The Ard Clan: 2013

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Halloween Pictures

pumpkin painting

A trip to the patch

Scary Pirate

Wendy, Tinkerbell, and Pirate (he was supposed to be captain hook but it wasn't scary enough!)

Thanks Great Grandma Scherer for the girls costumes!

They loved them.

Neigborhood Block Party - pre trick-or-treating

Counting their loot!

Mr Michael is 5 years old! This little boy is such a fun boy to be around. He is extremely silly and sweet. We constantly has a smile (or goofy look ) on his face. He makes new friends wherever he goes. He amazes me everyday by what he is learning and doing in school. He loves to ride bikes, play legos, listen to stories, swim, and explore. He loves anything having to do with animals, bugs, and science. He is curious and playful. We love this little boy to pieces and are so proud to call him our son! Happy 5th Birthday Michael!!!

We had his party at a local bike park this year. What a fun party. The boys were all sweaty, red faced, and smiling at the end.

By request....... ice cream cake!

Little Miss Lucy Got Glasses

That's right! This little cutie pie now has a new accessory!

At Lucy's 2 year old well visit we were informed that "no rush" but we should take her to an opthamologist. Our pediatrician told us it was probably nothing but she had a hard time finding the reflex in one of her eyes. Well, 6 months later (bad mommy) I finally took her in. It turns out she is far sighted in both eyes. The doctor informed me that most children are at this age but she was concerned that she was quite a bit more far sighted in one eye than the other. With the difference already quite visible this could lead to major problems down the road. Her brain would eventually stop using that eye all together if it goes untreated and the eye could possible drift in or out but since Lucy is so young we have a good chance of correcting her vision.

I was completely shocked when her doctor explained that she needs to wear her glasses at all time and we need to patch her for 6 hours a day!!! I almost started to cry thinking about how challenging this was going to be! A 2 year old wearing glasses all day??? She has been absolutely amazing. After a few days with her patch she left it alone. It took a while with the glasses too. She would wear them but the minute we were in the car she would pop out her lenses! That has stopped too. I must say, she has got to be the cutest darn thing in her little pink specs!!!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Yes..... I'm still here

I know, I know.... It's been a really long time since I lasted posted. So, I am going to give you a super fast update of the last 6 months of our life here in the Ard Clan. The kids are huge ( as you will see below)! The are great, silly, busy little people. Gracyn entered 2nd grade this year and Michael is in a program called TK, Transitional Kindergarten, offered through public schools for kids with late fall birthdays. Although Lucy really wishes she was in school too, she is still hanging with mommy everyday. The poor little thing carries her backpack and lunch box every day to drop Michael off at school. Next year miss Lucy!!!!

Dave and I have been looking at Real Estate in the Tahoe area for about 5 years. We have always wanted a cabin in the mountains to call our own. Over time we narrowed our search to a very particular area in the Sierras. Homes don't come up very often. We had put numerous offers on some cabins over the years but finally this summer it happened!!!! We closed on our cabin at Donner Lake in Truckee, CA at the end of July. It is what we have always wanted! Close to skiing, walking distance to the beach, and only about a 20 minute drive to the big Lake Tahoe. We do have some updating we need to do but we are so in love with our little escape. The kids love spending time up there as well and we plan to spend most of next summer at Donner Lake.

Therefore between wrapping up school, dealing with the paperwork and jumping through hoops to get a mortgage on a second home (which was awful), packing up Tahoe stuff, moving, visiting my Illinois family, planning and purchasing everything for a bathroom remodel, taking care of our rental property books, handling Dave's expense reports, setting up LLCs for our rental property, training for a half marathon, potty training, piano lessons, karate, hip hop, ballet, girl scouts, and being a mom to 3 little people while your husbands work travel schedule is out of control....... I've been a little busy.

Enjoy the pictures!