It's been awhile . . .

There has been so much going on with the start of school, Kaylee's birthday, and many other activities.  Here are a few things we have been up to . . .

(in no particular order!)

Mommy and Kaylee before the LCS ice cream social

This is what happens when you have a big sister . . .

Do you see the scowl on his face?  This is his new favorite look.  Take something away from him, and you get this look.  Say "No!," and you get this look.  Put him in a dress, and you get this look!

"I may be humiliated, but I can still ham it up for the camera!"  We took him to get his haircut yesterday in Abilene.  I told her just to trim it up a bit.  And, she kept cutting, and kept cutting.  I kept saying, "I think that is enough."  And she kept going!  It is really short, but I think it makes him look older!

Kaylee had been begging Nathan for a swing for a long time.  He finally got around to building the kids ones.  We still have to buy a couple more swings for it, but here they are checking it out the first night.

Don't mess with a man and his remote!

Just hanging out.  Trying to act like Daddy!

Kaylee's first day of school.

Kaylee's fifth birthday.  Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

We love you!

Dancin' Queen

Kaylee started dance class today.  She is doing a combination tap and ballet class.  I have a feeling this is totally going to be her thing.  She loves to dance.  Nathan's hopes of her being the next Mia Hamm dwindled when she started dancing on the soccer field last year.  However, during dance class, she glowed.  I hope she continues to enjoy it.  Now, if we can just work on her listening skills!!

Fun with Friends

I had a great time last night with my friends from college.  We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then went bowling.  It had been like 10 years since I went bowling (other than playing on the Wii).  It was not a pretty sight.  The gutter is my friend.  Please check out my friend Jennifer's blog for some great pictures of last night and college.  I love these girls and had so much fun!!

Allergy Update

Nolan tested negative for Celiac disease.  Yea!!  However, the doctor referred us to an allergist today at Dallas Medical City.  We were lucky enough to get in today.  Quick synopsis:  We spent about 3 hours at Dr. W's office.  It was very educational.  They first did a complete history and interview. Then, the doctor examined him and looked over his latex reaction.  After examining him, he said, "I am going to have one of my team members take the kids into another room to play because we have a lot to talk about."  My heart sank.  I began the worrying process.  He started by educating us on all allergies.  Then, he discussed what his concerns were for Nolan.  We were told what to avoid and that we would become very acquainted with Whole Foods.  He had one of his educators come in and teach us several things such as: asthma signs to look for, allergy signs to look for, how to use the EpiPen we were given along with a DVD to take home, and 5 yellow credit cards that list all the ingredients he cannot have.  There is a card for milk, wheat, soy, peanut, and egg.  Each card has about 20-30 items to avoid on it.  We were also given instructions on how to bathe him and treat his eczema.  We were given three prescriptions and told to avoid all of these foods for a month.  Then, we will go back and meet with him.  We may be able to begin re-introducing some of the foods (wheat, egg).  However, milk will not be re-introduced until he is at least 4 and that will be a Food Challenge in the office.  He will be closely monitored by medical professionals as spends several hours taking sips of milk every few hours.  Anyway, there is a TON more information, but my brain is overloaded right now.  I promised an update, so I just wanted to give everyone  a quick rundown.  I tried to go to Sprouts tonight and had a bit of a mini-meltdown as I picked up every label to read.  Almost everything I picked up had something on one of the yellow cards.  We may live on fruits and veggies around here for awhile.  Thank goodness Nolan loves fruit and he is getting most of his nutrients from Alimentum right now.  Thank you for all of your support during this new era in our lives!!

Allergies are no fun!

Please say a little prayer for Nolan.  We are waiting on some test results for him.  We went to the doctor last week and she sent us to get bloodwork done to determine what all he is allergic to.  Well, to start off with, we know he is allergic to latex now.  He had a reaction to the latex gloves they used when drawing the blood.  He has all of these sores all over his arms.  You can see where the nurse's fingertips were touching him.  They look like little burns on his arm.  Then, he had scraped his knee last week and I put a band-aid on him.  What started out as a sore the size of a pencil eraser turned into a sore bigger than a quarter and you could see where the band-aid was stuck to him.  The band-aid had latex in it.  So, now we have to find latex-free band-aids.  We got some results on Friday.  Nolan is mildly allergic to egg whites, he is never to let a peanut touch him, and allergic to wheat, corn, and soy.  Those last three things are in every label you pick up!!  I am having a hard time finding snacks for this boy!  We should get the rest of the results today or tomorrow and then discuss more of this with the doctor.  They are testing him for Celiac Disease.  I can live with food allergies, but if it is Celiac disease, which is basically a gluten allergy, that is something he can never outgrow. And, the whole family will have to change our diet to avoid cross-contamination.  At least he is a very happy little boy!  So, please say a little prayer for us.  I will keep everyone updated when we find out.  

