Blocks, blocks and Bumps!

Aunt Mandy sent Drew some blocks and he has played with them daily for two weeks. We have so much fun with them. I was getting by with building just straight towers until Grandma came for the weekend and she builds entire cities so I have to up my game to keep him interested! ;) Drew tells me what to build and then we build it together. He loves to pretend with the blocks and has a great imagination. This first picture was a parking garage. Then we played dominos with them. I think we played dominos for about an hour! Next we moved on to a car wash and later added a library. Everyone needs a good car wash after they leave the library, right?! Thanks Mandy, Adam, Kyle and Brandon.... he loves your gift!








Here he got so excited about the car wash/library that he threw his head forward and hit the edge of the couch and put a knot on his head! Poor boy.

Cuteness just comes natural for her!
(I don't have any of Drew sitting still because that doesn't happen too often). ;)

I am very aware that parents are more entertained by their children than other people but I still wanted to add a couple videos. Lauren is great at sitting by herself now and Drew is a tractor driving maniac! Enjoy!

Hoovers Wedding

Okay so I had every intention of getting a lot of pictures and a great family picture while we were all dressed up for the wedding. The reality is, we barely kept everyone in building let alone standing still for a picture! Drew had a blast, he ran as fast as he could all over the dance floor. It would have taken some super glue, ropes and a large body guard to keep him standing still for a picture. He loved his outfit because he thought he was going to the bank. Here are the few pictures we got in their wedding clothes. The last picture Drew was trying to get Lauren to show Grammy how we danced at the wedding!

Brother is Funny!!!!

Lauren has been getting a kick out of Drew sneezing for awhile now and I just now got it on video. Before this one, they would stop every time I got the camera. It takes awhile for him to start sneezing again so be patient. She doesn't seem to mind even when it gets a little out of control. I love these kids!

Stages

Just wanted to show her beautiful eye lashes!!!! I LOVE THEM!

Having a family is sooooo much fun!!! Days are full of tantrums, dirty messes, tears, diapers, spit up, clutter, laundry and housework and I love it! I love it because the hugs, kisses, songs, smiles, and giggles make up for any hard parts of being a parent. Don't get me wrong, by 7:00 I am ready for them to go to bed so I can recharge by batteries and get ready for the next day. :) I am a women of many talents now that I have a family. I can finger paint (toddler style) with the best of them, build things with legos and blocks, sing and dance to any child song, play tickle monster, doctor boo boos, cook up a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich, perform surgery to insert batteries to any toy and much more!!!!
Each stage keeps getting more fun than the last. Right now the kids are starting to interact and that makes me smile. Lauren loves when Drew talks to her or even looks her way. When Drew will slow down to look at her he gets excited to see her smile at him. Lauren has already started the "Daddy's home" smiles and kicks, she gets so excited to see him and tries hard to get his attention before Drew can get to him!!! Poor mom just sits there and gets ignored when Daddy comes home, boo hoo for me.:) Both kids are still at the age where Mommy and Daddy are the best and know EVERYTHING so we take full advantage of that because I understand it will not always be the case. Drew is starting to LOVE puzzles and coloring, these are things that before now he couldn't sit still long enough to do. It is fun to watch them go through different stages and sad to see them pass through some of the stages. (True story: As I am typing this up, Drew just came out from his nap, hugged me and said "I love you Mommy!). That is why I love my family!!! I can put up with the days that we have a screaming fit in public when it is followed days of hugs and "I love you Mommy"! Well he is up from nap so I have to get back to building a "BIG HOUSE" out of blocks per Drew's request! I added a couple videos so the out of town people can see a little of Lauren!

Fancy Feet

Lauren's feet look wonderful, adorable and perfect!!!! Here are some pictures of the process it took to get there. I didn't put pictures of her before feet until now because I didn't want to worry people and we knew it would get better. You will be amazed in the change of appearance in a short amount of time. We are so thankful for Dr. Sinclair at Children's Mercy Kansas City.

Both of her feet were turned in.

This is Lauren.... 10 days old getting her first set of casts put on. As you can tell in the picture, I was overwhelmed watching my newborn get casts put on both feet. I wish I knew then how simple the process was going to be.

After week 1

After week 2

After week 3

After week 4

We didn't get any pictures of after week 5 because they took the casts off in the surgery room and she had new casts put on. She wore them for three weeks and yes they were dirty and stinky!

