Olivia Doesn't Know she is being taped

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43UDJdZf58I

Click on this link to watch Miss Olivia. She doesn't know that she is being taped!!

Pics of the girls

I managed to get a couple of pictures of the girls on Easter. Getting both girls in the picture at the same time and having them both smile is an accomplishment. It doesn't happen often.

Happy Birthday Olivia and Jessica!

Olivia turned four on Thursday, March 26th and Jessica turns six on Tuesday, March 31st. I decided to do a joint party this year. I think doing two parties last year nearly killed me.

This year the theme was Fancy Nancy. Olivia is really into Fancy Nancy. Jessica likes her - but likes the fact that she has a dog more. The girls got fancy for the occassion. It was all about Fancy Olivia and Jessica t-shirts, tutu's, accessories and pink sparkle shoes. Since the girls were wearing t-shirts, we did our best to make them "fancy" with bows and other accessories. Special thanks to my sister (Cece) for fixing the girls hair and making it extra fancy and Nana for making the fancy cupcakes.

The Party

This was our first all girl party. The girls got to color fancy nancy pictures on arrival, make dog collars for their stuffed puppies, pick out a fancy dress and then learn a dance. They performed the dance for a teenaged ballerina dressed as Fancy Nancy. Watching them dance was a crack up! Some of the girls had some good moves! Fancy Nancy then performed a solo for the girls. They learned a little bit of french and got to each have their picture taken with the Fancy Nancy. Then it was time for cupcakes and ice cream. We got to decorate the tables complete with feather boas and tiaras. It was probably a good thing no little boys were there - they probably would not have liked it! The girls got to leave with a balloon and their own special "fancy kit."

Anyway - here are some pics from the big day.

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Bo

We got an early Christmas present. Kathy (Grandma) and Harry (Grandpa Bo) came in from Washington to visit. We missed Ali (Mike's sister) because she wasn't able to get out of Spokane, WA as they had a record 22 inches of snow (the previous record was 13 in). Ali hasn't been able to make it down here the last two years due to weather delays. I think we need to try to have her visit during the spring or fall. Ali - you were here with us in spirit.

While Grandma and Grandpa were here, the girls had so much fun playing with them. They got to make girl and boy gingerbread cookies, went to eat at Herby K's and just spent time together.

The girls always have so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa Bo. Olivia had this pitiful little look on her face the other night and said, "I miss my black haired Grandpa." Oh man, it was so sweet!

40 and Fabulous

Kim turned 40 on Saturday. We threw her a "40 and Fabulous" party at our house and we had a blast.

And then, Kim turned on a little Beyonce and showed her Elvis rendition. Check it out. I am still laughing.

Christmas Eve and Morning

We spent Christmas Eve at my dad's house. The girls had a great time and even put on a show for everyone.

Later that night, Santa came to the Fiser's house. The girls had a blast opening up all of their gifts. Here are a few pics.

The Best Christmas Present...

Today, I received the BEST possible Christmas gift. To really understand how special this gift is, I first need to share a little bit of background. In May of this year, I had taken Jessica to Shriner's for a routine visit. She typically get x-rays (of her hips), they stretch her legs, do measurements (for tightness) and finally she gets fitted for new leg braces. What wasn't routine about the May visit was a report that we got on her left hip. I was told that Jessica's left hip was 49% "subluxed." Basically, the bone was 1/2 way out of socket. They said that it would keep getting worse and would eventually require surgery. The surgery would entail cutting her leg bone and pushing it back into socket. They would also go in and lengthen her tendons. She would be inpatient in the hospital for 1-2 weeks, at home in a lower body cast for 4-5 weeks and then she would have to go back into the hospital for 4 weeks of inpatient rehab. All and all at least a 10 week ordeal. They recommended that we schedule it in advance, so we did. We put it on the "books" for June 30, 2009. It would have meant that Jessica would have missed her first two weeks of 1st grade. Okay, so you get the drift. It is a lot to absorb when you are thinkging about putting your child through something that major.

So today, Jessica and I went back to Shriner's. This was the big "follow up" appointment. They would do her x-ray to check her hip subluxation and then we would talk about surgery. They took her x-ray. (The x-ray techs were so great, they even did an x-ray on her favorite stuffed animal, Pluto and gave it to her. How cool is that?) We waited for a little while and then the PA came in to talk to us. Her eyes looked at Jessica's s-ray results in utter disbelief. She told me that Jessica's hip subluxation had improved by 20% or 20 degrees. That basically meant that she doesn't have to have surgery. I think I was in shock. I hugged Jessica and couldn't stop crying (tears of joy). From what the PA and PT told me - it is very rare that they have children improve that much and so quickly. Prior to May, her hip had been gradually coming out of socket for the last two years. Within 7 months, it had drastically improved. They think it is from a combination of her walking (weight bearing), knee immobilizers and her abduction pillow (we do this at night), stretches, and even her horseback riding lessons! Needless to say, we will continue the horseback riding lessons again soon. The crew at Shriner's were elated for us. They reiterated to "keep doing whatever it is that we are doing." It is great for them to see because the majority of their patients don't have such a dramatic improvement without surgical intervention. Anyway, this news was the best Christmas present that I could have hoped for. It wasn't anything bought from a store and wrapped in a box, it wasn't anything homemade, it was truly a gift from God. This gift was priceless. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!