Hannah's 5th Birthday Interview

My Current Favorites:

o   Movie? Tinkerbell (Secret of the Wings)

o   TV Show? Peter Rabbit

o   Animal? Horse

o   Book? Rapunzel

o   Snack? Fruit Roll Ups 

o   Color? Purple

o   Food? Pancakes (GF Chocolate Chip)

o   Song? Cinderella

o   Candy? Cupcakes

o   Toy? Doc McStuffins doctor kit (Got for her birthday!)

o   Outfit? Blue dress with the flower

o   Drink? Sprite

o   Thing to eat for lunch? Carrots (not true ;))

o   Thing to do outside? Swing

o   Thing to do in school? Play

   Who is your best friend? Mary (from PreSchool...Aly isn't a 'friend' because she's a 'sister')

   What do you want to be when you are all grown up? A Teacher

   What makes you happy? Princesses

   What makes you sad? When people yell at me...

   What games do you like to play? Sleeping Beauty (Pretty, Pretty Princess), Disney's Apples to Apples

   What is your BEST memory of last year? Going to Disney World!!

   What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Stuffed animals, Blue, blankets and my Me

   What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes

   What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pancakes

    If I had one wish, it would be: To go to Disney World again!

The Library

This is her happy place...

Notes from the Girls

They are so sweet.  My heart is a melted puddle...

Wait a minute:

Elephants don't sit in car seats...

They have trunks ;)

Nap Time

As the girls get older, nap times are becoming fewer and farther between.  But, when they go down, they go down hard.  And, Hannah has a very signature style...her 'me' over her face, surrounded by her toys.

 Even Alyssa can't resist the car...it lulls them both to sleep.  Growing up is hard work :)

 

Good Bye, Old Friends...

Sammy was our first 'baby'.  We got her just a few months after we got married and she went E-V-E-R-Y-where with us.  Then, we got Lily...two days before we found out we were expecting Alyssa.  Her and Sammy became best friend and inseparable.  

As time went on, it become more of a love-hate relationship.  They were great with the girls. They loved to snuggle with me.  They were a great security system.  However, on the other hand, they were also annoying sharks who would steal food and run away.  We always threatened to take them to a farm because of the naughty behavior.  We never really meant it though.   

However, this Fall Alyssa started breaking out with really bad eczema again. To the point she was blistered and bloody.  She was also having constant headaches, stomach aches, and terrible acid reflux.  They ran every test possible and nothing major turned up except that her little body was really struggling to fight allergens.  They did a blood test for allergens and the body's response is supposed to be less than 0.35.  For grass she was at 0.49 and 2.35 for cats.  We already knew those two.  The one we didn't know was dogs.  Her test results showed that she was at a whopping 12.49.  After a little research I found that stress and anxiety (like she has about school and social situations) can trigger suppressed allergies.  I am guessing that is what happened.

Here is a picture of her arms...I don't even think this was the worst of it. 

We really had no choice.  We talked about different options, but the only real option was to re-home Sammy and Lily.  That would be hard enough, but who wants an 8 and 10 year old beagle pair...because we weren't willing to split them up.  The answer is no one.  We also refused to take them to the pound, so with the help of a Facebook friend I was put in touch with a lady who runs a dog rescue and had the room to take them in.  Now they are living on a farm in Johnstown with 15 other beagles.  We can visit if we want, but I think it would be too hard on everyone involved.  She said they are adjusting well and like playing with the other dogs.  I just keep reminding myself of that.

It has been a little over a month and Alyssa has gotten a little better.  It is hard to tell whether or not it is due to the dogs moving or a new medicine she is taking that she started around the same time as the dogs' move.  Either way, the stress level in our house seems to have gone down a little as a result. That is a very welcome change!

It still breaks my heart to think about giving them away.  And it is super weird to think about us as a pet-less family (beside the one fish that is still hanging on for dear life).  I am praying someday we will be able to have another one.  Until then, I guess it is 'goodbye'.

Shark Tooth

At almost 7, we had still not met the Tooth Fairy.  That was until last week.  Alyssa had a shark tooth, where the adult tooth is growing in behind the baby tooth.  I guess it is pretty common and not a concern, but since it wasn't coming up from underneath, the baby tooth wasn't loose at all.  When Alyssa went in her her cleaning the decided they would 'wiggle it out' for her.  While they had her under the laughing gas, they just went ahead and pulled both bottom ones to give the adult teeth more room to come in.  They said the adult tooth would gradually move into the right place, but I am seeing several thousands of dollars in our future to keep this smile beautiful.

The Tooth Fairy did not disappoint!  She came and collected Alyssa's tooth box that held her two baby teeth and left two 'gold' $1 coins in their place.  Alyssa was ecstatic!!  She has since started 'wiggling' the top teeth in hopes they will be next.  I wonder what the Tooth Fairy does with those teeth anyway?!?!? ;)

Cookie Sales

Alyssa's Daisy troop sold cookies this year for the first time.  I am not the 'door-to-door' type of mom so we just sold to people we know.  As long as she earned her badge I would have been happy.  She ended up selling 157 boxes!  She earned her badge, and then some...

 

The sad thing is that she couldn't enjoy any of the cookies she worked so hard to sell.  The Girl Scouts do not have a gluten free cookie option...yet.  I contacted the Ohio Heartland Council and asked them to consider a gluten free option for next year.  The passed it off to the bakery who supplies their cookies.  The bakery has not returned my email.  I am assuming it is a 'no'.  Too bad, because I know A LOT of people who would buy GF Girl Scout cookies.  I am going to keep trying.  In the mean time, she used to love Thin Mints, so over spring break I am going to make her a batch of gluten free Thin Mints.  If the Girl Scouts won't do it, I will!

So proud of my little Daisy!

Snapchat

Snapchat is this really dumb new social media app that the high school kids are all using.  It is basically like texting, but it is only pictures and you can only view it for up to 10 seconds...then it is gone forever.  I don't really get it, but  I showed the girls a couple of Dan making silly faces so they have become mildly obsessed with snapchat-ing Dan.  This is one I caught of Hannah while we were waiting to pick Alyssa up from school.  I took a screenshot before I sent it and it has become one of my favorite pictures of Hannah...ever.  It so perfectly captures her sweetness and her silliness, all in one. 

Just Another Princess Ball

The dance school that put on the first Father/Daughter dance the girls went to, did another one Winter. This time they took two dates...Daddy and Grandpa.  Here are some quick pictures I got before the dance!

Hannah and her Twinkle Toes.  She definitely has her own sense of style...and, man does she love her shoes!!

 

Best Friends.  This is one of those pictures that I will be seeing in my head as we are sending them off to their Senior proms...

I am pretty sure they had an excellent time...again!  And, since we went to Campaigner Weekend after the dance, the girls got to have their first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Millers.  Double bonus!  They are a couple of really blessed little girls!