2-Wheelin' Around

Poor Lilly has been trying to learn to ride her bike without training wheels since late last summer.  She was starting to get the hang of it, then broke her arm and was unable to ride for 7 weeks.  When her cast was removed in October, she again tried to ride with two-wheels.  She would do okay, but wouldn't pedal hard enough to keep going.  So we moved her to the grass, where she couldn't just coast.  It worked, but she couldn't go more than about 30' by herself and we still had to push her off to start.  Well, we had snow the first weekend in November and it didn't leave (as I type, we are getting snow...on April 28...)  But we have had a few good days here and there this spring.  Lilly was doing quite well again and then...her stitches.  Since she was still learning, and learning means wipe-outs, I wasn't about to let her ride with the stitches in. 

Finally, on Monday, it was nice, there wasn't snow on the ground or rain in the sky, and we had no plans for the evening.  Lilly put on her helmet, walked her bike to the grass and said, "I'm ready Mom!"  I pushed her off once and that was it.  She rode the entire length of the front yard, made a turn (her first successfully) at the end and rode back to me.  Then she pushed herself off and did it again.  After a few times, she asked if she could go in the driveway.  She's a pro!  It just clicked and she's doing so great now! 

We are so proud of her!

You Put Your Right Foot In...

Our weather has been crazy, going back and forth between snow and 60 for the last few weeks.  But a little over two weeks ago, it was a nice 60 degree day and Lilly was playing barefoot outside at her friend's house.  They were running around and decided to play with rocks.  Somehow, in the middle of their rock play, a boulder fell onto Lilly's foot just right...and split it open.  We were just getting ready to head into town when we got the phone call:

"Candy, this is ____.  Lilly was playing outside and somehow a rock fell on her foot and split it open.  We didn't think it was that bad, but after we cleaned it up, we thought we'd better call.  I think she needs stitches.  I am SO sorry!"

After assuring her it happens and we weren't upset, we got in the truck and drove over to check it out.  It took us about 2 seconds to agree with their assessment and we gathered her things to bring her to the hospital.  Her friend wanted to come along to the hospital, so we loaded everyone and started the drive. 

To keep Lilly's mind off her foot, we made the 40 min drive as fun as possible.  We sang songs, told silly stories, talked about school and found ABCs on road signs.  When we got to the hospital, they gave us a big exam room so everyone could be with Miss Lilly.  We all guessed how many stitches she'd need and Daddy won with a guess of 5--she needed 6!  His prize was to carry Lilly from the hospital and pay for our supper at McDonalds!  haha

On the way home, Lilly wanted to continue her sleep-over and we told her that was fine.  However, once we were closer to home she decided she wanted to come home with us.  We dropped her friend off, again assured our friends that all was fine and went home. 

Lilly was such a trooper the whole time!  She was great about letting us take care of her foot and always made sure to be extra careful with it.  She had her stitches in for 12 days and had them removed this past Wednesday.  The doc said all looked well.

Swim Lessons

Today is Day #2 of swimming lessons for Mikayla and Lilly.  They both are so excited and can't wait.  Since we live in the middle of nowhere, there weren't any lessons within 30 miles that were held in the winter.  After some talk (for several years) there are now finally lessons available at the area motel!  Every Monday the girls go for the next 7 weeks.  I am just as excited as they are.

I'll be sure to get some pics tonight (I missed last week--their first lesson--because of a migraine.  It killed me to not be there!)  I guess Lilly did awesome last week, and Mikayla did very well...as long as she stayed in the pool.  She apparently would do what was asked, then run to make sure my mom (who took them b/c Andy was working) saw everything she did.  We're going to work on that tonight.

*Knock Knock* Hello?!

Is anyone still out there? I know, I know...It's been a long time since I updated. Over a month and a half. Ouch. We have been busy and while that's not an excuse, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

But I've been informed that people have missed our little family. And I've missed blogging. So I'm going to make a bigger effort to keep this thing caught up again. But in doing so, I'm going to do one update post right now, with some pics, and then we'll be off again on the daily what-nots.

