Baby Braids and Baby Faces

This is actually the second time I have french braided Baby's hair but, the first time I have taken a picture of it. I think her hair is about two inches long. I just can't help it. I love to see what hair styles I can do with such little hair. Tee hee!

And while we were performing she discovered Grandma Judy's joke glasses and was trying to put them on. I wish I would have gotten a better picture of her, but these will have to do.

Yes, I know her bow is falling off. It is a lot of work getting those glasses on and off. (smile)

Dust Funnies

So, I went singing with my mom, Aunt Aleesa, and my sister Jessie today.

We always have fun together.

And we always act a little goofy.

Jessie had to leave early from our performance so we (my mom, my aunt and I) decided to head up to see Jessie at her house so she could continue having fun with us.

I was excited because my sweet Visiting Teacher had brought me some lemon bars. They were so good I had already eaten a third of the plate by myself so I thought I would share so that I wouldn't eat the rest of it by myself. (Ladies, we know how that goes, right? Share the wealth...)

Anyway, I brought lemon bars to my sister's house for all 4 of us to share.

I grabbed my over-loaded diaper bag, grab Baby out of her car seat and then with my free hand I grab the plate of lemon bars. Now, if you know lemon bars, you know you can't have them without a good amount of powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

When I get out of the suburban the wind is blowing pretty hard and I am trying to keep the wind off Baby's face and the hair off my lipgloss.

I was a little embarrassed that I had eaten so many of the lemon bars myself so I decided that right when I entered to where they were all gathered I would show them how much was gone and tell them they have to help me eat them...

I thought they would laugh, but all three of them looked at me really funny and then finally Aleesa said, "My word, you have powdered sugar all of your lips and face!"

I was confused and then remembered the wind.

It looked as if I had snarfed them right out of the plate while I was driving.

We all started laughing.

I laughed so hard.

We couldn't' stop laughing. So we made a little video.

I had to do the recording so my mom played my part.

She did quite well.

Here's how I remember it... (smile)

Valentine Dance

I look forward to our local Valentine Dinner Dance and this one was no disappointment!!!

I had my sister take apicture of us before we left. She is the one who watched all three of my kids till 9:30 so we could go out on a spiffy date. Thanks Jess!

Wahoo!

I love to party!!!

And here are some out-of-focus pictures for you to decipher and enjoy.

Swingin'

Twistin'

The Watussi?

I was having so much fun being with my hubby sans children.

My Father-in-law, Gary, was dancin' all night! He and Lynne havedanced together for years... so romantic... oh, but that's not Lynne dancing with him... that's my friend.. Hee hee! Lynne was taking the pictures. (smile)

I don't know... but  I'm sure we were having fun

I'm in love with that man.

A Bouncy Family Home Evening

As I have said before, we have to keep our family home evenings short and sweet.

We sang our opening song.

Marc said the opening prayer.

J.R. was there because I had been helping him with some things so he just stayed for family home evening.

This time we listened to this.

Sister was excessively bouncy this evening and had her new purple beach ball to add to her chaotic jumping and throwing.

You have understand that regardless of her attention span we still try.

We figure example or routine will win out eventually.

We'd only been watching the 3 minute video for thirty seconds when Sister's purple ball flew through the air and bounced off Marc's head.

J.R. and I let out a quick burst of loud laughter...

then we noticed that Marc wasn't laughing.

We both stifled.

It was hilarious but, I guess Marc was still trying to be a reverent example...

Bwa ha ha ha!

I have to illustrate a picture of the incident so you can enjoy the humor of this situation.

And then Sister ended off our night by helping her stuffed bear say the closing prayer.

Classic.

34!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the first of two parties for my birthday, and the only one I got pictures of.
Thanks, Mom, for all the good food and the good fun.

Baby enjoyed the french fries my mom made for my birthday lunch.

The Noisy Shopping Cart

I look at all the shopping carts before I choose one to make sure it looks fairly clean and un-mangled. But, without fail, I always find the "one."

The one with the wobbly wheel.

The one with the creaky wheel.

The one with some kind of stringy stuff wrapped around one wheel so it won't turn. (Those are the fun ones where you start going side-ways while pushing...)

The one that only has a half a wheel on front right... you don't get those? Trust me, they are out there.

I used to start out with my sad little cart and then quickly realize how embarrassing it would be if someone saw that my cart was not as cool as their cart. So I would rush back, test a few others, and get the one that was a smooth and quiet ride.

I don't do that anymore...

it's not worth the effort

or the time.

