Project 52: 21/52 Toys

Once a week, Brylee and I head over to our community center to have a little fun with some of the local moms and kids. This is a picture of just a small amount of toys that are in the large room, and they are all nicely placed out at 9:00 when it starts...but by the end of the 3 hour play time, the room is very , messy...and the kids are exhausted. What a fun time!

Caption Of The Week VIII

Sleepless Nights

(or maybe all of this is caused by her wearing her grandparents' glasses. I need to pop out the lenses so she won't go blind...)

Last night marked night number 4 of interrupted sleep for us. Sunday night, Brylee woke up after trying to put her down without a bottle (trying to break her of the bottle, and didn't know if she really need the last meal of the night...apparently she did).

Monday night, Chester had a cluster of seizures, so Cary and I were up for 2 hours with that situation. I heard Brylee stirring at one point, and gave her some milk, thinking it would help her go back to sleep, which was successful. Chester is doing better today, thank goodness!

Tuesday night, Brylee had an unexplainable waking, with lots of crying. This is not usual for her at all, as she typically sleeps all night, and if she does wake up, she talks and babbles for a while before falling back into a deep slumber.

I thought this waking was because she had had a bottle 2 nights in a row, and was going to develop a habit, so I sat with her in her dark room, letting her look through books, and even just letting her cry a bit to see if she could self-soothe. An hour and a half later, she finally was back to sleep. With that, and the combination of the storms going through Dallas and being worried for my family and friends, I didn't sleep well at all that night.

And then last night, it happened again. Screaming, heart-wrenching crying, this time with Cary getting up to soothe her (hoping that she would go down more quickly because it wasn't mommy). An hour later, we were trying everything: water, milk, my making my bed on the floor next to her, looking through books, singing softly to her, massage...all with temporary (or no) results. Finally, I left the room to take a restroom break, and when I get out, she was no longer crying, just resting in her daddy's arms. So I stayed out of the room, and a couple of minutes later he emerged, stating that she was not sleeping, but at least she was quiet. After a few minutes of 'holding our breath', she was out again, and we were slowly able to go back to sleep.

I wrote on Facebook in the midst of all of this last night that I felt like a bad mommy, and my friends and family were very supportive, telling me what I was thinking: most likely growing pains or teething (though the teething tablets didn't help her).

Thanks for all of the great comments, and I hope that tonight brings better results. I hate seeing our little girl crying in such pain and frustration, and just desperate to be held by us. But it is super nice to know that I am not alone in this, and even the most experienced moms face this as well.

And a huge thank you hug goes to the best daddy/hubby. Thank you for soothing her and even soothing me when I feel so inadequate. We are blessed to have you, 24 hours a day!

Vacation Randoms

Brylee turned 18 months while we were home, which also meant she was due for her next doctor's appointment. We had the appointment at 8 a.m. with a doctor we had only seen once before when she was sick. She now weighs 19.2 pounds, and in the 1st percentile for weight. The doctor was less than concerned, though, and then showed us his daughter's chart, where she is in the 1/2 percentile. He said she hit 20 pounds when she was about 26 months. But at the same time, his daughter is one of a set of twins, so that might explain the tininess. He also gave hints on how to break her of the bottle, which is the ONLY way she'll drink milk. And she enjoys her milk, but will not touch it in any other kind of cup, no matter how thirsty she is...
**Update--she now drinks milk out of a sippy cup!!! Goodbye bottles!!!!!!

I had the intentions of visiting my State Farm friends this last week, as well as going to a storytime for Brylee in Lewisville or perhaps Frisco, but unfortunately it just didn't work out. I wanted to see a couple of friends that went to the Frisco one, too! (But we did get to see my mom's co-worker/friend Dawn for about 5 minutes!!!!)

Before leaving, Cary had a list of places he wanted to go to eat that isn't available in our area: Cane's, Freddy's, Sweet Tomato, and Indian. We got to eat at 3 out of those 4, missing Sweet Tomato because I just didn't feel it (I didn't like the place when I was pregnant...the smell of the place made me sick. I guess that still lingers). My one place to want to go? Chick-Fil-A. Oh that delicious greasy chicken nugget goodness!!!! (and we ate there twice--once for breakfast, once for lunch...on the same day...)

We went to the Vista Ridge Mall play area 3 times while there. Brylee loves the place, and I got a little shopping done as well. Very convenient!

Cary, Brylee, and I had breakfast out one morning, and Brylee sneezed, causing her to hit her little nose against the table. It took a second or two for the effect to kick in, and then she started crying. Trying to play it down (while my heart breaks inside), I said, "You are ok. There's no blood..." Then I looked at her nose, and there was the tiniest trace of blood....oops...

Mom's birthday (and of course Mother's Day) had happened just before we came to Dallas, so we of course had to celebrate while there. I had ordered mom's gift a couple of weeks before, and thinking ahead, had it delivered to my parents'. Well, it arrived mid-week, and as soon as it came in, I had Cary distract mom so I could wrap it quickly. The gift was a beautiful necklace found here, that has all of our names and birthstones on it. We also had purchased a stepping stone kit for Brylee to give to her as a project they could do together. Unfortunately the stepping stone didn't work the way we all were hoping, but that just gives us another thing to work on the next time we are there!

Cary has too much creativity, and time, on his hands!










Dad, Cary, and I went to the midnight showing of Pirates of the Caribbean 4. While I was excited about seeing the movie, I may have liked it less because it was so late at night, and I was fighting sleep, as was dad. Don't know if Cary was or not. I did enjoy the movie though. But going geo-caching beforehand with them was much more fun. I miss those days!