So what's been happening since Lilly turned 6? Well, she had her friends over for a friend party. And she was able to officially join 4H as a Cloverbud. Alayna started basketball, which has kept us running at least 3x a week for after school practices and 5 Saturdays in a row for tournaments. We celebrated Halloween, where we dressed up as the 3 Blind Mice, the farmer and the farmer's wife (complete with a cardboard and aluminum foil carving knife) Mid-November brought us our first snowfall of the year--10" worth--and a great day in the snow. The snow is still around and today we are dealing with freezing rain on top of it. I started watching a new little girl for daycare and last week interviewed a new little boy who will start after Thanksgiving. I also found out one of my families has a brother who will need childcare for his son come January--so I feel very blessed to be keeping busy. Andy shot a very nice buck on opening day of deer season, and the head is in my freezer. Yes, I'm told it will get mounted. I can't really fight him much because he lets me do just about anything when it comes to decorating the house...

That's the last month in a nut-shell. Now here are some pics and we'll hopefully see you soon, same place and whatever time is convenient for you.

Alayna zooming by with the ball

Lilly wanted a big brownie instead of cake for her party

Halloween 2010

Snow!

They Say it's your Birthday

Six years ago today, we welcomed this brown-eyed beauty into our lives. She made quite the statement as soon as she was born, and she's been doing so ever since. I cannot imagine our lives without our fun-loving, beautiful, creative, smart, sweet and loving Lilly-kins. She's one of a kind, and I'm so glad she's ours!

Happy Birthday Lilly! We love you as big as the universe!

Arm Yourselves

So Miss Lilly has officially been cast free for a week now. She had it removed last Tuesday, after 4 weeks in the offending Vikings-purple-colored cast. She was so excited to be done with it and able to go about her life. But honestly, the cast didn't stop her. She still went on the monkey-bars (but only once, until our friend caught her and gently told her it wasn't a good idea!) and climbed trees and played just as she always does. In a way, I was glad she was going about life and not feeling sorry for herself. But I'm also a mom, so I was trying not to hover while she was playing and climbing, praying for her to not re-injure her arm.

Last Tuesday while at the clinic, our doctor was examining her newly exposed arm. When he declared Lilly fit and fine, she asked, "So I can climb trees and go on monkey bars all I want now?"

The doctor looked at me, now totally understanding why at 2 wks, when he said we could take the cast off and she could wear a brace but he was concerned about re-injury, we didn't bat an at leaving it on longer. "Well, maybe give it a day or two to get used to being an arm again, how about that?"

Lilly held up two fingers and counted off, "Today is Tuesday, so then on Thursday I can go on the monkey bars again?"

I love our doctor. He smiled and nodded, you could tell he was holding back a laugh. "Yes, on Thursday you can go on the monkey bars." Then he turned to me and said, "No offense, but hopefully we don't see you sooner than later!"

That Lilly girl of ours is so much fun. She told me just yesterday how much more fun she's having at recess now that she can climb and play like normal. She's also been working hard on her biking, being able to go about 20-30 feet with two-wheels before gently crashing. I'm sure that will be the next Lilly post--riding a 2-wheeler!

No More 4K, but 4 & K!

The girls started school this week, Alayna in 4th grade and Lilly in Kindergarten. They were both very ready to go back, and honestly, so was I. By the end of the summer, it's been a little too much time with everyone together and the bickering is more often and louder and everything not good. We were all ready for it to be back to school time!



Alayna has had quite the change over the summer! Her teeth have moved considerably with her braces. They are not only straight, but almost lined up and touching like 2 front teeth should be. She also had quite a growth spurt and grew about 2.5" since the end of school. It made for a huge wardrobe change, but we made it work. She's now 4'9" and quickly creeping up on her Gramma for height!



Lilly also had a huge summer and she's more than ready for Kindergarten! She's 4 foot even now and continues to color and do art whenever she can. Her lost tooth and broken arm add lots of fun questions for people to ask when we meet them in the store or at the school for Open House. Her most anticipated part of starting school is getting to go every day!

Mikayla looks a little upset in this picture, but she's not. She's actually in the middle of making a silly face at me (go figure, right?)

She was quite fine with sending the girls off, only needing her "bap-cack" for the picture. As soon as the big girls were on the bus, she clapped her hands and said, "Mommy, let's go eat some brefast, just us two! Then we can play a game!"

