Merry Christmas!

Baking Christmas Cookies

Chef Brady and I baked up Christmas cookies for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He was such a little helper and had a great time pressing the cookie cutters down to make the shapes. It was so funny at first because he just couldn't understand how that blob of dough was going to look like the cookie cutters, but it didn't take long for him to get with the program! This was the first time he really helped make something in the kitchen. Usually I can count on him to help take trash to the trash can, he does that so well. Now he's my little baker's man!

A Santa Picture is worth 1000 words

Well, we went to see Santa today and even though most of us were excited about telling him what we wanted for Christmas that idea went right out the window. The "elf" taking the picture kept waiting for Brady to stop crying and trying to LEAP off Santa's lap, but Larry was like just take the picture, it's not gonna get any better! I think it's hilarious, plus it'll be something we can tease him about when he's older! Once we left Santa Brady was all better. We met up with the English's at Papa's Burger for a tasty burger and milk shake. Between the four of us we had 5 kids with us! The recipe for disaster was a pleasant dinner with friends. Afterwards we took a drive through Ridgmar Estates Christmas light looking and then off to the casa. I was so proud of our little ones for behaving so well but they were tired from seeing Santa all were asleep by the time we got home!

Can you say MINI ME?

I think it's safe to say Brady is DEFINITELY Larry's son! It's amazing how much even their profile's look alike. It's a good thing for Brady that Daddy isn't bad to look at!

1st Christmas Ornaments

Angelina's 1st Christmas Ornament

Bradyn's 1st Christmas Ornament

Cirstyn's 1st Christmas Ornament

I really love Angelina's and Bradyn's 1st Christmas Ornament with it's Swarovski crystals- so BLING! I have searched and searched for one similar to it for Cirstyn and was saddened to find they don't make them like these anymore. It took a while to find this one, but Christmas is almost over and I am tired of looking! I'm kidding, I'm kidding...Seriously, I really do like this ornament for Cirstyn. She's such a little princess, I think it suits her!

Pretty In Pink

Okay I have been messing around with my pictures...Mandy inspires me! Isn't this cool though??

Mommy's first Christmas present this year!

I was surprised by my little man today. Instead of coming right in the front door with his dad after school he rang the door bell. Odd, but okay I'll play along. So I answer the door and was greeted with a sweet smile and a "Merry Christmas Mommy!" Brady handed me a cute little bag stuffed with shredded paper and this sweet Santa ornament inside. He was so proud of his ornament and gave me a huge hug when I thanked him for it. It was such a sweet moment...this is the first present he has ever given me (well that wasn't put together by Dad!) Isn't it too cute!!

Cirstyn is 7 months!

OMG Cirstyn is 7 months! This girl is getting so big, we don't go back to the pedi for weight/height checks until February but I can tell she is growing! She can sit up forever it seems - seriously like 30 minutes or so at a time. She rolls over onto her tummy and plays for a minute, but she'd rather be sitting upright. She's teething pretty hard now, gnawing on everything in sight, but none have come through yet. I expect that maybe we will see her first tooth come though next month sometime. This girl notices EVERYTHING! She watches Brady and Angelina intently then calls to them like she's telling them to pay attention to her...because it's all about Cirstyn! She really enjoys her brother and sister though. She laughs like crazy at Brady when he is being funny and he has finally decided she's worthy of his kisses and telling her he loves her. Angelina likes to touch her when they are sitting close. Usually it's Cirstyn sitting and Angelina will roll over and sort of spoon her - it's so sweet! I think Cirstyn is figuring out all the angles here and starting to put them to good use. She and Brady will be conspiring a mischevious plan while she and Angelina will be playing dress up and dolls! Again, because according to Cirstyn...it's all about Cirstyn! I gave her a banana stuffed into one of those handheld mesh things and she really liked it. I'm sure it tastes better than baby food bananas. She also really likes those teething biscuits. I think it's because she can control it. Who knows...it puts a smile on her face though! Speaking of smiles, this girl is quite demanding. She loves, loves, loves to be held and cuddled and could stand to be that way ALL THE TIME. Now, I like to be able to get a few things done during the day and prefer not to hold her constantly, but her daddy just can't stand to listen to her be mad and cry! That being said if there is anyone out there that is of the opinion that this child is spoiled....BLAME HER DADDY! The only other thing I can figure is that she has figured out she's the baby and has taken on that personna (again, blame Larry, she gets it from him)! Inspite of that though she is the sweetest, most loveable child and I am so blessed to be her mommy!

BTW - Mandy took these photos last week and wouldn't you agree they are fabulous! She is so talented!

Here is the link to her flickr.com page for these photos - www.flickr.com/photos/45483627@N07/sets/72157622878432413

Let It Snow!

WOW look at all that snow! This is the first snow of the season and it was so pretty to watch. Brady was amazed and gazed in wonderment as it fell to the ground! We tried to tell him it was way cold but he had to take Thomas out to see the snow anyway. That lasted about 2 minutes and he was done!

