The Blog Is Now Private

I am testing to see what making the blog private has done to some other settings. If you are reading this, you obviously were able to view it ok. Please let me know if you having any trouble now that it is private.

Millie's 4 year check up

She had the option of getting no shots today or 4 next year and so we talked it over and she decided to get 2 this time and only have to get 2 next time..smart girl. Of course, it took letting her watch Spider Man instead of taking a nap which she is doing now while I blog. She checked out great. She weighs 38 1/2 lbs (75%), is 42 1/2 inches tall (95%), and has a BMI of 15 which is 40%. So she is tall and lean like her mom. They did a hearing test and she passed that as well.

And of course...the development "list" which I have referred to before...

Can count from 1-10 (really?) um...yes
Can walk on tiptoes...um...yes
Can name 4 primary colors...seriously...yes
Can use the pronoun "I"...come on people
Can ride a tricycle...big yes

Oh, I wanted to tell a little silly story about her. I have the song Piano Man on my IPOD which is in the approved list by Millie, she likes it. Every time it comes on she asks if a girl sings it. I say "no", it is a boy. And she asks "how do you know it is a boy". This goes on for most of the song. She will finally say, "well, that boy can sing really high, he sounds like a girl". It really cracks me up.

Privacy

I plan to make this blog private in a few days so I wanted to give you all a little notice. If you want to be able to view it, just send me your e-mail address and let me know so I can add you. It will be much easier for me to add you that way then to go through all my e-mail addresses I already have for you.

So just send me an e-mail or let me know on facebook if you don't have my e-mail, and I will add you to the reader list. Make sure you type out your e-mail address for me and include it in the body of the e-mail, it will make it much easier.

Thanks!

Ultimate Fighting

This is what happens when we turn our bonus room into an Ultimate Fighting ring.

First Day of School - For BOTH of Them!

Before I start, I need to put out a bad photo alert. I still can not see well so I am sure my pictures are all blurry.


I have been waiting for this day for about 13 months. I love my kids but I have got to have some alone time. Millie has been going to a Mother' Day Out program since she was 17 months old (the day after I discovered they existed). It was a savior to me, I needed some time to myself, even it was only 4 hours a day twice a week.

Your child has to be one year old and walking to attend the school Millie has been going to so all summer, we may have been really pushing Reed to start walking to he could go to school with Millie. He made it so it was all worth it. Rick took the day off because he had been working a lot the past few weeks and had not got to see me or the kids very much. It certainly helped me having him around that morning since there were 2 lunches to pack, 2 kids to get ready, pictures to take - of course - AND it was pouring down rain.


Millie was very excited to go, Reed did not know what was going on but he was open to it. He actually did not cry when we left but we did kind of just sneak out and he did not see us. His teacher said he did well other than he insisted on feeding himself so he made a big mess at lunch.

He was happy to see us when we picked him up. I think the hardest day will be day 2 since he has figured out what is going on. On Millie's second day, she started crying when we got to the door of the school and on the third day, she started crying when we pulled in the parking lot.

Here is Millie's first day of school photo from 3 years ago, she is still using the same backpack.



Looks like she finally grew into it!

Reed, Are You A Dog?

We don't have a dog so I am not sure where this came from. My mom and I noticed that if you ask Reed if he is a dog, he will stick out his tongue and start panting. It is pretty funny because he will usually stop whatever he is doing to do this. He loves dogs and will pant and lick when ever he sees one. He really gets excited if the neighbors let their dogs out when we are on the screen porch because the dogs always bark at us and Reed usually tries to bark back. He gets really upset when the dogs go back inside.

LASIK

Some of you have heard but I thought I would update everyone. I had LASIK done on Monday and unfortunately, it was not as easy and painless as everyone had told me it was. I am still recovering and the swelling is going down finally in my left eye. Nearly all the irritation in my right eye is gone, the left still has a little. I can see to walk around and get things done but reading is impossible and using the computer is not super easy. The sunlight hurts so bad it makes me feel like I am going to literally be sick. Millie has her first baseball practice tomorrow so that will be interesting to see how that goes for me, I am praying for a major overcast day.

