Splish Splash!

Tonight Brennan had his first swim lesson! He was grinning ear to ear the whole time!

I signed him up at the Y a few months ago and we tried basketball first because I wanted to get him into some sort of physical activity. There isn't a whole lot for 3 year old boys so I was really excited when I found basketball. Well, he seemed to like it at first and then by the second session he decided he wasn't participating anymore. We took him out and got a credit toward something else since we had only attended 2 sessions, so I decided on swimming lessons.

We are so lucky to have access to a pool at my mom's and my dad's during the summer. He really enjoyed swimming last summer so I thought he would like it, but I wasn't really sure how he would be with a teacher he didn't know. I just pictured him wanting me to get in with him-no thanks;)

Well, he absolutely loved it as you can see:)

He is rarely the kid who volunteers to do something first. He has come out of his shell a lot, but he is still timid and shy at times with people he doesn't know. Well, he just jumped right into the activities, volunteering to go first.

By the end he was swimming laps in the pool by himself! Splishing. Splashing:)

I suppose the problem came when class ended. Brennan wasn't ready to go. I mean he really wasn't ready to go. The teacher had to bring him out of the pool. Then once we got into the room to get dressed he fought me to put his clothes on, crying, saying he wanted to go back, then he wanted to go somewhere else to swim. He did not want to go home. Then it was "I don't like my house!" screaming and crying all the way to the car! I'm thinking-'these people are probably wondering what is so bad about our house that my child is screaming that he doesn't like it'. Oh my! I guess all things can't be perfect and what more can I expect from a 5:30am wake up time and no nap;)

My Love

I'm not sure how I would get through most days without this magnificent little character:)

Tea Party:)

Brennan had a tea party at school today:) All the kids dressed to their best! I tried to get there early enough to get a picture of all of the kids together, but I was too late. They already had their coats on playing outside.

I did get a picture of their fancy dining area:)

Casey took Brennan to school today, he said she had a sign at the door that read "Please wait to be seated." They also had a menu to choose from that looked like a real menu. They learned about table manners and had a very good time!

I'm making Brennan a photo book for this school year and I'm thinking it will just be something I do every year. I take pictures of him with everything he makes, field trips, his outfits, etc. So far it is turning out really cute!

When Brennan came home I wanted to get picture of him with what he made in class today as well as in his fancy little outfit. Well, he was playing with June Bug so I got some pictures of the two of them playing:)

Sometimes June will let Brennan pet her, but usually she "hits" him. It's pretty funny and he actually thinks its funny too. Although the first time he did not-he came to us crying and said "Mommy, she hit me!"

Obviously it didn't hurt anything, except his feelings:)

He loves her so much and he loves to play with her and get goodnight kisses and hugs from her (this is her least favorite part of the day!) Today we were playing with her with a ball of paper. She reminds me so much of one of our kitties that ran away last summer. She carries the paper around in her mouth and plays fetch. Brennan had a whole piece of paper today that he balled up and she even picked that up...it was pretty funny as you can see!

Flying High!

Casey and Brennan flew a kite this weekend while I was at work. Casey said Brennan loved it!

Looks like quite the expert to me:)

As I'm sure the way most kites' time comes to an end-this one got stuck in a tree..

These pictures were taken on Casey's phone and this was another one with the bunch-I guess Brennan was listening to music with daddy:)

treasures

We have received a lot of gifts that will be treasured forever in memory of Reese and Scotlyn.

These are two angel sun catchers that a friend at work gave me when I came back. They are so pretty and they represent my two angels.

This is an angel pin that I received after Scotlyn passed away from my friends Amanda and Alicia that I used to work with at Children's.

I wear this necklace almost every day. My friend Kate's mom, Ruth, got this for me. On the other side it has a set of footprints. It's one of my favorites.

This is my favorite bracelet. My mom gave this to me after I came home from the hospital. I cried and cried when I got this. The charm in the middle says "mom" and there are pink footprints on either side of the "Baby Girl" charms.

For Christmas my mom got me the letters "r" and "s" and the pink heart charms.

This necklace is a locket with a heart shaped piece with Reese and Scotlyns' names on it. The piece goes inside the locket. I received this from the nurse at St John's that took care of Reese on her last day. I was so overwhelmed that she was so thoughtful and had this made for me.

This is my "two peas in a pod" necklace that my friend Kate got for me after I found out I was having twins. I can only count on one hand the amount of times I did not wear this necklace while I was pregnant and in the hospital. I still wear it too:)

This is the sweetest noted that came with my necklace:)

I received these ornaments from my mother-in-law for my birthday.

These are wooden blocks from my friend Kate. They have their initial on one side, their stats, our names and Kate and her families names. They are sitting on our mantle above our fireplace.

This is a Willow Tree statue my mom's best friend, Donna, gave us the day of Reese and Scotlyns' service. It also sits on our mantle.

My dad and Renee got us this plaque with a beautiful saying on it. It is also on our mantle.

"Even The Smallest Of Feet Have The Power to Leave Everlasting Footprints Upon The World."

Scotlyn & Reese

Forever in Our Hearts

July 24, 2010

This baby in angel wings brings me a lot of peace now when I look at it. We received this from my friends Hope and Sherry. They actually both cared for Brennan when he was in the NICU and became good friends of mine. It sits on our hearth.

This is a stone garden piece that we received from the wonderful and thoughtful ladies I work with. We are planning to do some landscaping in front in the spring and this will be the perfect addition.

We received two of these angel ornaments before Christmas from St John's Mercy Heart Prints. They are so dainty and it was so heartwarming that thought of us through the holidays. Their program at the hospital is amazing and they offered us a lot of support at the hospital and even after we came home. It was an honor to make Reese and Scotlyn's Memorials to their program to help others during a difficult time like ours.

I had these ornaments made. I was so glad to have their pictures on our tree for Christmas this year.

This is the plaque that lies beneath the Magnolia Tree that was planted in memory of Reese and Scotlyn. My friends from our playgroup, Circle of Friends, graciously gifted this to us. I will post pictures of the tree in bloom in the spring:)

This is the Red Bud tree my very best girl friends had planted for us.

They also had this plaque made that we placed in front of the tree.

They chose this tree because it has heart shaped leaves:) This picture is from the day the plaque was set. We are missing my friend Jessica in this picture. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have such a wonderful group of friends. I can never overlook how amazing the sky looks in this picture. Every time I look at it I think of my girls looking down on us through the clouds:) I miss them so very much.

This a treasure to me. I took this picture on October 1st and it is two simple blooms from my Hibiscus. Immediately when I saw these two single blooms I thought of my girls.

We have a lot of items that don't have a place, including some things from the hospital and I think I'm going to make a shadow box to put those items in. I want to make a scrapbook too. I have so much "stuff" and I really just want my babies here with me more than anything. Sigh. I also think I may have a quilt made with some special blankets, outfits that I bought for them, and my favorite maternity tops that I wore with them. I thought one big quilt with everything so sentimental would be something nice to have. Although sometimes I'm afraid to do anything to them as one piece. Then I think what am I really doing with them separated-hopefully I find the right thing to do.

These are the items we have to treasure, but we also have the memories and so many feelings of support through everything. Also, the many generous donations to March of Dimes in memory of Scotlyn and donations to Mercy Heart Prints in memory of Reese and Scotlyn. We are so fortunate to have so many supportive people in our lives.