Too cute for words

Diaperless December

I went into the girls' room during nap time and they were completely naked! No clothes, diaper... they even took off there sheets and mattress protector! What silly girls they are :) What is it with 2 years not wanting to wear clothes, especially when it is so cold... At least they have been dry during nap time, so I just make sure they are covered up with lots of blankets and let them sleep in their birthday suit :)

Maybe with them being naked all the time they may want to start using the potty? Right now it is used for putting little people in. They have never used it for its intended purpose, so I guess until then it can be an extra "toy"

Cardiology Appointment

Today was Trevor's 6 month appointment to check the placement of his amplatzer he had implanted last June. And to see how his heart is doing and if a valve replacement is in the near future. Of course his cardiologist meets locally on Thursdays and that is one of the days that Trev has school. (He only goes twice a week but full days.)

We dropped the girls off with a friend and Trev and I drove to the appt. We were a few minutes late courtesy of all the thick fog :) He has grown 1 lb and 1.5" since July! No wonder his clothes are not fitting as well... He was measured, weighed, had an EKG, echo (he watched Air Bud during the echo) and talked with the nurses and Dr. about being in Kindergarten and playing soccer. They said he looked wonderful! His heart looks great and the amplatzer is right where it should be :) His Right Ventricle is slightly enlarged but not of any concern at the moment. As of now we can wait a few years for his valve replacement. He is now back to yearly appointments. What a great Christmas gift :)

He made sure I took a lot of pictures so we can print them out and make a poster board for his class to see. He was actually excited to see the "Heart Dr." today. We had plenty of time to eat our picnic lunch and get to school in time for the second half of the day. His Dr. also let him listen to his heart. I think that was his favorite part of the whole visit. Or maybe the webkinz he received afterward :)

He still has no restrictions which is great. Today was also his last day of Aspirin! He is now off of all medications again.

Soccer ball cupcakes

Here are the soccer ball cupcakes Trev and I made for his soccer party.

Fire Trucks

This year for Trevor's end of season soccer party we went to the fire station. It was a lot of fun! The kids got to see the fire station, go inside a fire truck and ambulance. They also got to use a fire hose! After pizza, cupcakes and trophies the coach (who is a fireman) took each family for a ride in a fire truck! It was so much fun. Allie loved it, she kept saying, "Firetruck, again! Firetruck again!"

I made soccer ball cupcakes. They turned out pretty good! Trevor helped of course. Once I get the pics loaded up on the computer I'll have to remember to post a pic :)

Trevor had a lot of fun this year playing soccer. He is already waiting for the next season to begin... It will be a long 9 months. At least we will have baseball to look forward to in a few months. He improved a lot during the year. He scored a goal in each of the last 4 games of the season.

Naked November

What is it about the leaves changing color and the cooler weather that makes two year olds want to run around naked? Lately it has been a struggle to keep clothes and diapers on Allie and Kara. As soon as I get one dressed she takes off her clothes and diaper as I chase the other down to get her dressed. It is a never ending battle. As long as we have nowhere to be I let them run around in their diaper. It just isn't worth the hassle. Maybe I can save money by not buying clothes :)

Putting socks and shoes on the girls is pointless also. As soon as I start up the car the shoes and socks are off! Even though it is getting colder I put their shoes and socks in the car and finish getting the girls read once we get to our destination. Maybe someday the girls will enjoy wearing clothes again :) Until then, beware if you come over there may be two little girls running around only in a diaper.

Trick or Treat

We took the kids downtown on Saturday to do some trick or treating. We were preparing the girls for the next day. At first they were a little hesitant. Finally they grabbed each others hands and were dancing down the street holding their buckets up and saying trick or treat. Once they turned around they kept yelling BYE!! It was so cute to watch them.

On Sunday they wore their costumes almost all day. They kept chanting LADY BUG, LADY BUG!! They love their costumes, so we let the kids wear them while they were shopping. It was cute to see the girls walking down the aisles holding hands and Trevor (Buzz) right next to them herding them along the way. That night Trevor was running excitedly to each house. His sisters slowed him down so he went with Daddy while the girls and I went a much slower pace. The girls held onto each other as they went up each step, knocked on the door until someone answered it, held up their buckets and said trick or treat. Sometimes they stood their waiting for more. Once they turned away they would say bye Halloween. After a few houses the girls rode in the wagon while Trevor gathered more candy.

We brought the kids back home to pass out candy. Trevor's friend TJ came over so we went out with him for a little while. During that time the girls stayed home with daddy and passed out candy. The girls stayed in their costumes and were being cute everytime someone came to the door. They would say trick or treat, then as the kids left they yelled bye, until the other kids answered back. Trev had so much fun trick or treating with his friend. He ran from house to house I think we did as many houses in 30 minutes with his friend as we did in over the hour we were out previous with the girls.

Now to find something to do with all this candy. I think we will see if the kids want to trade in their candy for the new Toy Story 3 movie coming out.

Volunteering

Recently I had the chance to help out in Trevor's Kindergarten class. It was a lot of fun. I took him to school and we got to his class. I helped the teacher get books ready for a lesson coming up. The first 20 minutes the kids did busy work while the teacher was gathering all their folders from the day before and taking attendance.

The kids had their first science lesson and they learned about the different feels of fabric and what you would use different fabrics for. I helped kids cut out pieces of fabric and they made collages. I was able to stay for two hours. 5 year olds are very busy but such a fun age! I walked with Trevor to the playground. He knew I would be leaving at that time but he was more interested in going out to play with his friends. His teacher said I was leaving and Trevor never turned around, he just ran off! I called him back hugged him and told him I'd see him after school. He quickly hugged me, said bye, and was off and running with his friends. I'm glad he is having such a good time at school. I can't wait until I get the chance to go back and help. I just need to find some friends willing to watch the girls for me :) 

GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!

Trevor has had a lot of fun playing soccer this year. Recently he scored his second goal (The first one was by accident as it hit off of his leg and ricocheted into the goal :)) He ran down the field keeping the ball in front of him and scored!! You would think this would cause him to be excited and do his little dance he enjoys so much on the field, but no. He just turns around and walks to the middle of the field to start over. Everyone was wondering if he was excited? All the other kids jump and holler when they score. He didn't really think much of it.

Of course later during the game he is down by the goal as he is suppose to be protecting it and he is dancing around being goofy :) Silly 5 year olds.

Picture Day

So I thought I'd try getting the kids' pictures done again. I made sure to get the first appointment in the morning so there would be no waiting. After we parked and I got everyone out of the car, I drop a sippy cup and it rolls under the car, right in the middle of course. That would have to wait until later... We get to the Picture People (where I have never had a good experience)one minute before our appointment. I was pretty proud of myself :) I check in and we are told they will be with us shortly...

20 minutes later we finally get in...grrr... What happened to getting the first appointment of the day!?! Of course by this time the girls want nothing to do with pictures and they want to eat and play. At least Trevor was minding :) The photographer was wonderful! She patiently waited for Allie to stop crying and got some wonderful shots of her playing. Silly Bandz and goldfish did the trick. Kara on the other hand kept it up for almost the whole photo shoot. Part of the time the girls had thrown themselves on the floor. The joy of 2 year olds :)

At the very end something switched in Kara and she was happy and wanted her picture taken. We got some very cute pics of all 3. Separately of course... Getting the 3 of them to pay attention and look at the camera at the same time is more of a dream than a reality :)

We waited for our pictures, another 45 minutes, that were only suppose to take 5 minutes. Go Figure. Of course the kids became restless and starting running around the lobby and climbing on and off the chairs. I strapped the girls in their stroller and they protested rather loudly. Finally by the time we got out of there with our pictures it was over 2 hours later. The other frustrating part was they wouldn't accept my coupon that THEY sent me!! Okay enough about that.

