First Swim of the Year!!

Look at the girls SWIM!!

Raquel

Rachel

Bradley eating his lunch

The boys taking a break

I couldn't wait any longer...we HAD to go for a swim today! I was worried that it might be a little cool, but the weather actually turned out to be perfect today. We invited Rachel's friend, Raquel, her brother Eli and her mommy, Layla. The water was a little cool, but nothing we couldn't get used to. The girls had a blast holding onto the wall and "swimming". The boys were very brave and tried to walk right in several times. Bradley's going to have to be watched EXTRA closely this year...he seems to have no fear about walking right on in. All of us enjoyed the water, though and even Bradley enjoyed me holding him and bouncing him up and down in it. I have to say, it was so fun that it makes me really look forward to going back...SOON!!

Rachel's 4 year check-up

Since Rachel is such a big 4 year old now, she had to have her yearly check-up. We haven't been to the doctor in awhile, and it's been nice not having to pay those co-pays (or be sick for that matter!), but we really LOVE the nurses and our Pediatrician! I've never met a nicer group of nurses than at this office. They LOVE Rachel and Bradley and the kids love them back, so our visits are very pleasant even when they're sick. Today I left Bradley at home since Rachel's appointment was during Bradley's nap. Gege came over to watch him. I also remembered the nurse telling me that Rachel would have to get 4 shots at this appointment, so I figured I would need to be able to give her alot of comfort. I also invited Nick along since he's never been to a doctor's appointment with me before and I knew he would be a big help comforting Rachel. When we got called back, it was one of our favorite nurses, Jenni. She was so glad to see us and Rachel was excited to see her too. First she was weighed and measured. She weighed 43 lbs. (91 percentile) and was 42 in. tall (88 percentile). Then we had to do a simple eye exam. First, Nurse Jenni showed Rachel a chart with picture symbols on it and asked her what she called each thing. Then, she hung it on the wall about 15 feet away and pointed to different symbols at different sizes and asked Rachel what they were. Rachel was so cute during this. She was so excited to be taking a "big girl" test and looked at me if she wasn't sure what to say. She was precious. Nurse Jenni gave her lots of praise and she loved that. Her vision is perfect, 20/20. :) Then it was time for her to go pee-pee in a cup. This was new to us too, but it was another "big girl adventure" so Rachel thought it was so cool. She kept asking me "why they need to check my pee-pee?" I honestly didn't know and forgot to ask, but I'm sure it's to check some type of levels...maybe glucose??? (I'll have to call and ask.) Anyway, once that was over, we went to our room and the nurse had Rachel count from 1-10 and name several colors that she pointed to. Rachel did great!! Then she asked her what her name was and Rachel said, "Rachel Jane Migilan". I admit, that's a tough name for a little kid to say...I thought her interpretation was great! Nurse Jenni asked her "who made her so smart?" and Rachel said, "my mommy's tummy." She said, "that's where I was and then I came out" (and pointed to my mouth as the exit point). I thought this was hilarious and all of us were chuckling at her. This has definitely been on her mind since Juju's baby has arrived. (We've talked for months about how her baby was in Aunt Wendy's tummy.) Throughout the whole visit, Rachel was giddy and excited and happy and enjoying all the attention! When Dr. McCorkle came in (for about 5 minutes) she was again good and sat still and cooperated while he listened to her heart, looked in her ears, mouth and nose and checked her tummy. He was very nice and asked about her pre-school that begins in August. His part was over and it was finally time for the "bad" part. We had not mentioned shots at all, but Rachel asked, "why Dr. Corkle not give me a shot?" So, I finally said, "the nurse is going to come in and give you a shot." She was a little nervous about it and knew it was going to hurt...and it did. She received a DtAP, MMR, Chicken Pox and HepB. I think it was the chicken pox vaccine that hurt really bad. The nurses said it feels like fire in your arm. So, poor Rachel didn't move her arms away as she got 2 shots in each arm, but she cried her little eyes out. It was sad having to give her a shot when I knew it was going to hurt. But, she was a champ! We left the doctor and went to Sam's to get diapers, but we also got her an ice cream sundae and grape drink. She felt much better after all those sweet treats. It was a great visit, but hopefully we won't have to go back until her next well visit...when she turns 5!!

A Picnic at Memorial Park-- UPDATED w/pics!!!

feeding the duckies
that duck is huge!

this is fun!!

Rachel leading us to the zoo

look at those bobcats down there!!!

Yesterday the kids and I decided to go to the park for a picnic. There are so many great parks in Athens and we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather. We chose Memorial Park since it has so many trees and is so shady. It also has a lake where we can feed the ducks, a playground and a small zoo. The zoo's nothing extravagant, but Rachel and Bradley LOVE it! This was Bradley's first visit to the zoo where he actually walked around and enjoyed himself. The last time we went, he was much younger and stayed in the stroller. He LOVED walking around and looking at the animals. He also loved feeding the ducks. There were 6 school buses there with TONS of 4th and 5th graders, so the playground was pretty much overtaken. But, we had so much fun doing all the other stuff so it didn't matter. After we visited the zoo, we decided to have our picnic, so we picked a grassy, shady spot and sat down to eat. We were pretty close to some of the school kids and Rachel and Bradley loved watching those big kids run around and play. She did ask me, "mommy, why those kids don't want to play with us?" I thought that was cute since she assumes that everyone wants to play with her. Anyway, we walked our legs off and were SO tired when we left. Bradley conked out on the way home AND let me transfer him to his bed to finish his nap when we got home. Rachel and I rested and I swear, my back and arms were so sore! I think it was from carrying Bradley around when he got tired of walking! :)

(Can't post pics...what a PAIN!!!)

