Turn out the Light!

So this morning, on our drive in to school & work, Boopy had a complaint and an unobtainable request. Since it is nearing spring and the sun has been shining brightly in the mornings when we leave the house, there have been more moments of bright shining sunlight in the car, unfortunately often hitting the kids right in the eyes. Because the light is coming from the front window there's not much that can be done until I change direction. This morning, Boopy was a bit more bothered about the bright sunlight. Our morning conversation was quite amusing.

Boopy: "No light" (pointing outside)
Mama: "No light? Do you mean the sun?"
Boopy: "Yeah"
Mama: "You want me to turn off the sun?"
Boopy: "Yeah, no light" (squinting and pointing)
Mama: "That's a bit hard to do, Boopy. I'm sorry, I can't just turn off the sun. Besides, we need the sun on to be daytime and keep us warm."
Boopy: "No light! Light Off!" (getting a bit more irritated)
Mama: "Boopy, I'm sorry I can't turn off the sun. God controls the sun and I really don't think we want him to turn it off, okay?"
Boopy: "No light!" (STILL pointing)
Mama: sigh..."Hey, did you see the big bus?" (got to love driving distractions!)

Thankfully, the big bus distracted her enough and by the time I turned onto Chestnut heading North, the sun was out of her face and we were onto singing "The Wheels on the Bus".

Red Hair Again!

Today it was time for another haircut for Big Boy. And because he was so good again and it's a fun little treat, he got to get red gel put in his hair again. Red it seems is holding as his favorite color. He was given the choice of white, red, blue, yellow, and orange and it didn't take him long to decide on red. I think I got better pictures of it this time. I like how the hairdresser styled his hair better this time, although it really does make him look grown up. Oh and yes, Boopy had to have color in her hair too, but since she was napping and it's only in her bangs, I didn't get any pictures of her this time.

Just being cute!

My Little Carpenters

I didn't realize that by having children, I'd actually be giving myself little house helpers. That is, creatures that "really like to help"! For the most part I don't mind and I'm anxiously awaiting the time that they are expected to help and really share in cleaning up their share of stuff around the house. What I do love is their eagerness to learn and offer help and to want to try it all themselves.

So in an effort to organize the kids room and help in the situation of the ever expanding library they have, we picked up a new bookcase for them on Saturday. Papa Vaughn had to work in the evening so I was going to leave the bookcase for him to put together Sunday morning. But then I got bored with laundry and all the other chores taunting me, so I decided to remind myself how handy I used to be. I opened up the box to review the directions and once I got started I couldn't stop! The kids were so intrigued and couldn't wait to get their hands on the tools. Big Boy actually hammered some of the connectors in for me and then held the sides still for me while I screwed them together. Really a big helper! Boopy wanted to help a little more than i needed but as we all know she thinks she can do anything!

And not to be out done by big brother, Boopy had to give the screwdriver a try.

Always time for a quick game of peek-a-boo! (We finished the bookcase after bath time.)

Finished project!

And because I was able to pull out books we had stored since there was no room, I quickly found the new bookcase filled up. So, I left the old one in the room with all the "Boopy" size books and their coloring stuff.

Where, oh where, did she come from?

Seriously....I often have to wonder where this crazy creature came from. In many ways she is SOOO unlike me. Granted she could easily take after Papa Vaughn, but some of the things she does make us both really wonder where she came from.

Take last night for example when I was cooking dinner. Boopy has decided that "helping" in the kitchen is fun and she makes sure to "help" with cooking and washing dishes. Now of course, I know I really shouldn't discourage the help, but when she wants to eat everything as I'm cooking, I find myself wanting to shoo her out of the kitchen. So there I am, preparing dinner and chopping up some green onions. She's brought her little plastic stool that she got from Santa over and is eye level with the counter. She's itching all over to get her hands on dinner and sample everything I have laid out. While everything I had out for dinner is edible in it's own right, some things are just a bit odd to eat alone. Green onions are one of these things. But this is Boopy I'm talking about and so she reached up and swiped some of the green onions from my cutting board and shoved them in her mouth. After a big smile and "yum, yum" she asked for "more onion"! So, yes, she stood there and ate as much plain green onion that I would let her have. I swear if you put a bug in front of her and told her it was food, she'd probably eat it and then ask for more! Please Boopy, please don't end up on Fear Factor some day. That show really grosses me out.

Big Boy's 1st Dentist Appointment!

