September came and went in a blink of an eye. After Alexa's birthday the excitement seemed to calm down for a few days. Alexa was able to rejoin swim lessons after her chin healed up. She also participated in National Gymnastics day. I think she really enjoyed watching the older girls do their tricks. Justin stayed home with Addison that day. I was happy I could spend the afternoon focusing on just Alexa. We had a great time.
The last week of September was Alexa's last week before fall break. She had picture day and finished up her sight words. At the end of the week Alexa wanted to play with the boys. Their Moms usually let them run around outside after school to run of some energy. Alexa asked to play and they included her with no fuss. Some of the boys in her class are 6-8 inches taller than her. It's really cute to watch them all play.
The last weekend of the month was spent in Wichita, Kansas for Justin's cousin Ryan's wedding. We got to the airport early (as usual). The girls did great through security and getting ready to board the plane. On the plane Alexa colored, played on her Kindle and entertained her little sister. Addison on the other hand was he usual loud self. She enjoyed lifting and throwing down the arm rest. She liked throwing toys and making high pitch squeals. Once we arrived in Kansas we drove to our hotel and say Nana, Pepere, Jayson & Leah. The girls were both really glad to be able to run around for awhile.
The next morning we walked around the mall and went out for lunch. After lunch it was time to get ready for the wedding. Alexa was really sad once she saw her dress. She didn't realize that she wasn't going to be the flower girl. After a little convincing she got dressed and looked adorable. Addison was well rested so we thought she would be cooperative for the wedding. Once she realized she echoed in the church I knew we had to sit in the back. Alexa sat with Donna and David. Justin, Addison and I sat in the last row and took turns taking Addison out. She was not prepared to be in there for an hour. During the reception the girls enjoyed meeting and playing with their cousins and Grandparents. Grandma Schoolcraft gave Alexa her gross for Bethlehem. Alexa was super excited (so was Mommy).
After the reception we changed the girls and took them to the hotel where most of the family was staying. Alexa mostly played on her kindle but also enjoyed hanging out with Carter and the bigger cousins. She was so excited that Daddy also has a cousin Caitlin (Katelyn). Addison was in a really good mood and decided to walk 8 steps to Grandpa Schoolcraft. This was a new distance record for her. She continued to do 6-8 steps all evening. We are still waiting for her to walk full time but I am sure she will get there soon.
Sunday morning we had our last meal with Nana, Pepere, Jayson and Leah before they had to drive to the airport. The rest of the day we spent with Justin's cousins. We swam with Kristen, Peter & Carter and walked to a sports bar for dinner. It was a great weekend! On Monday Justin had to work and do an interview from the hotel. I took the girls to the Wichita Zoo. We had so much fun at the petting zoo and watching the Giraffe's eat. On our flight home Alexa slept from take off until we got off the plane. Addison slept for most of the flight but had trouble because the flight attend kept the lights dim. We were all glad to be home. I am hoping to not fly with the kids for awhile. It's a lot of work and tough on us all. We are glad we went to Kansas, but there is no place like home. ;)
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Alexa June is 4 Years Old
Alexa's birthday party was last month in Ohio. Of course we still wanted to celebrate her birthday on her birthday as well. Since Justin started working on Portland he was going to be gone on her actual day. Alexa decided on Chuck 'E Cheese for her celebration. We went their the Saturday before. We brought cupcakes and party supplies. Alexa had lots of fun. She danced with ChuckE and got lots of great prizes.
On her actual birthday we brought vegan donuts due to the allergies in her class. The kids ate them as though they were Krispy Kreme's. Alexa LOVED having her friends sing to her and she was so excited they liked the donuts. Alexa of course only at the chocolate icing. After school we had a little celebration at home. Our pastor from a new church we have been attending came over for a home visit. It was completly unexpected but a nice visit. As the pastor was leaving, Justin walked in. He surprised Alexa on her birthday. Truthfully he completely surprised me. That has not happened much in our marriage since I like to know every detail of our lives. Alexa stayed up late and played with her Dad.
Alexa at four is a quite the girl to see. She has a heart of gold. She shows no ill will towards others. She is truly a people pleaser (her sister excluded). Alexa LOVES school and to learn. She has quickly learned many sight words, phonograms and saxon math. She is always coming home with new songs, games and art work. We were told she is academically strong & in the top of her class for reading. We are so proud of her.
Alexa loves to swim and give her teachers a tough time at swim lessons. She likes to swim for her diving sticks in a certain order. Alexa's favorite activity is gymnastics. So far she can kick her feet to the bar and flip through. She is still working on the strength side of things. Her front rolls are definitely perfected and she is working on her back roll. Her cartwheels are at the beginner stage. I wish our schedule allowed her to go more than once a week, but for now the one hour is enough. When swimming ends for the season we may up gymnastics to twice a week.
