The PERFECT Tree!

We are festive around here! Yay! Matthew and his family have been going to the same tree lot to get thri Christmas tree for years. We have followed the same guy from location to location to get our fresh full beautiful Oregon pines... but not this year!

Last year Matthew casually mentioned that a man he works with has a tree farm. It's a little ways away but that it might be fun to go. Ever loyal, we didn't... no one pushed the issue. But this year, Ami wanted to shake tings up! The idea of all the kids walking together through the field of pines sounded like a great idea! Being able to pick the tree and have them cut it down right in front of you, fun! Everyone must have been ready for a change because it didn't take much convincing!

We all hopped in our cars and made the treck. We could tell when we were getting close when we passed car after car with big beautiful trees on their roof! Yay!

It was a little crazy and a little cold, the stroller definately isn't made for four-wheeling! At one point after the tree was picked out I was carrying Asher and pushing that stroller on uneven ground. It was HARD. Train wreck. But definately an adventure! And actually, now that I think about it, why didn't I make Duncan get his tush out of the stroller and walk so I could put Asher in?? Seriously? Duh! (Why was Duncan even in the stroller in the first place?)

I found the most perfect tree, EVER! It grew about a foot and a half from it's twin and I wanted to be the one to seperate them. I was hoping that, having grown so close together, he would be kind of flat on one side, allowing us to tuck him in the corner.

We went and paid, they came, chopped him down and he belonged to us! YES!

It then got REALLY cold because the sun had gone down! The littles and I sat in the car for a little while waiting for the whole family to get all of their trees strapped to the roof of their vehicles and then we were on our way home.

I had no idea how perfect the tree was until we actually set it up. It's full and round... except for one, very flat, side. We can put this big pretty tree about a foot away from the wall! YES!

We hung the lights and started decorating while Duncan was napping and the look on his face when he woke up was priceless. It took him a minute to notice but when he did he looked up at it, his eyes got wide and he said "Woooooooow..." Better than expected! So cute.

We didn't get a chance to decorate it that night, and miraculously, when I came home (from my Family Advisory Council training, squeee) the tree was trimmed! I asked if Matthew took pictures and the answer was no. NO?! Really? Boo! Oh well. It's cute, even though there aren't any ornaments until about 3 feet up!

One thing is for sure, it's far more pokey than the trees we get from the lot, my knuckles were sore from what little I did and Matthew's arms were all scratched from putting on the lights! LouAnn said she and Megan wore gloves and kind of tossed to lights toward the tree! So funny. Oh well, I think the pokey is worth it for the experience!

Look who had the camera...


Which means we have a ton, TON, of this little guy! (Not all in focus...)


Like this one of Melissa.


She's gonna love this one!


This is a good one of Ian and I though!


Self-portrait of her and weirdo Duncan. (See his owie on his lip?) I love that Dylan's looking at them like 'whatever!' We need a close up of her!


There we go! Cutie!


And from another angle.


I wanted to show how close these trees were, there's ours on the right being chopped down! It's that close to our wall! Awesome!


Some growing left to do before we drive...


He was having a blast!


Asher thought it was prickly too! We were laughing at his faces!


The lights were the best part! (Again, monkey feet!)


Finished! Nothing too fancy, isn't it dreamy? (Dying at the lack of ornaments on the bottom!)


And we had to do something different with our stockings this year. Little miss is tall enough to pull everything down! Things are just going to get higher and higher every year! I think they look PERFECT up in the window though!

T-day!

Thinks have been kind of boring around here! I'm not gonna lie, it's nice! The boys were a little sick for a couple of days which means that Dylan has taken longer than a week to get over a random runny nose. Runny noses for her though is torture since that nose thing is rather useless to begin with!

She wanders around blowing her nose as hard as possible which I guess makes it easier to clean up after right? She's so good about having her nose wiped too, always has been. Asher could use a lesson!

For Thanksgiving we went over to mom's house for some yummy food. I had made cookies the day before and managed to cut out a few trains and a few of the letter D for Duncan so he could have his own special cookies. It was pretty cute.

Duncan managed to fall pretty good and draw some blood from inside his lip. It's all bruised up on the outside.

Melissa made a special request so I brought a few left-overs over there which she and Eden promptly split and hid. Ha! Not my business, Mel did specifically comment on them so she could do with them what she wishes!

I also made pumpkin brownies that Ami gave me a recipe for and they were a big hit. I figured they would be, I am not a big pumpkin fan, and I LOVE these! Especially the cream cheese frosting. SO good! And pretty easy too!

Jess and I hit Target in the middle of the night again and rolled back home around 3, not too shabby! When Asher quits waking up at 5, I am going to make her do an all nighter. (Jess, you've been warned!)