I am sooooo proud of Big Boy! He's is growing up so much and really becoming such a big boy. He had his first dentist appointment yesterday. We could not believe just how well he did. Having discussed with the dentist prior to the appointment about bringing him in, we had figured if he didn't sit well, wouldn't open his mouth, etc., it wouldn't be that unsual for a little guy and we'd try again in 6 months to a year.

Well, there was no need for worry, because Big Boy did so great! He had no reason to fear going to the dentist, like many of us adults, so for him everything was so cool, new and exciting. He got to sit in a fun chair that moved back and up and down, hold a small vaccum for suctioning in his mouth and wear special glasses! Plus, the dentist office is really nice and high tech, with cool wand like cameras that they are able to take pictures of indivual teeth inside your mouth and put them up on the screen in front of you. He REALLY liked seeing his teeth on the tv. The hygenist, who is wonderful, super easy going, was able to get almost all the x-rays needed. The one she wasn't able to get was only because it wasn't fitting in Big Boy's mouth. He let her try like 3 times! She even polished his teeth, flossed and talked to him about how to use his toothbrush. He did a super, super, super job! I really can't express just how proud of him I am!

Boopy slept through almost all of the appointment (thank goodness!) When she did wake up at the tail end she thought she should have a turn. Instead she got to share in picking out a treasure from the treasure chest. Hopefully though when it really is her turn to see the dentist she'll do just as well.

Since I forgot my camera to document this big event, I was stuck using my camera phone. Although Big Boy almost looks scared in the photo below, he really wasn't. He was just laying patiently holding his new toothbrush and ready for the next step.

As a big reward for such an outstanding visit, Papa Vaughn took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and then they were off to the park to enjoy the beautiful day off. I unfortunately headed back to work.

Valentine's Day Aftermath

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. With everyone sick in our house, ours was pretty quiet and not quite the celebratory kind of day it could have been. Papa Vaughn was supposed to work at Circuit City but came home sick and was put straight to bed with a fever. That left me with crazy hyper kids, a horrible cat box to clean and the guest room to straighten up (which I haven't touched since Christmas) for Aunt Kat who is coming for the weekend. Needless to say, it was not a warm fluzzy, lovey-dovey night.

The kids, however, did have a great time at school with class parties and lots of goodies. Here's a bit of the aftermath. Boopy's teacher's gave her the puppy and the box is Big Boy's. I've mixed the candies.

The kids were excited to have some Valentine's in the mail for them from Grandma & Grandpa in Washington and GG in Merced.

This was Boopy's Valentine holder from school. She was quite proud of it.

Seizure Follow-Up

Just to keep you all informed, the kids and I have been home for the past two days. Big Boy broke out in a fever again on Sunday night. This time, thankfully, no seizures. I did get him into both his regular doctor and his neurologist yesterday for appointments. At this point he is on antibiotics for the small cold virus he's got. Poor kid has a major runny nose and watery eyes, on occasion looking pretty miserable. Boopy has a touch of it too but no fever and a worse cough than Big Boy. She doesn't need antibiotics though. As for the seizures, they are not going to put Big Boy back on seizure meds, which we are happy about. We did get the "emergency" meds, Ativan, which acts as a relaxer to stop the siezure. We are to give this to him if the seizure lasts more than 3 minutes. So, right now we are just working on breaking the fever for good and getting back to feeling better. Poor little guy.

Zoo Recovery

So after all the excitement on Saturday we needed something easy and relaxing for Sunday afternoon. Since Big Boy showed no signs of a fever and was back to his normal silly self I figured I'd do what we promised we'd do on Saturday which was go to the zoo. Papa had to go to work so the kids and I went to the zoo for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Of course our current favorite, monkeys were first on our list, but we also saw the elephants, sea lions, flamingos, praire dogs and of course the snakes & turtles!

What a weekend.....

Wow, where to start....We had quite the event filled weekend. I suppose I'll start with Fun Friday. Just some fun snapshots of the kids being silly and me playing with the camera. Big Boy has entered the phase of silly faces. Thankfully he hasn't started doing this often as it wouldn't be that fun for all my pictures. Boopy, who of course has to do everything brother does, had to give her try at a silly face.

Boopy had to share her drink with her baby.

So that was our fun Friday night. Saturday's plan was for me to go take newborn baby pictures for a friend and then come home. The plan was then for Papa and me to take the kids to the zoo. Papa had to work at 4 so we figured there would be plenty of time. Well, my lack of brain function these days caused a cramp in the plans. I had gotten mixed up on days and thought 2nd cousin Jacob's 1st birthday party was on Sunday. Well, it turns out it was Saturday so I rushed home threw the kids in the car and we were off on the 45 minute trek to Merced!

