Pumpkin Patch Fun

Before I begin I have to explain the Wordless Wednesday picture since I have gotten tons of e-mails about it. Every night before we put Mylee to bed we put on her braces, and then her jammies. The past few nights before I go to bed, I check on all the kids and have Mylee in the process of disrobing, or like you saw in the picture. The other night I could not resist taking a picture of her like this. Apparently after we put her to bed she completely strips down to nothing and then falls asleep. We then have to get her up to get her braces back on a dressed again. Once we get her ready for bed the second time, she usually does not strip down again. But come morning, she cannot wait to get her jammies and braces off.

Last weekend we took the kids to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. This was our first family trip to the apple orchard and we had a great time. The kids really enjoyed it. At the pumpkin patch they were told they could each pick out their own pumpkin but they had to be able to carry it themselves. Gabe and Emma struggled with theirs, but they were both determined to carry them to the car. Mylee was in love with her pumpkin. I was not sure we were going to get it away from her. Now every time she sees a pumpkin she gets very excited. We are plannin on carving them tonight so I wll post pictures tomorrow from the carving fun.

Matt took Mylee to her therapy appointment yesterday and she seems to be doing very well. Her therapist, Cindy is quite impressed with how things are going. She is showing a great deal of improvement in her right leg. When she walks she is able to bend her right knee and her left a little. She is even starting to bend her knees to pick things up from the floor. The kids have even taught her to march. As we go up the stairs, I follow her up and help her to bend her knees and as we are doing this she says "bend" with every step. She is such a trooper. She continues to amaze us with her willingness and ability to overcome all she has been through. For that, I am very thankful.

As you can see from the pictures, I am having quite a bit of fun creating. Unfortunately, I am spending way too much time doing it and need to get off the computer and get some homework done.

Apple Orchard

As you can see, I am having way too much fun with the picture editing. For now I am making myself get off the computer to get some homework done. Enjoy the picture. This is from our trip to the apple orchard last weekend.

Photo Success

After days of trying to figure out how to "play" with my pictures, I finally broke down and e-mailed a fellow adoptive blogger for help. Thanks so much for helping me figure this out Denise. This was my first attempt and I am pretty impressed with how it turned out. I have several more pictures from out trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. I am hoping to post those tomorrow for all to see. The kids had a great time. As you can see from the pictures, Mylee worked really hard to get that apple there was no way we were going to tell her she had to wait until later to eat it.

Wordless Wednesday

Football, Shoes, Costumes, and a Haircut

I forgot to post this, this is what Sadie looked like before her haircut.


Blake had his last football game Saturday. This was THE championship game and his team was undefeated. Unfortunately, they lost. Blake was pretty upset about it, this being his last year to play for this league. Next year he will be an official Carroll Middle School Charger. Blake has played for this league for 4 years and has really enjoyed it and learned alot. He has a true passion for football. Although his team lost on Saturday and he was upset, he still had fun and that is what really counts. Matt and I are so proud of him for realizing that it is not always about winning or losing, but having fun.

Blake is #36, he is running right in front of the pole.

This was taken after the game. I felt so bad for these boys, they worked so hard this season. Notice all the bowed heads.

Such disappointment

Dad trying to make it all better. I love this picture.

After Blake's game, Matt's parents took Emma and Gabe to the lake for the night, so we took advantage of having only two kids and went to lunch and did some running around. Mylee had her first therapy appointment last week which went great. Her therapist suggested getting her a pair of tennis shoes so the next visit they can put lifts in them. Right now when she walks or stands she is so used to leaning back and putting all her wait on her heals. They are hoping that by adding lifts to her shoes, she will be able to walk a little better. The therapist also suggested getting her a riding toy that she can sit on and push around with her legs. This will help to stretch and strengthen her leg muscles. So, after the appointment we went to Toys R Us and bought her a riding toy and a little step stool. The riding toy look like a school bus so she thinks she is going to school like Blake and Emma. I am a little surprised by how flexible her knees are becoming. The right knee is bending quite a bit. She has even begun to bend it while walking. The left one is still pretty stiff, but making progress. She goes back to the therapist on Wednesday and First Steps should start next week.

Getting my feet sized for new shoes.

Trying on my new shoes.

Checking out my new kickers. She loves to look at herself.

After getting Mylee's shoes we decided to go to some local Goodwills in search of items for our Halloween costumes. Matt and I are having a party this year and you have to dress us. I am a little excited because I have not dressed up for Halloween since I was a kid. Anyway, we were able to find almost everything we needed for our costumes in one stop (Matt was very excited about this). Sorry, I can't say at this time what we are going to be, but rest assured, I will be posting pictures after the party.

As for the kids, Emma finally decided on a butterfly since Mylee is going to be a ladybug. Gabe wanted to be a Storm Trooper (Star Wars), but unfortunately, we could not find any in his size. BUMMER :). So, he has decided to be a dragon. The nice thing about him being a dragon is I don't have to buy anything because we have a dragon costume in the dress up box.