Friday night we went to LouAnn's for Chinese food and all came out smelling like grease. It's the price you pay for all the crab and cream cheese wontons you want!

We plan on going for our Christmas tree this afternoon, maybe we will be able to pull of a great family picture! We will see, family pictures take an army of smiling, goo-ing, clapping people these days!

It's almost getting impossible to keep track of all the funny things that Duncan says these days. He's all about making up stories and sayings and he says all kinds of random things all day long. And stuff that isn't funny except it's coming from a four year old... who apparently thinks he's an adult!

He said "mom, what's that you have in your hands?" I said, this is chicken, for tonight." and he points at his cookie and he said "that's my cookie, from the day"

I was in with Dylan doing her business and he came walking in with the cracker box up his shirt. He smiled at me and said "mom look, I ate too many crackers!" which really made me laugh, like a lot.

I slipped onto the couch right over the armrest because I was focuses intently on something that was happening on the TV and Duncan came up beside the couch and said "mom, you went over the couch like that... That was a bad decision." Jessica made fun of us because we told him to "make good choices" early, like at 2... and see, it pays off!

I told Duncan that I ran something over to Dana, our neighbor and he said "You ran Dana over?!?" With a VERY concerned look on his face!

We made a turkey!! Gobble gobble!


Duncan and daddy hung lights and raked leaves!


Remind me to turn off the TV next time. Oh wait... then they wouldn't be sitting still. Right.


Seriously!


TWINS! Crazy eh?

No more nom nom nom

Dylan got new braces on her arms that make it more difficult for her to bend her arms. This makes it hard for her to put things, including her hands, in her mouth. I am hoping that this will help her with her gross oral fixation!

We went to PT with Mike on Tuesday at an indoor playground, much like a McDonald's but bigger and nicer. She did really well but he did notice her hands were dry and red from her putting them in her mouth. He asked if I would like her to stop doing that. Uhhh... yes! It's one of her goal on her IEP for school. More playing and less mouthing. He suggested The Bamboo Brace for her.

I knew that he and his wife had come up with this brace to help kids who can't bear weight on their arms. It's been featured on the news with a little clip of a girl who was starting to use her arm to crawl, she hadn't been able to before but because this holds her arm straight she can now progress. He has also traveled back east to PT conferences to promote it. But, I didn't realize how cool this thing was!

When you think of the medical braces used to keep kids hands off their faces and stuff (I am thinking cleft repair, but another mom said eye surgery) You think of those BIG fabric braces. Bless the company's heart, they have tried to make them more attractive but they are ugly, and big! But the Bamboo brace is little it just goes for a couple of inches above and below the childs elbow. It's neoprine with a little pocket for a 'stay' which is a plastic piece of varying thickness that will go along the inside of the elbow. Depending on the thickness of stay, it can be easy, or pretty difficult for the child to bend their elbow.

For Dylan the goal would be that she could put her binki in, she could mouth things if she wanted to, but the difficulty of doing so would discourage her from doing it. Can you say woohooo!? Another tool to help her with her goals!

I must say, she isn't that much of a fan at this point. Okay... she hates them. I am sure this whole playing thing will take a bit to get used to! She wanders around and whines a little. Poor girl. I promise this is for your own good. Especially, ESPECIALLY in school! YUCK!

Ian didn't get to go to the playground, he stayed with Aunt Meggie. In hind sight, Ian would have been fine, I should have left Asher! Oh well, now we know for next time. Yay, right Meggie? TWO babies!

Tonight is the last day of ASL class, boo hoo! Back when it started there were a crazy amount of people n the class, like 30-35, maybe even more. But it gradually dwindled to only about 10. Yay for us being a couple that hung on! I know how to say quite a bit, but then I think about signing everything I say all day long and I realize just how much I don't know! Not to mention my fingerspelling is S L O W. I need to practice. They will be doing a nonverbal gesture class in January for three weeks and then picking up again with a new beginner and intermediate class in February. I think the teachers are thinking that we would all move into the intermediate class but I don't think we are quite there yet! We need at least one more time in the beginners class and then we will see where we go from there. (Those of you who want to go with us, mark your calendars!)

We are teachng Duncan a couple signs here and there but really should get serious about it.

This would be Dylan giving me a dirty look right after I put her braces on. What? Did you think she didn't give dirty looks? Now you know!


Obligatory messy face picture - Peaches!


TEETH! Look at those big old bad boys on the top!


We will miss seeing this face more than once a week. Well, not THIS face... but you know. Thanks for taking ten of these lovely things Eden. Too bad you knocked it off auto after this one, there was serious model potential there!

Remind me

Not to go on field trips mkay?

