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We had a great trip to Virginia complete with making goodies with Grandma, garden planting with grandpa, sticky popcorn with grandpa, going to a park for the first time post transplant, livy getting her first tooth, and a suprise visit from cousins coming down from PA. It was a great visit and I got to go out and about shopping, seeing a few friends, and getting some much needed naps. It was great to go home! (Having trouble with picture posting here so check out facebook for some photo op shots.)

Busy April...

April has been busy for us....a visit from Aunt Reina, Easter and then a trip to Altanta for Transplant Night at the Bravesa nd then a CHOA visit. We are headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house later this month still to go! It has been busy but worth it.

Ian was all excited about the baseball game until we got there and then it took major coaxing to get him to want to go inside. Who knows! It was bitter cold that night because of the wind so Livy and I lasted through the first pitch and Brett and Ian made it through the 6th inning which is about 5 innings longer than I thought he would make it. It was a great event put on by the Braves for the transplant kids.

Livy is all about rolling and scooting these days. She is teething I think but no teet yet. She chews on everything! She is so interested in food...like Brett's hamburger from the braves night that you see. We keep telling her she must have teeth to eat things like that!

And because the kids were cranky after two days of no sleep and stuck in teh car for long periods of time, I squeezed in the back of the Corolla between teh two car seats to do what most mommys do on trips....push snacks, read books, play peekabo, and basically anything else that keeps the drama to a minimum. Don't ask how I got back there or how I got out!

Aunt Reina's visit

Aunt Reina (Brett's oldest sister by a few minutes) came to visit us this past week and we have had a fun filled week. Playing wii, going for walks and spotting our neighborhood gator, going to the beach and downtown charleston. It has been great. We will miss her when she goes.

Tonight we had our FHE and talked about Easter and how next Sunday when we celebrate it we should think of Jesus and Ian pipes up and says, "I'll think of my eggs". Nice to know we have done such a great job as parents to focus on the meaning of Easter :)

Mother of Two

So life as a mother of two is way crazier, zanier, more sleep deprived, and filled with juggling than I ever thought possible. I'm trying to be kind to myself and say that in part it is due to having a child with some pretty special medical needs and another child that is tiny with her own medical issues that create very short naps and lots of laundry...but perhaps it is just me. I never expected to have a car seat that could serve as a snack buffet when turned upside down...good grief!

Ian is doing well and is an energetic 3.5 year old. He will be four in three short months which is hard for us to imagine. He can operate the computer by himself, is learning to write letters and their sounds and anything else that he think he can do is responded to with "I'm a big boy. I can do it all by myself" He is trying so hard to be independent. Brett is defintitely steering him towards a love a golf--the putting green INSIDE our house would have nothing to do with that at all...wink wink.

Livy's sleep training is going well over all. She knows her routine and that it is me that does it and does not want Brett to be involved as demonstrated on Saturday when I was gone for the YW broadcast. She likes her exersaucer, and anything that she can chew except actual food which irritates her tummy. Rice cereal is what we are doing for now.

Life as a mother of two is crazy but worth every bit of the gooey loves!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

So Ian and I have been working on handwriting lately and some sequencing, etc. So in honor of that, I'll do the pictures in order here that speak a thousand words of what happened at our house today.....

It was an accident as things like that usually are. The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth you see in photo number 3 was due to the fact I had just told Ian not two minutes beforehand that we do not throw the ball in the house up in the air so he knew his choice wasn't that great. He was crying because he lost his Wii time that evening. He still got lots of time to play other things with Livy and Mom and Dad.

Raisins, Rolling, and Records Oh My!!!

So Saturday night was a bit interesting. For those who are not reading Brett's blog (www.maskcz.blogspot.com), I'll give the readers digest version here as to why it was interesting.....

Ian shoved a raisin up his nose. After all attempts to remove said raisin from his nose (blowing, blub syringe, etc.) we called his pediatrician who advised us to go to the ER. After a snotty experience for Brett and some trauma for Ian, the raisin came out and we are the proud owners of a package of tissues that cost some unearthly amount for the ER visit. I am needless to say grumpy. The docs gave us the raisin in a specimen jar as shown below.

Livia has decided she wants to roll over which is wonderful! But she squeaks as she cannot figure out how to get off her tummy yet. She is also eating rice cereal and has had peas now (loved them) and ate a whole container her first day. She watches with interest when we put anything to our mouths. Brett has promised not to give her tastes of things that are particularly naughty--like ice cream.

I am in the midst of getting some decorations together for a 50's sock hop fundraiser for girls camp--the records part of this title post. The sock hop is this Saturday and I'm trying to decide whether it is worth it for me to make a poodle skirt or not. I have to make a dessert item for auction and a bake sale item and am so not the chef and am a bit worried. I have my sister sending me her best recipes to make and think it will end up being Oreo Cake and Fudge Bars we'll see.

Family Matters

Brett was out of town on business earlier this week and the kids and I all survived. The last time he was out of town on business, we got the call for Ian's transplant so I was a bit apprehensive about him leaving again. Nothing happened in terms of life changing events.

In a few weeks, we will begin the sleep training process for Livia that is based on a modified Feber method. All my hopes with her being able to sleep through the night on her own haven't materialized. It makes me wonder how some people end up with kids that sleep through the first night home from the hospital--sign me up for that bargain! I purchased a mobile with a remote control for her and Ian was a huge helper in getting it put together. Anything with a screw driver he is there. Livia is eating rice cereal now and is loving it! I am impressed at how well she is doing and did even on her first time. I see peas and sweet potatoes in her near future :)

Ian is having more and more energy. I am amazed at what hte liver transplant has done for him. He was never really lethargic before like some "liver kids" are but comparing pre and post transplant energy levels there is a definite difference. He enjoys soccer, basketball, and golfing but he knows he cannot do them when Livia is having floor time--eeek!