Who cares if everyone is turning their heads to see what is rattling or squeaking up behind them.

I've decided I have to have the confidence to not worry about what everyone thinks of my grocery cart.

(I want you to know I am laughing as I type this. Come on, we've all had that cart, the one that makes people stare or snicker.)

...

Hey, wait, this is like a parable for my life.

I have to get through my life regardless of whether my kids are like everyone else's kids.

People may stare.

People may snicker.

People may wonder what is bouncing, screaming or grunting behind them.

But, they're my kids and I can't worry about what everyone else thinks. I have to raise them and care for them regardless of what other people may think of their "endearing" little habits.

....

Wait...

Did I just compare my kids to grocery carts?

Philosophy, shmilosophy... some of you will understand it.

Mostly I just hope you all get  laugh out of relating to the noisy grocery cart.

And maybe next time you get the noisy grocery cart you will think of me...

Little things

So just some little things that I haven't added to my blog yet.

I have to tell you how wonderful my mother-in-law, Lynne, is. She comes over and watches my kids at the last minute when I forget about an appointment or realize that we really need some milk in the house. And she doesn't just watch the kids, she cleans the house (my kitchen is usually quite a disaster) and does laundry. She loves the kids and really enjoys teaching them things. So sweet.

I also have to tell you that my mom has also been doing her fair share of saving me. She is even letting my kids sleep over tonight while I go on a hot date with Marc tonight!

What would I do without my moms living so close.

Lynne within 2 minutes and my mom within 15 minutes!

Not to mention I have my sister only 5 minutes away, and I know that my other siblings would drop anything if I needed them.

My dad will even stop by after work (because he works at the town post office) just to see if everything is going well.

My father-in-law, Gary, even runs clean clothes to the school when Brother falls in the mud.

I have friends who live close by that help me at the drop of a phone call. I mean, they really are there to help me when I ask.

It's all so amazing.

So why do I get so overwhelmed when I have all this help?

I think because I still need to accept the help that is offered or at least ask for help when I need it.

Thanks to everyone for being so willing.

Maybe that's all I need to know sometimes is that I have willing helpers.

I think that some people have learned that they just come help without me asking... that is nice too. I'm bad and being needy. (smile)

Oh, and a side note:
Baby weighs 21.5 pounds now! Yay!
She weighs almost half of what my 5-year-old weighs... man I wish I could get some meat on her bones. But I think she just runs and bounces it all off. She is so crazy. Boing. Boing. Boing. She's like a Tigger.

Also, Marc was able to go on Brother's field trip today. They went swimming and Marc is there to help out the boys in the class.

Marc is excited.

Brother is not.

Not because he doesn't love his daddy.

It's just not routine.

Ah, routine.

The sacred routine.

Don't mess with the routine.

The funniest Baby you'll ever know!

My mom babysat Baby yesterday while I went to a meeting and while I took Brother to the dentist.

I survived both.

The first more so that the latter. But, Brother actually did really well, and I only had to hold him down to the dentist's chair for 2 minutes...

Anyway, my mom gave Baby some bread. Baby loves to stuff her mouth (which is something a lot of Fragile X kids like to do. It's an oral sensory thing.) When she opened her mouth from the over-stuffing  she looked like she had Billy Bob teeth so she took some pictures.

The best one... tee hee!

Bwa ha ha ha har!

Also, I have some video of her walking but, I didn't want it to be like any other baby walking video on the web, so I did something I little... quicker...

She said "horse" yesterday while pointing outside at our horse. (Horse in her language... it was kind of a "oos" but I loved it.)

She also says "ya" after she says "hello" on her telephones.

(smile)

Oh, and I am done being overwhelmed now.

Today is a happy day. My happy day. (grin)

Just Thoughts

#1
I have a had a few people ask how I did last weekend when Amy and Frank were sealed for time and eternity along with their children, Bryan, Kelsey and J.R.

It was one of those bittersweet moments.

I was so happy for them. So incredibly happy for them.

And, for a moment, I got really sad for me.

But, I survived and the kids are very happy about it all.

#2
Have I mentioned that my youngest sister is going to have a baby in April?

Well, if I haven't, now I have.

I am so excited for her, but, I have to admit I think about her and her baby often.

You see, since my dad is the carrier of FXS, that means that I and my two sisters are carriers by default. My dad only has one X Chromosome to pass on and so, for him, it is the affected carrier X.

Now let me inform you now that it is a 50/50 chance for a female carrier to have a child with FXS. Apparently, for me, it seems to be it was 100%.