 

I like . . .

Dr. Pepper not Pepsi

Fox News not CNN

the Angels not the Yankees

Mac not PC

Dogs not cats

Letterman not Leno (Nathan likes Leno.  This means there is a lot of channeling flipping around 10:35!)

Sean Hannity more than Rush Limbaugh

Hot dogs not hamburgers (unless it is In N Out burgers)

CSI not Law and Order

Baseball not basketball

Nike not Addidas

Lounging by the pool not swimming

Grey's Anatomy not ER

Facebook more than myspace

Taco Bueno not Taco Bell

Hannah Montana not Sponge Bob

Chicken not fish

Wii Fit not PS2

Running on the treadmill not outside

Saturdays not Mondays

Target not Wal-Mart

RV camping not tent camping

I like Mom's chocolate pie, the beach, family dinners, Nathan's work ethic, Nolan's laugh, Kaylee's smile, finishing homework, watching a child finally "get it," Days of Our Lives, American Girl, finding a good deal, wine, Costco, Gymboree, Ann Taylor Loft, Sprouts, teaching, coffee, warm brownies, bare minerals makeup, traveling, time with girl friends, and cooking.

Fun at the Beach

We have been enjoying time in the central California beach town of Cayucos. Nathan's aunt lives there and it has been a family tradition for their family to attend the 4th of July parade and festivities. Nathan's parents rent a beach house and we gladly join them for many fun family activitites. Here are just a few pictures from the week. I will try to post more later!!




Daddy's little surfer girl

Nathan and I at the parade

Kaylee posing in her wetsuit

Can you tell she really loved the wetsuit?

Nolan is thinking, "Sister, get off the Boogie board."

Future Lil' Surfer Man

Kaylee, Me, and Nathan geocaching on the beach

Nolan running to the water to see what Daddy is doing

Daddy and Kaylee going out to Boogie board

Kaylee and Tia Marlene checking out the seals from the pier

Wedding #2

Kaylee was the flower girl for her Uncle Dustin's wedding.  Here are some pictures from the beautiful wedding.  It was an outside wedding and was just gorgeous.  Then, there was dinner and dancing in the ballroom.  Enjoy!

 

Kaylee

The back of Kaylee's dress

The "boys"

Kaylee and Ely

Kaylee and Nolan walking after the wedding

Dustin and his niece and nephews

Nolan dancing with Kelly during the dollar dance

Kaylee and Nana dancing

"Mom, my feet hurt!  I'm taking off my shoes!"

Nathan dancing with his Mom.  This is a rare occurrence to see Nathan dancing, so I had to get a picture!

The grandkids

For my mother-in-law's birthday, Mandy and I took all of the kids to get the pictures made together.  We thought it was going to be a fiasco to get all four kids to smile and participate, but they did amazingly well.  Here are the four grandkids . . .

Wedding #1

Kaylee was the flower girl for Nathan's cousin's wedding. I don't have time to write much now, but here are a few pictures. I will write more later!


Kaylee's hair for the wedding

Can you tell how proud she is of her dress?

Daddy and a tired Kaylee. She danced until about 10:00p.m.

Isn't she beautiful?

Kaylee and her cousin, Ely. She is the flowergirl for her Uncle Dustin this weekend and Ely is the ringbearer. Kaylee keeps telling everyone that she is the flowergirl and Ely is going to be the "dingleberry." I have no idea where she picked that up!

Smurf Girl and Daredevil Boy

Kaylee and Nathan had a Daddy and Daughter day on her last day of preschool.  As they were driving home, he thought she seemed really quiet.  He looked back to see her coloring herself with a blue marker.  It was everywhere!  He was less than thrilled to take her home and try to get all of the marker off!

Nolan is my climber.  I know he is trying to scare me to death.  Today, I was able to catch some shots of him climbing to his favorite climbing place in the playroom.  Seriously.  I know my hair is getting more grey everyday!

These are a little out of order and some of them are not too clear because I was trying to hurry and take the pics to catch Nolan in action.

Here he is after climbing over the couch.

Kaylee needed to get in on the picture action.

Smurf girl

Here is the first picture I caught of him climbing up the couch.  He is on the arm of it here.

And, on the back of the couch.  "Oh man, she sees me.  She is going to make me get down!"

"I'll just hurry and take a little peak to see if I can see Daddy mowing out there."

"Hmm . . . maybe I should just balance and walk all the way across the back of the couch."

On a different note, I am so ready for school to be out!! 

We do not get out until June 5 this year and the students are 

beginning to lose their minds.  

And so are the teachers!! ;-)