We then went over to the play area and met Wyndi, Izzy and Nola. It was great seeing Trevor and Izzy playing, running and jumping around. Especially since when they met Trevor was 5 days out of open heart surgery and Izzy was awaiting hers. They shared a room for a couple days. To remember how far these two have come is amazing. Especially to see them as the energetic kids they are today.

Trevor and the girls shared yummy pretzels and went to build a bear where Trevor got to stuff his first doggy which he named Trevor Jr.

Once we got back to the car Trev reminded me of the sippy under the car. I drove out of the parking stall, parked the car and retrieved the sippy, once the kids were all buckled in of course :) As I was getting the sippy someone drove up and had to wait for us. They didn't look to happy, but I did have to save that sippy, Trevor's request. I had counted it lost as soon as it rolled under the car.

Silly Bandz Silly kidz

Trevor has been asking for sometime to buy some Silly Bandz. I found a generic brand and brought those home to the kids. You would have thought I told them we were going to Disneyland, they were so excited! Maybe they are not old enough to appreciate Disneyland yet.

The girls wear them on their wrists and ankles. They also love to put them into a paint cup and run around the house with them chanting "silly bands, silly bands!" They love to see the shapes. I bought animal ones as I knew that would make the girls go crazy, and rock band for Trevor. Let's see how long they last. We have already had a couple of them break. At least it is cheap entertainment :)

Skeletons, Bats, Jack-o-lanterns, OH MY!!

The kids helped bake cookies for my parents Halloween Party. We made gingerbread men, bats and jack-o-lanterns. The smell reminded me of Christmas time. We should make gingerbread more often. It smells and tastes soooo good! We made skeletons out of the gingerbread men and bats. They turned out pretty cute and tasted even better!

Allie, Kara and Trevor loved helping. Trevor put all the ingredients in and helped stir. All three helped roll out the dough and press down on the shapes. By the time we were done the kids had flour all over themselves, the table, chair and floor. But we all had a great time. Of course I decided to finish the final product after bath time, and that is when the kiddos had flour all over the place :)

We also made mini pumpkin brownies and had those for desert. The girls love helping just as much as their brother does. It is a bit trickier with 2 two year olds in the kitchen...

On the night of my parents Halloween party I took the girls to Fred Meyer in their adorable lady bug costumes. They walked through the store holding hands chatting back and forth. It was such a cute sight! Everyone, even teenagers dressed in their homecoming attire commented on how cute they were. Allie and Kara were loving every minute of it:)

Sisters

Here are some of the cute things the girls say while they are suppose to be napping :)

Allie: "Picture!"
Kara: "Cheese!"
Allie: "Smile!"

Maybe we take a lot of pictures?

Kara:"1,2"
Allie: "3,4,5"
Kara: "6,7,8"
Allie: "9,10!"
Both: "Yeah! Again!!"

Allie: "Ready? GO!!!
Kara: "See you!""

They say this as one puts a blanket over their head to play hide and seek.

Allie and Kara both asked to be wrapped as a burrito before taking a nap. Basically it is a swaddle with a big blanket!

We have also caught them pretending to change and wipe their stuffed animals bottoms saying "oooh gross!" when they have a dirty diaper :)

Those girls are so cute!

Al - EYE

When the girls call each others name they always say Al-eye. They both call each other Allie. We try and explain that one is Kara and the other Allie. Maybe one day they will understand they each have their own name :)

The girls have been waiting for Pax to come back and play. (He is the little boy I have been babysitting). Well, this morning was the day he came back to play with us. The girls and Trevor were so excited to have their friend back! He will be back the reminder of this week and all of next week. I think that will be it for awhile as the person who originally watches him will be having her baby soon and not be taking on any sub jobs until after the New Year. He has been a lot of fun to have around. Pax and the girls have been learning about sharing. Not an easy task for toddlers!

The weather continues to be beautiful! This weekend was busy with soccer, church and a harvest party as well as sick kiddos and a sick daddy on Sunday. Trevor has been enjoying soccer. Next week is the last week of practice then 5 more games and we are done for the season. Trevor will miss it. It will baseball in the spring and maybe some swim lessons this winter to pass time. We need to find something for the girls to join too. We might try tumbling with them. Trevor started at this age and loved it!

Trevor is enjoying school. He only goes twice a week. He is becoming a great reader! He catches on so quickly and he loves to learn.

Is summer finally here?

It is the end of September and I think summer is trying to make its appearance? This last week has been beautiful! Especially with all the leaves changing colors. I think we have had more sun these past couple weeks and warmth than we had during our actual summer. The kids have been excited that they actually get to go swimming outside! It looks like our nice weather will continue for a few more days. I am enjoying this as much as I can as I know it will not last, especially since October is only a couple days away!

Trevor has been enjoying school and soccer. His favorite subjects our computer lab and library. So far he has played 2 soccer games. He is enjoying it, and slowly starting to understand the concept. It is funny to watch all the little kids hover around the ball following it where ever it goes. He is already asking when he gets to play baseball! We have a few more months for that one...

Kara and Allie are now onto 3 word sentences! GO KARA!! GO ALLIE!! Pretty soon they'll be able to use full sentences. They are getting so big! Lately they love it when we wrap them as burritos for nap time. You can here them in their room, "mommy, burrito!" So I go in their and swaddle them tight. You would think that 2 years wouldn't want to be swaddled, although their brother asks sometimes too, silly kids!

Extreme Sports... Take Two!!

The event today is how fast can we switch places in our high chairs? The girls were sitting comfortably in their high chairs eating fish crackers. For some reason I decided this would be a good time switch the laundry. These girls are fast and fearless! The laundry room is right next to the kitchen so I thought I would be able to hear them... When I came out they both started giggling when they saw me. Both girls had gotten out of their high chairs and were on each others trays starting to get into their new seats! The time it took them to do this... 2 minutes!!

Later that evening, They played how fast can you snatch Daddy's chips? We were finishing up dinner and Daddy had left 2 chips on the table while he was drawing the girls' bath water. I went into the kitchen (which is basically the same area as the dining room) turned around and put the enchiladas in the fridge. You would have thought I had learned my lesson from the days previous event, but thinking I was right there they wouldn't try anything, boy was I wrong! Within those few seconds of turning my back to put the enchiladas in the fridge Kara decided she would be the one to go for the chips! When I turned around she had gotten out of her high chair crawled across the table and grabbed both chips. The girls thought it was pretty funny. I went over to her but let her finish to see what she was going to do. She crawled back to Allie and gave her a chip. What a sweet sister to share in the prize :)

Earlier I had caught them in the act of trying to scale their changing table. Looks like that one is leaving very soon! They also like to try and get on the window sills since they have a ledge where they can stand. Every time they try one of these tricks I just shake my head and say "your brother never did this!" Soon we will have nothing left in our house, as our little monkeys use the most basic things to get climb on. With Trevor we were able to tie the kitchen chairs to the table legs, but not with the girls, they will use those chairs to climb on the table. So if you ever come to our house, that is why you will never see chairs at the table, except for when we are eating :)

Entering the school years...

