Fun in the Sun!

Saturday we took the kids to Splash Zone, a water park in Jacksonville. It was a lot of fun. Hannah had the biggest smile on her face when she saw it, and you could tell she absolutely loved it! Linc did too! He couldn't get enough of the slide. He'd try to walk around by himself, but would lose his balance and fall over into the water. He'd come up with a huge smile on his face! Of course, Mom or Dad was right there beside him the whole time. We had to watch him very closely.

I tried to get a picture of Hannah going down the slide and just as I took it, a kid got in the way. You can barely see her.

Lincoln really was trying to smile here. This is a face he has started making lately.

It was an extremely hot day, so it was so nice to be in the water. It was also nice to be with the Dahls and the Dyniewski's who were there as well. I think everybody had a really good time.

Here are Justin and then Kris jumping off the diving board. For some reason, I didn't get a picture of Chris Dahl.

Awww, Eric was giving Hannah a hug! What a sweetie!

Lincoln had to get in on the action!

Emma's turn!

A couple hours later, these kiddos were TUCKERED OUT!

Hannah's Future Husband

Benson and Jennifer came over the other night. Benson loves Hannah. He always smiles so big at her.

Can't you just see them dancing together at their wedding?? Ha!

Love that smile! He is sooo adorable!

For Grandma

Hi Ho Silver Away!!!!!!!!

I was fixing breakfast this morning and all of a sudden I heard, "Momma, Momma!" Here came Lincoln! His Grandma made him this horse. I thought she'd get a kick out of this!

And Away He Went!

Booger is 18 months!

We call Lincoln by several names--Linc, Bubby, Bubba, Bud, Sugar, Stinker, Dink (his daddy), and Booger (Me). He just has this HUGE personality these days! He is such a happy little boy! He loves to smile and laugh and still does "the cheese" upon request. He loves to scream and squeal with laughter, especially at the dinner table. He is CONSTANTLY into something--ask anyone who has been around us lately. It is one thing after the next. He falls down all the time. Today he had two really hard falls on his head--one off a slide in the doctor's office and one here at home off the recliner. He cries for a minute and then is off again! If I take my eyes off of him for a minute, he is into something. You get the picture. He is a MESS and so much fun!!!

He went to the doctor today for his 18 month check-up. He was 27 1/2 lbs (70%) and 32 1/2 inches tall (50%). We filled out an autism survey that they have started giving at the 18 month visit. There were 23 questions and he got 23 out of 23 so that was good. He got the MMR shot today and so far I haven't seen any effects from it like fever or anything. I'm hoping it stays that way. I was dreading that shot and had asked to wait until this visit to get it. They now have a policy at our clinic that they don't give it until the 18 month visit--it used to be 15 months. This came about due to parental concerns over the vaccine. Interesting, huh? Anyway, I'm glad they are doing this.

The BIG news of this visit was that Dr. Byrum told me that I need to get Lincoln off the pacy! "NOOOOOOOO" was my reaction! Apparently his teeth have already been affected by it. When he bites down, there is a big gap between his top and bottom front teeth. He said this was not good. It is not the way it's supposed to be. SO, I guess I'm going to take it away. :( I am definitely NOT happy about this! He suggested going cold turkey. He said that Lincoln was old enough to understand (which I'm not too sure I agree with, we shall see) and that I need to take the pacies and tell him that he is a big boy now and that he doesn't need them anymore. Then, I'm supposed to let him see me throw them in the trash. I'm thinking, "Easier said then done!" I'm going to be cleaning up trash from the floor for days cause he'll be looking for them! I think I'm going to try this tomorrow and see what happens. I'm so sad for Lincoln cause he loves his pacy. Hannah didn't get rid of hers till she was over three.

Lincoln is trying to say more words these days. Some new ones he is saying are bird, "paaaee" for pacy, Bible, boo boo, wipe, ketchup (he loves ketchup), and "whoa" when he almost falls down. He tries to say his name, points to each person in our family and says their name, and has started calling Kris "Daddy" instead of "Dada". When he sees someone else with a toy he wants he goes over and says, "Nooooo" and takes it. We are working on this--bare with us. He tries to sing. I'll say, "Lincoln can you sing?" and he'll go "Da daaaa daaaa" in a singing voice. So cute!

