School Update

Kaylyn participated in her schools science fair this year. She received a B+ for her shared project about bubbles. I think she did great for her first year at the science fair. She is excited about her project for next year. She is going to do it with her girlfriend Sierra. This years Sierra won and is going on to the next level.

Tonight was registration night at our school. Emma was tickled pink! She mad sure to pack her school bag for the 1 hour registration. She packed her 2 blankets and her pink Yally cat. It was funny watching her decide what she wanted to take to school with her!

She is starting JK this September. Man, was she excited about it! She said "I am going to go to school with Aunt Patti, Sami, Ryan, Mikala, Kaylyn, Mommy, Daddy and Maureen because their my best friends!"

When we got the office, they handed us a bag full of information and games for Emma. She was SO happy to get it!

Kaylyn has been waiting 3 years to be able to show Emma off! She was right up front with Emma looking around. Emma found the sandbox first, so it was a challenge to take off her coat and show her the rest of the room! We explained that school was more than just playing in the sand! She said"yeah, maybe later!"

Wow time flies eh?



Scott has passed his insurance exam. This helps him expand his knowledge and help his clients a little more. The more you know........ He was very pleased with himself. Kaylyn and I had no doubt, but are very proud of him!

Valentine's Day is coming up. It's the time of year we head to Oshawa to help my sister-in-law with her floral shop. The boys dress up "real nice" and do deliveries, Kay watches Emma and I help in the store as best as I can. I call it my part time job! It always makes for a long, but good weekend. We run on coffee, tea and adrenaline! It's the first job that smells nice from the time you start to the time you finish! No stinky people or food.

Yes, we are still here!

Ok, I do lack the discipline to update this blog daily, let alone monthly! Lots of little things have happened since our last post. Christmas and both birthday parties went well. We had a great turn out for both! Lots of friends AND family made it out. We had a pinata at both of the parties. I think it is a great idea, especially for the little ones. Not many kids these days want to play pin the tail on the donkey. That and there is usually candy in it! Aunt Tanya did a fantastic job on the cakes for us! Kaylyn had the cover of the Twilight book as hers and Emma had a Bambi cake. I had ordered the figurines, but Tanya did all the rest! Yum Yum!
Kaylyn has received positive news in regards to her echo on her heart! Everything looks great! We are just waiting to hear from the doctor to start her hormones. She is busy these days with Pathfinders, school work and her major science projects. Her next big thing is her trip to Florida with her dad. They go about every 2 years for 2 weeks. She has finally found something she enjoys reading. She is on the second go around for the Twilight series. It's one of those things, you want them to read, but just at the right times! I never thought that I would see the day when I would ask her to stop reading to do something else!
We have bought a "New to Us" car. The grey turbo gave up the ghost, so it is resting! The new wagon is great, but we both tend to use the SUV cause it has been a NASTY winter. It stays in the garage, so the idea of cleaning of the car in the cold snow storms is not appealing!
Emma is up to her normal antics! Her vocabulary is getting so big, that if it wasn't for her sense of humor she would be in BIG trouble! She thrives on reading things. She still loves her movies and computer time. She reads many books, as well as anything with words on it! You can't pretend what the words are cause she repeats them and has a good idea of what the letters should say! She is starting to take after her mother with repeating silly phrases from her movies! She picks the best times too! She has a good sense of timing! She woke the other day and I asked her how she slept. She said "Very well, I dreamed of noodles!" Hehehe! That is a line from the movie Kung-Fu Panda! hehehe! What a nut!
Scott is busy with his clients. It's that time of year for taxes as well, so many people take a look at their investments. So, he is starting to pick up again!
I have started my night shift of 10pm to 6am. It is ok, I am sleeping when the kids are (will be) at school and are at work while they are sleeping. This is the maximum way for us to have a "normal" family life. Oh yeah, I have Saturday and Sunday nights off! Other than Friday and Saturday nights I am very happy. I finally get weekends off!

Daddy and Emma playing in one of our many snow storms

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Emma kissing Santa Clause, she's hoping this will seal the deal about the fish!

The girls after their bath on Christmas eve!

I took a little video on my camera of Emma's reaction to her fish she got from Santa. The deal was she gave Santa her "DeeDee's" (her soothers) and she would get fish. At one point I forget, or don't realize the camera is still running. It is not a normal thing for me to use, but it is entertaining! You hear us realize that there is one dead fish. All but the one black fish have died, but Emma just says "We will go to the store and buy a new one!" All but the big gold one she called Goldie. She did shed tears for him. He was her favorite! Remember this is after I woke everyone after work at 6 in the morning! Hehe!

Ok, TBA. I can't get the video to upload. I will try again soon!

