2011

I am part of a group of young professionals called the Hats and Horns Societe'. Each year this group host a NYE party where the proceeds benefit local children's charities. This year the party benefited The Bell Center and Operation School Bell. If you know me you are familiar with TBC. Operation School Bell provides back to school clothing and supplies for children in need. Both are great organizations and we were so honored to have helped each in some way. This was mine and Scott's 3rd year to attend the party and my 2nd year as a member. The party is held at the B&A Warehouse downtown. We had two bands, loads of food and a silent auction. It is a lot of fun and a great way to kick in the new year! This year we also had a photo booth which is where these pics were taken. So fun!

Christmas Part 3&4

After opening Santa's gifts at our house we got ready and headed to Gigi's and Giddo's to have Christmas breakfast with them and celebrate the day. Once we were there the snow started falling. It was beautiful! So big, white and fluffy and what a perfect touch to Christmas morning. We ate way too much food as usual and Edie got way too many gifts as usual! Between Gigi, Giddo, Aunt Mindy and Uncle Chuck that little girl could go years and years without another single gift! Edie got lots of learning and craft toys, a barbie guitar, a drawing/chalk board easel, Mr. potato head and a HUGE jump house!

Mommy and Daddy got a brand new Dyson Vacuum!!!!!! I can not tell you how shocked and excited I was over this! We have been using the same vacuum Scott has had since collage - so this is a MAJOR upgrade!! We use it almost daily and we love it! It is super quiet and so easy to maneuver. Even Ziggy likes it, she no longer attacks our vacuum as she used to. She must have thought the old one was a monster it was so loud!

The next stop on the Christmas train was Nannie and Pawpaw's. With all of the grand babies it is mass cohos' and I love it! The kids have such a great time opening gifts and playing together. The gifts of the night that Edie just could not get enough of was Wesley's Barbie microphone and Wyatt's woopie cushion! Edie LOVED both of them!! The microphone she carried around all night and the whoopee cushion I think Wyatt had to finally hide from her. It was not like an ordinary woopie cushion either. It had a sponge of some sort in it and it would blow up again and again by itself. Edie just kept sitting on it! She got a pink vacuum, a broom and dust pan, clothes, a flashlight, a car and more learning toys! Toooooooo much!!! Our house is shrinking!!

Mommy and Daddy got the traditional gift basket from Nannie and Pawpaw filled with random goodies. I always like getting these because you never know what you are going to get. The fav from this years basket for me aside from "the softest socks in the world" (and this is really what they are called) was the bread cutting board and knife. Now I just have to make some bread! We also got a Shark Steamvac. It is amazing! So now we have no excuses not to have the cleanest house on the block!

After gift opening, eating, playing games, eating some more we were pooped and headed back to the big Ham for a weekend of hibernation.

Breaking News!

Edie liked riding her new trike for almost a full 35 seconds!!

Christmas - Part 2

Christmas Eve {After Santa}

Christmas Morning {Opening Gifts}

When I say Santa may have brought too much, this is exactly what I mean! Maybe shopping online was not such a good idea after all. It is hard to keep up with and remember all you have purchased until it is all delivered and in one room! This year Santa brought Edie a HUGE doll house which he did not realize was made for barbie dolls and not miniature loving family dolls :( These 10 little people could all fit in the bathtub that came with the house at one time! But I guess next year it will give Santa an excuse to bring barbie dolls.

Edie also got a new baby and a diaper bag filled with baby diapers, feeding pieces and a baby potty! She also got some new Elmo videos one of which is a "potty time" video (see where I am going with this? This is the year to be diaper free!!) Elmo jammies, books, games, clothes and under all of this was a pink Tricycle! Which Edie did not even notice until we pointed it out to her! Oh - and Santa brought a pink play tent which Edie could care less about too. Maybe it was all too much? We did not even finish opening all of her gifts or start to dig into her Christmas stocking before she got bored or should I say overwhelmed. However, it did give her something to do over the next few days and Santa learned a good lesson this year.........less is more!

Now all we have to do is sell this house and find a bigger one to fit all of Edie's toys because we have not even gotten to Christmas Part 3 & 4 which is all about the grandparents, aunts and uncles gifts!!

