Vacation Part II

We started our 2nd half of vacation by spending Wednesday at Dave and Janice's (John's dad and step-mom) house celebrating Dave's birthday. Here is a picture of the kids with their silly Papa (who plays non-stop with them from the time we walk through the door until we leave)! Happy Birthday Dave!!


On Thursday we headed to John's mom and step-dad's cabin on the Mississippi River for three whole days of relaxing. We spent our time at the cabin laying around, smores over the camp fire, grilling out, watching Ava fish, making a trip to the beach, and did I mention laying around.

To my surprise, Ava really enjoyed learning how to fish. On our first night at the cabin, Ava and John fished off the pier where Ava caught her first fish . . . a blue gill. I was in the cabin feeding Max and I heard her squealing over her first fish!!



On Saturday we spent a few hours at the beach. Max actually warmed up to the idea of being in the water. He even splashed around a little bit.





Saturday evening, Ted (John's step-dad) took us out in his boat and Ava was able to fish off the boat. Ted helped her catch a couple fish. Here is how big the fish they caught were. . .

The stories are starting already!!


Max getting ready to help Ava with her big catch. . .


Real men wear PINK!


The highlight of Ava's trip was getting a chance to spend time with her cousins Bridee and Lainee on Saturday night.

Vacation Part I

Last night we got back from our first family vacation with all four of us. . . and we had a great time!!

At our first RTS reunion in the Dells, we met Will (who is exactly 3 months older than Max) and his family and decided we were going to meet up with them in St. Louis for a Brewers/Cardinals game in the summer. We left our place on Sunday at 9:30 am and made it to St. Louis by 4:30. The trip down with the kids wasn't too bad although Max screamed for half the trip because he wasn't getting the attention he thought he needed. Ava did great! She had a DVD player and a coloring book, so she was set. When we got to St Louis, we checked in to the hotel, walked to get something to eat, and John and Ava spent the rest of the night in the hotel pool. Max did not want anything to do with the pool!!

On Monday, we met up with Will, Myssie (Will's mom), and Caroline (Will's sister who is about 2 weeks yonger than Ava) at the St Louis Zoo. We also got to hang out with Alex (another RTSweetie that I met through the RTS list on-line), Jessica (Alex's mom), Adam (Alex's dad), Joel and Noah (Alex's older brothers). Alex had a dr appointment in St Louis so they met up with us at the zoo for a couple hours before the appointment. It was fun for us RTS parents to meet becasue they are like family to us!

Her is a picture of the moms and their boys. Myssie is on the left with Will and Jessica is in the middle with Alex.



All the kids together


Other than it being 100 degrees and sweating like crazy, we had a great day at the zoo. Ava and Caroline hit it off immediately and had fun playing with each other.

Ava and Caroline at the zoo


Max and Will at the zoo (isn't this picture too cute!!)





After the zoo, we went back to the hotel to rest up for the big game. Game time was at 6:05 and it was still 97 degrees! It was a great game! The game went 10 innings and the Brewers WON 6 to 3. Since Myssie's husband was on a business trip, she brought her friend Christina along. It was fun watching the Brewers in a stadium other than Miller Park. Our seats were in the 1st row in the upper deck, which was nice because the kids could play without bothering anyone in front of them. Ava's favorite Brewer (Rickie Weeks) hit a home run and Max seemed to enjoy his first Brewers game.








On Tuesday, we went up in the Arch in the morning and to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch before heading home.

At the bottom of the Arch. . .


. . . on the way up. . .


. . . John and Ava looking out one of the windows at the top of the Arch. Max was sleeping the whole time.



What a great trip!! We were home a little before 9:00 pm.

Having Cake . . .

. . . and eating it too! Last night our neighbor brought over some of her daughter's birthday cake and since Max is doing a little better with textures I thought I would let him give it a try. I broke it up in to little pieces and put it on his tray. He loved it!! And no coughing and gagging!! I am not sure how much he actually ate because the pieces were basically crumbs and he is still working on the pincher grip, but I know he got some in his mouth. He even made the mmmmmm sound when he was eating. It was upsetting to me that he didn't get to enjoy cake like most kids do on their first birthday, but it was exciting to celebrate him be 20 months with cake. It makes us look forward to his cake on his 2nd birthday!!

HAPPY 20 MONTHS MAX!!

What happens when. . .

your 4 year old is gone for the night? The house is quiet! So quiet that you almost don't know what to do with yourself! Ava talks non-stop from the time she gets up until the time she goes to bed at 10:00 PM!! My sister, Becky, took Ava overnight on Monday and to a water park in the Dells on Tuesday. They had a blast and Becky said Ava was very well behaved and listened very well for her. Hmmm! I wish she was always on her best behavior when she is with me. When she got home, it was fun listening to her talk about everthing they did at the water park. The silence was nice for a night, but it was good to have her home!

