...my new favorite snack. Tings made by Robert's American Gourmet.



A friend in my support group recently told me about them and one day when I was at Whole Foods, I saw them and picked them up. They are snacks shaped like Cheetos, but...without the cheese. They are absolutely delicious and even taste a little, dare I say it...cheesy? Their ingredients consist of corn meal, rice, sunflower or corn oil, nutritional yeast and salt. That's it. I know this company and I know they make other dairy snacks (they also have this warning on their bag). So I called and although Tings could be made on the same line as other products with dairy, their practices and information made me feel comfortable enough to let Kayla try them. I let her have a couple one morning when I knew I'd be with her the rest of the day - in case of a delayed reaction - which there was none. The girls love it and J and I love them. So now I'm thinking I should not have shared my new found snack because I can't keep any bags in the house. They go pretty quick!

On Wednesday we met with Kayla’s new teacher. Coming on the heals of the Director retiring I had called back to ask if the new Director could join us for the meeting. But…the old director answered and to be honest, I just did not want to deal with her. So I asked her to contact the Teacher Assistant to let her know of Kayla’s appointment time so if she was available she could join us. She had told me she would be willing to do this at the end of last school year. I figured I’d seek out the new Director when I got there.

Apparently, I now have the reputation of “Difficult Parent” because without even asking, the new Director did join the meeting. Nothing they did or said told me they found me to be difficult, but us Mommy’s just know these things. And I figured I’d better get used to it because it will only get more difficult when she leaves private school for public school (*shudder*).

The meeting went really well. Her new teacher is very nice. She is not new to teaching, but is new to Montessori and is in the process of getting certified. She has a daughter who is attending the school as well. She said she has dealt with food allergies before, and she seemed very open and understanding to the whole thing. Both her and the Director had general questions for me about Kayla – when was she diagnosed, what happens, etc. All things that I think are good for them to know. Her TA (teacher’s assistant) was great in helping to get across all they’d done last year. I made sure to tell them how well things went last year and that I was very pleased with how things were handled in the classroom. They will continue not serving blatant dairy in her class – cheese, yogurt, cheese-its, gold fish, etc, etc. Again, this was a voluntary move on their part which makes me very happy. The teacher asked how they handled situations where parents brought in cupcakes, etc. She had also already been given a copy of the instructions I had given them last year.

I also found out (which I didn’t know last year) that they had sent a notice home to the other parents. The new Director told me that all the other parents know about Kayla (I gathered this from some conversations with other Moms) and that even during the favorite snack month (where the kids get a day to bring in a snack), no one brought in cheese or yogurt. It’s always nice to hear when other parents pitch in to keep your child safe.

Kayla also really liked her new teacher and she’s excited to go back. I can tell though this year will be hard on Alysa. On the way to the school, she told me, “Mommy, but I can’t got to school without my backpack.” I explained to here that Kayla wasn’t staying at school and that she will not be going to school with Kayla this year. She broke into tears and said, “I want to go to school.” It’s going to be a looong year.

...just how much a skinned knee HURTS! I fell today when I was outside with the girls. Alysa had to go potty so I made a mad dash to get inside with her and I fumbled and tripped and fell flat on my face! Thankfully no one saw this oh-so-graceful tumble. But I skinned my knees - both of them. Pretty bad too. So then I do what any good Mommy does, I helped Alysa in the bathroom and then I went and put antiseptic on it. All I could think when I did that was, "I do this to my kids?" That stuff stings!!! Then I had a hard time finding band aids large enough. I had to go the 1st aid kit in the car and still only got one large bandaid, so I had to use 2 smaller ones for my one knee. I guess I have to go shopping. And then b/c I needed some breathing room to let the sting calm down a bit, I put Snow White on. ;)

I sure hope it's a very long time before I do anything that painful or embarassing again.

Am I a catch or what?

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But in better news, we went earlier today to a new friend of Kayla's for a playdate. Emma is in her gymnastics class and when we went a couple weeks ago (the last class of the summer) and they ran over to hug each other and Kayla told her she missed her, I took it as my cue to get them together. The kids had a blast and her Mom was very sweet and understanding with the food allergy thing. Always a plus for both Kayla and myself. She also wants Kayla to come to her birthday party in September and is asking questions about how to be able to have Kayla there. Kayla didn't want to come home today but Alysa was getting unruly she was so tired. It was a great day all around and I hope to be seeing more of them.

