Pure genius!

The kids are truly amazing.
I know every mom and dad thinks that about their children.
But this is my place to brag so here are some of the things they are doing these days...

-They can count to 65.

-They know most of their letter sounds.

-They have started using scissors.

-They can write many of their letters.

-They love telling stories with such detail and expression.

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!

When I was pregnant, doctors discovered Parker had issues with what they thought would be his bladder. They followed it closely through ultrasound. When he was born, they took him away and performed tests that showed that they had misdiagnosed him. Instead of a bladder problem, he had a kidney condition known as vesicoureteral reflux. Grade V-vesicoureteral reflux. Too much to explain here(you can google it if you like)but the point is he was placed on a low dose of amoxicillin. He has been taking it since the day he was born. Well, last week the doctors told us that we could stop giving it to him. He still has the same condition and it hasnt gotten better but it hasnt gotten worse. So now we just go about life as normal and pray that he doesn't develop any infections! No infections, means no need for treatment or surgery. Just check in with the specialist every 6 months. YEA!!!!
It is possible that although he has the highest grade of this reflux, he may never have a problem in his life.
God answers prayers!!

4th of July weekend

We made a quick trip up to Lake Lure to celebrate the 4th of July this year. We met my Dad, Barb, Troy, Laura, Tyler and Taylor up there.

We got to see my Dad and Barb's new cabin. Here are some family pics in front of the new cabin on the 4th of July.

We spent the 4th at Miss Ann and Mr. Don's house on the river. Great food,company, and fun. Sydeny caught her first fish with Daddy in the river.

Here is a pic of us at Grandfather Mountain.

More Grandfather Mountain.

Cousins...Sydney, Parker, Taylor and Tyler

Here is a pic of the kids on the bench Papa made for them. in front of their old cabin.

First movie....TOY STORY 3

Our family LOVES "Toy Story".
Parker like Andy is torn between Woody and Buzz. (although I think he will tell you Woody is his favorite).
Sydney loves Cowgirl Jessie who enters in "Toy Story 2".

Patrick convinced me that we HAD to take Parker and Sydney to see "Toy Story 3" when it was released in theaters. They have never been to the theater before and I thought for sure that we would up leaving a little while in, but they totally surprised us both.
They were amazing all the way to the end. They enjoyed it and we really enjoyed it.

Have to admit I almost shed a tear....

Artwork

The kids have already gone through the alphabet once but are going through it again.
Nana does activities and crafts every week that go along with the letter of the week.
Here are some pics of the some of their crafts.

Aunt Heather and Uncle Jimmy's wedding

In early June, we were luck enough to share a part of Jimmy and Heather;s wedding. This wonderful event also made us lucky in the sense that we got to see my sister in law, Jennifer(Patrick's sister) and my niece Miranda who we had not seen in over 3 years. It was too short a visit but it sure was a great time. Loved spending some QT with family.


Here are some pics...

Treasure Island

What a fantastic mini-vacation...the only thing that was a problem with it, is it couldn't be longer.
We could not have asked for better weather, better company, better food...
Thanks to my sister-in-law, Laura, we scored an amazing deal on a 3 bedroom penthouse oceanfront suite in Treasure Island.

It was like we were in some sort of bubble of sunshine. There was rain all over Florida but somehow it didnt bother us.

Every sunsets was fabulous. The kids were on their best behavior. We spent days back and forth between the beach and the pool. The guys did some fishing. Then shopping in the afternoons and then early evenings at the sandbar where we found seashells and sand dollars. While we were there, we saw a firework show in memorium for the soldiers who have given their lives for us. We saw dolphins, pelicans and even a manatee.

Here is a view from one of the balconies.

A pic of the kids in the courtyard

Laura and Troy and Bubba Gumps...YUMMY!


Beach pic...before the fireworks...

Cousins....

Lots of fun.

Love...


Last sunset....

*****Remember to see all our fun Treasure Island pics by clicking on the slideshow to the right.

Magical Memories

We were able to visit the Magic Kingdom again recently. The four of us met up with our friends, Monique, Kenny and their son Kristian. It was a perfect visit. The park was open until 11pm so we decided to get there at 3:30pm. We were able to do so many things with very little wait. We made it through the whole day with one 2 1/2 year old and two 3 year olds and there were NO MELTDOWNS. We even made it to the 10pm fireworks and 11pm SpectroMagic parade!!!
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Parker asked, "Do we get to meet the real Mickey today, Mommy?" I said of course. As soon as we walked in the room, Parker says, "Mickey is supposed to be wearing yellow shoes not black shoes." I told him that Mickey dressed up to meet him today. I told them that just like they have different clothes and shoes, so do Mickey and Minnie. Not sure if he believes me or not but he sure was happy to meet the both of them. Sydney didn't pay any mind to Parker's cynicism, she was so excited to meet the both of them.



