A Great Treasure Hunt!

Friday, my mom was here, and sometimes when she's here, we go "treasure hunting". That means to go and find great treasures at garage sales. Well, as you would expect, treasure hunting can sometimes be hit or miss. This time, it was definitely a big hit for everyone involved. We went to Longview because we figured that we would have more places to choose from. We found all of our loot at only three places. Here's a list of all of our great purchases and their respective prices (be warned, you will be amazed at the quality and prices of these deals!)

1. Mary: An old wooden school desk in very good condition - $12 (bartered down from $15)

2. Mary: Two fruit pictures for my breakfast area wall - $3 for the set

3. Dane: Playskool brand kid's roller blades - $2 (paid for with his own money)

4. Mary: Bible Adventures tin box with story cards, puzzles, coloring sheets, CD - 25 cents

5. Mary: Wildlife Treasury animal info cards with case - 25 cents

6. Mary: Macmillan Early Science Activities with case - 50 cents

7. Sydni: 2 pairs of never worn sandals for spring - 50 cents each

8. Mama: Little Tikes big plastic doll house for granddaughters - $1

9. Mama: Really big parking garage and car track for grandsons - $5

10. Mama: Several children's books - I think 50 cents.

11. Dane: Brand new in package West Coast Choppers toy motorcycle - $1 (with his money)

12. Mama: Brand new black leather wallet - $3

13. Mama: John Deere tractor toy for Jed - I think $2

14. Mama: Cute chip basket with dip bowl - $3

15. Mama: Sweet little soft baby doll (looked new or gently played with) for Sydni - $2

16. Mary: Candy Land game-Brand new still with plastic wrapping - $3

17. Mary: Cute Okie Dokie brand cupcake onesie for Sydni next summer - $2

I think that's everything. Needless to say, we were so excited! It was really funny because, for some reason, we went in my Camry, instead of Mama's Explorer, which has tons of storage room in the back. Anyway, three of our purchases were pretty large, and along with Sydni's stroller that stays in the trunk, we physically did not have enough room for all of our stuff and ourselves, too. So, that leads to another great part of our day! Somehow, I managed to fit the school desk in the passenger front seat, which seemed like a miracle to me. Well, at the place Mama got the parking garage and doll house, we discovered that it was going to be impossible to fit everything in the trunk, so she asked the lady to hold the dollhouse for her until she could pick it up in her Explorer on her way back home that afternoon. So, that was fine. All morning, Lane had been golfing with his friend, Bruce, for Bruce's birthday. Well, as we were following signs to another garage sale, I realized that it was going to be near the golf course Lane was at. So, I told Dane we would look for Lane golfing as we drove by. Just as we were about to pass the golf course, we passed Lane in his car. I called him, and asked if he'd like to turn around and go to one garage sale with us, and then we could all eat lunch together. So, he agreed, and Mama told him he could choose the restaurant, since his birthday is tomorrow (Sunday). So, to end a fantastic and fun morning, we got to eat lunch at Red Lobster! If Lane hadn't been there, we were planning to just eat at either McAlister's or Jason's Deli for a sandwich, so Red Lobster was definitely much better! On top of that, we got Lane to go and get the dollhouse and take it back to our house in his car. So, it all worked out! Thanks, Mama, for the great day of fun and for the great lunch!

I feel like I'm rambling, but that's kinda the way I roll, so here I go some more...

Once we got back to my house, of course, we went through all of our loot. And, yes, that means that Dane got to skate for the first time. I got a video (make sure to pause the music playlist over on the left) and some pictures of the event. As he was skating, I mentioned that I had some skates, too, so he asked me to skate with him. So, I did. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of that. I'm sure that we'll get one soon, since he asks me almost every time he puts his skates on. Needless to say, it was lots of fun and made us laugh a lot!

Dane was also very excited about his new desk. Lately, I've really been working with Dane to sit still at the table with me and color or paint or read for about an hour. He has so much energy, so this can be a challenge for him, which translates to a similar challenge for him at church in Bible class. So, I figure that, no only will our time together help to give him some experience dealing with times of order and structure, but it will also give us time alone together during Sydni's naps, which I think is very important for him right now as he adjusts to being the big brother.

So, I figure that we'll use the new desk for our time together. As we were setting it all up, he kept saying, over and over, "I'm so excited about my desk!" It was so sweet. I've had so much fun with him this weekend, and I am reminded constantly about how fast he is growing up and how much of a blessing he is to me. So much joy is stuffed into that 34 lb. boy!

And, Miss Sydni Lee - well, she's just our little lady, and it doesn't take anything to get her to smile really big these days! She's doing so well, and she's growing up quickly, too. Any time Dane is around, she just watches him so closely. She's either completely in awe of him or completely baffled by him, I'm not sure which! Here's some shots from earlier today...

That's all for now!

Autobots! Transform and Roll Out!