Max's First Dentist Appointment

This week, Max had his 1st dentist appointment!! We took him to a children's dental office that was referred to us by Max's genetics doctor. Max did OK during the examination although he got fussy towards the end. The examination didn't take more than a couple minutes. I mentioned to the dentist that Max is cutting his molars but they look like they are coming in sideways. He said they are not coming in sideways, but with a cusp on each one (like another piece of tooth growing on the molar). He said that just because his baby teeth are coming in with the cusp doesn't mean that his permanent teeth with have the cusps. There was nothing additional that needed to be done at this time and I made another appointment for six months out and also scheduled Ava an appointment with him. This way I will be able to take Ava and Max together instead of making two trips to the dentist every six months for the kids. I think Ava will enjoy this office so much better since it is geared towards kids. She currently goes to the same dentist I see.

Two Wheeling

A couple months ago we took the training wheels off Ava's bike and she has had lots of fun (and bruises) learning to ride. Now her new thing is going for a big ride with me around the neighborhood after we finish supper. We live in a small town without a lot of traffic, but I still get nervous having her out on the roads. She will need a new bike soon. The one that she has is a little small and her legs have to be going non-stop for the entire bike ride.

4th of July Weekend

Ava having fun running through the sprinkler!

Ross and Ava

Over the 4th we had a busy, yet not so busy weekend. Chris, Nichole, Ross, and Grant came over on Thursday night to put the tents up in the back yard, have a campfire, and roast marshmallows for S'mores. Since it was suppose to be in the low 50s, we decided it would be best for the kids to "camp out" on the living room floor. The rest of the weekend the weather was perfect. Ross and Ava got to enjoy the sprinkler and playing outside on Friday. . . and fighting over bubbles! Friday afternoon John went golfing and the kids and I went to my aunt's house to visit.

Saturday John had to work, so the kids and I had a lazy day.

And on Sunday we went to the beach at one of the State Parks. My sister, Becky, came along with us. Ava had a blast swimming and each time she goes swimming she gets more confident in the water. Max, on the other hand, did not even like his toes in the water. He screamed when I dipped his toes!! I hope he still enjoys the pool. Last year he seemed to really enjoy being in the water.

We didn't see any fireworks this weekend other than the ones the neighbors were letting off. Last weekend we went to the big fireworks display in Madison. So we didn't miss out on fireworks!!

Max's 18 Month Photo Shoot

Genetics Appointment

Max had his bi-annual Genetics appointment this week. I find this hard to believe, but the Genetics Dr is probably my favorite specialist to see. Not just the fact that Max's Dr is great (he is very caring and takes a lot of time with us), but it is the feeling I have when I leave the appointment that puts Genetics at the top of my specialist list. I always leave the appointment with a feeling of "things are going to be OK." The Genetics dr makes sure we have our ducks in a row with doctors/therapist we should be seeing. He takes the initiative to contact doctors that he thinks Max could benefit from seeing. Each time we see him the list gets shorter. He comments on how well we are doing with Max and how we have a great team working with him. This is great for a mom to hear that never thinks she is doing enough. And most importantly, how great Max is doing!! He made the following suggestions at this appointment: Getting Max to the dentist (which he recommended us doing last time we saw him, but I have been putting off), increase the amount of Speech Therapy Max is receiving (I recently have increased ST from once a month to once a week. This was also suggested by a couple other doctors we have recently seen, so I have been working on this. He wants the ST using the Total Communication approach), and he is going to follow-up with urology to see if they want to repeat an ultrasound of his kidneys. Last year when Max had an ultrasound they found a small amount of fluid around his kidneys. He asked if we would be willing to come back in six months and I quickly agreed!!

Country USA

On Friday, my friend Nichole and I took the day off of work and spent the day at Country USA. Nichole was lucky enough to win a pair of day passes to the festival and a bus ride up and back from a local country radio station. On the bus they gave away prizes and they had drinks for us to enjoy. One of the prizes they gave away was a pair of Meet and Greet passes for Jason Michael Carroll before his show. And guess what!?! Nichole won!! The line up for the day was Jason Michael Carroll, Jake Owen, Terri Clark, and KENNY CHESNEY (the reason we signed up for the tickets). Nichole and I have seen Kenny three other times together and each time one of us was pregnant. This time we were both bun free! Besides it raining off and on all day and a down pour cutting Kenny's concert short, we had a great day!! I got home at 4:00 am!! I don't remember the last time I was out until 4:00 am.

Wedding Bells

On June 21, my mom and Gary got married!! They had a beautiful weekend for a wedding. They couldn't have asked for better weather. Their wedding ceremony was at a cute little church on the top of a hill and they had a reception back at their house. Congrats!! We love you!

The New Couple


The New Family


Flower Girl



Family Pic


My Cousin Nicole and Max (love this picture)