On Sunday's Alexa goes to cubbies (AWANA). She learns and recites her bible verses every week. I love listening to her remember verses from weeks prior. When she is in trouble she will say she didn't obey. That usually leads to a conversation about obeying and God.
I really feel like this is Alexa's best year. I cant wait to see the girl she grows into.
On her actual birthday we brought vegan donuts due to the allergies in her class. The kids ate them as though they were Krispy Kreme's. Alexa LOVED having her friends sing to her and she was so excited they liked the donuts. Alexa of course only at the chocolate icing. After school we had a little celebration at home. Our pastor from a new church we have been attending came over for a home visit. It was completly unexpected but a nice visit. As the pastor was leaving, Justin walked in. He surprised Alexa on her birthday. Truthfully he completely surprised me. That has not happened much in our marriage since I like to know every detail of our lives. Alexa stayed up late and played with her Dad.
Alexa at four is a quite the girl to see. She has a heart of gold. She shows no ill will towards others. She is truly a people pleaser (her sister excluded). Alexa LOVES school and to learn. She has quickly learned many sight words, phonograms and saxon math. She is always coming home with new songs, games and art work. We were told she is academically strong & in the top of her class for reading. We are so proud of her.
Alexa loves to swim and give her teachers a tough time at swim lessons. She likes to swim for her diving sticks in a certain order. Alexa's favorite activity is gymnastics. So far she can kick her feet to the bar and flip through. She is still working on the strength side of things. Her front rolls are definitely perfected and she is working on her back roll. Her cartwheels are at the beginner stage. I wish our schedule allowed her to go more than once a week, but for now the one hour is enough. When swimming ends for the season we may up gymnastics to twice a week.
On Sunday's Alexa goes to cubbies (AWANA). She learns and recites her bible verses every week. I love listening to her remember verses from weeks prior. When she is in trouble she will say she didn't obey. That usually leads to a conversation about obeying and God.
I really feel like this is Alexa's best year. I cant wait to see the girl she grows into.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Stitches and DisneyLand
On Labor day we decided to head to the local waterpark. The warm weather is slowly coming to an end and we figured this would be one of our last chances to enjoy the slides and wave pool. The day started out like any other. We floated around the lazy river, jumped in the wave pool & even did two rounds of "big kid" slides. Alexa had sooo much fun on the big slides. When she was with Mom she cheered and said "woo hoo." When she went down with Dad they had a surprise around the first turn. A young boy flipped out of his tube and road down the slide in front of Justin and Alexa's tube. All was well. After the slides Alexa wanted to do her kid slides. We went over to the pool & I insisted Alexa needed to take off her life vest. It was required to be worn in the bigger area but not in the kid slides. Alexa went down the slides on her own a few times. During that time Justin and Addison were playing on the side of the pool. Addison does a humpty dumpty game and fall in the pool. Alexa wanted to jump in with her sister. The girls jumped in to us several times. One of the last few times Alexa started jumping in and the spinning in the water before getting to me. I suggested she spin in the air as she jumped in. She was excited about this idea. The very first time she attempted it she spun as planned but only made it half way around. She then hit her chin on the edge of the pool. I instantly knew it was bad and rushed to her. Once I pulled her out of the water she was crying and bleeding. We looked in her mouth and then realized the blood was coming from under neither her chin. It was bleeding A LOT very quickly. I took her to the lifeguard who then called the supervisor. We met her on her way over and she took us to the first aid area. She quickly realized she needed the EMT to step in. Once he got there he took her to the medical office. He informed us she was going to need stitches. After about 5 minutes from the initial accident we were heading to the car.
The car ride over was very scary. We didn't know how bad her chin was or how she would handle whatever the medical course of action was. We took Alexa to an urgent care half way between the water park and our house. After what felt like forever we were taken back to a treatment room. They first clean out her chin and then the doctor maneuver the skin until it looked like a chin again. They then spent the next hour stitching her up. One nurse held her head, another had her legs and Justin had her arms. It was devastating for all of us. I really hope it's something Alexa will forget.
The first night and the following day were tough on Alexa. She was afraid to move her chin and didn't eat much. She still went to school and became her teachers "helper." By Wednesday she seemed to be feeling better. Luckily it was just in time for our last minute trip to California. Since Justin will be starting a new job & a VERY challenging quarter of school we will be stuck at home for awhile. We figured it was a perfect time to get some quality family time before things get crazy.
We arrived in Palm Springs just before dinner. The town was nestled in the mountains with palm trees, tourist like buildings yet still felt small town. We had dinner and then walked to get yogurt as a family. Alexa's toppings included M&M's, choc pieces and cookies. Of course there was no ice cream in her cup.
The next morning we woke up early and drove to DisneyLand. Alexa still didn't know where we were going. We waited until we were walking into the park to tell her. She was super excited! We rode a ton of rides. Alexa loved the flying elephants (Dumbo) and the roller coaster. Addison loved everything that made noise and went in the air. The parade was a huge hit for both girls. Aladdin told Alexa happy birthday & many of the princesses said hi to her. Addison liked the music and dancing.