Trevor woke up at 4am the morning that Kindergarten started! He was so excited to be riding the bus and going to school. We eventually got him to crawl back into bed with us, but that didn't last very long. His friend Caitlyn came over to ride the bus with him. She is in 3rd grade now so she is an experienced bus rider :)

When he seen the bus he ran over to catch it. He hopped right on the bus without looking back. We called to him to turn around so we could get a picture, but we could only get his backside. We crossed the street so we were on the side of the bus he was and waved "bye" to him. Allie and Kara kept saying "Bye Bye Trevor".

We then loaded the girls in the mini and followed him to school. He got right off the bus and was headed to the spot his teacher had told him to go during orientation. He acted like he has been doing this for months! We stayed with him as his class walked to the classroom. When it was time for the kids to go into the classroom he turned around waved and yelled "Bye Mom, Bye Dad!" and walked into the classroom.

Caitlyn rode the bus home with him also. They got to ride next to each other so that was good. Trevor said he had a fun day and made some new friends but didn't remember their names :) He got to play on the computers but he said it wasn't enough time but it was still fun. He got two recesses and got to eat lunch at school! He can't wait to go back. To bad he only goes 2x a week. It seems like he had a great first day.

Happy Birthday Allie and Kara!!

It is hard to believe that my babies are now 2!! They are getting so big. They have a huge vocabulary and are slowly learning how to put two words together. Soon they'll be talking in sentences! They still love to climb and play in the dirt as well as shoes and tutus. Very well rounded little girls :)

The morning of their birthday happened to be Trevor's first day of Kindergarten. The girls were up early so we all walked Trevor to the bus. As Trevor was leaving on the bus they kept saying "Bye Bye Trevor" It was so cute! We then loaded them up in the car and followed Trev to his first day of Kindergarten. After that we came home had breakfast played awhile then got dressed and took them to lunch. They had a lot of fun having Mommy and Daddy all to themselves.

After there nap Trevor came home and we played outside and ate dinner out there even though it was cold! We then ate fresh brownies right out of the oven with vanilla ice cream :) They were on a sugar high so bed time came a little later. They loved it when we sang Happy Birthday to them. Hopefully they'll like the attention again at their party.

Budding Artists for hire

If anyone is need of some redecorating, we have two adorable budding artists for hire. They will redesign your walls, doors, floors, toys. Whatever you want them to do. Just feed them and they will be happy! We guarantee the artwork will be one (two) of a kind!

Earlier in the day as I was cleaning the kitchen and high chairs from the girls rather messy breakfast, (I just started putting milk in their cereal) I noticed the girls running from the toy closet over to our bedroom door. I walked over to see what they were doing. Our bedroom door along with the bathroom door had beautiful artwork all over! I looked a little closer and they had redesigned some toys too.

I had sent Trevor outside a few minutes earlier to play and didn't realize he had left the toy closet open. The girls found the markers and pulled them out of the drawer and went to town. Our white doors now have a splash of color.

We have gotten use to having things a little lower for Trevor to get to them. Now the girls are big enough to reach almost anything in that closet. It has been about a month since we took the gate down that protected the closet if it was left open. Looks like it is time to find a new home for Trev's art supplies :)

August

What a busy month this has been! With Trevor's surgery at the beginning of summer and his recovery for all of June and most of July we didn't do a whole lot. We tried to cram everything in during the month of August. The weather hasn't been all that great either. We have had to "heat waves" this summer. Other wise it has been rather cold.

This month we have gone to baseball games, camping in our back yard (It was in the 90's and no air conditioner in the house!), VBS, lots of parties, made a few trips to the beach, parks and trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as we can before school starts.

Trevor is very excited about school! I hope he feels this way when he is a teenager :) He has made his teacher crafts and pictures. Tomorrow he gets to meet her and give her all his gifts he has made for her. The day of the girls birthday will be a busy one! That is also the day Trevor starts Kindergarten! That afternoon he will have soccer practice and I have a meeting I am suppose to attend. Trevor's friend Caitlyn will be coming over that morning to ride with Trevor on the bus. She is in 3rd grade, so she is an experienced rider :)

Zoo Day!

Scott took the day off so we could all go to the zoo. We left early in the morning so we could be there when it opened at 9:30. We got to Shoreline and Trevor said, "Daddy, the babe doesn't like her milk she spit it out." I reached behind me and touched Allie's hand. It was wet and had milk chunks on it. She threw up in her car seat. Of course the only change of clothes I had was a shirt. She had it everywhere! Thank goodness she took off her shoes and socks prior to this happening.

We got to the zoo, at 9:30, but we had to clean Allie up. Of course the sun was not out this morning like it has been the last few weeks so it was a little chilly. We stripped her of her clothes and put the new shirt and a jacket on her. We then got inside of the zoo and headed for the family restroom. We washed the clothes off and dried them with the hand dryer. She was now good to go :)

The kids had a lot of fun at the zoo. They loved the freedom to walk all over and see the animals. The girls kept pushing each other and giggling. Whenever Allie would stop pushing Kara, Kara would put her hand on her back and say "again, again". They were running and giggling and had everyone smiling at them.

After lunch I gave the girls a cookie while they were still in the stroller. They wanted down but I told them they either gave me the cookie and they could get down, or they could finish it then get down. Kara finished hers right away. Allie on the other hand wanted to save hers but did not want to give it up to me. Finally after seeing her sister have some freedom she shoved the cookie in her mouth. I finally let her out. A few minutes later I noticed her mouth was full. I gave her cheeks a little squeeze and out comes some cookie. She held onto the rest like a little chipmunk. 10 minutes later she spits the whole thing out. So not only is she a little smelly from her earlier episode, but now she is dirty from her cookie sitting in her mouth for 20 minutes!

We enjoyed the rest of the day at the zoo. Once we got home we put the girls right into the bath as Allie really needed it after her excellent adventures today. As soon as they got into the bath Kara pooped in the tub! I got them out right away, then Allie proceeded to go to the kitchen and pee on the tile in there. Finally we got them back in the tub and cleaned. Of course they went outside to play in the dirt... What a day!

Extreme Sports... Toddler Style!

For the first event we have the potty chair standoff. Whoever can get their potty chair on the kitchen chair and stand on top of the potty chair wins.
And the winner is... Kara!

Our second event involves a shelving system in the bedroom closet. Whoever can stand on the shelves and reach the books (almost 4' off the ground) and successfully get one book down without being stuck or falling off wins.
And the winner is... Allie!

We are tied at the moment. Stay tuned for more from Extreme Sports... Toddler Style!

***DISCLAIMER*** No toddlers were injured or encouraged to do these stunts. They thought it out all on their own. Potty chairs and books have since been moved to a different location after discovering our talented twins.

The potty chair event happened while I was cooking dinner. Trevor started laughing, "hurry mommy, you have to see this!" When I got to the living room (Where the chairs had been kept do to the girls climbing the table and into their high chairs...) Kara was proudly standing on top of her potty chair which was placed on the kitchen chair. Allie's potty was also on top of the chair, but she was still climbing when I found her.

