12:00 am Bed Party

Now, let's remember our kids do not wake up in the night ever (unless they're sick). And they won't sleep with us either. Baylor never would even we asked! But they BOTH woke up on this Wednesday night at midnight. It's such a rare occurrence and they are both in such great moods that we're having a little bed party! Adeline thinks it's morning and keeps saying 'eat' and 'teeth' (because she's totally preoccupied this month with teeth brushing). I hope they go back to bed!

Little Santa

Baylor was so good with Adeline & Collin (the babies) this year at Christmas! He passed out all the presents to be opened and helped out all day!

Oh the shoes!

Or shoooooos, as Adeline would say. She insists on wearing whatever shoes she sees right now!

Blessed Life

I was telling Perky the other night that with all the stories of dismay we hear (sick friends, troubled children, broken marriages), I feel a little guilty for feeling so blessed. Of course, I think we're in the decade of our lives that tend to be the happiest for everyone I know. That time when you're still newly married and your children are small and everything is bliss. My kids are funny and wonderful, we get to travel, we're secure in our jobs, and Adam & I love each otherly greatly still. And furthermore, love being around each other. I know our time will come. There will be troubles. But for now, I have no complaints. So, although I wish I could freeze time today, I pray, instead, that we can take the troubles that come with this feeling in our hearts.

Another New Word--Quack!

We are working on a vocabulary....slowly, but surely!

Adeline Follows Baylor Around to Read to Her!!

It's so cute!

Bone Marrow Biopsy Results

We got the results back from Baylor's Bone Marrow from a couple of weeks ago. His super doctor hematologist called Adam today. Super Doctor for a couple of reasons...she knows everything about everything, she finds all kinds of free things for us that we never knew existed (like free cord blood storage for siblings of Baylor), SHE called today not her nurse or assistant, and last (& I think most importantly)she gave us her direct phone number! Direct meaning she answers the phone with 'hello'!!
Good news, no change. By no change, I mean his cell production in his bone marrow hasn't gotten worse. He has been in the lowest level of cell production for a couple of years now, but he just continues to hold steady. God has a plan!

It's November....give thanks!

Of course it's the month of reflecting what you're thankful for, and every year I set a goal to list monthly things of which I'm thankful....why wait until November?? It hasn't happened yet, but here we are back to November...
1. My husband...strong and funny and supportive and patient and a Daddy!!
2. My strong Baylor, who is benevolently unaware of how many people's lives he's touched. He just lives like any normal kiddo, griping about school, homework, & chores... But never about dr. visits, bone marrow biopsies, bloodwork, xrays, hearing aids, daily hormone shots or having hands like no one else! He's a bit of heaven.
3. Funny Adeline, who's excitement & zest & curiousity wear us out! She's incredibly healthy and such an addition to our lives.
4. My great friends. Friends like Melissa who keep me sane and "un_momly" and Kristie, who loves my child, and is orgaized enough for the both of us! She's so organized, she knows what her 3 kids are doing, and can still keep track of mine all at the same time! All of our other friends that keep our life fun by going out with us on the weekends, or chatting with us at work, or remembering to send a text when we haven't talked in a while, or comment about how cute our kids are on Facebook!! You're all special in some way!
5. Our great families. Our family who we know are there to help in any way! Theresa, who remembers to call and check in. Wes & Sarah who stay close & are great babysitters! Mom for saving us on any day when we're in a pinch. My dad who provides opportunities for my son to have four-wheelers and see deer and other wild animals that aren't possible as "city folk"! Nana Perky for having Baylor thinking that Target is the special place where families go to bond, haha!! Grandma Liz who will always say yes to any outlandish thing that Adam asked for because she loves him so much & who always thought it was important to introduce us to things like books and musicals, which we now make important to our own kids! And Papa Johnny for being such a supportive listener to my husband during all of their "insurance business" talks!
We love our families! Can't say it enough!
6. Our health...Yes, the old cliche! But with the daily/weekly stories of people we know finding out unhealthy news, I thank God every single day (not just November) for our health. We have tried our very best to keep our bodies as healthy as possible, no more feeding chemicals! We try on a daily basis to keep our diet clean & let our kids know that it's important to exercise your body. It's tough, so it seems like every day is a new day, but we've come a long way from the days of processed foods and fast food joints being part of our daily routine.

