We've been staying busy....

Busy, busy, busy...

The grass needs mowing...

 The patio needs sweeping....

Strabismus Business...

Brianne's left eye had been crossing in for a while....so after trying an eye patch without showing signs of improvement....we opted for the recommended surgery.  Brianne was a champ and we are hopeful that the surgery corrected it....but time will tell.

Entertainment while waiting...leave it to my Little Kinderfrog to paint a purple frog...

 Cardiology Check-Up

We had to trek back to Cook Children's for Brianne's yearly cardiology appointment.  Since her open heart surgery three years ago - little lady has been doing splendidly!  It is such a relief that we came away from her yearly check-up with a great report and an 18 month reprieve until we return for our next check-up!   Truly grateful for the amazing staff and surgeon that fixed my baby girl's heart and allowed her to become the spunky and energetic little girl she is today.

B became quite proficient at this!  She called out every color to me as she painted her picture! :)

Bye-Bye Pacifier!

We retired Bryce's pacifier...(it had gotten to be only for naps and sleeping - but we decided it was time to get rid of it completely).  One rough nap time and one rough night and we were in the clear......much easier transition than I'd expected!   

 

Perhaps a coincidence...but take away the pacifier and the little guy went from speaking just a handful of words....to talking in full sentences!   It's so much fun to have conversations with a 2 year old...you never know what he's going to come up with. 

Purposeful Drawing!

Brianne loves drawing with chalk....it's typically lines and arcs around her...and she'll sometimes call out a shape that I should draw....and what color.  The other day I drew an oval - and she took a piece of chalk and started saying "eye" - and drew a line in the circle....and then "nose" and drew something that might have been a nose...and she said "ear" and went to work on making more lines!  I asked her to draw hair - and she added more lines.  This was a huge milestone....my little girl drawing something and telling me what it is - great work B!  And the next day when a picture came home from school of a scribbled face I smiled - she's definitely working hard at school and it's such a treat to see those skills carry over to home!

Most beautiful chalk face I've ever laid eyes on!!  

School is also spending a lot of time working on coloring in the lines - and it's amazing to see the progress she's making.

She came home with this drawing one day and I was impressed....but I was curious how much help she had with this piece of work....

So I made something similar at home and left the crayons out for her......and little girl knew what to do...perhaps I allowed her a bit more freedom to color outside the lines....but I was impressed!

Bryce stayed busy putting yarn on tape.........I call it a sucess when I find a simple activity that will keep them entertained for longer than 2 minutes.

Mommy Mistake...

The other morning I was rushing out the door to get Bryce to school - so I slipped my shoes on and off we went........I managed to drop him off at daycare and drive to work and not notice my mis-matched shoes until I was walking into work.  Ooops.......thankfully I didn't have any meetings that day so I hid my feet under my desk for the majority of the day............matching shoes are over-rated....right?  The bad part...........I did this AGAIN the following week...............I apparently need to take a little more time as I'm heading out the door.........or take a very wise friend's advice who suggested I just put a spare set of shoes in my car!

Uber Trendy 'Pair' of Shoes

Making Pizza

My little helpers went to work making pizza.....and while it might make it more complicated and messy - it's totally worth it to have them participate because it brings in the fun factor.

 Bryce was not putting enough cheese on the pizza for Brianne - so she showed him how to step it up a notch.  She wasn't messing around - and didn't mind getting cheese in her hair as she dumped on copious amounts to make it deliciously cheesy.

 Bryce assumed the role of official taste tester - a very important job that he took seriously.

Yum!  Little Chef's in the making!

Let's Go Frogs! 

We've enjoyed the TCU football games! 

 

Bryce wasn't too sure about Super Frog.  He prefers to watch him from a distance....but he'll ask where the Frog is and likes to keep an eye on him.  I like to think before the season's end that Bryce will be smiling right beside the Frog.....maybe. :)

More Zoo Fun

With the amazing weather it's hard to stay away from the zoo.......
 

Other Happenings...

Playing together - they are getting to really interact with each other and it's so fun to watch!

 Rolling and pinching play dough to strengthen those fingers and hands.

A recorder might seem like an amazing deal from the Target One Spot....but when you get it home and the kids are squeaking away on it....you might rethink this 'great' investment.............

Bryce found the microphone that goes with the Wii Rock Band...and he likes to 'plug it in' to the wheel of his golf caddy and then jams out.

This is how Bryce plugs in his microphone....

And then jams out :)

 

 

 

 Big box = Big Fun!

Smile - It's Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

It's October - which means it's Down Syndrome Awareness Month!!!   Looking forward to celebrating at the North Texas Buddy Walk!  Super thankful for all the support for Brianne's Fans!  You can still plan to join us at the walk or donate!  Brianne is working hard this year on making a lovely piece of artwork for every person that registers as a walker or donates to her team!  
https://secure.ezeventsolutions.com/fr/NTBW/2013BuddyWalk/BriannesFans