On Wednesday the D's preschool went to the children's museum on a field trip. Shelley asked me if I was going and I automatically said no, thinking there was no way, but... I talked to Matthew about maybe him going, he is on the board for the museum and I wondered if he wanted to go to see what all the kids did there, what they thought of the exhibits. Turns out he couldn't but he had calls he could take from home so I could go (the little usually just sleep anyway...) So yay!

Uhm, yay?

What was I thinking, it was ehausting!!

We rode the bus which Duncan thought was super cool. Not just Duncan, Dylan! Shelley was really concerned about her on the bus. I was good holding her but Shelley had been pushing to have Debi drive a separate car with a car seat. I swear, sometimes Shelley is more of an advocate for Dylan than I am! So funny! I figured she would be fine, when have briefly hopped on the back seat and faced her when the car is moving she has laughed hysterically. (I remember when we had to keep her up before the EEG, good times.)

So she sat on my lap, facing me with her back against the seat in front of us. The first 5 minutes or so was hilarious! She was so funny! I really have never seen her smile so big! The women in the seat next to us (teachers of the other class) were laughing at her. It was pretty funny. We would stop at a light and start going again and the excitement would start all over.

Dylan rode in the stroller most of the trip, but Shelley did feel bad for her and came to get her to play with her for a while. Duncan was just moving too fast and there were too many kids, two other buses pulled up after ours! It was crazy! I realized that I played it all wrong, next field trip... Totally sending Matthew!!

Asher had a huge week, huge! he seems so much more interactive and funny! It happened so fast! He army crawls with one arm and leg, rather than both so as to have his right hand always reaching for what he wants. He always goes missing, making his way back to the kids rooms (fast!) by scooting down the hallway. His bottom two teeth are a little crooked (like Ian!) and he has started grinding them! It's terrible! He scrunches his mouth like he's getting more teeth but he's just working on positioning, I hate it! I will it pass soon, but eeeek! He will crawl soon too, he's already up on his hands and knees rocking. He is so fun!

Unfortunately updates with some if the other kids aren't so great... Dylan starred having seizures again, boo. I noticed last Thursday morning and called the Dr. neuro nurse and she returned my call after all of 15 minutes. I love her. So we upped her meds and we will see. I actually saw them again Tuesday morning, but I am going to give it a little while longer. She is a little wacky wheher meds aren't working so she's had a little bit of a rough week. Matthew's in denial of course. Cute dad.

Other than that it's good though. She's walking all over the house and did remarkable being led by the hand on the field trip. She's doing great there. For us it'a fun to manage since she now knows how to open the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen as well as reach up and grab anything that's within 5 inches from the edge of the counter. Yay us! (What have we done?!) she has a huge blister on her finger right now and I have no idea where she got it. It's so sad... We watch her so closely we have no idea what she may have touched. Pan, curling iron? Who knows?

I was talking to Tracy's sister Liberty, who's son has DS and is in Dylan's class and she was saying he pulled over the step stool when he husband was supposed to be watching him and filled up both sides of the sink and flooded the kitchen! These kids are too smart for their own good! They can do a lot of what they want to do but cannot process what the consequences might be. So funny, have to keep an eye on them!

I don't think Ian got over his hot ear. He was a mess in Sunday, crying and throwing down constantly. Up all night. So I took him in to see Dr. Ped and sure enough his right ear was all red, more red than it should have been after completing a round of antibiotics, so he put him on another one. After 48 hours Wednesday was a little better, but still... Sheesh. He is insane! Wants to be held until you hold him and then wants down. Wants something to eat and then wants something else over and over. I have been keeping him drugged up and we are just hoping he's not in too much pain. Love that kid, he's so freaking adorable even when he's a complete hot mess.

It snowed several inches the other day and Duncan's first words when he saw it "mom!! It snowed! There's snow! Let's get on our snow clothes and go outside!" at seven in the morning Duncan, no. No no no. And brrr anyway! I brought the kids in a bowl of snow and they liked it but it wasn't enough so I got Duncan decked out head to toe and he went out to play for a while. It was awesome. He loved it.

He is doing so well, such a good boy. He makes me so proud. I just love watching him learn, he picks up on things so quickly!



She has this new coy smile, she tilts her head, looks at you and grins. It's adorable.


First big snow of the season!


And a few more pics because I love pictures in the snow!






I love this... why do I see this exact picture happending every year for the next 18 years? (add a few more in between though! Ha!)

Yay, staying involved!

It's official! I have a new volunteer opportunity! As many of you know I used to volunteer over at the NICU where Dylan and Duncan were. I loved it. I loved talking to new parents and listening to their stories. I loved letting them know that everything was going to be okay. I was so inspired by the beautiful babies over there and the strength of parents. To be honest, it was really a selfish thing for me...

