Goodbye Pacifier!

Sunday was the big day. The day Dylan finally said goodbye to his pacifier. Our intentions were always to get rid of it when he turned 2, but that didn't happen. We found excuse after excuse as to why we should keep it around. Maybe it was us that had the problem. HA! So for the past week Dylan and I have had many conversations as to what would happen to his paci come the weekend. On Friday I asked him what was going to happen to his pacifiers. He said "Tie them to a balloon and they go up to the sky. Moon gets a paci and the paci fairy gets a paci". At that point I knew he understood.

Let me back up a tad.....We had to come up with an idea on how to get rid of the pacifiers. I've heard of many great suggestions but this one I came up with on my own. Dylan loves the book Goodnight Moon and we have a song we sing about the moon, so I thought this was a perfect idea. It was important that Dylan be included in all of these decisions so I did ask him if we could send his paci's to the moon. I explained that he was a big boy and a big brother and he didn't need them anymore. When I asked if this was okay, he simply stated "yes Mommy". I proceeded to tell him that the moon and the paci fairy on the moon needed some paci's. He never once said no or became sad.

So on Sunday morning we told him it was time. After nap time Zack took Dylan to the dollar store to pick out balloons. He was extremely excited. We had no idea how many balloons it would take to lift 2 pacifiers into the sky. At first they came home with 2 but that wasn't enough. I looked at Zack and we both agreed we couldn't go back on our story now. We had to make this work. So Zack went back to the store and came home with 6 more balloons. Yup, that's right we spent $8 on BALLOONS! Oh well, its for a great cause and for a little guy that means the world to us. SO WORTH IT! So Dylan had Elmo balloons, star balloons and one smiley face balloon. He helped Zack tie the paci's onto the string. Then it was go time!

I tried to get a picture of Dylan holding the balloons prior to going outside, but he was so excited we couldn't get him to look at the camera. So we proceeded to go outside.

We had him hold the balloons and give his paci's a kiss goodbye. For the last time we explained where they were going and how they would get there. He repeated back what we said, but with a smile on his face. Could this really be this easy? I was afraid he'd have a meltdown when he let go of them. He was giggling and smiling the entire time. It was very sweet to see him kiss the paci's goodbye. That boy melts my heart!

His face during lift off was priceless. His mouth was wide open with a GIANT smile. You can kind of see it in this picture above. And off they went.................

The one thing we feared..............the balloons getting stuck in a tree! In this picture it looks like just that, but we got lucky. They floated right on by. THANK GOODNESS! We stood outside and watched them travel up to the moon until we couldnt see them anymore. Dylan waved to them with a smile on his face.

In this picture he was saying "I'm a big boy!". We were wondering how long he would be okay. It was a bittersweet moment. My little boy is growing up. We knew it was time awhile back, it just took us this long to part from those darn pacifiers. After we took this picture, Dylan and Zack went and played golf in the yard. Dylan never brought up the paci again for the remainder of the day. At night he went to bed without any problems. He looked on his dresser where we kept them and stared for a moment, but never said anything. He climbed in bed and that was that. No problem. Goodbye Paci!

We are so proud of Dylan! Just another reason why he is so awesome.

Hurricane Irene

Let me start off by saying.. I AM SICK OF NATURAL DISASTERS! I freak out during lightning and thunderstorms, so you can imagine my nerves during times like these. We have lived in Western New York, Southern California, and now Central North Carolina. Therefore, we have experienced snow, blizzards, earthquakes, wild fires, tornado's and now hurricanes. I think I am leaving something out but I can't remember. (lack of brain power from sleepless nights)

So now that we have experienced some degree of all of the above, I'd prefer not to be apart of any natural disaster again. Yes I know, this won't happen. I can hope right?

Now, onto Hurricane Irene. I'm sure most of you watch the news and are very aware of Irene's path. In Holly Springs we saw no more than an inch of rain and LOTS of gusty winds. We decided to stay in for the day and not subject the kids to the crazy weather. On a side note: Dylan thought he would blow away if he went outside. Throughout the day I tried to capture some of our family moments.

Zack & Emersyn early in the morning. I love her little polka-dot jammies! We did spend the majority of our day in comfy clothing. It was a great day for that.

We built a track for Dylan's match box cars. We also built cool things with blocks, Lincoln logs and Lego's. Dylan is a busy body and pretty much played with everything he owned.

We love to take funny pictures of ourselves. Dylan thinks it's funny. I obviously looked not so cute this day, hence me attempting to hide behind my handsome little guy.

Keeping busy with puzzles is always fun. After we put together the puzzle, we used the pieces to create a cube to put little treasures in.

Zack took Dylan out to get the mail. At first he was hesitant because he thought he'd blow away. He spent a lot of his time looking out the window and the trees blowing to and fro. He finally decided to go out but in the arms of Daddy. Once he was out there, he loved it. He didn't want to come back in. I think he like the wind in his face.

Emersyn obviously isn't as active as Dylan. She did have tummy time and play a little. Here she is looking beautiful as ever. She really didn't care about the hurricane.

Windy days make Niko & Blitz C.R.A.Z.Y. They love to take walks in the wind. We walked them in the morning and at night, but during the day they had spurts of craziness. In this picture they were wrestling. Something caught their eye out the front door and they froze. I took the opportunity to include them in our Saturday Hurricane pictures.

