boys & baseball

These two LOVE baseball. They eat, sleep and breathe it. Literally. So much so that when I went downstairs to check on a crying Sam at 3am I noticed the light was on in their bedroom...when I walked in, they were both in a deep sleep on their beds, covered in baseball cards and wearing their baseball gear still. Apparently they'd ignored my request to put on their jammies!

Bryan is a wonderful coach/dad that spends hours with them batting and fielding in the backyard. They are constantly bringing his mitt to him, requesting to play catch. I love watching and listening to them play together and the memories they're making are so special.

From April to the end of June, we attended 2-3 games a week for the boy's baseball teams. It's such a fun sport for our entire family! Maddie enjoyed playing with other teammates siblings, Sam enjoyed running wild.

 Jace is a huge Kyle Seager fan & Cade loves Justin Smoak. Jace has acquired the nickname "Seager" from his coaches...he's a BIG fan and talks about Kyle like their best buds :)

 

Cade's quite the ball-player...scrappy, aggressive and quick!

 Catching the ball before it hits the "green monster"...aka the apple orchard. Jace played a lot of left & center field as well as short-stop and third base this season. He had some really great hits this season! He's working on batting left-handed as he'd love to be a switch hitter when he grows up

 On Mother's Day, these cutie pies treated me to a fun Mariner's Game...there's nothing like a huge plate of garlic fries and sunshine at Safeco field!

 Jace's spring baseball team...super fun! The Royale's in the Parade...

 Booster Baseball in Royal for Jace

 Caden's baseball team, Bryan helped coach :)

Our preschool graduate

 

 

 

 

Our last day of preschool was a water field day & BBQ!

 

Maddie-girl is officially a Kindergartner now...she (as well as 11 other students) graduated from Preschool on June 5th. Not only did Maddie finish preschool but so did I...I'm stepping down from teaching and welcoming the much needed time I'll have without running a preschool in my home! Having four kids and all of their activities, being a farm wife, and the PTO President is going to keep me busy enough!

 

Maddie is so ready for school this fall. I had a meeting with our school nurses and we developed her 504 Emergency Care Plan. After going through that meeting, I had a harder time with it all than I'd anticipated...just another way that it "hits me" that she lives daily with a miraculous, little half-heart. Our life is in such a great place right now and we're so blessed Maddie's doing so well that I don't dwell on it much. I love the staff and do feel good about her starting all-day Kinder but I'm going to miss my little girl so much and I do have some anxiety about this next step for her. Not being with her 24/7 is the hardest. Trust, guidance & reliance fill my prayers when I pray over my girl. I can't help but be excited for her though...she is ecstatic about this change! Oh, to be 5 again, without a worry in the world. I'm learning so much through this sweetheart.

My cRaZy CReW!

 

 

Fontanniversary!

Today is Maddie's 2nd Fontanniversary! Two years ago, Maddie was in the OR, having her third open heart surgery, the Fontan. It's hard to believe that at this time two years ago, her heart was stopped and she was put on bypass so Dr. M could put a fenestration (hole) in the gortex tube he placed in her heart, which does the work of returning blood back to her heart. No pumping of the blood back from her body to her heart...it just flows by gravity and bypasses the teeny, underdeveloped heart side of her heart. Bizarre to think about.

So what is Miss Maddie doing two years later? Well, she's 4 days away from finishing preschool...

Our preschool recently toured Red Rock Elementary's Kindergarten classrooms as well as ate hot lunch in the cafeteria, this little girl is SO EXCITED and talks daily about going to Kindergarten. She also mentions things like, "Mom, you'll be ok, I'll come back home" or "You can come visit me but I will stay and you'll go home and take care of Sammy"...can you guess who has the anxiety about Kinder? It's not Maddie!

She just had her ballet performance, which she add-libbed some moves in the routine a few times (and it was stinking cute that she did) she loves to perform!

Maddie's enjoyed the kittens we've had lately...2 batches within a month of each other. Thanks to Maddie & Sam, these kittens don't stand a chance at being wild! Those two are kitty tamers extraordinaire!

Life post-Fontan is awesome! Maddie is doing so well and by looking at her, you would never guess she's been through so much in 5 years. She just had her bi-annual check up with Dr. C on May 6th. Her echo was clear, Laura was able to get awesome pics of her heart, which we learned is doing great! Her sats were 90%, she's 47" tall and weighed 52 lbs. That's 17 pounds in 2 years! I'd say her heart really loves it's repair...her growth spurt proves that!

 

Life has really moved on for us, we do keep in touch with fellow heart families but the heart world doesn't overshadow our lives like it did 2 years ago. I've loved this new normal and I'm so in love with this little girl. She amazes me everyday and the gratitude I feel for her and for His grace over her and our family overwhelms my heart at times.

Disneyland!

During Spring Break, we took a quick girls trip to Disneyland. Although 2 nights and 3 days was short, we did get a LOT in! Our goal was to meet princesses, watch parades and of course go on some favorite rides. Since the boys have been a few times, they were really understanding about it all. They enjoyed all of that boy time with dad anyway!

The weather was so beautiful...upper 70's. Our group was Nany (my mom), Maddie and I as well as my sister-in-law Jessica, cousin Kylie and her Grandma Rose Mary.

Rapunzel was the first princess we met. She was so sweet and after standing in line for a half-hour, it was well worth it, even with a shy Maddie at first. This didn't last long, she warmed up quite well to the princesses!

Then there was Merida from Brave...

We spent quite a bit of our time in Fantasy Land...she loved riding the carousel :)

We made appointments for the girls at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique which was so much fun! I was wanting Mooms to go with more of the traditional princess look but she chose the Princess Diva :) SO funny! Of course, it was pink!

If you look in the mirror, you can see the girls hugging after Kylie was "revealed" in the mirror by her Fairy Godmother in training :) It was very magical and cute. Along with the hairdo, the girls got their make-up done, nails painted as well as were given a sash & bag. Nothing is cheap in Disneyland but I thought this was soo worth the money!

After their make-overs, we were off to see some more princesses! It was a short line and they hit the jackpot- getting to see Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella!

Ariel was our favorite...taking time with the girls, answering their questions, visiting with them at their eye-level. She was wonderful!

 



Nany & Maddie enjoying Casey Junior's Train ride

Pinochio's ride

Our second day, we got up early and hit a fun character breakfast at the Pink Plaza on Main Street. Maddie was excited about Minnie...I teared up thinking about Mia when I saw Minnie. She did chose a Minnie Doll as her souvenier for the trip. I guess I chose the same doll when I was 4 and at Disneyland for the first time :) I love that Minnie doesn't go out of style.

It did take her awhile to warm up...she's come a long way with these types of dressed-up characters!

 

 Pixar Parade in the Disney California Park

 That evening, Bryan surprised me by having dinner reservations all made and paid for at the Rainforest Cafe for my birthday! Here's Nany & Maddie being silly together :) The next morning, my real birthday, he had room service delivered. Such a sweet guy I have and I really missed him and the boys while away.

 

Then we saw Belle...

She loved Splash Mountain! So much fun! This was the "biggest" ride we hit and I'm afraid we have a thrill-seeker on our hands...she wanted to go again right away!

We also had the opportunity of meeting up with our California heart friends, the Masons!

Carlie & Maddie are both Right Hypoplasts...having very similar hearts. Carlie is now in 1st grade and doing fabulous! She's an amazing little dancer. She's always an inspiration to see and it's always so great to visit with Shannon :)



And right before we were to get on our shuttle to the airport, guess who we chased after...Goofy!?!

 

What a wonderful trip, filled with so many fun memories. I'm so glad we were able to get away and do the "princess experience" for our little princesses. Thanks to Bryan for handling everything at home and with the boys so well, and thanks to Aunt Lesa and family too for their help while we were away!

Maddie's 5!

Miss Maddie turned 5 on March 13th! Yes, it was a month ago and here I am, finally sharing about it. RSV left almost as quickly as it had come on with our girl. She spent a week low-key, at home and on oxygen when needed. She also ended up with an ear infection following the virus, 10 days of amoxicillin cleared that up. As of now, she's healthy and back to her norm :)

A Dora Guitar from Grandma A! Just what she wanted!

She was so excited about her new saddle! My folks found this adorable saddle and surprised us all with it! She's looking forward to riding her Sparky Boy a lot this spring...now if we just had some cooperative spring weather. The boys are pumped about it too. What a fabulous hobby for her and easy on her heart. She told me recently that she'd like to grow up to be a rodeo queen. Cute but we'll see. Not really this mama's thing!

She looks so grown up in this picture. She has had a tremendous growth spurt since her Fontan...putting her in the 90th percentile on the growth charts now! I never would have guessed this in a million years during her first couple years of life, she was so petite and little. At her well-child exam, she weighed 50 lbs & was 45.7" tall! I registered her for Kindergarten this past week...she's sooo excited, me on the other hand, that's another story.

Maddie with her girl cousins at her family birthday dinner...they're all such pretty girls!

 

 

The following day, she had her first "friend" birthday party...8 little girls under the age of 5! It was a blast! She chose a mermaid theme...so they swam in the 'mermaid lagoon' and I worked a couple of late nights sewing mermaid tales. I shouldn't wait until the last minute...

 

They wound down at the end of the birthday party with a Barbie and the Mermaid Tale movie!

And last but not least, our celebration at preschool included one of her fave's...icecream! I'd say we celebrated turning 5!