10 days and counting

Summer only has a few more days left to be three. We finally got her birthday party planned and the invitations ready to send. She put the address labels on them for me. At first, she wanted to make the invitations which I thought would be fun. But, then we went to Walmart to get some stickers and she chose Mickey Mouse invitations. I didn't tell her about the stickers I had planned on getting though. Otherwise, we probably would've made them. Before we left, I let her go pick out the cake. She picked a Cars cake. ????? My mind is wondering why, but for some reason she picked it over Disney Princess, Barbie, Tinkerbell, and tons of others. It is done though, and I am excited to have the plans all done so I just have to get the cake and show up. Oh yeah, and decide what to get the birthday girl. I'm contemplating a bike, but I might just wait for Christmas on that so she can get a little more use out of the tricycle. We looked at them at Walmart yesterday and I am not sure whether to get a 12" or 16". She tried both and the bigger one was definitely more of a challenge, but not that much more, especially with training wheels. Of course, she wants the Hello Kitty one that has a baby carrier on the back. But, it is the 12" bike. Maybe I will put it off until Christmas after all. Her daddy wants to get her a Pillow Pet so I am sure we will get that. I can probably even get him to go to the mall after it. I'm sure I'll come up with something else. It's just a matter of shopping without her.

By the way, one of my fellow bloggers is having a giveaway for some wooden alphabet blocks donated by Magens Bay Designs. Check out her blog to enter.

Yikes, she wants a bra!

This morning when we were getting dressed, Summer asked me when she is going to get a bra. I told her not until she gets boobs. "Well," she said, "They have them for kids." Oh my, this girl is ready to grow up on me.

She is loving being able to ride her tricycle outdoors when we are out at the lake house. Our friend put up a rope swing which she really loves. This morning she took a few of her most prized puppies (at the moment) for a ride on it. She carted them there in a bag tied to her tricycle. :) She doesn't play much with dolls yet. She prefers her stuffed animals for sure. And, despite all the clearing out a few months ago, she still has a ton.

Summer is ready to give up the city living, as am I (I think). We both love to go outside and enjoy beautiful weather in a private and serene setting (well maybe the last part is my preference). It's just not the same when you are surrounded by random people walking about. She wants a cat and a dog and a playground with a slide and swings to play on. I'd love to have a tree house for her to play in, but we'll have to see what will happen with our housing situation. You never know what life has in store. I try not to plan the future too much because just when I get it all figured out the way I want it, there is a curve ball. But, I do like to think ahead so I will be at least somewhat prepared for whatever comes along next. A year ago, we were here. Now, Summer is a healthy little girl. Well, not so little. She's eating like a champ. Chili is one of her favorite foods. She loves steak too. She'll be outgrowing a size 5 before too long. She wears an 8 or 9 in shoes. She's almost too big to carry. I just so thankful she has recovered so well and is thriving now. I love my big girl, but I'm not ready for her to be in a bra yet.

Preschool visit

I finally broke down and did it. I took her by preschool. When we got there, I remembered that I had forgot to copy her insurance card and get the immunization records. I told Summer we'd come back another day, but she did not want to leave there without seeing the classrooms. When I started walking down the steps to the preschool, I got this feeling. You know, the my baby's growing up so fast feeling. Then, to top it all off, Summer says, "I wish I was old enough to go now." Yep, she's a goner. The halls were just like a school with classrooms filled with fun activity/learning centers. We also toured the playground where the kids play everyday. Summer enjoyed trying out some of the equipment. So, it looks like she is completely sold on preschool now. Of course, it is only two days a week so I'm not completely losing her. I know it might sound lame to some, but she is my one and only. I've already faced losing her once to cancer. Time with her is so precious. I'm not saying time without her isn't precious. But, I don't want to miss anything if I don't have to.

Last night we went to a carnival with some friends. The fear of rides is gone. She rode the Himalaya type ride twice without batting an eye. Willow was riding them all too. It was so awesome to see our girls just going from ride to ride with no fear and smiles on their faces.

I think we are skipping t-ball practice today. We may just practice some on our own. I think a day in the sun is just what the doctor ordered for us. Let's just hope the weather cooperates.

Barney still rocks

Summer still enjoys her Barney movies. Her favorites right now are the ones she got in an Easter basket from Selena - "Let's Go Counting" and "Outer Space." She still has pretty much no interest in Disney movies; they are too long for her I guess. I'm not complaining though because Barney is definitely an educational program. We have worked on writing "A's" and "a's" this week. She is doing pretty good at writing them. I've called the preschool that I think I am going to send her to and we may go check it out tomorrow so she can see the kids in the class. She is not against the idea anymore. She really loves learning and going to classes. Lexie has spent the past few days with us, and I have been working on animal sounds with her. It was so exciting yesterday when she saw a duck in the bathroom and said "quack, quack." Just made me smile. She is at the stage where she is repeating a lot of the words and sounds you make. Like "wheeee" on the swing or "shoowee" when I am changing a poopie diaper. Summer is enjoying her more, but is still not completely cool when Lexie plays with the same thing as her. It is cute to see Lexie mimic what Summer is doing. Such cute girls, and I love them both so much.

