Daddy Weekend Journal by Cory

As some of you know, Stephanie is on a vacation with the other women in her family to visit her cousin who lives in San Francisco. Since this is the first time that I have had both of our kids for a full weekend (without any help), I thought it would be a good opportunity to write my first ever blog post....

Here is the journal of events for Daddy Weekend:

Saturday:

7:00-8:00 - Christopher and I cooked crepes (he and I do this every Saturday morning and he normally starts asking me by Tuesday each whether the following day is a day that I don't have to work and that we can cook crepes)

8:30-10:00 - Walk down to the neighborhood park. All went well at the park except for when Lucy and Christopher were riding the bouncing alligator and Christopher got it going back and forth so fast that Lucy slammed her mouth on the handle. It gets too hot and we head home.

10:30 - 1:00 - The Stonebriar Mall. I told Christopher that we were going to the mall to play in the play area and as we were pulling into the Stonebriar Mall, he told me that it was the wrong mall (he wanted to go to Willow Bend). I didn't pay this much attention, but when we got in the mall, I realized why...no real play area! or maybe I just couldn't find it.....Daddy Lesson Learned: Trust your son on anything to do with malls since he spends so much time there with his mommy.....We went to "Build-a-Bear" for Lucy to get a bear since she does not have yet have a favorite stuffed animal. She picked out the Panda Bear. I think she really liked it the best since it was about the only display animal that she would hug and she gave stiff arms to the rest of the animals.....Time for a quick carousel ride. Lucy rode her own horse, not sure if this is a first or not for her, but she had a great time.....next up is lunch. It amazes me how something as simple as getting lunch at Chick-fil-a in the mall becomes so complex logistically when you have two kids and no other adult to help you! Maybe it just takes more practice.

1:30 - 4:00 Good, long naps. Daddy could have used one as well, but watched tv instead.

4:00 - 6:30 Play time and dinner

6:30 - 7:30 Ice cream at Double Dips in downtown Frisco. I almost didn't take them there since it is not air conditioned and was probably still above 100 degrees at this time, but it was shaded and they had misters going so it really wasn't all that bad. Lucy got her own 'baby' ice cream cone....she loved that she had her very own cone just like her big brother. Both kids were covered in ice cream, it was so bad that when I tried to wipe ice cream off of Christopher's hands, pieces of the napkin just stuck to his skin and I had to scrape them off.

8:00-9:00 baths and kids to bed

9:00 Daddy fertilizes the trees. Not an ideal time for yardwork, but when else did I have time to do it?!?!?

10:00-11:00 laundry and a much deserved adult beverage

Sunday:

Morning:

Church and Sunday School. One of my proudest moments from this weekend was fixing Lucy's hair this morning. I paid extra attention to how Stephanie did it earlier in the week, and it really paid off. Still not as good as Mommy does it, but getting better.

Afternoon:

Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. My dad's brother, John, is a trainer at the track, and they invited us out for the afternoon. We joined my parents, my uncle Marlin, aunt Deb, aunt Marilyn, and uncle John. For those of you that haven't been out to the track, I highly recommend going sometime. We had a table in 'The Silks' area so there is a waiter to get you food/drink and you are in the air conditioning. About 5 minutes after arriving, I sat Lucy down on my chair and I sat beside her. Before I knew it, she fell through the back of the chair and bumped her head on the ground...really sad...also, really bad timing...this happened exactly at the moment that everyone got quiet for the National Anthem. So for the entire song she was screaming at the top of her lungs and I was trying to calm her down, I'm sure that basically the entire grandstand could hear her. As soon as the song completed and everyone applauded, she INSTANTLY stopped crying/screaming and began to clap with them....our drama queen. Christopher's horse won EVERY race. His secret was to select which horse he would cheer for when they were a few yards from the finish line. One time we tried to out smart him and asked him before the race which horse he would be cheering for (expecting him to say #1 or #5, etc.), but he calmly and quickly said that his horse would be the one in first place...can't argue with that logic. Unfortunately Daddy was not as good at picking winners....4 bets, ZERO wins. Both Christopher and Lucy had a great time at the track, they love seeing the horses, and they were so well behaved! It is so much fun to take them out and show them off!

Probably the highlight of the weekend for me: Bed time...after reading Christopher a couple stories and praying, he said unsolicited: "Daddy, I love you.".....is there anything better than that??

What a great, action-packed weekend we had. I am so blessed to have these 2 absolutely amazing children! I am also so blessed to have such an amazing wife that can do what I did this weekend 5 days a week by herself. I knew her job was hard and plenty rewarding, and this weekend reinforced both in my mind.

