Abby

AP attended Summer Quest day camp last week at EHE. Margaret spent the week at Bubby and Grandfathers, so Abby and I had the mornings to ourselves. On Monday, she had an MRI. The procedure went well... since she has Central Sleep Apnea, they had the pediatric anesthesia team do her IV and they put it in after she was asleep (they used a gas mask). She wasn't even aware that she had "an owwy shot." After the procedure she was boneless for a couple of hours... I was by myself and it was REALLY difficult carrying all of our stuff, and her, and getting the food in the cafeteria, etc. Next time, I'll definitely need help...

Unfortunately the MRI came back showing that the decompression surgery did not make enough space for her brain. She is still having some pre-surgery symptoms, so we are disappointed that we have not put this chapter behind us... please continue to pray... specifically, we need her spinal fluid to have enough room to flow around her brain... if that doesn't happen, she could need further surgery (more risky than the first)... She is going to have more tests done over the next six months to see if there are any improvements...

A princess party with Princess Genevieve at the Fauquier Library... Abby "just LOVED" Princess Genevieve. She was a bit shy, but very willing to pose for a picture and even showed the princess how to curtsy.

Playing soccer with her big brother. She takes it VERY seriously! She was goofing off and Coach Patrick made her run around the house twice! She carries a water bottle and everything!

The latest thing is to get mad whenever a stranger talks to her... if she thinks she's in trouble, she will hide under something... and if she is really nervous, she pretends she is a cat and licks me- great. These pics are from before her MRI and she was getting frustrated by all the people talking to her...

She's been attending "Making Marks," an art class for toddlers.

We also took the kids to a signing program at the library in Bealeton and a luau story time at the Culpeper Library. And, we've been hitting the pool at least once a week. Fun stuff. Wish summer would never end.

4th of July

Giving grandpa Mac his Father's Day present finally! The kids painted an apron and decorated a bag for him. They painted scenes from Camp Cousins on the apron except for Abby who painted three "voles" b/c Noah had captured some that morning and she scooped them into a bug carrier and carried them arond all day, not realizing they were no longer alive!

Pretty girls at Goldvein Park on the way to mom's house to visit Scott and his family for the 4th. AP went swimming w/ the neighbors instead.

Stopped at the Bealeton Library again to spin the wheel. The kids love to read, but the SRP gives them even more incentive to read all summer long. They really like to listen to books on tape, which makes life easier for me since they can be read aloud to and I don't have to be the one to do it all the time! Roasting marshmallows on Sunday night. We didn't go to the fireworks this year... we just relaxed at home. Sometimes we can see them from the house, but this year, the county must have cut the budget back and the fireworks weren't high enough to spot easily from our lawn.

Abby started her "Wiggles and Giggles" play group on Monday, and the kids started day camp at Culpeper Christian, so we opted to go to bed at regular time and not go out to see the fireworks

Abby was extra cuddly with Bubby on the 4th since Scott's family was there. The kids had fried chicken and played stomp rockets in the backyard.

Dad was in VA for the 4th helping us by babysitting the kids when we had a big appointment in Charlottesville for Margaret. Scott's family was in VA too and stopped in for a cookout on Friday afternoon. It was nice for the kids to have their cousins here. We spent time w/ them at mom's house on Sat.

Here's some other pictures posted on our PicasaWeb account:

June flew by!

Raspberries are harder to pick than blueberries, but according to the kids, braving the prickers was worth it. All of Abby's raspberries went into her mouth... all of Margaret's went onto the ground... it took me an hour to pick the blades of grass out... Picking blue berries and raspberries, a tradition for us on the last day of Belle Meade... hot and sunny... kept Abby covered up but didn't think of myself... owwy sunburn on my shoulder for a couple days... wish we tanned like the big kids...

Spinning the wheel for the Summer Reading Program. Watched Bill Wellington sing some silly folk songs. Abby told him, "My daddy knows that song!" when he sang, "she'll be coming around the mountain..."

AP hated the clothes I picked out for him... but I thought he looked very handsome... this is a clue we were searching for and found on a mail box... he and I love this game the most!

Hot day searching for clues in F'burg for the annual Itty Bitty City... had to stop for ice cream... no more ff cookies and cream... so sad...

Remodeled Bealeton Train Depot. The kids held hands on their own- I didn't tell them to do that! ( I did threaten them that I won't take all three of them together on my own anywhere else if they didn't behave extremely well, though...)

Enjoying the pool at Belle Meade on the last day of camp. It's in a beautiful setting... if I lived there I'd never want to leave... Old Rag, Rappahanock River, they had to drag us out of the pool!

Kids night at Chick-Fil-A... Margaret wasn't sure if the cow was real or not... Abby set her straight!

We had visits from all of the grandparents during the month of June!

The big kids went to Belle Meade day camp for two weeks and Abby and I enjoyed all sorts of activities in town each day before we picked them up.