Give thanks!!

Hearing Aid Update

Baylor finally got his hearing aid yesterday. It was the cutest thing because you could see it all over his face that it was different. He kept making little noises to himself to hear the different sounds! Also, he said after we left the doctor's office "Mom, I can hear myself when I talk!" Wow! That's crazy the difference it makes. We went to Starbucks afterwards and he turned it off because their music was too loud! So, you want to know my first thought? The guilt of moms...why is there the mom guilt??? I spent this long knowing he might have hearing problems, but not knowing exactly how bad. What else do I not know? And how do kids tell you things aren't right if they don't know any different? Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again...lucky for us we have incredible doctor's (kudos to TX Children's Hospital) and incredible technology. And each year it only improves! We also have great family and supportive friends!
I'm so excited for him. It was well worth the cost!! :)

Laying Eggs???

So Baylor asked tonight in the car if humans had life cycles too, like frogs and butterflies. I said I guess because women have babies when they're grown and then it starts a new life, we just don't lay eggs like the others. Baylor laughs and jokingly says 'yeah humans lay eggs'. Adam made a weird face at him, and then Baylor spits out this whopper "You two lay eggs, you know like the other night. I saw yall laying eggs!" So Adam and I look at each other very perplexed/worried/ should we even ask him to further explain. Neither of us said anything and luckily neither did Baylor. Just on to a new conversation. Phew!

When a vehicle breaks down...

What do you do when your vehicle breaks down? Or when anything breaks for that matter? Get it fixed? Yeah, most people would, but not my husband. We just buy new stuff. He called me today because his truck has been acting up and it wouldn't start today. So, he calls me to inform me that he's headed to the dealership to get a new truck!!! I can't blame him. He gets it honestly. I could so see his dad doing the same thing. I love you, Johnny. Thank goodness the guy at the dealership (who happens to have his insurance with Adam) talked Adam into just getting his truck repaired and offered a free rental to "sweeten the deal". I'm sure we'll be paying for that free rental somewhere down the line. Thank goodness we aren't paying on a new truck note, though!

There's no denying that hair!!

I knew I had a picture of me with hair that looks exactly like Adeline's right now. I found it tonight and put these two pictures together to post on Facebook, so I though I'd add it here, too. Funny!

Adeline's Trouble

Adeline was very quiet the other night, which always means trouble, and this is what we found. She pulled the chips off the table, then the green sauce. I think she realized it wasn't a good idea after it went all over her and didn't taste good! Look at that face!!

Soccer Highlights

We don't know what happened at last week's soccer game. It was like someone gave Baylor a shot of B12! He hustled and worked so hard during the whole game, and he somehow picked up some fancy foot moves. He's learned to control the ball with both feet so when someone is in his way, he kinda jukes them and goes the other direction with the other foot. It was awesome. We were getting all kinds of compliments during the game, and the assistant coach even came over to us to make sure it was Baylor's first year to play! After the game, two different people came from across the field (not from our team) to talk to Baylor and tell him how impressed they were! Wanna see some proud parents?? That was us last weekend!! Now, the real challenge....let's see what he does in this Saturday's game!!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween! We went to Kegan's birthday during the day and then went with all of our friends from Lake Charles (that also moved to League City) on the annual hay ride around the neighborhood. It was lots of fun and nice to see everyone. Adeline was a forest fairy and Baylor was Ghostrider.

Pumpkin Carving Party

4th Annual Pumpkin carving was lots of fun!! E.T. and Elmo are my pumpkins, Melissa's is Mad Hatter, Adam did the Michael Myers, Susan & Skylar carved the pony, Thomas carved the wolf,Mike carved the cat, and Baylor carved the jack-o-lantern. They all turned out awesome.

