The whole story...

I am sure a lot of you have heard that Chloe recently had to have a crayon removed from her ear while under anesthesia... It was a very interesting ordeal! I thought I would fill you all in on the whole story.
It all started about almost 2 months ago (yes 2 months). My mom had come into town to spend the night with us. We were heading to Colorado the next day and Ireland was getting ready to go on her Disney World trip.
When I was putting the girls to bed Chloe told me that she had stuck a crayon in her ear. At first I thought she meant she had just stuck one in there to be funny and it came out. But she told me it was still in there. So I check it out and I didn't see anything. That is when I started to worry. Because she had told me that it was still in there and I couldn't see I figured it was really deep in there. I asked her if it hurt and she said no.
Chris brought up his flash light and we looked again. Still not able to see anything. I decided to call the on-call nurse and ask what they thought we should do. She said if Chloe wasn't in pain there was no way there was something in there. The nurse said if it was so far in there we couldn't see it, it would definitely be causing her pain.
So again, I asked Chloe if her ear hurt. She said no and she told me there wasn't a crayon in there anymore. So Chris and I figured it was fine and there wasn't anything in there.
We got up and went to Colorado the next day. I thought for sure if there was a crayon in there she would be in pain on the airplane. But nothing... she never even mentioned it again! EVER! I even washed she ears with q-tips once a week... nothing! She never mentioned it hurting or it even being in there! Chris and I just forgot about it.
Well, on March 31st Chloe turned 4... I scheduled her well-child check up. We went in on the 22nd expecting a super easy visit... in and out with a few shots. Well, when they looked in her ear... they found the crayon. We can only assume it has been in there since the end of February.
The doctor thought she could get it out by herself... she couldn't. I wish she wouldn't have even tried. She really hurt Chloe. I haven't heard Chloe cry like since she broke her leg. The doctor ended up scratching her ear canal. Lame. Chloe was pretty miserable.
So they decided to send us to the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor to see if they could get it out. They would have been able to if the peds doctor hadn't tried herself and made her ear all swollen and tender. But whatever... so we had to schedule a "procedure" to get it removed.
Thankfully they scheduled it for early the very next morning because after messing with it, Chloe was in a ton of pain. The poor little peanut cried off and on all night because her ear hurt so bad.
The next morning we left bright and early (6:30) to finally get it out. It was super fast and easy. Chris got to go back with her while they put her to sleep. After she was sleeping it took them about 3 minutes to get it out. Super easy.
We are so thankful it is over and she has it out of there. When it was done I asked her how her ear felt and she told me it finally felt like there was no crayon in there! :)
We have talked a lot about what goes in our ears... we have decided only words and sounds go in our ears! And crayons are only for coloring paper. After all this I don't think she will ever put anything in her ears again!
One thing I am worried about is her being afraid of the doctor now... she went through a lot that day and now she gets teary eyed when we even mention going to the doctor. So if you all could say a prayer for her and this fear Chris and I would appreciate it!
And again I will say it... only Chloe would live with a crayon in her ear for 2 months and thing nothing of it! :)

100% random

I just thought these pictures were too cute not to post... they are from a few weeks ago. It was raining and the girls really wanted to go somewhere so they could use their umbrellas. We didn't have anywhere to go... so we went for a walk! It was the cutest thing ever to see!

A few months ago Ireland learned how to play checkers. She was a quick study! She has even been know to see double and triple jumps!
One night she really wanted to play... so Chris, being the great dad that he is, played a game with her. It just melts my heart to see them together. Even though he has been gone for more than 27 months of her life they are closer than ever! It shows that a bond between Daddy and daughter is not easily broken!

Seriously, I tear up when I look at these pictures! So precious!

A family of 5!

We finally got our new puppy!!!! We went to the airport to pick her up yesterday. It turned into a pretty bad trip, but the end result was wonderful! The girls were so excited to get the puppy! They were bouncing off the walls all day!
Oh, I forgot to update the last blog... we didn't get to keep the Great Dane. She ended up making me pretty sick my the end of the first full day here. We were very sad... I cried a lot. But we know this puppy will not make me sick! So we will not have to say good-bye to this one!

