Boom Boom!! Ahhhhhh!!!

Yesterday was a fun day! We celebrated the 4th of July a little early. My friend, Tammy, invited a bunch of us to watch a fireworks show that her church was putting on. First, we met at Heidi's house for dinner (potluck - love those!), then we headed over to the church. The fireworks were amazing!! We are now rethinking our plans of taking the girls somewhere on the 4th to see them, and once again, staying here at home, cooking out with friends, and doing some in the street w/the neighbors! Here are some pictures from the day...


Hannah and her friend, Sam, taking time out from having fun, to pose for me! They had a blast with the glow stick balls! :)


Amanda Joy and myself... She did great with the fireworks (I did cover her ears most of the time, but she seemed to like them!) Eventually she ignored them! lol


Amada Joy and her "USA" tattoo! We all got them! How could we leave her out! Little does she know just how cute she is! :)




So I was trying to get a picture of AJ with the fireworks in the background (she was sitting on my lap). It wasn't working too well, as you can see by the pic above, however, I love her eyes in this pic!

We had some excitement around the house earlier in the day. First of all, Rebecca decided to 'redecorate' her bedroom by "Jonafing" it! She's a riot. She's totally into the Jonas Brothers, and has taken down all her Miley Cyrus pictures, and given most of them to Hannah! Here's what her walls look like now :


Other exciting news! Miss Amanda Joy decided yesterday that she wanted to sit up on her own! She's still a bit wobbly, but oh how cute!

Pool Time!

Amanda Joy seems to love the pool! So glad :) Thought I'd share a few pictures...

We're TOTALLY CRAZY!

But most of you already know that! We ended up with a puppy today! Yes, you read that right, so stop wiping your glasses off, and keep reading ;) Ever since we returned Miley, we have told the girls that when the time was right, we'd look into getting another dog. Only this time, we'd do a bit more research, and figure out just what we wanted. One thing was for sure, we wanted a SMALLER dog. We decided that we all liked the Mini Schnauzers, so Steve began the hunt. He actually found a breeder, here in Maryland, but about an hour from us. We were waiting until Hannah finished up traveling w/lacrosse to even consider getting one.

Well, today, on a whim, he started searching again on the internet, and found a classified website. On it, he found what seemed to be 'too good to be true'. A lone mini schnauzer, right in the next neighborhood! His sisters had already been adopted (one just went home yesterday), and he was left. Steve called up the owners, and had a lengthy chat. Everything just felt right.

We took the kids (surprised the heck out of them) to see the dog this afternoon, knowing full well that they wouldn't want to leave w/out him, and sure enough, we all fell in love with him.. even Amanda.. who kept trying to pet him. So he came home with us.

He's the cutest little thing, and seems to be adjusting well, so far. He follows us all around, which is quite cute, and barks at Mittens (our oldest cat), for he wants to play. Mittens has been brave enough to come up to him, and smell him to check him out, but runs when the dog goes after him. Maybe in time, they will be come playmates.

Here's a picture of the little guy. The girls have named him 'Oliver' - 'Ollie', for short.

Birthday in Philly

We are home from our weekend in Philly. It was a long weekend, filled with fun, and also a few disappointments. On the up side, my baby girl turned 11! I think she had a good birthday, even though we didn't spend it the way she would have liked.
First, I have to report that Friday morning, we got a call from the Dermatologist, telling us that Amanda's spinal scan was normal! Hurray!
Friday morning, while the girls were at Field Hockey camp, Steve and I headed over to Babies R Us to get Amanda a new carseat. We ended up with the Britax Marathon, in a pretty floral pattern. Our hope was that Amanda would love this seat, and not cry in the car! So, with our fingers, toes, and whatever else we could get to do so, we headed up to PA after the girls camp. Amazingly, Amanda did awesome! She slept pretty much the whole drive up. What a good girl. The new seat seemed to be working :)





















Hannah's tournament was actually at Bryn Mawr college, and we were staying in Wayne, PA, but we decided to take the girls for some sightseeing first. We headed to downtown Philly, and found some great parking in a garage underneath of the Independence Hall Visitor Center. Great deal of $14, too! (sarcastic). Our first stop was the Liberty Bell. Was a quick stop, but fun. I hadn't seen the bell since I was in elementary school. We went up to PA on a field trip. Much has changed since then!





















After the Liberty Bell, we headed over to Independence Hall. We couldn't get in until after 4pm, when it was open to the general public. Early in the morning, they sell tickets, but the apparently sell out quickly. Later in the afternoon, you just get in line, and they let 95 people in at a time. Worked out very well for us! I'm glad we didn't have to wait too long, for it was a very short tour. Only two rooms to see!





















After our little sightseeing adventure, we headed to South Philly for a cheesesteak. We found the famous "Geno's", and ate there. While my cheesesteak was very good, I can't say it was the best I've ever had! The girls weren't impressed with it at all!! But was a fun experience!!!






