After removing the chairs and potties I went to finish dinner. The girls went into their room. There isn't much in there for them to get into. Or so I thought until I heard the screams. I went in and Kara was stuck on the shelves and couldn't get down. I grabbed Kara turned around and was comforting her. In the meantime Allie thought it would be a great idea to try and climb the shelves. By the time I seen this and put Kara down Allie had grabbed two books. I removed her and started to remove the books. She tried climbing again... Never a dull moment around here :)

Max Bye Bye

Allie has finally said her first two (three) word sentence! She is now saying Max Bye Bye! She pauses about two or three seconds after saying Max then says bye bye right after it! Who knew it would take pet sitting for her to start putting words together :)

Bye Bye Max

Max left today. The kids got to hold her one last time before Ryan and Ari took her back home. They spent about 30 minutes holding onto her before we gave her back :) Tonight as I was getting the girls ready for bed they went into Trevor's room chanting, MAX! MAX! But of course she was not in there. They were looking all over the room for her. They are in bed now one of the girls is saying MAX! MAX! while the other one is saying Bye, Bye! They miss her already. Trevor did a great job of feeding and watering her everyday and even helped clean her cage out.

Today I took Trevor bowling for a birthday party. He did so much better than he did last year! He bowled a 116 with no help from me. Of course the bumpers were up :) He got 2 strikes and a spare! He beat most of the older kids too.

We have been busy this summer going to parks, the beach, family night at church, lots of BBQ's. I love this time of year. Soon we'll have to have Trevor start getting to bed a little earlier so he'll be used to it for kindergarten. I hope this next month goes as slow as June did :)

So sweet...

This morning after getting Kara ready for the day I let her down so she could go see Max, a guinea pig we are watching for a friend. I was finishing up with Allie and I didn't hear anything from Trevor's room. I went in and checked up on her. She was snuggled in bed with her big brother. They were so cute. Of course as soon as I got the camera she was sitting up. I asked her to lay back down so I could get a picture. Her response... Nuh uh...

Whenever someone is sad Kara and Allie will go up to them and pat them on the back. They are such sweet little girls. :) Yesterday they took that to a whole new level. Allie was hitting her sister in the back as Kara was giggling. They kept this up for about 10 minutes. It was the funniest thing to watch. Of course we do not have that on video either. I think we need to set up cameras through out the house so we can catch all their sweet and funny moments. Or I can try and remember to blog about it on here...

House Guest

A friend of mine asked if we could keep her guinea pig, Max, while on vacation. I said yes. When I told Trevor he was so excited! I let him know that she will be sleeping in his room. He said, "I don't want her in there, she will poop all over my room". I told him that she will sleep in a cage in his room. He thought that was a great idea!

Last night Max came over to spend 9 nights with us. The girls have been squealing with delight! They love to hold her. When she moves it tickles their legs, and the girls giggle :) Trevor has been holding her all the time. While he plays school, reads, watching TV, etc. Trevor is in charge of watering and feeding her every night. He is excited for his new job! He has been telling everyone that he is taking care of his friend Ryan's "hamster"

Poor Max is going to get a complex when she leaves here. The girls call her a bunny and Trevor calls her a hamster. Unless she already has one as her name is Max and she is a girl :) That is what you get when a 5 year old that likes Max and Ruby names his first pet :)

I hope Max is ready and well rested for tomorrow. I'm sure it will be more of the same as today. At least the weather has been nice so I have been able to convince the kids to play outside and give Max a break.

Trevor's 5!

Trevor was so excited to wake up and be 5 years old! On his birthday I took him to a science lab with 3 friends and they learned all about energy. They had a lot of fun. We cooked his favorite meal, homemade chicken nuggets and fries with broccoli and mac and cheese. Later in the evening he and I went to Baskin Robbins and ate ice cream. Of course we brought some home for Daddy too!

Today we went to a karate stranger danger class and learned what to do if someone tries to take you. It was quiet informative and I hope to be able to go to one again soon, as I was busy chasing my sweet babes, so I didn't get to listen to everything.

Allie and Kara were enjoying some homemade yogurt pops with each other today. It is so cute to watch them feed each other :) Trevor enjoyed his own of course :)

Trevor has started karate and says he enjoys it, but he doesn't want to participate in the 'boring' stuff. We'll see how long it lasts. Soccer starts next month and he is pretty excited for that.

Echos

At night Trevor is "teaching" the girls new words. He will say a word from his bed and the girls will repeat it. It is so cute to listen to them interact this way. When Scott is reading Trevor his bedtime story and it has an animal in it, you can hear the girls saying an animal from there bedroom. Last night the book was about cats, so you heard "Meow" every time the word cat was said. We caught on rather quickly to what they were doing and added a few more animals to the mix :)

Weekly ramblings

This has been such a busy week! Trevor's cardiology appointment was a week ago and since then he has been on the go, and he is still having a hard time falling asleep! We went to Sassy's (Grandma and Grandpa A.) and he bounced on the trampoline and ran all over their back yard. We went back for a BBQ and did it again the next day too! He has been to the park several times walking back home just to walk back again. He constantly is going outside to run around just because he can :) He just started karate this week and seems to be enjoying it. The pool and slip and slide have been getting a lot of use also. You think with all this activity that he would be getting tired.

Allie and Kara are getting very independent wanting to do everything themselves. This is going to be a very long summer! I am going to need to enlist help to do anything. Yesterday we went to the Credit Union where I used to work. Both girls had to walk up and down the stairs themselves! Then Trevor held Kara's hand to the parking lot and he led her across the parking lot because she "wanted to" as he put it. Earlier as I was getting Kara in the car at home Trevor took Allie and started walking her across the street. 4 years are helpful, but not always in a good way :) He does try though and is a great big brother.

The girls enjoyed their first popsicles yesterday as it reached 90 degrees here. (It is about time summer arrived!) We then had them run through the sprinkler to get cleaned up. Today was a repeat of yesterday. I think the girls are going to expect popsicles everyday now.

Allie and Kara love playing in the water. We set up the small pool and all 3 were in there jumping up and down splashing and giggling. It was a tight squeeze with all 3 in there. I think it is time to set up the bigger pool.

Surgery pics!

one month post op appointment

Today was Trev's one month post op appointment. It seemed to take forever to get here, but here we are one month out. He has never been so pink in his life, and I love it!! Even though he has been on restricted activity he has had so much energy. His cardiologist was pleased with the way everything looked. No leaking from the device site, yea!! We go back in December for another follow up. He was lifted from most restrictions, except for contact sports. We still need to be careful for awhile and have him avoid getting hit in the chest.

The first thing he asked after we were done with the appointment was if he could go to the park, jump around, ride his bike and go swimming. Yes Trevor, you can :) He was very excited about that... His cardiologist asked him how he liked the hospital and of course Trev told him he liked it and it was fun :) I guess not too many kids think that way about the hospital. We'll see if he still has that same attitude in a few years when he goes back to have his pulmonary valve replaced.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support during this time. Now hopefully the sun will come out and stay awhile and we can enjoy the rest of our summer!

What will they think of next!?!

The other day I was folding laundry in my room. Trevor and the girls were safely in the house. All the gates in place and doors closed. Or so I thought. After about 5 minutes of folding clothes I couldn't here the girls. I went looking for them and they were no where to be found. I glanced down the hall and seen the doors were shut. I asked Trevor where they were, he didn't know either.

I start panicking as I open all the doors and looking in all the hiding areas. The last place I look is the bathroom. There they are super quiet with the toilet full and the garbage empty. As soon as they see me they start laughing and saying "water, water". They were so proud of themselves. They of course just couldn't empty the garbage can they had to start on the drawers too.