Here's the birthday boy and Boopy looking cute.

GG & Boopy watching presents being opened and Big Boy & Boopy enjoying cotton candy.

After the party we went to GG's for a bit where I noticed Big Boy was rather warm. He obviously had a fever and was complaining he was cold. I wasn't too concerned, just figured I'd get him home, give him some Motrin and put him to bed. Well, not 5 minutes from GG's house and just onto the freeway Big Boy had a seizure. Ugh. It was dark, near 7 pm and just the kids and me. I pulled off the freeway, checked on Big Boy and got back in to drive. After calling GG, I called 911 and turned around on the freeway to head back into Merced. While talking to the 911 operator I pulled into a McDonald's and within moments the paramedics arrived with no sirens on. I had explained that my son had a history of seizures but this one was lasting longer than the others had. As I was on the phone with the operator, Big Boy started coming out of the seizure. Had the ambulance not been right around the corner, I probably would have told them not to come and that we were okay. Poor Boopy was really upset that the paramedics took her brother. She sat in the car at McDonald's calling for "Brother"! I told her that brother was in the big white truck and that he was okay. She then just waved and said "Hi Brother!".

Papa Vaughn's aunt then meet us at the hospital with GG. GG stayed with me and Aunt Dorane took my car and Boopy back to her house until we were cleared to leave the hospital. It was good to have them check him over at the hospital although we sat for far too long. Basically nothing was done at the hospital other than give Big Boy some Tylenol to get his fever down and then we watched him curl up and go to sleep. We were finally discharged some time after 10pm which put Boopy, Big Boy and me home after 11. A very loooooong evening. We put Big Boy in our room on his blow up bed to be able to watch him closer. By the morning his fever had broken and he was back to his usual silly self.

Boopy Sleep Update

The war rages on....and on.... So tonight, Papa was working so again I had a little girl who didn't want to listen to Mama. Forget the fact that the last two nights when Papa was home for bedtime, she went into her bed without much fussing and actually stayed there. Tonight, things started out okay. Bed time ended up a little late, so they were, or should have been, good and ready for sleep. Big Boy curled up and was asleep in no time. Boopy actually stayed in her bed for a bit. I thought all was good until I heard rustling around, a little voice and toys being played with. At this point I figured at least she's staying in her room. I let it go on for a few minutes and then called out for her to go to bed. It got quiet again. And then there was a little person standing in the doorway. She told me she had "yuckies" and needed her bottom changed. Ugh. So, after changing her, I put her back in her bed and told her goodnight, again. She fussed and within a few moments she was back in the hallway. After telling her to go to bed, again, she told me no and curled up on the floor outside my door like the other night. Still, I figured this is better than coming into my room. What worked out though is that after I ignored her for a while she inched more and more into their bedroom. She finally passed out like this....

So, it's still not as good as staying and sleeping in her bed, but we're getting closer in proximity!

As frustrating as she is, she's still awfully cute! (Especially when she's sleeping!)

Crazy Hair

One of the fun parts of bathtime is getting to have crazy hair! We often play with the kids hair and give them fun mohawks. Unfortunately since Boopy's hair is getting longer, it makes it hard for her mohawk to stay up, but you can get the idea from the pictures below. The kids have fun standing up to see in the mirror what their hair looks like. It's really cute. That is until the fun turns into a fight. Boopy thought Big Boy's hair looked so fun, she just had to get into the action and style it herself. Big Boy was patient at first and let her play but when she started bossing him around he'd had enough. When Big Boy stood up to look in the mirror, Boopy infactically told him to "sit down!, sit down!". She did this all while standing and putting her finger down to show him he needed to sit down. My, she has attitude. Wonder where she gets that from?!?

Monkeys!

Because these two have a love for monkeys and because their Washington grandma thought it would be fun to tease Mama Vaughn with sock monkey stuff, these two have fun matching pajamas. Oh and Big Boy got his as part of a reward for being a big boy and going potty all the time on the toliet without being reminded and no accidents! Yeah - it really is sooooo nice! So here are the kiddos showing off their cool matching monkey pjs. Oh yeah, I was gifted with a matching pair too, but don't expect a picture of me on here!

Seriously, I know they got to be sick of me and my camera by now!

Mama & Boopy - photo by Big Boy

Big Boy - Photo by Boopy