Father's Day Weekend

So, I finally located my camera cord to download pictures...here's a catch up of the last few weeks.

South Bend

We headed to visit Cindy, Tom, and Colten while they were over our way in Indiana the weekend before Father's Day. This is the best picture we got of the 5 of us...it was steaming hot outside and the kids were wanting a nap by this point! Instead of letting them have a nap, we headed to UP Mall. So much has changed since we were students, ah-hem, 7+ years ago.
Miss Avery had enough, sunglasses in hand, she was ready to be done:)
All three kids played while Artie and Tom walked to get the cars to pick us up in the circle at the end of Notre Dame Ave...I said it was hot and we didn't (at least I didn't) feel like lugging the kids all the way back to the parking lot behind the bookstore!!
My beautiful boy enjoying the sunshine and grass:)

Father's Day Weekend

I don't have any pics of the day-which I just realized when I uploaded all of these photos so I'm really sad-but on Saturday, the 19th, Artie and I volunteered at the 2nd Annual Kate's Kart Ice Cream Social. We were in charge of the fish bowl game, where "contestants" threw ping pong balls into fish bowls filled with water-no fish (they would have baked it was so hot!). Aside from the very strong breeze, the game went well-I will say we were one of the more popular games:)!! My mom came out too and took the kids around to everything while we were busy for our two hour slot. They had a live kids band and llamas and free ice cream, it was amazing. I even got to talk for a bit to Kate's mom and it's just so incredible to see what she has put together and done for other children in memory of her daughter. So, all-in-all, we had a great time and will hopefully be volunteering again next year!
On Father's Day, we took the kids to a splash pad/park by our house so Artie could see what all the fun was about (I have previously taken the kids during the week). Here is Avie in her matching sunglasses and swimsuit!
This girl LOVES the water:)
Spencer busted out the bear crawl...something he doesn't do at home so I suspect he doesn't like to crawl on the cement.
He got a little frustrated that he got caught in the middle of all of that water and couldn't see where he was going! Don't worry, he made his way back to mom and dad all by himself:)
Brother and sister having a serious conversation about something in the mud.
Avery is telling Spencer to "come with me" back into the water, so cute!
After the kiddos had enough of the water, we dried them off and headed to the park side. One of their favorite things to do is swing side-by-side and laugh and make faces at each other.
Riding on the frog. What a difference time makes. Last time she was on one of these things, she didn't know how to make it rock back and forth!
Spencer got the horse and had no idea what to do other than hold on tight!
I had brought Avery a dress to change into after running in the splash pad. However, the slides at the playground were so hot that she needed some shorts. So, Spencer came to the rescue and let Avery borrow his 18 month shorts-they fit her like a dream!! Poor girl runs around constantly pulling up her 2T shorts...and she will be 3 in a few months!

Randoms from the last week
Yep, Spencer really does this when he's ready for his nap and just relaxes and watches a little TV-with the two fingers in his mouth, I've never seen any kid suck the first two fingers like he does!
When it's time for Avery to get up from her nap, we have become accustomed to letting Spencer get her up (if he's up before her). She gets up really grumpy and mad that he woke her up, but it's cute and funny! This time he happened to get distracted by books on the floor, but he will also actually climb up in her bed and start bouncing!!
This girl loves her dog! She has really taken to asking Domer how his day is going and when he doesn't answer, she usually asks me if he's having a good day:)
Avery has been very into picnics lately and so we got out one of her old baby blankets and she puts out quite a spread:) She is really starting to use her imagination more and it is awesome!

Enjoy the rest of the week!

On The Move-On 2 Feet!

Spencer has discovered he can walk with a little help...and he couldn't be more proud of himself for doing it!! Spencer hit 13 months over the weekend and it's so hard to believe at his age, Avery had been walking for 3 months already!! Spencer is not showing any signs of the determination that Avery had to start walking, he's just taking his time and if it happens to happen, then he's happy with himself:) It's so fantastic having two kids with two different personalities, it makes almost everything a new experience with the second child!

I'm a little behind with uploading photos, but pics of our Father's Day weekend hopefully to come soon!

New Toys

Spencer's birthday was good to both kids! We have added a few new toys that they are both really enjoying.

Finally, the train table they have been wanting! Spencer got some gift cards and with them, we purchased this "starter" train table for the kids. It's great because there is no removable track so we aren't constantly having to put the table together for the kids to play with! We'll probably upgrade in a couple years (or less) when they're ready for a more intricate one:)

Grandma got this for Spencer, but Avery loves it just as much. These kids could probably live in the water. When we bring this toy out to play with, Spencer and the surrounding ground are soaked within the first 60 seconds!

Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday cards, wishes and wonderful things for our little man on his birthday this year!

Kate's Kart

A Chance to Help!

Saturday, June 19th, Artie and I will be volunteering at a FREE Ice Cream Social being held at Parkview North's Family Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana from 12-4 pm. We will be running the fish bowl toss game from 12-2 so come out and see us (if you're local) and our kids, who will also be joining in on the fun! This event is being held as a fundraiser for Kate's Kart and those that come can bring a new book to donate! As you know (or may not know), Kate's Kart is very special to us. We first learned about it when Spencer started receiving books from them while in the NICU last year. This organization gives brand new books for FREE to kids (from infants to adolescents) in area hospitals. Thinking about the books Spencer has on his bookshelf from Kate's Kart brings tears to my eyes as I recall the moments Artie and I spent in his hospital room reading him these donated books. So, take a few minutes to visit their website (you can access it by clicking on the Kate's Kart icon to the left of my page) and read what they're all about and to get more info. If you can't make it to the Ice Cream Social, Barnes and Noble is having a book fair at both FW stores to benefit Kate's Kart on Thursday, June 17th. There will be a table there with their wish list books (it's also on their website) and WBCL will be at both locations throughout the day broadcasting live. Also, tell them you are with Kate's Kart and they get a % of the sales when you buy books for personal use or for KK! And, I know most of my blog readers are out of town, so if any of you will be doing a Barnes and Noble online purchase from June 17th-21st, you can enter ID # 10224004 at checkout to make sure a % of the purchase still goes to Kate's Kart!

Thanks Everyone!

Birthday Celebration, Finale

Here's the finale to our trip and Spencer's birthday celebration!

Magic Kingdom continued...

A very happy girl to get her pink Mickey-shaped balloon:)
She got to meet Tigger and Pooh too! She was really excited about it, despite the face!

Pool Time (May 27)
Spencer enjoyed the pool from his floatie!
Avery was such a big girl in her floatie! She did a great job in the pool, we definitely have two water bugs:)
Spencer also enjoyed this part of the pool...he often patrolled for bugs or leaves to play with!

We also took the kids to the Downtown Disney area on our way out of town. It's one of our favorite things to do while we're in Orlando. The Disney Store there is to die for and they have a cool lego store/play area, tons of restaurants and outdoor entertainment. I wish I had pictures, but I didn't get any:( We also tried out the new TREX restaurant from the ones who brought about the Rain Forest Cafe. It was a little too pricey for my taste, but the atmosphere was great. I tried to take pictures, but they turned out too dark. They also have a dinosaur-only Build-A-Bear in the store right off the restaurant! It was really cool and Avery got to make her and Spencer each a dino as a reminder of their first trip to Disney:)

Birthday Celebration (May 30)

Once we finally got home (that was a really long drive!), we threw a little get together for family-aunts/uncles and grandparents-to celebrate Spencer's birthday since no one got to see him on the actual day.
Spencer didn't get a birthday cake this year, but I did make my red velvet cupcakes for the occasion. Trying a bit of the icing first...
Then he moved on to licking it all off his hands:)
And before we knew it, the whole cupcake was gone! It was so funny and much different than Avery's first birthday-she wouldn't touch her cake!

And thus ends the Birthday Celebration posts for Spencer this year! Now on to the reality that I have a one AND two year old in the house! True, Avery's quickly approaching three, but I've got my hands full:) However, Spencer is showing no signs of being interested in walking yet (he won't even stand on his own!). I can't believe Avery had been walking for 2 months by the time she was his age! I'm learning very quickly that my two kids are very different-and I love it!! This trip had some bumps in the road-though what one doesn't when traveling with such young kids on a long road trip-but it was the best thing to do to celebrate Spencer's 1st birthday! What ever will we do next year??!!

