Gracie's Eye Surgery!

Gracie went in for eye surgery last Thursday, September 8th. She did so well. She seemed nervous when we got to the hospital, but she didn't complain about anything. She only said she was 'hungee' once, and she had to wait until 12:30 before they took her back.

They had toys for the kids to play with before they went back, and this was the only one that Gracie was interested in. She seemed very passive and apprehensive. She was sad when the nurse gave her a blue hospital bracelet. Under her breath she whispered, "Oh, I want a pink one." It was so cute.
Right before they took her back they gave her a sedative so she wouldn't get separation anxiety when they took her back. It made her so loopy! She started slurring her words and saying funny things like, "I'm a baaabby! You're Jeeeessssicca!" Her little head was wobbling back and forth like she was drunk. It was pretty funny.

Gracie was also pretty sad about the blue gown she had to wear and the yellow socks. She kept saying, "they buggin' mom!"

She sat very still as they checked her vitals before surgery. She was a very good girl.
When Gracie came out of surgery she was very sad and kept saying, "I o.k. Mom, I o.k." She ripped out her IV and blood went everywhere, it was so sad. She kept crying and I had to help the nurse hold her down so they could put the IV back in to giver her morphine to calm her down. While the nurse was telling her she was going to give her medicine to make her feel better, Gracie was crying,"NO Thank you!"She was a sweetheart the whole time.

Doctor Hoffman said everything went technically well. He said it would take months before we know if it was successful or not. It takes a while before the brain can adjust to what has been done. So far, so good. Her eyes seem to have straightened out and as of yesterday she seems to be completely out of pain.

I have a Kindergartner? What the?

I thought I would cry when Max started school, but I didn't. He was way too excited and I was too busy comforting Gracie. She was so depressed that he got on the "big oange car" and left. She said again and again, "We are coming brother, Maximo, we coming!" We followed his bus to school so we could meet him at the door and when he finally got off the bus she was so happy to see him, but he was too excited to notice.
Max is so funny. The thing he was most excited for was his new Airwalks! He was convinced they would make him run twice as fast and would help him beat Mikey to the mailbox. He is always posing! He is so cute!
Max's teacher met him at the bus stop. Her name is Mrs. Lee. When Max walked up to her, I heard her lean over to the principal and tell him he better meet Max because he is hilarious! The principal bent down to meet Max and the only thing Max could tell him was that he had awesome new shoes that were going to make him super fast. s

I was nervous to put Max on the bus the first day, but his teacher said she preferred for them to ride the bus the first two weeks of class if they were going to ride at all, because she meets them every morning and puts them right on their bus everyday for the first two weeks. Max was so excited to ride the bus and it only takes 10 minutes for him to get to school after he gets on in the morning.

On the way home from school it took a little longer for him to get home because the bus driver had to make sure every kid was getting dropped off at the right stop. Max said he was getting nervous because the driver was going home in a "jumbled way, but when he saw our church he got the clue that they were on the right track" and he stopped crying.

It was hot on the bus and Max wanted to change right when he got home, because he said, "my bum is soggin' wet, and I gotta get out of my underwear!"

He loves school and, although he can't tell me what he's learning cause he forgets, he says he is having a blast.

When I asked him if he made any new friends he told me yes. I asked what their names were and he said, "I don't know, who needs names anyway?"

He is a laugh a minute and we are so proud of him!

Gracie's Birthday!

I am SO in LOVE with this little sweetie! Gracie had a great birthday. Her birthday was on a Sunday this year so we had to hurry to church before presents and cake. Gracie did not want to wait. She took one look at her cake and shoved her face into it! It was so cute, and it was even better that it didn't get all over her dress.

Gracie loves princesses all of the sudden so she had a princess party. She told me she wanted a pink cake, so that's what she got. She got lots of fun presents.

Mom and Dad got her pretend hair styling supplies, and a doll house. Max her a Rapunzel. Grandma Kim and Grandpa Mike got her Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty dress ups, and Grandma Julie and Grandpa Dave got her fun bath time supplies and a swimming suit.

There are so many things I love about Gracie! She and Max play so well together. Today he was giving her horsey back rides. When she fell off though, she hit her head on the table. Max said he was sorry, but that's why he was using "safety precautions" (Daisy's leash as a seat belt). It was hilarious.

Gracie has known all of her colors for months now and knows most of her shapes too. She is a very smart girl and speaks in sentences. She has been very interested in potty training all ready. The only bad thing is that she likes to take her diaper off as soon as she feels the need to evacuate and pees all over the floor, it's awesome! I have gone through a bottle of Spot Shot already following her around the house. She loves to be naked and knows how to dress herself so no outfit can outsmart her.