How could I be raising a tv addict? Don't get me wrong - I love to put the tv on when the girls are in bed. But when they're up it's off. The only time it's on is when they are watching something. And they only get 40 minutes of tv a day. A 20 minute show in the morning and then another in the afternoon. Kayla chooses in the morning and Alysa in the afternoon. It's almost always the Little Einsteins these days. But somehow Kayla STILL is a tv addict. She's been this way since she was born. As an older baby/small toddler she'd be mesmerized by any tv and when she'd ask for tv, if we said no, she'd ask for the Weather Channel. If she heard the click of the tv turning on (even if I muted it) she'd come tearing in from the other side of the house. Now, Kayla keeps score with regards to her tv time.

Yesterday we went to my girlfriends for the morning. On the way home I get:
Kayla - "Aaah, we didn't watch tv this morning Mommy."
Me - "I know Kayla."
Kayla - "We have to watch tv when we get home."
Me - "No, we're taking our rest when we get home. You can watch tv after your rest."
Kayla - "But I want to watch tv when we get home. We haven't watched tv yet today."
Me - "You don't HAVE to watch tv every morning."
Kayla - "Yes we do!"

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Then today, when I got home from work I was told by J that when he told them to clean up the toys in my office before I got home, Alysa said, "If Mommy gets mad, she will YELL like a dinosaur."

This morning was our Food Allergy Walk. It went really well. We raised $1,000 for the walk and I made t-shirts for all of us to wear. Here is what went on the shirts.

Front


Back


*The frames came from Pamela over at Digitreats. They're from her mega and on going ABC kit. She is so very talented and generous.

Check-in was at 7am and the walk began at 8am. My Dad watched Alysa while J, Kayla, my Mom and I walked. There were some vendors there with free goodies. Epi Pen was there with t-shirts, bags for our loot and water bottles. Twinject was there with some informational packets and pens. And then my favorites - Divvies, Home Free [previously known as Gak's Snacks], Enjoy Life Foods and Cherry Brook Kitchens were all there with lots of goodies to sample.

I had never had Gak's Snack's before but I had heard of them. They are delicious cookies, free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat and dairy. They've begun branching out to be carried by Whole Foods. Hopefully mine does or will be carrying them. The husband of the founder was there and he was very nice to talk to.

Enjoy Life is one of our favorites and I was finally able to sample their new boom CHOCO boom rice milk chocolate bars. I also saw their newest product - Sunbutter Crunch snack bars. Unfortunately they did not have samples of the sunbutter bars, but...I made friends with the one woman there and before we left she snuck me a box of their cookies (not samples) AND the box of sunbutter bars. I can not wait to sample those babies. Also in our conversations, she told me she is a Dietician for the company and specializes in special diets such as Celiac Disease, Food Intolerance and Allergies. She lives in Northern NJ and is willing to come down by me to be a guest speaker at one of our support group meetings. She also thought Kayla was adorable.

It was very sweet because before the walk started, J had taken Kayla to look around. All of a sudden she came running to me with her arms outstretched all excited. I picked her up and she threw her arms around me and said, "Mommy! It's all safe for me here!" She had seen the Enjoy Life food and knew it and was just happy to be somewhere that she could eat the food. It felt good to be in a large group setting and know that although some food that people had could and would contain dairy, that there would be understanding. But also to see kids eating the cookie samples and know it was safe for her to be around. That feeling is priceless. Safety AND fun for your child. [As an aside, it was disturbing to see some of the volunteers bring dunkin donuts to eat. Thankfully it was fairly contained, but some complaints were put in. I being one of them. Hopefully they'll put the word out for next year to think a little bit more.]

Kayla had fun before the walk by playing on the moon bounce. During the walk, she wanted to be carried most of the time. Not surprising. After the walk, she played on the moon bounce some more as we just hung out. A friend from my support group was there and actually gave the opening speech. So it was nice. And my Mom won an electric scooter for the girls. Of course they're way too small for it and it goes 10mph. My Dad suggested selling it on eBay, so we'll have to see. It will be years before they are old enough to really ride it.

I had a possible mini catastrophe on my hands after the walk. I uploaded the pictures to my computer and after the pictures were deleted (this is usually, but no longer, done automatically upon upload) I noticed only 13 out of 66 were uploaded. I was SICK about it. I was able to take the card into Ritz Camera and they were able to recover the pictures, but...it is costing me $40. OUCH!

