I know...I know...I am a terrible daddy blogger!

Okay well it's been entirely too long since I blogged, and it's not like it's been boring in our house!
Piper continues to keep us on our toes with her views of the world, and Maizy is certainly taking after her sister being as chatty and fun-loving as ever.

Piper is learning lots of great things in school, loves her teachers, and is currently keeping me on my toes with her stories about "no kissing at school."  Apparently at some point the class was told not to kiss each other (or at least that is what I have been informed of by a 3 year olds perspective.)  So I asked her if she was kissing someone or being kissed, her answer....yes.  Ok well which one is it!!!

Piper recently received a new bike from Uncle Scott and Aunt Jess, it was a hand-me-down from Addy who got a bigger bike recently for her birthday.  Piper had a bit of an issue the first day pedaling it, but by the next day she took off.  I am very proud of her...Tour De France here we come.  Now if only we could get her to maneuver the bike a little better that would be great...she tends to mow down...or at least come very close to mowing down her sister, or Kya our 13 year old Labrador that really doesn't move so fast.

Maizy is doing great, she recently had her adenoids taken out and tubes put in her ears as well.  Maizy was a loud sleeper, as Piper put it "she sounds like a baby goose when she sleeps."  So apparently baby geese snore and are a bit apneic....for those of you wondering about the sleep patterns of geese.  Also Maizy was constantly dealing with respiratory and sinus junk, had a terrible runny nose and just overall couldn't get better.  But the great news is Maizy almost immediately stopped the snoring, is sleeping much better evidenced by her now waking up at friggin 5:45 in the morning ready to roll!  And most of all she isn't gunky anymore, no more terrible snot, no more respiratory junk, she is doing great!  The other day someone mentioned that Maizy had a sparkle in her eye that was amazing, and she really does have bright, happy eyes...I am sure it's because of all the wonderful love and blessings she has received over the just less than 2 years of her life.

Traci has been very busy lately, on top of being mom to our girls, and working for MMIC traveling all over for her job, she also along with Kim Reynolds and a lobbyist friend of ours Kevin Barone has been working on getting Pulse Oximetry testing for newborn babies in KS.  Pulse Ox, as it's called, is a law or standard of care in a large majority of states, including MO, but not in KS.  What Pulse Ox does is measure the oxygen in your blood, it's what that little clip is they put on your finger in the hospital.  By measuring your blood oxygen saturation it can indicate if there are problems, problems that can be quickly recognized and be addressed.  Had Pulse Ox been administered on Breckyn, Kim's daughter, when she was born her heart condition would have been caught, and her need for numerous open heart surgeries and the damage to her heart and lungs could have been avoided.  While we can't change Breckyn's situation we can keep that situation from happening to other children.  Maizy was lucky in that we caught the heart condition before she was born, but she certainly had a Pulse Ox on her the whole time she was at the hospital. 

This test costs about $4, the equipment is already in hospitals...so why aren't we doing it!  We need this so other families don't have to endure what the Reynolds family has had to over the life of Breckyn so far.  In this day where everything that comes from our legislature is nothing short of unbearably embarrassing, I am proud to say I know the people who are attempting to bring about positive change.  Thinking about the unknown lives and families this law will touch, help, and save is amazing.  I am so proud to say I count all three of you working on bringing about this as friends, notably I count one as my wife.  I don't say it enough to her in the daily routine of insanity that is our lives, but Traci is my hero, she always has been.  I am so proud of the work she is doing.  Her ability to balance life, including life with me, (which I know isn't always easy...I'm complicated ok!) is simply amazing.  I've never met anyone who could do what she does, I am proud of you Traci, proud to say you are my wife, my best friend, mother to our children, and the most beautiful person I have ever met.  I love you more each day.

Keep up the good fight, save lives, and know that what Breckyn has had to endure will not happen in vain. 

I hope everyone who reads this is doing well...remember....LIFE IS GOOD.

A new year and Dad is a terrible failure of a blogger.

It's a new year and a new shot at getting back to blogging....it's been pretty crazy lately thus the blogging has fallen by the wayside.  So here is another shot...

Well needless to say plenty has gone on with the girls!  The holidays were a blast, lots of family time, lots of presents...lots of me drinking because of all the extra family time...you know the typical holiday stuff.  (I kid, I kid)

Piper really finally began to realize a lot more this holiday season so we had a great time with lots of different things i.e. elf on the shelf, decorating the tree, seeing Santa, making a list for Santa, Christmas goodies, making cookies for Santa, and of course...writing a letter to Santa after Christmas to inform him he forgot to bring two very important things she wanted, a kitchen with curtains, and the "Roger" movie, which I later discovered is in fact 101 Dalmatians, Roger is the owner of the male Dalmatian.

And yes, you read correctly, Piper did write a letter informing Santa he didn't bring her some things she thought he should have....nice kid....well played.  Of course Piper also told me last night when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, that she didn't want to be a doctor or lawyer or anything like that...nope....when Piper grows up, she wants...to be in charge.  Fair enough...you are your mother's daughter for sure!

Maizy has really taken off, she is running everywhere, singing, talking and insisting just as much as her sister that we read to her.  She enjoys crawling up on mom or dad's lap with her sister and having marathon book reading sessions, which is fantastic...that is unless all I want is a cup of coffee at 7am on a Saturday...

Traci took a new job this year at a Medical Malpractice Insurer out of Minneapolis, MN called MMIC.  She seems to really be loving it, and the company seems great as well.  I am really proud of her with the balancing act of running a firm and taking care of the girls, and then transitioning to a new job, shutting down her firm and still tending to the kids...I'm not sure what I was doing that whole time...probably eating a snack or playing Candy Crush.  But in all seriousness, she's amazing and because of her we get to share in the adventure of raising two amazing children.

The holidays were great, in fact they were some of the best I can remember, seeing the girls surrounded by so much happiness and love really was amazing to be a part of, I hope everyone's holiday season was full of love as well.

So this is a short blog entry I know, but I am really hoping I can get it in gear and start blogging more!  I promise...I'll try, it's just really hard to find the time to do this kind of stuff when you are as important as I am...I'm a big deal folks.

And remember, LIFE IS GOOD!