I had to fish out old diapers (at least they were only wet ones to begin with), loofahs, lots and lots of toilet paper. Trevor's bath crayons, and hand towels. The floor mat and the towel were soaked with toilet water. It was fun times cleaning that mess up :)

I keep thinking to myself, I was only out of there sight 5 minutes... There brother never did anything like this! What will they think of next?

My little monkeys

While I was putting laundry away, Kara decided to explore a little. As I went into the kitchen I was startled by the fact that Kara was sitting in her high chair. It was just about lunch time, but I could have sworn that I did not put her there! I asked Trevor if he put her in there, although I know that would have been next to impossible.

Trevor said " No, she climbed onto the table and over it then climbed into her highchair." She had the biggest grin on her face when I seen her in there. She was very proud of herself :) Now if I only had a hidden camera so I could catch all that cuteness in action...

Later in the afternoon I caught Kara trying to climb the table again, so this time I grabbed my camera and tried to hide while filming her. I did catch her in the act as well as Allie climbing the table and trying to get into her highchair.

Later, while eating dinner I cut up apples into straw like pieces. Big mistake. Allie decided it would be funny to put it up her nose. She too, had a huge grin on her face and was so proud of herself :)

2 down, 2 to go!

I can't believe Trev's ASD closure was 2 weeks ago. I don't even remember being in the hospital! Last week Trevor had some leg pain at the cath sight. After calling the on call cardiologist and talking with him he thought Trevor was just overdoing it. I could have told you that :) He is finally getting in a groove of watching TV, playing video games and doing art. He still likes to run and jump of course. He is having a very difficult time falling asleep as he expends no energy during the day. Hopefully when we go back to cardiology in a couple weeks they will tell us that everything is looking great and the device is where it is suppose to be and Trevor can go back to doing anything he wants, within reason of course :)

Allie and Kara are talking up a storm. They have about 50 words, although they do not put two words together yet. They love reading, shoes, tutu's, dirt, rocks and cars. Kara has started climbing the table. Whenever I see her on it she is spinning on all fours. I have tried to take video as it is cute, but I do not want her on the table.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Trevor and brought him gifts and blessed us with dinner!

One week down, Three to go!

Trevor is now into his second week of recovery. Overall he is doing great! It has been a challenge though to keep him from running, jumping and doing everything he is not suppose to do right now. July 1st is not coming fast enough... I sure hope the Dr. will lift his restrictions then. Trevor has been having difficulty falling asleep as he is not expending any energy during the day. So now instead of being asleep around 8, it is more like 11. He stays in bed wide awake just talking to himself and reading books. Hopefully these next 3 weeks go a little smoother.

Allie and I went to a Drs. appointment on Wednesday. It was beautiful at our house so she wore her sandals and a short sleeve shirt and no jacket. During the appointment you could hear the rain pounding on the roof! I thought they had metal roofs and it was hailing... No! That was the rain we heard! Marysville got over 1.5" of rain in one hour! I have never seen it come down so hard before.

We tried to wait it out in the waiting area, as there was thunder and lightening too. The parking lot was flooded and there was about 3" of standing water. The water was slightly above the gray on the wheels. It was crazy! My shoes were completely immersed in water! And of course Allie was getting cold as she was dressed in her summer outfit. The streets were even flooded. Once we got home it was blue skies here. Somehow we missed all that rain... Thank goodness for that!

Kara is now sick. Fever and cough with a rough voice. Although she still loves to play and dance around. So that is good :) Both girls are expanding their vocabulary everyday. It is amazing what they can do! They truly are not babies anymore, even though we still call them our babes.

Recovery update

Trevor is full of energy these days! I think they must have replaced his batteries while they were in there :) We are trying our best to keep him calm with no running, jumping, climbing but it is proving to be a challenge. At least the sun is in hiding so we don't have to worry about parks and bike rides at the moment.

Trevor has enjoyed the cards that his friends have been making him. He also enjoys company but for now it is proving to be a little much for him. It gets him rather excited, so we are holding back on having more of his friends for the next few days as he heals.

He is enjoying playing hospital with us. Kara and Allie are the nurses, while mommy and daddy are the Drs. and Trevor is the patient. He remembers every detail from the hospital and we have to be sure to include all of them when we play. He even wears his red socks he got from the hospital. Although they have now gotten a hole in them from so much washing, I'll have to find a pair somewhere :)

The girls have been enjoying lots of quality time with mommy or daddy by themselves. As it has been easier for Trevor to do quiet time activities if he is with just one of us and the other is out with the babes. They have been so worn out going so many places that they have been taking great naps and falling asleep fairly quickly at night.

Reinactment

Yesterday while doing play dough Trevor wanted to build a hospital room complete with a bed with wheels. We built Trevor in his bed with red socks, green hospital gown, an IV, bandages and all the wires he was hooked up to. We also put a popsicle in one hand to represent the many he had :) He had his tray with pudding, coloring books, and juice. His moose was also in bed with him :)

We also made a TV, the chairs that folded into beds, mommy, daddy and the nurses. He had so much fun at the hospital he wants to do it again. Hopefully not for many more years! I'm glad he had such a great experience though.

Trevor is pink!!

I still can't get over how pink Trevor looks! I think I can get use to this new look! He seems to be getting a little pinker each day since his ASD closure. The mornings have still been cold so I expect to see him a little on the bluish side. But now that is Oxygen levels are now at a heart healthy persons level the blueish undertone is gone. Pink is my new favorite color for Trevor!

Trevor's trip to the ER

Trevor and I were watching a movie when all of sudden he said his chest hurt a little. I asked him to show me where. It was right in the middle of his chest. So of course I got scared and called the Heart Center right away. They told us to come in right away. Either to Children's or the ER, they would call me back with where to go. Since we are so far away from Children's I left immediately with Trevor. Scott stayed home with the girls while Trevor and I started driving to Seattle. The hospital called back and said to go to the ER as they could not squeeze us in for an appt. We got to the hospital around 2. Trevor had his moose and 3 other beanie babies with him plus his leapster :)

They were waiting for Trevor when we got in. Trev was still complaining of chest pain. They did a battery of tests including EKG, echo, chest x-ray. Trevor was a trooper during the whole experience until it came time for the x-ray. He wanted nothing to do with it. He started to freak out. There were four of us holding him down. But we eventually got what we needed. His heart looks great! The device is still where it needs to be which is great. The Doctors said the pain could be from anesthesia where the esophagus had a spasm. Or from his aspirin it could have made his tummy upset. Also, he could have anxiety from his procedure which could cause pain.

Everything turned out great and we finally got home around 7:30. We still do not know the exact cause. But we know it is not his heart or lungs, so that is great news! We are to go right back if he experiences any chest pain again as that is a sign that the device has been dislodged. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers during Trevor's recovery.

How do you keep the energizer bunny down?

Trevor hasn't even been home for 24 hours and already he is bouncing off the walls. We were told to have him take it easy for the next few days. We try to explain it to him so we don't scare him too much. He ends up crying, then I end up crying. This is going to be a very long month. I think he got maxed out on movies watching 8 of them in the hospital! He doesn't want to color, do artwork, watch tv or movies. All he wants to do is go outside and play and run around. I wish this part of recovery were still in the hospital. Then I wouldn't worry as much. Trevor is normally a very active kid. This is going to be tough on all of us. Any ideas on how to keep him down will be appreciated!

What kind of face are you?