Anyway, I think of my sister often, knowing that this has got to be something that is constantly in the back of her mind.

I remember feeling that way the entire time that I was pregnant with Baby. It's scary and surreal and you just try not to think too hard about it.

I know how she feels.

We don't ever talk about it, really. Mostly because I know that pregnant women are over-emotional and I really don't want to make her cry by talking about such a tender-sweet subject. So every once in a while I will ask her husband, Jeremy, if they worry about it ever. He responds, "We think about it. But, we will love her either way."

Sweet.

#3
I am hitting that overwhelmed point.

(I hit them every so often and today it happens to be on a blogging day that I have no pictures to post so it is on my mind and I am going to share it.... minimally.)

I AM OVERWHELMED!!!!!!!

And that is all I will say about that because I should be getting ready for my big new client meeting I have today. (I may be possibly saying that because I have to take Brother to the Pediatric Dentist today... holding him down along with one of the techs is not exactly something I look forward to.)

Wish me luck. I love designing and this is for a bridal company! Fun!

Luv Machine

So for Valentine's Day I asked Marc out to lunch.

I drove up to his work and met him for lunch, with Baby. She was so happy to see him.

We went to Subway. Mmmmm. One of our favorite places to eat. A foot long for $5! Hello. We love cheap and good!

After I dropped him off and said goodby to him...

it was time to embarrass him with love...

It was a total surprise!

He was too embarrassed to drive home in it so he washed it off at work before he came home.

Good thing I got pictures to put on my public blog.

I refuse to go to all that work and not have as many people as possible see my love-ly artwork.

Handsome Love

I was so mad at Marc this weekend.

He had a scout meeting last night so he had to wear his scout uniform.

When he got home I was trying to tell him why I was so mad at him.

He was still in his scout uniform.

I couldn't even keep a mad face.

He is so sexy.

Even in a scout uniform.

Good thing he is so good looking.

Just picture Alec Baldwin (younger and skinnier) in a scout uniform...

Tee hee!

My lecture was very short lived.

I love him.

And good thing too.

Because today is the day of love.

Happy Valentines Day!

Mature

I don't know who decided that kids were mature enough by 5th grade to have the dreaded maturation program presented to them, but, it seemed like a good age when I attended it, and it seemed like a good age for Kelsey and J.R. when they attended it.

But...

When your now fifth grader isn't mentally a fifth grader, the thought of someone else teaching them about maturing into a young adult kind of seems a little out of place.

At our house we have always taught the proper terms for the body. So when Brother blurts out something to do with a "p_ _ _ _" (I left out those letters purposefully because I don't want creepy weirdos on my blog) people outside of our little household get really embarrassed. Everyone always laughs, because it's funny, but, I am sure it does make some people uncomfortable when they hear a young boy talking about his body with such frankness.

Anyway, since he has been known to blurt out the word every so often, I was a bit concerned about him sitting in this presentation on Friday afternoon with all the other mainstream fifth graders. It's hard enough not to giggle at these things without someone in the audience blurting out the word, "p_ _ _ _" after it is said by the presenter.

After talking with his teacher and knowing that she would take him out if he were a disruption I felt a bit better and conceded to let him go.

I got a call from his teacher and she informed me he did really well and only gasped with embarrassment once. She said he was very mature about the whole thing and seemed to be understanding it all.

When he got off the bus and walked in the house I asked if he had anything to tell me about school that day. He told me "it was good" and went on. So I poked a but more and asked if he had to go to a special presentation at the end of school. This was his response, and I wish I could do it in his exact wording and tone but seeing the words will just have to be good enough for you.

"I saw... I saw something... un... un... I saw something very unpleasant mother."

"What did you see?" I asked.

"A p_ _ _ _. It was very unpleasant indeed."

Tee hee! I laughed.

Wanted to get a picture of Brother so the post wasn't boring and these are the ones he chose... Shania Twain on the iPod for  the pics.

You'll never guess the ending to my sitcom

(read the previous post if you don't know how my sitcom began)

I woke up this morning with Conjunctivitis.

Sister now has it in both eyes.

Upside of today.

I may have found a replacement phone for my trusty cell phone for only $30.

(smile)

I wish my life were a musical...

But, instead, it is a sitcom.

I just have to write this down because I am still in unbelief that this many things could happen in such a short time.

Monday

Baby had a rough night and was tugging at her right ear.

Go to the Doctor.

Ear infection.

Antibiotic.

Sister comes to me that evening before bed and says her eye hurts.