Fair-ly Late Post

Finally! I have some fair pictures! This year, Alayna was an Explorer, which is kind of like being in 4H Junior High. She was able to bring more projects, including 1 animal besides Little Britches, and had to fill out a record book, but she still had some limitations on what she could do. Next year, she's a full-fledged 4H'er and can do what she wants. This year, she brought a plate of 3 cookies that she baked herself (she was so proud!), a sequence of 3 pictures of our crab apple tree in various stages of bloom, a birdhouse she built with my dad's help, and an informational book about Manatees. I neglected to get a picture of her with her items, but she did a great job. This is the first year she also gets ribbons for placing, instead of just participating and she got all Blues! Great job, Alayna!


Alayna also was able to show her horse, Chloe, for the first time. She showed in Showmanship, Equitation, Western Pleasure and Horse Judging. Chloe was a little anxious with all the horses and not listening too well, but they did a great job. She got one red, 2 white and 1 pink ribbon. Alayna was very pleased with her first year showing horse, and we were so proud of her!






Both Lilly & Alayna showed a calf for Little Britches on Sunday morning. They worked with their calves over the summer and spent a lot of time getting them to lead, being used to getting handled and washed, etc. Lilly's calf was Crash and Alayna's was Eddie, both named after the crazy possum duo from Ice Age 2 & 3, which are favorite movies in our household.

Lilly in the show-ring
Alayna in the show-ring

Next year, we'll be even busier because Lilly will be a Cloverbud and able to bring some projects to the fair, and Alayna will be a regular 4H participant. She's already thinking about things she wants to bring! As for me, I usually bring a photo or two for the Open class, not because I want to win but because an exhibitor's pass is cheaper than a traditional season pass. Scandalous, I know. But, this year I actually got third place with this photo!

Sorry to Break it to You

I know, I still owe pictures from the fair, but I'm still going through them and making them suitable for this public forum (ie: taking out last names on things, county name, etc. Can't be too careful) But I wanted to put this on here in the meantime, since poor Bloggy has been ignored.

About a week and a half ago, I went on a scrapbooking weekend with some friends. It was so nice to get away for a few days and relax, work on my books and just rejuvenate. I talked with Andy and the girls each day (I was gone Thurs night to Sun) and they all assured me everything was fine. Then I got home. Andy didn't want to worry me with small details, so he didn't mention a few things until I came home.

1) Alayna had a mishap with a screw driver and had a small hole in the palm of her hand. He assured me that antibacterial cream and a band-aid were immediately applied. She looked fine and said it was fine, so I was good with that.

2) Mikayla had a bloody nose just a few hours before I arrived home, the result of her face and the carseat that was being removed from the car crashing together. Again, she seemed fine and all was good.

3) Lilly fell on her arm at an odd angle Saturday night while at a wedding dance. She cried and didn't use it for awhile, but Andy and a chiropractor at the dance took a look at her arm and she seemed fine. Then she fell on the arm again right before I got home, but again, besides some swelling she was fine.

Yeah, well, then Lilly fell on her arm again the next Wednesday, causing it to swell again. It started to worry me then, but she continued to use her arm and not complain about any pain or soreness. The week passed and she continued to seem fine, besides some slight swelling in her arm. The older girls had appointments scheduled yesterday for their school physicals, so I asked the doctor to take a look. He called for x-rays and brought Lilly in to take a look.

"Well, I don't know if it happened the first, second or third time she fell," the doctor said when he came back in, "but it's broken." He said the pain wasn't too bad because the bones were in-line and not misaligned, which causes more pain. We felt awful, but he said it was nothing to worry about and she'd be fine after a few weeks in a cast. The only color they had?


Yes, purple. She was bummed there wasn't orange, and then she was really bummed that people may think she's a MN Vikings fan! She said we'll have to get a Green Bay sticker to show how she really feels. That's our girl--a klutz and a Packer fan!

She's such a loser!!

Lilly has had two loose teeth for a few weeks now. One of them became VERY loose last weekend when she was eating corn on the cob at our friends' cabin. Her eyes flew open and she exclaimed that she broke her teeth! In reality, one of those teeth just became much more loose.

