Boys

Both of my boys like to lay in the mountain of clean laundry.

Today Andrew figured out how to get on and off his little car. SO STINKIN' CUTE!!!!

Good times ripping paper!

IRONMAN!

These boys love their comic book superheros!

Gabe's favorite are Ironman and Spiderman.'

Oleson Park

Today Gabe, Andrew and I went on a big adventure to Oleson Park in Fort Dodge. They have a petting zoo, playground, and splash pad (we skipped that today... no swim trunks or sunscreen). I'm wondering why this was the first time we'd been here and why no-one talks about it? We had a great time and the boys were SO good.

Andrew reaching out to pet this goofy goat.

Gabe held this rabbit for about 20 minutes! It just stayed in his arms like this the whole time.

This little girl asked if I would take a picture of "her" bunny.

I think this peacock wanted a girlfriend.

The 2 cutest kids on the playground...

We concluded our Ft. Dodge excursion with a trip to Target where Gabe got a spiderman action figure, Lightening McQueen crayons and Andrew got a mirror for the car (so I don't keep asking Gabe "is Andrew asleep?"). We had a snack before we left Target.... Gabe had a hot dog (no bun) and I had a salad. Andrew ate some chicken and some hot dog.

A + B....

Andrew + Bauer = Good Cousins!!

Bauer wasn't too happy with me after I tried to pick him up by his chest/neck.

Maci Mae

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." -Helen Keller

Our sweet girl Maci passed away on Sunday, June 20, 2010. We'll miss you Maci!

Andrew's 1st Birthday!

A few minutes before the party Gabe was still taking a nap....

Andrew was checking out his 1st present before the party started.

Here is his "smash" cake. This little teddy bear was made by the Burmeister family and they had to cook it on their grill because their oven wasn't working. Amazing!

It took him quite a while to get warmed up to the idea of eating the cake. I gave him a taste of the frosting and that sped things up!

Shortly before he got a bath in the sink.

We love our boy!

He seemed to have more fun in the sink than he did with the cake.

Gabe helped blow out the candle (twice).

Cute teddy bear cake made by the Burmeister girls.

Not only was it cute it was delicious too!

We didn't even attempt getting Gabe in the pic. He was kinda crabby!

Super Andrew!

He had fun with all of his special guests. Kylie and Keagan were bouncing him on the huge ball.

Crabby Gabe riding Andrew's new toy. I think Gabe wished it was his.

More corn.

Happy Birthday to our little boy Andrew! He has so blessed our lives and we love him more than we can say!

Finally pedaling

Many thought it would never happen but Gabe can now pedal his bikes. Here he is on his "big fancy bike".

The Boys

Cruising together in McQueen. Gabe had fun driving his brother. Next year it won't be so fun when they are fighting about who gets to drive!

The corn is getting big! We have had a lot of rain this week, hopefully it won't hurt the crops.

Stretched out... one foot and one hand hanging out the sides. It's hard to believe this boy is almost a year old!

Did you know?

Andrew can tantrum?

Biking, Bruises, & Cookies

Heading to the playground last Sunday. We took Rowdy with since he is fat and needs to slim down. Gabe looks a little cranky but he was really excited to go to Taft Park.

Bruiser Andrew swingin' at the playground. He had a great time playing!

I made "Gooey butter cookies" today and both boys loved them. I think Gabe ate about 5 of them and Andrew had 1&1/2.

We have good manners at our house.

We never make a mess.

And we are always happy!!!!

My Helper

Gabe loves to help me mix things up in the kitchen.

We made 2 batches of banana bread on Sunday.

When your platelets suck......

.....you get nasty bruises!

My little buddy bonked his head on the bathtub last night (Wednesday) and I literally watched as his skin filled up with blood (he didn't break the skin open)! It was crazy... he had the biggest lump to the left of his eye and then this morning woke up with the black eye. The blood must have drained into the eyelid area and spread around a little bit.

He is such a trooper and did just fine. After a few cuddles and kisses he was ready to get in the tub.

And as you can see it hasn't affected his mood... He is still as happy as ever!

He does look like he got kicked in the eye. Poor thing!

Praise God for His healing powers!

p.s. If you didn't know... Aaron and Andrew both have a genetic disorder called "Epstein's Syndrome" that is characterized by a very low platelet count with over-sized (giant) platelets (macrothrombocytopenia), hearing loss, kidney dysfunction, and cataracts.

Aaron has everything except the cataracts and so far Andrew only has the giant platelets/low platelet count.

These special boys follow up at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN every year with a hematologist (blood doctor) and nephrologist (kidney doctor). They also saw a medical genetics doctor this past year to confirm their diagnosis. We love our Mayo doctors (Dr. Khan, Dr. Monico, and Dr. Wick)!!

As a point of reference a "normal" person has a platelet count of 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. Aaron and Andrew have between 2,000 to 11,000 platelets per microliter of blood at any given time. In most individuals if platelet levels fall below 20,000 per microliter, spontaneous bleeding may occur and is considered a life-threatening risk.

We have had many (all) doctors say that in spite of the low number of platelets that they have, they work! The reason they say this is because Aaron has lead a relatively healthy life and is 33 years old.

We pray everyday that their platelets will continue to work and that God will grant both of them LONG, healthy lives!