Glasses for Allyson

Last month on October 28th we took Finn and Allyson in for their annual check-ups at the doctor and I asked them to check her vision. There have not been huge signs that her vision was weak, but just little things here and there we have picked up on and she always sits right on top of the TV. She has never squinted or complained of headaches. Anyhow, when the nurse checked her vision, there were some definite vision issues.

I scheduled her an appointment at my optometrist for the following week, which was the earliest I could get in. Ally did great at the appt and the doctor confirmed she is need of glasses. However, she felt more comfortable if we also got a second opinion at a pediatric ophthalmologist since she is only 6 and could not correct her left eye to 20/20 {only 20/40 because it is pretty week and her right eye has been compensating for it}.

So, yesterday she had her appointment across town at a hospital. She had an assistant check her eyes, then a doctor and lastly an ophthalmologist. She was a trooper and never complained once.

So proud of my big girl. The little butterfly headband she has on is one she made from a kit she got from her MawMaw and PawPaw for her birthday. :-)

She ended up having to get her eyes dilated, so she had to wear some cool shades home!

Since we've had to wait a few weeks for appointments, I did not want to wait anymore on getting her glasses. I want my baby to see clear! Oh and her prescription was the same at both doctors: -3.00 in her left eye and -1.25 in her right eye. She is near sided and has an astigmatism in her left eye. All of that is very similar to my vision as well. She is also supposed to wear a patch on her right eye for a couple of hours a day to help strengthen her left eye. We go back in 2 months for a check-up.

I packed up the kiddos and we headed to Lens Crafters in the mall. Can I tell you it was like country came to town in there?!? We definitely do not get out enough. Jase could not get over all of the stores {plus this was a pretty big and fancy mall}. He said "this place has all you need. It's like Walmart and Target all in one." I was dying!! He kept saying Walmart over and over again as we're walking past Nordstrom's!! Pipe down, son! It was funny!

She narrowed down her selection between a black and purple Disney pair and a black and pink pair with a butterfly on the side. She kept going back to the butterfly pair so that was the winner!

Daddy met us at the mall after work, which was nice. Walking out of the store Daddy and Allyson tested her new glasses out on some signs in the distance.

Before we left we were able to stop in the Disney and Lego store. Of course I had to get a few shots of her with her new glasses on! So cute!

Family in town

This past month we've had quite a few visitors and I haven't had time to document our weekends.

Grandma and Grandpa came up a month ago and brought up two of our nephews: Coby and Lance. The kids had a blast playing with them. Unfortunately, our kids came down with a stomach bug and our visitors ended up taking it home too. Hate that.

 
Grandma and Grandpa join in on the bowling fun!

 
We just love Beard Park, and we thought they might enjoy it as well!

Intense game of Tenzi going on!

Nanny and PawPaw came up the first weekend in November. Jase and PawPaw must have worked on this circuits kit for several hours. They started out inside and then moved in the garage and then to the backyard. It was great seeing them work on this together.

Worship time with my family! I'm so glad they got to hear the word from our preacher. So good!

So sweet. PawPaw loves his Ally. He is great with the kids. Always willing to play Lego's or hold a baby.

And with the sudden change of plans for Maebry's party, my mom, sister and brother's girlfriend decided to make a quick trip up this past weekend. They were only in town for about 36 hours, but it was good to see them. My mom was a huge help {as always} getting ready for the party.

Silly girls!

Our Deer Maebry is One

We had originally planned on throwing Mae a little smash cake party on the night of her birthday last Wednesday. Well, the night before the party we decided that it was best if we postponed it until the weekend. Finn was not feeling well and I ended up taking him to the doctor on Mae's birthday. We had quite a few friends unable to make it due to prior commitments on Saturday, but it all worked out and little Maebry had a great time.

I decided to piggy back on the colors in her room for the party: gold, white, coral, mint and light pink. I actually used a ton of décor from her room for the party, which worked out great and was cost efficient. "Our deer Maebry is one."

I made the cakes and icing for our party. I was going for simple, nothing fancy. I think they turned out just perfect. I used some toothpicks and some mini clothes pins and added the letters to the cakes.

