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The Doctor and the Cell Phone

That's kind of a funny title for my post. Isn't it? Well, once you see these pictures, you will know what in the world I am talking about.

If you know Ryan, you know that he is very “into” his electronic gadgets. He has about 4 of our old cell phones and even though they don't get service any longer, they can still do a bunch of cool things when they are charged up. In fact, Ryan figured out how to do a ton of things on my old cell phone that I never knew it was capable of doing! So...this leads to his Halloween costume. Yes, my child wanted to be a cell phone for Halloween. The amazing thing was that I was actually able to find a cell phone costume and didn't have to make one like I had originally planned. LOL!

Here he is pretending to dial for Hannah.

Is that not the funniest costume ever?

Just look at my cutie patootie Hannah. She was dressed as a doctor. Although, if you asked her who she was that day, she insisted that she was not a doctor. She was “Hannah.” But if you reworded your question ans asked her who she was dressed up as, she would quickly reply, “A doctor.” Talk about being literal! Personally I think she kind of looked like a nurse with those white tights, but either way she was on a mission that day to heal everyone with all of the goodies she had in her doctor’s bag.

Last Minute Pumpkin Patch

We waited until the very last minute to go to the pumpkin patch this year. After school on Friday, my mom and I took the kiddos to Peltzer Farm which is about 5 minutes from our house. They had a good time checking out the pumpkins, going through the corn maze, and eating super messy ice cream cones.
Hannah took one look at the ponies and decided that she REALLY wanted a pony ride. Ryan REALLY didn't. Once Hannah was up on the pony, Ryan decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. So here they are taking their very first pony rides. Aren't they cute? Hannah cried for more when the ride was over. And Ryan just wanted to go wash his hands. LOL! Oh the joy of having two completely opposite children!
I have some cute Halloween photos of the kids that I still need to upload. Just wait until you see what Ryan dressed up as. You will never guess...

We are official aeronauts!

Apparently the official term for hot air balloon passengers is “aeronauts.” Andy received a gift certificate last year from one of his vendors for a hot air balloon ride for two with breakfast afterward at South Coast Winery. We thought we would save it for our anniversary which is this Wednesday. My mom was here for a couple of days this weekend, so we decided that as long as she was here to watch the kiddos, we should take the opportunity to use the gift certificate. So, at 6:30 am yesterday morning, we headed out for our first hot air balloon adventure.

I, of course, was a bit nervous for no reason. It was actually really fun. I didn't get scared once we were in the sky. It was really beautiful. It was very quiet while the burners were off. The pilot had to turn them on every couple of minutes. I jumped almost every time he turned them on because it was soooo loud. Our neighbors were so excited that we were going that they, along with 5 of the neighborhood kids, hopped into their mini van and drove out to wine country to see if they could find us. (I had to call them on my cell to tell them what color our balloon was.) They said that they saw us and were waving out of the sun roof. Unfortunately we didn't see them.

This is right before we took off. There were actually 11 of us in that tiny little basket.

Our balloon was called Fantasia. It was blue with yellow stars and a moon and had a picture of Mickey Mouse's wizard hat on the very top.

This is a photo I took of the other balloons while we were flying (or floating I should say!)

Here is Andy just after we landed. The red balloon in the background was another one that took off when we did. It was in the shape of a strawberry.

Now I can cross off one more thing on my bucket list. LOL!

Air Show

Oh my, has it been over a month since I last posted. I am so sorry!

We had a lovely visit from Pat, Andy's Mom, earlier this month. While she was here she went to the Mira Mar Air Show with Andy and Ryan. It was Ryan's first year going. It sounded like enjoyed parts of it, although I think he got a little bored after a while. I am glad that Andy had someone to go with again this year since planes are not my thing these days and I really don't enjoy the Air Shows anymore. Those of you who know me well, know that my Dad and Grandpa were both pilots and that I grew up around airplanes. Unfortunately my Dad was killed in a plane crash when I was 21 years old and since then I have had a hard time being around planes unless, of course, I have to fly somewhere. In fact, tomorrow will be the 18th anniversary of my Dad's accident. I sure miss him and really wish he were around to see his grandkids. I know he would have had a ball at the Air Show with Ryan.

Anyway, sorry for getting side tracked. Here are a few photos that Andy took at the Air Show. (I wonder if Ryan will follow in his grandpa and great grandpa's footsteps and become a pilot when he grows up. He sure loves all of the instruments on the control panel. He also loves to fly Andy's flight simulator on the computer.)