Waiting for the parade with Daddy.

3 YEAR OLDS ARE SO FUNNY!!!!

You should see my purse these days. Floating around it are sticky notes with to do lists. Along with to do lists you would find stickys with little notes jotted on them with some funny things that the kids have said. Of course I can't jot down every funny thing but I try when I remember.
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Here are some funny things Parker has said lately...


We were on our way to the beach and were driving past the Port at Cape Canveral and the Carnival Dream was in port. Parker looked over and asked if that was a boat. I told him that it was a really big boat, called a cruise ship. He proceeded to tell me that it is the most "enormousest" ship ever.
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My Dad and Barbara are selling their other cabin(sniff, sniff)and are buying a little bit bigger one right down the road from the one they have. Anyway, when I told the kids that Papa and MeeMaw bought a new cabin. Parker 's first concern was, "Will there be candy in the new cabin?" MeeMaw keeps a mason jar full of candy on the table and he was worried they might leave it behind.
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Parker was coughing the other day and he told Nana that he was sneezing. She proceeded yo tell him that he was not sneezing, he was coughing. He proceeded to tell her, "Sassys allergic to me that's why I am sneezing."
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Here are some funny things, Sydney has said lately.

"Mommy, one day I will be a good Mommy just like you."
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"Mommy I want to be a strong mommy just like you."
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While I was painting her fingers and toenails a few weeks ago, she looked at me and said, "One day when I am bigger, I am going to paint your fingers and toes, Mommy."
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Sydney told me the other day that she is going to have 3 kids-one boy and two girls. She will named the boy Patrick. She made up a silly name for her girls...not really sure what she said. I think its so sweet that she wants to name her boy after her Daddy.

Trip to NC to see GG and Aunt Jan

It has taken awhile to get around to posting this time. It has been a very busy month. About a month ago, my mom, the kids and I flew up to North Carolina to spend some QT with my Grandma(aka GG), Aunt Jan, cousin Erika and her husband Brian. It was really cool to see a part of NC that I had never seen before and although it wasn't the mountains, it sure was beautiful and it was great time spent with family.

Here is a pic of Nana and Syd at the Orlando/Sanford airport waiting for our flight to NC.
It was such a great experience dealing with the smaller airport. It was very smooth getting through sercurity and to the gate. The staff is more personable too.

Syd was so excited to pull her own suitcase along. She never tired of it.


Sydney told me she was a little nervous about flying. Yes she used the word nervous. She did great though. Once we were in the air, she told me she wasn't nervous anymore. Parker did great too. He wasn't nervous one bit. He was just so excited. He would not stop chatting the entire flight. Couldnt get him to take a good picture.
Parker did not believe we were in NC when we got there. It took a few days to convince him. I think the reason he didnt believe we were in NC was because everytime he has gone to NC it has been by car and it is a long overnight trip. The other thing he relates to NC is the cabin and the mountains.
The kids loved Aunt Jan and GG's place. They really loved the stairs.
They would stand on the bottom stair and pretend it was their stage. They put on show after show. Each show started with one or both of them saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls."

Every day we took a trip to the park. The first couple days we visited this park called the Lazy Daze Park. Two days we went to the library for storytime.

Brian was nice enough to take some fun pics of the kids and GG. As always trying to get Parker to stay still and pose for a picture is an impossible feat. Nonetheless, the pictures turned out cute.

Thanks, Bri!

We were so sad to leave. It really flew by. We are hoping to get a visit from GG soon.

What they're doing....

My mom takes them to the library on Tuesdays for storytime. They love it! They sit and listen so good. She has also taken them to Chick-fil-a a few times for lunch and some playtime at their playplace.

Next week they will have completed the whole alphabet. Although they have know them all for awhile now they work on a letter a week. I help pick out and put together crafts and activities for my mom to do with them. After they are done with that.
Parker knows all his opposites and can identify some lower case letters. Both can identify all #s to 0-10. Sydney can identify many#s over 10 and most lower case letters. They can spell Nana, Dad, and Mom.

Their imaginiations are in full swing. They love to tell you 'stories'..no not lies..actual stories. They love pretend play and beg for you to get involved. They have started playing board games and are already focused on winning. Uh-oh!

Easter 2010

Every year we attend the Easter Eggstarvaganza hosted by Dave and Val who were neighbors of my dad while I was growing up. We have always stayed in touch with them. This year they had unlimited pony rides. Sydney LOVED it!Our little Easter bunnies....

Easter morning...finding their Easter baskets.

After church and before Easter dinner, we ran out to the beach for a little bit. Only stayed about 1/2 hour but the kids had so much fun!