Glitter dough

Suzy's new trick

Suzy was so proud of herself. She can climb up to the bar and jump off. All By Herself. I must admit, I was pretty proud of her as well. ;)

Andy at 18 months

I received an email from sweet Amy Rose today and it reminded me that I haven't really taken any "photos" lately. Sure, lots of grab the camera so as not to miss the moment shots (posts to maybe come later). But not a lot of real outdoor trying to find the light kind of fun shots.

This morning, we started off driving to bible study and Andy began getting sick all over the van literally blocks from the church. He really wasn't acting sick and had no fever, but I still wasn't about to drop him in the nursery with instructions to call me "if he vomits..... again." :)

So, home we went. Today the "conditions were perfect". Nice and cloudy, not too hot or cold, and Andy is officially only a few days off of 18 months. Yup, perfect timing. And, as you can see, both kids were in great moods. Andy must have been just car sick or something. Praise God! I don't like it when the kids feel bad. Especially when they can't tell me about it.

I hope you enjoy our fun photos at our little neighborhood park!












He still REALLY loves balloons. This was his big prize from his big boy haircut. Sigh... he looks all growed up now....
He LOVES his balloon.
And the best for last.....
I totally staged this. He got his hair cut yesterday, so I gave him a bath when we got home. I just thought it would be funny to set this up. I think it turned out great!

Happy Wednesday!

January Doings

We've been very busy doing "nothing" this month. And I like it. My New Year's Resolution this year was to start actually spending less and being more aware of what I'm spending money and time on. I feel like the last five years I have been in serious survival mode. I survived ITP, I survived a high risk pregnancy, I survived the top ten stressors a marriage can have, I survived miscarriages, I survived a refluxy baby, I survived another high risk pregnancy, I survived having two babies, I've survived trying to balance work, family, and growing in faith.

This year, I want to live. Not just survive, but really LIVE. I am looking at things that I did to distract from my survival mentality and purging all kinds of bagage. Emotional baggage, spiritual baggage, financial baggage, and material baggage, and physical baggage. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

So far, I've made it three full weeks with my budget in tact and I'm so excited that I haven't gone over yet. I am using up things in my pantry, purging things from my closets, and really trying to live more simply, like my friend, Tsh, so wonderfully illustrates. Baby Steps.

I'm wanting to spend less time in front of the computer, and more time with family. I love these photos of a dinner with Grammy and Papop. Suzy is so much fun right now when she is engaged in some sort of imaginative play. She really loves to help any way she can. Still my little "mini me."
I like this photo. Just something about Grammy's hands holding the bowl and Suzy's little hands on the spoon.

We were also sick in January. A Lot. I even broke down and let the kids watch some Curious George. Anyone else think this photo is really funny?
Suzy is taking a little tap/ballet/tumbling class at the YMCA. She loves the tap part. Grammy bought her some new shoes and she hardly takes them off.
Andy is getting way to big. My dad used to say he was going to keep us in a little box so that we wouldn't be able to grow any bigger. Who let Andy out of his box?
He loves all kinds of crafts.
And, his blankie. He still loves all of his little Carter's jersey blankies. If anyone is purging theirs, you can toss them our way. Andy LOVES these blankies.
Andy has also figured out how to unzip his footed jammies and take off his poopy diaper. Awesome. Suzy wanted to help me clean it up this morning. I tried to object until she came out dressed up like "Nurse Carol from Curious George". How could I resist this? This girl really just makes me laugh on a daily basis. Poop. Still poop. When is this kid going to stop being so fascinated by all kinds of poop? (Side Note: by the time she was actually ready to help me clean the crib, I had it pretty well contained for her to simply transport to the washer.)
I'm not sure if this was a good parenting decision, I'm guessing not. But she REALLY wanted to give Andy some Tylenol for his teething. We had a super long discussion on the fact that she is not allowed to give Andy any food or medicine that I do not prepare for him. Honestly, she's such a "rule kid", I'm not overly concerned.
A few cute little ballerina photos.

Grow up so fast

In order to minimize clutter, I'm trying to take photos of more of Suzy's crafts and such and put them in our yearly album. Although I will never actually de-clutter with these precious little molds, I wanted to include them in our book. So I took some photos. These are both Suzy at newborn and one year. I can't believe how tiny she was.
Her sweet little foot....
Now look at her, all growed up. :)


She loves her bike. Andy thinks he's ready too. Ummmm... no. NOT YET!

Advertise and Network

Erin of PureWonder took some photos of the clinic where I "work" as well.

Here's the link. So fun! Thanks, Erin. I really had a blast with you and Katie. I know Suzy and Andy did as well. ;)

The New Clinic for OT Connection

Most of you know I'm an OT by education. I really do love my profession. I'm not really "working" right now since I'm home with Sugar and Spice. However, eventually I will probably return to the work force since I really do enjoy it. My delima at that time will be where to actually sign on. I love the hours and schedule of the school system. It's what I've done for most of my career and it works really well with having young children. However, I met a fantastic OT at a seminar I presented in San Antonio and I've done a bit of PRN here and there for her for the past three years. I love Katie and I love all that she stands for. She really does love the kids and has their best interest at heart. Plus, she's one savvy business woman and really does everything right. She's who Rob teases that I want to be when I "grow up". Nah, I never want her stress. ;)

Anyhow, she has just completed construction on a totally new facility up in Pfluegerville. To say it's the best clinic I could imagine as both a therapist and a client, would be an understatement. Seriously, if you ever need OT and you live in this area, you would be foolish to go elsewhere.

Well, she needed some promo shots for some new brochures and I offered up my camera. I then spoke with Erin of PureWonder and, knowing she really enjoys photographing for special needs families, I offered up her services as well. I'm hoping if Katie hangs a few prints in the lobby, it may drum up some business for Erin. We decided last minute this morning to round up some "models" and head over to the clinic. I was really just the "second shooter" so I was spending more time helping her than clicking my own camera. However, I feel like I got a few good shots and thought I would share them here. Enjoy!
This is only one of two ginormous gyms. There are around 10 or so individual treatment rooms. A feeding room, two speech rooms, a fine motor room, a technology room, a sensory room, a dramatic play room, it's really amazing.... Can you see the climbing wall and the fort that you can jump off into the crash pit? Katie seriously thought of everything when she designed this.

There is even a huge outdoor area since we have such great weather here for a large part of the year.



A zip line... see what I mean? Everything!


On a side, here is what I put together for my annual photo album. I thought about just posting these, but Rob says people prefer the bigger photos. What do you think? Last time I posted this question, only my sister responded. My goal of the blog is not to be super famous or anything, but just to keep in touch with family and friends. So, comment away, what do you think? Is it worth my extra effort to do both? Or does anyone even read this that isn't going to get the full sized book at the end of the year anyhow? :) Happy New Year!