New Shoes!

Learning how to balance hand me downs is something that is TOTALLY for to me! My sister and I are 16 years apart, hand me downs didn't work for us. But, with two girls only 2 1/2 years apart, hand me downs are a part of the Strader Girls. What exactly do you pass down?

Pajama's, play clothes, dress clothes, shoes? When do you buy them their own and when is the left over in the closet ok?

I have been learning...oddly the girls' seasons are flipped...so what was summer clothes for Natalie couldn't be used as winter clothes for Allison...so Ally got LOTS of new clothes...the basics worked but not the seasonal stuff. Now that Ally is in shoes (attempting to run..too cute!) I am finally getting around to buying her her first pair of NEW shoes just for Ally to run and play...

Sadly, when I went to the store I bought a 4, after all that is the size of the hand me down shoes she was totting around in so it must be the right size. Well, every time I tried to put the new ones on she cried and tugged at her feet. She never actually got to wear the shoes...and I finally made it back to the store (several months later). Had her sized by the nice girl with balloons and she was a size 6...WHAT? A 6? Well no wonder the 4's made her cry...

So now she is happy as a clam in her NEW size 6 shoes..all for Ally! She still loves the old stretched out size 4's from Natalie's hand me down bin. But for when it counts she can strut her stuff in her new ones bought just for her!

Natalie on the other hand is always sporting some new shoes...I think her feet start growing the minute we leave the shoe store. Plus we have the wide foot, Fred Flinstone problem so I can never just buy the cute and cheap shoes. I am the mom at the counter special ordering the extra wide and am only given 2 or 3 choices of styles, woe is me! On this same shoe outing (when Ally got her new size 6's) Natalie left the shoe store sporting a new pair of running shoes, also used for biking, playing , hopping, skipping and all the other umpteen things she is busy doing all day long. I was having a lucky day because they had wide shoes in stock! Yeah for me! And to top it off, her friend Hannah, got the same shoes, even though she isn't a wide foot! What is better then two friends shoe shopping and leaving the store for lunch bouncing about in matching pink running shoes!

Shoes, shoes, shoes - one of the many benefits of having Ben's 3 girls...

Ally meeting with Dr. Ramos

Ally has waited so long to see the pediatric cardiologist. Much to my dismay with the endless insurance hurdles and disconnected while on hold phone calls we finally had a pleasant experience. We were called in this morning by Dr. Ramos himself, not a nurse! We were so happy to have a hands on doctor, he was direct and honest. He was simple and humble. Can you tell that I liked him?

Ally did too! She was pretty fussy in the waiting room and we even broke the No Food or Drinks rule by sneaking her grahams (Daddy did this part, you know me and breaking rules). She laid so peaceful and calm for the doctor while he intently listened and checked her pulse. She wasn't hassled or scared so content like she has a heart specialist listen everyday.

Dr. Ramos explained that it was most likely a hole in her heart or a leaky valve, which is THE MOST COMMON heart defect a child has. There is no treatment or reason to treat for that matter. She may simply heal all on her own or she may live her entire life with this hidden defect. He says it will not hinder her, it may never even affect her life. Just a little something that will always make her different (and special).

We return in two weeks for a Cardio Echo Gram. It is done with an ultra sound machine and will show the doctor exactly what is happening inside Ally's heart. Ally is not at any risk for anything she is perfectly healthy! But, we must be aware of what is causing her heart to sound so special. Keep us in your prayers and we will keep you posted.

A little something to share

Make a Smilebox postcard

I thought it was a whale!

My dear friend Heather, who was one of my first mom friends, (I actually met her online which sounds really funny) often catches funny things her daughter says and posts them. I love that idea because at 4 Natalie has a pretty good sense of humor and I don't want to forget about how sweet she is when she turns 14 and we aren't as sweet to each other....

So I'm in the kitchen on my laptop waiting for my coffee to brew. All is quiet in the house, kids are still sleeping....In walks Natalie and I jump! She hears the gurgle of the coffee maker and asks, "What is the drinking sound?" I tell her it is mommy's coffee. She walks over to look at it and check it out, says, "Oh you are right mom, I thought it was a whale!"

What an amazing train of thought. Her world must be so exciting to live in:) I hope I smile about this all day!