We found Dane's Halloween costume in his size today, so we went ahead and got it. Naturally, he is going to be the Transformer, Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. Dane has developed a healthy obsession with Transformers, as of late. The reason that I say it's a "healthy" obsession is because he does prefer the Autobots (the good guys) over the Decepticons (the bad guys). If it were the other way around, I would say otherwise. Anyway, he loves it so much that he has given all four of us Transformer names: Dane is Hot Shot, Lane is Megatron, I am Starscream, and Sydni is Bumble Bee. For the most part, the only times I get called Mom or Mommy these days are when he is tired, hurt or upset. Otherwise, I usually hear, in a very tough little boy voice, "Hey Starscream...", and I usually respond, "What's up, Hot Shot." I think it's so funny, and it makes me feel a little edgy, since Starscream is actually a bad guy! I have a feeling, though, that we all might keep on calling Sydni "Bumble Bee". It's just so cute, and she makes a great little Bumble Bee.

Well, after Small Groups tonight, he put the costume on and wore it around the house. After a while, he asked if he could watch his Transformers video in his playroom. It seemed like the right thing for him to watch, considering his current attire, so I said OK. After I finished feeding Sydni her bottle, I was heading back to change her diaper and get her ready for bed, and Lane asked me what Dane was doing. I checked in on him, and this is what I found...he had fallen asleep, mask and all!

OK, now's it's morning, and Dane, first thing, wanted me to help him put his costume back on. Then, I showed him the blog so he could see himself asleep in it. We decided we'd better take some awake pictures, too, so here he is all decked out again and fully awake!

Dane's New Job!

Well, it looks like Dane now has a new job to do about every 4 hours a day! This afternoon, as we were getting ready to feed Sydni her bottle, Lane had set the bottle down on the side table for a second. Well, Dane grabbed it and stuck it in Sydni's mouth and proceeded to feed his little sister. He even told Lane to go and get a burp cloth for him. We did have to help him a little, and ultimately took over and finished the feeding, but for a few minutes, Dane was content to just stand there and hold the bottle. Sydni didn't seem to mind too much, either. I thought that it was so sweet and helpful of him, and it really showed me just how much he pays attention to everything. He really loves Sydni so much, and I just pray that they will have a good and close relationship as they grow up. I know that Lane and I both have been blessed with such wonderful siblings, and I hope that they stay close and are able to have that same special bond with each other, too.

2 month Checkup Update

We went for Sydni's 2 month appointment this morning, and she did so well! She weighed 11 lbs. 12.5 oz. (50th percentile), and she measured 22.5 inches long (25th-50th percentile). She also got her first round of shots, and she did just great. Of course, she screamed and turned beet red, but she recovered quickly and composed herself like a good little lady!

Dane was a great little helper, and naturally talked the doctor's ear off throughout the exam, asking him questions about the Star Wars posters on the wall in the exam room. It was funny!

Sydni's 2 Months Old Today!

Well, we got up this morning and got ready for Sydni's 2 month photo shoot. She really had a lot of different expressions in the pictures, so I had a hard time picking just one out to post.

She's really growing and growing right now, and this week, she is basically sleeping through the night. Last night, I laid her down around 9:00 p.m., and she slept until around 5:00 a.m.! She either does that, or some nights, she wakes up around 2:00 for a quick snack and then sleeps until morning. She is staying awake much longer during the day, and for the most part, is happy and smiley! That is, until she realizes she's hungry, and then all of a sudden, her world falls apart and she lets out the shrillest, loudest scream there is. The outburst usually ends as quickly as it began, as soon as the bottle hits her mouth. She goes for her 2 month checkup tomorrow morning, so I'll get her growth stats then and will update the post later. She will also get some of her shots tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll get to hear her scream then, too! She's just so sweet, though, and we're so proud of her. The jury is still out as to what color her hair will be, since she is gradually losing it all! I'm anxious to see what it will turn out to be. Her eyes are definitely blue, no doubt about it.

Here's a flashback to her 1 month pictures, to show how much she is growing up! Have a great day!

Dane the Artist & A Trip to Houston

It's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to get these pictures posted before I forgot.

Dane has become quite the painter as of late, and these are some pictures of his latest painting session this past week.

This weekend, we made a fast trip down to Houston to visit Lane's grandpa. Please keep him in your prayers. He has been diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, and he began the first round of chemo treatments this past week, and will get them every three weeks for the next couple of months. Then the cancer will be reevaluated and will be followed by more chemo and radiation. Please pray that God will shrink the cancer and that he will have as little pain and discomfort as possible throughout the treatments. It was so nice to get to visit with him a little today.

While we were staying at Lane's parents' house, Lane and I took Dane to the neighborhood splash pad to play, and we brought Sydni along for the ride. Even though she didn't get wet at all, she still wore her tankini and posed for some great pictures while we were there. She is growing so quickly, and she's getting to be quite the chunk! Enjoy the pictures.

Working Hard with Smiles on their faces!