Treadmills and teeth!

Hello everyone!  I trust all is well in your home, things are going great here as well!

Traci and I have recently started our half marathon training for the Abilene Marathon.  I have run this race the past two years and Traci has run it as well.  They offer a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon.  Neither of us have ventured into the arena of full marathons yet, so we are doing the half this year.  The weather has no allowed us to do our training runs outside very often so we have been forced inside and onto the treadmill.  If you know our family you know that running inside on a treadmill is not ideal, we would rather be outside.  So we have been doing our runs inside, which has led to Piper discovering the wonders of the treadmill.

One day as I was running inside, I had that feeling like someone was watching me...sure enough someone was..."Hey...what are you doing daddy?" Piper asked.  "I am running" I said, Piper looked at me like I was crazy.  "What are you running on, daddy?" Piper asked.  "I am running on a treadmill" I said.  "Oh...let me try" Piper says....thus began Piper's love affair with the treadmill.  She routinely asks now to run on the treadmill, so I place her on the treadmill and hold her hands as she walks on it, then she will demand to go faster and faster.  Granted the treadmill is set at 1.4 which is very slow for an average sized adult, for a child the size of Piper it's an all out sprint.  She loves it.  She will tell me "Daddy, I am tired, I am all done," so I will take her off the treadmill and she will immediately ask me if she's sweating.  She thinks she is sweating because she ran alot, and she is training for a race too!  Needless to say its entertaining in our house as usual.

Maizy's teeth finally broke through so she now has too little sharp teeth on her bottom gums right in the front, it's pretty adorable...and it's pretty painful.  She decided the other day when I was coming in for a kiss to show me just how efficient she was with her teeth, and she latched onto my nose.  Yeah they are sharp, yep they hurt....and hell yes she thought it was hilarious.  It now appears by all accounts the she is getting more teeth, which means she will now have a better chance of instilling more damage on my nose in the future. 

Well thats about all for now, I trust everyone is happy and well.  Life is Good!!

New teeth, the Battle of the Paci, and sledding

Hello all, well this is has been one heck of a week or so, a lot of very significant things have taken place in the Ferrell home.

First off Maizy finally has a tooth that has broken through, that's right our little one has a nice piece of jagged enamel poking through her gums!  It seemed to take forever, but that damn thing broke through.  While I do not remember how teething was when I was an infant, I can only imagine it sucked...alot...I mean epic suckiness.  The poor girl was flushed, had a horrible diaper rash, and seemed to be crapping at an alarming rate...but no worries the tooth broke through, and everything seemed to be just fine...only 100 more to go...kids have a 100 teeth right?

Next up, Traci decided that now was a good time to attempt to ween Piper off her pacifer, or as she calls it her "that" which was a name picked up from us at some point when we asked each other to pick "that" up and give it to her.  I imagine it was probably me half crying asking Traci just to give "that" to her so she would stop crying and I could go back to sleep...I am tough like that you know.

Anyway, so one Monday night Traci decides to try to put Piper to bed withough a pacifer, her reasoning being if she has to take out her pacifer to talk to us then she is too old for it, albeit she is only 2 1/2 years old.  See Piper didn't even take a pacifer until after she was a year old, so we thought it was time to just get her to stop taking the thing.  Piper only took her pacifer at nap and bedtime so Traci decided to try to see if we could get her to bed without the pacifer.  You may have noticed by now that I continue to refer to Traci and her decisions in this endeavor...why do you ask am I doing this?  Well it was her idea...I was just along for the ride, thanking God that I had to leave that next morning for work, and would not return for a couple days.  

The pacifer weening is best described as an epic battle...lets call it "The Battle of the Paci" Traci is the United States, tenacious and ready to battle no matter the odds, as Piper was crying for her pacifer she simply states "We will get through this she needs to just figure this out."  I am more like the French..as soon as Piper cried for her pacifer, I immediately surrendered...explaining to Traci "for Christ sake just give her the damn pacifer!"  Which may I add was roughly 10 minutes into the battle.  