TTFN

Up to Now

I have tried to upload some photos of Emma's birthday social. I am having "Technical Difficulties" but hope to have them up soon. Emma's birthday party was a great time. We had many friends and family join us in celebrating her birthday. One of the best highlights was the pinata. The kids had a blast trying to break it open. They all had a chance three or four times actually. Mind you, I don't know who had more fun, my father pulling the string up and down on the kids or the kids themselves! It was funny!

Kaylyn has most recently been to a new specialist regarding her heighth. We have found out she has Turner's Syndrome. This explains MANY of things with Kaylyn's kidneys and other health issues. She is going to be scheduled for an 2D Echocardiogram to make sure her heart is good. Most of the issues around Turner's Syndrome are here and have been since birth. That is great news! We now know the true demond we are dealing with and what to expect.

Kaylyn turns 13 this year! Wow time flies. She is going to have a sleepover party with 4 of her friends the last weekend in November. She be good. I have planned a day at the spa for her and her friends.

Scott is still enjoying his new career. Considering the markets are crappy, he is holding well. He is building great relationships with many people and constantly learning. He is taking his insurance license the end of the month so he can offer more options to helping people personal. I am very proud of my Scottie!

I thought I should write a quick little tid bit, but will upload photos later and fill everyone in on much more!

October's here already!

I have been back to work for 3 1/2 weeks now on modified hours. It's going good as far as being back to work is concerned! They say that I should be able to have the swing shift (start 8pm) but have not yet told me my days off. I start back to regular hours next week, so I hope to find out soon! With being back to work, we need a babysitter. We found Maureen through a friend. Emma LOVES going to Maureen's house. She is a great little girl there. She really enjoys it and it gives her exposure to other people. It has helped Emma cope with her Mommy anxiety. If she could, she would crawl in my pocket most of the time. Now, she says "I'm brave! I'm not going to cry! I will wave good-bye." This is a BIG step for Emma. She still needs to know where I am when we are home together, but one step at a time.
Emma is turning 3 on the 14th of October. We are planning a "Birthday Social" for anyone who wishes to stop by to wish her happy birthday and enjoy some cake! With all of our family out of town and friends that work shift work, we decided that we would let people know they can stop by in the afternoon (around the 2-4pm hours). This is why I called it a "Social". Appropriately so, Emma is as much a social butterfly as her father and I!
Emma has been practicing riding her tricycle. She has mastered pedaling backwards and is slowly trying to go forwards. It's funny watching her try to figure it out. We have been discussing with her the soother situation. She calls them dee dees. We told her that Santa will take them and leave her presents! We thought this was great. It gave her time to come to terms as much as a 3 year old can, about losing her soother. Well, the other day she couldn't find them. She and I searched high and low. She stood in the hallway and huffed, putting her hands on her hips. She looks at me very sternly and says "Santa took them" pause, then realized "Hey, where's my presents!" I laughed! I thought she's too smart for her own good! Our tricks are being out thought by a 3 year old!
Kaylyn is in Pathfinders this year. It is one level up from Guides. She really enjoys it. This past weekend she went camping near Burlington. It was a very rainy weekend to go, but she enjoyed every minute of it! I asked her what her favorite part of the weekend was and she told me it was the dance on Saturday night! Hmmm. There were boys camping (Scouts) there that weekend as well. Now we see the hormones start kicking in! Hrumph!
Last week we met with Kaylyn's kidney specialist. Her regular Doctor is on maternity leave, so we had a new doctor. He had some insight into Kay's kidney disease that we have not been told about. Basically he let us know that our information about her function is not as high as originally told. He also told us that her stage of life (puberty) can decrease function even more. So they are going to run more tests and start watching her every 6 months now. Better safe than sorry! They are also concerned about her height. Kay will tell you "Well, my aunt and cousin are short!And good things come in small packages!" So we are going to a specialist in regards to her height to make sure the 5- 10% chance that her kidney disease isn't influencing delay in her growth. One day, one appointment at a time!
Some days I wish we could bottle the energy of our little ones! I am sure we would make some good coin selling it! I think that's where they came up with these energy drinks from!

Last bit of summer

"I've got SNAP on my foot" (hehehe, aka sap!)Kay's new bathing suit. Oh how they grow up so fast!

I love this photo, peace and tranquility between sisters.

Dinner is served! Feeding time for Emma and friends.

Watching the boats go by. Slowly conquering her fear of the lake.

There is a place called High Falls near our cottage. It is beautiful. A hike, but worth the walk. Emma and I followed the girls on the afternoon adventure. Worth every step!

Kaylyn's first day of grade seven. She thought that she could sneak out the door before I noticed that she put on make up. I let it go for that day only, but still think that she is too young. She isn't too happy about that, but has not wore it since. Considering that she doesn't wear make up, she did pretty good!

The Braces Are Off!

So the day has FINALLY come! Kaylyn got her braces off! She is one happy girl right now! One of the first things she asked for was a BOX of gum!



I have put some before and after photos of her teeth. The one on the right is from February 1rst, 2005. I forgot she used to be that little! Same sparkling eyes though!



