Our Little Gymnasts

Gymnastics is a way of life, here in the LaVella household:) If it's not one, it's both girls flipping over furniture, rolling around on the ground, or trying to climb the walls.
Kaylie has been doing so good at learning her skills and perfecting them. Her instructor Ms. Jodi moved Kaylie up to the 8 Year Old's Beginner's Class- YAY! Within only a few months, she went from the beginner's 4-6 year olds, to beginner's 5-7, and now this. We're hoping to help her along more this summer so she can start the Intermediate class in the fall. William can't wait since it's on a Tuesday, his weekday off!
Makenize had the chance to participate again this month in her Parent and Me class. William was so excited to enjoy time with Makenzie. I had to sit out so no one would catch my cold:( She had a blast! With one more visit this month, maybe she'll get to go a few times during the summer.
Enjoy this short video of both girls having fun:)

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Zoo Visit

The girls and I enjoyed a trip to the zoo yesterday. I've promised them for a while now to go, so since they were both very good at school and home, it seemed the perfect time to head over there! There's a new dinosaur exhibit at the Brevard County Zoo. We decided to save that visit for when Daddy could join us. What a fun day together:)

My Dino Girls:)

Kaylie loved the little palm tree
Climbing towards the sand dinosaur

Sisterly love... awwww:)
Kaylie & Makenzie April 2008

What's new?

Well, there hasn't been too much going on lately around here. Each day comes and goes, getting closer to the HOT summer days. But wait, it's already hot! The temperatures have been in the low-mid 80's for what seems like the whole month now. Thank goodness for air conditioning=)

William has been one hard working man... 50+ hours a week, including delivering here and there for extra cash-on-hand. He surprisingly got a raise after being with the company for only a few months. Every bit helps, and is greatly appreciated! Tomorrow, he's traveling up to Jacksonville for a training seminar. All General Managers are to learn about the upcoming new items. (Keep your eyes open for new, yummy Pizza Hut delights!) William's boss asked him to attend, even though he's not the GM yet, so he can experience the GM meeting and bring back some very anticipated information.

Kaylie was pre-registered yesterday for KINDERGARTEN- YAY=) My baby is growing up so very fast... She was very excited to hear about the summer reading we'll help her learn about and what types of changes to look forward to next year. I found a GREAT website that helps children learn to read: http://www.starfall.com/. Kaylie can't get enough! She gets to play on the computer an hour a day. She's picked up learning how to sound out words so well, that she's already reading some from the Kindergarten list=)

Makenzie has been such a little trooper with potty training. Not once did she ever ask for her pull-ups back. I'd say she's about 95% completely trained. Every once in a while she'll have an accident trying to get to the bathroom in time. Overnights and nap times have been great! We make sure to wake her up once during the night, usually when William gets home. It's cute to hear her playing with friends and say, "I'm a big girl now! I wear pretty panties!" Such an accomplishment=)

My stay-at-home days have been very rewarding. Not only do I get the chance to be around my girls helping them learn and grow, but I get to share their experiences... making for a closer bond. I love when they play together, but it's also nice to get one-on-one attention time with each girlie. With the summer fast approaching, I'm trying to plan how I'll keep them entertained each day: making projects, going on walks to learn about nature, teaching word recognition, interacting with friends on play dates, etc.... so much to do with such little sponges for minds=) It's been great being a part of a Mommy's group. We do a lot together and support each other with personal decisions and how to help our kids grow happily and safely. It's like having a bunch of sisters!

Last Friday

The "Hip Mamas of Southern Brevard County" group met up for the weekly mall play date. Afterwards, I was able to watch my friend Heather's little boy Alex for a few hours, while Kaylie went along with her friend Morgan to an appointment. We made a quick decision to let the girls have their first sleepover=) All three girls had so much fun together... lots of giggling, dancing, and girl time...