Well it went much better than I thought it would, bedtime that night was a bit tough, she cried and wanted her pacifer for a little bit, and was convinced that we had lost it, and needed to find it.  So she kept volunteering to get up and help us look for it.  She cried for a bit but ultimately fell asleep.  Magically she hasn't asked for her pacifer since that night, it still takes a bit more time to get her to sleep but she is sans pacifer at night and at naps.  So I call that a success, one that I really had no hand in....but hey....whatever.

Maizy also had her 6 month appt and is growing and gaining weight just as she should be, so we are very happy and thankful for that!  She now weighs 12 lbs 15oz!  Good job kiddo!

Also we got about 8 inches of snow here on New Years Eve, so recently we decided that we should go sledding at Traci's parents house, Piper and I had been sledding quite a bit at our house so we thought that sledding at Traci's parents house would be a great time.  I guess it's worth noting that Papa and RaRa live on the HIGHEST POINT IN OTTAWA COUNTY!!!!  So Piper and I pulled out a sled, sat down and took off....Piper had a great time...she loved it...I think I shit my pants. 

That hill was steep, lots of jumps and apparently some rocks...which is evidenced by the massive bruise on my ass.  But Piper laughed all the way down and when we would crash she would say "Oh man...wipe out" or "Oh wow that was a great crash daddy."  What can I say she gets her toughness from me. 

Well that's enough for now, hope all is well with everyone and remember...LIFE IS GOOD!!!  

Happy New Year Everybody!

Well NYE has come and gone and I must say that this year was the first time in a very long time that I woke up on New Years Day without a headache and a fragmented memory of what happened the night before.

Traci, the girls and I had a movie night at our house, we watched Enchanted, which of course is a princess movie which works well since I live with three of them.  Dad gets overruled when he wants to watch James Bond, Star Wars, or my all time favorite the Thomas Crown Affair.  So princess movies it is!

As I laid on the floor cuddled up with my girls I quickly realized that this was by far the very best NYE I had ever had!  Being there with them was all I needed.  Everything was perfect. 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself when I rocked out on NYE, we all did.  But there reaches a time when ringing in the new year puking in bushes, getting your head closed in a car door, and passing out with a lit cigarette in a recliner just doesn't seem as much fun as it used to be.  The past few previous NYE I had drank my weight in whiskey and dominated Band Hero with our good friends in Concordia.  Apparently I do a pretty mean rendition of "Santa Monica" by Everclear.  Do I think I will do it again, maybe the band hero, but I try to not puke in public anymore, and I quit smoking a long time ago.

My goal this year is to strive to be a better father, husband and man.  I think we can all strive to be better people to one another.  This world is a tough, angry place...one less angry person would do the world a lot of good.

So with that being said I have compiled a list of things I think would make 2013 a better year!  Drum roll please!

1. Stop fighting with your baby mama or baby daddy on facebook.  No one besides your family, and the court system give a sh*t if that person is a worthless dead beat, dates skanks/thugs, or just bought a 90 Toyota Tercel, but still hasn't paid child support.
2. Quit looking for sympathy on facebook, sure people may tell you to "stay strong" "your day will come" or "You are the world's greated person" but really they are silently hoping you stop posting about how lonely, broke or horny you are.
3. Eat better and exercise.  Yep everyone has this resolution at some point, very few of us keep it, and then we spend the rest of the year being made because we are fat.  Get a simple plan, and stick to it, before too long it becomes a routine.  Trust me I know from experience its tough to do...it took Traci roughly 3 years to get me to care about my health.  I do now, and it feels great. 
4. Eat more vegetables
5. If you are over the 30 years old and don't have a record deal...you probably never will.  Give it up and get a real job.
6. Smile a little more, even if they glare back at you..just do it.  I was startled when we moved to Concordia how many people wave at one another as they drive by...its old school kindness...I like it.  Keep it up or start doing it.  I sometimes do it while I am working in bigger areas in Kansas...most of the time I figure those folks are trying to figure out for a good 20 minutes if they knew that guy that just waved at them.
7. Go outside more, put down the video games, the remote, the computer whatever.  Go outside and get some fresh air...heck maybe talk to someone face to face instead of over text message, email, or battling them on some online video game.  Human interaction is a necessity, and we are lacking that greatly.
8. Try a little harder, do something outside your comfort zone...or just get a job. 
9. Don't be so serious, everytime I turn around someone is bent out of shape and offended by something said by someone else.  We are by far the most sensitive generation to ever inhabit this planet.  Lighten up you self absorbed babies.
10. And finally...just be good to one another.  We are all in this together.