Since that night, she's gone back and forth between nervous and excited for that tooth to be gone. She'd want us to wiggle it, then twist it, then run away in fear, then come back for more. Finally, last night, she decided she wanted Daddy to pull it when we realized her big tooth was already about 1/3 of the way in behind the baby tooth.


Daddy innocently wiggled the tooth a few times, and when she wasn't expecting it, he just yanked and out it came! It was so quick that Lilly didn't do anything for about 10 seconds--we think she was too shocked that it was out. Then she got a huge smile and ran to look in the mirror. After examining her new look, she had to call her Grammas and Grampas and Aunties. She was so excited! The tooth went under her pillow and this morning she reported that she got $2 in quarters from the Tooth Fairy.

She has another loose tooth, the one next to her gap. She's already planning on when and how that one will come out. She says she wants to pull it out this time, unless Daddy wants to. We'll see.

We have a graduate on our hands!

Lilly flashing us the "I Love You" sign

Lilly graduated from her 4K program last week. It was so cute to see her up there with her class, performing their little program and accepting their diplomas. She is so sad to not see her friends for the summer, but she Can. Not. Wait. to start kindergarten! Congrats Lilly!

That's Our Girl!!

I had to make a grocery shopping excursion last night. It was one of those that we needed a few things, but there were several things that were on the cusp. "We could use some bread." "We only have a few eggs left." You know how it goes. And since I was going to make it a big trip, I decided to add in our camping list for next weekend, too. Why not? It'll save me time next week.

As we were getting ready to go, Alayna ran upstairs to grab her purse. She's quite the saver and has some money left over from her basketball cookie dough sales incentive back in December. She was determined to find a special something for the upcoming summer. Well, Lilly heard that and decided, for the first time, that she also wanted to bring some of her money she's saved up. She asked if it was okay, I told her it was, and she ran up to her room.

"I got the one with a 5, is that okay?" she asked.

When we got to the store, she was scouring the racks, looking for that perfect thing she could buy with her own money. Alayna quickly found herself a pair of black flip-flops with a 2" heel for $8. Lilly didn't want shoes, she didn't want a new shirt. She wasn't sure what she wanted.

I finished my shopping and we were headed to the check-out line when Lilly said, "Wait! I see it!"

She ran to the rack, grabbed her purchase, and we headed to the check-out. Lilly waited patiently in line ahead of me, nervous but excited to make her first exchange by herself. She put the prize on the conveyor belt, waited until the clerk said the total, then handed over her $5 bill. She waited anxiously for her change, accepted that and her bag, said thank you and then helped me finish unloading the cart.

I was so proud of her! She was very grown-up and professional, remembering her manners and to speak clearly and loudly. I was also proud of her choice for that very first purchase: King-sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They are one of mine and Andy's favorites. Yum. And she even told me, "Mommy, I won't eat these all at once. Just one at a time so I don't get a belly-ache." Is she really that old and mature already?!

Mommy, Where's Jesus?

The other day, I heard about a website that you can play the original Super Mario Brothers on. I loved that game as a kid, but we didn't have a Nintendo. I would play at friends' houses or sometimes we'd rent one from the video store. I loved it. So when I found out I could play on-line, I thought I'd try it out. Of course, the kids wanted to play, too.

Lilly was playing it this afternoon and she hit one of the blocks that a vine pops out of. You climb up the vine and into the clouds, kinda like Jack in the Beanstalk. When Lilly was playing and got into the clouds, she goes, "Mommy, where's Mario's Jesus? He's supposed to be up in heaven!"

Let me tell you, it made this momma proud to hear her ask that question!

K is for Kindergarten

It's official--Lilly will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. We recently had her orientation and sign-up, though there wasn't much to do since she's currently enrolled in the school's 4K program. Her teacher told me about the screening they did at school, and Lilly's doing great! She got 50 out of 50 on her screening, which tested things like her knowledge of shapes, colors, spatial relations (above/under, before/after, etc) and basic understanding of word and letter concepts. We all expected her to do well on the screening, since she's known all of those things for months, including knowing and writing all her letters and numbers, and reading beginning words like spot, cat, that, hop...