Summer didn't do the horse show on Saturday night because she waited until the last minute to decide she wanted to do it. She had fun riding Juliet at Willow's the other day though and even got to ride a little bit at the show, just not in the show. Not sure if we will make it to the show this week since it is farther away. I guess if she asks to go we will though.

Well, I have someone looking over my shoulder so I can't finish this now. I think he might have a slight craigslist addiction. :)

Such a blessing

We started this week with some fun, no surprise there. :) Summer's first time back at music classes was great. She is in the class without me for the first 40 minutes which she handled quite well. The class had moved to a new location so afterward she was curious as to why and if she could go see her old classroom again because she can't remember what it looks like. After that, she asked when we were going back to Playgym so I guess we will start that up again on Friday. We made our way to the River Park for a picnic lunch and some time on the playground.

Her monthly clinic appointment was after that. She pitched a royal fit getting the port. I actually do believe it hurts when they stick the needle in because it is a big needle and they don't take it right back out. I've decided the numbing cream doesn't do a great job. The needle stays for a few hours before it must be painfully removed again. The doctor asked about port removal, and I am still undecided on this. It means another surgery. It also means no monthly port flushes. Of course, should she relapse, that would mean two more surgeries (one to put a new port in and one to take it out). She has an MRI and CT scan in May, one of which she will have to be put to sleep for. I guess I need to find out how much longer she is going to be getting 3 months scans because she will have to be poked for each of them too. So, what's a momma to do? Leave it in or take it out?

We finished off that day with her 2nd t-ball game. It was definitely her turn to play in the dirt. I had to go out on the field with her this time because she didn't want to go without me. Then she found the dirt. Oh, the fun of filling up your pink and purple glove with dirt! I thought, just for a second, that it was wrong to get those pretty colors dirty. It's just not the same as with a brown glove. Her second time batting, she hit the ball on the first swing and was probably her best hit so far. She got trampled once trying to get a ball. That caused her to get upset, but it didn't last too long. After that, I didn't think she would try to go for a ball again, but she did. And, she got one of them. She is not a fast runner, and I wonder if that is due to the chemo and nerve damage she sustained from her treatment. She has practice tonight after we go over and try our luck at horseback riding. My friend's little girl is in a horse show every week, and Summer just might be interested in doing it herself. We'll see how she does on the horse today.

We've been living it up at the lake some too, enjoying the nice outdoor weather. We went and got our "cool car" the other day. Summer cracked me up on one of our trips by telling me she didn't know why her daddy wanted to get rid of this car. I can't believe she remembers him teasing me about selling it. Anyways, she said we could just tell him "No." She likes the top down sometimes, but not when it is hot because the sun wears her out she says. The other day she was a little mini-me, sporting her bandana and sunglasses as we rolled down the street, with the top down, listening to Beastie Boys. Her song is "She's Crafty." Go figure. She was also singing along with the radio like I do. Good times.

I am so thankful for her healing and truly enjoy every day that I have with her. I am on the fence about preschool still. Or, maybe just being lazy. I really haven't decided where to send her, but I need to go ahead and put an application in somewhere. Two days a week should be plenty I think. I think I can handle missing out on that much of her life. But, five days a week I just can't do. That will come soon enough with Kindergarten. Of course, I could always teach her some stuff at home and just take her to playgroups like we do now and skip preschool altogther. This morning, we worked on writing "A's" for more peanut M&Ms. I guess only time will tell. For now, I'm enjoying making precious memories for us both. Our lives are an adventure, and we have been truly blessed along the way.

Spring break at the beach

Summer is enjoying her vacation with her cousins. We left out early Monday morning having picked them up on Sunday afternoon after her 4th, and last, egg hunt with Willow & Mason. We stopped at Waffle House for breakfast and the kids all had biscuits, Summer's with chicken. Then we hopped back in the car and drove the other half of the drive. I must have heard the questions how much longer and how many more miles 20 times if I heard them once. I also heard the following things a few too many times: 1. "Look!" "Monkeys always look, you're a dirty crook, stole your momma's pocketbook." 2. "Guess what?" "What?" "Fell for it." Unfortunately it has not stopped since we got here. I can't say I'm looking forward to Summer entering school and learning these type of annoying tricks.

We were all so excited when we finally got to Panama City Beach and checked into our condo. The kids wanted to go to the lazy river first thing so we put on our bathing suits and headed down. Unfortunately, it was not heated so the water was too cold for some in our party, but not Leah and Jonathan.

Later we headed to the beach. Summer just wanted to get her feet wet and kept moving her chair closer to the oncoming waves.

The next day we headed to the beach where my Granny, aunts and cousins were. Of course, I ran off and left the camera. It was fun though and we spent a few hours with them. I was heavily applying sunscreen to everyone but myself. Ouch!!! :) The following day, Summer enjoyed playing with her dad in the kiddie portion of our resort.Although trips to the beach are usually short, the kids do manage to give the camera a few good poses. They just have too much fun on the water park we have here to spend too much time away from it. I can't believe I don't have any pics of it yet.