I look at it.

Nothing.

Not red.

I brush her teeth and we begin the bedtime routines.

Tuesday

Sister informs me that her eye still hurts.

I don't pay much attention to it because she loves to make up illnesses or owies for band-aids.

I have a doctor appointment that was scheduled 5 weeks ago.

It's at 9am.

I leave my house at 8:45am with Baby in tow.

I live 40 minutes away from my destination.

Two minutes to my exit and there is a traffic jam and I am at a stand still.

I use my trusty cell phone and call the office to let them know I will be late, they say they can't fit me in and will reschedule me for later that afternoon.

Grr.

I hop over to my mom's on the way back home to hear her new song. (It is so cool! She's gonna be famous one day.)

I get home and put Baby down for a nap and then call my mother-in-law, Lynne, to come sit with Baby while she is napping and get the kids off the bus when they get home so that I can go to my appointment.

Again I drive 40 minutes to the same destination I was approaching this morning.

Did I mention I drive a suburban?

$120 to fill that tank, baby!

Doctor tells me stuff... yada yada...

I get home.

Lynne has cleaned my kitchen and done laundry.

Sweet.

Sigh.

Make dinner.

Go to my Relief Society Activity.

Come home to chaos.

Set my trusty cell phone on the table so that I can start helping with the chaotic children.

Come back to get my trusty cell phone after all the children are in bed.

It's wet.

Someone spilled water on it.

Goodbye trusty cell phone.

I will miss you.

Hope I get one to replace you soon.

Wednesday

Up at 2am because Sister is crying and her eye is glued shut with goop.

Clean her eye and settle her back to bed.

Panic a little because I know that can't be good.

Up again at 6am.

Call to make doctor appointment for Sister to get her eye checked.

Get ready to go to my follow-up Doctor appointment.

My mom shows up at 8:15 am sharp so she can get Brother onto the bus and watch Sister and Baby.

I get there.

Get my stuff done.

Go out to the car and call my mom on my husband's cell phone that I was supposed to be delivering after my appointment.

I ask my mom if I can run the phone up to him before coming home.

She asks,  "Is it normal for Baby's leg to be pink?"

What?

Pink?

I don't understand.

It's bright pink.

????

I'm coming right home.

On the way there I think,"She must be having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic!"

Drive faster.

Make another appointment for Baby.

I take both girls to the doctor.

One with a bright red, goopy eye.

One with a pink leg.

Early Valentines?

????

Doctor comes in and checks the pink leg first.

????

He thinks it looks like a sunburn or something and can't quite figure it out.

????

He takes a pen and draws a line around the rash so that I can be sure to notice if it spreads.

He writes a new prescription because it looks as though she is having an allergic reaction to the other one.

Now he checks Sister.

He is worried it is scratched and wants to check it out.

He puts this glowy stuff in her eye and then checks it with a black light.

Cool.

No scratches.

Just Conjunctivits.

Eeew.

I take her to McDonald's because she was so good at the doctor.

Then I take them to a real carwash.

Thought they would think that the water going over the car while they were inside would be fun.

Kinda freaked 'em out.

Get both of the girls' prescriptions.

Get home.

Give medications.

Put one to bed.

Let the other one watch a movie.

Marc comes home.

I show him the pink leg.

He says it looks like what he saw on her last night.

????

He then tells me he thought it was the red punch she poured all over herself in the kitchen while I was gone to Relief Society.

...

...

I look at her leg again.

...

I just paid to have a doctor look at a punch stained leg?

Yep.

I am doing laundry.

Oh, there's the white socks turned pink from the red-punch-clean-up-towels.

It all makes sense now.

I have been laughing the whole day.

I couldn't have made this stuff up if I tried.

Seriously.

A Younger Brother

Every so often I talk to other parents of children with FXS and they ask me when Brother was talking, walking, etc. I honestly don't remember all the details, it was a blur of worry, doctors appointments and therapy most of the time... so I found a couple of movie clips that I thought I would share from when Brother was around 3 - 3 1/2.

You will also see in these clips part of the reason that Bryan and Kelsey hold such a special place in our hearts and always will.

I miss them still.

I am so proud of how far Brother has come despite his struggles.

These clips are actually from a movie I put together for Bryan's 19th birthday gift. I had to record the video on the TV with my digital camera so don't mind the lines and the glare from the window on the TV screen... ya, I know, I am so technologically advanced.

And, yes, my kids all look very much alike when they are young, uncanny actually.