A few other things he loves right now are the sprinkler, giving me kisses, dogs (looks for them everywhere), and trying to jump off things. He loves to run to the door when his daddy gets home. He screams "Daddy, Daddy". Precious!

Can you tell I love this little booger!

Giving sister love!

Summer time FUN!

I have really been enjoying my summer with the kids! We have been outside a lot more this year I think. Lincoln is older and can do more and we actually have a back yard that I don't have to worry about someone getting hurt on the deck or stairs because we don't have a deck anymore!

I've been trying to get back into the exercise groove so we've been walking 2-3 times a week, usually. Sometimes we go by ourselves, but this morning we went with friends, Jack and Benson and their mommies. I have a double stroller and so I think I get a pretty good workout pushing them and walking. We live really close to a GREAT park now, so I am trying to take advantage of it. It has a great toddler area as well as a section for older kids. Hannah and Lincoln both seem to really enjoy it.

We had friends Madeleine and Harrison over last week to play. We went to the park, came back and ate lunch, and then played in the water in the back yard. The kids had a blast.

THE BOYS

THE GIRLS

Shouldn't the boys be the ones playing in the dirt? :)

Best friends! I love how they are holding hands!

CHEESE!!

Back at the pool, the kids loved sliding into the water!

The other day I got out the sprinkler for the first time in the front yard. Hannah just squealed with excitement. Lincoln wasn't so sure at first...

"I'm getting outta here!"

"Come on Lincoln. It's really fun!"

"Nope!"

"Soooo, maybe I'll try it out."

"Okay, this IS fun!!!"

They just loved it!

Fun, fun times!! I've also been trying to take the kids to the library once a week and to storytime. I haven't braved letting Lincoln out of the stroller yet, but he did okay in it. He stayed pretty quiet during the stories. They did a craft and went on a bug hunt through the library. Pretty cool stuff!

We just try to keep busy most days doing something fun! I am soaking in these moments as much as possible cause my little sweethearts are growing up so fast!

Hannah Update

Hannah had a Rheumatology check-up last week. Here are the highlights from it:

***Her sed rate at her last visit (4 mths ago) was 35 which is pretty high. One month later it was 20 which is normal! Yeah! I am anxious to find out what this month's rate was. This measures the amount of inflammation, so I am praying that it is still normal this month.

***I talked to the doctor about the tummy troubles Hannah has been having. Back a month or two before we moved, she was complaining about her tummy hurting alot. She would go to the bathroom quite a bit and have diarrhea. She is now taking Prevasid everyday and it seems like it may be helping. Dr. Byrum wanted me to make sure she was getting enough fiber in her diet. He thought this would help. Dr. Morris decided she wanted to do some tests to see if Hannah has any blood in her stools. So, I'm working on getting her those samples. Yes, it is lots of fun. NOT!

***The doctor did not find any signs of inflammation, swelling, etc at this visit!! This is the second time for this. Her medicine is obviously working! So, if she can continue to be symptom free two years from now, they will start tapering her off the meds. That would be wonderful!

***Hannah is using her wrist more we think. She can cut with scissors with her right and left hands. She can even attempt the monkey bars at the park, with my help. She is climbing more and much better than she used to. I know some of this is probably due to age, but it is such an improvement from 1 year ago.

***I talked to the doctor about all the fevers Hannah has been having. I have been keeping a record of them. She will get a low-grade fever (99.8 to 100.7) every 4 weeks or so that lasts less then 24 hours. Usually they come in the evenings and are gone by morning. Used to when she'd get a fever, she'd really hurt and just lay around. Now, she'll tell me she doesn't feel good but I don't see any signs of pain, which is a huge blessing and another sign to us that her medicine is working! It is just really odd to me that she gets these fevers so frequently. I've mentioned them to Dr. Morris before and she blew them off as just viruses that kids get all the time. However, this time she paid more attention to them and said that she thought Hannah was just one of those kids prone to get fevers. She wanted to test her immune globulines, something that she said she had not done before. Apparently these are proteins that fight infection. So, we will see what that tells us. She told me to keep up the record keeping though.