Hannah's Big Girl Bed

We finally changed Hannah’s crib into a “big girl bed” a couple of days ago. (I have been paranoid that she would wander the house at night while we were sleeping as soon as we put her in a real bed, so I have been putting it off as long as I could.) She actually likes it so I told her that if she gets up, then Daddy is going to change it back into a crib. That seems to be working pretty well so far at night. However, she refuses to take a nap in it during the day. We still need to work on that, but otherwise the transition hasn’t been as horrible as I thought it would be. I suppose expecting the worst and hoping for the best is the best way to approach these milestones. LOL!

Hannah's Tea Party

I am so sorry that I didn’t post this sooner. I have had the flu and am just now getting back to “real life.” Hannah’s tea party was a big hit. The kids (and Mommies) seemed to really enjoy themselves. The picture above shows all of the kids except one who had to leave a little early for a nap. They loved the fun hats, gloves, boas, and pearls. (Although Hannah didn’t want to put her gloves on over her Hello Kitty Band Aid on her finger.) Hannah’s little buddy Vince enjoyed his top hat too! (If you ever need to purchase any tea sets or fun dress up clothes, you must visit Karen Ebert’s online store called Catriona’s Castle. Her website is www.catrionascastle.com. She was great to work with and went out of her way to get that cute little top hat for us! Thank you again Karen!)

Is this the cutest picture you have ever seen?
We plan to blow it up and showcase it at their wedding someday. LOL!

Here is a photo of the kids at the table waiting for their “tea” and cookies. (We actually served lemonade.)

I read them a story called Tea for Ruby which Grandma Pat sent to Hannah a while back.
Hannah wanted to help me read to everyone.

Here are the kids listening to the story. (Do you like my boa? I may wear it everyday. I felt like a princess.)

Hannah, Mommy, and Nana dressed up on Hannah’s actual b-day on Sunday. Don’t we look pretty?

I made some cute little favors for the kids too. If you would like to see what they looked like, you can take a peek at my other blog here. (I post all of my crafty-type stuff over at Lisa’s Creative Corner, so I thought it would be easier to send you over there to look instead of re-posting it again here.)

I have to say that having a three year old and a six year old is a lot of fun, although I think I am getting too old for this. I have no idea where they get all of their energy! It is all I can do to keep up with them.

Have a great night everyone. I am off to bed! *Ü*

The Tooth Fairy will be visiting our house tonight!

Ryan lost his first tooth today! Look at that adorable little hole he has at the bottom of his sweet smile! I knew the day was coming, but I just can’t believe that it is here. We made a cute little tooth box for the occasion just in time. Last night the two of us created this little tin...
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a weird phobia of teeth and that I freak out when it comes to anything that has to do with loose teeth, going to the dentist, etc. When Ryan came to me this afternoon and said, "Mommy, my tooth feels weird," I took one look and realized that it was hanging on by a thread. He bit into a Veggie Chip and it was ready to come out. When I told him to wiggle it a bit and it would fall out, he started to cry. He asked me to help him get it out. What was a poor Mom to do? I helped him wiggle it, twist it, and pull it out. Without missing a beat, my “Mommy braveness” came to the rescue. Yes, I actually helped him pull it out without completely freaking out. One down, 19 to go! *Ü*

Look how tiny it is. It looked so much bigger in his mouth. LOL!What a cutie! Daddy told him that he was able to slip french fries through the holes when he lost his teeth when he was little. Ryan can’t wait to try that. He may need to wait a couple of weeks until the other bottom one falls out so the hole is bigger. That one is pretty loose too.

I hear that the going rate for a tooth these days is a dollar. Ryan wasn’t too excited when he heard that until I told him that we could go the the Dollar Store and he could pick out anything he wanted in the whole store! We’ll see what we come home with tomorrow!

FYI, I will have some fun photos to post later this weekend. We are having a tea party for Hannah's 3rd B-day on Saturday! Wait until you see what I have for the little girls to wear. Soooo cute!

It's a GREAT Day!

Just checking in quickly to let you know that my biopsy came back negative. No cancer! Woo-Hoo! I still need to go back for a follow up ultrasound, but my doctor said that everything looks good right now! Thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers!! XOXO

First Day of School

Well, yesterday was the official first day of school for Ryan, although it was only about an hour long and we were able to stay with him. I took lots of photos! Today was the hard day though. I dropped him off in his classroom and had to leave so I could take Hannah to her first day of Preschool. They both did fine. No tears and no drama. Unbelievable! (Actually a few tears welled up in my eyes, but the kids were fine!)

Ryan standing in front of the school sign. I can’t believe he is going to school with the big kids!

This is Ryan with his new teacher. She is very sweet!

Mommy and Ry.

Ryan saw me take a picture of the crayons so he wanted to take one with his camera too. (I know I am weird. I take pictures of random things. But don’t you think these crayons look cool all lined up?)

Ryan’s teacher is introducing the class to “George,” her guitar.This is Hannah with her new teacher.