Alexander Joesph Lane is here! -- Updated w/picture!!

Beautiful Boy!!

Everyone was very surprised and overjoyed when Wendy called to say her water had broken yesterday, May 19th, 2008. I had talked to her just 2 hours before and she was feeling fine and definitely not having any signs of labor. But, little Alex was ready to come and he did! He was born at 5:44 pm and weighed 8 lbs. and was 19 3/4 in. long. He is just precious! We can't wait to meet him and congratulate his mommy, daddy and BIG sister!!!

(I'll post a picture later...of course I'm having internet issues!)

A few more pictures from Rachel's 4th b-day party

Bradley...digging around! :)

Elle climbing up to slide with Rachel

Thomas enjoyed watching the slide from his daddy's arms. :)

Had to post a picture of both "Pop's"

This is Rachel's new Little Mermaid swimgear

that Gege and Papa gave her.

Go Rachel! This was right before we turned the

water on again...the slide got really hot real quick!

Makes Rachel and Bradley look tiny!

It took me forever to get my dumb internet service to cooperate and let me post some more pics. I wanted to add a couple so you could see the scale of the slide and stuff.

My little stinkers

Rachel was "helping" Bradley walk down the stairs. She was so proud of herself for helping him. He really didn't want her to hold his hand, but he tolerated it and I grabbed my camera for a quick pic of the moment.
This is Bradley's new favorite thing to do. A week ago, we moved our couch so that it sits under the kitchen/den window. Bradley has discovered that he can climb up the couch and stand on the top and reach the kitchen sink. He LOVES turning on the water and swiveling the faucet. Of course, it's dangerous and I sternly tell him "no" every time he does this. But, I decided to grab a picture of it first. He was VERY proud of himself for figuring out this whole scenario.
What a stinker!!! By the way, if you make Bradley's hair and skin tone darker, I think he looks like Nick's baby pictures in this one. :)

Swivel that faucet, Bradley!

Divine Intervention & Mr. Mom

Let me tell you about our Sunday morning routine/struggle. Last night, Bradley had some major issues sleeping, meaning he didn't very well. He woke up several times and talked/fussed but didn't need me until about 4:00. I listened to him for about 10 minutes and then realized that he wasn't going to work it out on his own. So, I grabbed a juice, (I know this is a horrible habit, but we do it anyway) and went to see Bradley. He calmed down when I picked him up, so I stood and swayed with him for a few minutes and then laid him back down. He seemed to do fine until 5:00. I repeated my exact actions of the previous hour. This time, when I laid him down, he stood up and started crying and working himself up very hysterically. But, I decided to head back to bed and let Nick have a try. So, I nudged Nick out of his slumber and he went in to try to calm Bradley back down. He was in there until about 6 and then laid him back. I think we both dozed off and then I heard Bradley talking and calling, "MA" at 6:30!!! I don't know what was going on! But, I ignored him until 7, when I heard Rachel yelling for me as loud as she could. I went to get her first and then we got Bradley. Needless to say, Nick, Bradley and I didn't get much sleep after 4 this morning. So, I really didn't want to get ready and go to church. But, my main objective right now is to get us in the habit of going to church again. We've been out of church for sooooo long and I want it to be our Sunday "thing". So, we DID get dressed and go, even though we were a few minutes late. Rachel was fine, as usual, she enjoyed the music and loved looking around at all the people. Bradley was fine too...he was just so tired. Nick held him and I think he fell asleep in Nick's arms around 10:30. He was OUT! He slept for a good hour, so I didn't even have to take him to the nursery to see if he would stay in there or not. I took Rachel and she was fine...she immediately started playing with another little girl. This is the first time I've been able to actually hear the sermon at this church. And, the message was excellent...one that I really needed to hear!!! (I'll share more about that in a later post.) Bradley woke up about 20 minutes before the preacher was finished, but he hung out in Nick's lap eating snacks and sipping juice. When he got tired of doing that, Nick took him out while I stayed in the service. I was thrilled to get to hear the whole thing. I was also so appreciative of Nick allowing me to stay and listen to the message. So, was it Divine Intervention that Bradley slept during the service so that I could avoid the nursery, stay in the service and hear an awesome message?? I think so!

Mr. Mom refers to my precious husband who was so willing to watch the kids for me today so I could take a nap! He was on a roll today, watching Bradley this morning at church and then taking them upstairs to play so I could have some peace and quiet for a nap. When they're in the den and I'm in our room, they can't stand that they're not allowed to come in...and they really don't know how to be Quiet! Sometimes they "accidentally" drop something, scream, sing loud, etc... while I'm napping. So, it's nice to have them upstairs, where they're a little farther away.

What a great day!