Going crazy....

On Saturday, D told us after lunch that we were going to go crazy. Last weekend, that meant getting ice cream, but yesterday D&M had different plans for us. We went out to the event center and found a castle on ice and dancing stars!

C and I shared a snow cone in a fish and some popcorn in souvenir buckets while we watched all our favorite friends dancing on ice.

The Grand Finale!

It was a great afternoon of going crazy!

Enjoying the show. We clapped after every song and danced to the music.

Bouncy castles

Saturday morning we went to a friend's birthday party at a bouncy castle gym. It was lots of fun. There were 3 castles, 2 slides, four game stations, a climbing wall and a playhouse for the littler kids.

C was a little afraid of the bigger kids, but she found a few castles to bounce in.

It was a sibling birthday. 2, 4 and 6 within 3 weeks of each other. The older two were friends at Y school with me last year and weekend playmates now that they've moved down to the valley.

It was a great birthday party.

Green Patrick's Day

On St. Patrick's Day, we decided to eat all things green. M added food coloring to our pizza dough. C and I helped her roll out the green pizza.

Our finished product! D ate it without looking at his piece because he said it looked like mold, but it tasted really good.

Since it was such a beautiful day outside, we had a picnic lunch outside. Can you believe it....70+ degrees on St. Patrick's day?

For supper M made us green eggs and D grilled ham steaks.

The day started off with us enjoying our backyard and the balloon that happened to be in the neighborhood.

C's favorite show lately is Dora. She loves stopping Swiper from taking all of Dora's stuff.

The week leading up to St. Patrick's Day we made lots of green things at school. The teachers also reminded us to wear green so that we wouldn't get pinched. With all the emphasis on green, I misunderstood what the name of the day was.
So happy Green Patrick's Day everyone!

Big Girl Bed

C is trying to transition to her big girl bed. It is quite exciting, so sometimes when she gets out of bed too many times, she ends up back in her crib. But she is trying and begs most nights to start out in the big girl bed.
On the down hill side of sleeping in the crib.
The first complete night of sleeping in the big girl bed.

I was helping C get used to her bed.

Aqua Sand

For my birthday last summer, I got a art project called Aqua sand. We finally got it out to play. M was really awed by it. She can't explain how it works, but it is really cool. The sand repels water. So when it floats on top the sand is still dry. When you get it down into the sand, the sand sticks together and the water forms pillars around it. Very cool.

C and I have some fun times playing with it, because once we get done dumping it into the water and building different sand dunes, you just dump the water and collect the sand to reuse.

Saturday morning hike

Trying to entertain two active little girls for a few hours every Saturday morning while D gets a little more sleep from his late night working has M coming up some creative plans outside. Last week we went hiking at a Natural Area just outside of Loveland. At seven in the morning the air was still chilly even though the sun was shining brightly. We were the first ones in the parking lot, although by the time we left there were about 15 cars, most of them runners with their dogs.

Crossing a little ravine...we had to be quiet because the grumpy old troll was still asleep according to C.

The area is called the Devil's Backbone due to the rock formations around the area. It was a pretty hike with a gradual climb to the top. With all the snow on the ground and the chill in the air, I started getting cold before we reached the top.

We made it the half mile to the top and the overlook.

Since it was only 9 am when we got back to the car, we went to the mall and walked for another hour before heading home and waking up D.

Evening fun

M, C and I try to have lots of fun together in the evening. Since C's hair is now long enough, we had a hair braiding party, where I told M to braid my hair and C's hair.

Don't we look cute with our hair all done?

For Valentine's Day, M tried to make heart pancakes. They kind of turned out, but they were really good to eat!

Most nights I sit with a pad of paper and markers and do my "homework". Strange thing is that it was never assigned to me by my teacher. I just love writing, so I practice over and over.

I love writing and drawing so much, I started a book. I drew the pictures and M helped me write the words.

Explaining to M what my story is all about.

C is at that age where she wants to do everything by herself. Below is her attempt to dress herself.....the hard part is trying to walk when both legs got in only one hole.

C playing with Teddy. You can't really hear it in this video (even though M was prompting quite a lot), but her cute saying when holding Teddy in her hands is to say, "Teddy holding me."

