Forever

Although he can't be my sounding board when I feel like I need him the most, I'm confident my dad is forever by my children's sides.

Daddy's 65! What?

*This was supposed to be posted on Mike's actual birthday (2/27) but as usual, time got away from me, but late is better than never.

For whatever reason Molly canNOT remember that Mike is celebrating his 46th birthday. She's quite insistent that he's turning 65 and, honestly, I'm not too quick to correct her!

Mike and Alec are campers. They don't mind the only shower they get is in the dirty lake, they enjoy eating hotdogs for every.single.meal, and the heat doesn't seem to bother them. They are on a mission to get Molly to join their club since I will not. For Mike's birthday I got him the tent of his dreams and the kids each got him something useful for camping. You can see who is excited about the upcoming camping season - even if I wasn't holding the camera I wouldn't be in that group high five!

Good Day

Today was a snow day - right in the middle of the week and not just any week, a week when I have two baking orders so a day off work was just what I needed. We built a snowman, got some laundry done, had snowball fights, played with the neighbors (got some great action shots), and baked lots and lots of cupcakes!

Today was also Molly's 3rd vision exam to determine if she needed glasses, which is does not quite yet. Probably in a few years. But not yet. This is the first time we've left a doctor's office in 2013 without tears.

What a good day!

Why

Our blog often seems as if we favor one child no matter how hard I try. Tonight I am sharing photographic proof of why it is so difficult to equally represent BOTH of our children. I'm ready for this phase to end. Now.

Generations

What a spectacular weekend filled with car buying, prom-dress shopping, first-time concert goers, random videos and lots and lots of laughs (not to mention lots and lots and lots of macaroni and cheese consumed after 11pm)! 

We also laughed about classic family stories, had dinner with good friends, shared many old memories and made plenty of new ones. 

But I did discover that I'm no longer young enough to stay up to the wee hours of the morning. 

Thank goodness for naptime!

Endless

possibilities are what we wish for our children. Endless memories are what we strive to create.

Diagnosis

January 2009

Molly was diagnosed with unilateral conductive hearing loss. In layman's terms: hearing loss in one ear due to a malfunction between the ear canal and the middle ear. In some children this is caused by compacted wax or a foreign object obstructing the canal. We have another assessment in March and depending on how well she fails, we will discuss surgery. 

Mike's more positive than me. I find myself wanting to throw a pity party for myself, not really myself, but for my daughter. Wanting to call everyone I know and go over every.single.last detail for them to offer words of encouragement. In truth, everyone else is right; I'm wrong. Of the possible diagnoses, this is the one we prayed for - the fixable one. It could be worse. We've witnessed worse. 

I will stop feeling sorry for us. Eventually.