Baylor's Bone Marrow Biopsy

We are spending the day at the hospital today for another bone marrow biopsy. Baylor's blood work looked good when we got there, though. The last time we spent the day at the hospital like this, Adeline was a baby. Now she's all over the place so I was worried about her behaving. She and Baylor are so totally different. She has already met everyone, and she just goes and sits at the little craft tables they have set up and waves to the kids! Baylor, on the other hand, hasn't left his chair in the waiting room and managed to squeeze out only one word to ONE nurse out of all the ones that talked to him.
Everything went well, and we got to go home around 12:15. Sometimes he wakes up from anesthesia really mad and screaming ludicrous things. Well, today I stayed out with Adeline and Adam went to recovery to get Baylor. He said today was bad and he thinks Baylor said the f word, but he knows for sure that Baylor called him a stupid bitch and a little shit (which is what Adam calls him)! We were trying so hard not to laugh in front of the nurse! In recovery, you're in a room with other patients, nurses & parents. Also, baylor asked Adam if he farted (very loudly)and when Adam told him no and to be quiet, he said Baylor started yelling "You farted"!
I'm laughing so hard while typing as Adam's telling me that I couldn't finish typing this post. We decided it's a good thing Adam and I don't go back to recovery together because we get the giggles and no one else back there thinks it's funny!

Soccer Time

Baylor decided he wanted to play soccer this year. It's going very well. He's a great soccer player. We're so proud!! He loves playing. Adeline is even learning to kick the ball around. It's very cute but hard to keep her off the field during the games!

Halloween Hopefuls

I love this time of year. We're spending more and more time outside, and we have our 4th annual pumpkin carving party. Baylor chose to be Ghostrider this year. His costumes are never very fun, but Adeline...oh there's the fun! The plan now is for her to be a woodsy fairy. I'm making her an autumn colored tulle dress with brown woodsy fairy wings. Sooo cute!! Let's hope I get it made on time. Halloween pictures to come! This picture, of course, is not Adeline, but it's a picture of the costume goal!

House for Sale!

Finally got the house on the market! It priced better than I thought. We're very excited.

Adeline's Thank You

This was Adeline's thank you from her birthday. I made them & had them printed. It was so cute!

Too Cute

A New Word!

Adeline learned "uh oh" today. Finally she's saying something I can understand. And she makes a funny face when she says it! And, equally important,she got a new jingly Halloween bracelet that she loves! Haha
And right now while I'm posting this video and watching it, she can hear it so she's walking around saying "uh-oh, uh-oh"!

Old Friends

We had a fabulous weekend with some of our very best friends that we haven't seen in two years! I can't believe we let the time go like that. How does that happen? And then you vow to not do it again & life happens. Thankfully, these are the kind of friends that are old enough and dear enough to pick back up like we just saw each other yesterday! Love you Dannas!!

Love is..Not letting Your Spouse Forget Things

You won't hear that in the scripture, but it's so true. Adam packs all of my crap in the car for me every morning. Rolling case, laptop, school bag, lunch, purse because he knows I would forget my head if it weren't on my neck! The one day he didn't pack this stuff, I went to work without my purse! I love him!

Baylor's New Song

Baylor can now play a bit of Tuesday's Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Here it is....

What I Decided Tonight....

I was looking at pictures tonight and, of course, my hair was full and beautiful while I was pregnant & the months after while still breastfeeding. Now it's blah! Blah. I know part of it is due to hormones, but prenatal vitamins play a part, too. So, I'm going back on the pills.
To Sarah, my wonderful sister-in-law and hairdresser, I will have to be seeing you more often because they make my hair grow like crazy & reveal my sneaky wrong-hair-color roots!! But I don't care. I want pretty hair, and luckily I don't mind seeing you more! :) Be nice to my pocketbook, please!

Bath Time

Our friend Melissa got Adeline this little boat and walrus bath toy for her birthday. I don't know what it is about that silly walrus, but she LOVES it! She shrieks when she sees it like she forgot it was there all day until bath time, and she's so protective of it the whole time she's in the bathtub!

