The Vance's: January 2013

from the mouth of a child.

>> January 15, 2013

Many people have told me that year 3 is really hard, even harder than 2. Well, Carter has only been three for a little over a month but so far I'm loving it! His behavior has been less crazy, he's listening, more independent and saying the funniest things. Just so i don't forget them later, here's a few funny conversations from the past few weeks.

Me: Carter, you are such a good brother, always watching Lucy to protect her.
C: Mom, Lucy isn't the prospector, she's Lucy! (from Toy Story)

While working on the difference between the words "he" versus "she"
Me: What are you? A boy or girl?
C: Boy, so....he!
Me: Yep! What's Lucy? Boy or girl?
C: Girl, so...she!
Me: That's right. So, is Daddy a boy or girl?
C: Mama....he's not a boy! He's a Daddy!

While playing Candyland:
C: There are 4 colors: red, green, yellow and blue. And 4 people in my family: me, mama, daddy, lucy. That is my whole family! Wow!

C: Mom, who bought this shirt for me?
Me: I did.
C: Thank you mom. Who bought this book?
Me: Daddy did.
C: Thank you Daddy. Who bought Lucy's head?
Me: Well, I made her head when she was in my tummy.
C: Haha...no, really mom. Who bought it?

And not to be outdone by her brother. Lucy has been quite the chatterbox herself!
Newest words:
Mama
Dog
Dis (this)
nigh nigh (night night)
Daddy
Yes
Aby (baby)

a scary hairy adventure.

>> January 14, 2013

This past weekend was supposed to be my special day to get away. And, well...I guess I succeeded in that. Just not the way I intended. Let me explain.

For any mom out there, you know those days away from the kids are few and far between. Don't get me wrong. I adore my kids, love them to pieces and am so incredibly grateful for my husband getting a job that allows me to be home more with them. But, it's nice to have a day away sometimes. I haven't had my haircut in quite some time and planned to drive up to Bellingham for the day to have some girl time.

I woke up on Saturday morning really tired and not feeling great. But, I assumed it was because Lucy was up early and I hadn't had any coffee yet. I just ignored it, ate a small piece of toast and drove up north. I actually felt much better once I got to the hair salon. Amy, my wonderful hair stylist, started foiling my hair as we caught up on life from the past few months. She moved me to another chair to let my color set while she saw another client.

I settled in with a good magazine, sipped away on some water and just relaxed. And then it hit. Something just didn't feel right. I started to get a little shaky, dizzy and just uncomfortable. I figured I was getting low blood sugar from not eating much that morning and embarrassingly stood up to ask for a snack. Well, standing up just caused the dizziness to escalate and I started to lose my footing and began seeing spots. Somehow I made my way back to the chair, but that's all I remember.
I woke up (I was told about a minute later) with a sweet old woman slapping my hand telling someone she thought I had diabetes (haha!) and having some orange slices put in my face to eat. I was still dizzy, really disoriented, sweating like a cow and numbness spread though my arms. I heard Amy talking to the 911 dispatcher and finally started to realize what had happened.
About a minute later 3 male paramedics came in and hooked me up to check my vitals. I heard someone say I was very pale (and somewhat greenish) and just "didn't look good." The paramedics called for back-up and said I needed to go to the hospital. I was alert enough by then to get super embarrassed. I still thought it was from low blood sugar and felt silly having to go to the hospital, where many of my friends work. And, I still had foil in my hair! Luckily, Amy spoke up and asked the paramedics if she could wash my hair before I left. She didn't want the color to sit in too long and wanted me to look "cute" before I went. Haha...only a hair stylist would be concerned about my hair in the middle of a medical emergency. The men were so considerate and even though it was a bit strange to have a girl hooked up to a blood pressure cuff and oxygen saturation while getting her hair washed, they just went along with it.
2 minutes later I was sitting in an ambulance (probably the most expensive ride I'll ever have....not looking forward to that medical bill) and asking to call Matt to let him know what happened.
I was rushed into the ER and had fluids just dumped into me via IV.
I honestly thought I would only be there for an hour or so, have a friend drive me back to the salon, finish up my hair cut and drive back home. Little did I know I was extremely dehydrated and my blood pressure refused to rise above 85/45. Bloodwork was taken and a CT scan was ordered. 4 hours later I was diagnosed with dehydration (duh) and pneumonia (what!?!).
Now I have doctor's orders to rest, drink fluids and stay home from work for a week. This is not an easy task. I am a mom, a busy mom. I rarely sit down, I love to be productive and I love to be active. I am so blessed to have wonderful friends, in-laws and a babysitter who all came to the rescue to help us out. Lesson learned: listen to your body and take care of yourself. Otherwise you'll end up in the ER with wet, partially colored hair and a very memorable story to tell.

1 and 3.

>> January 8, 2013

We had Carter's 3 year and Lucy's 1 year pictures taken at the beginning of December. For the 5 people that read this blog you've probably already seen these from facebook and/or our Christmas card but oh well. I have cute kids and wanted to show them off again.

Evantide Photography has taken our pictures during many of our biggest life changes. Engagement, wedding, maternity, newborns and now toddlers. They do such a great job with the kids and are so fun too!

Lucy was a little cuddly at first, but then smiled away at the camera.

My big 3 year old!!!

How is she one? I still can't believe it.

They called this shot the peanut butter jelly pose. We were trying to make a smashed sandwich with ourselves. During the photo shoot Matt and I thought they were crazy and figured this picture would look ridiculous. Darn those photographers for knowing their stuff....this is one of my favorite shots!

