Carving Pumpkins with My Punkin

It was the Halloween that never ended--multiple parties, getting the kids in costume over and over again, and of course pumpkin carving. We hit a local pumpkin patch the day before Halloween; the pickings were slim but we came up with a decent pumpkin.

Of course, Corbin preferred playing in the dirt and riding in the wagon to picking out pumpkins.

For carving, it was Brittan and Daddy, as Darbie was out visiting teaching. So we did it Daddy-style. First, we sketched out potential pumpkin faces on paper. Brittan did some, too, although they all had legs. I'm not THAT good at pumpkin carving.

Brittan settled on a design ("I like the silly one, Daddy"), with one added touch: she insisted it have a tongue. Ok, that's do-able. So we sketched the design on the pumpkin, and carved away. Brittan was adamant that she help, so she held the knife handle, too--I was sure she would lop off my guiding finger. She did a nice job scooping out the seeds and providing play-by-play commentary: "Ewwww, grossss!" as pumpkin guts went flying. Good thing that Darbie had the foresight to put down some newspaper before she left. The process and finished product:

I hear that tongues can sometimes look like buck teeth. Oh well.

And the costumes--a rodeo queen (NOT a cowgirl, as Brittan would correct you) and Superman:

4 year pictures

We finally had the kids' pictures taken. Brittan loves getting her picture taken. She is very photogenic and gets some really great pictures. Corbin hates it. It scares him and he doesn't understand what is going on. Even though he isn't smiling, I still think they turned out cute.

Edinborough Park

Winters are so long and cold in Minnesota that you have to get out and do something fun with the kids. Shaun's parents paid for a one year membership at the indoor park in Edina. It is such a fun place to play. They have an indoor stream with live trees and plants, a gym with basketballs and other fun ride on toys. The best part is this 4 story play structure. Brittan's occupational therapist said it would be great for her to help with her gross motor skills, and Corbin does a great job climbing the nets and maneuvering his way through obstacles. Luckily it is big enough for parents to climb through also.The sad part is that it has been awhile since we were there. This is what happened last time we went to play. Brittan tripped and fell head first into the decorative brick wall. Blood everywhere, someones call to 911, an ambulance ride to the ER at Children's Hospital, and 12 stitches later (6 inside, 6 outside) I was a little weary to try the park alone again.
Yesterday we decided it had been long enough and we went to the park after therapy. I made Brittan hold my hand until we were inside the play structure. She wanted to pet the stone otter by the stream, so I made sure I had an extra tight grip on her hand. Once we had our shoes off and were ready to play Brittan decided she was now terrified and did not want to play. After dragging her up to the first level screaming like she would if we were back at that ER, Corbin was in tears (it makes him sad when Brittan is upset) and I was ready to go home. However, we pushed through and after 30 minutes they were both climbing and having fun. While we were getting our shoes on another mom told us there was a concert in the amphitheater they have in the park. It was a lot of fun and we will probably continue to go every Thursday after therapy until our membership is up.

WHAT?!$*#

Last night as I was fixing dinner I saw a woman walk by our back door a couple of times. The second time around she asked if she could look through our toys and sandbox. A little weird, but OK. She then said, "somebody let a pet boa constrictor out and it got away. I just want to see if it is hiding in your stuff." um ...WHAT????!!!!! If I have an irrational fear it would definitely be of snakes. I don't like mice and spiders, but they definitely don't send me into a panic attach if I know one is near by.

Of course the first thing I think is, well we won't be going outside again until it snows. But, that wouldn't work because my kids LOVE playing outside. So then the next thought is what happens if we are outside playing and Corbin finds it while he is playing in the sandbox, or leaves, or dirt?

After I recovered from the shock I wished I would have asked the lady to come back and tell me when they found the snake. I didn't care if I sounded like a hypochondriac.

Balance

Does anyone besides me have a serious problem trying to balance everything in their lives? I started this blog with very optimistic tendencies to update it on a regular bases. But, life happened and I have not been to mine or anyone else's blogs in a month. However, now that summer is basically over and we are not trying to take advantage of every last minute of playtime outside before winter hits, I hope to be more on the ball. I do need to do a thorough house cleaning before I get to spend time online, but hopefully that won't take too many hours (or days).

I decided at the last minute I really wanted to go home to Utah before school started. So, we started packing on a Saturday and left on Monday. It was so last minute that I didn't plan anything, but we had a blast! We spent a lot of time at the county fair watching my brothers show their steers and playing with family. It was a long drive for 6 days, but definately worth it.

Brittan and Corbin started preschool yesterday. Brittan was SO excited. She loves school. She was in the same classroom as last year, so it didn't even phase her that the teachers were different and so were the other students. Corbin wasn't so sure. There are 6 more kids in their class this year, so it feels more cramped. But, I really like the teachers so it should be fun.

Just a few pictures from this past month.

While my mom was here we went to Como Zoo. Brittan loved everything, the rides and the animals. Corbin liked the rides once they started, but did not understand why he was just sitting in a weird car all by himself. We were too far away for him to see us, so he would get scared and cry.

