Macy's First Hair Cut

Today between the cardiologist appointment and my OB appointment we decided to get the girls hair cut. I really didn't think Macy would do so well. Yesterday she managed to get a gummy fruit snack stuck in her hair. Apparently she had been taking it in and out of her mouth and then got it caught in her hair. In trying to get it out she made a royal mess. She was flipping out over it. Not just upset, but really flipping out. I know you are supposed to be able to put ice on gum to get it out, but there was no way she was going to sit there and wait for that to happen. I did get some of it out, but I finally just got out the scissors. It was stuck at the bottom of her hair, so I thought we'd cut it out. Oh my goodness at the panic - "no scissors! no scissors!". I managed to get her watching television and I quickly snipped it out. It wasn't even noticeable! Anyway, I thought she'd flip out with the scissors today, but after seeing her sister get her hair cut and sitting in the fun little car she said she wanted her hair cut too. She did great and I think she actually enjoyed it.The after.

Both girls with their new haircuts and sticky lollipops.

Macy's Cardiologist Follow-Up

Today we had Macy's 2 year follow up appointment at the cardiologist. For those of you who don't know (and I can't believe I haven't posted this in the past), Macy was diagnosed with a heart murmur at 1 month old and referred to a cardiologist. They did and EKG and echo cardiogram and determined that she has ASD (atrial septal defect) and PPS (peripheral pulmonary stenosis). The PPS is not uncommon because the arteries that take blood to the lungs can be small. She has outgrown PPS, thankfully, and her ASD was mild. Apparently a 3mm hole can be considered normal, and her hole was 5mm. The doctor was pretty sure that hers could close up on it's own without intervention. Thankfully she was not put on any restrictions as far as her physical activity. We went back when she was 13 months old and her EKG results were the same, and because they wouldn't do anything to treat her until she was at least 3 years old, they didn't do an echo. Today was her 2 year follow-up and she did great. For a child who hates band aids, I think she did wonderful having all of these things attached to her. So we had some good news. The hole is now 2.5mm and he doesn't want to see her back for 5 years! He still thinks that it has a good chance of closing up on it's own, and that is what we are praying for.

The morning wiped her out! She was such a brave little girl!

You Gotta Pay Your Bills

We've really tried to teach Kayla about money. Daddy works and gets paid, we give money to the church, and we also have to pay our bills. We have to pay for our electricity, our phones, our house, etc. Last night she proved to us that she is understanding. The cable, phone, and internet went out yesterday afternoon, and pretty much stayed out until this afternoon (thanks Comcast). After a little while Kayla came to me and said, "Mommy, I think you need to pay some bills." HA So I had to explain that we had paid our bills, but that there was a problem that we had to wait to get fixed.

Father's Day

Better late than never, I guess. We had a good Father's Day. It's probably not ideal when your wife is sick on the couch, and you can't be pampered as much, but I think he had a good day. After church we went out for a hibachi lunch. Kayla was a little frightened with the first big fire when they are cleaning off the cooking area, but she ended up having a great time. She even tried the chopsticks. For dinner it was Moe's - of course. I haven't been able to cook to much, but Moe's always seems to help out.

I took this picture of the girls to frame for Marc. I think it turned out pretty cute.

These girls are so lucky to have a daddy that loves, teaches, plays, and guides them. For the last 6 weeks he has been filling the role of husband, daddy, wife, and mommy as I get through all of this sickness. I know he is worn out, but he still willingly takes it all on. I love you Marc, and hopefully very soon you can go back to just being a daddy and husband!

Not Ashamed to Steal Someone Else's Ideas

Doesn't every kid love playing with water? My girls are no exception. I did have a small rubbermaid box that we were using as a water table with cups, paintbrushes, and other stuff found around the house. Then Macy started sitting in it and Kayla started throwing chalk in it. That made some nasty water. So when I saw a post from the Dorminy family we decided to steal their idea, right down to the exact same tubs. Why reinvent the wheel?

Can You Make Yourself Have a Green Thumb?

