Cadynce Update

I took Cadynce to the dentist today and four of her teeth are loose.  They took x-rays and everything looks good.  They think her teeth will tighten up on their own, but we have to keep our eye on them to make sure they don't turn brown or get infected.  She doing great and she really loves taking care of her stitches:)

All Stitched Up!

Last night while playing outside Cadynce decided to stand up in her little wagon.  Now Cadynce knows why I told her not to stand in it just the other day.  My words are are never enough for this girl...she likes to learn the hard way.  The wagon slipped from under her and she plummeted to the ground.  Her chin took the hit.  I was inside while this all happened and Don brought her inside so we could check her out.  Her mouth was quite bloody so we were trying to figure out where it was coming from.  She must of hit her bottom tooth somehow and her gums were bleeding.  We looked at her cut under her chin and thought she needed a few stitches.  Don took her to the urgent care which is close to our house.  She did pretty well, but when they had to stick her with a needle several times to numb her and had her restrained she wasn't too happy.  They got her all stitched up and then Don needed a little TLC.  He asked for a little water and they looked at him and told him to lie down because his face was yellow.  They gave him some gatorade and he quickly got back to Cadynce.  On their way home they stopped for some ice cream which always makes everything feel a little better.  What an evening!  Cadynce felt pretty good this morning, but her teeth are pretty sore so she doesn't want to eat food right now.  She had a couple of yogurt drinks before school, and I sent some yogurt with her to school for snack time.  We go to the dentist tomorrow to check her teeth out, and to make sure there's nothing wrong.   She's doing great, and I think she's enjoying her boo boo.  Yes I did take pictures!!  View Album fore more pictures.

Donnie's Trip to the Zoo

While Cadynce was at school Donnie and I went to the zoo.  It's been a while since he had been, and I got to see the zoo through his eyes.  While I love to look at the animals, Donnie sees everything but the animals.  He looks around to see what he could climb, what hill he could run down, or what steps he could practice on.  I just followed him around and let him explore.  He wasn't real impressed with the animals, and he just looked at them not knowing what to think.  There was nobody at the zoo so I just let him do what he loves...run!  View Album for more pictures.

All Boy

It's been really fun seeing how different Donnie and Cadynce are (when Cadynce was Donnie's age).  I have learned that I need to have my camera with me at all times because I never know what Donnie will do next.  This morning we went for a walk to our playground, and Donnie could have cared less about the playground equipment.  So we walked over to the rocks where Cadynce likes to play.  Next thing we know Donnie is in a pretty deep puddle that is between the rocks.  His shoes and socks were soaked...again!  That wouldn't be a problem, but they are the only shoes that fit him now.  He played there the whole time.  He got out of the puddle and climbed on the rocks, then stepped back down in the puddle, over and over and over again.  He found some rocks and really had fun throwing them into the water...I wish I had brought my camera!  I plan on looking like a tourist the rest of his life so I don't miss those little moments.  (We did make a trip to the store today and bought him some shoes since the other pair are in the dryer most of the time.)

Yesterday while Don was mowing the grass, Donnie decided he wanted to help.  He loves pushing his little mower around the yard (or street).  He is a very busy kid.  He is either going, going, going or he is taking a nap...no in between with him.

We Love the Rain!

This is what a boy looks like after sticking his face in a puddle.  All this rain has given us hours of fun outside playing in puddles, and I love watching Donnie open his mouth and try to catch the rain on his tongue.  We've been out when it's been a torrential down pour which brings out the differences in the kids. Cadynce would like an umbrella and Donnie runs around giggling as he gets completely soaked.  Yesterday was the dirtiest I've ever seen Donnie.  He was jumping in the puddles, sitting in the puddles, and sticking his face in the puddles.  The fun ended when he wanted me to pick him up...not gonna happen!  We went straight to the bath tub.  View Album for more pictures.

My Baby is Back!

It's been a long six weeks, but Donnie is back to himself again (I almost forgot what he was like!).  Yesterday when he woke up from his nap he was Mr. Personality.  I'm so happy to have my little guy healthy and crazy once again.  We dropped Cadynce off at school this morning and then we went to the park to play.  He did as much climbing as he could, and then we went for a walk through the woods.  He loves the outdoors.  While on our walk he looked for every bump, hole and rock to step in, on or over.  My goal is to use the time Cadynce is at school to explore with Donnie and do what he loves.  It's his time to have ALL of my attention.  His vocabulary has exploded in the past month (I'm probably the only one who knows what he's saying).  I feel like he's this giant little boy...I think he's really tall right now for his age.  I just stare at this cute little boy and I can't believe he's only 15 months old.  Well, I could talk all day about Donnie, but I will spare you every little detail about him.  On to Cadynce...