We went to Fredericksburg one Sat. to search for the Itty Bitty City clues. We didn't find them all yet, but we love hunting for the architectural features in town. It was so hot, but after we all started to melt down (Margaret, literally!) we stopped for ice cream to refresh ourselves.

We also spent June working on the house. We power washed, stained the porch, added a loft to the new shed, insulated the cellar, cleaned out the back porch and purged... it's amazing how much we've accumulated in the last 10 years... and we we're starting to look like an episode of "Hoarders." The projects are ongoing, and it's been a bit overwhelming... sometimes I feel like we're just moving junk from one place to another!

Check out our June slide shows on our PicasaWeb account at:

Charlotte's Web and Teddy Bear Picnic

While the big kids enjoy the last few days of day camp at Belle Meade... Abby and I... Free movie mornings at Regal... we watched Charlotte's Web. Too cute! It was Abby's first time at the movies. It was a bit loud and a bit much for her. She's a lot like her librarian mom- not into loud noises! We lasted longer than I thought... 25 minutes! but Templeton the Rat was what did it in for her in the end...

Rappahanock Co. Library Teddy Bear Picnic today...

Petting Zoo... Abby loved this pot bellied pig. It reminded her of Wilber.

Brave until the guy told her to "relax" and then she lost it... big crocodile tears... I was the only mom who had to walk around w/ the pony... but she got it together and enjoyed it for a few minutes!

She brought three bears... and a pocketful of play mice... but guess who had to push the stroller?

Father's Day Pictures

Pops came to visit for Father's Day weekend. The kids painted a ceramic bowl for Adelaide (who stayed at home... thank goodness...she's 95 lbs now!) They had a great time playing with Pops. Abby made him go for a jog with her in the yard... it was HYSTERICAL! She really pooped him out.

Patrick took Pops to lunch at Foti's and then they tried to get the house power washed, but couldn't get it started. We worked on the porch and the shed (adding boards for a loft for more storage) and the girls played doctor with Pops. Pops helped with an Abby bath and story time, but she was too excited having him around to actually fall asleep.

Happy Father's Day!

We made a special Father's Day breakfast for Pops and Patrick... whole grain muffins, hand picked blackberries and fruit cups with strawberry whipped cream. For presents, Abby made Patrick a necktie and an imprint of her "tootsie rolls" (aka her foot), Margaret got him a book from Williamsburg and AP made an undershirt for his "daddy doll!"

The "daddy doll" is a beanie baby that I found many years ago before we even had kids. It looked JUST like Patrick in his t-shirt and boxers (his "uniform.") When we adopted the big kids, Margaret took one look at it and said "Kak Papa" which means "like daddy" in Russian! AP 's gift took the cake... he sewed a tiny white undershirt (the kids call them "micas" ...it's Russian for undershirt) for his little mini-me. We took the kids to a program at the library... the kick off to the SRP. Margaret got to help the performer who was teaching kids about beaches and sea life.

The big kids have been swimming everyday so far this summer at their day camp, Belle Meade. They take a shuttle to Rappahanock Co. and the camp is in a beautiful setting by the Rapp. River. They've hiked Old Rag and have a camp out on Thursday night. I've been taking Abby to the pool as well so she gets to swim three days a week. They're all little fish!

First week of summer and already hit "CJ's twice..." So far we've tried peanut butter, tutti frutti, cheesecake, and pistachio nut... yummmmm....

The start of summer!

Margaret chose a slip and slide from Target with her Christmas gift card from Nana.

It's been occupying the children wonderfully!

Mixing colors was great fun for Abby! Glad I thought of it... I can get some tasks done while she experiments...

A beautiful princess... with croup, Fifth's disease and a sinus infection all week... still cute as a button though!

Sat. morning at the Farmer's Market leads to an impromptu Lunch at Foti's... yummmmmmm....!

A visit to Knakals to get some treats for the soccer picnic... couldn't resist eclairs and cupcakes too...

Burning off the cupcake calories with a ride down Main Street on her new "big girl bike!"

Gathering some water bottles for a bike ride...see, all the paint Grandpa Mac took off the porch? Now we have to caulk it and stain it... hopefully before the Fourth.

Grandma and pa Mac watched AP for us last week b/c he finished school on Memorial Day and needed something to keep him busy while the rest of us were finishing the school year. They had a great time, canoeing, swimming, biking, movies, Darien Lake, Red Wings game, etc.

Then Grandpa Mac brought him back to VA and back to reality! He stayed a few days and helped us blast the paint off of out porch so we can stain the cement floor to look nicer for our new sidewalk. When he wasn't working, we went to CJ's soft serve and had a cookout.

A rare friendly moment between the big kids... something to work on this summer...

Margaret and Abby with their new Zhu Zhu cage...

Slideshow of our photosession with Dorie Howell for The Littlest Heroes Project

http://slideshow.doriehowell.com/hero/