Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer

Does this little lady remind you of a certain flamboyant British singing sensation? Yep, it's the glasses. You should have seen the dance that accompanied this outfit!

Emily's 3rd Birthday

Emily's party was held May 8th, and although it wasn't as warm outside as we'd hoped (no swimming!), we all still had a very nice time. The party was relatively small, but Emily still had a lot of fun, especially when her friends Jordyn and Colton showed up!

This is a gift from Aunt Sharon and Megan...while they were in Texas, they found the skirt and wings, and they packed them into their bags and bought them back to Pennsylvania via Colorado :) Em loved prancing around in her little tutu and wings!

Emily had been swinging between a Dora party and a Tinkerbell party. We finally settled on a Dora party. But, again, the move messed up the best-laid plans, and we couldn't find Dora invitations in time. Luckily Emily also likes princesses, so a Princess Party it was!

In addition to the cake, Emily's Grandma Sipe felt she also needed cupcakes (Em had asked for them a few days before). So...the kids all got to blow out a candle, and all the kids got to have too much icing :)
Dan and I got Emily a slide, and we set it up in mom's yard to surprise her. Of course, we forgot to do this before she did a costume change from her purple fairy outfit to her heart jammies that Grandma and Grandpa Koons got her. She couldn't get enough of the slide. I personally don't see the fun in continuously going up and down, but it seems to entertain her just fine.

Owen's Birthday

I feel terrible that this post didn't get written sooner. It's been over 2 months since Owen turned one, but between both kids' birthdays, the craziness of moving, and everything else, it kept getting pushed to the back burner.

We were lucky enough that on Owen's actual birthday, March 20th, it was unseasonably warm. Temperatures in the 70's/80's warm. So that day we decided to move everything outside, and it was perfect. Owen's party had a jungle animal theme. Here are his cakes:

We had quite a turnout...Dan's mom and brother came down from Massachusetts, and my dad and Shirley drove up from North Carolina. Add all the local family that came, and we had a really nice time. Owen was a bit less hesitant with the cake than his big sister was when she was one...he dug right in!
Owen got lots of very nice gifts, and there was even a gift for him and his sister to share...
their very own wagon! We've taken it for walks, and it helped out when at the street fair this year too. Now that the weather is warmer, we'll be using it quite a lot!
It's tough to believe that my little baby is getting so old already!

We're In!

I will update soon with Owen's first birthday pics, Easter pics, and moving day info...but for now, we're in. There are hundreds of boxes (or at least it seems like that many) waiting to be unpacked, and we have no clue where most of our stuff is, but we have our beds set up, enough unpacked to live daily life, and we're happy. This house is truly a blessing, and I can't wait to get things put away and make it ours.

Suspected...and Now Confirmed

So I officially have diabetes. It was suspected since 2 summers ago when I went in for my one year check after having Emily. The sugars came back high, but unknown to me at the time, I was already pregnant with Owen. So...I went through gestational diabetes for a second time, was introduced to the world of insulin injections, and kept my fingers crossed it would go away after I had the little guy.

Well, it hasn't. I am unfortunately one of the women who develop type 2 diabetes after having gestational diabetes. It's a lifelong diagnosis, which is disappointing and makes me sad, but it is something I can control. Now, with my doctor's advice, some medicine, and much support from my family and friends, I'm trying to get my sugars under control. Step one is definitely losing all the weight I've put on since meeting (and getting TOO comfortable with) Dan. Step two is taking some medication to help lower my sugars. And step three is saying goodbye (or at least see you later) to some of my favorite sugar-laden and carb packed foods.

I used to do really well with controlling things when I was pregnant because I knew I had to do it for the little peanut growing inside of me. I don't take care of myself as well now that it's just me. But, I'm trying to look at it differently: my kids need me around, so I need to do what I can to ensure that I stay healthy so I can be around for as long as possible.

Rose Colored Glasses?

Nope, just a friendly dose of pink eye for Emily, Owen, and me. So far, Dan has been spared, but his hands may be worse for the wear since he's been washing them every 5 minutes or so. Signs began popping up a week or two ago at daycare. They simply stated that there was a case of pink eye, but neither case was in Emily's or Owen's room, so I didn't think much of it. When Em woke up with swollen eyes Saturday, I blamed it on allergies. After all, the trees blooming and sudden warm weather (and open windows) had caused my allergies to flare up big time.

Cut to Sunday evening, when my contact felt a little weird in my right eye. By the time I woke up Monday morning, I looked like I'd taken a pretty hard punch to the face. I knew then what I'd been denying since Saturday morning....pink eye had found us. Emily and I stayed home Monday (you have to stay out of school/work for 24 hours after beginning treatment), and the call came to pick up Owen Monday afternoon. By the time we began our drops, all three of us were suffering. Dan has miraculously avoided catching the dreaded disease even though he stayed home with the kids yesterday. I, however, will be rocking my glasses at least until the end of the week.

We'll all be fine of course, but this isn't something I ever want to repeat. The itching, the swelling, the burning...all drive me crazy. But the worst part, at least for me, is trying to hold down a 1-year-old and 2-year-old several times a day to get drops into their eyes.

Photo Shoot - 1 year

I love this picture...it's like he can't believe he's one year old! In reality, though, I think he was simply getting ready to chew on it.

This picture makes me smile every time...he looks like such a little man in it!