We decided to try a garden again this year - mostly because I hate paying such high prices for peppers. We don't even eat a lot of peppers, but $4.99/lb for red and yellow peppers is way too expensive for us. We do buy our fair share of cucumbers and tomatoes, though. My in-laws have a huge garden every year and this year my MIL offered to help get us started. She does pretty much everything from seeds so we sat down with the catalog and picked some things out. I'm sure our garden will be a success because she gave them such a great start. I don't even know how much water to give a plant, so Marc has taken on the challenge. So far we've had 3 cucumbers and there are plenty more on the way as well as a lot of tomatoes. I'm the only one who really eats tomatoes, so I think that 8 plants is a little much. There is a story behind that, but I won't get into it now. I just hope our neighbors like tomatoes.

Experimental strawberry plant. You hang the bag and the plants cascade down. Only about half of the plants have survived so far, but that's okay.

Green beans, red peppers, watermelon (Kayla's request), and peanuts (my MIL's suggestion for something fun).

Peppers, tomatoes (full size and cherry), cucumbers, and a few herbs.

God's Little Surprises

Arriving around January 9, 2010!

Growing Girls

Yesterday we took both girls to the pediatrician for their check-ups. They are both doing great - small for their age, but healthy. Oh, except Macy has a big head, but that's nothing new. As their previous doctor said EVERYTIME they were measured, "she's got lots of brains in there." That joke got a little old. Anyway, we switched doctors a few weeks ago when Kayla had strep and we are still very pleased. Speaking of strep, Kayla had it twice and the only reason I took her in the first time was because she was running a fever for a couple of days. No complaining, no acting different, nothing. The second time she started to run a fever I checked her throat and saw the red bumps so I took her in. Again, no complaining at all. Yesterday she struggled with her hearing test. There is some hearing loss in Marc's family so I was a little concerned at first. Come to find out she has an ear infection in that ear. No fever, no complaints, nothing. She has always been like that. Who knows how many ear infections and strep throats she has had and I had no clue.

Of course the girls had some shots to get. This was the first time Kayla really understood what was going to happen and she wasn't too happy about it. I mean who would be? She had 4 including the MMR. I had to get that shot after Kayla was born because I wasn't immune to the R (rubella). I was warned that it would burn, and boy did it burn. I knew what was in store for her yesterday. When the nurses (yes more than one nurse) came in with the shots (in about half the time it took our old pediatrician's office to get it together) I was thrilled that two of them would be doing it at the same time (one nurse doing each leg). They did a countdown and the shots were over so fast. A the old practice the nurse we always got gave one shot and then put a small band aid on before moving on to the next shot. It was so drawn out. The whole shot experience confirmed to me that we made the right choice switching.

One final story. Macy is usually over the crying about 30 seconds after the shots are done. Not this time. She cried and cried - loudly. I wanted her to calm down before we left the exam room, but finally we just had to go. She said "sticker", so I thought she wanted one on the way out. Apparently not. She was still crying once we got outside. Only then did I remember that she HATES band aids. I quickly took them off and she was fine. Oh the drama!

Macy's Party

Blogger and I are having issues right now. I wish it would post picture in the order I put them in instead of backwards. Plus I can't delete the picture that isn't rotated correctly. It just wants to stay I guess. She was very blessed with the gifts from her family, but the favorite thing was the styrofoam that came out of a box. She really tried to tear it apart into individual little balls. She really didn't want to open anything else until all of the balls were torn apart.

Oh my goodness. I could keep this child. He is so squeezable and the girls love him. Kayla loved on him and played with him for quite a while. Macy on the other hand stared out the window calling for Austin (his big brother) to come inside. I think she has a little crush. Every time we get together she is chasing after him calling his name and calling his name usually lasts for a few days after he leaves!

We practiced on Friday with a candle in her special donut breakfast and she was able to blow it out today.

Happy Birthday Macy!

Macy turned 2 on Friday. Two! It is so hard to believe. Marc took the day off and we headed to the zoo. It was a great day to go. Overcast, but not too hot and only ONE school group. The girls were able to have more freedom to run around since we weren't dodging a gazillion little kids.

Kayla picked out a new baby and Diego movie for Macy. Do we need another baby doll in the house? I think not, but Kayla knew that Macy loved playing with babies and watching Diego. She really thought about what Macy would want. This is no ordinary baby doll. She moves and makes noises. It wasn't too annoying in Wal-Mart, but that night it kept randomly going off. I did manage to find a volume and on/off switch so we were able to get to sleep. Every time it starts to bug me I just remember how proud Kayla was to find that for her sister and I forget how annoying the doll can get.