Sunday, April 7, 2013

7-Year Well-Child Visit and More

 A few weeks back Brooklyn went in for her annual check-up at the doctors, and my mind was reeling with the reality of how quickly time flies!  My three children, all at their different ages reminded me of the different phases I've walked through with Brooklyn.  It seemed like just yesterday when I brought her in for her very first doctor visit which included a few shots.  I cried with her when she was poked and felt so helpless that there was nothing I could do to ease the pain and comfort her outside of nursing her as soon as I got a moment alone!  Now here we were and, Jack, my youngest, had passed that initial doctor-visit milestone over a year ago!  What an awesome vantage point we have as parents, to sit front row seating, and watch our children grow and develop!  It also helped me to reminisce and just savor these moments because for whatever reason, my children were amazingly, even perhaps unusually angelic during this visit.  They cooperated and followed directions from the medical assistants and just overall enjoyed the medical attention they received and the technology that surrounded them.  What a joy!  In the picture above, Brooklyn is doing her eye exam while Jack is cruising the hallway.  He loves to get around on those quick feet of his! I just love that wobbly toddler walk!
 Here we see Ian mimicking Brooklyn's raised hand during a hearing test.  Notice that he has a Hotwheels car in each hand!  (I didn't see this until much later!)
 Then as Brooklyn layed down on the table, Ian was just chatting it up with the CNA or medical assistant...don't remember the correct title.
 Then as she gets the blood-pressure monitor wrapped around her arm which will give her arm, "just a little hug," Ian matter-of-factly states, "Oh I hate that thing."
 Later Jack found pure delight in the crackling sound of the paper covering the padded table.  He just layed on it and kicked his feet up and down, up and down.
 And the big news of the day?  Brooklyn is in good health and has finally, officially, outgrown a booster carseat!  Hooray!!
 My pajama boys basking in the lazy morning sunlight.
 We used the sturdy-old wooden wagon that papa made to pick up Brooklyn from school one day.  It took a little persuasion to keep Jack's bottom planted.
 The kids loved it....I got a little more of a work out than I would have with our typical jogging-stroller pick-up.
 When dad arrived home from a long day of work after the rest of us had already eaten dinner, Ian was ready to keep him in good company.  The other day he kept asking me what "padre" meant.  After telling him a few times that it meant "parent" or "father," he said "So Dad's my padre and my BFF too."  You got it, Buddy.  I love to see how kids assimilate things in their little minds. 
 St. Patty's Day cupcakes
Ian just being himself.
 Kids doing dishes. (Heavenly music in the background!)
 Brotherly love
 Ian's Tae Kwon Do class

 The Easter-Egg Hunt party at the church
 Lilly holds a lizard!
 What a brave girl!  This is the perfect camouflaged hiding place!  Do you see the lizard in the picture below?
 Brave little Ian holds the lizard while wearing his jersey with his stand-out button of choice.  (He wouldn't let me use a matching navy one to replace the one that fell off!)

Still Catching Up!

 Jack is NOT a super eater.  So here's one of my attempts at a healthful smoothy for him.  I think it worked, but a blended up version of homemade chicken noodle soup on another day...flopped!
 The girls' weekend in Oceanside.  Thank you Chandler and Chip!  Too bad I didn't get a picture of us in the daylight on the shore just outside of this cutest-ever cottage!
 Brookie taste-testing the home-made "play group granola bars."  Thank you All Recipes.com and Nora for the inspiration. ;)
 Jack eating something curious.  Amazing.  I can't even tell what it is other than the partially-nibbled baby carrot shown in the foreground.
 Jack + favorite book + favorite blankie + naptime.  Look closely at the book.  I thought it was pretty cute that he decided to explore his sewing skills by threading the blankie through the cut-out windows of the book.
 Brooklyn and her BFF Addie went with Mom and Dad to John's Incredible Pizza for Brooklyn's birthday on Friday night, the day before her birthday this year.  This is their happy faces when they returned home.

 Brooklyn and Mom also went out to see the play Shrek at the local Gallo Center for the Arts.  It was our first venue there and they put on a pretty impressive show!  The characters and costumes looked so similar to those in the movie!  The actors really got into their characters and I am embarased to admit that I was totally in tears as I stood for the standing ovation at the end when the characters were all rockin' out to the Smashmouth song "I'm a Believer."

 A gift from our friends, a birthday outfit for Brooklyn.  She loved it.

 The brothers frolicking in the dirt outside.

There's a fine line between the cute and funny dirt exploration of a 1-year old and the attempt at some camera-attention using the same props from a 4-year-old.  Here marked the END of that photo session!

Happy Easter!






This and That

 Jack on his birthday

 Brooklyn's Rules about Camping (The translated version)
1.  Hike a hill.
2.  Find a cool bug.
3.  Let Mom or Dad tell a story
10.  Have Fun!
 This is a scene from a weekend when Mom was away in Oceanside for a girls' weekend.  An unkempt Brookie is painting an old vanity-turned desk that her dad purchased at the neighbor's yard sale.  Dad even let Brooklyn pick out her own paint color!  Mom wasn't too happy about the whole ordeal.  Her complaints: 1) dad overpaid for the desk.  He didn't even try to talk down the price!  2) The desk does not at all "go" with any of her other bedroom furniture.
The solution:  Brooklyn and Ian now share a bedroom again and the extra bedroom has now become a craft room/office.  The desk adds a nice pop of color and an old world map hangs above it.
 I braided Brooklyn's hair on Easter morning while we waited for Ian to wake up.
 Brooklyn tackles the monkey bars showcasing her character trait of perseverance.
 Happy Jack on Easter morning

 Getting ready for the hunt
 Ian perhaps couldn't find his robe tie and instead is using his karate belt??
 Game on!
A happy Ian who has just found is basket
 Jack pulls jelly beans from a crack in the sidewalk.  Others he chased down as they rolled toward the street.  Lovely. ;)





Sorry - out of order!  More evidence of the kids weekend make-over
 Brooklyn turned 7!!!
 Family pictures on Easter Sunday