reunion tower

One afternoon, we headed to the Reunion Tower in Dallas to check out the observation deck.  This has been on my bucket list for a long time, and when our Bishop gave us free tickets that expired at the end of September, we made it happen! 

It was so fun to check out this Dallas Icon, but I'm glad we didn't have to pay for the tickets because it seemed really expensive! (Like $17 for adults and $8 for kids.) The kids thought it was super cool, and whenever we drive near Downtown Dallas, they quickly point out the tower and comment on how we've been there. I love sharing these first time experiences with my littles.

When we left, Kevin found one of those city scooters and gave it a whirl.  He really wanted to try them on my birthday weekend, but I wasn't quite confident enough to ride them around Deep Ellum. I tried it as well, but don't have a picture to prove it, haha.

birthday weekend

For my birthday this year, Kevin planned a weekend getaway for the two of us.  It was SO nice to get away from our daily routine, and do something out of the ordinary. Jerry and Bev came to watch the kids, which made this whole weekend possible :)  They came down early Friday afternoon so that I could pick Kevin up early from work.  We stayed at the Cambria Hotel in Deep Ellum, and walked to Pecan Lodge for an early dinner. After a yummy BBQ dinner, we headed over to The Bomb Factory for the Lord Huron concert. We have been listening to them for a few years now, and really love the vibe of their music.  Since we were there early, we secured our "spot" on the floor and waited patiently for the concert to start.  We basically stood there forever, and then the opener started.  By the time they were done, my legs were seriously tired.  Kevin and I kept joking that we were old if we couldn't stand for the duration of the concert, haha.  It took a long time before Lord Huron came on, but it was a great concert and a lot of fun to just pal around together.  Outings are so different with kids, so it was nice to have a break.

Thanks for a fun birthday, Cutes :)

TOFW weekend

Last year was the first annual Time Out For Women (TOFW) weekend with my mom and sister in Denver, and this year they came to Texas. Mom flew in on Memorial Day (Monday) to spend extra time with us, and we were all glad that she did. Brooke and I went in to get her while Kevin and Colby waited at the curb.  Those first hugs are always the best...

We enjoyed some boating in the afternoon...

Brooke was bummed that she had to go to school while Nay Nay was here, but she sure enjoyed having someone to read her stories as she ate breakfast every day.

We took Nay Nay to Katherine Rose park, which is one of our favorite places to go.  Colby enjoyed having all the attention, and I had to remind myself to not feel guilty because Brooke had this same opportunity when she was little.

Kimberly, Josh, and Claire arrived on Thursday afternoon, and Brooke was ALL about baby Claire.  She wanted to be involved in all things Claire, and Kimmie and Josh were both super patient with her desire to help with everything.

On Friday, we headed to the Dallas World Aquarium.  Again, I felt guilty doing it without Brooke, but I also didn't think I should take her out of school when she had missed almost a full week with her UTI.

The aquarium definitely exceeded my expectations, despite being a bit pricey. It's located in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, and had a lot of unique animals you don't typically see at zoos. Colby was able to feed blueberries to some bird with a gigantic beak, so he felt pretty brave about that :). They also had several endangered monkeys, which I especially enjoyed.

We rushed home from the aquarium so that Nay Nay could attend Grandparent's day at Brooke's school.  This picture melts my heart because you can see the happiness on Brooke's face that her beloved Nay Nay was with her.

After school, Brooke and I were watching Claire so that Kimmie could take a nap. Claire was having the time of her life, until she fell off the slug and hit her head on the tile :/  She calmed down quickly, but as we sat on the couch reading books, a goose egg began forming on her little forehead.  I felt SO bad, but at least I had pictures and videos to show how much fun Claire was having before the fall. 

Friday night was TOFW, and the weather was the worst.  Like, flash flood kind of weather.  It was dumping buckets as we drove to the Arlington Convention Center, and I'm just lucky that we made it there alive.  Once we parked, Mom and I realized that we were wearing our Birkenstocks, so we waded barefoot through the parking lot to save our sandals, haha. We only took one picture, but we had a lot of laughs.

Nathan Pacheco was supposed to perform that night, but due to illness, David Archuleta filled in for him.  The lady in front of us was so excited, and was acting like a teenage groupie, haha.  It was a great evening, filled with wonderful speakers and songs.

Saturday, we headed back for a full day of TOFW goodness.  I really enjoyed all of the speakers, and felt a spiritual boost from the messages shared.  It was also really nice to be kid-free and spending time with my mom and sister.  I hope we keep this tradition alive, or at least do a girl trip every few years. Hopefully next time my sister-in-law Madi can join us as well :)

Everyone left Sunday morning, but we took one last picture after baths on Saturday night.  We loved having everyone visit, and we hope to see everyone again soon.