Christmas - Part 1

Christmas Eve Night - {Before Santa}

As you can see Edie was so super cute in her Christmas jammies. I bought these thinking we would go on the train ride in Columbiana, the North Pole Express. I had no idea this thing sold out months before!! Next year we will be more prepared and we will get tickets way in advance. Edie has really become the little picture poser. She knows what the camera is for and when you tell her to say "cheese" she will smile so big and stand still for us! Then she wants to see herself in the screen. Edie is such a ham, a cute ham :)

We still did not quite understand the Christmas Elf this year, but we did read the book and gave him a name. Scott and I had some fun with him too! One day we found him in the kitchen with all of the paper towels pulled from the holder and he was swinging from them across the kitchen. On another day we found him recovering from some Christmas parties with a cucumber on his head next to a bottle of spilled advil. And on the last day we found him in the fridge hiding in the butter tray with a carrot in his mouth. Next year I have a feeling he will be doing a lot more crazy things ;)

Once Edie was all tucked in for the night Santa did his magic and brought his gifts. Maybe too many gifts.......

Gorham's Bluff

A few years ago we "tried" to start a new family tradition for ourselves. Just a quick getaway the night before Christmas Eve to relax, build a fire, roast some marsh mellows and be together. Unfortunately due to the hectic lives we live, we were unable to make it last year but this year we were determined. I am not sure if you have ever heard of Gorham's Bluff but it is worth the short drive for even just one night, which is what we do. There is nothing to do but spend time together :) They have several different cottages you can rent as well as a lodge where they have a B&B. We have only been in the winter, but we would love to visit during the spring/summer. I bet it is beautiful. During the warmer times you can swim, fish and bike ride and they also have some hiking trails.

Each trip we have stayed in a different cottage (house) which I love doing. This time we stayed in "Scott's Cottage". It was a beautiful three bed three bath house, with a huge mud room, living and dining room. It had a great wrap around porch on top and bottom. It was way too big for us especially for just one night, but we loved all of the room! Each time we have had a visit from the local Ladybugs! This time they were drinking water from the kitchen sink. The last time they were all over the master bedroom ceiling. And when I say all over - I mean ALL OVER! But we don't mind, it seems like they belong there and it wouldn't be the same with out them :)

After a great dinner and a restful night we had pigs in a blanket for breakfast and headed back south. Edie was just as pleased as she could be listening to her Highlands CD and watching her Elmo videos. What a great trip! I wish we could do it once a month!!

We played in the leaves, went to the playground, took in some beautiful views and played, played, played inside where it was warm. We danced, watched a video, built a fire and had the most incredible steak dinner. Santa even came to see Edie early at Gorham's Bluff and brought her a new Elmo. We had so much fun. Edie was an Angel during the car rides and while at the cottage. She and I were buddies and I loved every minute of it! We had such a great time being together and just slowing down, if even just for one night.

Breakfast With Santa

I can not believe December is almost gone and I have not blogged one time!! So let me start from the beginning...........shortly after the 3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser we quickly became "Santa's Workshop" with nest EGgS design. We had over 80 orders to fill and just two short weeks to do it! So between work, travel and day to day duties we were up until the wee hours of the night rolling, cutting, baking, sanding and assembling. At the end of the crazy journey Nannie came to help package and ship. We felt so blessed to have so much interest in our work and even more blessed to have completed it all with only one mistake! I accidentally misspelled a name, but we promptly corrected it and all was good :)

Between all of this craziness we had some sickness, I completely lost my voice for a few days, sounded like Darth Vader for a few more, almost lost my mind - but didn't - and then we had Breakfast with Santa. I promise it was a little more enjoyable than the pictures seem. Edie did not like her breakfast, but she LOVED her some Santa! This year Edie has really loved Santa. We practically have had to pull her away from him during her few encounters. I believe it all stems from her light up Santa at Gigi and Giddo's. In her room at their house they have put the large plastic Santa that you would normally see in someones yard. It is a life size nightlight :) Edie kisses it, hugs it and says "Santa". She LOVES it and I am not sure what is going to happen when he gets packed back up!

Her last visit from Santa the night before he came was in our neighborhood. He came through on the firetruck wishing us all a Merry Christmas and telling the kids to get to bed early so he could come visit. Edie pointed, cheered and yelled "Santa". It was magical to see her eyes light up when he rounded the corner. Next year we will get a picture of this too!