Us. When comparing this to our engagement pictures we looked like babies back then!

This cracks me up! I'm gently holding Carter's hand and Matt is grabbing his arm hoping he doesn't run away (again.)

This was the last shot taken at Pioneer Park after Carter had run and slipped in the mud, needing an outfit change and starting to lose his excitement with the camera. It's perfect. Cute parents trying to have a moment with a toddler in a mismatched outfit and a little girl pulling her older brother's hair. Doesn't get more real-life than that!

For Carter's 1 year pictures we went to a local cupcake shop in B'ham and let him have his first smash cake. We loved how the pictures turned out and wanted to do the same with Lucy. Wanna Cupcake in downtown Puyallup let us invade their storefront and even gave us a free birthday cupcake! They were delicious!

Carter showing her how to really eat a cupcake!

She was much more delicate than Carter was when he was one. She just slowly took her time and never even ate a bite of the actual cake. Just some smashed frosting!

A shot of her adorable little outfit with sparkly blue leggings that Matt picked out himself!

Thanks Evantide!

Merry Christmas 2012

>> January 6, 2013

We love Christmas and try to celebrate it in every way during the entire month of December! Some of our favorite highlights:

It wasn't Lucy's first Christmas but the first one she didn't sleep though (I'll give her a break being only 5 days old on her first Christmas last year!). She loved the tree and ornaments but surprisingly left them alone most of the time. I remember having to constantly watch Carter when he was this age but Lucy seemed to be much more gentle. It was a pleasant surprise!

An attempt at a cute sibling picture but turned into a fake looking hug and glare at the camera. They really do love each other....a lot!

We went to Swanson's Nursery one weekend to visit the reindeer. It is such a beautiful garden and nursery. We ended up spending almost 2 hours there walking around, looking at all the decorations and having some hot chocolate. So fun!

One night (well many nights actually, but the one we took a picture of) we took the kids out for a drive to look at Christmas lights. It was so fun to pop some popcorn, get some hot chocolate, wear Christmas PJ's and drive around town! It was also a great opportunity for Matt and I to figure out the roads in Bothell without worrying about getting too lost.

Christmas Eve we decorated our sugar cookies! This was actually like 7am since the kids woke up so early and we figured we'd just sugar them up so they'd have more time to burn it off before nap time!

Then we got dressed into our Christmas clothes! Love my little candy cane.

We spent Christmas Eve with my family at our house. The kids got to open up their presents from my brother and sister-in-law. Lucy loves her new baby! She carries her around everywhere, gives her hugs and kisses and puts her in her new stroller to go for a "walk." Such a good little mama!

Carter was always ready to "help" everyone else open up their presents too.

Carter is still obsessed with all things pirate. His big request was for a pirate ship this year. My brother went out and bought the biggest pirate ship he could find...a new pirate tent! It's awesome and the perfect hide-out for Carter when he wants some alone time (or time to play with the IPad without Lucy bugging him).

Christmas morning before all the chaos began.

One of Lucy's favorite gifts was her new water bottle.

Carter loves to read and got many new books. He decided to stop opening presents for a while and just read. It was the perfect break in the morning for the adults to grab some coffee, clean up the room and just relax a little.

Lucy's new stroller!

And his big present from Santa: a new pirate ship!

After we finished Christmas morning we drove up to Camano Island for round 2 with Matt's family.

Our annual family picture in front of the tree.

The kids showing their love for one another.

Lucy climbed over several presents to try and grab some ornaments. Determined little girl!

Grandma and Grandpa Vance.

The original Vance clan!

Grandpa Vance just loved watching the kids open their presents. Big smiles all around!

And then lots of cuddles when we were finished. Unwrapping presents is hard work for a one year old!

We spent the rest of the day playing with toys, watching movies and eating delicious food. It was a great Christmas!!!

A Winter Onederland Party!

I had this really wonderful post about Lucy's first birthday party and when I hit the "publish" button it all just disappeared. Ugh! So, here we go again!

Knowing that Christmas comes just 5 days after Lucy's birthday and we have another fun birthday to celebrate the same month I started planning Lucy's party months in advance. After browsing Pinterest I decided to go with a Winter ONEderland theme! It's become quite popular but still fun.

Of course, just days before the party, Lucy got sick with her first ear infection and the doctor said no kids allowed at the party. I was so sad. Sad for my little girl getting sick but also just disappointed that all my time, energy and money was sort of wasted. I had already planned, purchased and prepped a super cute hot chocolate bar, sugar cookie decorating station, candy cane playdoh party favors and many more snowflakes littering the house. And, Carter got sick for his first birthday too (hmmm...a birthday curse?!?) so I thought Lucy's party could be some sort of redemption! I was wrong.

Instead, I called the grandparents and said the party was still on. Just a much smaller version. And we had fun. Celebrated. Reminisced about a fantastic year. And watched our baby girl turn one.

Happy Birthday Lucy!

My attempt at a winter themed homemade Happy Birthday bunting banner. For not having an ounce of craftiness in my body, I loved how it turned out.

A year in pictures. This was probably Plan D for how I envisioned it but ended up loving it.

Someone wanted to help me decorate!

Homemade snowflake sugar cookies.

Snowman cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting (my new obsession!)

The birthday girl!

The cake!

Lucy had just woken up from a nap, still had some pain in her ears and really only wanted to cuddle with me at the beginning of the party. So, not much love for Matt.