What happened this summer? Part 1- The Binkie Fairy Came

We decided that we would figure out a way to take away her binkies this summer & we tried several tactics. First we 'lost' her binkie & that turned into tears & screaming from a very tired girl until she suddenly stopped & she was asleep within 5 minutes, yep she found a binkie. So then I located all of the binkies that I could & after 1 week we tried again. First we tried to tell her that the baby monkeys at the zoo were sad & needed binkies to be able to go to sleep to be happy. She agreed & said that the baby monkeys can share a binkie so that they could have 1 & she could have 1 (we were down to 2 binkies at this point). So we tried something else that did work.

Ready for the new story that any future kids of ours will get fed? Here we go.

When the big girl/boy is ready to give their binkies to the binkie fairy the mommy or daddy has to call the binkie fairy to let them know where to pick up the binkie (I'll explain later why daddy had to call) There is a binkie fairy that comes & takes the binkies that big girls & boys leave & they take it to the new babies that don't have one. You put it in a box outside &... Here's were we won her over... she's no dumby!.. then as a thank you the binkie fairy leaves a present for them the next morning. TA-DA & she was sold!

So I told her that Daddy had to call the binkie fairy because my sister Melissa, made us 'aware' of the existenance of the binkie fairy while Donald was off breaking his foot in the High Sierra Mountains... and the was NO WAY I was going to start this process without the love, support & presence of him. So these are several videos of the Payton talking about & getting ready for the binkie fairy. They are long so they are mainly posted for grandparents, but feel free to watch if you'd like.

Who is the binkie fairy?


What do you mean I can't see the binkie fairy?


I had to cut off the rest of the video because the crying continued & I didn't want to annoy you all. Here's a little of what you missed.

The Binkie Fairy came! At of dark 30 that morning... we were so excited! And by the way when she is saying 'anything' she trying to say that there is nothing in there so she went back to the patio door to look for something else... the note that the binkie fairy left of covering the toy.


I know that this is not a new story that I've come up with but I'm so glad that it worked.
Now if anyone knows how to get your child to stop talking & singing while it's time to go to bed I'm ready for you to bestow your knowledge!

Just a teaser...

I've been so busy lately that posting has been too far down the list... So until I can post some more here is a little bit of what we've been doing.

We've been here a lot!

There's been a lot of this!

Some of this! *drum roll please* WITHOUT FLOATIES!!!

And some of this...

Next week life should slow down a little bit more so I will hopefully be able to get some posts going.

Until then - Jenn

Donald's High Sierra Trip & Injury

Donald went on his 3rd High Sierra trip with the Scouts. They left the Thursday before Father's Day (yes he was gone on Father's Day, but that is the last time I will mention that!)
He always comes back with the best pictures that usually end up as the background picture for our computer.
This year I requested more pictures of Donald & people in it.


By Sunday they had hiked 17 miles to their last camping place. Sunday's plan was to hike another 5 miles up to Lake Precipus (Sp?)/Eagle Scout Point and have lunch. It had snowed the week before so there was a lot of snow & ice.

Gorgeous scenery all around!!

So on their way back about 3/4 mile from the top Donald was right where the last boy was in the picture. He stepped into the snow & lost his footing & twisted his ankle...
So they taped it up & had to walk 4 miles back to camp in rocky terrain. At camp he soaked it in the ice cold lake & elevated it all night. The next morning the Trail Boss of the Trail Maintenance Crew came by & helped to tape it up. He said that if Donald couldn't walk on it that he could call for a Helicopter or he could walk 5 miles to the Ranger Station & Helo out from there. So of course Donald walked to the Ranger Station & left early to get a head start.
Along the way Donald 'Iced' his foot whenever they were near a river.
So he got to the Ranger Station & by then it was "feelin' good enough" to keep going. So he ended up walking 21 miles total on his twisted ankle.... that turned out to be

BROKEN!

Yes that's right it's broken!

Here is what it looked like about 20 minutes after ripping off the tape.

And here it was the next morning.

So life has been busy here...
For some...

Pizza Pizza

We LOVE pizza in our house, actually Donald & I love pizza. Payton doesn't! She is such a good helper that I thought that if she helped to make it that she would eat it. I thought it was a great idea, but Payton is too smart for us!

It was so yummy & I was glad for the help. Maybe someday she'll be like every other kid & like pizza! Oh well, I guess we will keep her... for now! :)

See a Difference?

See a Difference? I do! For a few months after surgery Payton was on a lot of medication to help her not to retain ANY water. Yes this made Potty Training easier in some ways but it also kept us out of the hospital. She was also on a low-to-no fat diet. I guess it's one of those things that you don't really notice as much as it is happening but wow look at the difference. The picture below was taken in February (Surgery was 12/8).

This picture was taken on Cinco De Mayo just 3 months later. Her little dimple is back & I love it!

We have been turned loose by her Cardiologist until September, a whole 4 months between appointments! She is doing so well & I couldn't be happier. (Payton was just looking at the photo & said 'look mama, i so really really tute (cute)'. I can't believe the things that she's been saying lately!)

Backpack part 1

So Payton is 'big enough' to comfortably wear a backpack & she does! When ever it's time to go I have her pack the toys that she wants to take with us in her backpack.

She always has one of her babies with her. It used to be one baby that would go everywhere, now it's a different one every time.

She has a few more backpacks that we have acquired so there will be more posts to come.

What do you do on Memorial Day?

We love to watch the fly overs. Unfortunately is was cloudy that day so they didn't fly right over my parents house. I've decided that I'm one of those Americans that would love a fly-over every now & then. My favorite part about New Years is the fly over at the beginning of the parade (now that is a fly-over! They are really low & it's thrilling!) & the fly over at the beginning of the Rose Bowl game..... sorry, tangent...
Everyone runs outside to catch a glimpse.
This year was all about projects. We took advantage of the weather & the guys removed a few more stumps. I transplanted some stuff in the garden... I'll post about the garden later.
Even the kids were put to work. Casey brought the corn to Grandma.
And even help shuck the corn. He is such a good helper.
The kids did get some play time in.
Ryan & Payton tried to swat flies... (okay before you get grossed out, the swatters were brand new).
And we were lucky that they didn't see any flies on each other. This kept them busy for at least 30 to 40 minutes, it was awesome!
And even though it was cold & the water was on the cool side, we swam (actually I didn't but some did) & had fun. Payton is Miss Independent in the pool now that she has figured out floaties.
There was happy play.
And serious play.
Some cold strolls on the deck.
We had good friends & yummy ribs that Tyler made... I'm kicking myself that I didn't take more pictures! But from the picture below you should be able to determine that even the youngest eater thoroughly enjoyed what was served.

At the end of the day they sat around discussing the progress that was made that day... and determined it was a success. Yeah another fun & successful Memorial Day! (And posted before the 4th of July... woowhoo! Another success)