3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser

We are overjoyed and so blessed by those who came out for the 3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser Honoring Edie and benefiting The Bell Center for Early Intervention.  We had so many family and friends to come out and support this great cause.  We had delicious food from Lovoy's, wonderful entertainment by Hunter Lawley and the best silent auction ever!  We raised over $10,000 during the night of the event and we are still counting!!  Thank you to everyone who made this night so special for us.  More to come at a later date....but for now I leave you with these photos playing to one of Edie's favorite songs.  Enjoy!

Something So Sweet

Go see Grethel Van Epps {Here} password  - edie
I can not begin to tell you how many pictures I want from this session!  Edie was a perfect Angel and so, so sweet!

3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser

This is it! Our "Final Hoorah" as we prepare for our 3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser Honoring Edie and Benefiting The Bell Center for Early Intervention. This is the week of late nights, high blood pressure (me), nervousness and much excitement. This week we will be gathering all of the silent auction items, making description cards, printing bid sheets, confirming food, making food, picking up this and that and praying that it will be a great night of fundraising and fun. We are so looking forward to the party and seeing all of our family and friends come together to celebrate Edie and TBC. Edie has come such a long way and we are so appreciative of what TBC has done for her and for us. This is our way of saying "Thank You" to TBC and to our family friends for supporting us each step of the way. We look forward to seeing you there!

More Beautiful Each Day

"I" had a play date with Edie at Joe Tucker park and we enjoyed this beautiful weather! If you have never been to this park in Helena it really is very nice. It is a boundless park which means it is for everyone! Special needs, handicap, typical - Everyone! They have a lot of great activities to play on and with. We had so much fun just being together and playing. I asked Edie at one time to go over to the slide and sit on it and smile so I could take a picture. I expected her usual pose with her thumb in her mouth, but not this time! I honestly believe she gets even more beautiful each day. If that is possible :) Man I LOVE this little girl!!

Bubbles!!

Sunday we were invited to Edie's friend Cooper's 2nd Birthday Party. It was a bubble theme which was perfect for Edie - she LOVES bubbles! They had a bubble machine at the front entrance and lot's of bubble games to play. We had pizza, cake and these super yummy cute marsh mellow pops (Cooper's mommy is making some for the fundraiser too!) The kids had a great time and Edie was pooped. We went straight home, took a bath and hit the sack. Thanks for a great party Miss Cooper and happy 2nd Birthday!

Boo!

We had so much fun this Halloween Trick or Treating at our neighborhood and participating in a Halloween parade in Aunt Mindy and Uncle Chuck's neighborhood. All the children were so cute all dressed in their costumes and fun. Even several of the Adults in the neighborhood got into the Halloween spirit, including us! Edie went this year as what else but a Ladybug. She was a very colorful Ladybug at that with her pink, purple and green pants and hot pink sneakers. Although she did not wear her antennas very long she did look cute in them. The only thing she was a little confused about was the candy part. At one house she politely went to the bowl and picked one piece at a time and then politely placed each piece of candy (one at a time) in the neighbors pumpkin instead of in her bag? The other thing we will have to work on next year is learning why we can't go inside of every ones home. For some reason she thought this night was a time for her to go in and visit with everyone. We will work on that next year!

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Scott and I still say Edie had a "Michael Jackson" moment at the Yo Gabba Gabba Live show. This is one of her all time favorite shows and she "signs" for it everyday when she walks in the door by swinging her arms back and forth while running to the TV. Edie did not know whether to scream with glee, cry for joy or clap with excitement so she did all three at the same time! It was so cute! Just to see her face once she realized what was happening and what she was seeing was real, it was worth more than you could ever know. We had great seats and the show started with a boom of confetti, midway we had balloons falling from the sky and to end the show there were bubbles galore. This was a night I will never forget. It was a night that our baby bloomed into toddler-hood and it was a great site to see. She loved the show, every minute of it and so did we. I will never forget that face!

Fox 6

For those of you who do not know Scott, Edie and I had the privilege of visiting the Fox 6 News studio last Saturday to promote the P.A.D.S 11th Annual Buddy Walk which took place last Sunday.  Our debut was set for 8:45 but after arriving a little late we were whisked to the studio almost immediately and on by 8:25 (I think)  Edie and I were not wired with a microphone, which was a blessing.  Right at the beginning of the segment she and I were fighting over the bow in her hair, but shortly after all I could do was focus on the wire she was chewing on.  Other than that Edie did great and I did wonderful since I did not have to speak :0  So let me just tell you about the next part of the interview.......the news anchor did a wonderful introduction of us by stating that we were with P.A.D.S, Parents AGAINST Down Syndrome!!!  I would like to clarify that we are in no way shape or form AGAINST Down Syndrome!!  Scott promptly corrected her to state that P.A.D.S stands for Parent Advocates FOR Down Syndrome.  But she said it and never looked back!  It is funny to think about now but at the time it was a little shocking.  We are still trying to get a clip of the segment and we will post once we do.  But for now just keep in mind that we are totally FOR Down Syndrome, it is a beautiful blessing in our lives!  Our daughter is Edie, and she "happens" to have Down Syndrome.

