Bathing Beauty

Ethan's First Big Boo Boo

Ethan broke his arm last Thursday at Mother's Day Out:-( He fell backwards off the little play slide in his classroom and put his left arm out to brace himself. The break is just above his wrist. He has to wear this cast for three weeks, and when that time is up, they will re-x-ray it and either let it heal the rest of the way on its own or put him in a short arm cast (one that stops right before his elbow).

Although he looks pretty pitiful in this picture, he has actually been quite a trooper about the whole thing. He hasn't seemed to mind the cast. If you ask him what happened to his arm he will say "boke" for broke, and if you ask him how he did it he'll say "side" for slide.

Ethan and Sydney were awakened from their naps Friday with a surprise from thier teachers at St. Johns! They especially liked Ethan's big balloon-it plays "Don't Worry Be Happy" when you hit it.

Feels Like Summer to Us

Sydney showing off her muscles

Ethan showing off his pearly whites-all five of them

Thirsty?

Hairstyle courtesy of aunt Adrienne

Sydney looking a little cold, but still having fun

EdVenture

We visited EdVenture with Jen and Grady last weekend. Who do you think had more fun-the kids or the adults? Hmm...

Oh and I got sick of the bright green template. So, we are back to where we started.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Frustrated with Blogger

Ethan getting up close and personal with the tiger at the zoo. The statues still continue to be a huge hit with Sydney and Ethan every time we go to the zoo.
Sydney thinks its funny to see a goat chewing on a paper cup. I'm not so sure the zoo staff would share her feelings.

Ethan loves his crocs! He thinks they are a necessary accessory to every outfit-even more necessary than pants.
Sydney still loves to bounce! She is bouncing a bit higher these days now that she is seizure free (at least as far as we can tell) and off her nasty medicine.

As for the title of my post, I would update this site a lot more often if it wasn't such a pain each time I do it. The pages never arrange the way I want them to and the preview never looks like the real post. Oh well, maybe it is because I am always trying to do this when I am dog tired. I know, it is only 8:30 right now. I guess that makes me old.

Anyway, if any of you are wondering who the mystery dog in the previous post belongs to, it is ours. Andrew actually made the last post, and he took the leap and admitted to the rest of the world that we own a dog by posting his picture. I guess that means he's here to stay now. Ethan and Sydney do love him, which is why we got him in the first place. I guess I can deal with barks and a few doggie kisses if it makes them smile.

Boys Will Be Boys

Gabe loves to be used as pillow, you can see it in his eyes.

Look Mom, no hands!


Yeah, I cleaned my plate...with my face!

All is well

Sorry it has been so long since the last post. If you haven't heard, the results from Sydney's EEG were kind of devastating. I have been updating her caringbridge site more frequently with details about the seizure diagnosis. I haven't posted in a while on either site, because she has been doing well and I am scared to say it out loud. It seems that every time we get excited about a little progress, we are brought back down by more bad news. I know we'll get through this though like we have gotten through it all in the past.


Ethan is talking more every day, and he just started putting words together into little mini sentences. He is also showing an interest in the potty. He has gone several times and even has stickers on his very own potty chart. We might start officially potty training him soon.



Sydney is doing well. She has had a lot more energy lately, which has been nice to see. She hasn't let her recent fame go to her head:-) (Her picture was in the Aiken Standard and Augusta Chronicle modeling a new piece of equipment at Hitchcock (the place where she recieves physical therapy)).

The weather was beautiful today, and Sydney and Ethan had lots of fun jumping on our neighbors' trampoline. Sydney likes to jump on her knees, and Ethan likes to give us all heart attacks by running around from edge to edge acting like he is going to fall off.

Sydney's EEG

Sydney had her 24-hour EEG on Wednesday and Thursday in Greenville. The long pink stocking on her head covers the wires and bandages that hold the wires in place. Sydney did really well during the whole process. She enjoyed getting to watch lots of movies, and she especially enjoyed jumping on the bed on her knees. They captured a lot of epileptic activity during our stay, but they won't give us a definite diagnosis until they can review the whole report. We are hoping to hear something the first of next week.

Ethan has been sick since Wednesday which made the EEG experience a little more challenging. He appears to have some sort of stomach bug. If he isn't better by the morning, we will probably make a Saturday trip to the doctor's office. I guess it's just another example of the whole when it rains it pours saying.

