Jumping Party

There is this fabulous place in Waco called Jumping Party. It's a building full of large inflatable slides, jumping castles, and obstacle courses. Adults are free and kids are $6 so since Lilli doesn't jump much all 4 of us can go for a couple hours of fun for $6! Roy hasn't gone in a few months so while our carpets were drying from being cleaned we decided to head to Jumping Party. He had so much fun! When we first arrived there were a few other people there but soon there was only us and 2 other little girls who Roy quickly befriended. It was really fun to see how much he has grown since the last time we went. He used to need help getting up some of the ladders but now that he's a bit taller and stronger he didn't need any help at all! I truly can't believe how big he is getting!

sliding down the ladder

Lilli attempting the ladder... she made it to about step 3 then slid down :o)

sliding with one of his new friends, they're even holding hands!

sliding down a smaller slide

the little caution people were just the right size for Lilli

she'd stop and talk to them and give them hugs :o)

Big Diggers

Roy loves what he calls "diggers" and it just so happen that his Grandpa Russ (my dad) works at a facility that has one of each type of construction equipment that CASE makes and sells. Roy got to visit Grandpa Russ' giant sandbox while visiting in Wisconsin and even got to drive 3 different machines. It was definitely a little boy's dream come true! Grandpa Russ gave him quite an education too, the other day we were driving past a construction site and instead of saying "Look there's a digger!" Roy said "Look there's a back loader!" When asked what his favorite part of visiting Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Russ' house was he still says "driving the big machines."

G-Buttons

Our friends Breck and Brian had a little boy in September who was born with a perforated colon and was later diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Due to his ruptured colon he has since been given a gastric button to help him with feedings. Breck and Brian have to feed him through a feeding tube attached to his G-button to make sure he gets enough calories to continue to grow bigger and stronger. That said baby Bennett (bennettgamel.blogspot.com) has been Roy's first and only experience with injuries and hospitals.

That leads me to this story...

Yesterday while driving Roy and I noticed a cat that had been hit by a car laying in the road. Roy was very distressed by it and was exclaiming in his sad voice (his sad voice is really pitiful sounding) "That's so sad mommy, that kitty got hurt." I agreed with him and thought I'd take advantage of this teaching moment, I told him that the kitty had been hit by a car and that's why we need to be very careful when we're around cars so that we don't get hurt. His reply was "Yeah, then I might have to get a G-button." - Not quite what you'd expect to come out of the mouth of a 2 year old!

Fun in the Snow!!

While visiting Wisconsin the kids were able to enjoy all snow has to offer...

throwing snowballs...

sledding...

sledding...


and more sledding...

eating...

and more eating...

wearing a helmet...

snowmobiling...

and making snow angels.

The only thing we weren't able to do in the snow was make a snowman. The snow was so fluffy it wouldn't stick together enough.

This was Roy's 2nd year playing in the snow and you could definitely tell he was a veteran once he was outside he didn't want to come back in!

For Lilli this was her first time in the snow it took her a while to get used to the idea and even then she only lasted a few minutes before she was ready to go in. I'm not quite sure if it was the cold or the impossibly large snowsuit she had to wear, I guess we'll have to see what happens next year!

Family Time

Josh and I have decided to make sure that we take about an hour each night to just play with together with the kids. We have found it's so easy to get distracted by supper, dishes, e-mails and television that we were missing out on quality time with our children. Last night was only day 3 of this adventure, we spent some time playing 'octopus'. It was Roy's idea that daddy should be an octopus and Roy, Lilli, and I were supposed to try to attack him. It was a lot of fun rolling around all together tickling, giggling, and growling.

A few hours later Roy was getting ready to go to bed and after he gave Josh a kiss goodnight he said "Thanks for playing octopus monster with me daddy." I nearly broke out in tears right then. Looks like family time is definitely meaningful for all of us!

Christmas Number Three

The kids' third Christmas was at my parent's house on Christmas morning. We woke up, got ready, went to church and came home to have a fabulous brunch made by my dad. The kids were very patient, Roy kept asking when he could open presents but didn't touch anything without permission. While brunch was being made the kids warmed up by opening the gifts in their stockings then we ate brunch and opened the rest of the presents under the tree. Between the stockings, brunch, the kids opening, and then the adults opening this Christmas lasted several hours.

It was an extra special Christmas because it was the last time we saw my Grandma before she passed away.

Roy warming up with his stocking.

Lilli warming up with her stocking - she got a lot of 'pretty' things she loves, bracelets, barrettes, and hair ties.

The beginning of the Christmas mess in my parent's living room...

their tree was 18 1/2 feet tall, it was enormous!!

Roy opening his Toy Story sleeping bag from Aunt Toot-Toot.

Lilli opening the infamous Peg Board.

Playing peacefully with her new favorite toy... but the peace didn't last for long!

While videotaping Roy opening up his Buzz Lightyear I caught one of Lilli's best explosions. He tried to show her how to play with her new toy and she wasn't having it!

The Second Christmas

Our Second Christmas was at Josh's parent's house on Christmas Eve. We went to church and then came home to some delicious snacks and opened presents together. A great thing about celebrating Christmas with both of our families is that Josh's family has always opened presents Christmas Eve and my family has always opened presents Christmas Day so we get to keep both traditions alive!

Roy got another one of his big wish list items, a movie replica of Woody from Toy Story. He also got some cute pocket characters from the movie including a little Woody. He thought it was so cool to have a big one and a little one!

I was so caught up with making sure to capture Roy's expression and reaction to opening Woody that I didn't get any pictures of Lilli opening presents, she wasn't forgotten she had fun opening too.

The kid's official Christmas outfits

"Cheese Sandwich" - When Josh and I hug the kids together we call it a Roy or Lilli sandwich, Roy has picked up on part of the concept so for this picture he wrapped his little arm around my neck and exclaimed "cheese sandwich!"

The kids with their Nana and Papa

Big and little Woody!

One of Three Christmases

Our Christmas season this year was mostly wonderful, we got to see a lot of family and spend time enjoying each other's company. We began Christmas with Santa coming to our house the night of December 18th. We decided that since we were leaving to go to Wisconsin on the 21st it made the most sense for our family to do Christmas on Saturday to allow the kids time to enjoy their gifts before they had to leave them for a couple of weeks. I'll soon post info and pictures from the other 2 Christmases and the kids' adventures in the snow!

Roy getting Santa's cookies and milk ready

Roy unpacking his stocking

Lillian unpacking her stocking

Roy 'helping' to unwrap - he unwrapped nearly all of our presents for us

Merry Christmas!!

Lilli's favorite gift was her baby doll, she didn't even let go of it to get her diaper changed.

Roy making an angry face with his favorite toy, his Rex from Toy Story.

We will miss you Grandma

While home on vacation in Wisconsin we have been blessed to have spent time with a lot of family and friends. It reminds me how hard it is to be away from so many people we love. When the phone rings at our home in Texas at odd hours during the day my heart skips a few beats hoping it's not bad news afraid that we won't be able to be around to cry and grieve with family members.

I never expected to get a call while being here but am so grateful to be surrounded by family who also loved my Grandma so very much. We were lucky enough to spend several hours on Christmas day with her, just 6 days before she went home to be with Jesus. I am thankful for all the memories I have with her and that she was able to meet my children.

Grandma I will miss you immensely, thank you for setting such a wonderful example of a loving relationship, a passionate career and a zest for family and friends.

Grandma Wadzinski's Obituary

A picture my 2 3/4 year old son Roy took of his Great Grandma on Christmas day.

One of the many attempts to get a picture Great Grandma and Grandpa with Roy and Lillian