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Monday, October 29, 2007

"Who's the leader of the club . . .

that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!!! Last night we had Trunk n' Treat at our church so the kids got to put on their Halloween costumes. It's kind of like a fall festival thing with hayrides, hot dogs, jump ups, etc and people park their cars and decorate their trunks and the kids trunk or treat! Paxton was very excited about getting all the candy. He wanted to examine each piece as he got it and of course eat it all. Only one piece at a time buddy. Lorelei, I think, got a little scared with all the people dressed up, she whined the whole evening, but she looked adorable! It was hard to get good pictures, as it always seems to be with me, because my kids are constantly moving! But here are Mickey and Minnie looking as cute as ever! Lorelei has been dying to wear her dress, hat and shoes ever since I got them a month ago. She was constantly pulling them out of the closet and wanting to put them on! What can I say, we love us some Mickey around here!

It's Mickey! The only picture of Paxton with his happy face on!

It's Minnie! She is loving it!

Each of the kids have their own Halloween bag with their name on it. Lorelei's is a kitty cat and Paxton's is a pumpkin (which is what they both were their first Halloween). I love these because they hold up well and I can reuse them every year!

The first game of the night was pick a lollipop and win a prize. Well my kids both threw a fit for their lollipops because they wanted them right then! So instead of having fits I thought "Hey, I might as well let them have it, it is Halloween." Emilie, didn't quiet get in the picture but she was a cute little bee!

Kim, Lorelei, Kara and Katie- a precious little fairy!

Chowing down on a hot dog, minus the bun of course! Hey, where is Lorelei's? Oh yeah, that's right she doesn't eat food like that! Too many calories!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Pumpkin Patch kiddos!

We went to the pumpkin patch, twice, last night! The first time didn't go so well, if you have a three year old you know what I mean! So take two went better and we all had a great time. We picked out a big pumpkin and small pumpkin and we are in the process of carving them. Josh took a golf break, so I guess we will finish tonight! The kids seem to enjoy them and Lorelei was obsessed, and really I mean obsessed with the bunnies they had there. She got to pet them and she kept going over to them saying "hop hop!" We were tempted to buy some of the pumpkins with Mickey and Minnie painted on them since the kids are loving that right now but we didn't. Instead I dressed Lorelei in her new Minnie Mouse overalls today (pics later) -tomorrow is Trunk n Treat at church so we will be all decked out in Mickey attire, pictures to come! Unfortunately, I really didn't get any pics of the kiddos looking at the camera at the pumpkin patch, I guess we can call these action shots!

We could not get us all looking at the camera at the same time. The poor lady was trying her best- the kids look half asleep! Oh dear, this may mean bad news for our upcoming family Christmas pictures!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Spikey hair and pink toes!

Josh spiked Paxton's hair this morning. It looked so cute but only lasted for a short while. By the time my mom, then aunts, came over later in the morning it was flat so here is what it was supposed to look like. I don't think any three year old boy would be able to keep his hair like this too long without messing it up!


This is my pouty face because you want me to smile!
I painted Lorelei's toes a week ago and just not got to taking her picture. A good friend told me to wait until she was about 18 months old to do it so I took my chance. I really did not think she would sit still for it but she loved it!! She kept saying "More!!" every time I painted a toe. I tried to do her fingernails but she would not let me do that. Guess I will have to wait until she is a little older! But look at those cute little pink piggy toes!!!



Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Frustrations

We had Lorelei's checkup yesterday with her pediatrician. She was 30 inches tall and 22 lbs according to their calculations. Better than the GI but still down (the pediatrician has always measured her longer and heavier). So anyway, the doc said she too was concerned about her rate of growth. She said something that really hit home to me: "Lorelei is doing great, she is super smart, but we want her to reach her full potential." This referring to her not getting the proper calories she needs. Her doctor did not think it was a growth hormone problem, which is something we thought could be a possibility. So, she put her on a appetite stimulant and also said we needed to go back to occupational therapy.
I spoke with Lorelei's old OT today and she is wonderfully (because she is not on our insurance plan now) going to do an informal evaluation on Lorelei next Tuesday to see if and what she could do to help. I am not sure what therapy is going to do that we have not tried already, but then again I am not a therapist.

Sooooo, here is the frustrating part: other people's comments. I know everybody means well but the endless comments of "she looks great; she looks fine to me; look at those chubby cheeks, there is not anything wrong with her; being petite is just fine." And on and on it goes. Josh and I get frustrated because we know how she looks but when two different doctors tell us that her weight, height and rate of growth are NOT ok, then as her parent, I HAVE to listen. I am not going to look back at Lorelei one day and say "Well sorry honey, the doctors warned me but everybody else said you looked great so I listened to them instead." Believe me, the easy thing to do would be to ignore the doctors! I know that Lorelei is healthy and happy and looks great!! We are so blessed because of that, I really can't say it enough! When I put myself in others' shoes I am sure I would say the same thing so I can't be mad or blame anyone, and I don't. I know we will figure this out and God will work it out because HE is awesome! We are keeping it in perspective and in the meantime, we get to watch our sweet, funny and adorable baby girl blossom more everyday!