Snow fun

Near the beginning of February, we got a good 7 inches of snow. It stayed cold for the rest of the week, so on Saturday we went out to play. Sledding down the small hill in our park.

Getting a ride back home!

C hanging out in the garage watching M shovel the driveway...front row seat!

Super Bowl party

We had people over for Super Bowl Sunday. I helped M make a pan of special cookie bars. I told her what colors I wanted the frosting to be.

Even C helped us.

All ready for the game!C cuddling up with P during the game. For not being a thumb sucker, this was the second time in that weekend that C was caught with her thumb in her mouth!

M & D's girls

The last couple of Sundays C and I have been wearing matching coats. Aren't we cute.

D was so excited that tonight he was home and well enough for his girls to cuddle up with him.

Saturday adventures

The plan for this past Saturday was for M to take C and I out of the house early so D could sleep in and then head to work. With him coming home sick Friday night, M didn't know what to do. But I decided I still wanted to go skiing like M had told me we were going to. This was an adventure (or suicide mission) for M in that she was going to have both of us on the ski hill at the same time. Notice the monkey on my back. That was the harness M was going to use for me so i wouldn't get too far ahead of her and C.

Ready to go up the conveyor belt to the bunny slope.

We did so good the first run down, that M thought we could handle the chair lift and the littler steeper hill. It was a little scary for her to have me in a chair all by myself, but i hung on tight!

C riding up with M.

After 2 runs down (and more than 45 mintues outside) as we got tangled a few times on the steeper slope, we were ready for lunch. We headed back to the van for our peanut butter sandwiches.

M's little ski bums!

After lunch M tried to take us back on the slopes, but it was so windy and getting too close to nap time. Once both C and I started crying, M decided it was time to head home! She still plans to take us out again, just one by one next time!!
We got home shortly after 4 and relaxed for about an hour before M started supper. The water was just starting to boil when the electricity went off. After patiently waiting for 45 minutes for it to come back on, M decided she needed to go find food elsewhere. The lights came back on 10 minutes before we had to turn them off for bedtime!
C and I playing with the flashlights as we waited for the blackout to be over. It was our first extended blackout and was an adventure in itself. C couldn't quite understand why the lights didn't work when she flipped the switches in all the rooms but the flashlights sure were fun to play with and have a picnic by.

House full of sickness

The last few weeks have been one sickness after another. It started Thursday, January 12th when M got a call from my teacher saying I had thrown up in the school driveway on the way over to the cafeteria for lunch. So M and I went home that day and due to school policy were home the next day also, even though I didn't throw up again, although I did have a fever most of the afternoon.
Monday (the 16th) found us back at school with the start of a cold coming on. I swam in the morning and when M came to the cafeteria to eat lunch with me I was fast asleep on my teacher's lap. Since the cough had started that morning and the teacher thought I had a slight fever, I was again sent home with M. This time M tried to get me to continue my nap in her office, while she got another hour or so of work accomplished. By late afternoon my fever was very apparent, so M took me home. The rest of the week M and I fought a cold, but were at school and work.
The next Monday (23) morning found me throwing up in my bed at 4:30 and doing so 3 more times before M got up at 6 for work. Since D was on the afternoon shift, M headed to work a little early with the plan to leave in the afternoon and get D off to his work a few hours late. Since my last episode was early morning, I was allowed to go back to school the next day. So off to another week of school & work. D started complaining Wednesday that the cold M and I had, had been given to him. Friday night he went into work earlier so he could be off by our bedtime. He wasn't even home an hour when he started throwing up. He spent most of the night throwing up. Saturday the flu was mostly gone, but a serious cold had set in, which caused D to miss work Saturday and church Sunday with M, C and I staying as far away from him as we could.
Saturday night my fever came back and by Sunday night I was complaining about my right ear hurting. When M checked on me at 3am Monday morning and I was still burning up, it was decided that she would use a sick day for the 3rd Monday in a row. The first appointment at the Pediatric's office was at 8:20 in the morning with a doctor I had never seen. It was a very productive appointment. Antibiotics were prescribed for an ear infection and then the doctor spent the next 45 minutes explaining Asthma and his official diagnosis of it in me. By the time we left, M had 5 prescriptions to fill for the various aliments. This week I have been on antibiotics for the ear infection, a steroid for the inflammation on my airways, Tylenol with codeine for my cough and an Albuterol inhaler for my wheezing. After 4 days M can say that they have worked. Starting next week (once I am off the steroid) I will start my preventative medicine for asthma. The doctor suggested that I use the inhaler during the school year and during the summer do my regiment of allergy medicines.
Even though I have a long road ahead of me (although hopefully I will outgrow the asthma), it is somewhat of a relief for M. She has long suspected that I had more than just allergies. Even when I am having an allergy attack, it is more asthmatic--in that manifests as a cough (sometime so hard that it causes me to throw up) rather than itching/watery eyes/nose as most hay fever allergies do.
Luckily, other than a few sniffles and a slight cough, C has gone through the last 3 weeks unscathed. M spent most of the day Monday disinfecting the house and cleaning the bathrooms. Hopefully the sickness is out of our house for good!!!