I will keep everyone posted but I thought I would share the lovely photo I took of myself yesterday on the couch. I figured someone should get some enjoyment out of this so go ahead, laugh your asses off at me, I don't mind. No autographs please.

Millie is 4!

We had the last birthday party for another year and Millie enjoyed having her friends there with her. This party was on her actual birthday so she was officially 4. We had some bouncing, lunch and then some Spider Man cupcakes.



Although we should have been happy, it was a birthday after all, it was very sad because it was the last play group that Millie's friend Isabella was going to be at. They are moving back to Ohio on Saturday and I am going to really miss them. We have seen them at least 1, if not 2-3 times per week since Millie was 1 year old. Although I am going to miss them terribly, I wish them luck with the move and I am slightly jealous because they are moving back to their home town to be near their family.



Here are 2 photos of Millie and Isabella from a few years back. We have had a lot of fun over the past 3 years and I know we will still stay in touch for many years to come.

Reed said Up

My mom is visiting this week so she could be with Millie on her birthday and help me Monday when I have my eye surgery. So she was playing with Reed teaching him up and down. She would say up and he would point up and when she said down, he would point down. Not rocket science but then he pointed up and SAID up! Good job Reed! This is his first word other than Mom and Dad and a fluke bye bye that he said once and never again.

I Am Just Not Cool Enough

I don't know what to say about this girl. Sometimes I think I am just not cool enough to be her mom. We were getting ready for the pool the other day and she was all fired up about it and that she got to wear one of her new bathing suites. It had princesses on it and although she had no idea who they were, she was thrilled and thought they were "rock'n". And of course, she needed her new Spider Man hat my mom got her to keep the sun out of her eyes.

Event 6 - Bowen Company Picnic

If you have been paying close attention, I skipped an event. Event 5 was a day at the Louisville Zoo but I did not feel like taking a camera and there was not much to tell. We did have a good time and fun was had by all.

So, after a few days of rest/babysitting for my nephew at my mom's, we packed everything and headed North on Saturday morning. Yes, you read correctly, we went North from Floyd Knobs to go to Knoxville. The Bowen Company Picnic was on Saturday in Columbus and since we were so close and had never been able to make it to one before, we wanted to go. And boy am I glad we did! We headed up early so we could visit with good friends of ours we don't get to see much. They had camped at the park all weekend and we met them at the campground. Millie loved playing with their little boy who was born about 3 weeks before her and Reed bonded with their little girl who is just as close to his age. We rode bikes and Millie hung out with Sid in the hammock and rested after biking.



When it was picnic time, we rode our bikes across the park to the shelter house and Reed really enjoyed the bounce house.



Sid and Millie were quit entertained playing with the industrial fan...watch your fingers kiddos!



Reed was amazed by all the sticks he found. I realized why Reed had been so fascinated with sticks our entire trip, I don't think he has ever seen one before. This is very sad and tragic on my part as a parent. Rick and I have got to find some land and move quick before our kids are turned into city kids forever!



We would have loved to stay longer but Reed had had all he could take so we packed up and headed South for good this time. You can see Millie had a blast, here she is passed out in her car seat, Hawaiian Lei still on, wearing her new Bowen t-shirt and holding the 2 stuffed parrots she and Reed got at the picnic.

Event 4 - Holiday World

Ahh...day 4 was going to be a day of rest. To catch everyone up on our trip to Indiana, it had gone something like this:

Day 1 - Travel from Knoxville for Rehearsal Dinner and 60th birthday party
Day 2 - Wedding and Reception
Day 3 - Millie and Reed's birthday parties

So, we were kind of busy. We figured on Day 4(Monday) would be a day of rest for Rick, the kids and I. Well, plans changed at about 7:30 that morning. We got a call from Rick's mom and she said there was a chance of rain on Tuesday when we were originally going to go to Holiday World so we got our things together quickly and prepared to make the hour drive to meet them. We had a 9am meeting set up already in New Albany we had to go to so Rick and I got everything together, headed into New Albany, ran our errands, went back to Mom's to pick up Millie and then headed west to meet Rick's family at Holiday World. I was very thankful my mom kept Reed so Rick and I could enjoy the day with just Millie. She had a blast and I enjoyed watching her because that's all I do, watch. I wish you could get a "Watcher" ticket since I don't ride the rides. I made the mistake of riding the carousel with Millie and that about did me in, I felt like I was going to barf the rest of the day.