Monday, October 22, 2007

18 months!


Lorelei is 18 months old today. I can't believe it, she seems so old and yet sooo young compared to when Paxton was 18 months old. When he was 18 months old, Lorelei was soon to be born! Anyway, Lorelei is doing so great! She is really developing her little personality. Many of my family say she reminds them of me at that age. Lorelei loves to read books, this is her favorite thing in the world. I could read for hours to her and she would love it. Her favorites include, Opposites (which she can read much of by herself now), Mother Mother, I want another (she walks around the house saying Moder, Moder, when she wants to read it) and any book that makes noises or has songs.
Recently, Lorelei has begun throwing tantrums. Ahhh, don't you just love toddlerhood? She can throw some big ones too. It is usually between me and her but last week her and daddy got into it. The situations always involve us wanting her to do something simple, such as sit down in the chair, pick up a certain toy, etc. Let me tell you, when she doesn't want to do it, she starts screaming and throws herself on the floor. The incident with daddy ended her up in her first time out in her room. Don't think it helped much but her screaming was getting old!
Lorelei loves the nursery on Sunday mornings but hates it on Wednesday nights. On Sundays she runs to her class and the teachers say she participates and knows all the songs, etc. On Wednesdays, we walk in the building and she starts crying! And cries until we leave!

Lorelei is saying so much! She can pretty much echo anything you say now and it is so cute! She has some little phrases that she says now too. She can name all the animals and their sounds, the body parts, knows some of the colors, letters and numbers but not consistently. She sometimes calls daddy "Josh" and you can hear her calling "Josh, Josh, hold me!" It is too funny! Other phrases she says:
-"Press, press" (to press the CD, DVD, garage opener)
-"Hold ME!!" (this is always a demand and she becomes quite insistent!)
-"Hello Pax, Mama, Daddy!
-"Night, night"
-"All done"
-"Pretty cup or Pretty Dowa (Dora)
-"Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse"
-"Car bye bye, or Paci gone gone"
-"Sit!! Read!!"(another one of her demanding statements)
-"More cheese" (or whatever she wants more of)
There are many more I am sure but that is just some for now. Of course she can say a lot of other single words, pretty much whatever. The only thing I have been trying to get her to say that she can't or won't is her name "Lorelei". She really doesn't even attempt it. She refers to herself as "baby" right now.
We go to the pediatrician tomorrow so hopefully we will get some good news about her growth or at least get some more answers. We also get to get immunization shots and the flu shot, should make for a fun visit! Below are some pics of her today at 18 months.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I can do it myself!!

Lately, Paxton has been going through the "I can do it myself" phase. He wants to do everything by himself even if it takes him forever or if he can't do it. I am actually proud that he is trying to do so much alone because it shows that he is growing up. On Sunday, he tried to put on his long sleeved button up dress shirt by himself. I heard this yelling and I was wondering what was going on. I went in Paxton's room to see Josh patiently sitting down watching Paxton trying to put on his shirt. I don't think he actually got it but hey, he is trying and that's what counts. Paxton is a hoot, always saying funny things. Here are some of the things I have heard him say recently:
*To the 6 year old neighbor boy: "Say it, Say it!!! You say yes sir to me!!" Oh dear.

*Concerning mama getting upset with traffic: " Mama, it's ok, you don't need to worry about that." How true.

*Having a great day at school: "I had a GREAT DAY!!!" Then breaks into a chorus of "I'm Happy today" as loud as he can in the school parking lot! So cute.


*Granddaddy and Paxton have this game with a book at their house, now Paxton goes around saying to everybody: "War and Peace by Mr. Tolstoy." As if we read that to him at night.

*I hear Paxton talking up a storm in the next room. Paxton who are you talking to? "Oh, hey mama, I am just having a conversation with myself." Oh, ok.

There are a million other cute things that of course I can't think of right now. Here are some pictures I have captured of Paxton "doing it himself." The one I am proudest of is the one where he wrote his NAME!!! I could not believe it. We were out Saturday night and Paxton and Lorelei were with my parents. Grandmama gave him some paper and pencil to write with and then went to do something with Lorelei. When she came back he said "Look, I wrote my name." And sure enough he had! I knew that he knew how to spell it and recently he has been starting to write some letters but we had not done him name yet. You can see in the picture it is at the bottom right corner. He ran out of room for the "n"(it's kind of in the middle of the paper) so he went back and put it at the front of his name. Still, pretty good for a 3 year old! There are other letters that he and Grandmama were practicing later on the paper.

I can write my name.


I can spell some words. This is Leap Frog's Word Whammer, and Paxton loves to spell words here!

No more sippy cups for me! He has been doing this for a while now.


I love to play the piano! Well, it more like loud noise but still, it's music to him!