Aunt Mandy and cousins Brandon and Kyle decorated her casts right before we took her to get them off! She felt very punk rock and proud of her ink!

Here are her beautiful feet today!!! She still wears the brace (I will add a picture of that below) for 20 hours a day, but after August 17th she only has to wear it at night. This process seems like it flew by and she is putting weight on her feet already!

She even looks adorable with this brace on her feet!

Happy Fathers Day Sam!!!

My kids are lucky to have Sam as a father. He helps with everything and spends a lot of time with Drew and Lauren. He has taught Drew to peddle his bike, use his tools, mow the lawn and many other things. He wakes up for middle of the night feedings or middle of the night cries. He does baths, diapers, dinners and nights alone with kids. The thing that I am the most grateful for is he teaches by example. He is a great example to Drew how to treat a lady, which will guide Drew to be a good husband and father. He will show Lauren how a lady should expect to be treated by a man. He is my partner in everything we do and respects me and that is a great father. He treats me as an equal and I am thankful that my children are watching that and will expect that in their relationships. Thank you Sam! Happy Fathers Day!!! We love you!!!

Made it past the surgery!!!

Yesterday Lauren had her surgery to lengthen her Achilles Tendon and the surgeon said that she did great! It went much better than I had imagined in my mind. She couldn't eat past 3:30 and had to be at the hospital at 6:30 am, with surgery starting at 8:00. I pictured a screaming child so hungry she couldn't stop crying. She proved me wrong, we woke her up at 2:30 and fed her and she went right back to sleep and slept until it was time to go to the hospital. They gave her a flavored pacifier and a warm blanket and she was peaceful. Great start to a long day.... then they brought in the waivers that we had to sign. I told Sam, "I know it is a tiny chance, but that word possible 'death' on that waiver looked like it was written in 72 font." I really couldn't see anything else on the page. Sam was calm as a cucumber and I was sweating like a pig, but that is typical.
I do have to say that Childrens Mercy Hospital is wonderful; the nurses, doctors and staff communicate with parents very well and sit down to answer as many questions as you have for them, never making you feel uncomfortable for asking. The hardest part of the whole day was handing her off and walking away. I really try not to judge people in my every day life, but when you are handing your baby off to people you all the sudden catch yourself inspecting each and every person that comes close to her.
Her surgery took about an hour and the doctor came down to the waiting room to meet with us and report to us that she did great. He said that she has to wear the casts that they put on after surgery for two weeks, five days and then she gets her brace. After speaking with the doctor we had to wait about thirty more minutes for her to wake up and then they called us up to the recovery room. She woke up a little cranky but not bad. I expected that we would have to stay awhile, but they let us leave with her right then.
Lauren is doing great! Yesterday she seemed a little sore but she is back to normal today. Thank you to everyone that was praying, calling and emailing. We really appreciate the support and will keep you posted!

Walking Masterpiece!!!!

Drew has really been into painting lately and it is a messy job! The other day it became a little messier than ever before and that says alot considering some of the messes he has made in the past. Here is the process of Drews' Walking Masterpiece:

Drew is having a blast painting with the paints from Aunt Aunt Mandy! A little dirty but you expect that when a two year old is painting.

Beautiful work Drew! Then we went and changed his clothes, got cleaned up and I had to change baby sisters diaper! While I was changing the diaper the real work started and this is what I came out to find.....

Needless to say this kid keeps me on my toes! Later in the day he wrote all over the carpet with a red dry erase marker (to all you moms out there... dawn dish soap and a little arm work will take it out of the carpet). If anyone would like him to come and do some artwork in your house I am sure he is up for the job!!!!

Progress!

We have put in a lot of road time traveling to Childrens Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and it has been well worth the time! Laurens' feet are looking wonderful, it is amazing how fast they can change. She still has a long road ahead of her but the doctor is satisfied with her progress. She is currently wearing her fifth set of casts and will have surgery Wednesday the 28th (so say a little prayer) to have her achilles tendon lengthened. I am so thankful that they have these procedures! After the surgery they will cast her for three weeks and then we are done with casts and onto the brace! We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here are the latest pictures of her feet before they put the last set of casts on.

There is a wonderful play area outside the hospital and Drew made some new friends. He seems to make friends every where we go.

Drew has been staying busy at home doing projects. Here he is playing play dough.

Slow down!!!

