Update on Miss Lindsay Beans

Incase you're wondering how our niece Lindsay is fairing with her chemo... I snagged this picture off of Matt's blog. Apparently she has not yet lost her hair or her fiery disposition. Today was day 7 of 10 of her first round of chemo. She has a 21 day rest period, then on to round 2. By all accounts things seem to be going as well as can be expected.

To get the official update check out their caring bridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindsaytempleton

Don't forget to leave a note, I know they have been reading the guest book.

Detectors

Last week we got new CO detectors for our house. Avery is terrified of detectors, any kind of detector.

We have smoke detectors in what seems like every room in our house. When the one in his room started beeping because it needed a new battery he demanded it be taken down immediately, otherwise he refused to go in his room, period.

So, when he realized that the new CO detector outside his room beeps like a smoke detector he made me take it down.

Last night Kevin was away and sometimes when he is gone I let Avery sleep with me upstairs. Just as we snuggled in our bed to read books he noticed the CO detector on the wall. After many tears, we decided to go back to his room to sleep, where there are no detectors.

When we got into his bed I tried to explain to Avery how the detectors work and how they can help us.

Mommy: Avery, detectors are our friends. They tell us when something is wrong and we need to get out of the house.

Avery: No there not, they are not are friends. They are very bad and they are very loud. When the start to beep I go like this (hands over ears).

Mommy: You know what, they are sort of like fire trucks. When we see a fire truck going down the street without its lights and sirens on we know everything is okay. But when we hear a fire truck's siren and see its lights flashing we know that something is wrong and someone needs help. If we don't hear the detectors then we know everything is okay. But if we hear them beeping then we know something is wrong and we have to get out of the house.

Avery: Yeah, when that starts beeping the fire truck will start is siren and then it will come to our house and the firemen will crash in the windows and starting spraying with their hoses, PPPPSSHHHH!!!! And Dot the fire dog and the firemen will come in the house to save us.

At that point I realized we have been reading way too many stories about fire trucks.

Correction to last post

Correction to my last post - Jake now has 2 teeth on the bottom. He is also crawling around like crazy. These two boys are keeping their Mommy very very busy!

more highlights from the State Fair

We went to the birthing barn at the fair and met lots of Mommy and baby animals.

Like this Mommy Cow

And her baby Harold who was born yesterday!

We met a mommy pig with 10 piglets!

And I even got to pet on of the baby pigs

A baby lamb
and some baby ducks

then I got to rid a litte tractor
And a BIG tractor!!!
I learned how to feed the chickens
and milk a cow

It was a busy day. I was so tired that I fell asleep in my ice cream cone on the way home!

I got a tooth!!

The Giant Slide

Last week the guide for the Minnesota State Fair came out in our Sunday paper with a picture of the infamous "Giant Slide." I showed it to Avery and proudly proclaimed that on Tuesday (Mommy day) we would be going to the state fair and we would be going down the giant slide.
Without ever mentioning it again, last night Avery woke up crying and when I went to his room to calm him down he said, "Mommy, I don't like that slide."

We made it to the fair today, for better or worse, and we found the Giant Slide almost immediately. I told Avery he should face his fears and we should go down the slide together. He reluctantly agreed and we paid our $4 and headed up what seemed like 500 steps to the top of the slide. He was totally scared out of his wits when we got up there, but somehow I managed to get him on my lap without a total freakout and we made our way down the slide. He wrenched his stomach and gritted his teeth the whole way down. At the bottom he jumped up and ran away as fast as he could. I ran after him and here's how our conversation went:

Mommy: "That was fun, wasn't it Avery?"

Avery: "No, that was scary!!"

Mommy: "But you were very brave, you went down the slide."

Avery: "No, I wasn't brave, I was really really scared! You were brave Mommy."

Thoughts and Prayers

For those of you who have not heard, our niece Lindsay was diagnosed with AML, Acute Meyloid Leukemia this past week. She started 6 months of chemotherapy yesterday at Brenner Children's Hospital at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Please keep Lindsay and her family in your thoughts and prayers over the next few months.

For updates on Lindsay's treatment visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindsaytempleton

Why I love my little boys

I don't know what it is about little boys. They get the biggest kick out of the simplest things like squirt guns and whoopee cushions. They really make me laugh. Just when I think they can't get any funnier, they do.

This is a conversation I had in the car with my sister and her son Patrick and Avery on our last trip to Pennsylvania (Susie was driving through our old neighborhood to show the boys our childhood home):

Me: Look guys, that's where Aunt Susan and I lived when we were little.

Avery: But Mommy, your big now so you don't live in the forest anymore (there are a lot of big old trees in that neighborhood).

Avery again: Aunt Susan, you're big too.

Patrick: Yeah, and your butt is big and stinky too!

If you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!