Happy 5th Birthday to Vivian!

Our baby girl is 5 and we made it through her birthday weekend!  Vivian got her big girl bike that she wanted and she was thrilled about it! Friday morning we headed downtown to see Disney on Ice: Treasure Trove.  Vivian's favorite part was the whole thing and Henry's favorite part was the large alligator that came out and and ate Captain Hook from Peter Pan.  The kids got snow cones, hot dogs and popcorn.  As Tinkerbell was "floating" through the air sprinkling fairy dust, Vivian was quick to tell me that the fairy dust wasn't come from her wand it was coming from the ceiling....not sure about that.  She also informed me that when the pirates were shooting the cannons, those weren't real either...good to know!Good times were had by all. 

Grandma Carol and Grandpa came down on Saturday for Vivian's princess party.  We had a princess come to the house, Rapunzel from Tangled and nine 5 year old princesses. The girls were very excited when Rapunzel showed up and sat around and did all of the "tests" they needed to do to become a princess.  Rapunzel put make up on all of the girls and glitter in their hair. It was very exciting!  I made cupcakes for the kids and Vivian got lots of great presents. We also celebrated Grandpa's birthday while he was here.  His birthday is 2 days after Vivian's...and what a better way for him to spend his birthday than at a princess party. :-)  We all went out to dinner after the party and Dan and I took advantage of having overnight babysitters! 

I wanted to see the same band I saw for my birthday last year and they happened to be playing on Saturday night.  It's an 80's cover band, The Zeros and they are a blast!  We had a great time and had a group of about 15 people.

Family and Friends

Jamie and Kevin came down to visit with the twins this past weekend.  Their first trip down to KC in almost 2 years!! Viv and Henry were so excited to have the girls down to visit.  They are getting SO big. Vivian loved helping Ella and Payton walk.  She kept wanting to pick them up so we had to keep our eye on her, but she was great at helping them walk!  The twins are so good. Both girls are pretty low maintenance, Jamie is very lucky! The only meltdown was when Ella wouldn't go to sleep on Saturday night. It was 11pm before Jamie finally got her to bed.  Saturday afternoon Jamie and I treated ourselves to an early birthday massage - which was wonderful!  We all went out to dinner on Saturday night. It was nice to hang out with just Jamie and Kevin - we don't get to do that very often. 

Jeremy and Jenn got back from St. Jude's last weekend and Jenn asked if I could watch Avery this week.  Avery usually spends the day with Angie Mander, but Brian is having surgery this week so she couldn't watch Avery.  So Avery has spent the last couple of days with Henry, Vivian and I.  She's coming over Mon - Thurs this week.  The kids have enjoyed having her over.  She's so sweet and so easy going.  She has one of the best giggles I've ever heard.  Top 2 giggles...Avery and Raegan (my niece) - LOVE them!  I could listen to them all day.  Avery was pretty excited on Monday when she got here.  We followed the dogs around alot (which she loves), chased Vivian around the house and jumped up and down in the living room. We played with play-doh, took the dogs for a walk, painted pictures and did puzzles.  We were very busy!  Today she wasn't quite as spunky. Jenn said she was up pretty early this morning.  The kids played upstairs in Vivian's room for awhile and Jeremy came and picked her up shortly after lunch - she had a dr's appt. Tomorrow (wed) Vivian and Henry have school so it's gonna be me and Avery hanging out for a little bit.  Avery also gets to come with us to swim lessons. 

Hard to believe that Vivian is going to be 5 years old on Thursday!!!  We got her a big girl bike for her birthday.  We don't have big plans on Thursday, probably just going to dinner somewhere, her choice.  Friday we are taking the kids to Disney on Ice then out to lunch.  Saturday is her birthday party.  We have a  real princess coming to the house for the party, Rapunzel.  She invited 9 friends over for her princess party.  Should be a wonderful time! 

Finally Back to Normal

Well we had our first experience with strep throat in the house last week. Vivian was the victim.  She complained Thursday of a sore throat early in the day. By 5pm she had a fever and was throwing up.  I figured stomach flu.  Well she continued to complain of a sore throat but nothing over the top.  By Friday night the fever was still there but wasn't as high, but I noticed she looked like she had little red bumps on her torso and she said under her arm was itching.  She wasn't eating much of anything and spent most of Friday on the couch watching cartoons.  Long day for all parties involved! Saturday morning she woke up and her face seemed to have the same red bumps (mostly her cheeks) and I noticed her tongue was white (looks like thrush in infants which is a bacterial/yeast thing).  So based on all of that (no more throwing up) I took her into the pediatrician Saturday morning.  They swabbed her throat, which she didn't like and within minutes....strep throat diagnosis.  The doctor even wrote me a prescription for Henry while I was there since it's so contagious.  Henry managed to walk away without having strep....knock on wood!  Oh and on side note...Vivian had chicken noodle soup for the first time and LOVED it! Once I convinced her it would feel good on her throat she couldn't stop eating it.  That and about 20 Popsicles!  She kept saying "it's fun when you are sick cause you get all of these treats, but it isn't fun being sick cause I don't get to play with my friends."

The kids start their first swim lessons tomorrow (wed).  Vivian is super excited about it. Henry just keeps asking if he's going to sink.  Guess that's because at the pool during the summer that is what we would tell him would happen if he took off his floaties. Probably scared him, but it is what would happen!

On Sunday I asked Vivian if she wanted some soup to eat and she said "no thanks I'm not hungry right now, but thanks for offering"  WOW what wonderful manners. 

Dan was gone last week and of thank goodness he got home the night that Vivian started to get sick. While he was gone I decided to paint Henry's room and surprise Dan when he got home.  That was a huge task! Got most of if done Wed and Thursday but finished it up over the weekend. (see pictures). The walls were just plain beige before (the same color it was when we moved in 2 1/2 years ago) so he was ready for something more fun.

Henry is really into picking out what he's wearing each day, which is awesome! :-)  He wanted to wear his bib overalls, which are 24months from Carters, and just barely fit.  Yes I realize he is 3 years old and still wearing 2 Toddler clothing.  So once he got his bibs on....Dan decided it would be super neat if he put his bibs on.  Oh yup...super neat! Henry thought it was the best thing EVER...mom not so much! (see pictures).

Hard to believe Vivian will be 5 years old in a couple of weeks! They just grow up so darn fast!  Enjoy!