Las Vegas

Phil and I went to Las Vegas for the weekend. I was reluctant to go after Megan broke her arm, but we had planned the trip months ago and had a lot of money invested in it. In the end I am so glad we went. The girls did fine with Granddad and Phil and I had a lot of fun. We started playing the slots as soon as we got to the hotel. I put $20 into a machine and won $126 on the first try! I was so excited! I would love to say that we won even more after that, but I think we broke even. It was still a great way to start off the weekend!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Our friends David and Frankie met us in Las Vegas. On Friday night we went to see a show called Peep Show. It was very risque. But if you're going to Vegas, you better be going with an open mind! The stars of the show were Mel B (from the Spice Girls) and Kelly Monaco (from Dancing with the Stars). It was a lot of fun!!

During the show they brought 2 or 3 guys up on stage. One of the guys was celebrity, Gilles Marini from Dancing with the Stars and the Sex and the City movie. He was sitting two rows ahead of us in the VIP section and I ran down there after the show to try to get a picture with him. He was very nice and super cute! I wish we could have gotten some pictures of Mel B and Kelly Monaco, but they were super strict about cameras and cell phones during the show. Our seats were incredibly close to the stage which made it even more fun!

Phil talked me into riding the Big Shot at the Stratosphere. If you don't know what it is, the Stratosphere is a Space Needle like hotel/casino in Las Vegas. They have 3 amusement park rides on the very top, the Big Shot being the main attraction. This ride shoots you 160 feet in the air at 45 mph (and remember, we were already on top of the Stratosphere so we were shot 1,081 feet above the Vegas strip). If you keep your eyes open you have a great view. I did NOT keep my eyes open. I opened my eyes for a split second and closed them tight. Phil said I was screaming like I thought I was going to die.....I would say that was an accurate assessment. It was TERRIFYING! They shoot you up twice and you come out of your seat, so the real fear is that you are just going to keep going up. They took a picture of us during the ride and it is hilarious. I look like I am going to cry and Phil has his eyes open and is smiling.....he was probably laughing at me.

Phil and I after riding the Big Shot.

Phil's brother Lane and his wife, Deedee drove from California to hang out with us for a day. We had a great time hanging out at the pool. A random guy was walking by and got in our picture. :) L-R: Random Guy, Frankie, Lane, Deedee, Stefanie, Phil.

We went to Spago at Caesar's Palace for dinner and it was terrific!

Lane and Deedee

Frankie and David

Deedee, Lane, Phil and Me

We went to Tao at The Venetian after dinner. I was super excited because Tao is a big celebrity hot spot. Our friend David had connections and was able to get us on the VIP list which was awesome! We didn't have to wait in line and there were quite a few people waiting to get in. A guy took us to an special elevator and bought our first round of drinks. We didn't see any celebs but it was fun getting the VIP treatment!

Last Day of Preschool and Megan's Big Break

Today was Makena's last day of preschool for the year. We went to Harris Teeter this morning to get flowers for her teachers. I let Makena pick the flowers she liked, and she decided on the sunflowers. We gave each of Makena and Megan's teachers a flower as our way of saying thanks for a great year. Makena has really enjoyed preschool this year. She was in Mrs. Martha's class and has absolutely loved her. She also really liked the assistant teachers, Mrs. Jean and Mrs. Jennifer. She really enjoys playing with her school friends and talks about them all the time. I wanted to get a shot of everyone together but that was an impossible feat. Below are some of the kids she talks about: Emmett, Fiona, Kaitlyn, Sophie, Dixon and Ethan. Makena is also good friends with a beautiful little girl named Iliana. They enjoy playing beauty shop together.

If you ask Makena who her best friend is, she will tell you, "Hunter!" I've been told they are quite the pair and often have to be separated. They both get super excited when they see each other. If Hunter is absent she usually comes home telling me, "Hunter is in the mountains." or, "Hunter is at the beach" or "Hunter is sick." She knows exactly where he is and why he wasn't in school.

Makena and Hunter

We also had some big firsts in our family today. Little Megan had her first broken bone, first X-Rays and first cast. We brought Megan to our bed yesterday morning after she woke up. While we were waking up, she fell of the bed. (I thought we were past the falling off the bed stage, but obviously we are not.) She cried for a bit after she fell but then was okay to play and watch TV. I started to notice her guarding her right arm and favoring her left hand over her right (she is normally right handed). It also seemed to bother her when I changed her shirt. She wasn't a complete mess yesterday, if she had been I wouldn't have waited until today to take her to the doctor. She had no swelling or bruising and was still able to use her right hand and arm some. After watching her all day yesterday, I decided to take her in to the pediatrician this morning. After an exam, she sent us to get X-Rays which was a terrible experience, let me tell you. I had to stand in the other room while they took a dozen or more films of her tiny arm. (I still don't understand why they needed to do that many films of such a small arm.) She cried and screamed Mommy the whole time. While we were waiting for copies of the X-Rays I got a call from the pediatrician telling me that she did have a fracture above her right elbow. So off we went to the Orthopedist's office. Phil came home and went with us to that visit. After more waiting, filling out forms, and another exam, Megan had a little purple cast put on her right arm. She was very still and quiet while they put the cast on. I'm sure she was trying to figure out what they were doing to her. They think she will only need to wear the cast for 3 or 3 1/2 weeks.
Megan and Mommy went to Walgreens this morning and bought Motrin, Tylenol, pacifiers, blow pops and M&M's. This child could get away with pretty much anything right now. She has eaten M&M's all morning and got to have a sucker when we got home. I seriously thought about taking her for ice cream. I feel terrible and have cried multiple times this morning. She is such a sweet, little girl and I can't stand to see her in pain. When the Orthopedic PA came in to see us, she was sitting on the exam table with her M&M's, Elmo and broken arm saying, "I happy." With all of the attention and TLC Megan is going to get, I'll bet Makena is going to want a cast, too. Let's just hope she's okay with a pretend cast.