Rachel's baby shower

Joanna and I hosted a baby shower for our beautiful friend, Rachel. She really is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet, and after several years of fertility treatments, she was pregnant with a precious baby girl.  We wanted her baby shower to be perfect, and I was really happy with the way everything turned out. It was a brunch, so we served biscuits and jam, ham and egg sliders, fruit, donut holes, and yogurt parfaits.  Joanna made most of the food, but I brought her favorite chocolate cake from Costco :)

Rachel has two very energetic boys, so the addition of a sweet baby girl is exactly what she needs :). She is a beautiful mother, and the most thoughtful friend!

constipation/UTI

During the second week of school, Brooke missed 4 days due to a fever.  That Monday, she was out of sorts due to bathroom issues.  We had gone to the pool after school, but I could tell that she needed to go poop. I was giving her Miralax periodically, but we were mostly managing everything with diet.   She had a few days when it hurt her to poop, and things quickly went downhill from there. She started withholding again, which meant that she was miserable and uncomfortable until she finally couldn't hold it in anymore.  That evening she finally pooped, but she had blood all over her stools, and when I checked her bottom, it looked like she either a hemorrhoid or a broken blood vessel or something.  I put ointment on it, and tried to talk things out with her.  

That night, she woke up with a fever and I figured we had started our vicious cycle of UTI/constipation issues.  Sure enough, I took her to the doctor and she had a UTI.  They sent me to the Cook's Urgent Care for an x-ray of her intestines to gauge the level of constipation.  

She was nervous, but did so good laying very still for the x-ray.

The x-ray showed moderate constipation, so we went home with a plan to do daily miralax until everything was soft and she was no longer scared about getting her stools out.

The next few days were so weird as the fever would come and go.  She would feel okay, would eat a small snack, but would want to lay in her bed or on the couch and was quickly asleep.  She hasn't napped since she was two and a half, so I knew she just didn't feel good.  She was also sad to miss school those 4 days, but she really wasn't up for much. Being in school may have also played a role in all of this since she wasn't drinking as much as she did at home, and I don't know how comfortable she was about going to the bathroom at school.  We had practiced having her wipe herself, but its different when you're completely on your own. I visited with her teacher about it, and left wet wipes in her classroom bathroom for when she has to go at school.

I am happy to report that the Miralax did the trick, and she is doing so good!  I hope she won't have to be on Miralax for life, but at least for now, I feel comfortable with it. It was awful seeing her in pain, and seeing the fear she had about going to the bathroom. Seeing your child struggle really is the worst part of being a parent!

first day and weeks

The first day of school was great!  Brooke and I were both a little nervous the night before the big day, and she had lots of questions about how the day would go.  I had ordered her a special book called, "Dear Girl", and we read it before bed that night.  Each page of the book starts with "Dear Girl", then gives some advice.

Some of my favorite pages:

"Dear Girl, Look at yourself in the mirror. Say thank you to something that makes you YOU."   

"Dear Girl, Find people like you.  Find people unlike you."

"Dear Girl, If your instinct is telling you to say no, say no, you know?"

"Dear Girl, Listen to your brave side."

And the real tear jerker at the end of the book,

"Dear Girl, Whenever you need an encouraging boost, remember you can turn to any page in this book.  Most of all, dear girl who I love, know that you can always always always...turn to me."

I couldn't even get through the last line.  I was so choked up, and when I froze, both kids looked at me and were trying to figure out what was going on.  Brooke finally said, "What does it say?"  I just adore her so much and I want her to ALWAYS know that she can turn to me when she is happy, sad, scared, or heartbroken.  She is my dear girl. As I laid next to her that night, I studied her little features and tried to wrap my head around all the emotions running through me at that moment.  

Brooke seemed fine the next morning. I was still emotional, but I felt confident knowing that she would be safe and cared for at school.  

Still no hugs, but Brooke posed for a picture with Mrs. Hickerson.

She put her backpack away, sat at her desk, and looked around at what the other students were doing. Everyone was playing with the play doh on their desk, so Brooke tried to open her container.  She was having a tough time, and immediately, the girls on either side of her offered to help.  It was such a small thing, but it made my heart so happy to now that she had instant sweet friends to help her.

Adjusting to earlier bedtimes and early wake ups is not easy for our family, but we are getting the hang of it, haha!

I walked Brooke to her classroom for the first month of school, which she preferred.  I had to go through the office every day to get a visitor pass, but I loved watching her walk so confidently through the halls and ensuring that she indeed made it to her class each day.  One day, as we pulled into the parking lot, I asked Brooke if she wanted to walk by herself since we were running late.  She asked if she would be late to class if I walked her in, and when I said maybe, she said "I guess I could walk by myself so that I'm not late."  I walked her to the front door, kissed her sweet head, and watched her till she made it to the end of the long hall.  She looked back at me, we signed "I love you" to each other, and she rounded the corner.  That was really such a big step for both of us, haha, but I was so proud of my brave girl.  The next day I asked her if she wanted me to walk her in, and she wanted to do it by herself again.  I think she liked feeling so independent :)

We went and had lunch with Brooke during the second week, and she was so happy to see us.  I loved watching her follow the cafeteria routine.  She is such a rule follower, which is something I really love about her.  She wants to do what is right, and for that, I am so grateful.

She really is our precious girl :) So far, Kindergarten has been great!