Happy Birthday!

Happy 5th Birthday, Zoe!! My baby turns 5 today... and she is celebrating at school. She is growing up so fast... and really showing that she can get dirty, but can also be sooooo girly!! She loves to cook... mostly with her dad, she loves to play with her American Girl doll and she loves to just sit around to color & write. I always wonder where the time goes and why it has to go so fast?? Does anyone know how to slow it down??

I never thought this day would come!

Cole's front tooth is finally coming in!!! We have waiting patiently for this to happen for almost 2 1/2 years! I know this may be hard for some to believe, so I am including a picture to prove it...

Here is an explanation for those of you that are unaware why it has been 2 1/2 years since we have seen a tooth in this spot of his mouth... In November 2006, we sent Cole to a classmate's birthday party at the local bowling alley. I dropped him off with the intention of being back in 2 hrs to the child I had left there. When I got there... Cole came up and smiled really big... I was so shocked to see that he only had 1 front tooth, I didn't know what to say. The details then came out... Cole was apparently running (without bowling shoes on) and fell... he hit his chin on the bowling ball. They then ate pizza, ice cream and cake. The birthday girl's mother said she wondered why Cole kept getting a red ring around his mouth, but she thought maybe it was the pizza since he wasn't complaining. After everything was done... the mother went over to Cole and asked him about the reappearing ring on his mouth and had him open his mouth... that is when they discovered the tooth was gone! They went down on the lane where Cole fell... there laid the tooth and root... this tooth and root was almost about a half inch long. We took him to the dentist the next day and was told that there was no damage to his permanent tooth... they also said the permanent tooth would come in probably when he turned 6 since he got his first tooth at 4 months. The dentist office still remembers Cole for this specific reason and he is the talk of the office... they said they never had anyone come in for this. I had a very hard time adjusting to this change in his looks... but now it is so normal that I think I will have another adjustment period when the tooth comes all the way in as I haven't seen him with 2 front teeth for a very long time! Lately we have been very concerned because he will be 7 soon and no tooth yet, so it is a relief to finally have the tooth break through the skin! Yeah!!

Where has the time went and went have I been doing?

Okay so I know that I haven't been the best blogger this month... in fact, I stink! I don't know where the last 3 weeks has went, but I also know that I wasn't busy getting things accomplished! I have no excuses for not blogging in this time... so here are the updates on our family:

1. Zoe is doing great after her surgery... she is sleeping so much better! We have had to battle a small cold and huge cough this week, but she is doing very well...
2. Cole is also doing well... we have been worrying this week about his reading difficulties at school and the effect it is having on him being able to go on to second grade. We have spent time talking with Sylvan Learning Center (wow is this expensive!) and also the teacher. We have decided for now to just keep working hard with him every night, additional reading time at school and to hire a teacher for a tutor to help him (and continue this through the summer). Sylvan sounds like an awesome program, but decided to put off that large investment until half-way through the next school year. We will then re-evaluate his progress... We love Mrs. Meador and the additional time she spends with us to help Cole succeed!
3. Todd is still plugging away at his job even though there isn't much going on in the construction world. He is busy plowing snow again as I type... Been out since early this morning.
4. I have been busy trying to plan the kids' birthday parties the last couple of weeks. Cole will be 7 and Zoe 5! Where does the time go? Zoe and I were looking at her baby pics the other day... I miss my babies... they grow up so fast! We also decided that Cole was old enough for a class birthday party, so we are going to the movies! I will let you know how this goes... we have the opportunity to have 21 kids (ages 6 & 7)... not sure how it will be, but they are going to watch Monsters vs. Aliens. I have been busy trying to get everything pulled together for taxes... ugh!! Busy, Busy, Busy... Not to mention that we have also celebrated 4 birthdays in the daycare in the last month... it feels like we have birthday parties and snacks every day! We also have 3 more to go in the next 3 weeks!

Well there it is... all updates (that I can think of right now)... I will try to be better about posting...

Recovery

I haven't blogged in a little while and the reason seems to be because I was a little worried about Zoe's surgery. She had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy yesterday and is now at home recovering. She is doing well, but is still complaining of pain. She did have a longer than expected recovery time at the hospital yesterday because she wouldn't go back to sleep after the surgery... even though they were giving her tons of medicine (w/codeine) for the pain and she kept fighting the sleep. She ate tons of popsicles and jello yesterday for her all liquid diet. Today we are gradually working our way into soft food. She slept good last night... hardly any movement and no snoring!! She is completely different than what Cole was like 2 yrs ago when he had his removed. It is good that my children are different, but this has been a struggle... Let me tell you why... Before they start any procedures for the surgery at the hospital, the children are given a "happy" drink. This drink is to make them feel like they are drunk... for the main reasons of relaxation and no memories of the process. Cole was so funny right after the drink... he was laughing and seeing double... his eyes were even crossed. Cole was also laughing and waving when they took him into the operating room. Zoe was very quiet and would giggle once in awhile. It took a good 30 minutes before we seen anything strange from Zoe. She started mumbling and slurring her words, giggling under her breath because daddy had 2 heads and she cried when it was time to leave mommy and daddy. Zoe also fought her sleep afterwards whereas Cole went right back to sleep. Recovery at home has also been a little different. You would have never known Cole had anything done as he was eating normally the same day.... Zoe on the other hand is a little more on the winey side and complaining more of pain. We will see how the recovering goes the next couple of days...

Undercover Wear Party

My sister, Tracy, had an Undercover Wear party Friday night at the Rt 20 Bar & Grill. I had never been to one of these parties and I knew my mom wouldn't be at this one (since she was at the last one), so I decided to go but not without bringing others with me. I decided to take my good friends, Elizabeth and Erin. We had a fun time... What more could you ask for when you have friends, drinks and fun girly talk? The 2 1/2 hours flew by and we didn't mind that it was literally freezing outside. My advice to you... If you get an invite, go... we had a blast and really laughed a lot! They do carry spa items and pjs... The pjs were felt very soft and looked comfortable. I am including some pics per the request of my experienced blogger friend, Elizabeth. Please come to your own conclusions...

Massager

The Diving Dolphin

Larry the Cable Guy

We went to see Larry the Cable Guy last Thursday night... He was hilarious!!! It was a short show, but worth it... I have not laughed that hard and long for a long time! I am attaching a few clips... Enjoy!

Larry the Cable Guy - Part 2

Here is another short clip from our Larry the Cable Guy experience...