Notable Quotes: A feather in my cap!

Lainey:

"Mommy, you are my best friend.  I love you."

Erik:

"Mommy, how do you know everything?!"


Thank you children for making me smile!  I will make sure to remind you of these quotes in 10 years!

Random Thoughts

Nice Parent Moment:

Today when we picked up Lainey and Carson from the nursery the helper who is in the nursery almost every week said, "Your kids are the best!  If one is sad, the other always comes over to comfort them with a hug."  So sweet!  It's always nice to hear positive things about your kiddos.


Headache:

I've had an intense headache for 24 hours.  Super annoying.  My sweet husband let me sleep in until 8 AM this morning and take a 2 hour nap this afternoon.  I still have a headache but it's almost bedtime. Hopefully, it will be gone tomorrow!

Winner:

I won a $50 gift certificate from a blog giveaway to go towards anything at http://www.uprinting.com/

I have never won anything before!  Exciting!

Daron update:

He is stable but pretty miserable.  The expected crappy side effects have started to kick in... mucositis, tachycardia, fevers (likely due to neutropenia but requires strong antibiotics and a full work up), and fatigue.  I talked to him yesterday and he still seemed to be in good spirits!  Keep up the 12 for 21 campaign!  The next few weeks will be tough!!

Me and my sweet baby boy!

Photos from the "transplant"

I talked to Daron post-infusion.  He is doing well, but said if we call and he doesn't answer his phone it's likely because he is busy blogging.  Haha!

Here are a few photos from the day...

The stems cells!
Daron has a new blood type now too.  A+ instead of O+.

P.S.  Daron, Erik is glad to see you are wearing "green" soccer clothes just like him!

12 for 21

Weird!  That's how it feels to be rushing through my normal Tuesday schedule today while Daron is in the hospital about to get his stem cell transplant.  Erik has been asking if we can fly to California to be with him (and see those factories they took out of Mommy that he is so curious about)!

Since I can't be there physically I thought I would ask my blog readers to join me in praying for Daron at 12:00 everyday for the next 21 days!  (12 for 21)  I think I have people reading this in 4-5 different time zones.  Daron is still doing quite well but the next 3-4 weeks will be tough.  Hopefully, we can cover at least 4-5 hours a day in prayer for him during this tough time.

Thanks for joining me/us!!

Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday, we spent all day at the zoo.  The kids were really nice travelers so we had a fun day! 

 Carson was so excited about all the animals. It was so cute!

Haha!

This was taken about a minute before we left!

They were still doing well, just not interested in having their picture taken.

Our family has been so incredibly busy recently.

I am hopeful we can find some time to just sit over Memorial Day.

The kids and chaos are my biggest blessings of course, just exhausting ones at times!

Happy 40th Victor

I didn't forget Victor's big day this week, we have just been too busy to get to the blog!  40 years old.  Yikes!  I can vividly remember my parents turning 40 and now my husband is 40.  How did that happen??  When did I get old enough for it to be appropriate to be married to a 40 year old?!

I better move on or my poor husband (and readers) might take a offense to my blabbing!! :)

Poor Victor had to work 15 hours on his birthday this year.  I think the day was still a good one though because him mom and sister were here to help celebrate.  Somehow I didn't get any photos but Amy is going to send me some of their time here so I will add them later!

It was nice to see his family.  It had been a loooong time since we were able to spend time with Amy and she has made some big changes in her life this past year so it was nice to catch up with her!

As usual, I made Victor a key lime cheesecake with strawberry sauce! Yum!  It is a wonderful dessert, made only once a year.

Our friends and family helped us celebrate by sending him lots of cards - close to 30!  Thank you!  Checking the mailbox was fun for him this week!

Victor, you make 40 look good! 

 Happy Birthday!

Erik - 4 year old preschool end of year evaluation

Erik still has a few weeks of school left but I had his "end of year conference" this week.  I am so thankful that Erik loves school.  He is loved by his teachers and peers.  The teachers have no concerns about him at this point.  I am again so grateful, and hope he continues to flourish during the rest of his school years.

Here is what his teachers had to say about Erik....

Social Development:

-Erik helps his friends when needed (getting smocks on for painting)
-Henry, Lucas, and Erik construct with ramps and blocks, then roll cars down the ramps
- Tells stories and creates pretend situations in the house/creative play area although clams up if too much attention is put on him
-Gets along well with his peers, treats people kindly, confident

A bouquet of flowers Erik painted for me!

Academic:

-Understands patterns, putting sequences in order, counting, etc.
-Understands letters, letter sounds, good story comprehension, able to retell stories (again prefers minimal attention on him)
-Follows directions well
-Enjoys learning
-One experiment in school involved a vaporizer.  When the teacher asked Erik, "What's coming out of the vaporizer?"  He said, "It's gas and it's making rain." Ha!


Erik has been in the same school of the past 18 months with the same set of teachers.  I love both of his teachers and the overall experience has been quite wonderful.  Next year he will most likely be at a different school (either private pre-k or public pre-k).   I am hopeful to have positive relationships with his future teachers as it really makes school a wonderful experience.