Sister's of Horsefly Luncheon 2009

The Sister's of Horsefly Luncheon was great! We all met down at the Star Cafe and it was pretty cool. I had never been but had heard the stories about how Nanny and Papa met there on her birthday where he gave her birthday spankings and made her mad as a hornet! It was neat to actually see where that all began. This picture is the only one I took because I was too busy catching up with everyone else! We did have such a good time though. Angelina was in her wheelchair and we all happened to be down some stairs in a meeting room so I had to have help getting her chair down there, but we managed! Aren't Grams big girls getting so big and grown up??!! Cirstyn did go with us but when I took this someone was cuddling up with her so no pictures! I am sure someone else has one so I will have to beg for some now!

Two Peas in a Pod!

These girls are so funny! They really have such a good time playing together. Today it was see who could laugh at the dog loudest! I enjoyed just watching them interact and be sisters. I really think Angelina gets it with Cirstyn. How blessed a mom I am to have such wonderful girls!

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful this year! I am thankful that my pregnancy went to full term and we were blessed with a beautiful, healthy and happy little Cirstyn. I am thankful that my Angelina is responding well to her treatments and in spite of everything she is such a happy girl. I am thankful that my awesomely handsome little Bradyn is such a sweet and interesting child that he loves to give Eskimo kisses. I am thankful that my partner-in-crime (whoops I mean life) is such a great daddy and wonderful husband. I am thankful for our families and close friends who love us and are here with us through thick and thin!

Cirstyn is 6 months!

Where is the time going???? I can't believe another month has slipped away and my baby is getting so big! I took Cirstyn to her 6 month checkup yesterday and all is good. She is 15 Lb 5 oz (50%) and 27.5" (95%) tall. It was shot day again so she was not happy about that as well. It's like she knew that was waiting for her after the exam and really wasn't all that nice to Dr. Guthrie. Larry and I weren't going to get the H1N1 vaccine for any of our kids but Dr. G said since Cirstyn had already been sick and built antibodies getting 1 of the 2 shots would be like a booster. So I went ahead and gave them the OK to do it. I let Dr. G know that she really isn't interested in turning over onto her belly yet. She's done it like 2 times but ofotherwise she is content to scoot around on her back. She will do all the motions to get therebut just doesn't give that last little umpf to get all the way over. Anyway, Dr. G says it's thanks to the whole "back to sleep" effort to put babies to sleep on their backs rather than their tummies. I told her if she doesn't get a move on her cuz Nina was going to be crawling over her at Thanksgiving! Hopefully she will get motivated before next month...we'll see.

She's developed a bit of a temper but it only seems to flare when she wants to be held and we don't make a b-line to pick her up. Larry usually caves though and will carry her around trying to reason with her about how she doesn't have to be held all the time - it's really funny to watch! She has been saying "mama", "dada" and other babbling sounds as well. She likes to hear her own voice so she will belt out a loud "aaaaahhhhhh" and is so pleased with the sound she has made. It's like she singing "I am Woman!" She has been eating Stage 1 foods for a couple of weeks now and since all of our going to Dallas is over I finally was able to get her to 3 times per day with that. She really likes it! It's so cute to watch her eyes wide and mouth open for a bite. She likes to giggle sometimes with her mouth full as if to say "look at me I'm a big girl!"

She sure is an interesting girl to say the least and loves to hear her Daddy sing "Cirstyn Delaney your so zaney, you are a big girl now"! She will darn near go excorcist head spin when he starts to sing that to her and puts the biggest smile on her face like she knows he made up that song just for her! She's so sweet and happy, I just love her so!

Angelina's HBOT Update...It's Over!

Brady playing "room receptionist"

The kids sacked out on the big bed

It's FINALLY over! I knew it was going to be trying but geesh! The kids are going to be glad to wake up and not have to get ready to go anywhere! We are all ready to get things back to normal and now that Angelina's treatment is over life can begin to settle down again.

These are the techs that made our lives easier while we were at their office. Edith and Trey were great! They were so accommodating and easy going. There's a family room at this office and lucky for us there usually wasn't anyone else waiting around while we were there so we had it all to ourselves. Instead of hanging out in the car I set Angelina up on the futon they had so she could nap while she was hooked up to her food. I fed Cirstyn in there while her treatment was in progress without being in the way or making anyone feel uncomfortable. Edith has a 2 month old little girl and would bring her on the weekends - she's so cute! Anyway, their hospitality made the last 3.5 weeks better than I initially thought they would be.


I think she is responding well to this therapy already. She has been listening to command phrases and actually responding to them. We were sitting in the floor and I was helping her to stay upright. I told her a few times to put her hands back down on the floor and she wouldn't' fall over - and she did it! She sat up for about 5 minutes playing! That was pretty cool. Also, yesterday she was babbling on and she sat straight up and clearly said MAMA DADA. She has been saying mama and dada for a while now, but this was different. She usually says mamamamama or dadadadada but this was very clear. Larry and I looked at each other as if to say "did she really just say that??"


