First Day of School

It probably shouldn't be this weird to me, but it is.
I have 2 kids in Elementary school.
How does it happen so fast?!

DarTanion is a 2nd Grader and Archer is a Kindergartner. Can you believe it? My boys are big and going to school and it's just going to be me and my baby girl at home (well, until I get a job, that is!)... I guess it shouldn't be weird to me because Archer's had 2 years of Preschool at Hobble Creek Learning Center (highly recommended by me, by the way!) but for some reason, KINDERGARTEN seems like a whole new world.

Anyway, DarTanion was super excited to get back to his school and be with his friends. When I asked what his favorite part of his first day was, he said recess. (Ah, the beloved RECESS...) Second favorite was seeing his friends. Third was lunch. :)
On DarTanion's 2nd Day of (2nd Grade with Mrs. Day!) school, he informed me that he's liking his teacher more because if you bring your homework back, you get a sticker AND a gummy bear. :) Can't beat that, I suppose. He had homework the 2nd day of school...

(Tanion and our cute upstairs neighbor boy, Sean)

Archer had to do some Kindergarten testing to see what he knew on the same day as DarTanion's first day of school. He wanted to wear his backpack (which he put his stuffed animal Kitties in) and school jacket and look nice, too. :) So we got him ready and we even packed him a little snack to take along for after testing. :) The school has one full day and 2 half day Kindergarten classes. Archer wants full day because he wants "the school with lunch". I would like him to have full day because I think it would be easier / fun for him to have more time to learn and play with friends. Poor kid really does need the social skills... We should find out tomorrow who his teacher is and if he's Morning, Afternoon or Full Day Kindergarten. I'll keep you posted and take some official "first day" pictures of him on Wednesday, when Kindergarten starts. Until then, enjoy testing day pictures.

Batman has REALLY let himself go!

My little Archer is such a goofball! I love that about him. :) He is always finding different ways to make me smile - most of the time by just being his cute and creative little self. :)

Lately, he's been wearing a Batman Costume around the house. Yesterday he discovered that he could fit a full-sized comforter in the costume. When I first found him dressed like this, I laughed (like full on hysterics laughing) and made the mistake of calling him "Fat Batman". He promptly frowned and took off the costume.

When Jeremiah found him in the costume later in the day, he knew what Archer was going for. He said "Hey, Nice Muscles there Batman!" Archer beamed with that irresistible smile that he has. He wasn't Fat Batman, he was Super Muscle-y Batman. :) Smart Dad. :)

He wore it all night last night. He put it on again first thing this morning. He LOVES this costume. I had to bribe him to take it off so that I could wash the Chocolate Milk off that got spilled on it at breakfast this morning.... SO... as long as I don't call him Fat Batman or giggle everytime I see him (which is really hard, let me tell you!) - I' thinking I will have this awesome little character at my house for a while. :)

DarTanion

I haven't done a post just about my DarTanion since, well, his birthday last month... But I figured that he deserved something just about him.

DarTanion is a good boy. He's been a really big help to me. He'll help keep an eye on his brother or sister. He likes to be independent, but at the end of the day, he just wants to snuggle with his mom (lucky me!) :) I love it.

DarTanion still has his own little sense of style. Lately, his favorite shirt is a little bit too big hand-me-down from our upstairs neighbor boy. It's an AC/DC shirt and even though he doesn't know who AC/DC is, he knows they play music - like KISS (his 'favorite band'). He came up to me the other day to show me that he found a way to make the shirt fit a little better. Tuck it in and roll the sleeves in... Take a look. :)

Can you say 80's? :) All he needs now is a mullet. :)

DarTanion is sometimes a drama-queen or KING, as it is... He will whine about things that are not important (like the shirt he wanted to wear is dirty, he can't find his toy, he wants to spend money we don't have)... So when he started whining at my grandma's house this weekend, I gave a frustrated sigh (like every good mom would do) and said "What now?" without looking at him. He moved his hands away from his face and he was bleeding. Like a lot of blood pouring from his mouth bleeding. I freaked out and handed Robyn to my cousin and pulled DarTanion in the house. He was trying to pet my Grandma's dog and he (the dog) jumped up to see him at the same time. They bonked heads and Tanion ended up biting thru his lip on the inside and outside. We cleaned it off and saw it wasn't as bad as it had looked at first (with blood EVERYWHERE)... Still, it was a pretty bad cut. SO, I guess I shouldn't be so quick to frustration. Sometimes there is a reason for the whining. :)
DarTanion really is a sweet kid. He has sensitive feelings (more often lately, it seems). He love his family and friends. He wants to please people but he's also good to stand his ground if he doesn't think something is right / fair.

