First Day of Preschool

Who doesn't pose like this for their first day of pre-school pictures?

Trouble. That's what we're in, trouble.

I can't even supervise it anymore because now she's all grown up and going to preschool.

For 2 hours. Twice a week.

Without me. WITHOUT ME!

By herself. BY HERSELF!

Alyssa started preschool today! Of course she did SO great. We walked to Miss Kaarina's and talked about school and all the new friends she was going to meet. We talked about sharing and listening. She found a potato bug on the way and wanted to take it school so we talked about not taking bugs in to school. She was so excited, has been for months. 12 to be precise. Last year when I would take Evan to Miss Kaarina's, Alyssa wanted to go with him. Today was FINALLY her turn! She waltzed right in, marched down the stairs, hung up her "pack-pack" on her little hook and it was bye-bye mommy. I managed to only shed a couple tears, and it was on my way home. I didn't blubber in the driveway like I thought I would. I had the Jason to keep me company so I wasn't completely alone. After I picked her up and we were walking home, she was jabbering non-stop about Miss Kaarina's grandma who ate a horse and cow and bug and dog - then there was a bear hunt - then they had treats - then they got to play - and there was a girl with a pink shirt - and she showed a new friend where the potty was. She loved it. Every second of it. I'm so happy for her. I'm so proud of her. She's so brave, so independent. She's just so fantastic all the way around. I love that little sweetie.

Smartie Pants

Several weeks ago I was teaching piano lessons. Most the time Alyssa keeps herself well entertained in the other room and isn't a bother while I teach. However, there was this one day...

She's dancing around the room, singing, talking, distracting, being your typical adorable three year old. Problem was, I was trying to teach. Gavin was trying to concentrate. It was proving to be difficult for both of us. I turned to Gavin and said "I don't even know where this kid came from. One day she showed up on the porch and now we can't get rid of her!" Gavin (6 years old) replied "No she didn't! She grew in your tummy." As I'm smiling about his statement, Alyssa chimes in, "No I didn't! I grew in Andrea's tummy!" Then I think... ooh where is this going to go? So I ask, "You did? Then what happened?" Alyssa: Well then I got out. Me: What happened after you got out? Alyssa: She gave me to you. Me: She did? Why? Alyssa: Well because you're my mommy. She gets it. At three years old she's beginning to understand her unique story of how she came to belong to our family. She's so smart. And lately she's taken to having babies in her own tummy. The simplistic life of a three year old. I never want it to end.

So I Have These Friends...

Meet Brittney and Morgan

(Kim took these fabulous photos of them. Then I stole it off their profile... copyright laws being broken all over the place. Sorry ladies...) Let's talk about Brittney and Morgan. I met Brittney forever ago. We worked together at my first "real" job in a dental office. She's a dental assistant, I was receptionist. We had some GOOD times together. The story of how she and Morgan ended up together? SO great! Y'all should read it. In fact, you should read everything about them. You should get to know this couple so you can see if you can be of assistance to them. You see, they've embarked on the journey that is adoption. I think they've been approved and waiting a little over a year...? Maybe? Britt? Right? They need some help spreading the word. We all know that more adoptions happen, basically through word of mouth (designated adoption) these days than actually being chosen through an agency. They also are diving in head first to some big time, pro-active projects. One of which is going to be on August 22nd. Please click here for more details on how you can help. One thing that I am absolutely dying for about them. They've been approached by various adoption agencies (not ldsfs) three times for possible children to come to their home. And three times they've been unable to do it because it is SO expensive. Like, over $30,000 expensive. (Don't even get me started on that.) So, here's the deal-ee-o. Click here to get to know them. Add this link to your side bar if you have a list of people hoping to adopt. Click here to see if you can help them with their adoption yard sale. Most importantly, keep them in mind and pass along their information if and when it's appropriate. Adoption is a hard and long road. It's a little easier to travel if you know you have people pulling for you.

Keeping Me Happy

Had a mini-mani party today, just me and Alyssa. She was so funny with her little nails. She would tap and touch everything every so carefully so they wouldn't fall off. I think they lasted about 30 minutes before she had enough of them. Too hard to help mom open the mail with them perty nails on.