Kayla in her shirt




The view on the walk - the schuylkill River and "Boathouse Row".


Kayla & her Daddy


Kayla at the finish line


The jumping fool


All of us


Kayla and my Mom with the scooter


Kayla in her Walk t-shirt


My loot


Janeen - you have 2 sample packets of gluten-free sugar cookies coming your way. I just have to get myself to the post office. ;)

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As a side note - it took her 3 days but Alysa FINALLY got the 1st piece of her Cinderella set...the doll. Her hang up was rest time. She hasn't been sleeping, so there was no need for her to pee in her diaper. *sigh* Today, at rest time, she left her room, went potty all by herself and pooped! There may be hope for her yet. She's very excited to have Cinderella but said she needs a dress. Yup kiddo - keep working this hard and you'll have the whole set in no time.

I will by no means say I don't like to shop. I LOVE to shop. I just don't do it often. I rarely get the chance to just go and spend money. On myself, the kids or anyone. But when I do shop, I shop well. Meaning I think about what I'm buying - especially for other people. For my kids, I not only want to get them what they want and will actually like and use, but I like to get them quality stuff that is both fun and educational. Sometimes this is a bit pricier, but I'm also a firm believer in "you get what you pay for". I also love a good bargain and shop around which means I shop a lot on-line. At Christmas time I keep UPS and Fed Ex in business.

Since I don't buy often, I am a Mom who can take my kids through a toy store with very few "Mommy can I get that?". And if I do get that question I get no argument when the answer is no. This also makes it that much more fun on the rare occasions when I come home withe a special treat for them or say "yes". So when Kayla got two gift cards for her birthday, I was thrilled. I was excited to be able to take her out and say this is your money, get what you want (within reason of course). The first was my favorite, a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. That didn't take long to spend, although I had to steer her away from a very dumb book and then one where the girl character was just plain mean. But she was happy with her choices and snuggled them in bed that night.

Her second was a $30 gift card for Toys R Us. Toys R Us is not my favorite store - I actually don't care for it much. I go there, but usually when I need something in particular. But today I took them so Kayla could buy a toy. This is not easy for me. I am very particular with what toys they get and she got enough "regular" toys for her birthday. I like to shop at Parent/Teacher stores and on-line specialty catalogs. But for this, I had to make do. Of course she wanted a Dora vanity set that was $80 - um...nope! Sorry kiddo. She also wanted a racing set that was huge, but in her price range, so we put that in the maybe column. But then, as we went down the aisle of polly pocket and pet shops (believe me after her b-day she is in NO need of polly pockets), she rested her eyes on a pretty large Sleeping Beauty doll that sings. She wanted it and it was "only" $20. Then she also saw a Sleeping Beauty doll set that was similar to polly pockets, but Disney. So this is what we ended up taking home.


Of course now that we're home, she's already over the big doll. She's never been into those types of dolls. Thankfully I hadn't opened it, so I'll be returning it. And now she lost her chance, I'll return it and pick something out myself. :) But she's totally in love with her little Sleeping Beauty with dresses.

Now Alysa...she, being 2 1/2 didn't understand this was only for Kayla. I was fully prepared to say "No". But she wanted the Cinderella "polly pocket"'ish set. It was only $10 and as I was putting it back on the shelf, a light bulb went off. This had a lot of pieces. Pieces that could be broken up into 7 days. Seven days of potty training rewards. That's $1.42 per day. She's was doing pretty good even started pooping on the potty. But...she back-peddled in Ohio. She was perfect on both car rides. No accidents in her pull up. But there, she was so engrossed in her cousins, she had a coule minor accidents. But then she starting pooping in her undies again. So at home it was back to nothing. Aggravating to say the least. So now, she knows for each day she goes through w/o going in her undies, she gets a piece. Today it is the doll. Tomorrow a dress and shoes, etc. Hopefully this will buy us a week and jump-start her back in gear. She still has her big pet shop stuffed animal waiting up on my high shelf for when she's 100% trained. That hasn't worked. But with a possible reward every day, maybe this will. She is pretty ticked about not being able to play with her Cinderella, especially since Kayla's enjoying her new set. Lots of crying... Ah, the joys...

Waiting in the wings.


My weekly plan...wish me luck.