If I ever blog again, I promise it won't be this long!

15 Months!

Well it's been a while since I've updated everyone on little Miss Lucy. She recently had her 15 month birthday and we just had her doctor visit today. She received an excellent report at her well visit today, including a nice little growth spurt which upped her percentile a little bit. Always nice to hear that.

It is funny how quickly you forget about the different things these little ones do as they quickly grow and develop. Things Christopher did at this age come flooding back when I see Lucy achieving some of these little milestones. Remembering him toddle around as he was first learning to walk, and then watching her try so desperately to keep up with him is just a reminder at how quickly the time really does go.

She is learning new things and changing almost daily. She is really trying to develop her vocabulary! She says, "more" (along with her own version of sign language for that one), "bye-bye", "no, no" (always like that, not just "NO"), and "bow" (Does that make you proud, Meredith?). We also hear "Ma Ma" and "Da Da" quite frequently. My favorite little thing she started doing a couple of days ago is giving hugs. It is just adorable. If you ask her for a hug, she will reach her arms around your neck and go "Aaaaawwwwwww." As if to say, "Awww, how sweet." (Which of course, is usually what Cory and I would always say to her when we would give her hugs). She will also give kisses and wave hello and good-bye.

I could go on and on about the little things she does that just amaze me. But to be brief, let's just say that she now "helps" me make my bed every morning. It is so cute! As soon as she sees me start to spread up the sheets, she toddles over to the pillows and tries to pick them up and hand them to me. So adorable!!

We feel so blessed to have Lucy. She brightens our days and fills our hearts with pure joy!

Lucy Baylor, 15 months

Kisses from Christopher

Watching fireworks on the 4th!

Happy 4th of July

Better late than never!

Sea World!

A few weeks ago, we decided to plan a last minute family vacation.  Since our summer schedule was already so busy, we had to piggy back this little vaca onto one that had already been planned, my annual family reunion.  Since we would be driving down 35 anyway to New Braunfels for the reunion, we decided to take a little detour and go to San Antonio first to spend a couple of days at Sea World!

We had SO much fun.  While it was really a short trip, just two days, it was jam packed with smiles and making wonderful memories as a family.  I can't wait for all the other vacations we will take together as a family in the future.  The kids did so well and were very flexible with their schedules.  Cory and I were so tickled with them when we first arrived at our hotel around 10:00 Monday night.  Just like you would expect a 4 year old to be, Christopher was wide awake and filled with excitement and energy at the thought of being in the hotel.  Miss Lucy was right there with him, as they bounced around on the bed and giggled late into the night - so cute!

Our time at Sea World was wonderful.  We fed and pet the dolphins, rode the Log Ride (all 4 of us), played in the water, and of course saw Shamu.  Christopher loved everything we did.  Lucy did too, except for the fake Shamu and fake Dolphin characters that were walking around the front gate, they brought on tears of terror.  Unlike the real dolphins, that she actively tried to reach out and pet several times.

Our friends, the Braatens, were down there too staying in our same hotel.  We met up with them at Sea World the first day, and enjoyed great pool time, dinner, and s'mores by the fire that night.  

It was a wonderful start to our week filled with family fun!

Best Buds

Christopher and Drew are such good friends.  Sometimes Meghan and I even think they act a little more like brothers - wrestling and picking at each other one minute, only to be laughing and having fun the next.  It has really been fun to watch them develop this friendship over the past couple of years, and now see that it is truly genuine, not just something we force because we live close by and Meghan and I enjoy the mommy company.  These boys truly like each other.  We hadn't even been back in Frisco from our little family vacation for 24 hours before Christopher was asking to go to Drew's house.  When we arrived there this afternoon, I heard Drew tell Christopher, "I missed you."  Seriously, how cute is that?

Anyway, the Dubes are heading up to the East Coast for the rest of the summer and we sure will miss them.  We were really bummed when we realized that Drew would not be here for Christopher's birthday party this year.  So Meghan and I decided to get the boys together for a little early celebration.  We had planned to go to the pool and then for ice cream, but rain was a spoiler.  We ended up at the Wiggly Play Center for some playtime, and then hot dogs and ice cream from Double Dips.  Meghan and Drew were so sweet and even got Christopher a birthday present - which Meghan told me was entirely Drew's idea, even down to when they went shopping (1:00 in the afternoon, which is usually nap time)!  

We are so thankful to have them in our lives and will always think of Drew as Christopher's first "real" friend!

 Getting ready to sing "Happy Birthday"

Drew helps blow out the candles!

Christopher's very own lawn mower from Drew.

And just for fun - a couple more pictures of these silly boys!

