RENA IS 6

Yesterday, February 23, 2010, Rena turned 6 years old......

Time for cupcakes.....

Time for presents.....

Last Sunday Rena had Birthday Celebration #1 with my dad and Bonnie while they were here. We went out to eat and Rena got a piece of birthday pie.....

I DON'T FEEL OLD

I celebrated my 38th birthday on Friday and had a great day!

Jeff had the day off work and my dad & Bonnie were here visiting. We all started the day with running club and Flag Salute at the kids school. After that Jeff took me out shopping and out for lunch. We met back up with my dad & Bonnie, picked the kids up from school and went to the Barona Casino for a Seafood Buffet. We didn't get home until after 10pm, but the kids were still awake so I opened up some gifts from everyone and then we called it a night!

Rena especially loved the chocolate dipped strawberries and ice-cream (hmmm.....I think she takes after me)......

While we were all still eating Cameron kept himself entertained by making art statues out of left over food and chop stix!

It was a great way to start what I'm sure is going to be a great year!

FEBRUARY

Here's what we've been up to for the past couple of weeks......(while I have been neglecting my blog).....

Of course, we have had Friday Flag Salute (every Friday!)! At the last one Rena got called up for hitting the 10 mile mark in the running club. It was really cute because she was called up all by herself in front of the whole school at the "big kids" flag salute. She had the whole school clapping for her and did really good out there in front of everyone by herself!

Dad & Bonnie arrived for a visit last week. They came to celebrate my birthday with me (and have an early celebration for Rena). They got here on Tuesday and stayed until today. It's always nice to have them visit!

The kids and I spent another day at SeaWorld. The weather was beautiful and it was a fun day.....

The penguins are a big hit with the kids. We have to go to that exhibit every time we go......

We saw Shamu again this time.....

The kids did some bouncing, climbing and riding in the play area.....

And we got to see Elmo again.....

We had a beautiful weekend last weekend and spent one day at the pool relaxing with some friends. Here's Maleah and our friend Tommy swimming.....

Cameron trying to dry off and Jeff enjoying the sun.....

Rena celebrated the 100th day of school in class.....

Rena's in the back row, second from the left....

Cameron's class had a big Valentine's day brunch that Maleah & I got to go to......

.....and we even got to stay for recess!

Rena's class had a fun Valentine's Party also! Rena is right in the middle......

We had a Superbowl party with our friends Patrick, Jodie, Tommy and Abbie. Jeff set-up an extra tv in the kitchen so that you could eat and not miss a moment of the game.....

Patrick did a lot of chasing and playing with the kids to keep them entertained......

And I got to hold a cute little baby........and then give her back to her mom when she got fussy!!! :)

It's been a good month!!!

JUST THE TWO OF US

Yesterday while Cameron was at school and Rena was at a friends house (and then at school) Maleah and I headed out to SeaWorld for the day. I don't very often get to do things one-on-one with the kids and it was really a fun day for both Maleah and I.

First, we got to see Elmo and Zoe and watch a 4-D Sesame Street movie.....

Then, we toured the Aquarium and the shark exhibit with these BIG shark teeth.....

We watched the Sea Lion show and Maleah was very interested in this new large "Lion" that we hadn't seen before.....

We took a little break for a snack of popcorn, frozen lemonade and cotton candy.....

We went on this climbing/crawling structure (and at this point I was wishing she had either her brother or sister to climb with her....my body did not like climbing through these tubes!)...

Maleah loved the bouncy zone (I was too big and not allowed on with her!)....

We went on some rides. Maleah's favorites were Elmo's Flying Fish and Abby's Sea Star Spin (and Maleah definitely liked to spin!).....

It was a really fun day and I can't wait to do it again!

YEARLY TEST

Maleah had her yearly tests at the hospital last week to check on her reflux and make sure her kidneys are still lookin' good. She did great during the tests, but unfortunately after the VCUG we found out that she STILL has the reflux. Luckily the Ultrasound showed that her kidneys look excellent -- no damage from the reflux. We also found out that the reflux did go down to a stage 1 reflux so it is getting better and hopefully will be completely gone by next year when she has to do the tests all over again.

We made a little stop at the McDonald's in the hospital for a treat before heading home.....

Maleah really is a VERY good patient.....she did very little complaining or crying during either tests. And she is so funny to listen to when she talks about the tests. Rena had the same tests done last year and the 2 of them talk and compare notes about the "straw up the butt" test (as they call it). The VCUG is NOT a fun test, but it sounds really funny when they talk about it!