Decorating

D has changed his shift at work temporarily. Instead of being gone when I wake up in the morning, I get to eat breakfast with him. However, it also means he goes to work during the day and doesn't come home unto after I go to bed. Because the evenings are just us girls, M tries to keep C and I busy and entertained. We've been putting lots of puzzles together and playing a lot of memory games. Tonight was decorating night--Aunt M gave us these really cool wall stickers for Christmas and we finally got around to putting them up.

The finished product. Now my corner of the room is completely Dora.

M helped C decorate her corner, so that when she finally moves into the room with me, it will be all ready for her.

Thanks Aunt M for the evening of entertainment. It was quite fun!

Ski Days

Aunt R and Uncle W went skiing with M while they were visiting us. It was quite an adventure to get to the ski hill. After getting the passes from the Y and making good time to the interstate and the rentals, things started to go downhill (and that wasn't the skis!!). There were road closures that caused delays nearing the Eisenhower tunnel on I-70. After spending an hour only going 5 miles, it was decided to change the destination. So instead of going to Copper Mtn, M turned around and headed over to Winter Park. Since it was so late when we arrived at the Mary Jane ski hill, we decided to spend the next 4 hours just skiing and no breaks!! However, the wind was horrible, so only 2 lifts were open and due to snow conditions, most runs weren't open. But we made the most of it and enjoyed the 7 or 9 runs we were able to get to.

Taking a short rest on the slopes.

Last run of the night. The ski patrol had to kick us off the slopes as they did their final sweep. Even though it was only four hours of skiing, we got tired and had lots of fun. M actually enjoyed doing runs she had never been on before in her 8 years of skiing the Mary Jane slopes.

Don't ask me how, but Aunt R got stuck sideways in the hill!!

Since Uncle W didn't feel he got enough skiing in and the Eldora passes were still available when they were here, we all went skiing again New Year's Eve. M took me while Uncle W went off by himself and Aunt R went cross-country skiing and C stayed in the van with G. M and I made it down 7 runs with me between her legs, holding onto her poles so I wouldn't go too fast. On the last run she let me ski the bottom by myself. A few more times out this winter and I will be ready to do it all myself.

When I started getting cold, M took me back to the van for lunch and took C out. She was so bundled up that only her eyes showed.

Riding the lift up for the first run down. C wasn't too thrilled with the boots, so M wasn't sure how she would take to the slopes. But after the first run down, she kept asking to go again and screamed "Whee" all the way down.

After an hour with C it was back to the van to see if i wanted to ski again. I decided that I wanted to try snow-shoeing instead. So off C, Aunt R, M and I went. C and Aunt R deciding where to go.

The wind was blowing and C hadn't really warmed up from her time on the ski slopes so she was already cold. Then the trail we decided on was pretty steep, so C kept sliding to the end of sled and wasn't too happy with that. And since we were needing to get our equipment back to the store before they closed for New Year's Eve, we decided to turn around and head back to the van after only about 10 minutes.

The bunny slope had the coolest conveyor belt. Basically you just ski right up on it and stand for the whole ride to the top. Sometime you start sliding backwards a little bit, but for the most part it is the easiest way to get up the slope!

C trying it all by herself!