into the high 100's. I am able to eat and drink today, but still have a headache and upset stomach. Then I got a call from Tracy saying she had received a package from the pump company saying Urgent on the front. She opened it and inside was a recall for the infusion sets I use because of the same issue I had just had. So I contacted the company and they are sending replacements to me.

Ben: Today was a good day for Ben. He got a call from his old boss offering him his job back. He isn'tt sure exactly what went on at work to open up a spot for him to come back, but at least he has a job. He starts working on Tuesday next week. The downside of this is that he also found out he will have to be out of town for training the week of the boys' 2nd birthday.

Zak: Not too much to add about Zak. He has really started to talk a lot which is fun. He will repeat everything he hears.

Ryder: Today I took Ryder to a dermatologist to get his Molluscum blisters looked at. They are blisters he has had since he was about 9 months old which is a common virus that children get. The new pediatrician said that a dermatologist had something to put on them to help them go away quicker. So at the office they put a clear liquid on each of the blisters and told me to wipe it off in about an hour. Then they said they would become big blisters and for us to pop them and drain them. We had no clue exactly what it was going to look like and it was worse than we had thought. We hope this really works because the poor kid was in pain as we popped the blisters. He doesn't know anything is there once we stopped messing with them so that is good. We got back in 3 weeks to check for more blisters and get those cleared up.


Some good news for the family...Dani had her baby girl yesterday at 4:22pm. She weighed 7lb 2oz and was 20 inches long. This evening we went to see her in person and she is SO cute! I loved holding her and look forward to getting to hold her some more once they get home and settled.

4th of July

Yesterday we had a long day, but lots of fun. We left the house around 11am to head into Annapolis for the day. Once we got there we sat outside and let the boys play in the front yard. Josephine and Jamison set up their lemonade stand and starting selling it like crazy. Then we went to watch the parade at 6:30pm which the boys seemed to enjoy. After that we had a cook-out and then walked back downtown to watch the fireworks around 9pm. We then went back to Mum Mum's house where the lemonade stand was back in business as everybody was leaving town. We finally got home around 11:45pm last night. The boys were exhausted and actually slept in this morning until close to 9:30am! Now for lots of pictures....

Chelley & Madelyn

Jamison at the lemonade stand
the boys playing

Jamison and Zak waiting for the parade

Ben & Ryder waiting for the parade

My boys

Chelley & Madelyn at the parade

Ben, Zak, Seth & May at the parade

Zak & Ryder with me at the parade

CANDY!

Enjoying their lollipops from the parade

YUM!

Zak relaxing while eating his lollipop

Colleen's birthday cake

Zak getting ready for the fireworks

Ryder watching the fireworks

Christine & Ryder watching fireworks

Ben & Zak watching fireworks

Chelley enjoying her sparkler

Jamison with his sparkler

This evening there is a parade here in Edgewood that we are going to try and go watch. At the end of the parade there is supposed to be some activities for kids that we might check out also.

Zak's New Trick

This evening I got a few videos of Zak's newest trick...he likes to run and jump over Ben's back and do a flip!

Pool Fun

Today we spent the day at my grandparent's house in Riva. Tim (Ben's father), Peg (Ben's stepmother) & Ginnie (Ben's sister) came with us to go swimming and we had a good time. The boys of course had a blast in the swimming pool. Ryder was jumping on the steps which led to his swim diaper to continually fall down. It was pretty cute. Zak enjoyed helping clean the pool with the big net so he will make a good pool boy down the road. Chelley & Maddie came by to get in the pool also. This was Maddie's first time in the pool so we took a few pictures. She liked the pool and didn't get upset at all.