Two more weeks :/

Grayson had his five year check up with Dr. Crawford last week and measured in at 44 inches, 44 pounds and an overall healthy boy!  I was feeling good until I took him in for his follow up dental appointment to learn that our healthy boy needs a pulpotomy, crown and 3 fillings :(  As his mother and a hygienist, I am feeling pretty ashamed!  The funny thing is, he really isn’t into sweets like his sugar monster of a sister is!  I am dreading her first appointment now :/ 

I took Colbie in for her second hair cut and she sat up in the chair like a big girl, staying calm and still for the stylist.  I hate to cut her hair, but it is so so fine (poor girl got my genes!) and with all the swimming this summer, it was a must!  She is still enjoying ballet, thanks to brother’s weekly support!  Since I last posted, the only boy in the class dropped, so Grayson has decided he no longer “loves dance,” but simply does it to be a good sport and help Colbie!  We’ll see… the kid actually has some moves and I think secretly, he still likes it!!!

This is from the beginning of the month… finishing off Grayson’s birthday cupcakes and showing off their black war paint as a result!

Haircut time!

Clinging onto brother for dear life!

Looks like we may have a front wedgie!

Grayson’s been riding his bike (training wheels free!!) for the past week thanks to Yuma finally seeing some cooler days!  He sort of got the hang of it last spring, but due to our lovely Yuma summers, we really haven’t had the chance to go for any bike rides since then.  This past Sunday, it really seemed to click for him as he is now able to start, stop and turn by himself.  I still hold my breath every time I watch him take off, but so far, he is doing awesome and no major cuts & bruises!

Blaine & I had our final follow up appointments in Phoenix yesterday with the cardiologist and my ob before we go for our “extended trip.”  Our good friends, the Andersons, have been kind enough to offer their home to us during this time.  We took the trailer up yesterday to keep there for when the entire gang is up at the same time.  With the kids being kids as well as such early risers, I think it will be nice for everyone to have a little space and privacy.  We can’t thank Sandi and Donny enough for their kindness and hospitality and allowing the Griswolds to park their hillbilly “RV” in their beautiful back yard!  You guys are the best & we love you!!

Our appointments went pretty well.  No more major negative news on the cardiologist’s end, which makes our little guys a pretty good candidate for the least invasive procedure for this particular condition following delivery.  The procedure that he will probably be getting is called a radiofrequency perforation of his pulmonary valve.  Of course, they have to do a couple more echocardiograms once he is born just to be 100% sure.  We just pray that nothing changes at this point and that more importantly, our little guy responds well to the surgery and regains his strength surely and quickly.  The ob appointment went pretty well too, despite my spike in blood pressure.  The doctor agreed that most likely this was just a result of a LONG day (we had left at 4:30) and lots of sitting in the car.  Thankfully, he let us go home, as I promised to try to take it easy & visit the ob here a few times in between. 

It’s so crazy to think that we only have two more weeks here at home before it’s off to Phoenix now.  Still so much to do, pack and prepare before we leave.  I feel like our first two pregnancies sort of felt like an eternity and I couldn’t wait to get to my due date.  This one has gone by entirely too quickly and I keep wishing I could slow time down.  I of course can’t wait to meet this precious little miracle and just have to remember that it’s not on my time and it’s definitely not in my control.  As hard as it is, I have to remind myself to slow down, have faith, let go of the worry and put this all in God’s hands.  As a good friend told me, “Faith is not believing that God can.  It is knowing that He will.”  And something tells me He will!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY GRAYSON SCOTT!

 

I can’t believe our big guy is already FIVE!  Where has the time gone?! I know every parent asked themselves that same question, but seriously!!  So I tried to get out of throwing a big party this year, but I just couldn’t resist.  He’s been nagging me for the last year or so about his next birthday party, the buddy’s that we wants to invite and how he wants a batman “hiyatta” (piñata)!  Well, we skipped the hiyatta, but we did throw a fun little super hero/ batman themed party for him at jumpoleenz.  Here is the invite and some pictures to share:

Before and after! Here we are having a meltdown after sister thought she was helping him blow his candles out!