12 Months!

Hearing Aid Update

Who knew hearing aids were soooo expensive?!!
The audiologist just dropped a bomb on me, and I called our insurance (school insurance,btw), that I pay a small FORTUNE to have the highest coverage on, and they have absolutely no coverage for hearing aids. I will be sending my 8 year old to school with $2000 in each ear! Scary. I'm calling around to get second opinions and check with groups that work with the school district. Maybe we'll get lucky! So we are on hold for a few weeks. I still can't wait for that kid to fully hear. Then I'll know if he really can't hear me or if he just ignores me! Ha

1st day of School

Baylor is in 3rd grade!! He got to cross over the wood floor at his school and he's now on the other end of the building with the "big" kids!! My great friend Kristie is his teacher, so I know he's completely safe!! :)

Adeline's Birthday Party!

Adeline's party was sweet and perfect. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us. She's officially ONE!! We even got to hang out in Kemah with Uncle Justin, Aunt Theresa and the kiddos!

Another Story of Nana Perky Buying Baylor Stuff!

We stopped by Lake Charles after our Florida vacation and were leaving early the next morning, so when Baylor mentioned Nana maybe taking him to Target to buy him stuff, I said absolutely not and he better not dare say anything. Not 10 minutes later, Nana Perky asked him about going to Target, so he made her come to tell me because he thought I wouldn't believe him. So I agreed they could go & when Nana left the room, this is what he says (keep in mind Nana shops EVERY day almost)>
Baylor: I promise she asked me, and I didn't say anything.
Me: I know. I believe you.
Baylor: Mom, I think she really likes it when I come over and she gets to bring me to Target because I don't think Nana Perky gets to shop very much!
Haha! I thought that was soo funny. He thinks he's helping Nana by allowing her to buy him stuff at Target!

Baylor's Hearing Update

So the dr. found no fluid behind Baylor's ears (have I not been saying there wasn't any for 2 years??), so now we can rule that out and just say he has a hearing loss. We go back to see the dr. this week to see about getting him some little hearing aids. Boy, I can't wait to hear the television at a normal volume and not have to say "Baylor" 10 times before he hears me!! Now, if only we could get Adam some hearing aids, too....hmmmmmmm....... :)

Adeline's Party!

I've been working hard on all of Adeline's party stuff. I've made cupcake toppers, a banner,favor tags, thank you cards, the invitation, & pompoms to hang! Now we are just ready for the party day. Of course, everyone will be squished into our house like sardines. Hopefully, we will be in a different house before next birthday. Here is her invitation. Cuteness!

Adeline is ONE!

Adam is Teaching Baylor a Little Guitar

Maybe Baylor will Hear!!

Baylor can't hear very well (only 40-60%), so we have been talking a lot about hearing aides with his ENT. His doctor decided to first do a procedure this Thursday to check for fluid behind his ears. He had to really persuade me. I've been saying no for 2 years, but I absolutely don't think that's the problem. His bones in his ears are malformed (effect from Fanconi's), and I'm convinced he just can't hear, and not a fluid problem. BUT, what if it is fluid??? Easy fix. So, we are going Thursday morning to put him under anesthesia and find out once and for all.

11 months

Florida Trip with Farm Bureau Naples & Destin, Florida

Adam won the All Star trip with Farm Bureau. This is the summer trip for the kiddos. This summer it was 4 days at a resort in Bonita Springs, Florida near Naples. We drove and stopped halfway in Destin for 2 nights.

Finally lost a Tooth

Baylor finally lost a tooth last night. He pulled it out himself. He has always been very skeptical of the tooth fairy's existence, and I don't confirm or deny because I think the tooth fairy is hard to justify. Anyway so I had to convince him to even leave the tooth near his pillow. She came, and he got $5, but he reminded me this morning that the tooth fairy could be a man! I think at this point he'll believe in anything that brings him money!

Austria Trip June, 2010

Adam and I got to travel to Austria for a whole week courtesy of Farm Bureau Insurance. It was so nice. Mom kept the kids for 7 whole days!! Not an easy task! It was so worth getting away for a while, though. Stress free, beautiful city, and lots of catching up on sleep. As soon as I get all the pictures sorted, I'll post some.

Baylor Update

Baylor had an appt with his hematologist this morning. According to his blood work, his bone marrow is still producing cells but at a very low rate. It's been that way for a couple of years now. We will have another biopsy of his bone marrow before the end of the summer. I think it's weird sometimes that we can completely put this out of our thoughts on different occasions until it's the day of a Dr. appt. Then it all comes flooding in at once.