Memorial Day Weekend

Nana and Popaw came to visit Friday afternoon. Makena and Megan had a lot of fun wrestling and playing in the floor with Popaw. Mom, I promise to get some good pictures of you with the girls soon!

Megan was giving out a lot of kisses.

We were able to squeeze in a little outdoor fun in between the rain showers.
We went to the Cartwright's Saturday afternoon. Makena and Megan got to play with Adam and try smores for the first time. Obviously, they had a positive reaction....


These days this is what we do for a good time. We all gathered around Salem and cheered for her as she tried to roll over. I thought this was a funny picture because she was clearly the focal point of everyone's attention.

Sweet Baby Salem

Salem and Momma Mitra :)

Memorial Day itself was a lot of fun. Phil was on call Friday through Sunday but got to have Monday off since it was a holiday. We had friends over and grilled some burgers and dogs. The kids were able to play outside for a while before a torrential downpour. It was a little crowded having everyone inside our little house, but everyone had a good time. Makena and Megan, especially, had a great time. They had a lot of little friends to play with and were completely worn out at the end of the day. They were easy to put to bed Monday night, and for that I am grateful!

The kids also put on a talent show of sorts. Their talents were....let's just say....interesting. There was singing and dancing and all sorts of other stuff. There was even a sheriff arresting folks who got out of line!

Owen, Wyatt and Makena

Adam, the MC

Owen, the self proclaimed Sheriff.

Owen and cowgirl Makena

A Fun Day in May

Well, we had a full day today. After going to the gym this morning, I took the girls to Sciworks. We hadn't been in a while and Makena told me she wanted to see some animals. They enjoyed playing inside, too.

The girls liked seeing the goats, sheep, horses and cow. There were also geese everywhere which meant there was goose poop everywhere. And to quote Makena, "I don't like the poop." It's also really hard to get an 18 month old to avoid stepping in poo.

This afternoon, Phil and I took the girls to Greensboro to see Elmo Makes Music. It's a fun musical put on by all of the Sesame Street characters.

Megan, especially, enjoyed the show. She kept smiling and waving and saying, "Hey, MoMo!"
Makena did quite a bit of dancing during the show. This is Makena dong a little disco dancing to The Hustle.

At the end of the show some of the kids started dancing in the aisle. Makena had to get in on the action. She actually had some pretty impressive moves.

Makena also got her soccer trophy at playgroup yesterday. We missed the final game and trophy presentation while we were at the beach. Our friends Carly and Joiner were nice enough to pick up Makena's pictures and trophy for us. She was very excited to get it. I had to take some pictures of her with her first trophy!

Potty Time

We have some more blog-worthy news: Makena has decided to become potty trained this past week. She first used the potty when she was Megan's age, around 18 months old. And she has used the potty to some degree ever since then. Something apparently just clicked and she has been in panties since last Monday. We put her in pull-ups at nap and bed time but most of the time she doesn't need them.

In honor of Makena's achievement, I have a little potty humor.

Makena often gets a small York Peppermint Pattie when she goes #2.

She has just gone #2.

Me: "Makena, why don't you come in here and eat your peppermint pattie so Megan won't see you. If she sees you she is going to want one too."

Makena: "That's okay, Mommy. She can have one. We can celebrate."

This was our conversation after Makena's first day wearing panties to preschool. She did well and didn't have any accidents.

Me: "Makena, we are all so proud of you. You did such a good job today. You are a very big girl."

At this point Megan starts to talk.

Me:"And we're all very proud of you too, Megan."

Makena: "Why? Why are you proud of Megan?" (She's saying this like we shouldn't be proud of her because Megan isn't going potty and wearing panties to school.)

Me: "Because she's a good girl."

Makena: "Oh." (Somehow my answer seemed to satisfy her.)

As you can tell, we are really into positive reinforcement when it comes to potty training.

Me: "We are all so proud of you for going potty. We're going to have to call Nana and Popaw, G-Dada....everyone is going to be so proud of you!"

Makena: "The whole city?!"

Me: "Yes, Makena, the whole city is going to be proud of you." :)

Atlantic Beach & Meeting Baby Ian

We just got back from a long weekend at the beach. We left Thursday night and got back Sunday afternoon. We crammed a lot of fun into a couple of days. We were also able to meet up with some friends that we hadn't seen in a while, which was great! I did post a lot of pictures this time. There were a lot of photo opportunities and I had a hard time choosing my favorite pictures. One of the first places we went was the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. The girls loved it!

The weather was beautiful on Saturday. So we all loaded up in the boat and went over to Shackleford Banks. Megan napped through the trip but Makena had an awesome time. She even got to drive the boat! We told her she was making doughnuts and then had to explain what that meant. :)

Vascular Surgery Class of 2010: Ross and Phil

Phil and I on Shackleford Banks

These are some pictures of our wonderful friends that we were able to see while we were at the beach.

Dave, Angie and Kate

Mary Anna and Ross

and George and Lisal.

The whole group went to eat at The Sanitary Fish Market Saturday night. We were able to get some group shots after dinner.

Makena, Megan and Kate

The whole gang: (L-R) Angie, Kate, Dave, George, Lisal, Ross, Mary Anna, Stefanie, Megan, Phil and Makena

We stopped in Raleigh on the way home to meet the newest member of the family. Phil's brother, Lindsey and his wife Amy welcomed their 3rd boy a week ago. He is adorable and we were thrilled to meet him. This is Ian Sean Sharp.
The cousins together: Megan, Will, Makena, Colin and Ian.