Signing her up for Kindergarten made it all seem more real. Yes, she's been going to school 2 days a week since September. And yes, she was 5 years old in October. But Kindergarten is so official. It's that first real year of school. She's still my little girl, but she's my big little girl, now. She's reading and writing and making friends and learning basic math. We're so very proud of her!

Tale as Old as Time

On Saturday, my mom, Alayna, Lilly and I went to see Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" musical. Alayna had gone to her first show, The Lion King, a few years ago and Lilly has been so excited for her first musical since that day. Well, B&B was it.

When we walked into the doors of The Ordway in St Paul, she was overwhelmed with all the people, the decorations, the size of the theater. We found our seats and both girls quickly started asking, "How much longer?" "When will it start?" Thankfully, it was only about 15 minutes.

Throughout the show, Alayna and Lilly were just enthralled. Alayna, being older, was a little more reserved. Lilly, however, was not. She clapped, she smiled, she jumped, she laughed! At the end of the show, when the castle inhabitants defeated the villagers, she exclaimed, "The castle WON!" and when the beast turned into a man, she was jumping up and down, clapping. I think her first major musical was a success.

School Programs!

Both of the girls have had their Christmas programs in the past 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry for Alayna's that I forgot my camera. I was so upset. But, she did a great job singing and dancing to the songs. She was also a line-leader for a certain part of their program and she did a great job keeping in time and doing what she was supposed to. It even earned her picture to be published in the local paper! Great job, Alayna!

Lilly's first school program was Thursday night, with just the 4K students. They sang several songs and did some finger plays. It was adorable to hear all the little ones singing their hearts out! After they sang, we went into the commons area of the school and Santa was there! The younger girls sat on his lap, while Alayna was helping get things ready for the other parts of the evening. After Santa, we ate snacks and decorated Gingerbread houses. It was a great night!

Kid Jokes Are the Best

Lilly: Knock, Knock

Mommy: Who's there?

L: Cow.

M: Cow who?

L: Cow milking on you!

We all do the obligatory laugh, even though the joke makes no sense. But to her, she just did stand-up on the Jay Leno Show. So because we all laughed, she tells everyone the joke. Over and over. And she's so proud of her own made-up joke. I love that kid.

Let's See...

...where did I leave off almost a week ago?  Oh yes, our middle baby girl turned 5.  Oh, the things that have happened since then.  It seems like it was a few weeks ago instead of just 5 days.  In those 5 days we went on a mini family vacation, dealt with a very sick child, got SNOW!, bought some furniture, did some home improvement projects, and we hosted a birthday party.  Whew, I needed the week to start to give me a break from my weekend!

The girls didn't have school on Thursday and Friday because of the WI state teacher's convention, so we took advantage of the opportunity (and a great deal I found on-line) to trek north to Duluth and the Edgewater Resort and Waterpark.  We stayed Wednesday night through Friday morning.  My parents joined us and we had a great time playing in the water, swimming, doing a little shopping (including purchasing a few Christmas presents!) and spending time at Canal Park to see a ship come into port.  We also celebrated Lilly's birthday, since we went up on Wednesday afternoon!

However, on Wednesday night, Lilly started complaining that she was very tired and cold.  By Thursday morning she had a high fever and wasn't able to keep anything in her stomach.  I felt so bad for her, as she was the most excited about the waterpark trip and had been talking for a year, since our last visit, about going back.  She was able to play a little on Wed afternoon and Thursday morning before she was too sick to continue.  So while the other kids and boy adults played in the water, Lilly spent time with Mommy or Gramma in the room watching movies, coloring and playing games.  We took her to the doc on Friday when we got home and they tested her for the flu, did a finger prick and eventually a throat culture, determining she had a severe case of strep throat.  After only a day of antibiotics, she was back to her normal, spunky self!

Saturday morning we woke up to 2" of snow on the ground!  The girls were so excited to see the white stuff make it's first, very early appearance of the season.  They were hoping it would stay and didn't quite understand when I told them that it would stick around for a little while, but would melt by mid-afternoon because the ground wasn't frozen yet.  But it was fun to play in a little bit and look at.