10 Months

I Come in Pieces!

Baylor has been playing swords/aliens/war this morning. We keep hearing him say "Fear not, I come in pieces!" Instead of "I come in peace". We were cracking up. My friend Melissa came over just a minute ago, so when she left, she gave him the peace sign and said "peace out". Baylor replied again with "I come in pieces"! Hee hee!

Helping with the dishes!

9 Months

Katie's Wedding May 2010

We went to Katie's wedding this weekend in Lake Charles. Sure do miss Lake Charles!

Grandmas Make Kids Rotten

So my son, who we try not to spoil, gets in the car today, and this is how the conversation goes down.
Baylor: Can I get a new nerf cover for my DSi game?
Me: Sure. Do you have enough $ saved up?
Baylor: (thoughtful for a minute) Do you know why I like going to visit Nana Perky? Because she always buys me DS stuff even though it was just Christmas. She just says,Do you want to go to the store and buy something?

Thanks a lot, Nana! :)

Woodpecker Family

We have one dead branch on our tree in the front yard, and it now has a woodpecker family in it. Mom and Dad worked together making holes in the branch, and now they take turns going out to get food for the babies while the other stays nearby. It's so cute.

Wrestling

Baylor loves to watch wrestling & records it so we can watch it EVERY day because wrestling on Mondays isn't nearly enough. And after, he and Adam wrestle a bunch and do chair slams & choke holds.
Every night I hear Baylor saying "daddy pleease choke slam me?".
When I ask why they insist on doing this, Adam says, "you know like when we were little and John & I would watch Karate Kid and then think we knew Karate. We'd karate kick the crap out of each other. Didn't you do that on certain movies?" I insist I have no idea what he's talking about, and, apparently, I'm the one that is not normal!

A "Corn" Person

So we are sitting here eating dinner. Adam is putting the dishes away, and I tell Baylor to finish his corn. He looks at me thoughtful and wipes both sides of his mouth with his napkin then says "you know, I'm not much of a (he does air finger quotes here)"corn person". I cracked up, and then told him to finish his corn!

Pulling Up!

Adeline can pull up and walk down the couch & I go behind her saying "no, no you're too little to be doing that!" She just laughs!

Sneaky Pictures!!

You know people say beware of profile pictures, etc, because pictures can fool you??? Well, here are some tricky pictures. They look so sweet. Brother & sister playing together, smiling for the camera....
So you ask, what was really happening? Adeline continuously knocks Baylor's castles down and crawls all on top of him. And Baylor is saying "Stoooop iiiittttt, Adelinuuuu!", "Mommy can you get here awaaaaay". The stretched out words are to emphasize the whining voice.
I move her and try to give Baylor some of the peaceful playing time that he has had for 8 years, but I secretly love it! ;)

Adeline 8 Months!

Lost Ring!

I've lost my wedding ring. I know... not too shocking for those that know me well. I really loved that ring, though, and I've only had it for about a year. Adam got it for me for our 10th anniversary. Luckily, because my husband is the great Farm Bureau Insurance Agent that he is, it was insured, but he won't buy me another one! I agree because I'm still holding out hope it turns up somewhere in our house. For the time being, I'll be sporting a brand new cubic zirconia!

Easter 2010

Adeline's first Easter! We spent the day at Meme's with family & visited Adam's mom. Lots of candy and fun!

Bone Marrow Result Update

The results came in from Baylor's bone marrow biopsy in early March. Everything looked the same. No signs of scary stuff like leukemia & his few little bone marrow cells seem to be holding steady. Things looked okay for now & they will continue to watch his blood & schedule another bone marrow biopsy in 6 months, which is our regular routine.

Adeline's 1st Park Visit

Easter Bunny 2010

Luckily someone told me that our mall bunny has this fast pass thing online. If you go order your pics online & pay, you print out this fast pass and just skip the line when you show up. Well.... we went at 2:00 on Good Friday and the line was a mile long! Evidently, not many people know about this "fast pass" and we pissed a lot of people off just walking up and getting our picture done, but it was legitimate! haha