There are a lot of jelly fish washing up on shore this week, so we are not spending too much time in the ocean. Summer did let me hold her and jump some waves one day. She really enjoyed it which surprised me because the ocean has not been her thing so far in her almost 4 years of life. And, we have had our fair share of beach vacations. The pool is definitely where it is at with her. She is swimming like a little fish too either in her float suit (there is a top that connects the the skirt in the pic below) and floaties or a ring float and floaties. Sometimes she will even just let me sit on the side and watch which is good because it is kind of cool with the wind blowing and the pool not being in the direct sunlight most of the time. She is becoming much more independent, but still likes to have me in there with her some. There is no way she would just jump in the pool without her floats though so I don't have to worry about that.
Today the kids rode some rides after lunch at Summer's favorite place, Olive Garden. Even Clint got to ride a ride because he found one that didn't go round and round...in the dizzying way that is. Tonight after dinner, we met up with my relatives again and rode go-carts. Summer loved doubling with me in the big go-carts which surprised me a little. I thought she might be afraid, but with all the hooting and hollering I was doing, she was all smiles steering her own wheel (which didn't really steer). It was awesome to see her enjoy it so much. She is really getting bigger and enjoying more grown up rides. She even wanted to ride the little roller coaster they had, but she was about 2 inches too short. On our way back into the condo tonight, she made a wish at the wishing well. She wished she would stop getting bigger. LOL I guess she hears me saying how I want her to get smaller not bigger and is just trying to help me out. She wanted to make another wish, but we were out of pennies. She wouldn't tell me what it was. She said she couldn't until she made it. The logic that girl has.....always makes me smile.

P.S. I found out the next morning, on our way to the beach, that her second wish was that she wouldn't grow anymore so I could carry her. I guess she still loves to be in my arms. It won't be too much longer, and it will be just plain awkward for me to carry her around. But for now, I'll grin and bear it.

Easters in pics

2007 - her first Easter

2008

2009


2010

Time

The most precious gift you can give someone. Do you spend quality time with your kids everyday? If not, you are missing out and doing them a great disservice. Too many times we get caught up in our own lives that we don't take time each day to sit down and just focus completely on them. Sad. When we were at the library the other day, the video we watched was about reading to your kids 20 minutes a day. It was more geared towards the parents I think than the kids, but they were showing it to the kids. In the video the parents were too busy watching TV or just too tired to give their kid any one on one time, leaving him to his video games and TV. When a school teacher asked them if they wanted their kid to be successful, they were like oh yeah, we want him to be smart and do great in school. But, they weren't doing anything themselves to help him along. Anyways, I'll get off my soap box now. Spend some quality time with your kids....or other people that you say you care about.

One of the nurses from the clinic, Miss Johnnie, made Summer this dress for Easter. She had been making her a Christmas dress, but messed up the jacket she said so never got around to getting it to her. She wanted to make good on her promise to Summer and gave her a beautiful dress. Lucky, we have shoes to match! Of course, Summer found some purple headbands too to go along with the outfit. The egg in her hand has her porcelain cat "Peace" in it. It's her bed.
Lexie is wearing one of Summer's old outfits. I just love putting Summer's old clothes on her because it takes me back to when Summer was that little. I've got a whole bag just waiting for this summer! The shoes were Summer's too, but they wouldn't stay on Lexie's feet despite Lexie wearing a size 4 and them being a size 3. Summer's feet were wide, and she wore these shoes a lot and stretched them out.
Summer has been super creative the past few days. She made frames for some pictures last week out of lined paper and stickers. No one asked her to, she just did it. Then last night she cut out a bunny head off of flyer and then taped it to a body and made it some legs and feet. When I was lying in bed, she brought me a bear she had made and said she was making one for her daddy too. She really loves scissors and cutting things up. She is getting pretty good at it too. Luckily, she hasn't cut anything she isn't supposed to yet. She also likes to color a lot, but if there are stickers near, she will forget about the coloring and decorate the pages with some stickers saving the coloring for later.


We dyed some eggs yesterday. This egg says, "Summer rocks." She had fun with it although she was not too excited about have a few yellow fingernails afterwards. We only had 3 colors, so she mixed the colors to make purple, green and orange eggs. Then she put a few stickers on them, but not as many as I expected. She used them for something else though.


Her first t-ball game was Thursday night. It was pretty fun. Willow and her looked great in their uniforms, or as Willow calls them, costumes. I was amazed she kept her glove on the whole time she was on the field. She didn't get down and play in the dirt like a lot of the other kids, but she did kick it a little. The second time she was on the field, she was playing third base. Well, I say playing, but I mean talking to the person on third. It was funny because if the ball had been hit to her, she probably wouldn't have noticed for all the talking she was doing. When it was time to bat, she was NOT excited to wear the batting helmet. She said it was hurting her cheeks, and I must admit we should've practiced with it some beforehand. She hadn't even seen one until the game, and then she almost didn't want to bat. Oops. I had a slight sore throat afterwards for all the cheering I did. Love it!!! Can't wait to see the Hot Rods in action again.