Last week I received the packet of school paperwork for Kayla's upcoming school year. I opened it, took a mental note of the days that her new teacher will be available for meetings and put it with my stuff for our Ohio trip. Of course, I never opened it while there because of lack of time. Then I got home and got sick - down for the count for 2 days. This morning, I called to schedule the meeting with her new teacher so Kayla can meet her and I can go over all her allergy stuff.

When I called, I got the Dreaded Director. I almost hung up on her but cooler head prevailed it went well. She was a bit cool and short but professional. I scheduled my appointment and she gave me extra time with her teacher for the allergy business.

Then a little while ago, I got around to starting to read through the paperwork. Imagine my wonderous surprise when I read that the Director is RETIRING after the summer. She will no longer be working at the school. Does anyone want to join me in a happy dance???

After entering the world of blog design for my Dad, my Sister asked me to do hers. She had a look in mind so off we went. It's been a work in process for a while, but I've been doing it in between, well, life. I still have so much to learn but I'm definitely enjoying it.

We're both happy with how it came out. Please let me know what you think.

After our trip, I have a lot of catching up to do, but I was home sick today, so today was not that day. Even home sick, I worked from home. The joys!

...do you know where your child is?

J woke up last night at 4am to get a drink of water. He found Alysa's door wide open (usually I hear her open it but I was apparently zonked). He comes in to me all frantic telling me that Alysa was no in her bed and he couldn't find her. I looked first to note the gate to the stairs was up and I know she can't scale it or open it and put it back up. I know he was a bit panicked thinking the worst. But since she's done this to me at naptime (hiding from me), I was pretty confident I knew where she was. I was right...







She was in her bed asleep when I went to bed. So she apparently woke up and decided to play under her bed. She slept there the rest of the night.

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This is what happens when you turn your back for 2 seconds when your 2 1/2 year old has a pair of scissors (safety scissors) in her hand. Her older sister gets a hair cut.

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We're currently at my Sister's while J is at home working hard. We had a pleasant drive out here and all the kids were beside themselves with excitement when they all saw each other. It will definitely be a fun couple of days.

Crabbing Adventures

Before I get into our crabbing trip, I’ve gotten some inquiries into my camera situation. I did buy a new camera – and I’m quite sick over it. I hate that I had to buy a new one. I went to an actual camera store and the guy spent some time trying to figure out the Kodak. No luck – we think it has to do with the ISO settings, but since mine has always been on auto, I can’t very well fix that. And I was told it was very very bad that it overheated. I had already figured that one out. So…I shopped and had looked at reviews, etc. I ended up getting a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4. It’s beautiful and small (compact camera size) with a 10x zoom. I will not get anything with lower than a 10x zoom. It is 8.1 megapixels and I love it. So far so good (although my Kodak worked for a few months, so who knows…). The best part is it was on SALE and they had a special and I got a free printer. This was a bonus since my printer has been broken. Working precariously with plastic pieces broken off and just sitting there waiting to fall off and stop working permanently. I’m pretty psyched. Now I only hope this camera keeps working!

Enough about cameras – on to the good stuff. The girls were so excited Saturday night to go crabbing they could not fall asleep. It was cute, but frustrating since we had to wake them up at 4am Sunday morning. As a kid, we used to be on the water by 5am, but the place we found to go to doesn’t open until 5:30 (although they told me 6 on the phone). The girls were typical getting up. Alysa was a joy and popped up immediately jumping out of bed all smiles. Kayla is more like me and rolled over hoping I would go away.

Kayla was the oh-so-cautious child on the boat at first. She didn’t like the sound of the motor (too loud) and was nervous on the water and wanted to go home. (*sigh*). She also would not touch the lines to check for crabs. Alysa couldn’t have been more into it. She was pulling up lines and traps (well trying – they’re heavy for her). She was leaning over the side of the boat looking for crabs and had to help all of us check for our crabs. Of course, after a while the roles reversed. Kayla got comfortable and helped with the lines and was into it. Alysa got tired (she still had a lingering cold which made it worse) and was the crankiest child. She was miserable which makes other miserable. She actually fell asleep on me which she hasn’t done since she was 7 months old. It was very sweet – oh how I miss those days. But…being a crabbing boat with nothing to lean against makes for a very uncomfortable Mommy.

It was a very successful first trip and we were on the boat for 5 hours – not too shabby for a 2 ½ and 4 year old. We got more than a couple dozen crabs. We could have had twice that if we kept the babies – boy can they get annoying.