Good luck in 2013!

See you later 2012!

Well 2012 is drawing is a close and I must say I am glad that this year is done with!  Don't get me wrong for all it's trials and hardships, it was certainly outweighed by blessings, great times and most of all miracles.

I have been contemplating what my New Year's Resolution should be eventhough they usually fail miserably within the first week just like everyone else's resolutions do...I'm talking to you fat girls hogging up the treadmills at the gym for most of January.

But I do in fact have a resolution and that's to update the blog more often, not to toot my own horn eventhough I am truly awesome as a daddy blogger, father, lawyer, explorer, mountain climber, and silk weaver, but many people have told me that they love reading the blog and I should do it more often....so your wish is my command...maybe..hopefully....probably....maybe.

Okay back to the kids.....

Thanksgiving and Christmas were great times, and sandwiched in between was our annual trip to Vegas...and yes the girls went to Vegas with us...why wouldn't they?  I mean Vegas casino's scream kid friendly...so after Piper, Maizy and I went and hit the craps table, went shot for shot on whiskey, and fought a bouncer at a club, we found time to hit the PRCA National Finals Rodeo.  Actually, Maizy and I stayed in the room because she was getting a bit tired that night, so Piper, Mommy, Papa and RaRa hit up the rodeo at the Thomas and Mack Center.  Piper loved it to say the least.  She loved the buckin' bulls and all the horses too.

The trip to Vegas was a great time, I got to drink my "hard to find" microbrews while Papa Dave looked at me wondering how I could drink that weird sh*t....his words not mine.

Christmas fast approached after we returned, and we had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas (even if it was terribly exhausting) but it was even more special by the fact it was Maizy's first Christmas!  It was certainly hard not thinking how close we may have came to never being able to do such a thing with her...makes me even more thankful for all the wonderful blessings that our family has been given. 

We went to Topeka on the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas to do the holidays with my family, we hit up Aunt Tanzy and Uncle Allen's on Saturday, and my Grandmothers with my brother, his fiance Stephanie, and my mom Sunday.  My sister Heather was unable to make it this year as she just recently took a new job in a new location and was not able to make it...no worries though we will do Christmas whenever she can get back for it!  It doesn't matter what day you do it on as long as you are together.

Piper's big present from Santa Claus as a giant Disney Princess Castle that sings, dances and generally irritates the living sh*t out of me...but the look on her face when she opened it was fantastic.  When she realized what it was her face lit up and she said "it's a dream come true!"  Never a dull moment with these girls!!

Well in closing I just want to say thank you to all of you and your kind words, thoughts, prayers, comments, etc that you have provided our family this year.  It was certainly a difficult journey but it was our journey and we made it through.  Just this last friday we celebrated the 6 month anniversary of Maizy's heart surgery.  She's certainly come a long way from that skinny little girl with a broken heart to a lively, beautiful little girl that hollers, rolls both ways, tries to stand, and loves to bounce around in her exer-saucer.  She also loves watching the chaos that ensues whenever her big sister is awake...I am sure she thinks she was born to a pack of crazy people.  But in all seriousness thank you to you all, too often we get caught up on the tough times and how we don't have all the "stuff" we think we need...none of that matters as long as you have a loving family and friends...and food....and shelter....and socks....probably some booze too.....