Brylee had her first Happy Meal from McDonald's just after we landed at Boston Logan airport after our trip. We still had a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Portland, and I knew she would be hungry. Because I didn't pack any baby food jars due to this article (I just didn't want to have to deal with it at the gates...) we went to the food court and I got some chicken nuggets for her. She likes chicken nuggets...as long as it is dipped in ketchup. Come to think of it, she likes ANYTHING dipped in ketchup...Luckily, there is not a McDonald's here (yet), because I do not want to start her on a happy meal craze...I like the idea of less fast food in her body (maybe she can teach me a thing or two as well...)

Forgot to add the biggest, most amazing part yet. We had Chester set for boarding at his vet for the week we were gone, but we were a little anxious because Chester tends to have his seizures at night, and the vet is closed then. I even made a hopeful call to an experienced vet tech who does pet sitting, but as I figured, she was busy for the week. But Cary's parents kept offering to watch Chester, and in the end, we let them. I didn't want to put them through the stress of how to handle Chester if he had a seizure, but decided to give them a try. Not only did they rock the pet sitting by giving him tons of attention, but they also made our house look much cleaner than I am able to do.

Words cannot express how grateful I am for two incredible people in my life! A HUGE thank you goes to Brenda and Gary!!!!!

Joplin, MO

(image found here)

My head has been swarming and full of prayers these last few days for those in Joplin, MO. Such a tragedy that has come upon them, and unfortunately the news continues to show more heading their direction. Currently, St. Louis is under a tornado warning.

Last night, while Joplin faced more tornado warnings amid all of this pain, my hometown of Dallas, TX was also being affected by heavy rains, hail, and tornadoes. Pictures from my friends on Facebook showed tornadoes just a block away from their homes, and even one forming over another friend's house. My aunt even stated that a tornado passed her house by going on the next street.

Today I am so grateful to our Father for placing His beautiful hand over my friends and family and keeping them safe. And I continue to pray for His love to wrap around the city of Joplin and the entire state of Missouri during this difficult time.

It's no secret that I'm terrified of storms, and while I was grateful to have been 2,000 miles up north, I still felt so helpless because I just wanted to be there for everyone who was going through all of this.

My heart goes out to all affected!

What Is Vacation Without A Little Clowning Around?

While planning our trip to Dallas, Cary and I had the intention of trying to help out with the LAFS conference happening that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. But other plans happened, more or less.

On Wednesday, mom suggested to dad that I play puppeteer for the Mission Safety skit that Ashes and Radio was to put on Friday. I agreed, having done it twice before, once for a school, and the other while they were video taping the show.

Brylee and her daddy watching the rehearsal:









Dad and Jeff won the Brian Collins Memorial Award this year. This award goes out to the person/people who commit so much of themselves to helping others. I think these 2 definitely deserve it!

The neat story for this: we had hung around the conference briefly on Wednesday and Thursday, and as Cary, Brylee, and I were leaving to go take care of Vader and then eat, one of the McKinney clowns stopped us and told us that he really thinks we should stick around for just about 5 more minutes. I asked if a camera was needed for this 'sticking around', and he nodded yes. So Cary, Brylee and I headed back inside, camera in hand for wait for the special award to be given out!


















On Friday, little L'Ashes made an appearance to the conference! Once she came out of her little shell (when we sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" as well as "If You're Happy And You Know It"), she was the hit of the show. Whoever thought something so little and 'cute' would bring several men to a circle to watch her play and dance? They were even sweet enough to let her play with some of their props!




































































Even because she was so cute, even her daddy got to play with props!













And now for some fun pictures from the day. The real guest star was Larry, a very recently ex-Ringling Bros. clown. He has always been really kind to the clowns whenever Ringling Bros. hosted a clown college for the Fire Safety clowns, and even made sure to say 'hello' to them when they were not in clown garb last year at the circus. A real nice guy, who even let Brylee sit in for a couple of the pictures.





























































And now for the performance mentioned at the beginning of the post. Radio told me that Larry had other arrangements for the day, but made it a point to come out to the conference and to stay around long enough to see the Lewisville skit. And when I found this out, I became slightly nervous...I'm doing part of a skit with a professional performer in the audience...this is definitely a first!!! (well, except for the time I found out Emmitt Smith came to see a Lewisville Fighting Farmer football game, but what are the chances he really watched the Marching Band half-time show???)

See the hand holding the 'U'? That's me! Along with holding up the letters 'L', 'C', 'E', and 'U', I also was Mrs. Dousefire. Should have taken a picture of her behind the curtain with me. We usually have some kind of conversation before going on. You know, the typical 'check' stuff...hair combed, glasses on straight, fresh breath...










And finally, a tight shot of what it looks like behind the puppet curtain for me. Didn't take any more photos, which I regret...but I bet I'll have more opportunity!









On with the show!

Brylee's First Haircut

I wanted to send this baggie of hair to mom and dad with a note that said, "You'll get her back, piece by piece"...but instead I just put the photo of the baggie on Facebook, so hopefully it would create a laugh.

(And awesome job Brenda for doing this to a wiggly little girl!!!)

Project 52: 20/52 Texture

No better subject than little Brylee to use for this week's Project 52. Little ones are constantly learning about texture, and her helping her t-ma/moppy/appa plant plants in the garden while visiting our home town was no exception.

Brylee Helps T-Ma Plant

A Picture Story: Part II

























































































































































































































The End!