I can put on my shoes now too! Yeah! That is a lifesaver for mommy!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Not so much

Ok, so finally our camera is fixed after being broken for a week and now I can finally take some pictures. In attempts to entice Lorelei with her new yummy formula I went out and bought Dora, Disney Princess, and Minnie Mouse sippy cups for her. I have never actually bought Lorelei her own sippy cups, she has always used Paxton's cups. So I thought she might really like the cup and want what was in it. So far, we haven't fooled her. She does love her new cups, she says "pretty," and "Dowa" and "Minnie" when she sees them but doesn't take what is inside. We will try the other formula the GI doctor gave us starting tomorrow. I don't have high hopes that she will like it, but you never know. I talked to my pediatrician yesterday and after a suggestion from some family, we might try putting a scoop of Bryers ice cream in the new formula to see if that helps. I am totally open to any other suggestions from anybody??!! As you can see from her face in the picture, she is not so much a fan of the formula.

I can pretend to drink it!

Ha, ha!! You want me to drink what!!??

Oh well, at least I still look cute drinking it!

I am so tired of all this formula stuff!!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Lorelei Update

I just wanted to let all of you know that today we went to Lorelei's GI doctor for a check up. Lorelei is doing great developmentally, she is happy and very healthy! We are so blessed by God because of this! However, there are some concerns her doctors have about her rate of growth. I knew going today that they would probably not be pleased because she has gained less than a pound and has only grown less than 1/4 of an inch in the past 3 months. However, I was a little surprised when her doctor walked in with cans of Neocate! If you don't know what that is, it is this horrible formula that costs a ton of money, that Lorelei was on for the first year of her life. We thought we were so past the making and mixing of formula days. They said she is not drinking enough whole milk (less than 5 oz a day) and that she needs to grow more. I hate that we have to try this stuff again. I gave her a little of another kind of formula (similar to Neocate that they gave me), for lunch today and she literally cried after tasting a sip. It was probably awful!

Anyway, we have to try it and she also wants us to go back to her Occupational Therapist to see if they can do anything to encourage her to drink and eat more. And the last threat the doctor made was that if she had not grown again when we come back in three months then "she will have bought herself a scope." Which means they will put her in the hospital for an endoscopy, a procedure where they put her to sleep and scope out her insides. This also usually includes a biopsy of the stomach. Needless to say we really don't want to do this because we felt we were past it all! It is very frustrating for me, because I feel like we are taking ten steps back. We see her pediatrician in a couple of weeks so I am going to get her opinion of this and see what she says about her growth and what we should do. She tends to be more laid back then most of Lorelei's other doctors. Please pray for Lorelei, that she will EAT and DRINK so she can GROW!! And please pray for my sanity! We know that prayer has brought her so far and we are so thankful for where she is today. I know in the big picture of things, this is just a little blip and we can hopefully get past it in a hurry. We are trying to keep things in perspective. Thanks to all!

Oh, sorry for no pictures lately, the camera is not charging correctly so I can't use it until we can get a new charger. I have some cute ones to post soon!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Whoa! What a weekend!


We have had a busy weekend thus far. Last night we went to some good friends house for dinner and then we went to another Spartan game. The kids love watching all the people, players and band! Lorelei gets tired really fast though and the more tired she becomes the more wiggly she gets! We just pass her around from mama to daddy to grandmama to grandaddy so everyone takes a turn with the wiggly one. Paxton of course just wants to sit with his grandmama and can't stand it when he has take turns with Lorelei. Paxton also enjoys a special treat at the games, which last night was Skittles-a favorite of daddy's as well.

Ok, she is just too cute in her cheerleading outfit and pigtails and she knows it!

Love and kisses! Ok, this doesn't happen too often, mostly when we stage it but yesterday they were really being sweet to each other. Lorelei would lay her head down on Paxton and he would give her kisses. Of course it didn't last long and before I knew it Paxton has wrestled Lorelei to the floor.

This weekend we also went to a festival that I have been going to for all my life. The kids had so much fun, maybe too much fun! It's the kind of festival that has some games, rides, inflatables, pony rides, etc. We started the day off with some games but Paxton wasn't really into them and he was having one of his three year old attitude days. So after some redirection we went to the ride the ponys. Oh my goodness! I never would have thought the kids would have loved it so much! Especially Lorelei!!! She looked so tiny riding that pony but she had a look of sheer joy on her face. My mom says she will be the one in a few years asking if she can have a pony! (Good thing our neighborhood has a rule about that.) Anyway the kids loved the pony's and we rode them twice. After that excitement we went down to the rides and inflatables. Paxton wanted to ride the rides that spin around really fast. I was so nervous about letting my three year old get on that with big kids (no parents on the ride!), I thought for sure he would throw up everywhere. But he loved it and thankfully didn't get sick. Lorelei wasn't big enough for the rides or inflatables so she just let grandaddy chase her around the whole field while Paxton did his thing. We had a lot of fun but boy were we ever exhausted by 2:00! After a late night last night and a crazy day today plus church and then Bible study tomorrow, my kids are in bed and this mama is going soon too!

Is that not the happiest little girl ever?

Paxton's horse was named Donut; perfect a boy who loves horses and donuts!

Lorelei and Daddy. This is the picture of her when she first saw the ponys!

Grandmama's sunglasses are always a big hit!

Break it down girl!! Lorelei was bustin' a move as the music blared!

Here is Paxton on one of the more gentle rides. I couldn't get a picture of the spinning one because he was so short you couldn't even see his head!