Hannah showing me the fake spaghetti in the play kitchen.

I could not pull her away from this box of beads. She LOVED it! I am sure that is where I will find her when I pick her up. LOL! The little boy behind her is our neighbor and Hannah’s best buddy Vince. He is in her class too.

This is a picture of Ryan this morning before we left for school. He is excited to be able to use his backpack!

Well, I think I should grab a quick bite to eat before I need to leave to pick Hannah up from school. Boy, that sure went by fast!

On a side note, I have my post-op appointment tomorrow where I should get the biopsy results back. I will post tomorrow with (hopefully) good news! *Ü*

Surgery Update

I know I have said it before, but I will say it again. God is good! Thank you so much for your prayers. I really felt them today.

The surgery went well. My doctor said that she found more polyps than she had initially thought (I think she said four), but was able to get them all and send them to the lab for a biopsy. I won't have the results until my post-op appointment in a couple weeks. She also confirmed the bicornuate uterus thing and told me that she was surprised to find a septum in the middle (which she took off). She also said that she was surprised to find that my uterus is upside down or backward or something of that sort. I was still a little out of it when she was telling me all of this. I will ask her more about it at my next appt. After she told me all of this, I started to say something about my kids and she interupted me and said in a very convincing voice, “You are VERY lucky.” I corrected her and told her that I wasn’t lucky. I was blessed.

Andy told me afterwards that my docotor told him there was some sort of tear or cut from the instruments so I have a couple of sutures that are supposed to dissolve on their own. I have no idea where they are. I suppose it can’t be too bad since she forgot to tell me about it. (Or maybe she did and I was too out of it to remember. LOL!)

The best thing about the whole procedure is that I never got sick or even a bit nauseous! The anesthesiologist was amazing! He asked me a lot of questions beforehand and told me not to worry. He had some great stuff that would help me avoid the nausea. He was right! I asked him if I could buy a few bags of the stuff to take home so I won’t get motion sickness in the car anymore. He just laughed. Hey, it was worth a try! *Ü*

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that I am doing great. My mom and Andy have been wonderful today. They kept the kiddos occupied so I could rest. I will be laying low for the next day or two. Although I feel well when I am sitting or lying down, I am definitely not ready to go run a marathon. (Ha! I wasn't ready for that before the surgery!)

Thanks again for your kind thoughts, emails, and prayers.
XOXO

No more training wheels...

Ryan decided this evening that he wanted Andy to take off his training wheels. So...at 7:30 tonight, that is exactly what he did. At first Ryan wasn't too sure about it and asked if he could have his training wheels back. Then after about 15 minutes, he was doing great. By 8:00 he was riding down the street with no help at all! He was so proud. (Of course we were proud too.) I know this video is dark and you may get a bit nauseous from all of the bouncing around, but at least you will get to see him riding without training wheels!



Here are a few still shots before it got dark...
I am so proud of my little guy, I could just burst! *Ü*

Ryan's Birthday

We celebrated Ryan's 6th birthday last week at a place called Pump It Up. He and his friends had a blast jumping on all of the blow up jumpies and sliding down the huge slides. Ryan even got to sit in his very own blow up chair! At the end of the day, he came up to me and said, “Mommy, this was the best birthday party I have ever had!” That just made my day.

King for a day!

Opening presents with his friends...

How cute is this? Hannah and Ryan went down the slide together.They had a pretty cool climbing wall. I was talking to another mom when I turned around and saw Hannah hooked up to the harness. I got a little nervous but the gal who was working there said that she could do it. Boy, could she ever! She climbed that thing with no fear at all! Take a look at this. (She is only TWO! Yikes!)

Can you believe my little guy is SIX? Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that he was born!Happy Birthday Ry Guy! I love you!

Loose tooth and camping trip....

Ryan is excited to announce that he has his first loose tooth. He will probably be starting school in 3 weeks missing his first tooth. (He is already asking if the Tooth Fairy is real.) *Ü*

Other than that exciting news, we are home from our adventurous camping trip and finally settling back in! The laundry is all done and we are now able to get some good quality sleep! Except for Hannah having a hard time sleeping in the tent, we had a great time. There were 7 families that came with us and Hannah was the youngest of all the kids. I was very grateful that everyone was so forgiving in the morning. I can only imagine what they were all thinking with her fussing much of the night!

Here are some photo highlights of our trip...

This is a group photo of all of the families that went on the trip with us.

Ryan with a silly grin.

They really do love each other!

Hannah's favorite part of camping was playing in the dirt.

We went to a really fun water park which was a life saver since it was soooo hot!

Check out this play equipment. It was one big water playground!

Hannah was strutting her stuff in the kiddie pool.Hannah really enjoyed her Slushie. (I think she played with it more than she drank it!)