It's Official!

So after five months of jumping through hoops and dealing with the Board to get my license in AR, I found out today that I'm officially a Licensed Associate Counselor! The title means that I'm still under supervision for two more years. When that's over I will be a Lincensed Professional Counselor in the state of Arkansas. Yes I know it's confusing. As an LAC I can start billing as a therapist and do individual, group, and family therapy. Also my salary will raise quite significantly. Hooray! The wait is finally over...

Good news!

It seems Breckyn's rash on her face is disappearing. That's the good news, the bad news is she probably has a dairy allergy. :(

Bathtime with Breckyn

Breckyn has not enjoyed bathtime since the very beginning.

One more thing...

I forgot to mention that we suspect Breckyn may have a dairy allergy, causing the rash on her face. I had a similar rash when I was a baby due to dairy products. So we decided to switch her to a soy-based formula to see if that will help her rash go away. Her six week appointment is in a few weeks, so hopefully we'll figure out what's causing the rash. Also, Breckyn now weighs a healthy 11 lbs, 4 oz.! She's getting to be a big girl!

Picture time!

Today I started back at work as it was finally the end of my maternity leave. The last six weeks seemed to have flown by and I was a little sad to go back. Ronnie took a picture of us this morning at 6:30 on our way out the door and as you can tell, we were all a little tired. The drive to work went well as Ashlyn watched her movie and Breckyn took a nap. I've been dreading leaving my girls at daycare and it was finally time to drop them off for the day. Ashlyn said she was afraid to go and I kept telling her she would be alright and she would make new friends. As I took her into her room she clung to my leg and said, "I want you to watch me". I felt really bad and wish that I could watch her and never have to work again, but that's just not possible. Ashlyn's teacher, Ms. Theresa, seemed nice as she greeted Ashlyn. By accident her teacher dropped a cup of milk on the floor which went everywhere and that made Ashlyn laugh. She was starting to warm up to her by the time I left. It was hard leaving Breckyn as well. I DIDN'T CRY! But I wanted to. I just don't like leaving her with strangers, but I have no choice. I made sure to go check on them at lunchtime and Ashlyn had already made friends. She was the only one awake at naptime, surprise surprise. She hopped up and went in Breckyn's room with me and I sat and rocked Breckyn for awhile. She seemed to be doing okay. I relaxed a little after that and finished up my work day. I couldn't wait to pick those little rascals up and head home!

On Saturday my mom came over to see the kids with Taylor and once again she brought her awesome camera. Here are the pictures she took. She did a fantastic job! Thanks mom!

Snow Fun...

Yesterday Ashlyn and Ronnie got to play out in the snow since it wasn't too cold. Ashlyn had lots of fun throwing snowballs at daddy and making her snowman. Ashlyn thought it would be a good idea to run head first into her snowman to knock it down while Ronnie and I weren't paying attention. Little did she know the snowman was frozen solid and she ended up with a big red goose egg on her forehead! I guess it could have been a lot worse. Atleast she was warm in her new snow pants that are two sizes too big. She complains about how big they are, but we keep telling her she'll grow into them and can wear them next year.

Today was Breckyn's appointment with the cardiologist in Springfield. Her pediatritian thought it was a good idea to go to this guy to get her heart murmer checked out again. We were worried about the roads being bad, however they weren't covered with snow or ice. It was sooo cold though! The wind seemed to go right through my jeans. The visit with the cardiologist went really well. He was a short little guy with crazy hair and bad breath, but a good guy. He basically told us her echocardiogram was "normal" and diagnosed her with a "barely audible innocent murmer", meaning we really have nothing to worry about. The good news is she is okay and has no significant heart condition. We don't even have to return for another appointment with the cardiologist. We were so happy to hear good news!

Getting ready to leave for Springfield

Breckyn getting another echo. She had to have a bottle so she wouldn't fidgit around.

Ronnie comforting Breckyn while we wait for the doctor.

So before we left for Springfield I was getting myself ready, doing my hair, and left the bathroom to do something. I hear a scream and a cry as Ashlyn came running out of the bathroom. She had burned her thumb and three fingers on my curling iron! I felt really bad leaving it in a spot where she can touch it. I'll never let that happen again and I'm sure she won't ever touch something like that again! We learned our lessons the hard way. Good news is Ashlyn is doing fine now. She was upset for a very long time!

Trip to St. Louis

Because of all the nasty weather, snow and ice, I didn't get to see my relatives during Christmas this year. I was extremely disappointed, but I hope I get to see you all real soon! After the weather sort of cleared up, Ronnie and I and the girls traveled to St. Louis on Jan. 1st for our nephew Zacharey's birthday. We had a wonderful time with Ronnie's parents, Ron and Rhonda, and sister, Kim, and her family, Mark, Zach, and Phoebe. It was nice to spend time relaxing with family in a different environment besides our house! We have cabin fever being stuck inside our house lately. That saturday we went bowling with Kim, Mark, and Zach (Zach's choice for his b-day) and had a blast! I think all of the adults enjoyed the bowling more than the kids. Ashlyn got tired of bowling half way through her first game, but she did a good job by bowling a 56. The kids were more intrested in playing the arcade games. That night we had a hard time finding a restaraunt that wasn't extremely packed. We decided not to go to are top choice of Texas Roadhouse and settled on a mexican restaraunt by their house. I think everyone was pleased with the decision as we had a good time and Zach was serenaded by a couple of amigos with a guitar. He even got to wear a sombrero! We also had fun playing Zach's guitar hero he got for Christmas. I have to say, it's a pretty difficult game to play! On our drive home we had to brave the snow and ice once again. Luckily the roads weren't too bad and we had Ronnie's parents following us. Thanks Kim and Mark for your hospitality, we sure had a good time!