It is funny how this parenting thing works.... with Drew I was always excited for him to grow and see him meet all of his milestones. However with the second child, especially since this will be our last baby, I am wanting Lauren to stop growing so fast. I know that this baby stage won't be here forever and it makes me a little sad to think about it. I love watching her sleep, holding her while she sleeps, listening to her noises, smelling so good like a baby and many other things. I wish that I had enjoyed this stage more with Drew. I feel so blessed right now as I look around at both of my children and I want to stay here forever (well I would like Lauren to sleep through the night). This morning after everyone woke up we put all four of us in our bed and I was looking at everyone and I told Sam "these are the moments we need to treasure because it won't be like this forever". Drew seems so big to me right now... he is changing so much. He is doing great with his new sister and is loving spending extra time with Daddy. I love watching him learn new things and his eyes light up when he knows he has done something good or has made us proud. So I just have to remind myself, even on the stressful days, to just take it all in and try to make the best memories out of the situation. If you can't tell already... I love my family and my life!!!!

Thanks!!!!!

I feel so blessed by all of the support that we are receiving from friends and family during this exciting but tiring time in our lives. Sam and I always feel blessed to have each other and our family but it is times like these that we realize how many people love and care about us. We are receiving gifts and phone calls every day. We had a group of wonderful ladies bringing us dinner for a couple of weeks, aunts and uncles helping with Drew and grandmas coming out to save the day!!!! We are fortunate to have great doctors and hospitals available to us and Grandpa Blackard allowing Sam to leave work to attend Laurens weekly doctors appointments. I have friends calling to check on me, give advice, offer assistance or just listen while I talk about things. Thank you to everyone in our life. Sometimes peoples lives are so busy we forget to tell each other how much we appreciate each other and I just want to take this time to tell everyone thank you.

Two weeks old and two casts and she can still roll over!!!!!

Lauren rolled over the other day and shocked me because she is only two weeks old and she has the heavy casts on her legs. I got out the camera and recorded for awhile and then stopped the video. Right when I stopped it I saw she was about to roll over so I started again so here are both videos. One she is trying hard and the second one she actually rolls over!!!!

Lauren getting her first set of casts off!

Lauren's first trip to Childrens Mercy Hospital

Lauren was born perfectly healthy but with two clubbed feet. We are so thankful for the doctors and treatment that she is able to have working with her. It is going to be a long process but it will be well worth it when we are able to watch our beautiful little girl walk, run and play sports. Our pediatrician referred us to Children's Mercy in Kansas City and we made our first trip there last week. The treatment plan is to apply casts on her feet weekly for five to eight weeks. This requires us to travel to Kansas City every Tuesday for new casts. I have to say I hated watching them cast her because she cried and I cried but she doesn't act like they bother her at all. After her feet are turned in the right position she will have a small out patient surgery. Then she will have casts for three weeks. Then she will have a brace and shoes that she has to wear 20 hours a day for two to three months. After that she will have to wear a brace only at night until she is three years old. They way that they explained it to us is that her feet are like teeth when you put braces on them. They might be straight but if you don't wear the retainer then they will turn back to the original state, that is why she has to wear the brace. Here are some pictures from her first trip.

She was not happy when they put the cast on until they gave her the sugar-water pacifier.

Lauren's first days!!!!

This is the day before Lauren was born!

Family of four is a new concept in this house but we are quickly getting used to it! Lauren is a great baby and likes to cuddle. She is still in the sleepy stage and we know this time to enjoy this stage because it will soon disappear! Here are some pictures from her first days!!!!

Here is Lauren meeting Grandma and Grandpa Dye for the first time!

Hello Grandpa Blackard!!!!

Precious Mommy and Baby moment!

Drew seeing baby sister for the first time! He was a little scared of all the stuff hooked up to Mommy.

Grammie and Lauren meeting for the first time!

First failed attempt for a family photo. I had to lay down for six hours after surgery so I couldn't sit up and no one is looking in the same direction. Oh well I am sure there will be more chances!

Here Drew is taking a picture of Lauren with his play camera!

Jerry came to visit!

Thank you Megan for the beautiful flowers!!!

Kiss kiss!!!

Hospital gave us a steak dinner. It was surprisingly good!

Cousins Brandon and Kyle

Aunt Mandy

Drew was helping Daddy put things together for baby sister!

Amy and Jerry!

Don't you just want to hug her?!?!?!?