Alexa's Hair Donation

Alexa mentioned about a month ago that she wanted to get her hair cut short. I told her about Locks of Love and she loved the idea. I made her an appointment with my hair stylist and she had 3 weeks to think about it. I brought it up several times, but she was certain she wanted to go through with it. She didn't mind it bring short, she just didn't want it buzzed like Gavin's!  Locks of Love has a minimum 10 inches requirement so I showed her how short it would be, almost the length of Grandma Briggs's hair and she was fine with that. 

She was so excited to get it cut. 

Angie is measuring the ponytail to make sure she has 10 inches. 

And she starts to cut!!!

Alexa is adorable with her new hair cut and she loves it, too. It's much easier to brush and wash. 

Pediatrician visit

Gavin had his 5 year check-up this morning. He now weighs 40lbs and is 42in tall (both 50%). They checked his hearing and vision, both normal. He had to give a urine sample for a urinalysis and he thought it was fun to pee in a cup!  He also had to get 5 vaccines ( that's why he's not wearing pants in this picture!) but now he's set for kindergarten in the fall. He's a healthy boy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Alexa came home from school yesterday with a little surprise! She lost tooth #4!

Bubble Fun

Dentist

The boys had a very successful trip to the dentist today. Since I made the appointments over a week ago, Gavin has been asking about it multiple times daily. He was so excited this morning when he realized we were going. My kids are so silly! I made Bowen's first appointment even though he's younger than most first visits. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. If he refused to cooperate, I'd just try again in 6 months when the other kids were due again. 

Gavin and Tysen went first so Bowen could watch. 

Bowen was a rock star! He did amazing and is officially their youngest patient that they've been able to do a full exam and cleaning on! I'm a proud mommy. 

All 3 boys had excellent check ups and no cavities!  Alexa goes in for her appointment next week (I didn't want her to miss school) and she's excited to show them that she's lost 3 teeth since her last appointment. It could be 4 teeth by then as she has one barely hanging on!

They all thought Tysen was super lovable :)

Sweet Bowen

Look closely and you can see he's wearing one snow boot, because that's how he likes to clomp around the house. 

Grandma Briggs came to visit!

Matthew recently traveled to Las Vegas for a week and we were lucky to have Grandma Briggs come stay with us. 

Grandma is trying to teach Alexa how to make a washcloth. 

We had an unexpected snowstorm! It was perfect timing because Alexa ended up with 3 cancelled school days that week which meant more Grandma and Mommy time!

The kids always love playing outside. It's never too cold for them!

Staying warm and keeping active at World of Bounce. 

Busy Sunday

After church last Sunday, we took the kids to another OSU women's basketball game since they had so much fun at the game the previous weekend. They had the opportunity to see Brutus again, which they all loved. (Bowen was running in the hallway and Brutus was in a hurry to get back on court, that's why Bowen missed out on the picture.)

Alexa still wants to play basketball for the Buckeyes (or maybe Creighton she mentioned as well!) but she had fun imitating the cheerleaders. She noticed that they had pom poms and asked for a pair. I know what she's getting for Valentine's Day!

After the basketball game, we went to the RPAC so the kids could swim. 

Bowen loves shooting hoops!

Gavin and Alexa have turned into quite the little swimmers!

OSU Women's Basketball

We scored 4 free tickets to the basketball game this afternoon. We all enjoyed it. Alexa wants to play for the Buckeyes when she gets older.

The camera crew must have thought Alexa was cute because she ended up on the jumbotron twice!

The kids spotted Brutus and asked permission to go down the stairs so they could meet him.  Brutus was excited to see them and surprised Matt and I by taking them by the hand and leading them out onto the court during a timeout!  Brutus had them join hands and then they played ring-around-the-rosie!  It was adorable.  The kids thought they were really cool!  

When the kids came back to our seats, Alexa says very seriously, "Brutus is not real.  I looked up his neck and there was a beard inside the nut!"

As we were leaving the areana, I had ahold of Bowen's left hand as we were climbing the stairs. He began to throw a temper tantrum where he refused to walk and let his body go limp. Unfortunately, his tantrum hyperextended his elbow and he ended up with nursemaids elbow. It's very common in toddlers and extremely painful. We weren't sure if he had dislocated his wrist or elbow, so we took him to Children's hospital. The doctor treating Bowen in urgent care recognized it immediately. She grabbed his little arm, forced it back and around twice, and he was fixed! He definitely did not like the procedure, but he felt immediate relief (and so did momma!).

The picture above is after the procedure. He was most definitely NOT smiling before we got it fixed.