Makenzie playing around

Happy Kaylie

Making sea shell decorations

Yummy spaghetti and bananas

Fun with totes... click to see the girls playing=)

Let's read together
Playing Dora Bingo

Two sleepy little girls

Makenzie passed out on the couch

Enjoying Saturday morning cartoons

Unfortunately, Morgan ended up getting sick over night, Kaylie had a red rash all over her legs, and Makenzie started the sniffles. It turns out that not only did they get sick, but all of the kids and Moms that attended the mall play date Friday ended up with some sort of illness. Since then, me included, many have been fighting the flu, red spots here and there, and even fevers. Someone mentioned they happened to get Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease there a while back... thankfully none of us got that, but with what we did contract, it's sad to see our mall play dates have come to a complete halt over unsanitary conditions=( No more sick kiddos and Mommies!

Dress-up Time

Kaylie and Makenzie LOVE playing dress-up! It's especially fun when they get to use Mommy's make-up=)

Princess Kaylie (Fancy poses and bright lipstick)

School-girl Makenzie (Lots of kisses and shoes)

I miss you...

Today is a hard day... Aprl 10th would have been my parents' 32nd Wedding Anniversary. With my Dad in Heaven, watching from up above, I wish my Mom strength today... he's always with you! Lots of hugs from all of us down here=)

Sadly, today is also the three year anniversary of my Grandma Haynes passing away- only months after my Dad. I miss you Grandma... I know you, my Dad and Grandpa are with each other. Some day we'll all be back together=)

Warm Weather

Here we go again, warm weather. It's not even summer yet! This whole week has been in the lower 80's... I sure am not looking forward to our July and August... lots of 100's for sure=)

Our pediatrician talked to me about Kaylie's medication not hindering her ability to be in the sun. We just have to keep her sun exposure at a safe amount- not an all day event. So, we headed off to the beach to enjoy free time together. William played in the water and helped the girls collect sea shells to decorate our apartment. It was nice to just lay out on a towel and not worry about anything or anyone for a half hour=) We all are excited about the tan lines, though. Ahhh... to be tan and full of energy=)

Daddy's the protector

Kaylie looking for sea shells
Brave little Makenzie=)

Kaylie testing how far she was allowed to move from Daddy

What a walk=)

Early this morning, the girls and I loaded up and headed south for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk held in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Surprisingly it only took just over 2 hours. We had tons of rain all the way there, right up until the walk began.

The event started off with singing the National Anthem and the song "Seasons of Love" from the musical RENT (I put it in my music player on the side of this web page). Talk about opening up the flood gates... lots of tears from lots of people. We met a wonderful woman who has been given a month to live- she had such high spirits. The girls kept her smiling while we waited.

Throughout the walk, the girls got to walk, push the stroller, and even enjoy the ride. Have you ever tried to piggy-back a child while pushing another in a stroller? What a workout!!! People kept commenting on how proud they were of the girls for being there. They were the only kids under the age of 10 who walked=)

We finished in 20 minutes & 30 seconds. Pretty good considering all of the kiddo paced moments. There was about 1/3 of the walkers behind us when we ended. I huge feeling of comfort and sadness came rushing over me when we walked over the finish line... I think my Dad was there with a hug=)

A big thank you goes out to my Father-In-Law Mel, family friends Sharon & Ed, family friend Melinda, Aunt Mary & Uncle Steve, Great Aunt Margie, cousin Jennifer, cousin Rachel, and Kaylie & Makenzie for contributing to our successful amount raised- $200 in only a week!!! Great job=) A special thank you to my best friend Heather for the transportation to actually get to the event... what would I have done without you?!?! <3>

Two wet little girls getting ready to walk with Mommy

View from under our pavilion overlooking the Quiet Waters Lake
There were about 100 people at the event

Off and walking... thank goodness it stopped raining just in time!

Kaylie enjoyed riding while Makenzie pushed the stroller

Kaylie was a GREAT helper all day!

Just a few yards before the end...

Yummy cookies- great job girls!!!