I’m sure all the mom’s loved that I picked black frosting!

SUPER HERO FAVORITES:

Favorite food: pizza

Favorite color: blue

Favorite super hero: Batman

Favorite show: Caillou and Curious George

Favorite past time: anything outdoors…. swimming, riding his scooter, playing ball, working on his tool bench in the garage when it’s 115 outside!

We are so proud of our little super hero.  Again, I can’t believe he is FIVE!  He is becoming such a kind, caring and determined little man.  And don’t get me wrong, he totally has his stinky moments too (like meltdown yesterday when Colbie blew out a few of his candles!)  There are still plenty of those!  But what kid doesn’t?!  Happy Birthday GG! We love you so so much!!

“DON’T FORGET TO PRAY FOR PIGGY”

I have a cute story to share about Colbie and our recent trip to Phoenix.

Almost every night before we eat, Blaine usually leads us in a prayer.  For the past 2-3 months, Colbie has had a very specific request to “pray for the piggy.”  Nine times out of ten she interrupts Blaine or I & gets pretty upset if we don’t add, “and please watch over the piggy.”  Grayson does have this little stuffed animal pig, but the funny thing we hardly ever see Colbie play with it and it is by no means her favorite toy.  We really don’t know where this came from. Nevertheless, for the past two months, thanks to Colbie’s persistence, we have been praying for the piggy.

Blaine and I spent last Thursday and Friday in Phoenix for several more Doctor visits, hospital tours, and just getting more prepared for the upcoming months.  Our last stop on Friday was to meet the baby’s surgeon and get a tour of the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. We will be delivering at Good Sam and then transferred over to PCH within about a week of delivery for treatment, where we’ve been told we will be spending about a month or so….hopefully less.  When we get off the elevator for the tour of the floor that our little guy will be staying, our guide points out that it is the fifth floor, also known as “the piggy floor” and she points to a big statue of a pig right by the elevator.  It has something to do with pig valves often used in human heart valve replacements.  So needless to say, I couldn’t hold back my tears when I saw the giant “piggy” and immediately thought of Colbie and how, thanks to her, we have been praying for this little piggy for a good two months now. God definitely works in special ways and this was just one of those eye-opening and re-assuring moments for us. 

All things considered, I guess you could say we received good news at our follow up eco appointment in that while the valve still remains blocked, the cardiologist did not see any negative changes that often go along with this condition.  We are still hoping for the simplest of procedures, but understand now that the treatment plan is still dependent upon how everything looks following delivery.  We had another ultrasound the same day with the ob and learned that the baby is growing well in all other areas and is already bout 3 1/2 pounds, so that was good news.  We were also given a better idea of how and when delivery will take place so we can sort of plan for the next few months.  Looks like we will be moving to Phoenix a little sooner than expected, but that’s ok.  As overwhelming as things feel at times, we rest assured knowing that ultimately this isn’t in our hands and we just have to trust that everything will be ok…. and deep down I know it will be.  We are just going to keep positive and continue our daily prayers for this little piggy!

Little “Ballenina!”

Colbie is officially a “ballenina” now, as she likes to say!  We started her in dance class this past Wednesday.  She has always been into tutus and playing dress up so this seemed like an appropriate past time for her.  She was pretty shy at the start of class, but thankfully brother came along and was all about helping her get warmed up and having fun!  With Grayson by her side, trying out the moves himself and reassuring her the entire time, she eventually decided  that she wanted to participate and seemed to have a great time!  By the end of the class it was hard to get them both out of there!

Not so sure about this leotard and these tight things!!

My mom got her this little Minnie dress shortly after our trip to Disneyland.  She also loves to shuffle around in her “princess shoes.”  And when she’s not playing princess, she’s usually playing cowboys or super heros with brother!

We’ve been getting quite a bit of rain here the past several days.  It’s been nice for a change and Grayson was having a ball in it the other night!