In January 2008 celebrating Drew's 2nd birthday!

June 2009, celebrating Christopher's 4th birthday

Lucy's First Swim

We hit the pool on Sunday evening with our good friends the Dubes.  This was Lucy's first official time in the pool.  (I think I held her in there last summer for a few minutes here and there to cool her off but that doesn't really count.)  Cory was golfing so he didn't go with us, and I told him when he got home that we might have a little dare devil on our hands!  Of course it is a bit early to tell for sure but our little girl had a BALL in the water.  I started her out in her little boat float.  She just kicked and splashed with the biggest grin on her face the entire time.  Until she caught glimpse of her brother and Drew swimming out into the water to Jeff (Drew's daddy)!  I could just see the wheels turning in her little head as she started to maneuver her way out of the float to try and swim herself.  She was the same way in the baby pool, wanted nothing to do with me and trying with all her might to keep up with the big boys.  It was SO cute and SO different from Christopher's first pool experience.  I can't wait to see how the rest of the summer unfolds!

Sittin' by the pool!

The boys!

Let the Fundraising Begin!

So, I know I briefly posted about The 3 Day a couple of weeks ago but this weekend marks 24 weeks until the event!  Time to start training and time to start FUNDRAISING!!

I'm going to insert a copy of the letter I sent out two years ago when I began my fundraising campaign then.  Even now, when I go back and read it, I am haunted by what a scary time this was for my family.  We had never experienced anything like it.  Cancer is a horrible disease and I know and love too many people who are affected by it.  The 3 Day is such a powerful way to feel like you are doing something to make a difference.  When I walk, I not only walk for the many men and women who are facing this disease at this very moment, and not only for the ones who have faced it and lost their battle, but for the ones who have yet to face it.  My own mother.  Me.  My daughter.  With the money that is raised, research will be done, treatments and medications will be discovered, and we will become that much closer to finding a cure.  As we like to say at The 3 Day, "because EVERYONE deserves a lifetime."

My original fundraising letter, written in April of 2007:

Dear Friends and Family,

A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 3 minutes.  Every 13 minutes, the disease claims another life. 

This past January, my aunt, Pattie Hubbard went to see her doctor about a lump she had found in her left breast.  After having to wait for the biopsy results over the weekend, we learned that the results were what we had feared.  She was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer and a lumpectomy was scheduled immediately.  Unfortunately, the doctors were not able to remove all the cancer and additional tests showed pre-cancerous cells in her right breast.  Three weeks later, we found ourselves back in the hospital waiting room while my aunt had a double mastectomy.

Throughout the course of these events, I watched my cousin Beth, my best friend, face the fears of losing her mother.  I would lie awake at night trying to think of things I could say to help, knowing there really were no words.  Beth needed to know that her mom would be OK.  That Pattie would be there for her wedding, her children, and the everyday comforts that mothers provide. 

While I was searching for more knowledge on breast cancer to better help my family, I discovered www.The3Day.org.  It occurred to me, this was the way I could help.

The Breast Cancer 3 Day is a 60-mile walk for women and men who want to make a personal difference in the fight against breast cancer.  Participants commit to fundraising, training, and dedicating an entire weekend to the cause.  The participants will travel an average of 20 miles a day during the event, raising awareness for breast cancer along the way.  This year, I am going to be one of those participants. 

I have committed to raise a minimum of $2,200 by October 26^th. The proceeds raised from The 3 Day will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.  The money raised will fund research, treatment, prevention, and community outreach programs.  I hope I can count on you for financial support as I undergo this journey.  It is difficult to ask for money, but remember you can help save lives!

Thanks to the thousands of men and women who have donated in the past new tests and treatments have been developed.  After her mastectomy, Pattie was able to have a test predicting the probability of reoccurrence of her cancer.  Her percentage was so low she will not have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.  My aunt will be one of the lucky ones to beat this disease and become a survivor! 

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Stephanie Locke

How to donate:

·    Visit my personal donation page at www.the3day.org/goto/Stephanie.Locke.  You will be able to make your donation online.  While you are there, be sure to check out our team page for The Pink Princesses.  There is a whole group of us walking for Pattie!

·    You can also mail me a check.  Make all checks payable to: Breast Cancer 3 Day.  Please send them directly to me:

Stephanie Locke

1802 Countryside Drive

Frisco, Texas 75034

This year, more than 200,000 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will lose their lives to this disease.

 

If you are one of my faithful readers (or even if you aren't), then I'm asking you to please click on the logo on the top right and donate.  I need to raise $2,300 before November 6th and I need your help.  I know these are tough times, but every little bit helps.  Don't delay, donate today!