March

Wow! I didn't realize how much of a slacker I have been on the blogging lately. . .I guess I've been too busy crafting for a boutique I am doing with some neighborhood friends Friday, April 8th (more to come on that. . .). I am sure Brock can't wait until I am done, since I have pretty much taken over the downstairs. Oh, well . . .I will be done one of these days:)

Lauren and Brady were able to go to the Make-a-Wish Princess Tea Party. . .I originally didn't have anyone to watch Brady and when we RSVP'd they said other boys AKA princes would be there too so Brady was excited to go. My mom ended up watching Courtney, and Brady decided he still wanted to go. I am sure he felt a little left out initially. There was only 2 other boys (both little boys, < 2yrs old) and all the girls were getting make up on. At that point he wanted to go, but soon he was having 'the best day ever' (as he would say it).

Lauren and Brady being welcomed by one of the prince'sLauren getting her make-up on, complete with purple sparkly eyeshadow

Walking on the red carpet lined with all the princesses (girls from all over Utah who have won a pageant AKA scholarships). The kids were on Fox13 news that night walking down the carpet and eating tea and cookies.Lauren was surrounded by princesses. . .They were SO cute to her and just adored her! She had an amazing time! It actually made me want to bawl to see all the little kids like Lauren being treated like the princesses they are.Lauren dancing with the Prince. She was having fun. . .no smiles for the camera though. She even danced with Brady!Brady had tons of fun being surrounded by girls! They adored him too and he loved every minute of it. He took this princess AKA Belle outside to dance. He even danced with a little 2 yr old for a second. . .super cute! Lauren with her jewel shoes. . .she absolutely LOVES shoes! I remember her asking all the Disney princesses if she could see there shoes while we were in Disney world.Lauren checking out her goods. She got a necklace, some toy rings, a crown (she is wearing) and a princess slap bracelet along with some perfume samples (which she graciously sprayed all over the van while I was pulling out of my mom's driveway. . . making quite the intoxicating drive home).Brady was excited they found him a boy gift, and toted that turtle around for days afterwards

Courtney LOVES girly things already. Bracelets, purses, necklaces, babies, you name it! It is SUPER cute to see her so I had to snap some pictures

Birthday Fun

We had a fun time at Jenny's house celebrating Chris and Becah's birthdays this Sunday.

Brady, Lauren, & Nick had fun playing with each other, eating popcorn, and sleeping over at Grandma's house.

Courtney LOVED all the attention. . .here she is with Aunt Heidi. Courtney gave cousin Taylor a LOVE, which was SO adorable! She especially loved sharing Chris' cheesecake.All the girls. . .well except me. Good/bad side of having the camera and taking pics is never being in them.

February Happenings

Brady had his Patriotic program a couple weeks ago. It was SUPER cute to see him and all his classmates singing patriotic songs and saying their parts. He did a good job. He had his part memorized the first day he got it and would tell it to me almost everyday until the program. It was cute to see some of his friends too. Lauren and Courtney came too. Brady got a certificate saying he knows the Pledge of Allegiance and it's meaning. It was probably his only program (other then school-wide programs - which are full of kids and parents and difficult to see him since the Kindergartners sit in the first row).

Greg and his family gave us a bird house we could build for Christmas. Brady loves to put things together and could hardly wait to build it. Unfortunately we kept putting it off, so when Greg and Erica came over this week to borrow a camera battery Greg helped him build it. He of course had a blast building it with Greg. Now if our trees would grow faster;)

I had to take some pictures of Courtney because I LOVE her piggies:) It reminds me a bit of Lauren when she had hair long enough for pig tales. We love her chubby face too:) She is speaking more, which is nice because she can tell us what she wants/needs sometimes. She is also getting a bit more brave and can stand unassisted for a few seconds too.Lauren with her piggies at about the same age as Courtney. She couldn't walk yet either, unless she was holding onto our fingers.

FINALLY!!! Lauren's Journey. . .the slide show

I finally loaded the movie I made (after shortening it- speeding up the pictures which meant changing the music a bit too and making the file smaller - hence a little grainy). It's about Lauren's journey, from pre-diagnosis, surgery, ending with the completion of her Make-a-Wish trip (Disneyworld). It brought tears to my eyes when I put it together, and still makes me feel a variety of emotions. I am grateful the hardest part of the 'journey' is now over.

She started her 'regular' 3 month checkup today and all CT scans (chest, abdomen, and pelvis) remained cancer free, she continues with some small lymph nodes around her spleen but they haven't changed and aren't enlarged. Unfortunately her lab results were invalid (very difficult draw from an IV that took 2 pokes too!) so we need to go back to the hospital tomorrow to have them redrawn. . .I haven't broken the bad new to Lauren yet, we found out after being home about 30 minutes. She HATES pokes! (and who wouldn't blame her?).

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Play Time

The girls were able to have a little playdate while Brady was at school. They had fun dressing up and having a tea party.

Discovery Gatway and MORE!

We bought a pass to Discovery Gateway-the children's museum last January. I don't think I have ever brought a camera there so I thought it was about time since our pass expires the end of the month. The kids LOVE going there! It can be super busy and overwhelming at times trying to keep track of 3 kids, but we decided it would be fun to invite Bethany and cousin Nick and Taylor today. So we all braved the crowd for a couple hours of kid fun.

The Life Flight helicopter is always a hit, thankfully it wasn't too crowded out there so they each got to 'fly' it a few times.Lauren of course gravitated to the doll house (Courtney liked it too. She was just happy to get out of the stroller and crawl around).Brady loves to see how things work. There were a few new things upstairs which was nice, it kept there attention a lot more then usual.Taylor was such a good baby! She just loved watching everyone.Nick and Brady working with the construction stuff.

Lauren was a little apprehensive (a couple bad experiences there have left her a little scared/worried) and stayed right by me. She was exhausted and fell asleep on the way home. She is doing better overall and has a little more energy, her face is not as hollow and has more color, and she is now gaining a little weight now. She is set to see the Oncologist again the beginning of February and will have her next CT scan then. Fingers crossed everything will continue to look good.Courtney LOVED riding in the bumble bee car, she couldn't figure out how to go forward, and threw a little tantrum when she had to come out, thankfully it was short lived:)Courtney is getting busier. She loves to crawl and cruise, exploring everything! She reminds me of Brady the most. He has been very cute with her this week too. She didn't appreciate being held, but he loved holding her:)