Buddy Walk 2010

What a perfect day for a Buddy Walk! Sunday's weather could not have been better and with over 15,000 people attending this years event we certainly enjoyed the day. There were space bounce(s) arts and crafts, face painters, balloon pop, dancing and much more. Did I mention dancing?! I loved seeing the kids and older kids up on stage singing and dancing away!! For those of you who do not know this was Scott's 2nd year as VP of PADS. His most important job as VP is coordination of The Buddy Walk. It is not small potatoes to coordinate an event for over 15,000 people. Scott also appeared on two radio shows and as a family we were on FOX 6 Saturday morning promoting the walk. Scott did a wonderful job and it showed! There were more walkers than last year (a lot more) and a great tailgate tent area where each team pitched a tent and enjoyed food and the company of their team members before the walk.

We did not have a tent this year but we did have a team and Kelli and I are already planning the food and signs for next year!! As we are nearing the end of our road with The Bell Center it is hard to manage two fundraisers at the same time "The 3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser benefiting The Bell Center" and the PADS "Team Ladybug". We decided when we had Edie that we would really concentrate on TBC until Edie graduated from the program and then we would focus our fundraising on PADS which is an organization we will be a part of for the rest of our lives. So look out Buddy Walk 2011 here we come!!

We are so grateful to those who gave their Dollars for Downs and supported our team this year. We exceeded our goal and we hope you know how much we love you and we thank you for everything you do for our family. We hope to see you all at next years Buddy Walk, walking for TEAM LADYBUG!!

Team Ladybug!

Edie with her buddy Allie and Stella who came to The Buddy Walk to see Edie

Ladybug Shoot Continued.......

OMGosh!!!! How cute is this!! She was over it by this point. I was sweating like mad yet I dressed her in pants and a corduroy top (which was way too small because it was her dress from last years fundraiser!) I thought it would be cute as a top, if the buttons would have worked! Poor sweet baby.

Ladybug Shoot

We are so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family who love and support us. One of our friends in particular happens to be a VERY talented professional photographer. Grethel Van Epps spent a very hot afternoon with us over the summer taking pictures for Edie's Save the Date card for the 3rd Annual Ladybug Fundraiser. There were so many good pictures it was hard to choose which one to use. We narrowed it down to just one and I bought a few more for memories. Because Grethel is such a wonderful friend she surprised me with the best birthday present ever! A CD of ALL of the pictures from the shoot for me to cherish forever!! I have big plans for the black and white shot of her looking down holding her tutu. It is the sweetest picture ever!! Who am I kidding......they are all the sweetest pictures ever!!

 

Rail Road Park

We enjoyed a Saturday at Pepper Place a few weeks ago where we bought lots of fresh vegies and fresh baked bread. Followed by a visit to the new Rail Road Park downtown. It is a really super cool place. The playground was not huge, but the toys are cool. There was so much wide open space to run and play too. At one point Edie took off running down the track as fast as she could. I think she likes feeling like she is getting away. We just let her run and eventually she came back :)

I liked watching the gobs of people doing yoga, the dogs playing in the water and seeing families just enjoying the day. It was a great relaxing way to spend the afternoon with my family.

Painting with the Ticking children

Back in September we visited A'Mano's and painted with the Ticking children and their mentors. They had several beautiful pieces on display that the Ticking children had painted and one piece up for auction. The proceeds benefited The Bell Center. Their paintings are mostly on tar paper and wood. Edie painted a house using tar paper and house paint. We were able to take one home and one was left to decorate The Bell Center with. The Ticking family took on the love of painting and now sell their pieces in many art galleries and craft shows. They also have a love one who once attended The Bell Center. You can see their story by visiting www.trestaylor.com/tickingfamily_communityprojects.html.  As you can tell Edie LOVED it!