That sums up football shoes, and costumes, now on to the haircut. We took Sadie to the groomers on Sunday and got her shaved. TOTALLY. For those of you not familiar with Sadie, she is a full grown Old English Sheepdog. So to see her going from a full coat of white and gray hair to literally a buzz cut, it was pretty humorous and sad. She does seem to be happier though and the kids love her shaved. I'm not sure why...

Poor Sadie, that is all I can say.

One Step Forward, FINALLY

Yesterday Matt took Mylee to get her braces, FINALLY. The first time they went to have them made, they were only making them for her feet. The second time they went back, they were made wrong again, so I guess the third time is the charm because Matt and Mylee came home yesterday with her braces. She has to wear these at night. You can see from the pictures that they keep her legs in a bent position to help lengthen and strengthen her leg muscles. Matt quickly showed me how to put them on her at bedtime because he had to teach last night. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't get them on right, but Mylee was more than eager to help. She did great in them last night. She did not fuss at all while I was putting them on, in fact, she seemed very excited to get them on. I was worried that she would be uncomfortable last night, but she did not wake up once. She is an amazing little girl who seems to be able to endure and tolerate almost anything.
Today I am taking her for her first therapy appointment. I will post tomorrow to let everyone know how things went.

Weekend Happenings

This weekend was filled with football, shopping, and birthday cake. Blake had a game on Saturday morning. His team still remains undefeated. This upcoming Saturday is the BIG championship game. I missed the last one because it was so cold and Gabe and Mylee did not have jackets yet. That is where the shopping comes in. On Sunday afternoon, my friend and I headed to Target and the outlet mall. Mylee now has a jacket, but I am still looking for one for Gabe. He is at that stage where toddler sizes are too small, but the boys sizes are too big. I am going to check a couple more places this week and will hopefully find something. On Sunday evening we had Matt's family over for cake to celebrate Blake's birthday. It was kind of nice not having to clean up a whole birthday party this year. Blake had decided to get a few of his friends together later this month for pizza at our house and then they are going to go to some haunted houses. Since I don't do haunted houses, Matt is going to be there taxi driver for the night. Blake is really looking forward to it. I just cannot believe is he 12! Anyway, just thought I would fill everyone in.
Below are some pictures from the weekend.


~Blake's Green Bay Packers Cake~


~Blake with his cake~

~Gabe's silly face~ He is such fun

~Emma loves being able to dress like Mylee. On Thursday night we had her open house at school and she could not wait to go and show Mylee off to everyone. I think she was more

excited about getting to dress like Mylee than showing us
her classroom.

Where has the time gone????

12 years ago today, I became a mother for the first time. Our oldest son Blake, was born October 2, 1996 in Honolulu HI. I had to put where he was born because he thinks it is so cool that he was born in Hawaii. It is so hard to believe that he is 12. It's even harder to look at him and think that he is only 12 because he is almost 5'7 and wears a size 11.5 in men's shoes. Anyway, as I reminisce of the day he was born, I remember being scared to death. For starters, we had only been in Hawaii for 2 months so I didn't really know anyone, my family and friends were an ocean away, and I was about to become a mom for the very first time. Oh, and Matt was getting ready to deploy with very little notice. (I have a strong admiration for military wives having been there done that). On the morning of October 1, being overdue for 10 days already, I went to the doctor for a routine stress test and was told that I was having contractions. "Really, that's what that is?" This was early in the morning. By 5 that evening I was on my way to pick up Matt from work and I still don't know how I made it there because by that time, I knew that I was having contractions. After I picked up Matt, we stopped to get a bite to eat and went home not really knowing what to do. By about 10:00 pm we were headed to the hospital as there was no way I could wait it out any longer (or so I thought). Once we were there we were told that I was only dilated to 1cm and that I should walk for a couple of hours and come back. They were not allowed to admit me until I was at least 4cm. Okay I thought, lets walk. After a couple of walking and stopping to hang on Matt with every contraction, I was sent home to wait and walk some more. By then it was about one in the morning, so we went home to try to get some rest and wait it out (again). Around 5 that morning, we headed back to the hospital because by this time I was sure I had to be at least a 4. Right? Wrong! Nope, I was only a 3 and of course they could not admit me until I was at a 4. Great, more walking. After another hour of walking, I was finally admitted. I don't think I had ever been so happy to be admitted into a hospital as I was at that moment. I just kept telling myself that things were going to get easier once I had the epidural which by the way, I was told I could not have one until I was dilated to 6! Seriously!! So, after finally getting the epidural (which obviously was invented by a woman), I did get some rest. At 5:45 on October 2, 1996 Matt and I welcomed out first son, Blake Matthew into our family.

So, with all that being said, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAKE! You are turning into such a great young man. You are handsome and smart just like your dad. You have a great sense of humor like me (thank goodness). You get your musical ability from your dad, and your love for books from me. You are inquisitive (which we all love). You are talented and creative. You are a fantastic football player. You are patient, loving, and caring (most of the time) with your sisters and brother. You are a great role model for your brother and sisters as well as other younger kids. You are mature beyond your years. But most importantly, you are a terrific kid and an even more terrific son. We love you and cannot wait to see what the next year brings. My birthday wish for you is that you get everything out of life that you want, and that you are happy and succesful with whatever you do.