We were very pleased with her visit and thank God that she is doing so well. My prayer is that she continues to be completely healthy!!!

Now, to some of the fun things Miss Hannah has been doing lately. She is starting preschool in a month and is VERY excited about it! She has never gone before, so this will be new to her and to mommy. I am excited for her though. I think she will love it!

She loves to play with her baby dolls still. She is such the little mother. She talks to them so sweetly sometimes and not so sweetly at others. She tells them the exact same things that she hears me tell her like "If you do that again, you are going to get a spanking." I have to say it is funny the first time and then it bothers me. How often do I say that to her? How often does she need that said to her??? She can be a handful at times. When things don't go her way,she can't do something that she really wants to do, or she gets frustrated trying to do something, she can throw some mean fits! I will be SO glad when she outgrows these!!!

She and Lincoln play okay together. We are working on the sharing. She is SO bossy--loves to tell people what to do. Again, it is like looking in the mirror! Scary!

She loves to write. She is more into trying to write lists like me than coloring or drawing pictures. Maybe this will change when she goes to preschool. I am really looking forward to seeing what kinds of pictures she will draw.

She loves her cousin Logan. She has a little crush on him. She gets giddy when she gets around him. It is funny.

She also loves Jennifer. The other day we were in the car going to Jennifer's house for something and she said, "I like Jennifer. She's the best." Your right, Hannah, she is! She has been SO good to my kiddos. We love her!

She loves going to her grandparents houses. She has so much fun and always hates to leave. This last visit to the Keims she actually seemed to conquor some of her fear of dogs. She used to be deathly afraid of Rocky, their dog, and had to be held to be outside. This trip she would walk around with a stick and say, "Get away, Rocky." So big and brave! She really enjoyed seeing the goats and all the other animals down at my parents house. We are about ready to send the kids to my parents for the weekend for the first time. She will love it!

She has been having LOTS of fun this summer, but I'm going to save that for another post.

Finally, here are some pictures of my little sweetie! She came out of her room the other day wearing this--her Australia boots and panty hose. Then she asked for her rain coat. I love her model pose in the second picture.

Happy Birthday Madeleine!!

Today is Hannah's friend Madeleine's 4th birthday! Happy Birthday Madeleine!

We went to her party a week or so ago at the Wonder Place. What fun! It is the neatest place! Hannah did not want to leave, so we went and ate at McDonalds and then went back for another hour or so! It has different play spaces like a water table, a treehouse and playhouse, a drama stage and puppet area, an art studio, the River Market and Cafe, a vet clinic, and a place just for toddlers under 2. They get to really use their little imaginations and use up A LOT of energy at the same time!!! Moms love it!!

Madeleine, Hannah, and Lincoln playing at the water table.

Emma, Hannah, and Kenzie

Lincoln - "Look Mom! WaWa"

Ella and Hannah cooking up a good little meal with the food from the Market.

This boy loves to climb on things! Here he is thinking about jumping I think.

While waiting for birthday cake, some of the kids had their faces painted.

The birthday girl! I love that smile!

Blowing out the candles!

Hannah climbing the wall.

This was Lincoln's favorite part I think. It was in the toddler area. He just walked up and down this thing. So simple, but so fun!

They had a neat craft area. The craft of the day was dots. Lincoln kept going back into this room so he could play with the dot stamps.

Hannah just had a blast at Madeleine's party!

Hannah and Madeleine have become such good little friends. They play really well together and have so much fun! I am so sad that Madeleine and her family are moving in a couple of weeks. I know Hannah will miss getting to play with Madeleine. Honestly, I think I will miss Madeleine's mommy more! She has become such a wonderful friend to me over the last several years! Our kids are the same age and it has been such a blessing to have someone to talk to who understands some of the things that you go through staying home with 2 kiddos all day. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of our phone conversations, visits, all the advice, sharing, and just listening that Rachel has done for me! I know that we will keep in touch. I love that these blogs make it so easy! We wish you guys all the best as you start a new adventure together! We love you!