Now it's back to the regular schedule and back to therapy. I hope her therapists see some differences. If nothing else, I think they will think she's grown since they last saw her 4 weeks ago! She was scheduled to get BOTOX again last Thursday but we decided to hold off for a couple of months to see if the HBOT helps and the Craniosacral Manipulation Therapy as well.


Larry and I took Angelina to meet with the EMISD Diagnostician to talk about starting her in the special education program just after her third birthday. It was pretty much an informational meeting. They got all the medical info on Angelina we could provide, explained the program and we made additional appointments to meet with their therapists. Basically she would go for 3 hours per day during the week, more than likely in the morning from 8-11 am. Therapy provided would be administered from an educational standpoint rather than from a medical standpoint and the variation will be good for her. It will be difficult for Larry and I to leave her at a place where we don't know the caregiver personally but they did say we could stay as long as we needed to be comfortable. Maybe I should plant a nanny-cam on her! :)


That is all for now!

Brady's Thanksgiving Day Luncheon

Brady had his first Thanksgiving luncheon at school! Cirstyn and I went to watch Brady sing the Thanksgiving songs on stage then the 1 and 2 year olds were dismissed into the audience so the older kids could do their next part. Brady was, well, what's the word I'm looking for here....living up to his age! He was very talkative - while the other parents were trying to listen and watch - but it was so cute. He wanted to keep singing along! Once the songs were over the Pastor said a short prayer. In the middle of that Brady bumped his head on the puew in front of us and proceeded to cry that loud sobbing "I've gashed my head open" cry! I tried to hurry and kiss it away but away it was not going. I thought I could take him out of the auditorium so as to not continue to interupt the prayer, but by the time I would have had him out it would have been long over. So we stayed and cried! I guess it was getting into his nap time and we had been in Dallas the day before but he was so figity and didn't really want to listen. They had a professional photographer in one of the rooms to take a family photo. We were standing in line waiting for our turn and when we got to that room Brady WAS NOT into the whole take your picture thing! So I decided we would grab a table and have lunch. He was a hungry boy! He waited patiently next next to Cirstyn while I got a plate together for him and we had a good lunch time. Afterwards, I thought we would try the picture idea again. He wanted to sit in my lap for a hug so I thought I would just carry him for a minute. Leah, the MDO director, offered to carry Cirstyn for me. I didn't realize that Brady like his sister so much but he immediatly started to cry and tell Leah she couldn't have his sister! It was so sweet! Needless to say the picture idea never went over with him. No worries, we can always take another picture. By this time I was ready to get them both out of there and get on home! I had been looking forward to going to this for a couple of weeks and was slightly disappointed with Brady's behaviour, but like I keep getting told....he's almost 3 and he's acting his age! This too shall pass, but on to what I have no idea!!

Happy Halloween!

We started our Halloween festivities the day before by carving a pumpkin. Brady thinks that is so cool! He wanted to help, but when we stuck his arm inside the pumpkin to get the yucky stuff out he was out! Larry did a good job, as usual, and out on the front porch it went.

Halloween day Angelina had her HBOT to attend to and so Brady and Cirstyn hung out with Grams and Papa. Once we got home from all of that we were all in a rush to get ready for that evening. I was feeding Cirstyn, Angelina was having dinner, Larry was gathering costumes and getting the van together and Brady was running around the house like a crazy person! Brady was Thomas the Tank Engine, Angelina and Cirstyn were Ladybugs. They all looked so cute!

We met up with the English's (Andar, Lisa, Addison and Landon) for some trick-or-treating down their street. The kids had such a good time! Brady and Addison were so cute! They would run up to a door and knock-knock-knock. When they were greeted with candy they would say "Trick-Or-Treat!" getting all excited! Of course they were both so polite saying thank up as they ran back to us. All the kids were really good. Angelina and Cirstyn rode side-by-side in the stroller. I was going to get Angelina out to go up to a house, but she was so exhausted from her first week of HBOT that she just wanted to spectate. I think secretly she just wanted to enjoy the ride rather than work for candy she wasn't going to put into her mouth anyway!

After that we all went to their church for "Trunk-or-Treat" in the parking lot. Brady had this look on this face like he had just hit the jack pot! He scarfed down popcorn and a hot dog then took his dad off to score some candy. He ran into another little boy dressed in the same costume as him - I had to get this moment - they both couldn't believe the other was Thomas! It was so funny and cute. They even had the same pumpkin to toss candy in. I strolled the girls around behind them and we had one of their pumpkins attached to the side of the stroller. I wasn't even trying to get candy for them but they were so cute people just kept dropping it in - score for mom! We stayed for about an hour but by that time the Indians were getting tired so off we went. We stopped by Nana's and Papa's house to trick-or-treat them then home for bath and bed. Brady had so much fun this Halloween! All he could talk about was trick-or-treat and doorbells! We were both so proud of him for being such a good boy all evening and being so personable...we love you big boy!