Later on Saturday, I was listening to the radio on our way to my in-laws' house and I heard that a furniture store about an hour away was going out of business and having some great deals.  So, I talked with Andy and off the girls, my MIL and I went to see if there was anything good for us.  There was.  I came home a few hours later with a great cocoa colored micro-fiber sectional sofa.  We love it.  It's so nice and comfy and looks just great.  It's only the second brand-new item of furniture that we have purchased in our 9+ years of being together, our bed being the first.  The couches that we replaced had rips in the cushions and the slip covers and were bought at a garage sale about 3 years ago.  Yeah, it was time for new.  This new piece is big enough that it helps this awkward family room seem not so long and skinny, but not so big that it seems out of place.  So Merry Christmas to Andy and I! 

As most of you know, we have lived in our house for almost 5 years (we got the phone call from our realtor that our offer was accepted while I was in labor with Lilly!) and we've slowly been making changes to update the house and make it our own.  The bathroom light fixtures have always been a sore spot for me, in particular.  The upstairs bathroom has a large vanity and mirror, and the lights were globes on chains that were both hung to the left of the sink.  It made for an unevenly lighted room.  It also made for ugly because the globes had brown flowers painted on them.  Two weeks ago a light bulb burned out for the first time, so I pounced on it and pronounced it time for a new fixture!  So we found one we liked, as well as a matching dome light for above the toilet (there was a globe there that matched the others...bleck)  The only requests I had at the time of purchase was that my darling husband not try to install it when I wasn't there to help him or call 911 if needed, and I wanted it up in time for Lilly's party, which was yesterday.  So you guessed it, he chose yesterday morning at 8am, right before church, to install the lights.  But they are up and they are lovely, though the lighting is so good now that I can see every flaw in my body and bag under my eyes in alarming detail.

The old lights, though you can't see the "pretty" design on them.  It's the only pic I could find that showed them.

And all of that happened before the main event of the weekend--Lilly's birthday party.  This girl had me going in all directions.  First she wanted a lawn-mower birthday party, then a Dora party, then Dora on a lawn-mower, a pumpkin party like last year and finally she settled on a princess theme.  So I bought some princess napkins and made some princess cupcakes and cake.  We had a great time with our family and friends who came over to help us celebrate our little girl's life!  Thanks, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Lilly-kins!

Today, we officially became the parents of a five-year-old.  Almost 6 years ago, we went through a lot of excitement and turmoil in the few short months from October to January.  But at the end of it all was a healthy, very exciting and somewhat scary pregnancy.  That pregnancy went just fine, though, and the fears were unfounded.  Then I went into labor and we had a pretty terrifying experience.  But really, that went just fine, too.  And we were blessed with our beautiful, brown-eyed little girl.

Through the years, Lilly has grown into such a wonderful person.  She's funny and caring.  She loves to help people.  She learns more and more every day.  She loves to snuggle.  She's incredibly sweet.  She's the perfect person for our family.  We love you, Lilly!  We're so proud to call you our daughter and your sisters are so lucky to have you as a sibling.  Happy 5th Birthday--you're a whole hand old now!!

Our Little All-Stars

The Harlem Ambassadors, a professional show basketball team, was in a nearby town this past week.  We had won tickets to attend, and Alayna won a ticket at school, so off we went for a night of basketball and laughs.  Since Alayna won a ticket at school for answering some questions correctly, she was also able to sit on the bench with the players and be in on their huddles.  She thought that was really neat!

Between the first and second quarters, the team pulled the students sitting with them on the bench onto the court for a game of musical chairs.  They needed another child to complete the game, so they walked right over to Lilly, who was minding her business and dancing to the music, and asked her if she'd like to play!  So off she marched with Crystal, one of the players, onto the court for a game of musical chairs.  And guess what?  Lilly won.  She beat out Alayna, who came in fourth...

...and 6 other kids to win an autographed photo of Lade Majic, the team's coach and player.  She was so excited! 

Mikayla, on the other hand, was quite upset that both of her sister's were on the court and she wasn't.  It's so hard being the baby.

If the Harlem Ambassadors are in your area, I'd highly recommend going to watch the show.  They are family friendly, funny and talented with their basketball skills.  The girls had a blast, as did I, and the entire crowd was laughing through the whole game (which was played against local police officers, firefighters, business people, etc)