Dylan loves to sit on Zack's shoulders. I think he was squeezing Zack's head. HA!

Overall we had a great day while Hurricane Irene was passing through. I'm glad we didn't get anymore than rain and winds. I'd be happy if I never saw another natural disaster. Keep in mind, Holly Springs had an earthquake on Tuesday and in April we had a tornado. EEEEKKK!

The Bumbo

The Bumbo Baby Seat was invented by Johan Buitendach of South Africa in 2001 to help his infant grandson sit up and see what was going on around him. As of 2009, the Bumbo Baby Seat factory in South Africa produces 100,000 seats per month and exports them all over the world.

One of those seats resides in our house and we LOVE IT! People have mixed reviews on this seat due to the safety. We supervise our children in the seat and both of them love it. It allows them to take in the world around them. Dylan had a teal one and Emersyn has a pink one.

Dylan loves to sit next to Emersyn when she is in the Bumbo. The funny part is he himself can fit in the seat. When he was little we could barely get his chubby legs in and out of it. Now he is a string bean. He's 2 1/2 and STILL fits in the seat. He thinks it's funny to sit in it.

GOTTA LOVE THE BUMBO!

DJ Duo

Dylan got his little DJ machine when Emersyn was born. He loves music and loves to dance, so why not create his own beats?!? When I sing into the microphone Dylan yells "No Mommy, no singing", but when Zack plays he loves it. The two of them make me smile as Zack tries to get Dylan to rap. I took these on Monday evening when I had a migraine. Wasn't that kind of them to blast tunes and sing! No worries, my boys are my world and its the little things they do that make me smile.

This picture was very hard to get. Dylan refused to look up. He was concentrating on his music.

I LOVE MY BOYS!

Meet White Bear "Bear"

White Bear or "Bear" as Dylan calls him, was given to him when he was an infant. It was a gift from Grandma (my Mom). When asked the bears names, he will tell you that the big bear is "Daddy bear" and the baby is "baby bear". On the foot of the big bear is a symbol representing the Hunters Hope Foundation. While Dylan doesn't understand the symbol, he sees a heart and calls it 'love'. Dylan carries or drags bear all over the house. Bear sits on the table while Dylan eats, snuggles with Dylan during cartoon times, and moves about the house as Dylan makes his daily mess of toys. Every night Dylan sleeps with Bear. He is essential to the nightly routine. Dylan uses Bear as a soother. He rubs his fur, which eventually puts him to sleep. I think it's sweet how much he loves his bear.

One day Bear will be replaced by something 'cooler' like the boy in Toy Story. But until then, Bear is the apple of Dylan's eye!

The Mailbox

Growing up I loved getting the mail everyday. I'd hear the mailman coming down the street and I'd run out to meet him. I didn't even care if there wasn't anything for me. For some reason I thought this was exciting.

Now flash forward to 2011....

I own a home and have many bills to pay. When I hear the mailman zooming down the street, I'm not as exited as I once was. Usually our mail consists of bills, magazines, and junk mail. Since Emersyn's surgery I feel like that's all we get are medical bills. Oh what fun, NOT! So when I see a card or a flyer I appreciate them more. The childhood giddiness slowly floods my heart. Yup, pretty dorky I know.

This brings me to Dylan's love for the mailbox. A boy after my own heart!! He loves to put mail in and put the flag up. In the afternoon he likes to open the mailbox door. He looks in and says "no presents, just mail".

Regardless of what's in the mailbox, he loves to get the mail. It makes me smile! I want that excitement to stay with him for a long time. Well, until he starts getting bills and the excitement fades. I just bought him a year subscription to National Geographic Kids. So when my mom isn't sending the kids 'presents', he will have mail. I can't wait to see his face when the first magazine comes for him. Maybe it will rekindle my weird love affair with getting the mail. HA!

I'll be sure to post up a picture when Dylan receives his first National Geographic.

Cranio- Awareness

In Thursday's paper (North Carolina's News & Observer) there was an article featured on the front page about a Craniosynostosis surgery at Duke Hospital. Duke is where Emersyn had her surgery. I was very excited to see the article! I'm saving it for Emersyns baby book.

Before Emersyns surgery we had never heard of Craniosynostosis. I think it's important to make people aware. There are so many Cranio families that didn't realize there was anything wrong with their little one, therefore had surgery later in life. Keep in mind, surgery before five months is preferred. Some children are almost 2 before their condition is fixed. Emersyn has created awareness in our small community of family and friends. I know this because we received many texts, emails and FB messages alerting us of the newspaper article. That tells me that those people thought of her and could relate it to our situation. I'm thankful for that.

It's now our job to educate others. We WERE those people who assumed we'd have healthy babies. I don't think any parent is prepared for a situation like this, but it was the information and support we received from other families in the same situation that helped us. We in turn want to help others through our experience.

Here is the link to the newspaper article:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/18/1419617/in-a-first-at-duke-a-babys-skull.html

*Also as a side note: Emersyn had a traditional strip craniectomy. The baby in the article and the endoscopic version that requires a helmet for 18 months after the surgery. They both had a similar condition and the surgery was preformed the same doctor.