Mother's Day Project from Sunday School

Happy Birthday Daron!

May your 30th be filled with tender, sweet moments!

I wish I could be there to help you celebrate but I know "your person" is

already by your side! (And I think she makes you watch Grey's!)

Please know you are loved.

And we look forward to celebrating your 

40th someday in high style!

Stay strong and fight hard! 

Happy Birthday!

Happy Mother's Day!

I love, love, love (3x for 3 kids) being a mom!

It's such a blessing and privilege to be trusted with my 3 precious babies.

The video below shows the pride, joy, and work that comes with being a mommy....

It truly is the best job ever.

To view my past Mother's Days posts go here..

2011
2010
2009

I didn't have a blog for 2007/2008 Mother's Day but it's fun to look back at the past few years!

Carson - 14 months

Carson continues to be delightful!

This month I spent 12 days in California.

When I got back it seemed to take about 18 hours before he stopped looking at me warily. 

Now he is back to normal and doesn't seemed traumatized in anyway by me having been gone so long.

Photos by Ingrid Kaslik

Some of my favorite things about Carson at 14 months...

1) His big cheesy grin.  

Carson loves to make us laugh and frequently flashes full face grins at us throughout the day.  

2) His tender heart!

Carson is a big snuggler.  

He loves to lay his head on your shoulder and tuck his arms under his body.

He is sweet and affectionate with everyone.

He often walks up to complete strangers and if they pick him up or they happen to be seated he always gives them a hug and lays his head on their chest.  Most people love this, occasionally they seem shocked or almost uncomfortable.

3) His sass!

Carson and Lainey have a love/hate relationship.

He loves to be around her.

If he can find a way to bust into her room while she is asleep, he does.

If he gets in her room I always find him standing up in the middle of her bed grinning away!

Lainey is pretty generous with her blankies and toys but still more possessive than she would be if she were a little older.  Carson knows this and seems to enjoy getting a reaction out of her.

If she is unwilling to give up a toy/blanket/food he stands his ground and fights for it!

He also runs away from me if he knows I am going to change his diaper or take him inside.

Ha!

Poor Lainey was sitting in a wet spot and not happy about it!

4) "Erya"

Carson has started to "converse" more.  By that I mean he jabbers at us in a conversational style 

instead of just babbling.  He does wave, say "Hi!", and points at everything saying, "Der." 

He loves Erik!  He calls for him by name, "Erya."  He often calls for Erik from his crib first thing when getting up from a nap.  So so sweet.  

5) Sleep

Carson has been sleeping through the night for about 2 months now.

He pretty consistently sleeps from 7:30 to 6:30.

I am still nursing him about 3x a day.

He takes about 12 ounces of rice milk as well.

He refuses to drink from a sippy cup unless desperate.

When I made him go cold turkey off the bottle after getting back from Cali he started getting up 

hungry all.night.long.  So he won and I gave him the bottle back. For now.

I'd have to say that this is the first time since December 2006 that I have

not been pregnant (felt crappy) and had all of my kids sleep through the night consistently.

Sleep is a wonderful, wonderful thing!! 

Photo Dump

Cute cowgirl!  Thank you Karen and Nora!

The girls

Stairwell nap

Taken by Lainey - my sweet little Carson

Grocery crew

Self portrait by Lainey

Sibling Love
Carson and Lainey have a passionate love/hate relationship!

Neighbor Babies

Tyson (7 months), Bobby (14 Months), Carson (13 months), Clete (14 months)

Soccer "Star"

Erik has had soccer on the brain for 2 months now.  He's been actually playing soccer for the past 4 weeks, the obsession has not lessoned!  He LOVES it!

My Dad took a few photos at his "game" last weekend...

It's amazing to me how joyful it is to see your kids having fun.

An Update From Daron

I think most of you that read this blog already follow Daron's caring bridge site but if not I thought I would encourage you to go read the last two updates as he and Feifei are really good at explaining the BMT process.

  Cancer sucks.  My heart aches for Daron and I am so anxious about what he has to endure during the next few months.  Please be praying that everything will go smoothly and that there are no unexpected hurdles.  We love you Daron and can not wait until this trial is over!  ( The link to his caring bridge site is on the left column of the blog.) Thanks!

Notable Moment: Nursing

When I first had planned to be in California for the bone marrow harvest it was supposed to be for 17 days.  I assumed Carson would have to weaned beforehand.  The weaning process didn't go well and then the trip was shortened to 12 days (because they were no longer lining up the harvest with the BMT). So, I decided I would pump while I was gone and see what happened.

The first week I pumped 3x a day and had about 20 ounces a day.  The second week I dropped to 2 pumping sessions and only collected about 10 ounces a day.

The first 12 hours I was back Carson made no attempts to nurse.  I actually offered once and he refused.  So, I figured I was done (and okay with that).  About when I figured I was done he changed his mind.  He's back to nursing now 2-3 times a day, supplementing with rice milk/frozen stash the rest of the day.

The first time he nursed after I got back he started clapping while he was eating.  Ha ha! So stinking cute!