Not really sure what he’s doing…. just being a total goofball!

Blaine’s Grandmother, Aunts and cousin hosted a beautiful baby shower yesterday for Stacy (my sister-in-law), Kim (Blaine’s cousin’s wife) and myself.  We are all due within about a month of each other.  Kim in October, Stacy in December and myself in early November.  The food was delicious, the decorations were adorable and a fun time was had by all.  Thank you again Grandma, Aunt Karen, Aunt Kerrie and Mariah!!

The lovely hostesses!

A busy week ahead… work, school and three more appointments in Phoenix Thursday and Friday, including a follow up with the cardiologist, meeting my new OB and our first consult with the baby’s surgeon.  We are keeping strong and praying and hoping for some positive news :)

First Day of SCHOOL!

Grayson’s first day of pre-school at Yuma Lutheran was this past Friday.  He will officially be going to school five days a week now like a big boy! 

Although there were many tears during drop off, I think the hardest transition will be for his little sis, who is used to having her big bro around all week.  Colbie of course wanted to get her backpack too for a first day of school picture!

Successful first day and all smiles when I picked him up!  This coming week will be the real transition, when he will actually be attending all five days :/  So proud of him!

Beach Vacation 2013

We got to spend a entire 10 days in a row this year in Laguna, making it that much harder to head back to reality, especially being mid-August!  I think it was 69 degrees when we left on Thursday and we came home to a hot AND humid 110!  Nevertheless, a wonderful time was had by all!  We enjoyed getting to spend some time with DeeDee and Annie at the condo during the first few days and getting “screwed” by Annie playing Pegs and Jokers.  Blaine went on his annual guys fishing trip and brought home some fresh sushi-grade tuna!  We got to hang out with some of Annie’s great grandkids that were in the area, making fun play dates for the kids.  We danced up a storm at cousin Erich’s wedding.  We celebrated Grayson’s 5th birthday by taking the kids to Disneyland for the first time.  And as always….we spent many relaxing and fun days at the beach, beach & more beach!

Future Laguna Beach Lifeguards!!

On the way up, we stopped for lunch at one of our favorites, the Fish Market in downtown SanDiego.

Watched a sunset off the San Clemente Pier.

Grayson & Colbie adored Annie’s great grandkids Ellie & Brody!

 

Another play with Annie and Ellie and Brody.

Hanging with Great GranDeeDee at dinner.

Uncle Erich’s wedding in San Diego.

Most of the Hannon family, minus the groom and his bride and a few others.

Digging holes at Doheny beach and doing some crab fishing at Dana Point Harbor.

We surprised the kids with the news that we would be taking them to Disneyland a couple nights prior, giving them new backpacks for the day along with some Mickey/Minnie jammies!

Holy crap…. when did Disneyland get so expensive!! At least Colbie was still free this year!

Meeting Minnie Mouse and Cinderella!

Being the busy season and having two small children, we felt that we had a pretty successful day at Disneyland!  We made it around to all the classics, including Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World…to name a few.  We also got to meet several princesses, which Colbie ate up, watched the Mickey Parade, saw a couple of shows including Tangled and even made it to the 9 pm Fantasmic light show and fireworks following.  From walking in the doors at 8:30 to leaving at 10:30, I would say our two and four year old held up pretty well, and most importantly, had a wonderful first experience at the Happiest Place on Earth! 

Mark Twain’s boat ride and Tarzan’s Tree House.

Colbie waving to Ariel during the parade.  Colbie and I waiting in line at my childhood favorite… It’s a Small World.  And passed out in daddy’s arms during one of our longer waits.

Enjoying their new glow swords at the Fantasmic show and then riding the trolley back to the parking lot, looking a bit more exhausted than on the way in!

We changed them into their jammies before putting them in the car….knowing that within minutes they would be asleep! (in fact I don’t even think we had made it out of the parking lot!)

Last day spent at baby beach and then one more yummy dinner on the San Clemente pier!

Thank you Mom and Dad and Cloud 9 for another awesome summer beach vacation!