Science Open House

Back in March, Shawn stayed home with Ella so that I might take Taylor and Averi to Bridlewood School's Science Family Fun Night!

We started off by witnessing how many text books 3 eggs could hold up. Turns out about 33!!! Imagine the breathless anticipation!

Ah, the power of the mighty arch!

Then the baking soda volcano...

Taylor and Averi creating polyhedrons with marshmallows and toothpicks:

Such a fabulous kiddy craft idea!!

There were other exhibits and experiments but I didn't capture them all on camera. We all had a lot of fun, though!

Catching up on Pictures

February

March

May

June

I love the look of glee on Averi's face here!

Hugs & Kisses

I chanced to find Shawn in the somewhat unusual activity of shaving his face at 9:30pm. He caught my inquiring look and said, "Taylor's hugs and kisses." I immediately swooned with adoration.

Not a bedtime goes by that Taylor doesn't procrastinate by insisting upon his hugs and kisses (Averi has adopted this pattern, as well). How sweet that Daddy was shaving for the occasion! (We returned from a "camping" trip at Crowsnest Pass this evening--will hopefully post more on that soon!)

Note to all men: The way to any woman's heart is through her children! ;)

Death and Marriage

I have 2 sweet little children brushing my hair as I type this. I'm a sucker for having my hair groomed. ;)

Taylor: When I have a wife, I'm going to do this for her.
Me: Awwww!
Averi: When I grow up, I'm going to marry Daddy cuz I'm a girl.
Taylor: Daddy's already married so he's going to die soon.

Lol!!

There's probably plenty of men who would agree with that sentiment. Al Bundy from the old TV show "Married with Children" comes to mind!

Ella-ese

Ella's speech varies from the astounding to the unintelligible. After she completed a cute little gibberish monologue this evening, Averi turned to us and exclaimed, "I don't speak 'Ella!'"

Ella's Surgery

Considering I had just written this post, imagine my surprise when Ella's surgeon's office called me with a surgery date of June 7th!

[I've been remiss in keeping this blog up to date. There are a few things that I've wanted to post. Mainly, I just can't wait to be able to remember ALL the GOOD things after death. ;) ]

I have a couple of pictures on my phone from after Ella's surgery but until I have a way to transfer them to the computer, that's where they'll remain.

Her surgery (tonsil- and adenoid-ectomy) went well; no post-op complications. I spent the night in the hospital with her but she didn't sleep much after the anesthetic effects wore off. We walked the halls of the unit for a lot of the night. :( She was allowed as many popsicles and jello as she wanted. She wasn't a fan of the jello. She ate lots of popsicles and apple juice after the surgery but then promptly threw it up. Following this, however, she ate and kept down 3 bowls of chicken noodle soup!

Daddy and the kids visited for a short time in the evening. They had to leave expeditiously due to the fact that Averi and Taylor were too boisterous and unintentionally waking kids trying to sleep. Why don't kids ever listen??

Ella had horrific breath for a week or so but that is normal. Averi, among others, constantly checked her diaper to see if she had messed herself! My favorite comment, however, came from Daddy who said that it smelled like something crawled into her mouth and died and then something else crawled into her mouth, ate the dead thing and then died.  lol!  Some of the more colorful versions were longer.

Ella was not a fan of taking Tylenol. She was supposed to take it every 4 hours for the first couple of days. The only way we could get her to take it was to force a FastMelt into the back of her mouth. They're difficult to spit out because they kind of stick to your tongue but we had to monitor closely. The liquid Tylenol was promptly spewed out on most occasions, despite using a syringe and only squirting it in in small amounts. Crushing a FastMelt and mixing it into applesauce or yogurt only worked if she'd eat the whole amount, which didn't seem often.

On the amazing side, her loud breathing and snoring have completely disappeared! The difference has been like night and day! She no longer has her apneic spells and we no longer fear that she won't wake up.

On the negative side, we can no longer hear her coming.

;)

Happy Father's Day

Averi made this in preschool. Some of the answers are HILARIOUS!

You've Got Grass

While snuggling with Daddy, Ella looks up Daddy's nose and announces:

You have grass!

My First Recital

OMGoodness, I'm so ecstatic that this is over!

It may be recalled that I received singing lessons as a Christmas present. My instructor, the fabulous Tanis, is a coloratura soprano and has a Masters in Vocal Performance. She lived just a couple of blocks away (in my ward) so it took me less than a minute to drive there (Shawn: Why don't you just walk??). She has since moved to a small town just south of Calgary but the 25-minute drive there is still worth it.  ;)

My motivation in taking singing lessons is to hopefully acquire the confidence to perform. As is true with teaching, I am fairly certain that the more I perform, the better I will become at performing. I insisted Shawn record me at my recital so I could critique myself. The added benefit is that I got to hear what I sound like. I've never been able to "hear myself" when I sing... Weird, but true.

