Happy Halloween

Yes... I am posting Halloween pictures on Thanksgiving. This is what happens when life happens! We've had a good fall, but there have been sick kids, sick parents, and a few crazy days in between. So, now that I have the day off I'm trying to catch up.

This Halloween we walked the plank with a Pirate and a Parrot! 

Mariner (or should I say the Grand-Mummy) joined us for trick-or-treat. After taking pictures in front of our pirate's ship we loaded the kiddos up in the back of the truck and headed out around the neighborhood. This is the first Halloween here in Deerlake, so we weren't real sure what to expect. We were so happy to see that our neighbors seemed to really embrace the holiday. Wyatt and Ava filled their pumpkins in no time and everyone was so nice.

Party Time for the Princesses!

On September 28th we celebrated Ava's 1st birthday and Callie's 3rd with a princess extravaganza! Pink and purple ruled the day at Granma and Papa's house. The girls wore coordinating t-shirts and tutus courtesy of Aunt Jenny. The whole family chipped in decorating and preparing food for the girl's big day. It always amazes me what this bunch is capable of pulling together. I can't thank everyone enough for making it special for these two princesses!

Wyatt's First Trip to the ER - Ouch!

You know those days when go to bed and think to yourself, "didn't see that coming"...

I'd only been at work a 2 hours when my phone rang, "The Stand" (Wyatt's Preschool) showed up on my caller ID - my heart sank... this is never good. The voice on the other end told me in a slightly panicked voice. "Wyatt fell, he hit his head, he's bleeding and we can't get it to stop, the ambulance is on its way."

I dropped everything and ran to my car. I didn't know what to expect, so in an attempt keep cool I used the time in the car to called the pediatrician to see where I should take him for stitches. They tell me they can't do it at their office and I'll need to go to an ER. Oh no!

I got to the school about 10 minutes after getting the phone call. I didn't want Wyatt to see me upset, so I pulled myself together and walked in to find him sitting between two teachers and surrounded by 4 paramedics. "Wow" I said to Wyatt, "look at all the people here to see you!" Wyatt jumped right in to my lap and sat while the guys took a closer look. I have to say, this is the first time I've ever seen that much blood on Wyatt. I was shook up by it. But as they cleaned him up a bit it really wasn't that big, just deep, very deep.

Sorry if you find it yucky - but this is what it was.

Turns out he tripped over his own two feet and fell in to the corner of the door.

After getting the clearance to leave, I decided to drive Wyatt to the ER myself rather than have him go in the ambulance. We went to South Side, because it was the closest. John met us there. They took us right to a private room, and that's where we sat for hours!

Waiting at the ER

If you've ever tried to keep a toddler calm, still and in one spot for any length of time then you know what we were up against. Thank heavens for smart phones that stream YouTube videos of monster trucks and trains or I don't think we could have survived the wait. Finally, the nurse came in and put a numbing liquid on the eyebrow. Wyatt screamed! It was so hard to know that they were hurting him, but that it had to be done. After another hour or so a Physicians Assistant came to do the stitches.

Wyatt was swaddled like a baby in a sheet to help keep him still. Then the nurse held his head while I hugged him tight to keep his arms down, John held down his legs. I have never heard a cry like what he did as the PA began to sow. It literally broke my heart. Wyatt didn't understand why I was letting these people hurt him so badly, he wailed and begged us to stop. I kept trying to talk to him through the tears, asking him what his favorite ice cream was and reminding him that he'd get some at home. 4 stitches later, they were done! Out we went, $100 co-pay at the door on the way out and off we went.

Home Bound!

When we got home I made him the longest train track I possibly could put together. He was happy. Then a surprise came to the door. Granma and Papa sent a balloon, a bear and a bag of Kit-Kats. It was almost like Wyatt had completely forgotten about the drama of the morning as he ate his candy bar and other than the band aid over his eyebrow you'd never have know it either.

He got the stitches out 6 days later and took it like a champ! Now he has a scab that we hope will heal soon.

As they say in the movie The Replacements:

"Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever"

The day he had his stitches out - all better!

Happy 1st Birthday Ava Lynn

"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife... Seasons of love." 

What a year our family has had. I don't feel like it's been that long. Yet I find it hard to remember what our family was like without Ava'bean. In one year we've built a house, welcomed Ava, moved and celebrated countless milestones. John and I are so proud of her every day. She sat back with a stoic expression observed us in our blur of activity. Wyatt keeps her entertained with his endless action. Now after months of watching our little girl has found her feet and personality, watch out world Ava's on the move. Her smiles and laughter fill my heart with love. We are so blessed.

First Birthday - At home with Wyatt & Daddy for the day.
Then Mommy, Marnier & Grady gathered for presents and cake!

1 Year Check Up = 97% for height, 50% weight, 75% head

Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you!

Wyatt's First Day of Preschool

What a big day we've had. It began at 5:15 this morning. Wyatt cracked the door to our bedroom... "Mommy?" Turns out he was too excited to sleep! Today was his first day of Preschool.

After what seems like months of calling, interviewing, and touring we finally settled on The Stand in Colonial Heights. It's right around the corner from my office and means Ava can continue going to Ms. Becky's.

Over the weekend I took Wyatt on a special preschool shopping trip - just he and I. He's been excited about going for weeks, but this trip was made it "real". He got to pick out his own stuff. Two pair of shoes that he said "make me run fast!", agonized over a blanket choice of Thomas the Train or Planes (Planes won), and finally grabbed the first backpack he saw.

John and I walked him in together this morning. He ran right through the door, checked out his classroom, raced past Ms. April (his new teacher), and quickly found a bucket of blocks to play with. After loading up his cubby and a quick potty break we had Wyatt all settled in. As we began to leave Wyatt cautiously eyed us up. With a reassuring smile I promised I'd be back soon and a teacher quickly brought over a very distracting red truck for him. I peaked through the window on the way out and off he went, pushing the truck. Cue the tears - I held it together until I got to the parking lot. John gave me a hard time, but I'm pretty sure he was feeling a little misty-eyed too!

I called at noon to check in - He had a good morning! Ms. April said he was very social with the other kids, did good on their color lesson and ate a good lunch. When I arrived at 5:30 to pick him I asked "Did you have a good day?" - "YES!" he said, "Do you want to come back tomorrow?" - "YES!" he said again. I brought him a special cupcake snack for the ride home  - And that was it - We did it, day one down.

Oh Canada....

Another good family vacation. We left Friday as soon as I got off work and I'm thrilled to report that the kids traveled perfectly and we didn't have a flat tire anywhere along the road (even though it came close). After picking up Jenny in PA we finally arrived at Cuddy's about 8:30 in the morning. 

Every year when we pack to leave I ask myself "is it really worth it?". It takes so much work to get everything together and it's so long in the car. But the second we step foot in camp and I see that beautiful lake I know - YES - it's worth it!

This is the one time of year almost the whole family is together for a solid week. Disconnected from the rest of the world, it's truly our time to reconnect.

Although the weather wan't great for floating, the guys had a great fishing year and us ladies had time for manicures and sitting in the sun (even if it was while wearing a sweat shirt).

Chris' First Fish Cleaning Lesson

The kids all had a blast. This was the first year Wyatt and Callie were really old enough to experience the Cuddy's way. Playing in the sand, climbing the rocks and running like crazy from dawn to dusk. Ava spent most of the week on someones hip, checking everything out from a safe distance. Cameron and Lil' Chris are getting so big; Chris was climbing trees like a monkey and I couldn't even tell you what Cameron was up too because she was moving all I saw was a blur as she ran by!

My vacation buddies.

I truly LOVE my family and it was a blessing to spend time with them all.