Then along came Ian and I felt like I could no longer dedicate the time needed to do what I believe the volunteers needed to do there. So I regretfully had to stop. I am still a go to person for some of the staff that work in the NICU and I welcome the opportunity to talk to new parents about feeding tubes, transfers to the children's hospital etc. They know that, and occasionally I get a phone call.

The truth about the whole volunteer program there is that I don't think 95% of the volunteers do what needs to be done, they need to have their feet on the street and many are too shy to poke their head into the semi private patient rooms and "bother" the parents. A lot of them have been in the program for a long time, from back when there weren't private rooms, and they never had these new rooms themselves. It's a little more awkward than walking down an isle and talking to all the parents! Especially if in the room the curtains are drawn. They have to have a lot of volunteers for the NICU reunions... But it's so sad that there aren't more that are comfortable talking to the parents on a day to day basis In the comfort of their rooms, That's where it's needed, over and above any event! Someday, my closest NICU buddies and I will take over and rule the (NICU) world! But I digress...

About this new gig...

A couple of months ago one of my imaginary friends emailed me and asked for my "real" contact information so that she could refer me to the Parent and Family Advisory Board for the children's hospital. She said I would be perfect, I was flattered. She has been on it for a year or two and enjoys it a lot.

What is it? It's a group of children's hospital frequent flyers who are on a board with hospital staff to give ideas and feedback about hospital processes. Each member is asked to commit to two years with an option to stay on for an additional two. So what's required? Monthly meetings, that can be taken via conference call! How awesome is that? Well, they ask you go in to meetings occasionally, but the people on the board all are caretakers for the frequent flyers, so they understand coming in for a couple hours uis a bit of a challenge. The initial application had some of the changes the feedback committee was involved with, good stuff!

Fun right?

So the last couple weeks I have had to go get another flu shot and another tetanus shot (Oh sure, I could probably drudge up some records, but what a pain!), I also had to get a drug test and something to do with TB. My training is in November and my first official meeting is the first in the new year. Yay fun!

Looking forward to getting involved again!

Hooray for Halloween!

(Being over!)

Does that make me a bad parent? Being glad it's over? Because in and out of costumes day after day just isn't my gig. In fact, we even gave up on Asher and he hadn't seen his monkey costume for the last few times we were in and out!

The constant begging for treats, the lecture about only taking one and not taking (or asking) for more more more is really exhausting! Is my parenthood card going to be taken away? I mean, I do it... I even went out of my way and took the kids to Melissa's work to trick or treat! (Thanks Melissa! The kids had a blast and it was good exercise for all of us!) But I was not a fan!

I am thinking at some point they will all be as excited to dress up as Duncan was about his Thomas outfit. I must say, he was adorable, and so cute. And so PROUD! Okay yea, that part was fun, he was fun.

But then, it will probably be a while before everyone's on board and I am not sure Dylan will care at all. Even though she was the cutest cheerleader EVER. (Apologies to her cousin Kali who was also a cheerleader, she was cute... But nothing is cuter than a cheerleader outfit with matching AFOs!

Ian could care less, although I am glad he didn't mind. I was informed that his outfit was too girly. Everyone did keep mistaking him for a girl, but it was so cute! Apparently it's to girly for a one year old boy to be a duck? Maybe it's his pretty eyes!

We went to Ami's again this year and when people were ready to go there was no waiting, it was times up, pencils down and they were out the door. Which means, we got left behind. Big time. Michael and Megan wanted to go a little ways to watch the kids and take Owen but they slowed up to help us get our kids going. Three year olds, (well, barely four year olds) toodle along and we were carrying Ian most of the way so there was no keeping up with the kids who were older than 6. I was a little disappointed, with all the craziness and ending up going alone anyway we might go at it on our own next year. It would be more fun seeing the people we know answer doors if the family aspect of doing it together is taken out. We shall see if Duncan has an opinion in the matter though, he might!

Everyone was in such a big hurry that there was no pre-trick-or-treat photo, they did it after, when Dylan was asleep and Ian was already in his jammies. Sign! The rush to get them out even had me miss a picture of just our kids! So it is a good thing we took some at the church carnival!

When we got home it was close to nine and our street was lined with kids. Older kids, some not even in costumes. It was crazy! We live on a through street and we go from running out of candy one year to having tons of left overs the next, it's the weirdest thing.

It was borderline too late but Duncan, Dylan and I ran over to see our favorite neighbor where Duncan picked up a whole baggie of treats! Of course, them turning all their lights on for us had more kids lining up behind us! Sorry!! It was fun to see them though and Duncan had fun showing off his costume so I am glad we went.

Here's about half of the kids...


I put Duncan's Thomas back pack on Ian and he thought he was big stuff! Wore it around the house for probably a half hour!


We created a couple fingerpaint masterpeices the other day! Not counting the tattoo sleeves!