Brenna & Camdyn have the moves!

Brenna had her dance recital at the beginning of June.  This was her 3rd recital; her first recital was at age 2.  She did a great job!  I was very proud of her.  I think this picture is so sweet with all of her friends from class.

In class, Brenna is a ballerina.  At home, she and Camdyn are hard-core hip-hop dancers!  Ha!  This video clip is hilarious with my little blonde cuties getting their "swagga back".  Notice Brenna's serious "swagga" face.  Too funny!



Preemie Babies 101 Guest Post

I joined the blogging team as a guest blogger for Preemie Babies 101.  They have a team of bloggers including parents, specialists, and medical professionals who blog on topics relating to prematurity, special needs, and infant loss.  My first guest post was published today.  I wrote about the emotions I felt when we made the decision for Cade to get a g-tube.  Here is a small excerpt:

"Surrender.  Defeat.  Failure.  These are the words that circulated in my head when I reluctantly agreed to a gastrostomy for my son. . . . Mothers are supposed to protect and nurture their young.  Instead, my body had rejected mine.To combat the feelings of guilt and helplessness, I, like many NICU mothers, read every book, consulted with the neonatalogists, scoured the internet for every article relating to preemies, and listened attentively to every suggestion made by the therapists.  I was determined.  I would do everything in my power to help my babies meet every milestone – including learning how to eat. "

You can read the entire post here at www.preemiebabies101.com.   Please leave a comment there if your child has a g-tube and/or oral aversions to help other preemie parents who are dealing with the same issues.

A Daddy's Love

We left for vacation on Father's Day, so I didn't have a chance to post.  Jim and I went to a resort in Playa del Carmen with some friends and had a wonderful time relaxing.  It was our first vacation in about 4 years! 

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband!  He is a wonderful father to our 3 beautiful children.  I haven't taken many pictures of him with all 3 kids lately.  I can never get all 3 to sit still long enough to get a picture.  I think these two comparison photos are pretty amazing though, and in comparison to herself, Camdyn looks downright big now!

Daddy's first time to hold Camdyn.  She was over a month old here and weighed around 2 lbs.  That is all of Camdyn nestled in his right hand.  Notice the size of his left hand; it's bigger than her.

Daddy dancing with Camdyn at 2 years old now.

In Big Girl News . . .

Camdyn's hair finally fits into one ponytail.  It doesn't last long.  All the little hairs escape from the ponytail rather quickly.  Her hair grows as slowly as she does.  She has been working on this ponytail for a long time!

At a year old, she had only cute little fuzz.

At 1 1/2 years old, I struggled to get a tiny bit of hair into a half ponytail on top of her head.

At 2 years old, she is starting to look like a "big" girl with a real ponytail even if it doesn't last long.

In other big girl news, Camdyn has been fascinated with the potty lately.  I wouldn't say we are potty training yet, but she loves sitting on the potty.  She did actually pee on the potty one time!  I was so excited that I think I scared her.  She asked me for a book to look at while sitting on the potty.



For the Love of Country Dance Halls

Some of my fondest childhood memories are formed around old country dance halls.  My sister and I spent almost every weekend at my grandparent's house.  My grandparents still have a more active social life than I do.  Nearly every weekend, they went to dances and still do today.  My sister and I would dance with our grandparents, with each other, and occasionally with the "red-haired boys" after the older couples had scolded them for sliding across the slick dance floor on their knees.  We gained a love for dancing in those old country dance halls dancing to the tune of "Rose-Colored Glasses" and "Silver Wings" ending the night curled up on piles of blankets laid under the tables.  

This past weekend we celebrated Jim's cousin's wedding.  The wedding was back in April in another state, so they held a reception in our hometown for those who couldn't make it.  The twins didn't make the long roadtrip last time, but they certainly made up for any fun they may have missed at the reception.  

Brenna and Camdyn found some friends to dance with right away.

   

Cade convinced his older cousin, Blake, into helping him reach food off the snack table.  You would never guess that Cade ever didn't like to eat!  He now wants everything!

Camdyn was more interested in showing off her dance moves.

More of her great dance moves.  We have a video on Jim's phone of her doing a country line dance that is hilarious, but I'm having trouble getting it off his phone.  She was kicking and stomping right along to the music!

Camdyn found some friends to dance with too.  I would say her social skills are pretty good.  She went right up to these little girls, held hands, and started spinning in circles.  It was so cute.

Brenna danced with her second cousins, Landon and Parker, all night. 

Who needs therapy when you have red Solo cups, Hershey kisses, wedding bubbles, and Grandma and Grandpa?  Cade and Camdyn were totally enthralled with putting the Hershey kisses that were laying on the tables into the cups then pouring one cup into another.  I was quite impressed with their pouring skills.

Grandpa and Camdyn practiced blowing bubbles.

Grandma and Cade filled cups, emptied cups, and filled cups again!  An added benefit of the "Hershey kiss/Red solo cup therapy" program is that you get to eat a Hershey kiss every now and then.

After all that dancing and playing, it was cuddle time.  I soak up the cuddle time whenever I can. 

What could be better than being rocked to sleep?  Being danced to sleep, of course.

I'm sure I too have been danced to sleep although I don't remember it.  As a little girl, I remember learning how to dance by standing on top of my grandpa's feet as he stepped in time to the music making his way around the dance floor.  If there is such a thing as learning through osmosis, sleeping on creaky, worn dance floors must be the way to acquire rhythm.  At first, the bass permeates your body almost intrusively.  Gradually it begins to beat in rhythm with your own heartbeat while the vibration of the wood dance floor soothes you to sleep.  Or . . . you're just so darned tired from all that dancing and staying up way past your bedtime that you can't help but fall asleep!