Our morning started rough. Kaylyn was up most of the night sick... but she was ready to go when it was time! I am sure some was nerves.

Before we left I asked for a before and after picture. Kay stood against the wall and obliged with her morning smile. Emma thought she should be in on the fun, so there are Emma's before and pictures posted too. What a silly nut! She is just SO happy Kay is home.

We are very pleased with her teeth. They are nice and straight like we had hoped. She gets her retainer on Thursday. Kaylyn being Kaylyn was talking to the dental hygienist about what color of retainer and what her options are. The poor lady wanted the talk to me about most of the choices, but I still let Kaylyn pick. I figure she is the one who has to wear it!

Here's my silly nut showing her teeth off! Anything to be like Kay!


Before








After!

Now we have hair appointments and last minute shopping for GRADE 7! Wow! Emma is loving the shopping part.... she says we are going for shoes and toys!

This weekend we are heading to the cottage for one last family gathering. It sounds like there will he quite the house full. All the more fun!

The New Dock

So here is the dock story. We went up for a nice family weekend to the cottage. Patti and her kids, Phi & Tanya and their kids, Scott and I with our kids. As Brad steps on the stairs to go to the dock, they collapse. My father in law fixes the problem with some yellow ropes as he has fixed the floating dock problem over the past few years. (We found at least 7 yellow ropes used! hehehe)

So, when my brother in law shows up, he of course is not happy with the situation because his children are up at the cottage most of the summer. So, he decides to rebuild the stairs. Scott and Tyson (Tanya's brother) help Phil take it out and pull nails. My strong hubby of mine breaks the ONLY hammer up there! It was a well seasoned metal hammer that decided Scott's brute force was too much. So off to Schwant (the hardware store) I go with Ryan in tow to buy some supplies and a new hammer. We return proud of our purchases and assume our resting spots on the deck to watch the "men" work. No sooner had I poured myself a drink, then Scott tells me I have to return the hammer. "I broke this one too!" (hehehe) Second nail in and another hammer succumbed to Scott's brute force! Off I drive back to the hardware store and inform them what happened. Max the manager, rattles off some comments about Hercules strength and I giggle! I told him if you seen the man that did this, you wouldn't say that! We return with a re-enforced metal hammer that didn't' break that weekend!

Once the boys started putting the stairs back, Phil noticed that the main dock wasn't in great shape. We all knew this, but he thought we would be able to handle rebuilding one! So back to the hardware store we go before it closes to grab all the wood and supplies we will need. So began our relaxing weekend!

We all did what we could to help out. Tanya was a champ starting to tear the old dock down. I think it was a wonderful way to take out frustrations! If only we could have used an axe!

Even Ms Emma got involved! She thought this was great! She even brought out her family of cows and made Ali (our niece) have a chip and juice picnic!

One of the few shots of brothers working together! And no, neither one hit the others fingers surprisingly!

After a couple of hours of assemble the new dock went into the water. It was much easier than taking the old one out I tell you! Like my Scottie, King of the Nile! We thought about letting him float down the lake, but then we would have to remake the dock!

It looked great once it was in place. We have decided that at another date and time we will redo the floating dock. It is just as rotten, but it should get through the rest of the summer. At this point the kids were in desperate need of a boat ride, so off they went for a tube ride.

Bringing the floating dock was much easier as well. Except the fact that Toby thought it was his own personal floating device! Note: there is still one yellow rope on the dock! Not anymore! We have removed them all!

Tools of our weekend, minus a couple of hammers. Drinks, tools and family! What a way to spend our weekend!

Ta da! The dock is almost done. There always seemed to be more people waiting to do something than working! But the job got done!

All done! Looks great in the end. Hopefully it will last, we plan on the September weekend going back up for one last family weekend. If the floating dock doesn't last, I think we will just burn the old one and wait till next year!

Ta Da!!! All done!

This is one funny video! I was using my camera just to capture Emma's reaction to watching the neighbor across the lake take off in his plane over the water. Emma thinks that if the index finger is one, then the middle finger is two! Not only does she think that, but she tries to show Aunt Patti that she is holding up the wrong finger! I think that Patti's laugh helps add to the show! So funny! I almost peed!

Hope the summer is treating everyone just as well. Kaylyn is home for the week then back to Jayme's for the weekend. She is going to participate in Patti's summer dance camp for 2 out of the 3 weeks. She is going to return to Niagara the last week to have her braces removed. She is so excited! Emma was very happy to have Kaylyn home again. Kay tried to sit with me for a while, but Emma wouldn't have it! She wanted Kay to play with her! FOR 2 HOURS!!
Ryan has joined us for this week. It's nice having him here too. We don't get to see them (him and Sami) too much when school is on. We have kept ourselves busy with odds and ends, but I think he just needed a change of scenery. (That and he likes my house! hehe)