Last night one of the nurses asked Trevor how he was feeling. She showed him a chart with happy and sad faces. He studied it and when he didn't answer she asked him if he was a sad face or happy face? He said happy face. She asked which kind of happy face, this one (kinda happy) or this one (really happy)? He pointed to the really happy face as he was laying in bed eating a popsicle and watching a movie.

Recovery

Trevor got a room around noon. The cardiac floor was full so he went to the general surgery floor. When we first saw him he was a little groggy but in good spirits. He got to ride in his bed to his room. He thought that was great! He asked for his first of 8 popsicles right away. He had to try every flavor they had :) He watched a lot of movies, ate a lot of popsicles and enjoyed having mommy and daddy all to himself. The first four hours he had to lay completely still. A hard assignment for an active 4 year old! He did pretty good. By 5:00 he was able to get up and he started climbing all over the chairs! He enjoyed eating dinner and snacks in bed, along with candy and popsicles. Around 6:30 we moved to the cardiac floor as they had beds available for us. We had to share a room. It wasn't bad except for at night the little girl next to us her alarms went off all night! And with the beds for parents being uncomfortable we got no sleep at all! The little girl never did talk or cry. Maybe a whimper when they were poking and prodding her. I think she was Allie and Kara's age. Trevor got to take some wheelchair rides which he enjoyed. During the night his blood pressure dropped, but it eventually went back to levels they were satisfied with. We took Trevor to the playroom in the morning. He was bouncing, jumping, running... Very excited... all the things he can't do for a month. This will be a very long month! We had to have the nurse explain to him that he has to take it easy so his heart can heal. It looked like the poor little guy was going to cry. He doesn't understand, especially since he feels so good! He did ask last night when the sleepy Dr. was going to come back in so he could go to sleep again! I'm sure I'm missing something and after I get some sleep and I remember it, I will post it for you all to read :) Thank you so much for all the prayers and gifts for Trevor.

Surgery

He went in at 8:38 for surgery. All the staff was calling him a rock star! He went back with the sleep Drs. gave people high fives and pounds when asked and got on the table put the mask on and fell asleep. The surgery itself was a huge success! Dr. Jones said his heart looks excellent! And the ASD closure should work great! For the first time since his open heart surgery is SATS have been in the upper 90's, even 100! Dr. Jones is thinking that Trevor can wait at least 5 years for his pulmonary valve replacement. What wonderful news! He should no longer look blueish/purple when he exercises, or when it is cold outside. That is a look I think I can get use to :) At 10:21 we were paged that he was done and it was a success! The device they put in is called an amplatzer septal occluder. It is 13mm. They also put a tiny camera through his other leg. It is amazing the technology they have nowadays!

Pre-op

Trevor and I went to pre op while Daddy was going home to get his moose. Trevor remembered the way back by following the purple circles to the room. We were in the green room. Lots of Dr.s and nurses came in and checked on us. Trevor kept asking when the sleepy Dr. was coming so he could go to sleep. He was ready to start his sleepover :) He told everyone he was going to sing his ABC's while he was going to sleep. (He never did get to sing them as he fell asleep before he could start :) Before I knew it, it was time for him to go. He was holding onto his blanket and I thought he was going to take it with him. He then tossed it to me and started to walk with the sleepy Drs. I asked him if he wanted his blanket, he responded, "no, my moose will be with me when I wake up so I don't need the blanket." What confidence he has... I had to ask him for a hug and kiss so he came over and let him know I would see him in a couple hours. He acted like he didn't even care. He was excited for the sleepy Dr.!

Whatever you do, DO NOT FORGET THE MOOSE!!

We had our bags packed for the hospital the night before, with the exception of Trevor's favorite moose and blanket. When we woke Trev up yesterday morning we grabbed his blanket and him and headed out the door. We were about 20 minutes away and realized WE FORGOT THE MOOSE!! We decided not to say anything to Trevor as we didn't have time to go back home, or so we thought. We ended up at Children's 40 minutes early as there was no traffic. Hard to believe, I know :) We drove around for awhile before heading into Childrens. We finally decided to head in early as our nerves couldn't take it anymore. Trevor was so excited to spend the night in the hospital! (Trev woke up at 3:30 asking if it was time to leave for the hospital :) We told him no and to go back to sleep and we would wake him when it was time to go.)

We got to check in and the nurse asked us lots of questions and had us sign lots of release forms. Then she looks at Trevor and smiles and asks him if he has a favorite stuffed animal or blanket he is taking with him. He is smiling ear to ear when he looks at me and says "yes". I then had to look him in the eyes and explain that we forgot the moose and mommy and daddy made a mistake and his moose would be waiting at home for him when he was home from the hospital. Instantly he went from happy and excited for his hospital stay to crying and not wanting to listen. The nurse tried to give him another stuffed animal but it was not his moose! He declined all other toys. I took him away from everyone and told him not to worry that either mommy or daddy would go home and get his moose and it would be there when he woke up. He was happy with that idea. So at 7am Scott decided he would go home and get the moose. Trevor's surgery was at 8:30. Scott made it back to the hospital around 9:30. We got the id band on the moose ran him back to the pre op room and told the nurses he needed to get to surgery with Trevor. How did we ever forget his most precious moose?

"This is fun."

Trevor announced the above quote while enjoying popcorn, his ninth popsicle and watching his favorite movie, Toy Story 2. From his perspective, this must seem like having a sleepover. We took a couple wheelchair rides last night and he was feeling great. No pain. He didn't even want help getting down off his bed. "I can do it, Daddy!" He fell asleep around 11pm, so we'll let him sleep as long as he wants.

On deck this morning is rounds, breakfast, ultrasound and an EKG.

Amazing...

Trevor is laying down, watching a movie and enjoying a "super big" red popsicle as I type this. The surgery was successful and no complications. He has to remain flat and still for 4 hours. If all heals well, he should be able to sit up and go for a wheelchair ride or two this evening. When I ask him how he feels, he says, "good." He is an amazing little dude. He was so ready for this surgery that he walked back with the surgeon all on his own. We actually had to call out to him to get him to come back and give us a hug.

Get this...his cardiac surgeon's name is Dr. Tom Jones. Trevor doesn't find that as funny as I do. Maybe some day.

eee-eye-oooh

Trevor has been listening to his school play CD for some time now. Every time it is playing and the girls here Old McDonald Had a Farm, they start singing eee-eye-oooh. It is so cute to listen to them. There is a part in one of the songs where it says this is the way we pet the cat, so the girls follow Trevor's hand motion and pet their arm like they are petting a cat. It is so cute to watch them! They love to mimic their big brother! They also say all the animal noises at almost the right time.

Trevor has been teaching them many new words! Some of them are good, some not so much. He has been teaching them their ABC's, shapes and how to count to 10. They know some of them, but I doubt they have any idea what they are really saying. Trevor is such a great big brother teaching the girls everything he knows!

Hospital Tour

Today was the day Trevor and I went to the hospital for a tour and to find out why he gets to spend the night at the hospital. I have been dreading this day. So afraid that he may get anxious after finding out everything. He handled everything so well! He was AWESOME through the whole thing!

We started out the day by meeting with a child life specialist. We took pictures of the fish tank, then followed the purple circles back to the preop room. Trevor got to weigh himself and see how tall he was! He also got to check out the gown and socks he will be wearing. He thought that was pretty neat. The best part was the TV in the room!