Birthday month on Yellowstone Street

I have realized something about the Strader calendar. We decorate for Valentine's Day in February, Easter in March, From May to July we are red, white and blue, October starts our "let's pretend it is really Fall" decor which leads right into Christmas. However, we here on Yellowstone Street also decorate for September...we have Birthday month. Yes the WHOLE month! It started with mine on the 3rd...I turned 33 on the 3rd this year and it fell on a Thursday ( a day of work). Aaron stays with the girls on Thursdays and Ben came home a little early to "prep" but Aaron had stole the show! She had prepared a craft to do with the girls that day and they had painted a frame for me, and glued gems all over then Aaron printed a picture she took of them and had the fireplace all set up with a birthday banner and streamers and balloons...they even made a big sign for me. It was very surprising!I chose to go out to Ritchie's Diner for my birthday dinner because the girls love it so much. Well not THIS night! Ally screamed the whole time, I ate outside on the bench out of a To Go container while Ally cried and squirmed in my lap. Ben ate inside with Natalie because she was actually an angel. We left frustrated and certainly not feeling like we had just celebrated anything but being fools to take two kids under 4 to a restaurant for dinner. Note to self: next year a babysitter and a candlelight dinner with Ben is a MUCH better idea!

We make phone calls to Ben's Dad, who celebrates the 2nd and my cousin, also the 2nd, also my birthday twin Lindsay...we have just enough time to prep

are for Ben's birthday the 18th!

This year Ben was supposed to be out of town so I didn't even remember to plan anything until the week of. I threw an impromptu night out together and was lucky enough to get 14 people to race go-karts and eat at a local brewery. We had a great time and Ben came in second (he got the Silver medal. Our friend Todd, won gold, and our neighbor Chris

took the bronze. It was a great night with great friends!

Natalie's birthday always seems to take the cake, she is the big kahuna when it comes to a birthday bash! My plan was to escape the party and settle up with Disne

yland (see prior post). Unfortunately she realized that meant NO PARTY, and she is a mama's girl when it comes to planning a party. She was obsessed with plates. She wanted to buy plates for her birthday. As if one can not age with out first selecting the most perfect plates of the year. Plates that represent your age, your favorite _______ of the year. It needs to be an image that sums up the whole 365 days! She really considered all the options. Yo Gabba Gabba a new insane TV Show, perhaps a repeat of last year, pink princess party, she thought about Hannah Montana but realized she doesn't really know who or what she does exactly. I tried for less marketing, maybe red or non-desrcript monkey...maybe a cupcake pattern or hearts...

We ended up with something princess of course...but these had a mix of all the princesses. And so it was...now for the cake what will it be? A Cinderella carriage...quite a

cute one if you ask me!

We threw together a quick gymnastics party at My Gym, a party for 3-5 year olds, that went quite smoothly.

So now that September decorations are coming down, it is time to pull out the pumpkins and scarecrows..because we have to start pretending it is Fall.

Disneyland

Nana, Aunti Cay Cay and I took the girls up to Disneyland for an overnighter at the Disneyland Hotel. We were upgraded to a two room, two bathroom suite right across from the Presidential suite. We enjoyed two whole days at both parks with no lines! The weather was REALLY humid so we got pretty sweaty but I'd rather be sweaty and not wait! The longest line we waited in was for Splash Mountain...Natalie rode it with me and my sister. It was so fun! I can't believe Natalie was tall enough!

There were only two little girls waiting in line at Pixie Hollow so we got a ten minute hide and seek game with Tinkerbell herself! Can you see Natalie hiding behind the toadstool?

We all ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe before heading out for NIGHT TIME Disney, my favorite time! We also took naps and went swimming at the pirate-ship pool to refresh ourselves! Natalie truly thought the fireworks were because it was HER birthday. I wish I was 4 just to believe all things were magical.

Aunti Cay Cay took Natalie to Build a Bear for her birthday and of course Nana couldn't talk her out of a mermaid costume for her bear...

We woke up to an alarm AND had to wake the kids because we had 7:10 reservations at Goofy's Kitchen! What a fun way to celebrate! The buffet was great and the attention the girls got from the characters was well worth it! Ben joined us this second day and we enjoyed the park as a family after Nana and Auntie Cay Cay ditched us for Space Mountain. We rode Soarin'Over California, Natalie rode twice once with Ben and again with me (no lines means you can do this:)

We saw the Celebration parade this night and hit the rode after another great dinner in Downtown Disney.

I have to say it was a successful trip! We will be back for Disney Christmas for Nana's birthday...she is turning 39 again...lucky girl!

Natalie's Birthday Invite! Can't wait to post cake pictures!

Make a Smilebox invite