Bryce's Collage

We had a professional photographer take our family pictures about 6 weeks ago.  We started doing this when Payton turned one.  We did our first family photo shoot just after her first birthday.  Then we had our second photo shoot when Braydon turned one.  Of course we didn't want to leave Bryce out.  It was hard to get the pictures taken.  First, we had to coordinate with school schedules, work schedules, and photographer schedules.  Then, once the day arrived, Bryce had pink eye.  He didn't kind of have pink eye, he really had it.  I tried 3 different treatments to get rid of this thing.  Finally the doctor put him on oral antibiotics and that did the trick.  It was nasty.  I'm so glad we are done with that.   Of course, we rescheduled.  Just before Bryce turned 13 months, we got his "12 month" picture taken.  It was also really hard to decide what to wear.  Our photographer, Lisa Turner, runs her business differently than most.  She burns all the pictures she took of us onto a CD.  We purchase the CD from her and then we can do whatever we want with the pictures.  Once I have the CD, I'll post more pictures on my blog.  For now, this is the collage she created for us to hang in Bryce's room.  He's so cute!!!

Pool Day

I finally did it.  I took all three kids to the neighborhood pool, by myself today.  I was nervous about going by myself because not one of my three children can swim.  Payton and Braydon are in swim lessons, but they cannot swim yet.  I do think swimming is starting to click with Payton.  I predict, she'll be swimming by the end of the summer.  

Bryce was so sweet.  I set him up in the stroller next to the pool.  He happily watched me trying to teach Payton and Braydon how to swim for about 20 minutes.  Then after we all ate lunch, we went to the baby pool so Bryce could play.  He had a blast!  He just crawled all over the place.  The best part of the pool for babies is that there is a zero degree entry.  Bryce crawled over to the fountains and played with Braydon's football.  He thought it was great.  He played for an hour solid in the pool without making a sound of complaint.  His little knees were red for the rest of the day after all that crawling around.  

On the way to the pool I told the kids my new mantra:

"No fighting, no crying.  No fussing, no whining."  They agreed to my conditions.  The best part is they actually followed through and behaved.  With them, if I set the expectations up ahead of time, things usually go much more smoothly.  The trick is to remember to set up the proper expectations in advance.  

I feel like summer has finally started.  It has been cool and rainy most of June.  I'm ready for the sun, the pool, backyard  barbecues, and leisurely days.

The Birthdays of 2009

I wish I were doing a better job of keeping up this blog.  Four birthdays have passed in my family in the past 6 weeks and I haven't posted a thing about them.  Baby Bryce turned one on April 24.  He's still my little baby though.  That is one of the good things about Down syndrome.  He's such a snuggle bug baby.  I still get to hold and cuddle and love him like he's much younger than he actually is.  I like that part.  

Braydon turned 3 on April 27.  He was sick for his birthday.  He didn't have as much fun at his birthday party as he would have.  The fire department came and everything.  He didn't seem too impressed.  I thought it was a fun birthday party.

I turned 34 on May 10.  Pretty uneventful.  I think we went to Red Robin for dinner.

Payton turned 5 on June 2.  Her birthday party is this weekend.  We did celebrate with my parents last weekend.  David was out of town on her actual birthday.  We couldn't leave Red Robin out of the equation for Payton's big day.  So, I took all three kids by myself to visit the big red bird.  It went well.  The strange thing is, I think I'm actually starting to like that restaurant.  The salads aren't bad.  I recommend the strawberry margaritas too.  Although they aren't cheap.  We must be one of Red Robin's best customers.