Goodbye, 2010!

Phew! 2010, what a year!

January-- It began with two emergency room visits. Apparently, Logan caught RSV from Emma over Christmas and developed breathing issues. I took him to the doctor because he was not feeling well and ended up having to take him tothe hospital to get breathing treatments. Later on in the week, he began to wheeze again, and we were back at the ER. This time, though, we left with our own nebulizer so that we could do breathing treatments 3-5 times a day--Yay! Brad missed the first week back to school, and Logan was really sick for around 10 days straight.To put it mildly, our year began with a bang, but not a good bang :-).

February-- In February our family took a trip to Florida with GACS on a mission trip to help my old stomping grounds, Christian Home and Bible School. My kiddos got to spend some quality time with their grandparents, and Brad and I spent some quality time with some sweet, hard working GACS middle schoolers. I don't think the gym at CH&BS has ever been so clean. Logan also turned one this month. Unfortunately, he was sick yet again with an ear infection. The poor thing looks pitiful in all of his pictures.

Emma at her preschool play

March-- I don't remember March. I'm sure it was a good, solid month, and I am sure one of us was sick :-).

April-- April began with a trip to the hospital yet again. This time to get tubes for Logan's ears--Hallelujah! The Dentons could not have been more eager for a break, and we enjoyed our Spring Break immensely. We went to the Yellow River GameRanch and the park, and we just rested and enjoyed one another. In our fog of sickness that began the year, we had forgotten how cool we really are and how much we love each other :-). After break, Emma participated in her spring ballet recital. My little three-year-old performed twice in one day and did not have a melt-down until we were on the way home. Then she screamed half the way home (that she did not want to go home; she wanted to go to Monkey Joe's) and mid-scream fell deeply asleep.

May-- The best thing about May was that school was over. I had a fabulous group of students whom I loved and still love immensely, but our family had been sick non-stop since October. We had had food poisoning, ear infections, bronchitis, RSV, and colds. Brad had missed TWENTY DAYS of school taking care of our kiddos (I had used up all of my days on maternity leave). Because of all of his ailments, Logan was not sleeping through the night. And that is to put it mildly. He was actually waking up every hour on the hour. I was more exhausted than I have ever been. I now have more of an appreciation for mothers of chronically ill children. At least, I saw light at the end of my tunnel. My children were building their immunities, and they were mildly sick and uncomfortable. I can not imagine how mothers with severely ill children cope.

And sometime around the end of May, Logan started to walk. I don't remember when (see comments about me being in a fog), but he was running by the time we went to the beach at the beginning of June.

SUMMER!!!!-- During the summer, we rested and recuperated. Brad and I went for a couple of days alone to the beach, we went to grandma and grandpa's, we took the kids to the beach, and I went with two of my friends to the beach. We also had Emma's first friend birthday party in our backyard. I am definitely not a party planner, but I had one objective--just to have some kids over and have fun. We bought two sprinklers--a wiggly worm and a beach ball sprinkler--and a big, blow up pool. I made cupcakes, we had popsicles, and the kids just played. Oh, and we had a pinata; I can't forget the TWENTY DOLLAR pinata. I did not realize they were so pricy until Emma had already fallen in love with one. Emma had a blast (and had only a mild melt-down 1/2 way through the party :-)). I meant to have the kids take swimming lessons and have Emma take gymnastics during the summer, but I was so exhausted that I was lucky to get my summer organizing and cleaning finished. Plus, this summer was HOT, HOT, HOT. We spent more time inside than I would have liked, but we sweltered when we left the house.

Fall-- Emma began K-4 at GACS in August and could not have loved it more. She has loved her teachers, the centers, carrying her tray on Fridays, the bathroom with the dragonfly on the wall, and going outside to play on the playground. I have loved having her on the same campus with me and driving her to school every day. And uniforms. I really have liked uniforms. She has looked so cute in them, and I don't have to think about what she is wearing--everything matches! Logan continued at Ms. Margie's, but he has had only had one sick month--October, evil, yucky, October. However, Logan's ear tubes have seemed to be working, and he has been relatively well. A new friend started to go to Ms. Margie's and Logan loves his "Lolly" (Charlie).

September brought visitors to the Denton house. Grandma came to visit, and we went to Tribble Mill Park to feed the ducks, have a picnic, and play. Michelle also came, and she and I got to have some girl time (and we bought Logan's beloved monkey).
Even though our October was difficult (we all got the stomach virus, Em and Log had ear infections, etc), we still had a blast. We went to the corny corn maze Corn Dawgs with Mimi, we went to a pumpkin patch, we carved a pumpkin, and Grandpa came to visit! We also took him to Tribble Mill Park and the awesome Bass Pro Shop. I also made awesome roasted pumpkin seeds. They were truly fabulous (last year's, not so much). Emma was Alice in Wonderland for our church's Trunk-n-Treat, and Logan was a ferocious lion.

We were well in November. It is the first month since Logan has been born that we haven't gone to the doctor for a sick visit. Everyone exclaim! We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We began our week off by taking Mimi to Gaitlinburg, and we had so much fun. We went to the aquarium, ate lots of great food (Pancake Pantry--what? what?), and just enjoyed nature. It was a great family trip, and the first we have had has a whole family.

In December, I did something that I have not done in my 13 years of teaching--I finished my grades the last day of school. It has been fabulous not to have grading to do when I get back to school in January. Emma had her winter recital for ballet, and she had a K-4 Christmas production. She had one line in her K-4 program-- I want to hear sleigh bells right now and ride along with Santa. She said is perfectly (and knew everyone else's line as well as her own).

We also had our first white Christmas. It truly was magical and the kids had a blast making snow angels, eating snow, and touching the cold. Emma and her daddy made a fabulous snow man, and Logan put footprints all through our yard. He just loved running in the snow. We went to Florida after Christmas, and we were able to visit the grandparents and Aunt Kay-Kay as well as my uncle Steve and aunt Carol who have retired and moved to Florida. It was so nice to have everyone together. I think this may be one of my favorite Christmases.
An update on the kids--

Logan, 22 months

He can say his first sentence, "I love you" (melt my heart). He is finally sleeping through the night, and he puts himself to sleep every night. He has really come in to his own and is starting to develop a sweet, quiet personality. He is a snuggler. He loves cars (when he says, "cars," he rolls his "r" in the most delightful way), running, eating strawberries, saying "nigh nigh," mimicking Emma (Ahma), his bottle (bawble), his monkey, swinging, brushing his teeth, and watching The Wiggles. He does not like other people hugging or sitting on his mother's lap, cheese, milk in a sippie cup, clothing that does not have a car on it, sweaters, or pants.


Emma, 4 1/2

She is usually a delightful child. Her delightfulness only wanes when she is tired, hungry, or when someone is doing something that she perceives as against the rules (she firmly believes everyone should follow them). She gives me daily updates on whether or not she has had to sit on the red line (punishment in K-4) because she a week period of time when she was too loud in the house center:-). According to her, however, she has not had to sit on the red line in "years." She loves chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, chocolate milk, bacon, drawing, painting, doing art projects, organizing, playing dress up, bossing her brother around, going to the pet store with Daddy, painting pottery and cooking with Mommy, picking Logan up from Ms. Margie's, spending the night with Mimi, learning about germs, reading, and telling stories. She does not like getting up in the morning, leaving Mommy's classroom in the afternoon, nap time, flushing the toilet or automatic flushers, Toy Story 3, Sponge Bob, or sitting still at supper time.