I broke down and actually let Kayla try some crab. She has never had shell fish and even though her allergist has told me she can have them, I wasn’t sure. But…I let her have a bite and all went well. Of course I can’t let my guard down yet because it’s technically her first exposure, but we’re one step closer to knowing if she can eat shell fish. She wasn’t too thrilled with it, but that just meant more for me J, my Dad and me.

Enough of my chatter and onto some pictures!

Alysa excited and wide awake at 4am!


Kayla wanting me to go away!


On the dock


On the boat


Kayla


Sunset


Alysa pulling in a line


Kayla pulling in a line


Kayla relaxing


Alysa sleeping


Kayla getting bored


Here is a video of them pulling lines in. I apologize for the sideways shot. I forgot I don't know how to flip the videos when I took them.

I thought things around here would calm down after Kayla's birthday - unfortunately I was wrong. My spoiled children got two, yes TWO trips to Storybook Land in one week. One was a trip they took with J, my Mom and grandmother earlier in the week. Friday was one I had planned with friends for a while now. It was fun for them, torture for me. I got spoiled not taking them by myself. It's manageable of course, but Alysa likes to bolt and Kayla won't go on the big bad scary rides that are shaped like living things - fake or real. Thankfully, little Alysa is pretty mighty and went on without me with Kayla's friend Cole who is also 4. We weren't sure if they let her, b/c uner 36 inches must have a companion. I couldn't see them thinking a 4 year old as a suitable "companion", but apparently I was wrong.

Here is Alysa on the dragons with my girlfriend’s son. She’s so proud to be on without me. Such an independent child.


The monster trucks is the only ride Kayla would go on without me. But she is proud.


Here is a perfect depiction of their differences. Kayla is the oh-so-cautious child holding on to the bar. Alysa is care-free and daring with her hands stretched to the sky. This is during the ride, I might add (and it’s pretty fast).


Here they are on the scrambler – all the kids and no adults – pure bliss. But you can see Alysa, while the ride is turning and spinning, with her arms relaxed behind her. She cracks me up!



It's been beautiful, sunny, and cooler (81 degrees). It’s finally been a pleasure to sit outside while the girls play.

We went crabbing yesterday, which I will be back to tell you all about. I meant to post this on Saturday, but never got around to it.

I will leave you with some Preschooler'isms...

Alysa had a cold this week and one night at dinner I told Kayla that Alysa was sick because she had a cold. Kayla then announced, "I'm sick too. I have a warm."

Last night, we were going to put Alysa to bed. I told Kayla she could stay downstairs because she didn't have to go to bed yet. She told me she wanted to put Alysa to bed with me. She then asked if Alysa if she could put her to bed too. Alysa said NO. Kayla's response? "Well, too bad!" I can't imagine where she gets that phrase from. ;)

On the way home yesterday, Alysa was really upsetting Kayla by telling her she had to get out of the car. Kayla kept telling me Alysa wasn't being nice. My girlfriend and I could not help laughing.

After Pump It Up, we came back to the house for some more party fun. A couple of our close friends joined us as well as family. It rained in the morning, but we were lucky it cleared up for the afternoon. The only glitch was a quick storm that came through. Of course it came through when everyone was in the pool, but it gave us a reason to get out and have cake.

The kids had fun with the pinata. Thankfully my girlfriend's son is 12, so after all the little ones got a chance - he got it broken open with one good hit!

On a sour note, I had even more problems with my oh-so-reliable Kodak camera. Aside from the fact that almost every picture I took at Pump It Up was grainy and cruddy, the camera overheated at the house and was burning hot. Thankfully I was able to get all the pics off the camera and it still was technically working and it eventually cooled down. But that's the last thing I need. So I may have to look into what's out there. Trust me, it won't be a Kodak!!! Any suggestions on a good brand in case I have to buy sooner rather than later?

The pool was filling up - it was pretty hot and humid


Alysa & Kayla at the pool


Daddy & Alysa


J thinking he can jump in and ride the inflatable jet ski - the big boys thought they were the kids...




Kayla & Emma (my girlfriend's 10 month old daughter)


The Porcupine Cake (please ignore the disaster my kitchen turned into from the party)

(This cake was a HUGE hit)

Pinata time (a home made Littlest Pet Shop pinata)




Family photo


Kayla So excited with her Leapster


I also have to say that Kayla got some really nice and thoughtful gifts. She gots games which she loves and a bunch of polly pockets. She also got a littlest pet shop activity set with coloring books, stickers, etc - always fun. She also got a really nice art set - with markers, crayons, etc. Sunday, she played with the Leapster we got her ALL day. I gave her one day of unlimited Leapster playing. Monday, it was back to reality with limited media time. It will be nice to have it for our trip to Ohio next week. She got a Toys R Us gift card which should be fun for her since we really never take her to the store to just buy something. She also got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. Considering how much she loves books, this is probably one of her best gifts. I'm hoping to get some time to take her just the two of us.

