A birthday and more kitchen destruction

We had a friend turn 4 last week, and they had his party at a McDonald's with a play place. I have to say, it gives me a little bit of anxiety to let them play there. We don't do McDonald's except when we meet Nana and Papaw, and that one doesn't have toys. It's just a sticky, icky place. The girls had a blast though!!


The kitchen is still in progress. I am hoping to send Luke to Lowe's today to pick up two cabinets, and then we can get those up, and the rest of the tile board that goes behind the countertop, and then hopefully we can get mud on the walls so we can paint the rest of it sometime this month!!

Alexis turns 5!!!

I really can't believe she is 5 now! She had a blast with her party. A Disney Princess castle cake, balloons, clothes, money, workbooks, toys, science kits...she made out! We have pictures up on Facebook, but I'll have to pick some to put up on the blog.

Now I have to seriously sit down with Luke and try to figure out some homeschooling material. We technically don't have to let the school district know until she is 6, but since she is old enough for kindergarten now, we need to make up some kind of curriculum for her, and Lilly will probably just do it right along side her.

I also contacted a karate studio here in town that takes kids starting at 4, and since Lilly is so close to four, her and Lexi can do it together. It's twice a week, one small group lesson, and one private lesson, for $88/month. I am hoping to get my schedule for next week this evening and set up a time that we can all go and check out the dojo and see what the girls think. I also contacted the Wayne Center For The Arts for piano lessons, since we can start those at age 5, but I haven't heard back from anyone :(

Avery's First Birthday

My little baby girl turned one on December 6th :( She ended up sleeping through a good portion of the party, woke up a little grumpy, and didn't care too much for unwrapping presents, but other than that, it was a successful party. She got lots of stuff, and Lexi and Lilly enjoyed helping!


Waiting to blow out the candle


Lexi and Lilly picked out a Thomas cake for Avery


Avery wasn't happy I woke her up


Everyone helping with the gift unwrapping


Avery has a new cell phone!


Nana and Papaw made Avery a quilt :)

Summer Fun

Here's a few miscellaneous shots over the summer. We had Chris's birthday and mine as well in July. Lots of days of playing outside. The girls spent a weekend in West Virginia, and we enjoyed Wooster's Italian Festival downtown on the square...

Chris turned 30 in July, hence the over the hill candle :)


Anne, Lexi, and Lilly riding a donkey with Aunt Crystal supervising


Avery at Ryan's in her Superman bib


Papaw and Avery at Applebee's in Marietta for my birthday


Lexi and Lilly playing on the slide of their new swingset


Lilly with a blue tongue after eating blue ice cream from Wooster's Italian Fest


And here is Lexi's tongue


Avery missed out on the ice cream, she was too tired.

Feeling Anxious

The weekend was fabulous! We went shopping Saturday afternoon up in Wadsworth. We said our final good-bye to K-Mart, there doors closed for customers on Sunday, but Chris still has a couple weeks of tearing down the store before he is out of a job. It is sad, but he is off to greener pastures...anything has got to be better than K-Mart/Wal-Mart retail! That evening was cousin Nick's 16th birthday party! He made out with some cash, some band t-shirts, and a new bass and bass case, so he was very happy. He hung out in his van before the party and started it up for everyone that pulled in. I believe he started his driver's ed courses today!

Sunday was Mother's Day, so we headed up to Luke's parents and the girls made salad and spaghetti and chocolate mayonnaise cake. I don't really think the mother's got much of a break though, since the guys were busy talking aviation as usual. Luke tried to help, but didn't know what to do, and his dad did cook a few mushrooms.

We started Avery on "solid" foods today. She had a few bites of sweet peas for lunch and dinner. I can't believe he is ready for real food already. I don't think we started Lexi or Lilly until 6-7 months, but I just can't eat anywhere near Avery without her staring and reaching and opening her mouth. She did pretty well with it. I also picked up some carrots and bananas to try with her, and I have applesauce. The farmer's market will start in June, the perfect time to start buying things and making my own babyfood.

So here I sit, tomorrow this time I will be getting the girls out of their bath and ready for bed while Luke is trying to nap before we leave for Florida. I have us half packed, and will finish tomorrow once the laundry is done. I have an entire dufflebag of just snacks. We are hoping to pack our lunch and only eat out breakfast on Wednesday morning (our first stop) and maybe go out to dinner as a family one evening in Florida sometime. Every other time we will be packing food. We have lots of snacks, and we are bringing bread and PB & J, and our hotel will have a fridge and a cooktop and microwave, so we should be set for being able to eat in and not spend money eating out! I better continue... it's about time for the girls to get to bed. Then maybe relax with a movie for a bit to take my mind of off being nervous about this trip.

It's Been Awhile...

Lots of things going on. Luke photographed a wedding on April 24th. Lori, a friend from when I worked at Lowe's, was his second shooter, and his mom also took some pictures. Overall it went really well, and he has lots of editing to do.

His brother's wife's family had pictures taken last Friday, so he also has those to work on, so he is keeping plenty busy. To top it off, we had a wedding consultation for his sister's husband's sister on Saturday. She is getting married at a gorgeous restaurant in December, and that wedding should be a blast!