Anyway, I love all 3 of my monkeys... They are all so different and funny and just awesome. They have taught me a lot and make me want to be a better person / parent. I'm super grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mommy to such sweet kids. :)

Farm Country

Today was another 'FUN' day in the Hardman Household. :)

Tuesdays in August are $2 days at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT. We decided that we would take that lovely discount (discount varies by venue) of a whole $1.50 per person and visit Farm Country with some friends - Stacy, Lance and Kimmy.

Now, my kids are no strangers to a farm. Grandpa Twitch has some small barnyard animals (chickens, a turkey or two, etc.) and Grandma Bagley lives on a farm with horses, cows, sheep, etc. Farms are normal. But this was still fun. The kids had fun looking at (and feeding) all of the different animals. They even got to ride on some horses (highlight of the day, I'm telling you!) I think it may have been their first time? They were excited, either way!

Baby Cow that was born THIS morning - umbilical cord is still attached!

Goat

The coolest colored pig you ever will see!
Llama Face!
Messy Haired Alpaca

THE HORSE RIDING PICTURES!

Robyn LOVED it - she insisted on doing it by herself!
Archer had a moment of hesitance, but then he loved it
DarTanion being too cool to smile for his momma!

OTHER RANDOM FUN PICTURES

Our little group: Lance, Archer, Kimmy, DarTanion and Robyn

Some of the monkeys in jail :)
Funny sign that made me think of my old friend Kelly Cook who,
thanks to a horse, is missing part of one of her fingers. :)

Archer insisted he worked there putting milk in bottles. He informed me that he has to work there tomorrow too. This was just a fun "hands on" exhibit to try and show kids how milk made it from the cow into the jugs. Archer assured me that his milk was the best. :)

I think Archer's favorite part was getting to see 'his Kimmy' again. The boy has a HUGE crush on little Kimmy (always drawing pictures and things of her and him holding hands, writing her letters, wrapping her presents, etc). You wouldn't know it how he acted around her today, but when we got home after our visit to Farm Country, it was Kimmy this and Kimmy that once again. :)

Ah, a boy in love :)

(and did you notice the little girl in the background is flipping us off? Yep...)

We had a fun day and are really glad that Stacy, Kimmy and Lance were able to join us. :)

She's a Rockstar!

pictures from this morning with the portable heart monitor

Hi All -
I think most of you follow the blog where I post updates on Robynson's Heart (robynhardman.blogspot.com) but just in case you don't, here is the post I wrote there yesterday. :) All of our love...

http://robynhardman.blogspot.com/2010/08/shes-rockstar.html

I was having quite the emotional day on Saturday (7/31) because it was exactly one year to the date of when they took my baby by life flight and I couldn't go with her. I just watched her leave - not knowing what was going to happen. After a super scary week in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit), a couple of freak-out breakdowns by me, lots of prayers and lots of loving care - she came home. My little girl will now be known as a person with a 'heart condition'. But you wouldn't know it by watching her, looking at her, knowing her.


Robyn is a super active, very smart, great talking, spunky little 2 year old girl. She likes ants and bugs, Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer, her Daddy, her brothers, swimming, running, jumping, chasing and hitting. She's a boy in a little girl's body. :) Though, sometimes, you see that she's a girl. She'll carry around a baby, a purse and talk baby talk to & want to hold babies. We are SO truly blessed to have this strong little angel in our lives.

So today was Robyn's "Official One-Year-Later Checkup" with her Pediatric Cardiologist. She started her appointment with a limited echo cardiogram. The guy who did it couldn't have been any nicer to her / us. He was being silly with her and talking like Blue from Blues Clues while she watched the movie. I kept watching the screen and her little heart beat. I was a little freaked out by the blue and the red with the occasional yellow/green colors on the screen. But it was also kind of cool to see the little flaps opening and closing - moving SO quickly. Soon that was over - before Blues Clues was, even - and we headed to our Clinic room to meet with her doctor.

Dr. Everett was looking at her charts and the new notes. She said that Robyn is a total little Rockstar and that she looks completely healthy. So much so that if you didn't know her history, you would think that she was a totally healthy, completely normal little girl. Her heart looks how it should for her age. :) Robyn is healthy. Robyn is normal. :)

We will keep her on her current meds for now. And that's okay. They also wanted to do another portable heart monitor for 24 hours - just to make sure everything looks okay during the day / night when she's NOT on the table in the Echo room. I'm not worried. We've done that before and everything was fine - as I'm sure it will be this time. Robyn doesn't have to see the doctor again for another 6 months. I can do that. I'm totally okay with no doctors visits til after she is 3 years old. My daughter is a Rockstar. And she is healthy and normal. :)

I have to say it again, and I hope you know how absolutely genuine it is every time I say it, but I am SO grateful for all of you. For all of your prayers. For all of your encouragement. For all of you love. Without it, we'd be lost. Thank you and we love you all VERY much!