Family Movie Night

So Monday is set to be our Family Home Evening where we learn about the gospel and have prayer and treat and what not, but tonight I just got a good movie and we all plopped in front of the TV to watch it.

It was one of the cutest movies for families and had so many good little lessons in it and the best part about it is it took me back to my childhood when I was addicted to reading "Beezus and Ramona" books!

We watched "Ramona and Beezus."

When I first brought the DVD home from RedBox Brother looked at the title and said, "Roman and Jesus?" I laughed and told him "close" and then showed him it was Beezus, but hey, at least he is reading 50/50—right—it rhymed... (smile)

3 Main Reasons Marc and I liked this movie:
1- It showed parents of 3 children dealing with financial hardship and neither one had an affair or asked for a divorce because of it.
2- Portrayed a father who was loving of his children and wife and was willing to do what he could for work
3- The parents weren't betrayed as stupid and, therefore, the children did not have to come to the rescue and solve all the problems for their parents

My kids really liked it too.

So, back to reminding me of being a kid...

I loved reading, much like my dad loves reading (OK, maybe not that much). But I remember sitting in my room on the green shag carpet on the square that the sunlight shone through and kept me warm reading. "Ramona Quimby Age 8" was one of my favorites. I also read many, many other books in that room: The Hobbit, The Mouse and The Motorcycle, Chronicles of Narnia, Agatha Christie mysteries, Sherlock Holmes mysteries, among many other wonderful, entertaining, and inspiring books.

I am so thankful that I have the love of reading. Right now I am still trying to finish a book I started quite a while back, but have not taken the time to just sit and read a book lately. I have been reading Fablehaven, The Black Cauldron and now Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader to Brother each night. Thank goodness he like to hear me read, at least that way I get some reading in each day.

I have also been reading this.

Well, go enjoy a good book today and tell me what you are reading!

Tissue Time

Baby has had a runny nose as of late and I have been using a lot of tissue. She cringes every time I reach for the tissue box.

I guess this is her payback.

Apparently this is how she feels when I wipe her nose... which may be possible since my hand IS as big as her face.

Yesterday she decided that paying my back wasn't good enough, she had to destroy them if possible.

The "I just got caught" face

The "ha ha" face

The "oh crap, my mom is destroying my plan" blur

Girl's night out the Mormon way

Ya, nothing like gathering with hundreds of women in a church building to eat mashed potatoes, roast beef and green beans.

Finish that and head into the chapel.

Listen the local temple President and Matron speak to all of us about the importance and miracles of the temple.

Amazing.

Inspiring.

Then go home, change into my comfies and head over to a friend's house for girl talk on the floor with popcorn and cookies.

Seriously funny!!! (Is that possible?)

During our girl talk I learned about things like, women who are pregnant will always be working harder than any man around them, "Hey, do you mind? I'm makin' a kidney over here! You want this kid to have eyeballs? Then you need to get over there and bring me back a caffeine free, diet Coke. Pronto!"

Ha! Maybe you had to be there but I laughed my head off!

I also learned things about myself... like, I talk about Fragile X too much... on second thought it does consume my life... so maybe that's OK.

But, one thing I know for sure and will forget too soon:
I NEED GIRL TIME. ME TIME.

Sigh of relief.

Now back to work.

Functional Behavioral Assessment

Good heavens! That's a mouth full isn't it. I think that's why it is usually shortened to FBA.

What is FBA? Read here for the full definition but, for me it means more stuff I have to stress out about...

I just get overwhelmed with each and every tiny little task and intervention I have to know and understand along with all the other typical parenting things.

Aaaargh!

Sorry, just complaining.

Let me stop complaining and start explaining:
Sister has been having a rough time at school and at home, as you all know from previous posts. I am at my wits end trying to figure out what to do. Her teacher is so helpful and wants to do what's best for her, but we are both learning on the way.

A lot of people say that I know what I am doing for Sister because I have been through it all with Brother.

Not true.

They are totally different.

Totally.

They have the same syndrome but, they are different personalities that are affected by the same syndrome in different ways.

And then there's Baby.

She's been different than either Brother or Sister.

I even fell into the assumption that since I had two with FXS that I would know everything this third time around.

Not true.

Now I fully understand why FXS can show such a spectrum of abilities.

I just called Sister's teacher this morning and asked her to have the school psychologist come in to do an FBA for her. She was so good about it and said that the school psychologist was actually there this morning and she would try to get him in to observe Sister today! What a great teacher. She is so on board with all my requests. This is her first year as a teacher too, so she is learning along with me but she is so good to just jump on the band wagon for the ride.