After eating dinner, we headed over to the hotel, checked in, and let the girls join their friends down at the pool, while we sat around, chatting with the adults.

The next morning, it was tournament day! This tournament was a big disappointment, for only 5 teams showed up, including us. There was only one other team that was our age/level, the other 3 were high school teams! And yes, Hannah's team had to play them. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty, for they lost all their games. It was pretty upsetting to everyone involved, though I think we were the most disappointed of all. All of us spent gas money driving up there, not to mention the hotel and food costs. Our coach is pretty mad about it, and is trying to get some money back. Needless to say, this won't be a tournament they will return to.

After the close of the tournament games, we went out to dinner. Since it was Hannah's bday, we ordered her a special dessert.. a Hot chocolate chip cookie, topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. She loved it!





















After dinner, we took the girls to a cool candy store that was in the center of the town we were staying. They had fun, but I think the bright colors attracted them. There wasn't much to the store when you got inside. Regardless, both came home with a bag of bulk candy! LOL Ahhh, the simple things in life! :)

Sunday, we headed over to Heidi's for a little while. Christine had baked Hannah a birthday cake. So sweet! Thanks guys :)

Adios for the Weekend!

Tomorrow, after the girls finish up Field Hockey camp for the day, we're off for Philly! Hannah's got her last lacrosse tournament on Saturday. We thought it'd be nice to go up early, not only so that we don't have to rush Saturday morning, but also to give ourselves some time to see the sights. Saturday is Hannah's 11th birthday, so we thought we'd try to make a fun weekend out of it. We decided that we'll stay two nights; especially after I got a GREAT rate on the room! Not sure what time we'll be back on Sunday.. maybe we'll try to take in more sights, or eat one more Cheesesteak! :)

No word from the Dermatologist yet, but I'm sticking to the "no news is good news" theory. I did make Amanda an appointment w/her pediatrician for Monday, because she's got these two cuts on her foot that won't heal :( Not sure what's up with that! She was in a great mood this morning, and I was able to snap a cute pic... enjoy, and I'll be back on here Monday!

Now we wait...

A while ago, I believe I mentioned a little about Amanda Joy's birthmark. When she was born, her left leg looked bruised from the knee down. We (and the doctor's) were convinced that her foot/leg somehow got stuck, causing the bruising. After a few days, however, the bruising started easing up, and a red birthmark emerged. Part of it was very red, and raised (especially around the knee, and scattered down the leg). For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a picture... you can see part of it.


It has actually gotten a bit better over the last couple months. At her pediatrician's request, we took her to see a local doctor (a dermatologist) up at Hopkins, who is the regional specialist for this type of birthmark, a hemangioma. He took a good look at her, and wasn't too concerned with the spots on her leg. In fact, he said that they should improve about 10% each year, and they could totally disappear! That was good news! On the flip side, he was concerned with some of the hemangioma that is present in her genital area. There is a tendency for these areas of the skin to 'break down', as he put it, due to intense moisture. Therefore, we have to be diligent about coating her with a vaseline type diaper cream (A&D). In addition, on the more serious side, there is some correlation between that and some spinal deformations, though it occurs in a very small number of cases. Yes, getting this news was quite a blow. As a parent, you never want to hear that there might be something seriously wrong with your child.

So, her doctor ordered a spinal ultrasound on her, which we had performed, today. Back up to Hopkins it was for us. Boy is that place big! Anyway, the poor tech had quite a time trying to get the scan done. They had AJ on her tummy, and she is quite the wiggle worm. The poor girl kept having to recount all the vertebrae! She gave AJ a little break, in which she fell asleep. This made it much easier for the scan.

We don't have the results yet, so we are in that waiting period. The tech didn't seem to think there were any 'irregularities' in what she saw, but isn't the doctor, so can't officially tell us anything. I'm hoping that we will hear from her dermatologist soon. I hate waiting. I just want my little girl to be okay.

You know, in our lives, there are things that come up in which we stress over, and let get the best of us. Then there are the times when you have to stare fear right in the face, and try to be brave so that the world doesn't see you at a weak moment (like now). It's these times when you realize that all the other crap, is just not worth all the time you spend worrying. Kind of puts a lot of things into perspective. Whatever the results end up being, I want my friends and family to know that I feel so lucky to have all of you in our life. All the phone calls, real time words, and emails, letting us know you care. ALL of the support is much appreciated, and means the world to us. This is a difficult time for us. I have faith, though, that God will look over AJ, and she will be fine. For she is a much loved little girl, and has so many people who care so much about her :) Truly blessed... we all are. Thank you ♥! ~ Holly

We have a 4th and a 6th Grader!