Birthday Celebration, Part Deux

Clearwater Beach, Fl (May 25)

Spencer's first time at the beach! It was a gorgeous day. Here he is modeling his signature facial expression:)
Avery's 3rd trip to the beach (she's been to 2 beaches in LA and Folly Beach in Charleston, so she's seen the pacific, atlantic and gulf!!)-she loves it and was a happy girl!
Here's Spencer playing in the sand, he loved it so much he ate it:)

These are the only pictures I was able to capture while on our venture to the beach. We though that it would rain that particular day, as predicted, but decided to drive the hour and a half to Clearwater from Orlando anyway since it was really our only free day to do it. Turned out to be a beautiful day, too bad I only got to enjoy about 30 minutes of it. After renting our umbrella and chairs and setting up "camp" Avery wanted to hit the water. So we went in and after about 15 minutes the kids were ready for lunch. So we headed back to our spot to enjoy the cooler lunch I packed when I felt a sharp pain in my foot. I glanced down and saw something swim away. Next thing I know the shallow water we were in (yep, this happened in knee deep water where there were people everywhere) was filling with blood. I yell to Artie that I've stepped on something and to get first aid. I go into a complete panic upon seeing all of the blood in the water and he scoops the two kids and their floaties up and tells me I probably scraped it on a rough shell. Once I get out of the water and he looks at my ankle, now pouring blood, he quickens his step and exclaims it must not have been a shell (duh!). I hobble to our spot, all the while leaving a trail of bright red clumps of sand. Once I sit in my chair I start to feel the most excruciating pain of my life (and remember I've had 2 c-sections!). I notice Artie walking to the lifeguard station and yell for him to run. So he and the lifeguard take their sweet time coming back to me-while I rock myself in my chair and clench a towel with my teeth to keep myself from screaming at the top of my lungs-and when they arrive the lifeguard exclaims that this stingray sting is pretty big and radios for a transport to pick me up and take me to the fire station. So, just like Baywatch, here comes my transport down the beach, lifeguard suited in red board shorts and all. I hold on for dear life as he zips through the crowds and when we arrive at the fire station everyone is jovial and seeming like this is nothing to worry about (I later told one of the guys how mad I was that they all seemed so nonchalant while I was writhing in pain. lol). By this time I have let the tears flow because I simply cannot take the pain any longer. They help me to a picnic table in the fire house and take my vitals and get me a scalding hot bucket of water. Yes, in case you were wondering, soaking a stingray wound in scalding water is the only way to treat it! Meanwhile, practically everyone at the fire station comes to see my sting because apparently I won the prize for the biggest one in a while. I guess when you're used to seeing minor, boring old pin prick size stings, something like mine can bring intrigue. Anyway, during this time Artie is trying to hold down fort at the beach because he was told I'd probably be back within a half hour and he didn't want to lose our spot. That didn't happen. After I start to calm down because the hot water is actually working a bit, they tell me, upon inspection of the puncture and the fact that my foot and toes are completely paralyzed, that it's possible I need stitches to close it up and an x-ray to make sure nothing had been severed. I freak out all over again thinking about going to the hospital still in my bathing suit (yes, truly my first thought) and that we're a ways from our hotel. Well bottom line, I'm stubborn and decide I could ride it out without stitches or an x-ray. I didn't want to further ruin vacation with a trip to the ER for everyone. My stay at the station took 2 hours before I could stand for my foot to be out of water without intense pain-much longer than the norm. I did get to talk with two very nice firemen and then Artie brought the kids to find me and they had a nice picnic lunch at the table I was camped on in the fire station! Avery declared it as the best picnic ever:) After the experience we found out that stingray stings are very rare-only 1500 total in the US in a year. My wound seeped continuously for 5 days, making the drive home a little difficult. After a few days, the bruising hurt worse than the actual sting but I was finally able to move all of my toes! But I'm glad to say I'm feeling much better and survived my first-and hopefully only-stingray sting!

Magic Kingdom (May 26)

So yes, the next day I hobbled around Disney World on my bum foot, but it was a great day:) The kids made it at the park a whole 9 hrs straight and we rode tons of rides as a family-it was amazing!
This is always my favorite shot when we visit Disney!
All of us on the Dumbo ride:)
Snack break!! It was about 95 degrees that day and the kids did a great job in the heat.
Avery got to meet Princess Aurora-and Avery just happened to be wearing a necklace with her on it that day:)
Also, she got to meet Belle (not sure why this is so blurry?)!
Giving Minnie a big hug. Meeting Mickey and Minnie was the highlight of her Disney experience!
The whole family:)
On this trip Spencer learned to take a snooze anywhere!
Daddy and Spencer on the tea cups. Despite the face he's making, he loved it!
They had a great carousel-the kids both enjoyed it!
We got to meet Pirate Goofy. Avery was a little shy at first but warmed up really quickly...then we took the kids on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Spencer loved it, Avery buried her head and covered her ears the whole time and then when it was over she told me it was a great ride and she wasn't scared:)!!

Here's a short video of Avery very excited to meet Mickey and Minnie. As you'll see, the excitement gets to her in a certain way!

Stay tuned for the final installment of Spencer's Birthday Celebration!!