What did daddy do?!

Daddy got crazy as you can see in these pictures! I guess that's what happens when he's stuck in the house with us for a few days straight because were all sick and he had to take care of us. ;)
I will admit, I was not thrilled at first when I saw him buzzing Grady's hair! However, it's starting to grow on me, but still not my favorite hair cut on him. I guess as the mom, my baby boy is cute no matter what hair cut he has! And it's just hair, it will grow back! I love Andy's hair this length, but Grady's a baby so now he just looks bald! ;)
.... at least Daddy likes it! Or he likes the fact that he has a little buddy he can buzz his hair with!

A night out of town

Last wkd, we got the opportunity to have a night out of town. We went a whole 15 miles to grafton, our neighbor city! ;) We get awesome discounts at the Hampton Inn bc my mom works there so we decided to spend a night, do lots of swimming, go out for dinner, get some ice cream at our favorite ice cream place, and enjoy a gourmet continental breakfast the next morning, which was extra special bc my mom was working and works in the kitchen. So, basically, we ate like kings and queens that morning and my mom so nicely made what we wanted and served us. I got a good mom :) The next day, we took the kids to build a bear with the gift certificates from our friends in MN(thank you) and had lunch at the mall, then just kinda bummed around for the rest of the day.
'Freaky side note:' 2 wks before we went to the mall there was a mob of kids who invaded it making chaos running through it. And the night before we went, the mall had a bomb threat. We did not know this until we left the mall and I dont think I would've went knowing that.

But the two days 'out of town' were a definitely needed and fun family time! :)

Yummy ice cream


It snowed like crazy when we went out for ice cream! It was beautiful!


Swimming


Grady LOVED the water and did not want us holding him, he wanted to do it all on his own!
He has NO fear!


Mia also loved the water and has become quite a good swimmer





Build a bear


Washing their bears


Grady's bear (Andy thought it would be cute to get them all underwear for their animals since we didn't have enough for their outfits that were about $20 a piece!)


The girls with their loveys

Uh oh; Look what I can do

Grady learned something today that could cause some troubles. We'll just have to watch him very closely!
Here it is:
(FYI: The oven is NOT on.. I just have bread in there rising)

Going through a scared phase

Our bold and confident Hadley has been going through a major scared phase. I know it's somewhat normal at her age, but I don't remember dealing with this with Mia as much. Mia is just a little chicken over all, but not like a 'scared' chicken.

One thing that freaked Hadley out was the curtains in her room moving when the heat came on. Now, she's super scared to sleep in her room and at night... she has made the decision, she can not sleep alone! Thats where the brave big sister comes into action and allows her to snuggle her in her bed. They both sleep in twin beds so they def. have to snuggle in order to fit. It's been very cute to see Hadley looking up to her big sister for protection. And we've been very proud of Mia for being such a good big sister to let her sleep with her. At times Mia says, I just need a break.... But we tell her that God makes big sister's very special for this reason and that is why He made Mia a big sister.

...So, it used to went like this... We put the girls to bed in their own beds. As soon as we closed the door, Hadley climbed in with Mia. Then before Andy and I went to bed, 1 of us would check on them and Mia usually had us move Hadley back into her bed. But by the time morning came, Hadley was back in Mia's bed.
...Then after awhile... they started in the same bed and when we checked on them, we put Hadley back in the other bed, then in the middle of the night, Mia sometimes would come get us bc Hadley crawled back in with her and she wants her out(Hadley is a bit of a bed hog as well) so we moved Hadley again. Then by the time morning came, Hadley was back in bed with Mia snuggling right up to her.
...But now, they start in the same bed, they stay in the same bed all night, and they wake up in the same bed... ;)
It's pretty cute! Makes me think we need another boy so Grady has somebody in his room with him.. haha... I said it makes me THINK... so don't get any ideas! ;)

In Mia's bed

In Hadley's bed

Girl's day

Awhile back, Mia and I had made a plan to grow our hair out and then in spring, chop it off and donate it to locks for love. Well, Mia couldn't wait anymore, but I could! She wanted to her haircut now and it was long enough so, we went for it. We decided to make a girls day out of it. We were going to get her hair cut, then do some lunch, then I would suprise her and take her to the movie Tangled since she's been wanting to see it for awhile now. So, it was a plan. The day came and she decided she wanted Hadley to join in the fun, so the three of us went to Cost Cutters to get their hair cuts first. Not the best experience there and I can honestly say, we wont be going back there. There unfriendly attitudes tried sucking all the fun out of our locks for love experience, but we didn't let it, we had fun anyways :) After adding a few yrs onto the girls lives ;), we picked up tacos and took them to our favorite coffee shop to get coffee(steamers) and eat. That was Mia's 1st experience at a coffee shop :) Hadley is an old pro! They thought that was very special. Then we dropped Hadley off by daddy and Grady at home and Mia and I went to the movie. She was very surprised and super excited! It was an awesome movie and we both loved it!
It was a great girls day! I enjoy spending time with my girls! :)

The before picture


Look at all that long hair. I wasn't quite ready for her to get her hair cut, but she was so excited, I couldn't deny it!