He is excited to have strawberry flavor when the sleepy Dr. has him go to sleep. Also, he gets to ride on a bed with wheels! What is more fun than that? He has informed us that he will be eating 100 popsicles, along with lots and lots of pudding on his sliding tray he gets to put over his bed. He thought that was great he gets to eat in bed :)

All day he has been telling everyone what he gets to do in the hospital. Trevor also knows that the Dr needs him to be asleep so they can look inside his heart. He keeps asking when he gets to go. I told him it is still a ways out and we will let him know when it is closer. We still need to tell him that he will wake up with an IV. But that particular detail can wait until later. I hope he continues to be brave and continues to do wonderfully through this whole process.

Graduation Day

Trevor has officially graduated from preschool! He had is graduation performance last night. They sang some farm songs and each had a line to read. Trevor's was "Y is for the yarn that is made from fleece". At the end they showed a slide show of all the kids, then passed out their certificates. Once the child's name was called they were suppose to go sit with their families. They called Trevor's name he got his certificate then proceeded to go sit back down with the rest of his friends on stage. Trevor didn't disappoint and once again started picking his nose during the performance :)

We invited a friend along to help us out with the girls as Scott was doing video of the event. She actually got to enjoy the whole performance as the girls sat on Grandpa's lap the whole time. They were mesmerized by everything going on. They did wonderful!

How Comedies are Made

This morning started as innocently as any other. Once I heard the girls talking in their room, I went in so I could change them and get them ready for the day. Once I picked them up I realized they were soak and wet. Even the sheets were wet. I knew this would be trouble. Once I got the clothes off I noticed there was white gel all over them. The diapers had exploded as they were so wet! I couldn't get the gel off of them by washing them with a towel, so I took both girls put them in the tub and hosed them off. They were not impressed to say the least. Of course the towels are in the other bathroom and I had nothing to dry them off with. I quickly went across the hall to their bedroom and got the fleece blankets they had slept with. Which of course were soaked too... I wrapped them up and dried them off.

Finally I gave the girls their sippy cups only to discover later that I forgot to put the plastic valve cover on the lids. Milk was everywhere! The hardwoods, them (of course they were just bathed minutes ago), the rug and couch. This was all before 9:00 a.m.

A little later I was getting ready for our play date. As I was in the bedroom changing the sheets I hear lots of laughter and what sounds like toys being dumped on the floor. I knew it was trouble just from the sounds. I finished with the beds as that had to be done. Once I got into the playroom Kara and Allie dumped every bin of toys onto the floor. The gate was also left open to the other hallway and they got into the toy closet and dumped all those toys too. There were cars, little people, stackable toys, etc all over the floor! I kept the mess on the floor as I knew 4 little boys were coming over soon to play with Trevor. The house would get messy anyway.

Since it was sunny and warm we played outside. I was sitting on the deck talking with my friend watching our kids play in the backyard. I noticed Allie squatting intently playing with something. I couldn't see what it was so I went over to look. It was poop! Why did it have to be Poop! I know if Scott was home he would have grabbed the video camera before cleaning her up, but not me. I quickly took her in the house to wash her up. This is crazy, we don't even have dogs! This should not be a problem for us as we have cats! But, of course, our cats weren't given that memo so they use the grass for their catbox.

The kids had a picnic lunch outside and then frozen yogurt for dessert. They were filthy form head to toe! I had to get Trevor to preschool. The first time all year that he had been late. That just went along with the rest of my morning :)

I went back home, cleaned the girls up, got them in bed and relaxed. They fell asleep right away as they were exhausted. They woke up right before we had to pick Trevor up from preschool which is something they don't do very often. Most of the time I have to wake them from their nap and they are not happy about that! The girls were in a great mood, so we decided to go to Costco. It went very smoothly! We came home, played in the backyard, had a picnic dinner on the deck, then went to the park and played some more when Daddy came home. It is amazing how different the last half of the day was compared to the first! I swear I can't make these things up even if I tried :) This is life with a preschooler and twin toddlers...

Picture Time!

Today I took the kids to get their pictures taken. My mom wanted a picture with all 7 grandkids. The last time we did this our sweet babes were only 9 months old. So it wasn't too bad. Fast forward almost a year. Now we have 20 month old independent toddlers and an almost 5 year old who is very hungry for dinner since he didn't want to eat his lunch :)

The picture with all 7 kids wasn't all that bad. Although my 3 did not want to smile. We got a decent group picture. Then it was time for just my kids. It was comical to say the least... Trevor didn't want to smile and my sweet babes were everywhere but where they were suppose to be...

So in the end, we came out with a group shot. But that is okay, we have lots and lots of candids...

Trevor

Kara

Allie

Role Playing

With Trevor's cath for his ASD repair fast approaching we have started to play Dr. to help prepare him. He is so excited by this. He has been asking to play everyday all day! Children's Hospital sent him a medical kit. He gets to wear a hat on his head, a mask and blue booties just like a real Dr. He gives his shadow buddy many shots each time. He tells his buddy that they do not hurt and he will give him medicine that will go to his heart to make him feel better.

Today at school his preschool teacher asked the kids in class if anyone has been to the Dr. recently or has any scars they want to share. Trevor got excited and told them that he goes to a Heart Dr. so they can look inside his heart and fix it. He also told them how he gets to play Dr. When asked about his scar he said he doesn't have one, he has a line :)

We told him that he gets to stay overnight at the hospital with Mommy and Daddy. He will get to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there, plus there will be an abundant amount of popsicles. He wants to eat 100! Go for it buddy! You can eat whatever you want after your procedure...

We go to Children's in a couple weeks to take a tour and a Child Life Specialist will help explain everything that will be going on. So far he is handling everything pretty well. Hopefully that trend will continue once he finds out more.

Allie and Kara's ever expanding vocabulary

Allie and Kara are now 19 months old. At this age Trevor was still stuck on his one and only word... ball. The girls on the other hand have a lot more than that. Is it because they are the second (and third) born, or because they are girls that they talk so much more?

Some of their words include: ball, apple, mommy, daddy, bye, hi, shoes, jacket, outside, bubble, kitty, book, sissy, allie, and baby. I'm sure there is more but that is all we can think of at the moment and since the girls are fast asleep we aren't going to quiz them on their words :)

If they see anything round, circles, balloons, etc they call it a ball. All animals are "kitties". Any fruit that is round is an apple.

I believe their favorite word is outside. Whenever we mention going outside they start saying the word over and over while hunting for their shoes and jackets. They then proceed to bring us the gear to put on them. All the while still reciting "outside! outside!" They even go to the door and try to open it. Just like Trevor we can usually reel them back in by telling them it is time to eat :)

another excellent adventure

I decided to take the kids roller skating one Wednesday morning. I'm not sure what I was thinking doing it by myself. You'd think I'd learn that I need back up for these kind of adventures :) We get to the skate deck and of course my side by side stroller does not fit through the doors. I am holding onto Allie's hand as I have the stroller in the other, and Trevor is holding onto Kara's hand. Of course neither of the girls want to be holding hands with us. They decide to sit down in the middle of the parking lot not budging. Finally Trevor and I are able to get them going again, pulling them across the parking lot. We finally get in and skate for awhile. Trevor had a blast. As we start to leave a nice gentleman that works there informs us they do in fact have a wide door on the side of the building they can open for us so I don't have to fold up the stroller and drag the kids across the parking lot again. Why didn't they bother to tell us the first time we went? I had taken the kids numerous times and this was the first time in over a year they informed us on the side door. At least I know for next time.

