July Happenings

Another month has come and gone - we have had such a fun and laid-back schedule this summer. I know many of you mothers out there would gasp at our 3-year staying up until 10 or 11 and sleeping until 9:00, but most days it works out great for us.
We started off the month by spending an entire week at the lake with our family for the 4th of July. Sitting in the boat and watching the fireworks reflect off the water on the 4th of July is one of my favorite holiday happenings of the entire year. Megan and Addison both also enjoyed them. Thankfully neither of them seem to be bothered by the booms. However Megan's favorite thing to do this year was the colored smoke bombs. I'll post a picture of her below. Fireworks are legal at the lake, so the entire week it sounds like you are living in a warzone once the sun begins to set.
In July, we also spent many hours swimming at my parent's pool since the rain finally stopped and the water heated up. In mid-July, we went to the little Edmond rodeo with Josh, Jen, and Jake. Megan loved watching the horses, but didn't like the rodeo clowns at all. To end the month, we went and stayed at Brooke's house in Southlake, Texas, for several days. We were even able to meet up with my two college roommates who live in the DFW area by spending a day at Amy's house. We had so much fun catching up and letting all of our kids play and get to know each other.



ON THE BOAT BEFORE FIREWORKS

SWIMMIN' IN THE LAKE



Uncle Johnny and Megan with the "smoke" bombs. (She really pronounced the 'k', which cracked us up.)


Grammy, G-Ma, Jake, Megan, and Addie at the Catfish Cabin.



Addie's first bike ride in the trailer.



Megan at the rodeo



Just looking cute after a bath.

See her roll!

New milestones for Addie

Last week, Addison started rolling over from her stomach to her back. She thinks it is so funny when she plops over and escapes from the dreaded tummy-time. We are also able to get her to sit alone for a few seconds at a time. Her arms are still so weak that they give out pretty quickly.

Pray for us on Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM. We are going to St. Louis Children's Hospital for Addison to undergo the sedated nerve conduction study and the EMG. These tests are being performed to try to further diagnose the limited mobilty of her legs and possibly pinpoint a disconnect between the nerves in her legs and spine. The procedure will take approximately 1.5-2 hours. We are most concerned about her being sedated. Pray that her respiratory muscles stay strong during this procedure. If all goes well, we will return home that evening.

More Firsts

In the last few months, Megan has had lots of firsts. She had her first haircut a few weeks after her 3rd Birthday. Miss Lori was cutting Renee's and Maverick's hair at their house on a Saturday morning, so we joined in on the fun. Megan also learned how to ride her tricycle a few months ago and recently rode it all the way to my cousin Anneka's house, which is probably close to 1/2 mile total. She said her legs hurt the next day.

Megan's 1st Tubing Adventure

Two weeks ago, Megan had fun on her first tube ride. Phillip was going to ride with her. As he contemplated how to get in the tube with her, Megan said that she wanted to do it by herself. As you can see in the video, we started off really slow and calm. We ended up speeding up and she didn't want to stop. Hopefully she will love the lake as much as her Mommy does.

Messy Eaters

Addison (8 months old) is still struggling with eating baby foods. It is a complete mess and requires a bath after each feeding. Here is a picture of her enjoying her dinner of prunes and cereal. However, it doesn't look like it is going to get any better when she starts eating table food from looking at Fallon (13 months) eating ketchup.

Fun with Friends

We have had lots of fun with our friends this summer even though the rain has kept us indoors a lot. Here is some fun at the McDonald's. Renee felt like she was missing out on the fun, so she climbed to the top of the playground. No really - she had to rescue Maverick, who had climbed up and didn't want to come back down. (note: we decided that it was probably best to avoid this McD's by the OKC zoo until school is back in session. Both of Megan's friends (boys) ended up in tears after a bully kid shoved them to the ground.)

Megan's 3rd Birthday

A few of Megan's friends (and a lot of the family) met us at the zoo for her BD party. After having cookies and opening presents, they took a ride on the train before we walked around for awhile.

Sunday, May 20th, was Megan's actual birthday. Alll of the extended family came over to my parent's house for a hamburger cookout after church.


Megan and Addison chilling around the pool before lunch.

Megan's is making her wishes. My cake looked good until I tried to cut pieces. (FYI - fruit tape is a good decoration, but doesn't slice well.) It was pretty funny!


Megan received a guitar and keyboard from Phillip and I for her BD. She is our little entertainer at home.

May Pictures

Megan's school program (she is the 2nd from right). You can view her prize-winning performance at Audrey's 5/11 blog http://maucktalk.blogspot.com/(mom of Carson, who is to the right of Megan). To those that don't want to watch the video, Megan decided to suck her fingers the majority of the time instead of singing. She truly has two personalities (home vs. away).
Grammy and Megan


In the top left corner is my G-Ma (have I told you that she is 86?) with my Mom and Megan just to the right. They were enjoying the swings at Silver Dollar City. We took a girls' trip on Mother's Day up to stay with G-Ma for a few days.

Addison's first boat ride. G-Ma; April; Addie; Megan; and Mom

Megan posing on the stairs at G-ma's lake house.




Megan and friends at church on Mother's Day. She decided to act silly for the camera and pose with a green feather in her mouth instead of gluing it to the page like the other kids.

Portrait Day

We went to take Mother's Day and Megan's 3-year old pictures today.

Swimming

We finally found an indoor, heated pool. They have recommended warm water swimming as part of Addison's therapy. She is so buoyant that you only have to support her head and the reast of her body floats. The best part is that she is also able to move her legs quite a bit. If I can ever figure out how to post my video, I can show you. Megan gets the added perk, also, of being able to swim with us. Although she doesn't have her floaties on in the picture, she wears them while I have Addie in the pool. It is fun and great for all of us!

Bible Class

Here are some pictures of Addie in Bible Class this week. She is in the exersaucer for her Sunday class in the baby room and then she sat in the big kids' table for Wednesday night. It looks like she is going to enjoy church as much as Megan does. (I'll try to get some updated pictures of Megan with her friends in class next week.)

Silver Dollar City

It was cold in the morning, but it turned into a beautiful day.



Megan's 1st roller coaster ride. How fun!

Megan and G-Ma on the elephants. How many 86-year old Grandmas do you know that get to have fun on amusement rides with their great-grandchildren? You could hear them both laughing.

Megan then got to ride some smaller rides all by herself.




We are now season pass holders of Silver Dollar City. If anyone is ever in the mood to go, then let us know and we will join you. SDC is in Branson, MO, and only about 30 miles from my Grandma's house on Table Rock Lake. We spent a few days up there last week. Here are some pictures of our fun:

Spring Pictures

Now what I really enjoy, sharing pictures:


Addie in her bumbo seat. How cute is that outfit that Audrey gave her?



April surprised Megan with Sesame Street Live tickets.


Our family on Baby Dedication Day at church.


Addie was trying to sit up in the chair.

Addie and Jake had matching outfits for Baby Dedication Day. Could they be any more serious?

Addison and Megan with their Great G-Ma Lulu (my dad's mom) on Easter.



Megan with her easter baskets. Yes, she received 3 (one from the Bunny; one from Grammy; and one from April.)

Hunting Easter Eggs at the neighborhood party.