The chops; Hadley got a few inches off and a few layers. Her hair is so fine, you can't do too much with it yet.


Mia's Chop... and I mean CHOP. She went with the 'bob' look. Very cute on her!


g

Hadley new cut.


Mia's back(I had to touch it up some... not only were they unfriendly, but Mia's girl did a crummy job... though you can't tell from afar)


The new Mia. Our 6 yr old turned into a 10 yr old. She was so flattered when I told her that. Isnt that what every little girl wants to hear?



Me and my girls! :)

A little of what you missed

It's been a long while since I've blogged. I started to think nobody was looking at it and I was just doing it for myself. But Andy talked me back into doing it so whether anybody looks at it or not, I'm doing it!

Life has been busy for us like everybody. A little bit of fun, a little bit of work, a little bit of school, and a lot of sickness lately.

Here are a few things we've done lately:

-sledding- Grady loved it, however we had to convince the girls to go(not sure why bc they loved it in the past)

-Christmas- always a busy time of year. We went to different family gatherings, Christmas Eve service, and had a birthday party for Jesus on his day. Andy's family celebrated Christmas on New Yrs day, but unfortunately Andy spent his entire day sick in his parents bed with the flu.

-babysitting- I have been watching twin boys who are a couple months older than Grady 1 time a wk and starting this wk, 2 times. I also have been watching my friend's kids for them a lot lately. I enjoy it. God gave me the gift of being able to stay home with my kids and as a thank you, I want to serve him. Not only that, but the kids love the play dates.

- work - Andy is thankful to have 40+ hours a wk at his job and I work in the house... cleaning, cooking, watching the kids, etc.

- school - Mia loves Ozaukee Christian School and is already reading some. We are so proud of her. She has such a love for God and such a sensitive heart!

-Playing - the kids have been being kids.. playing, playing, and more playing.

- a few field trips - we went to Cabellas bc the kids love the aquarium, all the animals, and of course the shooting range. A few field trips to the grocery store where the kids love to push the carts now... even Grady and if you try to help, he gets so mad! haha We also took a trip out towards Plymouth to cut our own Christmas tree down. We were able to get a bigger tree this yr, not a table top! :)

- a new van - After praying and researching, Andy and I decided to down grade our van. We now have a Chevy Venture with minimal features. I'll miss our cool midnight ride that was fully loaded, but it was completely worth it. Our loan went way down, our payments went way down, and our black van was starting to have issues. We'd rather give our money to God than have to pay for expensive materials.

- sickness - It has been the worst season for us with sickness. It seems that Grady picks everything up then passes it on to us. Poor Andy's had it the worst. Can't seem to get rid of a horrible cold and has had the stomach flu twice. The kids are right behind him though. I have been fortunate enough to just have had a cold, nothing more. Praise God! Andy says, it's not good when mommy gets sick!

I suppose that sums it up. I'll try and email everybody every couple of posts that I do to tell you that I updated so if you want you can check it out. Otherwise feel free to look on your own.




Hadley's snugging with Mia while she has the stomach flu


Place we cut our tree down


Picture full of personality


such a happy boy


Cheese


Grady pushing his own cart


Sledding






Christmas pic


Grady thought he'd help himself to some more breakfast


A little bit of fun



Play, play, play

Hadley's recent trip to Shriners

Hadley had an apt at Shriners this past Wed(Jan. 5th). Our hopes and thoughts were we would leave never having to put her brace on ever again. But unfortunately, it didn't go like that....

The apt went a little something like this:

-Got there, and got an xray.
-Got into our room and got a visit from the dr's aide; we were told that her back was about the same as it was when we went in July
-The new Dr came in and we met him for the first time. He was ok. Andy didn't like him, but I think that is because he did not like his response. I thought he was nice, maybe a bit more uptight than our last dr and not as warm and comforting. But very knowledgable! This dr said the same, her curve maybe went up only 1 degree since July, which was great. He took a look at her back and studied her quietly while we sat there in suspense ready to hear the words, Were Done. But instead he says, I don't like the way her back looks. There is still a bulge here and a kink in the spine. It's good, pretty straight, but not straight. So, he recommended that she wears the brace every night 12 hours for another 4 months, then we'll come in and get her spine checked out again. I asked him(though now I regret it) if once the spine is this straight if it tends to stay here and his response was, he's seen it go both ways. Not quite as optimistic as our last dr.
-Our nurse who knew Hadley very well came in, made sure everything was ok, and chatted with us for a bit.

Things there were definitely not the same without our last dr, but I can't complain. Hadley has freedom from her brace all day and just has to wear it at night. That's not too bad. Baby steps, I guess. We just have to praise God for how far he's brought her and the miracle she is. For holding her back in place and not allowing it to progress any more! Thanks God!

So, that's we are at in our journey with Hadley's infantile scoliosis.

Here are a few pictures of her back currently:

The Dr. didn't like the fact that her back was not symmetric, but chances are it will never be. She could have a 16 degree curve her whole life and that would be fine. (This dr could be a perfectionist)



xray:16 degrees...There are two curves(like and S), but the only one that is really a concern is the highest one.

Fall 2010

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