After skating I took the kids to the Golden Corral. A friend met up with us, which was great as it wouldn't have been possible without another adult since we were at a buffet. As I was holding one of the girls, I was carrying the tray of drinks to the table. Once I got to the table I dropped the tray and the drinks. Liquid went everywhere! The table, chairs, floor, the table next to us... Of course our waitress was my old boss. She cleaned up most of the mess for us. I put the girls in their high chairs and went to get towels to clean up my mess. As I did this, I bumped into the wet floor sign and knocked it down too with a loud thud! If my cheeks weren't red already, they were now! As we were leaving Trevor wanted a tortilla to take on the road. I said yes, as I was packing up the girls he decided to make an ice cream roll up... Fun times! The day did end up getting better thank goodness!

Snail Safari

The weather has been so nice lately that I have been out doing yard work with Trevor while the girls are napping. As I was pulling up the plants that didn't make it through the winter, Trevor discovered snails. He decided we should go on a snail safari! We got a plastic water bottle and he dropped about 40 snails into it! He had so much fun hunting for snails as I was weeding the flower beds. I was excited to get rid of the snails! Maybe we will have nice looking plants this year :) After the snail hunt was over he decided to pick flowers (dandelions) for Daddy's birthday. He picked a big bouquet. I'm sure there were more than 30 of them in there!

Later we washed the cars and had some fun playing in the water. We discovered that our car had silver rims instead of black ones... Who knew!?!

Rocks, cars, shoes... these are a few of our favorite things

The girls have found a new love of dirt, rocks and bugs. They love being outside. I hear that children start off at a young age being attracted to gender specific toys... hmmm I wonder what that means for my girls. They do have a couple dolls, but they could care less about them. They love to play with cars and trucks. We even bought a couple playskool ones that look like cute little bugs. They would rather play with Trevor's cars. They love to play in the dirt and sort rocks into their buckets. They also have a love for shoes and dressing up. At least they will look cute while they play in the dirt with their trucks :)

Monkeys and pony rides

Our little girls have turned into monkeys. They climb on and into everything! Climbing into the bottom of the bookshelf is not good enough. They must climb into the second shelf. They now climb up onto the couches and chairs. We have caught them up in Trevor's "club house" Nothing in the house is safe anymore :) They love to explore and they want to do everything that big brother is doing.

Allie loves to give kisses. It is so cute to watch her. She will even kiss her books. She makes the cutest "kissy" sounds :)

Trevor had his first pony ride today. He enjoyed it a lot. He told us that next time the horse can go faster as he is not scared. He also went on an egg hunt, decorated his own personal cookie, and a cake for the whole family. He made bunny ears which he wore all over town.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Trevor's reading!!

Trevor has been reading simple words for the last couple months. Recently he has has been able to read simple sentences! It is hard to believe that he is old enough to start reading! We had his preschool conference, and he is more than ready to start kindergarten in the fall. He can count to 100 by ones, fives and tens. He knows all his shapes, colors, letters and numbers. We are still working on his listening skills, but that will come. His teacher said that Trevor loves helping out and telling stories about his sisters. He is such a smart sweet boy! Maybe we can bottle some of that up for his teenage years :)

We have a date

Trevor's cath has been scheduled for June. He will spend the night in the hospital for the 1st time in almost 4 years. Soon we will have to start preparing him for his procedure and hospital stay. If anyone has ideas on how to prepare a 5 year old for a hospital stay I am all ears!

It's official!! The girls are out of thier infant carriers!

Yesterday the girls got to enjoy their new big girl car seats. They will be 18 months next week and they have finally moved into their new car seats. I think it is harder on me than it is on them :) What am I going to do without the snap n go? That thing was so easy to transport them.

Trevor had a little trouble getting to his seat, as these new seats are pretty bulky, especially since they are still rear facing. The girls seemed to like their new seats a lot.

Kara and Allie are adding new words to their vocabulary everyday. Right now their favorite word is "no". They say it even when they mean yes :) They are quite the little climbers. They find any shelf to climb into. They love to dress up. Often they will bring Trevor's clothes to us so we can help them put them on.

Trevor is such a great big brother. Yesterday the girls wanted to go outside and play. Trevor was ready to take them outside when I told him they needed socks and shoes first. I went into the other room and when I came back he had both girls sitting on the couch putting their socks on. It was so cute to watch them. They sat patiently as Trev tried to get them ready for the outside.

Trev has been doing well in preschool. He has learned so much this past year. He loves numbers and it shows. He can now count to 100. He can tell time on the digital clock (although we are not sure if that is a good thing or not :) )He has learned to count to 100 in Spanish also. He is learning to read simple words. He is so full of energy. He is excited about starting soccer in the fall. For now he is in swimming, although that is starting to get a little boring for him. He would rather just play in the small pool.

Trevor's cardiology appt.

Trevor had his cardiology appointment today. When we arrived at the clinic they told us our appointment had been canceled! With all the emotions flowing through me gearing up for todays appointment, I lost it and the flood gates opened... I was able to gain control, and they worked us in.

Trevor did great during the echo and EKG. They took his sats, and for the first time in a long time they were in the low 90's! He still has a residual ASD so it looks like we will be headed to Children's in the next couple of months to have that closed.

As for his next surgery, a valve replacement, the Dr. is hopeful that he may never need OHS again! They are coming up with so many great things via technology that they may be able to replace it via the cath! That is such wonderful news!! The Dr. also said he would like Trevor to be at least twice as big as he is now when they perform the valve replacement.

We were also told today that Trevor needs genetic testing for Noonan's syndrome. Not what I wanted to hear. Developmentally he is doing great though. The Dr. was worried because of his large head and small face, although I explained that Scott's whole side of the family has large heads :) We will be doing the genetic testing and the Cath at the same time.

We asked about sports for Trevor. Again, the Dr. is hopeful that Trevor will be able to play competitive sports as he gets older. Overall, such wonderful news! Thanks everyone for your prayers!

How traditions are made

I'm not exactly sure when it all started. At one point before putting Trevor to bed, either Scott or I would tuck a stuffed animal in his bed and prop it against his pillow. One day we were being silly and put a random toy in his bed. Well, Trevor thought that was pretty fun so he decided to tuck two toys in our bed against our pillows. Now every night Trevor loves running to his room after brushing his teeth to see what is "sleeping" in his bed. He laughs and thinks it is funny. He then tells us he will be right back and not to peek as he runs to our room and puts two toys in our bed. Sometimes it is a car, little people, a tool. This has been going on a while. It is so much fun, even on our side to see what "present" Trevor has left us. Soon he will be passing on this new tradition to his sisters.

Latest updates

Trevor has been learning Spanish. He can now count to 100 in Spanish. He has learned to tell time on the digital clock. He is always wanting to check the time. He is enjoying preschool, and asks almost everyday if he gets to go again. He is such a great big brother to his little sisters. He loves to carry them around the house and play games with them. All three love to dance around the living room. Trevor will be starting up swim lessons again in March.

Kara and Allie are 17 months old now! They are very close to 22lbs. That means their infant car seats will no longer be used. That will be such a sad day. It is so much easier to strap them into their infant car seats and use the double snap n go stroller. I am grateful that they have gotten so much use out of their infant carriers. The girls are getting so big. They love to dance, read, climb on anything and everything. They have about 5-6 words they use regularly now.