I also made some mini cupcakes. For the little flags I used washi tape I had on-hand and wrapped it around the toothpicks. Then I cut slits out of them to make them look like little banners.

I ordered this sign below off of Etsy and had it printed at Costco. I customized it to fit her party colors and made it all about her! It is now in her room. Super fun!

The party favor table. Each family took home a Bambi book. "Hello deer friend, thank you for coming" was on the label. And they filled up a bag of goodies. Don't tell anyone, but it was Halloween candy! I sorted through it and put them in mason jars and Voila!

I printed 4x4 pictures that I took of her each month. I used mini clothes pins {my favorite} and tacked them to some twine {another favorite} and hung it up with some washi tape {again, favorite}. I plan on arranging these some how in her room on display.

The food. You know I am a sucker for fun food names. Since the focus was Deer Maebry, I went with a forest theme with the names. I'm not even sure anyone noticed the signs, but I enjoyed making them! Oh, and that little bowl of Trail Mix below...Heaven. It is a combination of Cheerios, Chex, pretzel sticks, mini M&M's, and peanuts topped with melted white chocolate chips. Original recipe is found here. Make it, you will thank me! Or maybe not if you're trying to cut back. Ha! Would be great for a Christmas gift to teachers, neighbors, Sunday school teachers, coworkers! Ok, I'll stop. But seriously, so good.

We buckled Maebry up and sang happy birthday to her! She was ready to dig in!

The cake was a hit! She knew exactly what she was doing and enjoyed every minute of it! And she was not about to give anyone a bite!

 

She slowed down quite a bit and needed something to drink before it all came up!! I pulled the cake away and called it quits! She was not messy with the cake at all, but did put a good dent in it!

She was a little comatose during present time from all the cake, but she loved all of her presents. And so did Ally and Finn!

Don't be left out of the herd...create your antlers! Fun antlers from the Christmas craft section at Hobby Lobby.

I snuck upstairs to check on the boys and they were in Heaven, Lego Heaven that is.

Happy 1st birthday deer Maebry! We love you, sweet girl!

Current happenings

I just can't seem to keep up with the blog these days. The busy season is definitely upon us. We finished up our last day of the semester with our Classical Conversations group on Monday. Hard to believe 12 weeks have already flown by. I am really enjoying this group of kids and moms, and the content I love! I feel like we are finally starting to open up and share with one another. It is nice. We had a Thanksgiving style potluck on Monday and the dads even joined us, which was special. The kids performed the timeline song they work on each week {there and at home} for the dads. Here is a little clip.

Here we are at CC last week during science; the kids were dissecting a flower and labeling all of the parts.

Last night at American Heritage Girls, Allyson had a busy night with jump roping, making a zoology poster and working on Psalm 100. She was also in the flag ceremony...big stuff right there!

The girls also practiced a few Christmas songs for a future caroling outing. So fun!

And a little rhyme they made up to go along with their jump rope time!

This evening we went to our chiropractor for an adjustment. We have been going to her for a few months now, 2-3 times a month. All of us get checked and adjusted, if needed. It is great preventative care and we feel so much better afterwards. 

Tonight Jase had his first basketball practice. We haven't even wrapped up fall baseball yet and basketball season is already underway. He knows a few of the boys from his baseball team, which is nice. We are hoping the Miami Hurricanes have a great season! 

While Jase was at practice {Daddy was at a bible study}, me and the younger kiddos went to Dickey's Barbecue Pit for some dinner. This was our first time to eat there and they ate like champs!

Can I brag on my kids for a second? They behaved so well for me this evening and I thanked them. It really made for a smooth and enjoyable outing. After dinner they each had a little ice cream and they were all smiles!

We wrapped up dinner and picked Jase up from practice. His top three things from practice tonight were:

1. Scrimmaging 

2. Lay-up/rebound drills

3. Defense

He was hungry, so we stopped at Subway. I gave him my card and ID and sent him in to order and pay. I wasn't sure how that would work, but thought I would give it a try so I didn't have to get all the kiddos out. I parked right in front and watched him go in.

He walked out with a grin on his face and held up his subway bag. When he got in the car, he said "Yes! I did it all by myself!" and handed me my card and ID. He is getting older by the minute. Hard to believe he is already 8.5 years old!