You can't really tell that I'm dying of nerves (except that I can't breathe and don't smile or make much eye contact), but my usual stiffness is broken up with occasional hand rotations/waving... Whoops. I do that during lessons/practices to help with energy and flow. Didn't think I'd carry it over to my performance. Bah, whatever.

The recital takes place in a United Church building.

Taylor filmed my little pre-recital-footage message so excuse the shaking and noises. ;)

Another Surgery on the Horizon

After a 5-month wait, Ella was finally re-evaluated by ENT (Ears Nose Throat = Otorhinolaryngologist) for her mouth breathing and obstructed sleep apnea (diagnosed by Dad at Christmas). It was decided very quickly that she required a tonsil- and adenoid-ectomy. Her tonsils had increased from 50% enlargement/obstruction to 75% in the last year. We're looking at August/September for a surgical booking (which is much better than Taylor's experience with General Surgery). An overnight stay is required and I will be allowed to spend the night with Ella in hospital. Apparently, postop bleeding probability is only 1-4% with Ella most likely at the 1%. (Postop bleeding warrants a hasty trip to Emergency.)

I'm thrilled to finally get this resolved! Whenever Ella had a cold (which seemed frequent! over the winter), her parents feared she'd stop breathing completely! Ella's weight has also been a concern--she's at the 15th percentile for her age.

Also of note, Ella has been referred to the Children's Hospital Vision Clinic (where Averi goes for her eyes). I noticed her right eye turning inward about a month or so ago. Since Averi was visiting her surgeon this past Monday, I mentioned Ella's condition and Dr. Cooper fast-tracked her in on Avi's next appointment (August). The current wait-period is one year so I was quite ecstatic with this arrangement. My guess is Ella will only need glasses or some patching as it has manifested much later than Averi's condition.

Averi gets a break from patching this summer as her right eye has strengthened for the time being. There is a possibility she will be patched again. After Kindergarten, the effectiveness of patching will most likely be gone.

Happy Mother's Day!

I didn't get any cards out this year except to my mother. Guess that's what matters but I wanted to shout out to all the other moms in my life! Stepmom, sister, grandmothers, mother-in-law, friends... This world is a better place because of you!

We went on a short family bike trip, complete with picnic!

Skipping stones:

Averi asked: Did Jesus make rocks?
Me: Yes...
Averi: Did Jesus make them so we would trip on them?

Averi tripped on them.

Taylor drinking from my Camelback (a water backpack) reminded me of feeding from the breast.

Happy Mother's Day! Shawn got me a blizzard cake from Dairy Queen!

My Gentleman

My kids love checking out new showhomes. So much so that there aren't any nearby that they haven't seen. When I discovered the latest lottery home was close by (just south of Calgary), the kids were ecstatic to see it.

Since this was a really fancy neighborhood, we had to park in a lot and take a shuttle bus to the home. The kids thought it a great adventure.

Upon arrival, I made sure the kids knew to let the other 2 occupants disembark before us. As the last woman exited, Taylor could be heard saying "Ladies first!" He sounded so heroic that my heart melted.  ;)  The departing women were also quite touched.

We got to see not one, but two! houses worth over 2.5 million dollars. We were in love!

Weekend Getaway

Oh, glory be! It's been a few years since I've been on a weekend getaway with the female in-laws and we couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous weekend! The forecast for Banff and Canmore was SNOW but we enjoyed balmy sunshine.

This year, Lindsay, Vickie, Wendy, Diana and cousin Laura were in attendance. We enjoyed the usual diversions: brunch at the Banff Spring Hotel, window shopping, self-manis/pedis, hot tubbing and doing whatever we want without concern of children or spouse. Fab!! I will hopefully be able to get some pics soon.

We're each in charge of a portion of the menu and I made Lemon Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast with strawberries and whipped cream for Sunday breakfast. With church at 10am, it probably wasn't the best choice and we were a bit late.

Although I came heavily prepared with things to do--knitting, wedding invites I'm working on, 2 books, a movie--I spent the majority of my time re-reading Stephenie Meyer's The Host (this is my 3rd or 4th time)... The movie is coming out next year!

Returning home is always a trepidatious experience but I was monumentally and ecstatically surprised to find a clean home and happy children! Daddy had several sweet tales of his time with the kiddies causing me to dream of more frequent getaways! ;)

School Swimming

I'm so excited that Taylor has had the opportunity to go swimming at school! The last four days have been so thrilling for him.

On day 2, Taylor came home with the best swim-dry hair ever and so I, of course, took the opportunity to take some pics.

Of course, when either Taylor or Averi is getting pictures, the other must always get involved.  :D

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Breakfast

I try to make pancakes or waffles once a week because I'm a sucker for breakfast. On most days, though, the children prefer the following for breakfast:

Taylor:  Honey Nut Cheerios with milk (he also loves buttered toast)
Averi:  Vanilla Yogurt with Bran Buds (seriously!!)
Ella:  Strawberry Yogurt with Honey Nut Cheerios

My kids are suckers for fresh fruit, too, if it lasts long enough to enjoy at breakfast!