We had Lilly's party yesterday on her birthday. She is now a big 3!! She goes for her checkup on Wednesday, so we shall see how big she really is. She received lots of clothing and toys, and we had a lot of fun with family. Hopefully no one is stopped up today. We went through 4 pounds of cheese cubes!! Apparently both families love cheese.

We have a full weekend coming up with Nick's 16th birthday and Mother's Day, then it's time to start packing!!

Why you may be asking????

Because as long as the weather holds out, we will be witnessing Atlantis blasting off from Kennedy Space Center on May 14th!!! We bought tickets for viewing it from the Kennedy Space Complex, which is about 8 miles from the pad (with no clear view of the pad). The causeway was sold out by the time we were picked in the lottery to purchase tickets. Now the tickets are going for hundreds of dollars on eBay!! Anyways, we plan on renting a minivan Tuesday evening, and leaving about midnight. Hopefully the girls sleep decently and we can get in 8-9 hours of driving time before they wake up for breakfast. We will stop for breakfast and stretch, then continue for another 4-5 hours, since we know the girls can pull that off from our trips to West Virginia. We will then stop again for a bit, and hopefully be able to pull off another 4-5 hours and make it to Daytona Beach by Wednesday night. As long as the Kennedy Space Center is having its tours on Thursday (day before launch), we will use our ticket to get in and check out the museum and tour (the ticket is good for 2 days, and the tour takes you close to the launchpad). Then we will probably check out Titusville and Space View Park, and get some pictures of the shuttle on the pad from 12 miles out. Friday is launch day, so we will be at the museum again and hopefully the launch goes off without a problem. We also hope to hit the beach, since I have never been to the ocean before, and if all of that goes well, then Saturday will be a free day, and we may hit the Brevard Zoo or find something else to do, then we will start heading home Sunday morning. We'll drive as far as we can, and find a hotel to stop at overnight, and get home Monday evening to return the car and get back to life. That's the plan anyways...we will see how well we can stick to it. It all depends on the shuttle and the weather.

Lexi's Birthday Weekend

On Saturday, Alexis turned 4 years old. On Sunday, we had her party, and I actually got Luke to do pictures for the blog! Now if I can only tie him down so we can put up a bunch of randoms over the past few months.

Lexi had a blast, she got lots of Disney Princess and Spongebob, a Melissa and Doug dollhouse, lots of Auto B Good DVD's, crayons, art sets, play-doh, and of course clothes. Thank you to everyone that could join us! She made out with $45, so that combined with whatever Lilly gets, will buy them a swingset as a joint present, and we will make up the difference, and I think Nana and Papaw want to help out with it too. Hopefully we can get it next month as long as the weather stays on the path to warming up.

She wanted a Spongebob cake this year.

An Ariel Barbie Doll

Spongebob DVD

A Bambi Book

Her Melissa and Doug Portable Dollhouse

Lexi and Lilly goofing off.

I was trying to get them to hug each other. Silly girls!

Night Terrors

Ever heard of them? Thanks to a board I frequently lurk on, I have heard of them, but never paid much attention to the details...until now. Here is some basic info from askdrsears.com

NIGHT TERRORS

"I think my child is having night terrors."

It's the middle of the night and you are awakened by your child screaming from his bedroom. You rush in to see what's wrong and you find him sitting up in bed with a blank stare but very agitated. You try to wake him, asking him what is wrong but he doesn't respond, he just keeps screaming. You are scared and don't know what to do. After a few minutes, your child goes back to sleep and in the morning he doesn't remember the episode.

Characteristics of night terrors:

* Your child seems frightened, but cannot be awakened or consoled.
* Your child may sit up in bed, or walk around the room, screaming or talking senselessly.
* Your child doesn't acknowledge you, his eyes may be open but he seems to stare right through you.
* Objects or persons in the room might be mistaken for dangers.
* Episodes usually last between 10 and 30 minutes.
* Usually occur in children 1 to 8 years old.
* Your child cannot remember the episode in the morning.
* Usually happens within 2 hours of falling asleep.
* Night terrors are harmless and each episode will end on its own.

Why does a child get night terrors?

Night terrors are an inherited problem and occur in about 2% of children. It is as if the child is having a bad dream during deep sleep and cannot wake up. Night terrors are not caused by psychological stress, but they seem to be associated with being overtired.

What should I do when my child is having a night terror?

1. Help child go back to sleep.
Do not try to awaken your child. Turn on the lights so that your child won't be confused by shadows. Remain calm, talk in a soothing tone, "you are okay, you are at home, you are in your own bed, you can go back to sleep". Again, speak calmly, and keep repeating these soothing comments. You can try holding his hand or snuggling him, but if he pulls away don't persist. Don't try to wake him with shaking or shouting, this will only agitate him more and prolong the attack.

2. Protect him from getting hurt.
Keep you child away from stairs, windows or sharp objects. Try to gently direct him back to bed.

