Picture update

I figured I should post a few pics of the kiddos.

A 6 month catch up

I was supposed to update everyone post surgery for Addie, however I failed miserably. So, I think it's about time that I get on here and let everyone now what has been happening since March, a mini-6-month update.

Well, firstly, Addie's surgery went well and the scar is slightly smaller then the initial bald spot on the back of her head, we may have to do this again when she is older to reduce the scarring. Aside from life altering surgeries her life has been much the same. Growing, babbling, running amok, and harassing her big sister. She's grown so much it's actually quite amazing, I will be posting pictures of her in the near future on the next blog (as I have no camera access currently).

Paige finished first grade with flying colors and has moved on to second with Mrs. Dowdy. Her first day (which was today) went well and she's very excited about the prize box in Mrs. Dowdy's classroom, she has every intention of collecting as many plus tickets as possible so she can expand her 'Littlest Pet Shop' empire. As for learning, I hope more of that goes on as the year continues.

Aaron and I have both started new jobs since March. He as a Cable installer and I as a bartender. A what? you say. (I know these things) I bartend at the local casino, it's a career endeavor I never thought I would make but it pays the bills and has it's enjoyable moments. Aaron seems to enjoy his cable job, he likes leaving the office and not having his boss go with him, as my father always said.

We had an interesting summer with a lot of ups and downs, mostly ups. The girls and I spent much of our time at the river, bathing in the sun and despite many valiant efforts Paige still refuses to learn to swim. She has decided that her head should never be underwater, Addie on the other hand is a regular water baby. She dove right in, head first a few times.
My children are growing faster then weeds and learning new things everyday, they even teach me a few things occassionally, but don't tell them that they think that I am all knowing.

We recently had a loss in our family, which I think may be the reason that I decided to sit here and get this updated. My older cousin Brent passed on August 21. The loss of him has made me re-analyze so many things that I thought I knew. I have a large family with many cousins but they have each had their signifigance in my life and made their mark and the last week I have found myself racking my brain to remember every good memory I ever made with any of my cousins, Brent especially. He was a good man and my most recent and fondest memory of him was a recent visit at Thanksgiving in which Paige latched on to him and made him play with her over and over and over until I sent her to bed. For hours he continued playing with her, like it never occurred to him that he didn't have to be her private jungle gym. There are very few people that have impressed me with the way they handled my children but Brent did and he will be greatly missed by many.

Addison's Surgery

We're sitting in the waiting room at Doernbecher's while Addie is in surgery. As far as it all goes this is considered a "minor" surgery. It's not invasive and it's really just the skin on her head (they're removing her bald spot), but it doesn't feel minor. All I can say about it is that I hope none of my children ever have any serious diseases or hospitalizations because I haven't slept in three days and I cried when they took her to the OR. General Anesthesia freaks me out. You hear stories about people who went under and never came out again, but my baby girl is going to be just fine. I'll post some before and after pictures when we get home (I didn't brink my phone adapter thingy with me and I haven't seen the after yet anyway). Poor baby was so angry with us because we couldn't let her eat, she really likes her milk in the morning. But, alas, clear fluids only and water just doesn't cut it. Paige is with her grandma because we thought it would be easier for her then the waiting game that we have to play and easier for all the other people in the waiting room as well. I can't wait for this to be over, so she can heal, and I can get some sleep. I'll let everyone know how it all goes.

The birthday girl in all her glory.

We had Addison's first birthday party yesterday. My daughter will be one year old in 3 days, oh how the time flies. We had a small family party, but if you know my family you know there is no such thing as small family gatherings. So, we stuffed about 20 adults, 5 little girls, and 2 babies into our not-so-large living room. It was full and loud and so much fun. Addie got lots of fun stuff, but loved the boxes the best. Paige had fun playing with all the other girls her with and we adults chatted and ate pizza, cake, and ice cream, all the necessities of a birthday party.


Paige got her report card and it was amazing. All E's and S+, which is the equivalent of A's as they don't start giving the standard letter grades until the 3rd grade. I'm pretty impressed with her talents myself, I always knew she was a smart girl. Well, except for when she was 3 and I thought she was color-blind, but that was simply because I am so impatient. Obviously, it turned out she wasn't and I think she's the smartest kid in her class.

All the girls taking a break from their playing to eat some cake and ice cream, Aaron gave them all as much sugar as he could before they went home, just to be sure that their parents got to enjoy the left over sugar Rush that he knew we would be enjoying. His theory was "they aren't sleeping here".

Addison after she ate her cake, her tongue was blue from the frosting. It was pretty darn cute. Her birthday is on the 3rd, she'll be one and her Grandpa Reller will be 81.

Playing with their new games with Daddy. Happy Family.


I realize I didn't give much of an update on Christmas and I found my memory card so I can post some of the pictures. Although, I'm sure most who read this have seen most of the pictures on my facebook or myspace, but oh well for my imaginary friends who haven't seen them I'll post them for you.

Christmas was great. Addison and Paige both made out like bandits and had a great time. Gifts were given, food was eaten, family was visited, and joy was spread around. Addison was uniinterested and did not even make any attempt to open any of her presents, she played with the paper while I unwrapped all of her gifts. Which was cool for me because I felt like I got twice as much stuff. :) It went well for a baby's first Christmas though I am pretty sure that we'll be spending the rest of the year recovering from the holiday season, it was still pretty great.

Playing with her Cash Register. Price check on Aisle 3.

Paige is back to school and reading like a fool, though they sent home some reading material that I must say I found questionable for a first grader, when grading it on content, so I have to ask a few questions there. She informed Aaron yesterday that she doesn't have school on Monday because it is "Carl's Junior Day". We laughed for about 5 minutes before we clarified it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, not a day for rememberance of a fast food franchise. She FINALLY has one of her front teeth coming in, there for a little while I thought she was going to be toothless because it took so long for them to come through.

Addison singing her song, her talent is astounding.

Addison has learned to say NO and throw a tantrum. That girl can throw a fit with the best of them. It's amazing, I have no idea where she learned it, is it just something they have engraved in them so they can drive their parents nuts? I'm not allowed to leave the room without her, lest she might throw a seizure-fit.
Her head surgery has been approved and scheduled. In March, they will fix her scar and make it smaller. It's a bit nerve wracking, what with the anethesia and all, but I'm confident that the doctor's at Doernbecher will do an excellent job.

I also had a lot of fun playing with the children's toys at Christmas... It's good to have an active imagination, Right?

Twenty-Ten.... The Year

We're a week into the New Year, what fun, what fun. Addison had her appointment at Deornbecher with Dr. Kuang (a pediatric plastic surgeon) and ll went well. They said that she would be up for her surgery in a month or so, which is very good. The surgery is pretty much a cosmetic one, but I think it will be necessary to have it taken care of before she enters Kindergarten, so the younger the better. At least this way she will be to young to remember.
It was a long trip that involved a lot of screaming from her and a lot of singing from me, as that seems to salm her a little bit, she didn't sleep nearly as much I would have liked. We had a very good trip other than that, she got to hang with Melissa Box, whom neither of us had seen since she was only 3 months old.
In other New Year news, our dog Joey was in and out of the vet over the last week a few seperate times. He was pretty sick, and quite frankly I thought we were going to lose him. Fortunately, he recovered and has returned home.
Paige is a toothless fool, she's lost 5 of her front teeth, yea that's right 5 teeth. 3 up top and her 2 lateral incisors on the bottom. I can't find my memory card so there are a few photos today, sorry. I'll post more later!