Gracie loves to sing and dance! She knows all the princess songs and requests me to sing them to her daily. Her favorite song right now is Part of Your World from Little Mermaid. She knows all of the words and it's so fun to catch her singing when she doesn't think anyone is listening.

Gracie is also learning how to manipulate us! Every night she tries to tell us that she needs lunch cause she's "hungee" or "firsty." She also tells us, "but I'm happy! I'm 'wake' mom! Good Morning!" When we do give in and let her stay up a little bit she says, "Yay! Mommy happy today!"

Gracie is getting to be more and more fun everyday and she seems excited for her little sister to arrive. She kisses my belly and tickles it. She is a sweet heart! I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have two sweet beautiful daughters. We are going to have a blast together.

Only 5 more weeks!

Catch up time

Jessica says it is time for me to post on our family blog, so here we go! Life is great! Today is Max's 5th birthday. Jessica is feeling great in her 2nd trimester. Gracie is a sassy little lady in her pink glasses. I am loving my new job with Cambridge Financial. There you have it. For the best part of blogs see the pictures below!

Max's Transformer cake

The party






Birthday Morning


Max's G Q


Preschool Graduation. Max got the "Big Hunk" award from his teacher, Ms Connie.




Us at the Zoo






More of the G Q
Easter Sunday





There you have it folks. Happy Blog Stalking!!

Life is good.

I am pretty much the worst blogger ever. This is probably the best scrapbook my kids will ever have because I'm not very crafty, although I am going to try and get some stuff done this summer. Anywho, I just wanted to write down a few things that have been going on in our lives lately.

My birthday is this week and Mike has been spoiling me to death. I love it. It has been the best birthday, and it's not even until Tuesday! We went to the zoo yesterday and I loved watching the kids get so excited about all of the animals. They are so curious. I love Max's creative imagination and Gracie's pure joy.

Mike is loving his new job at Cambridge Financial as a financial planner/ advisor, and I am loving it too. It has been so much better than we anticipated. Things are going great and I love the fact that my husband isn't out knocking doors this summer. He has a lot of flexibility with this job and I love the gift cards and perks that salesmen get. We got a new Dyson with one of his gift cards from Best Buy and we love it.

I am just enjoying my stinking cute kids and trying to be a better house wife. I am almost 21 weeks pregnant with our baby girl. The first part of my pregnancy was a little tough and I spent a lot of time on the couch. Mike was very patient with me and the dirty house so I'm trying to be much better at keeping the house clean now that I feel fabulous.

My performing group had their recital on April 29th and it's such a relief to have it done. I am thinking I will take a break next year and let myself adjust to being a mother of 3.

I am also loving my new calling as YW president. I love the girls and I love hanging out with them.

Max is adorable as always and is convinced that the baby should be named Zoey. I really like the name Zoey, but I'm not sure if it's her name. He kept saying, "We already know her name mom, it's Zoey! Got it?" I'm tempted to name her Zoey just because it's a good story.

Max did awesome at our performance last month and sang really loud. He loves to be on stage and he is natural little performer. He always wants to make people laugh. He is very sweet to his little sister and is very thoughtful and loving all the time. He knows just how to make me smile everyday and he always says very sweet things that make my heart melt. I am really going to miss him while he's in kindergarten next year :(.

Max has his last day of school on the 25th and he also has his program that day. I can't wait until it's warm enough outside for us to buy a swimming pool and spend lots of hours outside with the neighbors.

Gracie is turning into a little sweetheart. She's not as sassy as she was before. The doctor adjusted the prescription in her glasses and I think it has helped her to be less frustrated. Although she can see better, she is still cross-eyed so we are going to have to meet with a surgeon at Primary Children's to see if surgery can help with her Strabismus. He isn't taking new patients until July so we will have to patient until we can get an appointment.

Gracie LOVES to sing and although she can't get the words out fast enough, she mouths the words to her favorite songs while the rest of us sing for her. She loves the ABC's, eensy weensy spider, monkey and the alligator and Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. It's so fun watching her grow up and get more personality. She loves playing with her baby dolls and coloring. She also enjoys stealing toys from Max and running away. She is a sweetie and loves her daddy more than anyone else in the whole world.

She is also very girly. She loves wearing frilly "pincess" dresses and putting on "nake up" with mom in the mornings. I love the few hours we get alone together each week while Max is at school. It's a good chance for us to snuggle and play without her trying to compete with Max for my attention. Which is hard, since Max can't stand it if someone else it getting his attention!

Overall, we are loving life. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family. Mike and I make a great team. He is such an awesome dad and takes great care of all of us. I couldn't have found anyone better matched for my personality. He is my best friend and I am so happy to have found him.

My kids are the cutest in the world, of course, and they make my life amazing. I honestly can't think of a better job than being able to stay home with my little sweeties. I hope we can have a few more kiddos to finish off our family. I love being a mom. I don't want to do anything else.