3. Educate your caregivers.
Be sure to warn babysitters, family members, or others who might be caring for him at night. Explain to them what to do in case of an attack, so that they don't overreact.

Can night terrors be prevented?
The following exercise has been shown to stop night terrors in 90% of children. For several nights, keep track of the time between falling asleep and the onset of the night terror. Then, wake him up 15 minutes prior to the expected time of the episode, get him out of bed and fully awake for 5 minutes. Do this for seven consecutive nights. If the night terrors recur, repeat the seven nights of awakenings.


Lilly has woken up last night, the night before, and a night in December, completely hysterical. She displays almost all the characteristics listed above. It's heartbreaking to watch her. She just stares, screams, covers her ears, and talks. I have no idea what she says, except for when she yells for mommy and daddy. Last night we spent about a half hour just sitting in her bed with her, holding her and rocking her, until she settled down and went back to sleep. The one in December, Luke was taking out trash when she started, and not knowing anything about a night terror, I tried to wake her up and call her name. It didn't make one bit of difference. She also stiffens up and shakes, almost like a constipation episode or something. It really is quite bizarre to watch.

I'm not sure if we are going to try Dr. Sears method listed above. We haven't talked about it yet.


Yesterday was just quite the day that we are running in zombie mode right now. Between Avery being crankier at night before we can get her to go down, Lilly's night terror, and stressing with Lexi because her new thing two nights in a row is being afraid the tub in draining while she is in it, which ruins bathtime. We got 15 minutes into the movie National Treasure and that was the end. Maybe tonight we can retry.

We have Jayden's birthday party to go to today. Tomorrow will be my brother's party and our nieces, Daleen and Claire...plus Luke's dad's birthday was this past week as well. January is full of birthdays!!

A Birthday for Kendra

Actually today (the 7th) is Kendra's birthday, but the party took place over the holiday weekend. On Saturday, we hooked up with Chelsea and Kendra, and another friend from high school (Angie) and her daughter Katy. We spent the afternoon at Chuck-E-Cheese in North Canton, and let the girls have some pizza and play some games. Lexi likes collecting tickets for prizes, and we had enough to get a lollipop and a spider for both Lexi and Lilly. We used a couple of the tokens to get some pictures of us together. I'm pretty sure they are probably the only family shots we have of all four of us together since Lilly was born!!

Kendra's party was on Sunday, and she had picked out SpongeBob invitations, so her party was themed for SpongeBob. It was basically just her family, and then us, so the girls had some fun swinging and blowing bubbles and eating cake. Kendra got lots of puzzles and colouring books, and we got her a shovel and some other sand/outside toys.

Mama Cowgar's Birthday Bash

Her birthday got trumped by Father's Day and Papa Cowgar's IFR test, so this past Sunday we celebrated her birthday at Great-Grandpa Caldwell's house in Newton Falls. We had hot dogs from the famous hot dog shop in Warren, and then had some cake. The candles were the kind that are "magic" and keep relighting themselves...if Luke and I would have been let in on the joke, I would have recorded it, but, we only have pictures. The girls had a fun time playing with their cousins, but we were pretty tired and didn't stay very long. We had been at the Akron Zoo that morning, and all day on Saturday, so I was beyond exhausted!

Nick's Birthday Party

My cousin Nick turned 15 on May 4th and the girls ate all of his cake when we went to his party. He is totally into the group of high school people that are all about the vintage look and music of the 70's. Some kind of new age hippie thing (my brother is the same way) He got lots of posters and t-shirts of all the cool rock bands of the day, and the highlight was Judas Priest tickets!

The girls always have a blast when we go over there for party, I hate to think of the next time we go over there and they aren't having a birthday party...I think Lexi may expect cake everytime we go there since everyone's birthday is all in a row!

Lilly's 2nd Birthday

On May 3rd, we had Lilly's birthday party (her birthday is the 2nd), and the 3rd was also my dad's birthday. We did the exact same thing as Lexi's, meat and cheese platters, and fruit and veggie trays. We wanted to do cute invitations with pictures like we did with Alexis, but Lilly is just such a stinker, she won't sit still for a decent picture. We ended up hand writing invitations and gave them a week before the party, and 2 days before the party we got to OK pictures of her to make into wallets to give out.

Well, hardly anyone on my extended side showed up. A week in advance isn't really advance for them, so we only had Luke's side, my dad, and my Aunt and Uncle with their boys. Lilly didn't care though, it's not like she notices things like that. She received some cute outfits that she will ruin with one wear, and a few noise makers. (Thanks for the drum machine Mama and Papa Cowgar!...) All and all it was a good day.

Her pictures are up on the photo blog, along with pictures of Jayden, my Aunt's cousin. We did his photo shoot on the 2nd for a Mother's Day surprise.


Here's Lilly giving dad his birthday present, a new Star Trek Enterprise model from the new movie.

My dad with his granddaughters.

The cake!

Lilly blowing out her candle.

Aunt Taresa helping with presents.

Tearing the paper.

Lilly and her new Lightning McQueen.

Papa Cowgar and Claire.

The new drumset from Mama and Papa Cowgar. (It's LOUD!)