Please keep Sydney in your prayers as we start the new journey of treating her seizures, and remember little Ethan too as he deals with his tummy ordeal. thanks:-)

Fingerpaint fun!

Sydney and Ethan had lots of fun fingerpainting yesterday. Sydney was a little hesitant to get her right hand involved at first, which you can tell in this picture because it is still clean. Ethan got his first taste of paint and then decided it was yucky and it needed to stay on the paper.

Fun in Atlanta

Well, I haven't been as good at updating this site as I thought I would be-sorry. Anyway, we had lots of fun last weekend. We headed to Atlanta on Saturday and spent the afternoon at the zoo. The Atlanta zoo is a lot bigger than the Riverbanks zoo in Columbia. So, Andrew and I got a lot of exercise pushing the kids around the the curvey paths and up and down hills. Sydney and Ethan's favorite part about the zoo was climbing on the animal statues.

On Sunday, we got to help celebrate Lily's first birthday. Ethan helped Lily open all of her presents, and Sydney enjoyed checking out Faith's large collection of books. Even with tons to choose from, Go Dog Go! was still her favorite. We really enjoyed getting to see everyone, and we got to sing happy birthday twice because it was Chris Cansler's birthday too:-)

Monday, Sydney and Ethan got to visit the dentist together. They both did a great job. Sydney sat up in the chair all by herself and let the dentist look at all of her teeth. They didn't do much on this visit, but they said next time they will attempt a flouride treatment and maybe a cleaning and x-ray. Ethan did pretty well also. Although he was excited about the dentist's chair when we got there, he changed is tune when Sydney was finished and it was his turn to sit. So, he got to sit in my lap for his exam. He showed off his four front teeth and two new molars. The dentist said that if he didn't have his other front teeth by the next visit, she would want to do an x-ray, but she said she felt pretty confident that they would be in by then.

Tonight, we got to celebrate Andrew's dad's birthday since we weren't in town on Saturday (his actual birthday). The kids enjoyed making cards for him this afternoon, and they really enjoyed the cake!

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful start to the new year! Sydney and Ethan enjoyed staying up late and watching the fireworks. They didn't make it to the stroke of midnight, but they hung in there long enough to celebrate. We are looking forward to the new year, and all of the joy it will hopefully bring:-)

Looking Fancy

Sydney and Ethan were looking especially cute this morning before church, so I just had to snap a few pictures. As for the ever changing colors of this blog, sorry, I'll try to pick a look that I like and stick to it.

Merry Christmas!!

We had a wonderful Christmas! It is so nice to be home!! Sydney and Ethan both got lots of goodies and they thoroughly enjoyed opening their presents this year. Sydney even used two hands for some of her gifts. She did need reminders and a little help, but she did so much better than she did at her birthday. She also initiated using two hands on her own to open things in her stocking. This was so nice to see.

I will try to post regularly again since I won't be updating the caringbridge site so much. We hope you all had a great Christmas and we look forward to getting together with everyone in the new year:-)

Hmm

Ethan is working hard to pull a ball off of this toy. He won't be successful however, because the ball is attached. He gets an "A" for effort though-tongue and all. We visited family in Alabama today and Sydney and Ethan both had lots of fun playing with Preston's toys-even the confusing ones:-)

Ethan's New Skill

Ethan is getting to be such a big boy! He has mastered eating with utensils, and he is so proud of himself. The funny thing is, he is really good with a fork too, and he wants to use it for everything. The other day he was picking his biscuit up with his fork and trying to take bites of it-quite a funny sight:-)

Fun in the Tub

Ethan loves his baths! It is amazing to me how something so simple as a cup with holes in the bottom can completely mesmerize a child. The funniest part is watching Ethan try to drink the bath water out of this cup-all the water drains out before he gets to taste a drop.

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

Sydney is soo happy to see her daddy!
Sydney showing off her new coloring skills
Sydney and Ethan all bundled up (it is supposed to be 17 degrees here tonight -Yikes!)

I had a great birthday today!! Sydney had her best day in therapy, the kids were both great when we went out to dinner, and we had the added company of Andrew and my dad. I know everyone that looks at this page is following Sydney's progress on caringbridge so, I won't repeat myself. I will add that Ethan is becoming quite the little man here in Alabama. He is talking more every day, and he has been mastering his eating utensils right along with Sydney. This program is helping Sydney and it is great for Ethan too because he gets my undivided attention all morning. We are all looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend.