Our mini vacation...

We decided it was time to take a little break from life and enjoy going somewhere other than our own town and Cedar Falls!  The kids have been talking non-stop about the Mall of America ever since the last time we went and that was like three years ago.  The only reason Adah talks about it is because she has heard Kezzie say so much about it!  I couldn't wait.  I think I was the most excited out of everyone!  Here are some photos/videos from our trip.  We went Thursday through Sunday and stayed in an awesome hotel with a pool perfect for all four of our kids.  We ended up spending a little more and reserving two conjoined rooms so the little ones could go to bed and Brian and I and Austin could stay up later doing what we want.  We were pretty spoiled to be able to do that!  And our rooms each had a balcony that looked over the pool area.  So much fun!

We spent a day at the Mall of America while in MN.  We rode rides, visited the sea life aquarium and visited the characters of The Wonder Pets.

Eden really liked the turtle (what's his name?) and insisted on sticking her hand in his mouth!

Eden loves giving hi-fives!

The girls were in heaven to meet them!

The view from our balcony!

Easter Time!!

Shirts off is the only way to dye Easter eggs!!

Me and my little Lonnie :)

Here are the kids on Easter morning...the girls had so much fun digging into their basket.  I just did one really big one for all three girls (call me cheap).  We did however do a scavenger hunt where one clue led them to another clue until it led them to a light saber for each of them (not Eden, although she would have loved one too)!  The girls were so enthused!  For Austin we told him we would pay to have his iPod screen fixed and he was pretty happy with that.  I did have a giant sized egg filled with a Bulls lanyard and some candy but I didn't hide it for him.  He just thinks he is getting too old for all that stuff :(

Here is our annual Easter Egg hunt at mom and dad Smith's.  The kids always have a blast.  Unfortunately it wasn't ideal weather to do it outside so we put them all inside.  Every one of them enjoyed finding eggs.  Even Eden got in on the action.  She especially loved it when we put the empty eggs in a pile.  She would try to spread them all out again with a big grin on her face and squeals of delight! We even got to have my grandma come for lunch!

God continues to bless us!  Happy Easter everyone!

Tumbling class...

The girls LOVE tumbling class and have only recently started doing this trampoline thing.  Adah is surprisingly more brave then Kezzie.  Aren't they just so cute?!!

Eden is 15 MONTHS! And eye appointment...

Let's be honest...all anybody really cares about are the pics, right?!! For those of you who have all kinds of time and energy to read things that only I care about, I have posted a small list of things about Eden at the bottom!

Says Hi while waving furiously!
Says belly while patting her belly.
Points to eyes, belly, nose, ear, teeth, tongue, head
Says hat, paci (ah-ee), more, milk, nana (banana),
Gives hugs and kisses, says (iss) kiss
hugs my hand numerous times while nursing.
Went down to four nursings this month.
Walks with one hand (3/12/13)
Loves to attempt somersaults!

Eden also had an eye check up in Iowa City with Dr. Drack today.  She passed with flying colors!  I am so happy for Eden.  There have been no changes in either eye with her lesions and her vision has actually improved! We don't even have to come back until September unless we have concerns!  Praising the Lord a little extra today!

A nice visit!

Perry and Cindy are visiting and I caught this nice picture of Leora reading the girls a book.  The girls adore her and look forward to the time they get together!  Eden lost interest pretty quick!  I think she just likes being on the bed!

Bouncy House Fun...

We needed a break out of the house with all this snow!!  This was the first time we had come to their new location and the kids absolutely loved it!

Snow and more snow...

It feels like we have been bombarded with snow this year.  You can't tell it by the faces, but we really are looking forward to spring!  For now I guess we will have to settle for enjoying the snow!

February 4, 2013

February 4, 2013

February 22, 2013

February 22, 2013

We always have such a blast when we go to mom and dad's house.  Today was no different!  The weather was nice enough that we could get outside and enjoy some sledding with the kiddos.  These pictures are priceless!!

February 24, 2013

Pure Mischief!!!

I think these pictures say it all...

She's pretty proud of herself!!

Rubber Ducky...You're the one!!!

Or in this case...rubber doggy!  Eden loves her bath toys and thoroughly enjoys the water.  Isn't she just the sweetest?!!!  I often have to pull the clear shower curtain to keep myself from all her giddy splashes!  After we get her all washed up and tell her it's time for her to get out she gets really upset.  Her sisters get in gradually toward the end of her bath but they stay in for quite a while after she is out.  She can't stand it when they are in there and she isn't.  I take her in her room to get jammies on and she crawls back to the bathroom just as fast as she can.  I have to be careful to keep her arms uncovered because once she gets in there she stands up next to the tub, hangs over the side of the tub causing her to get on her tippy toes, waving her arms through the water hoping to get wet!  So far she's only gone over once.  I was right there...don't worry!!

When it's time for a bath all I have to do is sign 'bath' and she knows exactly what I'm talking about!  She gets super excited and crawls over to the steps to head upstairs.  She vigorously signs bath and says something that resembles the word over and over.  

She also gets to have her teeth brushed before bed.  She equally likes this task.  She opens wide and holds her mouth open and when I'm done I tell her to stick her tongue out so I can brush it and she says 'ahhhh'.  All those little things AMAZE me!  God is good!

Valentine's Day

Keziah and I got to go on a field trip together today.  My dad was nice enough to keep an eye on the other two little ones while Kezzie and I went to a play at Gallagher with her class.  How I Became a Pirate was the book they did the play on.  It was really fun and entertaining.  We have the book too so it was fun to see how it was the same and different from that!

Back at home we celebrated the 'love day' with a little something for everyone.  One of the couple of things the girls got were pez dispensers that were Star Wars.  Austin got a bulls lanyard and his iPod screen fixed.

Eden got a couple new sippy cups!

I love my family and am so thankful for these giving moments!  Happy Valentine's Day!!

Eden is 14 MONTHS!!

This little sweetie is so lovey!  She will literally hug my arm while I am nursing her! She is known to wrap her arms around my neck and pat my back.  She also does this to Brian...it melts his heart!! Eden started doing puckered kisses this month (2/13/13).  It's probably the sweetest thing EVER (well besides the hugs)!!  Like I said, she is so lovey!  I don't know if any of my girls have been cuddly as Eden.

Aside from all the cuddles Eden is being very tolerant of getting another molar (top right 2/?)  That brings her up to 10 teeth!!  She is going to be eating steak in no time!

I am doing worse every month at keeping track of things...I guess that's all a part of having a busy family!  Here is a couple videos and photos that will hopefully make up for it!

Dancin' and a groovin'!!

She's getting those legs ready for walking!!

She loves finding my phone and pretending she is talking on it.  She says, 'ha-whoa'!!

14 months old!  Look at her cuddle her pink monkey!!

I know the color on this photo isn't the best, but her smile is priceless!!  Love her to death!

Sweetheart Dance

Last night was the second annual daddy/daughter dance in our town.  It is actually for any male (grandpa, uncle, dad) and a little lady 3 and older.  We thought we would let Keziah go with her dad this year and Adah would maybe go next year.  Adah really didn't mind anyway!  The dinner started at 5:30 and dance after that.  Keziah looked amazing!  She looked like such a little princess and was super excited to have a date night with daddy!  For supper they served cheeseburgers/hot dogs, corn, french fries and ice cream for dessert.  It was going great until about 7pm when Keziah was running around and tripped on a metal folding chair which caused her to slam her face into another metal folding chair.  Brian didn't see what happened but couldn't get her to settle down so he had to bring her home.  She looked pretty beat up when she came through the door.  We got some ice on it and I gave her some Tylenol.  Her upper lip looked the worst, but after a little bit I could tell it was more her nose that was affected.  It looks like it may even be broken as there is a huge bulge on the right side.  She has a bruise on her forehead too!  All in all the night was a huge success.  Brian was super bummed that he had to bring Kezzie home.  Here are some pictures of their evening.  And a video courtesy of a friend.  I just think Keziah looked amazing!  She is such a beautiful girl!

This photo is courtesy of the newspaper.  Such a nice picture!

This is what Keziah looked like when she got home.  Notice the bulge on the right side of her nose?  Poor girl!  She can always eat though!  So after getting her calmed down, she asked for something to eat!

Basketball Stud!

Austin is #13!  There are some videos down further that are about 2-3 minutes each if you really want to see him in action!  I love watching him play basketball!!!

The girls always ask to go out on the court when the games are over and 'play' basketball!!

Sporty Shorties

Keziah is listening intently at her new class called Sporty Shorties.  She is going to learn the basics of several different sports (soccer, basketball, gymnastics) over the course of the program.

Stretching is important!!

A funny trick!

Austin and Adah have discovered a new trick and Adah just loves it!!!

Eden's MRIs

Eden had an MRI on Jan. 2nd.  We were supposed to go to IC on the 21st of Dec. but because of the weather (after we drove through Waterloo and took the exit to CR) we decided to turn around and reschedule the apt.  So Jan. 2nd was our make-up apt.  The MRI showed some drainage but he was aiming to have the valve open a little more so they opened it to 1.5 (it was at 2.0) which is what a typical patient with a shunt is open to for their lifetime (don't ask me what the number really represents).  He's hoping to get it draining a little better with that number.  We will come back in two weeks to make sure everything is stable!  Read on to hear about that apt.

Eden had an MRI today just to see how everything was going since her surgery and since he opened the valve a couple weeks ago.  I was really nervous she wouldn't hold still enough because then she would have had to come back for a sedated MRI in a couple weeks but we made sure to keep her paci away from her all morning and she wasn't able to have a morning nap so when I laid her on the table thing and gave her her paci and bear and blankie she was in heaven and hardly moved a muscle!  They were able to get the pictures they needed and the results were fantastic!  Her shunt appears to be in tact and the ventricles are going down.  Not much but enough that they didn't feel like they needed to open the valve any more than it already is.  They were also able to see the cyst that is in there and it is...drum roll please...ALMOST GONE!!!!  Having put in the shunt to drain the ventricles is also connected in some way to the cyst and is draining that also.  Praise GOD!  He is so good to us!  The doctor was extremely happy with her development and seemed so surprised that her cyst was almost gone.  He didn't expect that either!  So that's what I call a miracle!!!  Another great trip in the books...now for the not terrible but not great news...they still want to do a sedated MRI, just not as soon as they were thinking.  They are planning on sometime in April.  They just want to make sure that what they are seeing with the cyst and drainage is what is going on.  There is always some movement in the quick MRI that we typically do.  Plus when she is sedated they take a lot more pictures and they are more detailed pictures.  I am not looking forward to it but if they see what they need to see maybe (fingers crossed) this will be a last!  We can pray for that, right??!!

Eden is 13 MONTHS!!!

Already over a year old!  I didn't realize how much she looks like Charlie Brown in this outfit until I see it in pictures!  She's the cutest Charlie Brown though!  Eden doesn't sit still much for pictures anymore!  She would rather play peek a boo or try fancy tricks holding herself up with one arm and one leg!  This kid is so full of energy and ALWAYS has a smile on her face.
A funny/neat thing about Eden that I have noticed her doing a lot this month is she uses her other hand to 'help' the opposite hand do something.  For example: I have been helping her learn to turn lights on and off by grabbing her hand and using her finger to do it so now she uses her own hand to 'help' her other hand do it.  She does this with so many things I have taught her to do.  It's amazing, really that she would pick up on the fact that my hand is helping her hand.  She doesn't do it all the time...only when she is having a hard time doing something.  I guess maybe it's her way of telling me to help her!
Something not so funny/neat is she has the most ear wrenching mad 'cry'.  If she wants something and you are telling her 'no' she lets out this awful screech.  It's not loud necessarily...it's just, well, annoying!  And it makes you want to give her whatever she wants immediately just to make it stop!
In tooth news...Eden has another tooth!!!  The right front top one is finally in (12/27).  AND She is getting in two new teeth. The ones on the outer edges of her two front bottom teeth (12/19/12).
Eden is still a good nurser.  Nursing five times a day.  Sleeping 12 hours at night and taking two really good naps during the day.  She is tolerable if she misses her morning nap, but it's still not on the horizon for dropping it altogether.
Eden continues to watch and learn about anything and everything her sisters are teaching her!  She is such a fun addition to our family and I couldn't imagine life without her toothy grins!

Learning...

Eden is learning so much!  Whenever AEA comes to work with her I learn new ways to help her learn and figure things out.  She is always exploring but it's different the way she does it and rarely figures out how to use a toy without being shown first.  We have been working with her on this toy and she is only recently fully understanding it.  She has known for a while that when she pushes down the blue lever the ball comes out but she couldn't figure out how to reload it.  Then when she figured out she had to put the ball back in the top she would try to just throw the ball at the opening and most of the time it wouldn't make it in.  Now she is able to place the ball into the opening on top and do the complete reload/unload cycle.  She is doing this same way of learning with other things.  I think it is just amazing to watch her learn things.  She just has to be taught a couple of times and she gets it most of the time.  For someone who doesn't have a corpus callossum, learning won't come easy, but I am thankful for these little teaching moments!  There is still one thing she is going to learn about this toy and that is the yellow dial.  She isn't grasping the turning of things yet, so this toy will be teaching her for some days to come!!

I think this photo is great!  She is really starting to like the bath and is learning that water isn't something to be so afraid of!  She splashes like this from the moment she gets in to the moment I get her out!  It has earned her her own bath time so the girls aren't constantly being splashed.  Plus, it gives her some time to have a big tub all to herself to enjoy it!!

A little photo shoot...

We are almost two weeks past our month pictures...but here is Adah at about 3 years + a month.  And of course Eden had to get in there and have some pictures taken too! And who could pass up photos of these two cuties!!!

Eden doesn't regularly chew the edge of the table...she only does this when she is getting another tooth!  I thought it looked funny because she has to make a pretty big effort to get low enough to bite the edge!

Eden is so full of life and always brings a smile to my face with her sweet grin and big beautiful eyes!

Molly Maxine turns 2!!

Today we celebrated Molly's 2nd birthday!  Lots of wrestling, playing and of course eating birthday treats!  Happy Birthday Molly girl!  We love you!

Christmas break happenings...

Shirtless finger painting...

Wrapping ALL the animal masks around ourselves...

Putting together Kez's bike from grandma and grandpa Smith complete with spoke beads and a baby carrier (doesn't she look soooo big?!!)...

practicing our balance on the balance beam...

getting our rolling/cuddling/goofiness on (the girls go nuts when we lay a blanket out on the floor)...

pretending like they are off to school (I think as break comes to an end this is some very wishful thinking!!)...

And getting in lots and lots of cuddles...

I do have some photos of Austin too, however I won't embarrass him by posting them!! Ha! Ha!

(all these photos are from between Dec. 27th-Jan. 2nd)