Cadynce LOVES school.  She is only there on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9-12.  She is excited to go, but she's always excited to see me when I pick her up (that's not something I'm used to).  When we get home from school we have lunch together, and we talk about her day and everything she did at school.  She loves her teacher, and when I pick her up from school she is always sitting with Mrs. April reading a book...today she was sitting in her lap with a look on her face that showed she was completely into the story.  I could see the questions forming in her expression.  She is curious about everything and wants to know how everything works.  We've talked about surgery, car accidents (we see many), and what to do in an emergency.  If I fall and knock myself out, I know I am in good hands.  She knows who to call and our address to get them here.  We have such great conversations in the car!!

Tubes in Donnie's Ears

Yesterday morning we took Donnie to have tubes put in his ears.  We were at the hospital at 6 am and they took him back at 7.  We were in the recovery room for about 10 minutes and the doctor showed up.  It took less than 15 minutes to put the tubes in his ears.  When he woke up they said I could go pick him up and the first thing he said was "Daaaadaaaa"  while trying to hold his head up.  He was still pretty out of it so I sat with him and gave him a juice box.  He chugged the juice and when it was empty he threw it and started screaming.  They brought him another one and he was still mad so he squeezed it all over us.  Then he was mad about the thing on his toe that was monitoring his pulse.  To make it worse all he wanted to do was walk.  He kept screaming "walk" and squirming to get down.  It was just a few minutes and they let us go home.  It was a quick and easy visit.  His tubes should stay in for about a year.  Hopefully we don't have to deal with any more ear infections and I can have my happy little boy back...it's been a while.  View Album for more pictures.  Click here for videos (unrelated to ear surgery).

First Day of School

This morning was Cadynce's first day of school.  She was so excited this morning when she woke up.  We were busy all morning getting ready until it was time to leave.  When we got to school I signed her in, cleaned her hands, then she finds her name tag to give to Mrs. April and tell her good morning.  I hardly even got a kiss good-bye from her...she was ready to have fun.  The kids are free to play with whatever they want for about an hour.  There is an art room full of all kinds of stuff (paints, play-doh, crayons, markers, stamps) and they are encouraged to do whatever they would like.  There is a bigger room that is full of different activities, toys, and imaginary play.  They have snack time, chapel time, and outdoor play before meeting with just their class of nine kids and their teacher.

While Cadynce was at school, Donnie and I got to sit and read the same book over and over and over again without any interruptions.  He kept saying "ith.  ba-ba" which means "Sis, bye-bye."  We then went to playgroup, and he got to have some play time with the other little ones.  Soon it was time to pick up Cadynce, and Donnie was so happy to have his "Sis" back.  They giggled at each other the whole ride home.  When we got home Cadynce said, "thank you for taking me to school Mommy."  View Album for more pictures. (I wish I had control over the order of the pics in the album...they are not in order).

Labor Day Weekend

What a long weekend!  I'm not sure why it seemed so long because Don was out of town until Sunday afternoon.  Sunday night we went to the 11th annual Labor Day weekend party that a co-worker of Don's has each year.  There were so many fun things to keep all the kids busy (bounce house, slip n slide, pool, and video games).  They had lifeguards on duty to watch the kids while swimming, and also hired people to do the cooking and serve drinks.  It was one awesome party and we all had fun.  We took Cadynce with us and decided to have our neighbor come over and watch Donnie.  We thought he would be too young for the fun and he would be miserable if he went...that was a good decision!!  Two 12 year old girls asked if they could take Cadynce with them to play and they kept her busy the rest of the night.  They carried her everywhere, and they took really good care of her.  I think they had just as much fun as she did.  We stayed until Cadynce was cold and wanted to get dressed (about 10 o'clock).  She ran her mouth the entire ride home asking how strong is God?  Can God pick up a house?  Is he strong enough to pick up a car and a building at the same time?  We laughed for the whole 25 minute car ride home.  That little mind isn't so little sometimes!

Monday night we had several of our neighbors over for a "Bring Your Own Meat to Grill" party.  We brought our grill to the front and everyone brought their own food and cooked it up. We sat in front of our house and enjoyed hanging out with our neighbors for a couple of hours.  We've got some great neighbors and we're constantly making excuses to make them come and hang out with us!  View Album for more pictures.  Click here for video.

Preschool Open House

Today we took Cadynce to see her school and to meet her teacher.  All they did was play for about an hour and Cadynce did not want to leave.  Her two favorite things were play-doh and the play kitchen.  She instantly claimed a baby doll as hers and she spent a lot of time cooking and feeding her baby.  Her teacher is Mrs. April and she is great.  We are so happy with this school, and we can't wait for her first day next Wednesday.  I will be the stalker mom who takes a picture of every moment of the day.  View Album for more pictures.

Let's Get Wet!

Donnie is 15 months old today!!  I decided to take out all the sand from the sand table and fill it with water.  As you will see, Donnie loved it so much he climbed right in.  That's not exactly what I had in mind, but he has had an ear infection for over a month now so he deserved a little fun.  It was a like a bath on stilts!  Cadynce wasn't all that into it because it required getting her hands wet, and when her hands were wet she couldn't open the door, and when she couldn't open the door she couldn't get inside to dry them on a towel...waa...waa...waa!  View Album for more pictures.  Click here for videos.