WE DID IT=) Papa's picture was on our hearts the whole walk...

Big girl congrats hugs=)

Dad, this walk was for you! The girls and I had lots of fun raising money to help others get the chance to find a cure.

Wish we could hug you just one more time...

Heavenly Dessert

When we first lived together, my mother-in-law Carol bought us a super fondue set. It broke, so we never got to experience what fun comes with enjoying it. William and I were fortunate enough to come across a nice little fondue set a few weeks ago...

Here's a great recipe that is sooooo good. It makes a lot, so be prepared to enjoy with friends/family or with lots of yummy goodies!

Velvety Chocolate

Almond Fondue

INGREDIENTS

14 ounces milk chocolate broken into pieces

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped

7 ounces marshmallow creme

3/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup finely chopped toasted almonds

3 tbsp amaretto (optional)

Combine milk chocolate, white chocolate, marshmallow creme, whipping cream and almonds in a 4-quart cooker. Cover and cook until the chocolate melts. Stir until smooth. Stir in amaretto, if desired. Pour into fondue pot and serve.

DIPPING SUGGESTIONS

Assorted fresh fruit

Pound Cake cubed

Fresh pineapple and pound cake- PERFECT!!!

Feeling Better=)

Whew... Kaylie's doing much better! Today's pediatrician visit assured us that for now things are okay. The UTI should be gone within the next ten days of her finishing the medication. She's back to running around and acting like our normal little girl. Every once in a while she'll say her belly feels funny, but she keeps enjoying herself!

On a sour note, the ER did just what I thought... they forgot to order a culture from Kaylie's urine sample>=( While at the ER, I noticed how lack they were in the urgency to actually get things accomplished in a timely manner. It took the nurse and doctor both 40 minutes to get her sample even down to the labs for testing. Today, our pediatrician was able to get Kaylie's information and showed me how the red and white blood cell counts were somewhat elevated in the urine... and seeing as a culture was never taken, they have to wait until the ten days is up to test her again. Making sure the UTI is gone means they can check to see if there was something else irritating her.

Thank goodness Kaylie has an excellent doctor=)

ER Scare

What a night! My little Kaylie had us very scared yesterday. She had a low grade fever all day with symptoms of a cold. Around 4 o'clock, she had a small bowl of cereal and began complaining of belly aches. I gave both girls a bath around 5 o'clock hoping to make them feel better (Makenzie's fighting a cold). Shortly thereafter, Kaylie kept holding her belly and saying she wanted to go to sleep! RED FLAG!
Her temperature stayed around 102 for about 3 hours. I called William when she started cramping really bad, not being able to stand up, walk or even stretch her arms up=( With nothing to drink or eat and constant whimpering, William made his way home around 10pm, and I headed up to the ER per the on-call nurse conversation.
Right away, the ER doctor talked about appendicitis. What confused him was the fact that every time he'd touch Kaylie's belly, she'd cringe and look at me, but not tell him it hurt... Once he would walk out of the room, she'd slowly move around on the bed, complaining about not wanting to lay down. You know Kaylie- very mobile. Not last night, she gingerly scooted around and tried so hard to hide her pain=( I think she was scared seeing as a crazy man in the area next to us was screaming and yelling the whole time. They gave her a popsicle to eat and tested her urine... a severe UTI. She fell asleep around 1:10am, just shy of being there for three hours.
Our instructions are to keep monitoring her all day today and tomorrow. If she spikes a fever or cramps up again into a little ball, we have to go back right away. I guess this can be a precursor to appendicitis. There's a time frame of 36 hours from when initial signs show up. So, we're hoping that it's only a UTI, nothing more. The medication she's on confines her indoors, as it causes sensitivity to the skin from sunlight. Go Florida... that's a little hard!?!? We go tomorrow for a follow up with her pediatrician, so I'll update more afterwards.

Cuddling with "Kitty" helped finally get her to lay down...