She passed the 42" mark this year so she got to ride most of the rides except for the big roller coasters. She loved them all...

Rick has the photos on his camera so I will have to add them later.

Event 3 - Dual Birthday Parties

We made it to day 3 and I had Millie and Reed's birthday parties at my mom's house. This saved everyone from driving to Knoxville twice so I figured it was a good idea. My parents, sister, aunts and uncles, my grandma and Rick's parents and siblings were all there (minus the newlyweds of course)and a couple of my friends. It was another beautiful day and the kiddos really enjoyed their train cupcakes.



Reed got to spend some time with his cousin Anastasia who is 1 day younger than him. Rick's sister and husband live in the UAE so this is only the second time they have visited since she was born.

Event 2.5 - Wedding Reception

I figured the wedding reception gets its own post because if you ask Millie, the wedding and reception were 2 totally different events.

The wedding party disappeared for 2 hours after the wedding while I drove around my old stomping grounds allowing Reed to take a nap. Our old house was looking a little rough but I did talk to the people that live there now. After driving around for about and hour, I headed to the reception and tried to keep Reed happy, he was having none of it. He just kept signing "finished" as violently as possible to let me know he was finished with EVERYTHING. He was finished with the wedding, the party, the crackers, the stroller...the entire day in general.

The wedding party FINALLY arrived at which time I found out they had been driving around town in a Hummer Limousine. Millie was with them and she was excited to tell me about the...BIGGEST. CAR. EVER! They stopped to get her some snacks while cruising around the tristate area. Apparently she managed to seal the deal of making everyone in the wedding party her best friends and from what I hear, they all thought she was pretty cool.



It was time to eat and the wait was worth it, Schnitzelbank! I just love Evansville and Jasper weddings because I love Schnitzelbank! I got Millie and Reed all situated with me and then Millie noticed all her New Friends were sitting up front and she wanted to sit with them. So I moved her up to the wedding party table and she was happy.





She got the party started by requesting her favorite song, Whip It, and the only time she left the dance floor the rest of the night was to con a few groomsmen into dancing with her.

I don't even know this guy but he seemed to be her favorite, even over all 4 uncles and Rick.

Reed caught a second wind after the music started and he was loving walking around on the dance floor. I am certain both of my kids suffered hearing damage from the loud music but they had fun. Reed kept slipping in beer puddles and his feet were solid black by the time we left there that night.

Event 2 - Wedding Day

The day was beautiful as was the bride. Millie was having a blast when Reed and I made it to Evansville about an hour before the wedding. Rick had succeeded in getting her ready for the wedding, I had pretty hair clips for her but I noticed she was not wearing them, I figured it was not a big deal. She was keeping busy bonking all the groomsmen on the head with a water bottle and playing with her Spider Man Build-a-Bear she got from Jeff and Lyndsie for being the flower girl.



Jeff looks like he is holding up well. He cleans up pretty well it seems.


She did a fantastic job of walking slowly up the aisle and standing where she was supposed to.


The maid of honor had to guide her around a little during the ceremony and she finally hopped over to hang with the groomsmen since Rick and all her uncles were on that side.



Congrats Jeff and Lyndsie. It was a great day and I was glad to be there.

Event 1 - 60th Birthday

I may have many little posts today, trying to catch up from being gone for 9 days. Our first event was my Uncle's surprise 60th birthday party. None of us were sure he was going to show up but he finally made it. It was not a surprise, however, because his wife had to tell him about it to get him to come. Oh well...it was a nice evening and I got to see a lot of my aunts, uncles and cousins.

Reed enjoyed the party but Millie was not there because she had to go with Rick to a rehearsal dinner for Rick's brother's wedding the following day in Evansville. Stay tuned for more details on the wedding.

We made it!

We are back home in TN finally! After being gone for 9 days, driving about 1500 miles and having lots of IPOD time, we are back. I wish I could say we were on vacation but we weren't, just lots of family stuff to do. I will dig through the tons of photos later and update everyone when the laundry is caught up, the grass is cut and baled, and I shovel through a week's worth of mail...ugh!