Teachers always make a world of difference.

For any child.

I constantly praise good teachers.

They are amazing people and need to be honored. (And their assistants if they have them.)

Well, I try hard to teach you about FXS—the terminologies, the intricacies, and the affects. All while trying not to get lost in it—being a family affected by FXS. I also want to show you we are just a family.

Just a family.

Normal.

Crazy.

Silly.

Fun.

Loving.

Intriguing.

Family.

7 Steps and a Copy Cat

Baby took "about" 7 steps today for the first time ever!!!!

She has taken a step here and there for various people in my family, mostly Jessie and Mom, but I was ever privy to witness these steps. So today when Tynelle enticed her into walking towards me several steps I was overflowing with joy!! Of course when I tried to get her to walk at home she didn't want anything to do with it.

I hope this is the beginning of walking...

I know what kind of mischief walking entails you can all save your comments about how "once she is walking you'll regret it." Trust me, I know it will add to the mayhem of our household but, I am excited to see her, literally, move forward in her development!

Her speech therapist came today and said she is moving along quite well.

Still behind.

Still hope.

Still overwhelmed in hoping I can do everything I need to for all 3 of our kids.

Oh, and I found out that Sister is, apparently, a copy cat. I found out the hard way that all of the crazy sensory habits she has had this last month and a half are all (at least 4) being mimicked from this one child in the other classroom.

I have been able to get her to stop hitting herself at home but they tell me she is still doing it at school sometimes.

But, at home, she is still
throwing rubber bands that she collects (we are throwing them away as we find them without her knowing)
jumping up and down constantly
grunting more than talking
holding onto the rubber band if she has one and falling apart if it gets lost

So I am beside myself hoping that this mimicking hasn't become habits that can't be broken.

I feel silly for not thinking of the possibility of her copying another child. I should have known that. That is one of the first things I remember learning about children with Fragile X, is what good mimics they are. I shouldn't blame myself though, I know, I am learning as I go. I know that these are characteristics that are sometimes seen in FXS kids, so you can understand my confusion. Now I know in the future if some out-of-character behaviors show up that I need to first ask if there is someone else around her that is doing the same thing. Then, I need to look into all the other possibilities.

On the other side, my heart goes out to the parents that are dealing with these things in this child that Sister is mimicking. I have been overwhelmed. I wonder how they are coping.

Phish Phone

Ah, Baby, so cute!

Here's where you can really see her teeth and hear her say "hello."

Watch!

Carl Bloch Paintings and eXtra Special Care

So, with my brother in town we decided we would try to get as many of the family together as possible and   go to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the museum. It was so amazing. I couldn't believe how large the original paintings actually were! Prints of his paintings don't even do the original justice. His use of light and color is astounding, he was truly a gifted painter.

I would have loved it even more if it weren't for the fact that about 15 minutes into it Sister didn't try throwing her shoes at this original painting.

http://carlbloch.byu.edu/works.php

Click the link to check out where I got the image from and see the link to the exhibit.

Needless to say, it freaked me out when she missed it by only 4 feet! She then proceeded to scream and fall on the floor, push chairs and scream at the on-lookers. Then when I went to grab her she ran away and hid behind one of the displays! I had to go behind there and try to get her out as she is kicking and flailing and screaming. One of the security guards came to see what was going on, it probably looked like I was trying to kidnap her. I had to quickly explain the situation as I am carrying my flailing daughter out of the exhibit.

It shattered my hopes. But, confirmed my fears. I had hoped that she would enjoy the spirit of the paintings and would be able to get through it OK. I should have known that 15 minutes was all she could handle of an overcrowded art exhibit.

What was I thinking?

I want so badly to continue to expose my children to these things so that eventually they can handle it. I am so tired of staying home all the time wishing that I could enjoy things out in the public with my children.

So I try.

Upside is that Brother did really, really well. He even allowed Grandpa James to give him a personal tour of the paintings. Brother really enjoyed this.

So maybe it was short-lived success with Sister but Brother seemed to be able to handle it for longer. But, when he was ready to go he was ready to go. 

Since my kids were toast we were not able to join everyone for dinner afterwards so I invited Daniel and his family to our house after they were done. My parents came too and it was so fun.

The girls had fun with the dolls and

everyone had fun with the hippos!

Tynelle wasn't feeling well, so Brother made sure to take good care of her. He got her a blanket. Laid down by her to make sure she was comfy and even shared some Shania Twain with her to keep her happy...