Sunday, Alysa asked me, "Mommy where is my Leapster?" (Kayla won't let her touch it). I told her she didn't have one. Her reply? "We'll go to the store and get me a Leapster tomorrow!"

*Go here for the first batch of Birthday party pictures.*

My baby girl, my oldest. You are now 4 years old. You have changed so much in the last year and you continue to amaze me every day.

In your 4th year of life, you started preschool and loved every second of it. You asked to go every day of the week and you were always disappointed on the weekends. At school you had a whole little world away from us. You gained a new sense of independence and loved your friends and teachers.

You have pretty much said good bye to Dora, Diego and the Wonder Pets (although you’ll watch them on a rare occasion) to make room for your current favorite show - The Little Einsteins. You use words like adagio, allegro and fortissimo in every day language. The kicker is that you know what you mean when you use them [this makes Aunt Christine very proud]. You are always telling me to speak Fortissimo (or point out that you are). When I tell you to use you inside voice, you’ll say “We can be Fortissimo outside.” Or if you and Alysa are running around the house and I ask you to slow down, you’ll respond, “We can walk adagio”.

You are an amazing big sister and have been so encouraging with Alysa as she’s been potty training. You are always calling her “Honey” and love to be around her. You both have your moments, but mostly you play very well together. You miss her when she’s sleeping in every morning (at least over the summer) and you are always asking if she’s old enough to go to school with you.

You are a total Mommy’s Girl. You are always telling me that Mommy and Gramps are your best friends. No matter how short of a time I may be leaving you for – it can be for all day or 10 minutes. You’ll ask me not to go and will say, ‘I’m going to miss you Mommy.” When ever I come home, I hear, “Mommy, I missed you so much.” You love to snuggle at night and after rest time. But your favorite and best snuggle time is in the morning. You will wake up and climb into bed with me, sometimes laying with me for a half hour to an hour. Some mornings you even fall back to sleep.

Although you love all of your toys and love your collections of Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shops and Calico Critters, your favorite past times right now are games and books. Your room is full of books. You have them piled on your end table, under you end table, in your book basket and on your bed. Every day you take more books from the playroom up to your room. Most nights you fall asleep “snuggling” books or on books that you were reading before falling asleep. You love playing board games and card games. Most of what I hear from you during the day is, “Mommy, can we play a game?” You are even now starting to play games independently with just Alysa. You love the pool and are very independent with your floaty vest. Unknown to you I have taken some of your floaties out of your vest so you have to work harder to keep your chin above water. You love to jump in, although you won’t intentionally put your head under water.


You have begun to enjoy learning to write. You have some workbooks that you can trace lines, shapes, letters and mazes. You love to work on this. You also love to work with me on sounding out what words start with. You are so proud of yourself (as am I) when you match a word with its beginning letter.

In the past year, your understanding of your allergy has grown immensely. You are getting better at reminding me or checking with me to make sure your epi pens come with us when we leave the house. You are excellent at finding things on the ground that could be dairy and you let me know that it is there. You are learning to recognize things that you can’t have both verbally and by site. You have even learned how to administer an epi pen and practice on yourself with your epi pen trainer. It makes me so proud to see you learning to both keep yourself safe and advocate for yourself.

It was 4 years ago today that you were born [at 4:48 a.m.]. After 2 ½ years of trying to conceive and 28 hours of labor. You came into the world and have made me laugh over and over since. You are my silly and sweet little girl and I love you. Happy Birthday Kayla!

Here are some pictures from Pump It Up. I will be back later with pictures from our house.

Waiting for instructions with friends


Alysa on the slide


Gramps trying to steal the spotlight


Kayla on the slide


What fun


Me on the slide


Kayla & Alysa together


J and Kayla


Me, J and my Parents


Alysa in the obstacle course


Kayla doing the wall climb


J trying unsuccessfully


My turn - I was actually successful, my Mom just doesn't know how to take a picture ;)


Yummy Cupcake


Kayla & Petey