Clear Lake

The girls and I spent a couple days at my inlaws condo at Clear Lake, IA. We had a great time swimming and playing! My sister and 3 year old niece came with us, which made the trip even more fun.

A Trip to the Park

The girls and I spent the afternoon at the park today. We had so much fun at the pond, swingset, pond, and botanical center. I had the camera still in my car from vacation, so I got the opportunity to take a few pictures.

Summer Begins!

Summer is here! We had a very busy last month.

Both girls had their ballet recital at the end of May. Myra danced to "Zippity Do Dah" and Maisie to "Mr. Sun". I was really proud of them for getting on stage and doing such a great job!

Myra graduated from preschool and Maisie had preschool round up for next year's 3 year old class. Myra will enter kindergarten in the fall.

We just got home from a vacation with my sister and niece to the WI Dells. We stayed at the Wilderness Resort and everyone had a blast. I am very blessed to have a sister I have such a close relationship with.

This summer will be full with swim lessons, Family Museum Classes, Tot Lot, Zoo trips, birthday parties and much more. I love this time of year!

Tee Ball

Myra started playing tee ball with the YMCA! She loves it! Last week, she was able to hit the ball without the tee. Here are a few pictures to share!

Tubes

A while late in posting this. Maisie had her adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears the Thursday before Easter. The results have been amazing. She has always had mutiple ear infections. We rarely know about the infections until her ear drum bursts or by chance, we are in the pediatrician's office. Little girls must have a very high pain tolerance (she doesn't resist sleep, pull on her ear, or act crabby). I have been concerned about her speech development (especially with preschool starting in the fall). I took her to get a speech/hearing/developmental screening at our area education agency. The screening/evaluation showed that she was just where she should be with development, however a hearing test showed hearing loss (mild to moderate) in both ears. We were referred to an ENT. Already I am noticing an improvement in her speech as well as the ability to hear soft noices (like whispers). Surgery is always scary..but I think this one was so valuable.

Easter 2011

What a wonderful Easter we had! My brother, sister, brother in law, and niece came to visit! The girls woke up early and were very excited to see their Easter Baskets!We had an early breakfast at church and then attended early church service. After church, I made a big lunch (think Thanksgiving with Ham instead of Turkey). Lunch was followed by an Easter Egg hunt at home and outside play. In the late afternoon we all went to the town's Easter Egg hunt. Good times were had by all!

Easter Count Down

Last week was so busy. This week we prepare for Easter. We have plans to visit the Easter Bunny and to attend Easter Egg Hunts. Today was Palm Sunday. The girls thought it was neat to "wave palm branches". This evening we colored eggs. Both girls had a great time!

Soccer Season 2011

Myra began the spring season of soccer today. What a difference a year makes! Last year she had trouble following the game. We laughed how she would come off the field for a hug or to sit on my lap. This year she really seemed "into" the game. It helps that there are two children on her team that are also in her preschool class.

Swimming Lessons

Myra started swimming lessons today at a local high school (Red Cross Certified). I was initially worried about her because it was a level 2 class (5 levels...level 1 was full). I wondered if she would be independent enough to do it. She did a great job! She listened to her teachers and kept up with everyone else. I was so proud of her!

Tubes

We are on the journey to getting tubes for Maisie's ears and her adenoids removed. It's been a long time coming, and I'm praying that this will help her speech and hearing.

Maisie has had frequent ear infections since she was was only a couple months old. Several of these infections caused her eardrum to burst. I asked our pediatrician about going to an ENT several times, but we never got the green light. I really like our pediatrician, but she tends to be pretty conservative.

At age 3, it's developmentally appropriate to understand 75% of a child's speech (by people outside the immediate family). Maisie's speech is improving, but still can be muffled sounding.

At the 3 year old wellness appointment, I was referred to get an Early Childhood screening/evaluation at our local Area Education Agency. In this evaluation we were told that Maisie is devlopmentally where she should be...however she failed 2 hearing tests. She got an ENT referral. Speech was not reccomended because it was thought that her hearing may be the cause of her speech concerns.

At the ENT we were told she has fluid in her ears and is diagnosed as mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears. We are now scheduled for the surgery in about a month.

I'm feeling nervous, but hopeful that this will be a positive experience!

Spring Break 2011

Today is the last day of Spring Break. We have had a fabulous time, and I admit I'm a little sad to be going back to school. I can feel my itch for summer getting stronger and stronger.

What did we do over break? Just a lot of play around our little area.

Saturday- St. Patty's Day Parade with friends. That night I went to a movie and out and about with a friend.

Sunday- Myra sang with the Cherub Choir at Church. We then played at the park all afternoon.

Monday- Play date at the Family Museum with friends, followed by a lunch date a Chick Fila. That afternoon Myra's little preschool friend came over for a play date.

Tuesday- Day trip to Dubuque to a Water Park. That night I went out on the town with some girlfriends.

Wednesday- Play date at the zoo.

Thursday- Story Hour at the library, followed by another lunch date at (where else?!) Chick Fila! : ) After that we did a Target run with friends. Thursday late afternoon we drove up to see family in Waterloo.

Friday- Play time with our cousin and a drive back home.

Saturday- We laid low and played in the back yard.

Sunday- Last day of break...family time together.

This morning we woke up to a dark and rainy morning..so I had to take a few photos of my girls in their rain boots!

Update March 2011

I really can't even begin to catch up with 6 months worth of non blogging!

It's Spring Break time, and we are enjoying time together. It's so nice to not have so many extra obligations! I took the girls to the St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. The rest of the week is filling up fast with day trips and play dates.

Here's an update on life...

Myra- 4 years and busy. She's enjoying her last few months of preschool, and BEYOND excited to start kindergarten in the Fall. She takes weekly ballet lessons and sings in the church cherub choir. Her favorite activity is reading though..she loves to be read to more then anything else.

Maisie- 3 years old officially and still my "baby". She will do preschool in the fall. She also takes weekly ballet. She just did the BIG switch to a "big girl" bed. The girls are sharing a room and loving it. Maisie had her hearing testing this month, and we found signs of mild hearing loss. On to an ENT to confirm and talk about the possibility of tubes. I really hope that we are able to get the help she needs!

Updated pictures: