Aunt Lynsey was in town for the summer and we were so excited to be able to spend some extra time with her:
We took a trip up to Gramps, Oma and Kai's house at the end of July and had a wonderful time, as usual:
We also went to visit Scott's great aunt, Elizabeth, who lives in Portland. She is such a sweet, kind woman with a heart of gold. She is also a devoted Christian and we are so thankful for her faithful prayers for our children:
My mom came up to visit us in the beginning of August. We have been so so grateful for her efforts and devotion in coming up to spend time with Tyce and Shay. We sure have been spoiled this summer in having her here for more than just a few days at a time. It will be hard for us to adjust to not seeing her as much once school starts again.
We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the backyard when she was here:
My cousin, Tom, came up to see us a couple of times while my mom was here, too:
Tyce was a little unsure about sitting on his lap :)
Tom met us at an afternoon concert at Esther Short Park:
Grandma Kathy met us there, too:
This is one of our kids favorite things right now, which is great because it makes grocery shopping something that they can look forward to...as long as I don't take too long ;)
I'm so glad my mom took this picture of Emily and I with our kids. We spend a lot of time together but I don't get nearly enough photos of the good times we share. This picture is taken at one of our favorite places in Vancouver, along the riverfront trail:
Playing at Esther Short Park:
We love it when Daddy can meet us at the park on his way home from work:
Lately I've been feeling like Tyce and Shay are turning a new page and really starting to listen to directions better. They are still definitely toddlers in that they are easily distracted and quick to forget, but overall I feel like they are becoming less impulsive and I can trust them more to stay close to me when out in public. I've also been feeling like I can reason with them more and give them more information that they can comprehend instead of just using short and basic phrases or instructions.
Shaylie
*Jumps off two feet
*Loves to be carried and says "carry you" often to be held
*Is getting really good at verbalizing emotions and can say if she or others are sad, happy, mad or excited. She also calls herself or others silly and funny at times :)
*Wakes up in the morning or from a nap and often talks to her binky or Gigi doll for a little while before calling for me to come get her
Shay got really sick in the beginning of August, sicker than she's ever been. It was pretty scary for us, but also amazing how quickly she recovered! It first started with what seemed like any other cold. After about a day, she developed a fever and then started wheezing and having difficulty breathing the following evening. The next morning she had the most blood shot red eyes I have ever seen (both sides of the sclera in both eyes were bright red).
By the time we took her to the doctor the next morning, they diagnosed her with viral pneumonia (she was tested for adenovirus, which commonly presents with bloodshot eyes, but results came back negative). We gave her two nebulizer treatments at the doctors office then I took her to the hospital to get chest x-rays to see the extent of the infection. It didn't look as bad as the doctor said it sounded when listening to her lungs, so she was sent home to be monitored closely. The pediatrician we saw (which wasn't her normal pediatrician) made a couple of references about how she anticipated Shaylie would have to be admitted to the hospital. To say I was scared is definitely a huge understatement. It seemed like it all progressed so quickly. We were given a prescription for Albuterol (bronchodilator administered through an inhaler that is attached to a face mask for toddlers) and were told that if her symptoms worsened in any way, we needed to go to the ED.
Well, once again, God has proven that He indeed answers prayers! We returned for a follow-up doctor visit the next morning and the same pediatrician saw Shay Shay. She was amazed at how much Shaylie improved in just one day. Her lungs sounded significantly better, her ears had no signs of infection (the day before they were slightly inflamed/irritated) and she had no fever. We weren't sure that we'd be able to go on our trip to Bend because she got sick on a Wednesday and we were planning to leave that Saturday but God truly worked a miracle. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for protecting our sweet little Shay Shay!!
Tycen
*Walks up/down steps and short flight of stairs without using a handrail
*Is really into hugs and often asks for "huug, huuug"
*Likes to sing songs (some that he makes up :)
*Talking more and more everyday
*LOVES reading books and is always wanting another book and another book after 'the last one' at bedtime...this may be his ploy to stay up longer, but how can you turn down reading your child a book?!? I'm definitely a sucker :)
*Tyce is so so sweet and loves giving snuggles and love to dolls and stuffed animals.
*Improving his dance moves daily and along with his sister, quickly becoming one of the best dancers I know! :)
I haven't worked at all this summer and I just can't emphasize enough how grateful I am to be able to stay home and take care of our children. We've been really busy this summer with a lot of fun outdoor activities. One of my absolute favorite things to do is to take the kids on a run around downtown Vancouver through officer's row (Fort Vancouver) and along the Columbia River. I like to go just before lunchtime so that I can feed them a picnic lunch after our run on the riverfront trail. Summers in the PNW are absolutely gorgeous and we can really soak in and appreciate God's beauty here. We have so much fun and along with gazing at the river, birds, green trees, blue skies, etc, we also enjoy watching the boats and airplanes go by or the people walking their dogs or riding bikes and roller blades. We also like to sing songs, talk about our day and all the things we see or are grateful for and just really enjoy eachother's company. I love my profession as a PT, but know without a doubt there is no place I'd rather be than spending every minute I can with my children. Time passes too quickly and it won't be long before they are in school and not wanting to hang out with me all day, every day. I'm more than happy to take advantage of this time I have with them now! :)