Friday was the last day of the school year, and also Hannah's 5th grade graduation. I was probably a bit more nervous than the average 5th grade parent, being that I helped out organizing the entire thing. So the fear of something going wrong was hovering above my head. I could just see the cute banner we made, falling down, crashing onto the teachers heads, who were sitting under it! LOL Or one of the decorative balloons popping in the middle of the ceremony, scaring the crap out of many.. Luckily, none of the above happened, and the ceremony was very nice. I also had the fear that I would cry like a baby! I didn't. I will admit, however, I did get teary many times, but somehow managed to hold it all together. So the tissues I swiped from the main office, never got used. I'm sure they were thankful! Here's a picture of Hannah and Rebecca, on the big day!


After Hannah's graduation, we went to lunch at her favorite restaurant, The Japanese Steak House. Steve's parents joined us, as well as Hannah's friend, Tina and her family. As usual, the food was very good, and filled us up. Hannah received a new cell phone, as a combo Graduation, good grades, birthday present! She spent most of the time at lunch, texting with it! lol



We were set for our, what was to be, long drive to Ocean City. Hannah and Tina were playing in a lax tournament at the beach! Unfortunately, it took us longer to get down there due to Rt. 50 being closed due to some hostage standoff. We had to take an alternate route, which took a bit longer. We were able to make it with enough time to check into the hotel, change, and get to the field for the first game at 7pm. It was a fun weekend, though very busy and HOT! The girls played really well though, and ended up coming in 3rd place. Not too bad for a group of girls who have only had a few practices, and not much experience playing together. They did well. Here's a shot of Hannah in action...(she's in purple)
Saturday was filled with lax games, so there really was no time for the beach. Rebecca, on the other hand, lucked out, for my friend Tammy was down there for the Sand Soccer games, and let Becca hang out with them on the beach all day Saturday. We dropped her off at 11, and didn't see her again until 7pm! She had a blast!!! Thanks Tammy! :) After Hannah's last game on Sunday, we checked out of the hotel, and headed down to the boardwalk for a while. We ate lunch at Dough Roller, then did a little bit of shopping. The girls ended up with henna tattoos! They are quite cute! Hannah is on the left, Rebecca is on the right.














I've decided that the next time we go to the beach, all three of us will get one! :) Amanda Joy was quite interested in what was going on, but we tried to explain to her that she just wasn't quite old enough for a tattoo of any kind, just yet! Maybe next year we can look into the ones applied with water! lol


After our excursion to the boardwalk, we headed back to Heidi's and Rick's condo (well, actually the condo belongs to a friend of theirs, but for the sake of this blog post, it's theirs). The kids all changed into their bathingsuits, doused themselves in suntan lotion, grabbed a boogie board and towel, and headed down to the beach. Finally, the moment Hannah had been waiting for had arrived. She was thrilled! The water was pretty darn cold... too cold for me to swim, but the kids got right in. Ahhh.. I remember the days when the water temp had no affect on me! They had a blast riding in wave after wave, and finding shells on the shore.














On the other hand, Amanda didn't like much about the beach, at all. I tried putting her feet down in the water, and she immediately let out an ear curdling scream! Guess it was a bit too cold for her (Can't say I blame her!). Then I tried just putting her feet in the sand.. Nope! Didn't like that, either. Oh well.. we tried. Maybe in time she'll grow to love the beach like her big sisters!

















Hey, think Amanda's hungry here? LOL

Field Day!

Yesterday was field day at the girls school. They had a great day for it! Warm and sunny! I took Amanda Joy up there for a while, so that I could get some pictures of the girls and their friends. This was Hannah's last field day! :( I don't think they do stuff like this in Middle School. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the day!

So Proud!!!

I'm actually writing this late Monday night, for Tuesday is bound to be a busy day, considering it's Field Day at the girls' school. I didn't volunteer, due to having Amanda in tow, but thought I'd try to stop up there at some point, to snap a few pics of the girls and their friends. Anyway, wasn't sure I'd have much free time tomorrow, so thought I'd get a start on my post tonight.

Today marked the last week of school for the year, and Hannah's last week of Elementary school! I can't believe that she graduates on Friday!!! Tonight, we attended an awards ceremony, in which Hannah received an Academic Award from the Kiwanis Club! Only 4 kids from her school received the award. They scored their applications, and she and a boy from her class tied for first place, with a PERFECT score of 105 points. It was then taken to a tie breaker, in which Hannah won by one vote. For winning first place, she not only received her certificate and medal, but also a $50 Savings Bond! Very cool!!! :) The icing on the cake was that her former principal was there to present the award. It was almost as if everything came full circle. Very moving!!! We are so proud of everything Hannah has accomplished. I tell you, I'm going to be a mess come Friday! I'd better bring along the tissues! LOL I was able to enjoy the ceremony, for Heidi watched Amanda for me. I hate to keep dropping her off at people's houses for these things (she's going to my friend, Kim's on Friday, during Hannah's promotion), but it's so nice to be able to enjoy them w/out worrying if she's going to let loose and scream! LOL

Here are a few other recent pics: