November 2010

Brady made the cutest card and gifts to give to Brock for his birthday. He is such a creative inventive kid who always comes up with unique inventions! He even made the card and wrote it all by himself. After church we went to Grandma Jenny's for a yummy birthday dinner and got to see the cousins. Brady has made great strides with learning to spell and sounding words out, I never noticed how many words aren't spelled phonetically until now. The other day he told Brock he was M. . .E. . .N! (aka mean) He doesn't believe me when I tell him how the word is really spelled;)

Cousin Riley

Bethany and Cousin TaylorChris, Taryn, and their puppy Josie

We got to meet with Lauren's wish granters (Jan and Nicole) again and got our itinerary for Disneyworld. They brought Lauren a princess backpack full of little princess thing. It will be nice to load it up for our 5 hr flight. The kids are super excited. We made a chain a little bit ago to help them know when we are leaving. It will be so fun for them and such a break from our year.

Jan, Lauren (with her new backpack and barbie), and Nicole

Poor Courtney got Conjunctivitis (pink eye), a runny nose, and an ear infection (the 2nd in 2 months. . .only her L ear both times). Let's hope she doesn't have her daddy's ears! So she is on antibiotics for both. She loves the Amoxicillin and gets mad when it is gone, she HATES the drops and closes her eyes super tight. It is amazing how much better they looked just after 24 hrs. I am glad she seems to be getting better fast just in time for our trip!

We had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner at my mom's (I didn't even have to bake anything. . .we'll except for making the gravy). It was so fun to see everyone again. It seemed like it had been a couple months. The kids had fun playing with there cousins and then we got to stop by Frankie's house and see Serena and the gang, followed by a slide show of Mark and his siblings. It was cute to see the pictures of everyone when they were little.

Brady

Brock

Cousin Eli

Courtney

LaurenCousin Kylie

Cousin Taya

We'll we are off for Disneyworld this week. Let's cross our fingers we get good weather and that the kids have a wonderful time.

Results In. . .Good News!

We have been anxiously awaiting Lauren's visit this week. She actually went Monday because I felt a small marble-shaped object a little bit above her scar on Friday night (after she had complained a couple random times last week about her tummy hurting. . .which is how it all started in the first place!) and wasn't sure what it was, it definitely worried me along with seeing what the lymph nodes around the spleen were doing over the past 4 weeks. She had her lab draws, urine tests, and abdominal ultrasound Monday. We had been waiting for the results and got them at her regular monthly visit today. She likely has a lipoma (which is what I felt) and the lymph nodes have not changed much. Lauren will be able to get her port (central line) out in 2-3 weeks and then she will go every 6 weeks for a regular check up and every 3 months for scans (CXR and US alternating with CT scan). So the news is good, we will just continue to watch her and hope for a full remission:)

SNOW!

The kids were super excited to play in the snow. It lasted for a day, and was a total hit! I bought Brady some new snow pants just in time. . .now to buy some 'real' gloves:) Lauren used Brady's old pants and Courtney stayed inside.

Halloween Festivities!

Of course, as usual there is an overabundance of photos. . .a little behind on the blogging;) Here are just a few shots of the Halloween festivities:

Brady as "The Knight" (as he said it), Courtney as a little ladybug, and Lauren as Snow White

Brady got to walk in a parade with all the other elementary kids. We got a quick glimpse as his class walked thru the halls of the school, picking up each class of on the way and ending in his class. We also got to see him perform a dance to Thriller too. He did an awesome job! It was SO cute to see him perform.

Brady in his Kindergarten class. .. he is in the way back by his teacher's assistant in the waldo costume.

Grandma Venita and Lauren after her Preschool ProgramLauren and Ms. Wendy- her teacher (she also has 2 student teachers who help in her class)Lauren and her preschool class (note the 3 Snow White's. . .the only repetitive costume. Brady was one of 3 superman's when he went to preschool at Ms. Wendy's too)Snow White at the beginning of her program. I thought she would do all the actions and sing all the songs, since she had been doing it at home everyday. She acted a little tired, and maybe stage fright??? There were TONS of people there watching it. . .parents, grandparents, siblings. Luckily we got there just in time to get one of the last seats. Most people had to stand for the program because there were so many people. We brought mummies (a version of pigs in the blanket with little smokies, complete with 2 mustard dots for eyes) and cheese for a refreshment. They were SO cool looking and quite a hit, they were gone super fast.Nick, Brady, and Lauren at Grandma Jenny's and Papa Greg's pre-Halloween partyMe and the kids at the annual Make-a-Wish trick or treating party. We weren't going to go because it was a couple busy hectic days that week, but cousin Riley wanted someone to hang out with. We met up with Becah, Marc and Riley. The kids got to get some candy, fish, and play a tossing game. They had fun so I am glad we went.Brady "fishing"Lauren tossing a beanbag in the pumpkins mouthAnd our final Halloween outing was trunk or treating at the church. No need to go door to door this year. The kids were completely satisfied with the little church outing. I made homemade chicken noodle soup and we had a yummy dinner. Thankfully they didn't get too much candy:)