Here she is! We have decided to name her Parker. She is just too precious!

She had her ears cropped by the breeder and got her stitches out on Wednesday. Usually the ears are tapped up until they heal, but she had to have her tape removed to fly. So her ears look a little wonkie... but the vet told us to let them rest and air out for 3 days and then we will get them retaped on Monday.

So far she is doing great in her new home! She is full of energy and spunk. But she is also calm and attentive. She likes to play with us but when she is done playing and tired she will walk to her crate, lay down and go to sleep!
She did pretty good last night. She got up twice to go potty and kept her crate dry and clean all night long!
It is safe to say we love her already! I will try to get some more pictures soon!

She is just the cutest thing ever! I can't even stand it!
On a side not, the van decided that last night was a good time to break down. After we got to the airport and turned if off, it wouldn't start right up again. Luckily after it sat for awhile it started and we got home. But there is obviously something wrong with it. So say a quick prayer for us if you don't mind... I just don't want to pay a lot of money to get it fixed! :)

A visitor...

We are proud foster parents of this beauty...

For at least the next week she will be staying with us. We have be toying with the idea of getting a 2nd dog for the puppy (which will be here on FRIDAY!!!!). With all the research we have been doing we have learned that Schnauzers are very social dogs and do best in a pack. So we were trying to find another dog that would fit into our family to rescue before the puppy got here.
Well, when Chris went back to work after leave, this dog pretty much fell in our lap.
Chris' soldier had rescued her but couldn't afford to keep her forever. I guess him and his wife wanted her to have a good home, but they already have too many dogs (like 4 dogs).
She is a pure bred Great Dane (registered with the AKC... papers and all). Healthy and all up to date on her shots. Kind of too good to be true!
So we said we would take her for a week and see how she works out... we don't want to make a commitment and have her bother my allergies.
It kind of happened really fast... so its still sinking in! But so far so good. She came last night and spent the night with us and did great. So far there are no signs of my allergies and the dog is great with the girls! So pray that she feels at home here and my asthma stays away! We aren't going to name her until we know for sure we are keeping her... I will keep you all posted!

She is one beautiful dog and seems to like us ok too! :)

Seattle Children's Museum

Today we decided to head to Seattle and check out the Children's Museum. We were so excited to go and check out something new! So here are some quick pictures from our day!

Chloe was scared to go inside this whale... it made me laugh
There was a Tinker Toy area. The girls really liked it... I think we might need to invest in some Tinker Toys!

Ireland made a castle...
Chris helped a little...

Chloe made the Space Needle...
It took a lot of concentration...

She was very proud of the finished product!

Ireland was also very proud!

I think the favorite thing of the day was the Grocery Store... we played in there 2 times. They loved shopping and being the "payer girls" (cashier).

My favorite thing to do was the art room... there was painting, clay, and other craft things to do. I love that kind of stuff!

Chloe's favorite thing to do in the art room was this clear plastic "canvas" to paint on. They had paint, a water bottle, and squeegee to make a master piece. She spent a lot of time there.

Ireland played some drums...

And did a little posing (duh)

And drove a bus...

All in all it was a super fun day! So fun that it even made Chris smile in a picture!!!

Coolest Easter Egg dying stuff EVER!!!

I found this Easter Egg dying kit at Target... pretty much the coolest thing ever! I always like dying eggs with the girls, just never the set up and clean up... and Chloe is a whole other story! She started being messy the first time we ever dyed eggs and it hasn't become any easier over the years. So when I came across this little amazing invention I nearly started dancing right there in Target!!

Maybe you all have seen it before, but it was new to me!!! I didn't have to get out enough bowl, mix the colors with vinegar, or figure out how I was going to get Chloe clean after it was all done! I just opened a packet and squeezed... that was it. And for Chloe? Well, she said as clean as a whistle!
Both the girls told me they liked it better than last year. I am not sure if Chloe really remembered last year, but Ireland does and she says this was more fun.
They both concentrated very to make their eggs perfect.

But of course Ireland still had some time to pose for me!

Chloe did too...
This was Ireland's favorite egg she did... pretty awesome if you ask me!

And this is Chloe's... with her "egg beard" as she was calling it... weirdo!

The finished products were beautiful! So colorful and bright! It looked like Spring Time in an egg carton!

I know most of you probably expected to come on the blog today and find some cute pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses lookin' all kinds of cute before church... well, you aren't going to find those pictures here. I get the "Forgetful Mother of the Year" award. I totally spaced taking their pictures yesterday. I remembered when I looked at my sisters wonderfully cute blog and saw her cute kids all dolled up... and that was about 8:00pm... so we are going to have to recreate the Easter Morning scene some day this week after I get their dresses cleaned... Sorry about that!

Happy Birthday, Chloe!!!!!

Chloe is officially 4! Can you believe it? I can't! Yesterday was her birthday and she had a great one! :) Here are a few pictures from her great day!
Maren, Jeff, EmJ, and Luke sent her present a little early and they told her she could open it when it got here. So she really got to start her birthday fun a few days early!
This is a cute picture EmJ drew for her...

They got her a green Nalgene... she was super excited about it!
They also got her a swimming suit she has been coveting for months now from Target! Every time we go to Target she asks to look at the "beautiful ballerina" swimming suit.
Well, she was just a tad excited when she opened her gift and found that swimming suit inside!

She of course put it on immediately and started to pose for a quick photo shoot! :)

The rest of the pictures are from her actually birthday... we opened presents in the morning... Ireland super happy and anxious for Chloe to find out what she was getting... she could hardly wait!

Ireland also got to pick out some gifts all by herself. She picked her out a play camera, swimming suit, and lip bloss (gloss). Chloe LOVES lip bloss so this was a perfect gift for her. Ireland was very proud of herself for finding such a great gift!

And she did a great job being happy for her sister! She didn't get jealous of Chloe's gifts at all! She was just so excited to see her open them all! It was awesome to watch!

Another thing Chloe really wanted was Barbie and the Mermaid Tale... Aunt Sissy, Uncle Matt, Camdyn, and Silas got it for her! She was beyond happy! She literally hasn't put it down since she opened it... she plays with it every minute she is awake... and sleeps with it! :)

They also got her this super cute dress! She put it on as soon as present opening was done! Which was fine with me because I wasn't too excited about her other outfit she had picked out for the day... do you all like the stripes and polka dots? And the awesome color combo? She is one of a kind!

Aunt Sissy is the best aunt because she spoils the girls just right! She also got Ireland a dress so she wouldn't feel left out! How thoughtful! Ireland was so surprised to learn that she got a present too!

This is the swimming suit Ireland picked out for Chloe! Can it be any cuter?!

On their birthdays I always let them pick out what they want to eat for the whole day... breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Nothing fancey, just let them be in charge for one day a year. Well, Chloe had bagels from Panera for breakfast... and the coolest lunch ever!
She asked for Robin (Ramen) noodles and popcorn! So random! I don't let her eat Ramen, but Chris does and she has developed a love for them! I had to laugh when I put her lunch on the table! It was such a "Chloe" lunch!

She enjoyed it very much!

After rest time (she didn't have to take a nap yesterday since it was her birthday... I know... we spoiled her) we went for a hike. Both the girls love going back in the woods even for a quick little walk. The weather was nice for a bit so we took advantage of it!

All in all it was a great day! I asked Chloe if she had a good birthday and she told me, "Yes I did have a good bertday! I love being this old (showing me 4 on her fingers)!!!"
For dinner we went to Red Robins... she wanted them to sinfg to her. After that she got to go to Target and pick some more toys out... Gran and her Aunt Kellie, Uncle Lawrence, and Connor got her "gift tickets" to spend all on her own! She thought that was AWESOME! She didn't have any trouble picking out the things she wanted!
On Friday we will have a little party for her with birthday cake (cupcakes acutally) and some friends... so another blog about that will be soon!