The Slide

Last weekend we went with my dad's family to Fairmont Hotsprings Resort in the glorious state of Montana. It't been the hot spot for our family reunions for years. I remember going when I was younger. The pools were gloriously warm. The 90' waterslide TOTALLY rocked. The hotel was always an adventure for "exploring." Good times were had at Fairmont. This year was no exception. We had so much fun. We had a suite so my immediate family could all stay together. Alyssa and Evan had mixed feeling about that at times. For the most part, it was fabulous that they could run from room to room playing games, jumping on the beds with Grandpa, throwing their beach balls in the house. There was only one or two times when one of them wouldn't allow the other in to their "my" room. Funny kids. On Sunday we spent almost the entire day in the pool. We bought the all day slide pass and intended to get full use out of it. (Ya know, let's just slip in a little linky-link to the slide. Check that out. It's fabulous.)We take Alyssa to the top, geared up in her little hot pink life jacket. All the while she's saying she doesn't want to go, and all the while we're lying to her telling her she doesn't have to. (I know, crappy mom, don't judge me. Ok, you're judging me. Let me just say, that the slide empties in to like 4 feet of water, of which I am perfectly capable of standing straight up and lifting my daughter out of the water so she doesn't go under. Remember? Childhood vacation spot. It's been done before.) When it's our turn, she screams. Holy hannah does she scream. Then after a few seconds when she realizes we're just floating down a tube she says "www....eeee...." like maybe she's having fun! We get to the bottom, the whole fam is there cheering her on. No water splashes in her face, she doesn't go under, all is well. "Mommy! Let's go again!" We went again. And again. And again. That's why we love the Fairmont. From the second time to the last time down, everyone could hear when Alyssa was on the slide. Instead of shrieking in panic, we squeeled with joy. And it echoed, clear over to Grandma Sue on the patio, it echoed. Love that. They've redone the pools and slide since the last time we were there. The slide was completely refinished, but the same slide as I remember. And the bottom of the pool was refinished. Our little footsies didn't get roughed up while we were there. I think they must have added a few flights of stairs to get to the top of the slide, though. I don't remember being nearly so tired and out of breath getting to the top... we used to run up that thing. What were we thinking?

One Year

One year ago today I was sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for Tim and Kim to get out of surgery. Wondering, hoping, praying that all would go well. It was a horrible morning of waiting. But it was worth every second. Follow ups and labs - every 3 months Kidney function - 100% Medication - perfectly regulated Our life over the last year has been different in ways we didn't think it would be. We knew Tim would have more energy, but... I have a different husband! He's doing so well. He feels really REALLY good. He has more energy to play with Alyssa. He's happy. Kim is doing great too. We try to get together with her often so she doesn't have separation anxiety from being away from her kidney for too long. Kim - Thank you. Forever and ever and ever - thank you. Our life has been blessed 100 times over because of your tremendous selflessness. We love you for it. One year down - 99 more to go. Happy Anniversary

Non-Drowsy

Nothing is worse than not being able to sleep because you're coughing, right? Hate that. Poor Alyssa, coughing away in her bed last night for a couple of hours, it finally wakes her up enough to call for me. I go in, she's tossing, turning, coughing (I'm thinking she has allergies, but we may be taking a trip to the doc this afternoon) Normally when she's in the process of waking up, she's not extremely coherent and she may tend to slur her speech a bit. But it's cute, way cute. After about 5 minutes of trying to get her to sit up and drink some water, I just scooped her up, wrapped the little lady bug in her blankie and went to the kitchen to search out some cough medicine. Non-Drowsy Pedia-something cough medicine. Made especially for the little ones right? Right. All the while, Alyssa is coughing, whining, moaning and groaning. Eyes closed. Not really talking. Then of course we have the ear piercing scream when I sneak the medicine down by her cheek. She stops screaming. She swallowed the medicine without spewing it across the kitchen. She stops coughing. Eyes are closed. She's quiet. Then... "WELL HI!" Her bright blue eyes open wide. This exquisite smile shines across her beautiful face. She sits up, "Hi mommy, what was that medicine for? It tastes good! Why are I in your room? I love you mommy. I love you." Non-Drowsy. They ain't kiddin'!