Friday we spent the day at California Adventures. Everyone enjoyed the giant Ferris wheel. After dinner we went back into DisneyLand to ride a few rides and then watch the firework show. Addison slept until the show started and then woke up to watch. Alexa got bored very quickly and asked to sleep in her stroller. It was another long but fun day.
Our last day in California was Saturday. Uncle Wheel & his friend Jessica joined us. While wait for the Alice in Wonderland ride Addison wanted a snack. She ate puffs out of Justin's hands. There was a little boy behind us who really wanted one. We asked his parent if it was ok and then shared on. Addison though it was a great idea. The next time she grabbed a puff she offered it to the little boy and then at the last minute changed her mind and put it in her mouth. It was super adorable. Addison also threw her sippy cup over the railing at It's a Small World. Luckily it was still on the ledge next to the water & they were able to retrieve it. We had another great day. Alexa did several rides with Uncle Wheel. At dinner time we headed home.
Sunday was Church & Awana. Alexa's chin to be healing as planned. She was getting red marks around the band aids but nothing too concerning. She knew Monday meant her stiches were coming out. Monday came and we had a huge flood in Arizona. 6 inches in just a few hours. It's was record setting. The doctor's office was closed. :( Alexa was upset she wasn't about to get her stitches out. We had to wait another day.
On Tuesday we went to the doctor. Alexa was nervous but doing ok. Once the doctor started taking the stitches out she started crying. It took the doctor about 10 minutes from start to finish. Once she was done she was given a Mickey Mouse sucker. For about the next week we will put on neosporin and hydrocortisone on the rash.
The car ride over was very scary. We didn't know how bad her chin was or how she would handle whatever the medical course of action was. We took Alexa to an urgent care half way between the water park and our house. After what felt like forever we were taken back to a treatment room. They first clean out her chin and then the doctor maneuver the skin until it looked like a chin again. They then spent the next hour stitching her up. One nurse held her head, another had her legs and Justin had her arms. It was devastating for all of us. I really hope it's something Alexa will forget.
The first night and the following day were tough on Alexa. She was afraid to move her chin and didn't eat much. She still went to school and became her teachers "helper." By Wednesday she seemed to be feeling better. Luckily it was just in time for our last minute trip to California. Since Justin will be starting a new job & a VERY challenging quarter of school we will be stuck at home for awhile. We figured it was a perfect time to get some quality family time before things get crazy.
We arrived in Palm Springs just before dinner. The town was nestled in the mountains with palm trees, tourist like buildings yet still felt small town. We had dinner and then walked to get yogurt as a family. Alexa's toppings included M&M's, choc pieces and cookies. Of course there was no ice cream in her cup.
The next morning we woke up early and drove to DisneyLand. Alexa still didn't know where we were going. We waited until we were walking into the park to tell her. She was super excited! We rode a ton of rides. Alexa loved the flying elephants (Dumbo) and the roller coaster. Addison loved everything that made noise and went in the air. The parade was a huge hit for both girls. Aladdin told Alexa happy birthday & many of the princesses said hi to her. Addison liked the music and dancing.
Friday we spent the day at California Adventures. Everyone enjoyed the giant Ferris wheel. After dinner we went back into DisneyLand to ride a few rides and then watch the firework show. Addison slept until the show started and then woke up to watch. Alexa got bored very quickly and asked to sleep in her stroller. It was another long but fun day.
Our last day in California was Saturday. Uncle Wheel & his friend Jessica joined us. While wait for the Alice in Wonderland ride Addison wanted a snack. She ate puffs out of Justin's hands. There was a little boy behind us who really wanted one. We asked his parent if it was ok and then shared on. Addison though it was a great idea. The next time she grabbed a puff she offered it to the little boy and then at the last minute changed her mind and put it in her mouth. It was super adorable. Addison also threw her sippy cup over the railing at It's a Small World. Luckily it was still on the ledge next to the water & they were able to retrieve it. We had another great day. Alexa did several rides with Uncle Wheel. At dinner time we headed home.
Sunday was Church & Awana. Alexa's chin to be healing as planned. She was getting red marks around the band aids but nothing too concerning. She knew Monday meant her stiches were coming out. Monday came and we had a huge flood in Arizona. 6 inches in just a few hours. It's was record setting. The doctor's office was closed. :( Alexa was upset she wasn't about to get her stitches out. We had to wait another day.
On Tuesday we went to the doctor. Alexa was nervous but doing ok. Once the doctor started taking the stitches out she started crying. It took the doctor about 10 minutes from start to finish. Once she was done she was given a Mickey Mouse sucker. For about the next week we will put on neosporin and hydrocortisone on the rash.
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