Great Wolf Lodge...

Last weekend, we packed up the whole family and drove almost 4 hours to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. Well, I guess it wasn't the whole family. We left Charlie with my parents (thanks mom and dad) and took along Grandma Debbie (actually, she took us). We met up with a bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins. I am lucky to have married into such a large, wonderful and super-loving extended family.

Haley enjoyed catching up with her cousins and racing down all of the waterslides. It was hard to catch a picture of them but I made them stop for just a moment so that I could snap a pic.

Elsa had fun lounging around. Especially in the kid-friendly hot tub. She is not very adventurous. Okay, she is the complete opposite. She loved to be held and didn't want to go down any slides. I am wondering if her feet ever touched the ground?!?!

Sophie, on the other hand, is quite the adventurous one. She went down EVERY single waterslide and had a blast doing so. It took me until Day 3 to let her go down the last 2 that she had not tried (they were partially enclosed slides that she had to go down by herself). And she loved them. She had a HUGE smile on her face at the bottom of each and every single ride she went down.

Great Wolf Lodge has to be the MOST kid-friendly place that I have ever been to. From wearing our pjs to breakfast to the bedtime story telling in the cozy lobby to the magic shows and dance parties to so much more. You never had to leave the building and there was enough entertainment to keep the kids busy even outside the waterpark.

It was Valentine's Day weekend and they brought out a huge tub of heart shaped sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles for everyone to decorate.

Though it doesn't look like it in this picture, Sophie loved Wiley (the bear) and Elsa was scared out of her mind (but she can't resist cheesing it up for a picture).

One HUGE bonus from this trip... We got to meet Kylie, Jody and Matt. I will never be able to express in words what it is like to meet another family that has fought through Infantile Spasms. It is a bond like no other. Kylie is one adorable little girl and her parents are two of the sweetest and most genuine people I have ever met. They are doing an AMAZING job at raising Kylie. It was such an honor to meet this cozy little family.

(Jody, Me, Elsa, Kylie, Brandon, Sophie and Matt)




(Sophie giving one of her famous smash my face into you hugs.)


Thank you Debbie for this wonderful and memorable vacation!!!
I needed this...a break from reality...a time to just focus on the family...I had SO MUCH fun.

Snow Day...

Thank GOD for Grandma Debbie. What would I do without her?!?! Here I am sitting in my nice, warm, cozy house drinking my morning (finally) cup of coffee and she is outside with the bundled up* girls...pulling them around on a sled and shoveling snow.

I hate the cold. Hate it. And I love my girls and all but I just draw the line there. The few minutes I was out there was enough for me. School was called off today. We got 4 inches. Probably does seem like much in other parts of the country (I know because I use to live in Connecticut).

So I am very grateful that Grandma Debbie was here because the girls had a blast (Charlie is sleeping) and I captured some beautiful pictures.

* Thanks Erin for leaving all your boy's snow gear behind when you moved to San Deigo!!! The snow suit fit Sophie perfectly and both the girls were able to fit into a pair of boots.

Charlie, Charlie...

He's our man.
If he can't do it, no one can.

That's a little chant we say sometimes. Except, Sophie likes the version that ends in "...we'll throw him in a garbage can".

And he is literally our little man. Just check out these pictures...

On the very day he was born, Brandon nicknamed him Button (after Benjamin Button). Especially when he had a little wrinkled forehead. Everyone that meets him, thinks he looks like a little man. I agree. His name fits him perfectly.

Charlie is 7 months old today. He is babbling (says dadadadada), army crawling all over the place, pulling to a high kneel, transitioning to the sitting position, working on perfecting the pincer grasp, eating soft regular foods and likes to dance. He loves to play with the Little People Happy Sounds Home for long periods of time (he likes to open and close the refrigerator door and toilet lid). He is much amused by his sisters and loves to be in the mix of it. He is a great baby. Very laid back and happy.

And he had his first (and hopefully last) EEG on Wednesday. He was freaking me out with some crazy head bobbing. It started a little over a week ago. And he was doing it consistently every day and various times throughout the day. This was the same age Sophie started with her head drops. Except I didn't think they were anything until she had her first jackknife seizure 3 weeks later.

I tried to ignore the odd movements he was making. Because they were more like head bobs rather than head drops. But my heart just couldn't take it anymore. So I called Sophie's neuro on Tuesday and they got us in the next day! He had a one hour EEG and then we met with the neuro immediately after (we weren't suppose to have an official appt for another week but his other patient didn't show up). He looked over the EEG and said it was NORMAL!!! He did a full exam and everything looked great. I know that is a lot to go through for some piece of mind but it was definitely worth it. Because I was driving myself nuts.

Here are some random pictures over the past couple of months...