Sad goodbyes and happy beginnings

March was a super busy month. We celebrated Easter, enjoyed a fabulous spring break, had to say good bye to Maggie, and welcomed Casey into our home. AJ mastered potty training and Abby mastered rolling around the house as her modified crawl.

I took Abby and AJ to get their pictures taken this month. Jo took 9 month pictures of Abby and got a few really cute pictures of both kids.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Abby's cheeks!

This is a dress I wore when I was almost one. I need to find a picture of me in it somewhere and post it!

Abby always admires her big brother!

BFF's already!

Jolene posted this picture on her website to advertise that she takes Easter pictures.

Love the tongue!

This is my favorite picture of Abby!

AJ sleeps with this bear every single night as his pillow.

Maggie was acting sick for a few weeks. She was throwing up all the time and stopped eating. Adam brought Maggie to the vet last month and they didn't see anything wrong with her. I ended up bringing her back to the vet when she started to not want to get up or down on the furniture. The veterinarian found a large tumor on her stomach. She could feel it from the outside and said it was about the size of a tennis ball. She gave us a prescription that was supposed to "Make her feel like a puppy again" until her body realized that it was trick, then she would quickly go downhill. Within a week she was so miserable, we made the impossible decision to lay her down. Below are some of the pictures of the kids saying good bye to Maggie. Her birthday was on St. Patty's Day, so she was only seven years old when we said our final farewell. Abby was pretty sick at the time, so my mom had come to help watch her so I could work and keep her home, so on Thursday I met Adam at the clinic and we held her and spent an hour walking down memory lane sharing all the fond memories we had with her over the years. We had picked out Maggie together after we were engaged, so she has been with us ever since we were an "us". We miss you Maggie!

Spring break was the last full week of March for me this year. I did send the kids two days of the week so I could work on projects around the house and start my spring cleaning, but I savored every minute with them that I could! I had the pleasure of watching our friends two children, Tyler and Hayley two of the days, and they played so well together it actually was less work for me to have the four kids than just my two!

AJ didn't want to take a nap with his friends here. I walked him into the rooms to see them all sleeping to try to motivate him to hurry and take a nap so they could all play together afterwards, but he would have nothing to do with it. He finally gave in on my rocking chair!

Pictures at the park...

Abby is able to stand for about ten minutes at a time. She loves all the toys we have left over from AJ! I am so glad I saved everything!

AJ must have learned this from somebody - he LOVES to wear his hats backwards :)

We were fortunate enough to have some really nice and warm days! Abby enjoyed playing with her toys on a blanket while the big kids rode bikes and played :)

Saying hi to daddy after a long day at work! Holding hands - melts my heart!

A picnic at the park was so fun (and saved a lot of mess in the home :))

I love this picture! Best of buds!

We painted eggs for Easter. Kind of messy, but loads of fun!

One of the days over break I took AJ to the Mall of America for a big playdate with coworkers and their children, most of whom are similar in age. AJ had a BLAST! Here he is giving the easter bunny a high five.

AJ and Trevor were so excited to say hi to sharky.

Abby would sit in the swing for an hour if I let her! It works perfectly, AJ is playing so independently at the park we are able to have lots of fun!

AJ checking out his handsome self in the mirror.

I feel like I can picture what AJ will look like as a teenager here. Can't you see him getting ready to make the final score of a game or solving world hunger?

Meet Casey. We decided to let AJ name her, and immediately he decided on Casey. Not sure where he got it or why he picked it for her, but that is her new name. Casey was 7-9 months old when we adopted her from the humane society. She was extremely skinny and not potty trained. It has been a lot of work, but she definitely has kept our schedules busy enough we don't have much time to mourn Maggie these days. Buddy was so depressed for the few days after Maggie went to doggy heaven that we started looking for a new friend. Not sure if that is what he wanted or not, but she is a sweety and will be a great addition to our family.

AJ likes Casey lots, as you can see. You can also see her skinny backbone sticking through her fur.

Another day at the park! AJ enjoys going down the slide!

Digging in the dirty rocks :)

Poor little Abby barely fits into her outfit, but I wanted to keep her warm on this chilly day. She enjoyed picking up pieces of grass and leaves, only to have them taken out of her hands on the way to her mouth by an 0ver-protective mother :)

Going for a walk around the neighborhood in her stroller. Feed me!!!

Love her smile!

Reading a book.

Around the time that we laid down Maggie Abby was very sick. She had a fever of 101-103 on meds for about four days. She did have a double ear infection followed by a virus, so poor thing got lots of lovin. My mother saved the day and spent a few days at our home to watch her and help us take care of Abby.

Abby smiles even though she is sick. I think she had a fever of 101 when I took this picture of her. I had taken the kids to my parents house for the weekend when she got sick. Poor thing threw up every time she ingested anything :(

I had to twist grandpa's arm pretty hard to get him to rock her to sleep.

AJ enjoyed extra time with grammy and grandpa.

Reading a book. I gave Abby her first bath in the bathtub this month. She had so much fun!!! AJ enjoyed her in the tub too - until he got splashed in the face several times. Then he told me "Go take Abby and put her in her crib. Then you and I can play more together". Ha!

More peas, please!

Looks like she is going to crawl, but this cutey will get into this position and then roll to her final destination!

AJ thoroughly enjoys watching Adam fly his airplanes. It is so cute to watch their heads move together following the airplane. AJ tells Adam what stunts he wants to see :)

The silo in the background is right across our street. I love living in the country.

I think we have a future pilot on our hands!

So handsome!

Posing for the camera! At the mall in our Sunday best :)

This month I helped organize Team Shakopee for the annual walk for autism at the Ridgedale Center. We raised about $900. and had over sixty people walk for our team. I proudly showed off my two kids as we spent an hour walking around the mall :)

This month I was able to fade the stickers rewards system for AJ's potty training. Now he only gets a chocolate if he initiates going to the bathroom.