Besides all of the animals at the fair, Brittan loved the merry-go-round. She sweet talked my mom, dad, and sister into taking her.The day after we got back from Utah we went to the Minnesota State Fair. Brittan loves this exhibit.
I cannot beleive a week ago we were playing at the beach (Labor Day). It has been in the 60's and 70's all week.First Day of school

Swimming Lessons

Today Brittan and Corbin started swimming lessons. I was worried it would not go well for two reasons. First, Brittan is terrified of everything. And second, Corbin loves splashing water at other people and he does not understand a lot of directions. I wondered if it was worth it when Brittan started crying because she did NOT want to get in the shower before getting in the pool. She hates falling water, i.e. sprinklers, rain, showers ... However, once we got to the pool she was fine. She was afraid at first, but since we have spent so much time in the pool at our apartment complex and at the beach, she was fine after a few minutes. Corbin did splash anyone he could in the face, but his aid (Jen-whom I love) did an awesome job of keeping him under control. He even did most of the activites the teachers had planned.

Doctors

After the fun of birthdays is over, we start the doctor appointments. We only had 3 this week: pediatrician, sleep disorder specialist, and the neurosurgeon. In the next couple of months we will complete our annual/biannual visits with the pediatric opthalmologist, endocrinologist, physiatrist, and a new one we added today neuropsychologist. I have definately found my gift in life. I can remember each of the doctors by name, what his/her practice is, when the next appointment is, when the last one was, and what we found out (or talked about) at each. I can somehow schedule new appointments without conflicting with the physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy ongoing appointments. Don't ask me how. I forget everything else. I can't tell you what we had for dinner last week, or get to an appointment we've been to 5 times without a google map, or even remember somebody's name that I see and talk to every week. I used to blame it on lack of sleep. Now that Corbin is sleeping, I don't know what to blame it on.
I love getting into a 4 year old's psyche. At the pediatricians, the doctor asked Brittan a series of questions to see how she is doing cognitively. Four year olds think everything is real, so when asked if Dora and Cinderella were real or pretend, they were of course real. My favorite answers, though, were to the questions "what is your favorite food" and "what is your favorite snack?" Her answers (I swear I didn't prop her on these), apples for food and oatmeal squares for snack. The doctor was impressed, I was trying not to laugh. If I had answered those for her I would have said she would say french fries and chocolate!

4 years old

July 17th 2004 - After I had assured Shaun he was ok to leave me and to go see the babies, I had time to wonder what good could come out of such a horrible day. The babies were here and I was only 24 weeks and 5 days along. The night before I had been told everything would be ok and I wondered what went wrong.

It took a couple of years to realize it, but everything did turn out ok. It was a very long hard road, but 4 years later I look at our kids and am so greatful they are with us. They are doing SO well! Last night we had cake and ice cream with friends and as I watched them play I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude that they are doing so well. You can't even tell Brittan was a 24 week preemie, most of the time, and Corbin is progressing more and more each day. I remember one day in the NICU before one of Corbin's many surgeries we were talking to the neurosurgeon as he discussed his upcoming surgery and showing us Corbin's CT scan and showing us the damage that had been done. Seeing how unsure we were and just trying to absorb everything one day at a time he looked at me and said, "I am not a betting man, but I would bet on your son." I don't know if that surgeon really knew how much that comment would mean to me, but everytime Corbin passes a big milestone like walking I remember him giving me hope.

The kids had a wonderful birthday this year. There was a lot of water, friends, and cake and ice cream. We went to the beach on their birthday with some of their preschool friends. It had to rain of course, but they still had a blast. Friday night we had cake and ice cream with friends from church and school. Everybody had a lot of fun!!

I was crazy and actually tried making a cake for both of them. I really wanted to make a princess cake for Brittan, so that would mean I would have to make a cake for Corbin also. I actually think Corbin's turned out better, though.

Water Summer

I love summer in Minnesota. It doesn't stay hot the entire time. In one week it will be 79 degrees with a cool breeze and 91 degrees and way too humid. But the best part is all of the water. We are surrounded by lakes, and where there is a lake there is a beach. We also have a pool at our apartment, and we just found a new free water source (thank you Tatiana), a splash pad only 15 minutes away. We play in the water at least 5 days a week. Corbin loves it. Why can't summer last a longer?

We were playing in the pool one day and the sprinklers came on randomly. Brittan was of course scared, so I let her go in the house but Corbin wanted at the sprinklers. So I grabbed the camera and let him go. He just walked around laughing. This picture is what he does in the water. He gets his hand wet and then squishes the water in his hand to make a noise. Try it. It is not easy. He can do it with a few drop. I can't do it with all the water I can fit in my hand.

The heater in the pool broke, so the water wasn't quite warm enough. I pulled out their old pool and let them play. I think it's a little too small. Luckily Aunt Amanda is sending a bigger pool for their birthday!

We were able to visit our families the beginning of the summer. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone. It had been awhile since we had been home.

Us

We have finally decided to join the blogging world. We really don't know what we are doing, but hopefully will get it figured out soon. We have been living in Minnesota for the past two years while Shaun attends law school. He currenty has two internships for the summer and is having a blast. It is hard to believe he only has one year left of law school. Darbie is a stay at home mom, working part time as the apartment's caretaker while Shaun is in school. Our twins will be four in July and are doing great. They just finished preschool this week. I loved their class and had a harder time with the school year ending than Brittan and Corbin did.