Thank you all, Happy New Year, We love you, Best of Wishes for a New Year, and LIFE IS GOOD!

Love,
Justin, Traci, Piper and Maizy

So much to be thankful for!!

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and of course we on Team Ferrell have much to be thankful for this year!

Recently Maizy had a cardio check up at Children's Mercy in KC, we did it in KC this time around so that if Maizy got agitated like she did last time when we were in Junction City they could give her a mild sedative so they could get a good complete Echo.  Maizy was a champ, didn't fuss even once and she even held the cord when the nurse did the Echo.

The doctor came in and told us that Maizy's heart looked great, that eventually she will likely have to have another angioplasty but that was not anything to deal with or worry about right now.  Then he said the dreaded words "That's the good news"...our hearts droppped.  "What now?" is all I could think.  The doctor spoke with us a bit more about how happy he was about how strong Maizy's heart was and then he said okay..."that's it."  So Traci looks at him and says "but you just said that's the good news...so what is the other news?"  The doctor looks at her for a second and says..."that's all....there is no bad news....I guess I should have phrased that differently!"  OH YOU THINK SO?!?!

So all in all...Maizy is doing great, and it was all good news.  She is doing well enough at this time that her 2 month check ups are now 4 month check ups!  Wohooo!  Maizy is a champ!

Piper is doing great as well she got to stay at Grandma RaRa's while we went to KC for Maizy's appointment.  She kept Grandma entertained and busy and she got to go play at Great Grandma Dodo's house the next day, where I can only imagine Piper convinced Dodo to let her eat her weight in licorice.

We recently returned from Santa Rosa Beach, Florida where Traci's cousin Bailey got married.  Piper was flower girl and Traci was a bridesmaid.  Piper kept everyone entertained from the beginning.  When we arrived in Pensacola, as we were waiting to get off the plane Piper informed the people in front of us that she was going to go to the beach!  Everyone thought it was just adorable...then Piper took it to the next level and says "I am going to the beach and I am going to drink Whiskey!"  HOLY SH*T really kid?  That makes me look like the drunken father of the year.  Traci attempted to diffuse the situation by saying "Why don't we drink orange juice."  So Piper looks at the group of people on the plane and says..."Maybe I will mix it with a little whiskey then!"  Oh okay...that makes it better.

So after I escaped that situation looking like the upstanding stable parent in the group we headed to Santa Rosa beach.  A couple days later we were introduced to Bailey's soon-to-be husband Derrick's family.  One of his aunts was a lawyer and she thought Piper was an adorable little girl (which she was correct about!) so she struck up a conversation with us, I told Piper that this nice lady was a lawyer.  So Piper says "I will see you in court"  Derrick's aunt burst out laughing, she said "duly noted" so Piper responded with "I will preserve it for appeal!"  So needless to say it's pretty obvious that Piper's parents are both attorneys!

Piper loved the beach and kept wanting to go out further in the ocean and play in the waves, she certainly had a blast.  Maizy wasn't as sure of it when we put her feet in the ocean...I guess we will have to wait before we start her on scuba diving lessons.

Traci was able to spend alot of time with her cousins as she was helping Bailey get ready and set up for the wedding, and since she was doing that, the girls got lots of one-on-one time with dad.  I love my girls more than anything and I would do anything for them...but those two kicked my ass!  Dad's are just built differently, mom's can handle anything, dad's we just want to give you whatever you want so you don't cry anymore...and we usually start drinking at 10AM.  But all in all it was a great trip, I did get some great time just with the girls and most importantly no one had any injuries and the property damage was held to a minimum!

Well that's about all for now, I hope all is well with all of you.  Have a wonderful holiday season.  Life is good.

Pictures!!

Hey sis!

Riding the range

Best buddys!

Kya is just having one of those days.

Future duck calling champion.

Hanging out with her buddy Brian.

Coffee shop time with Avery

Helping the cats eat!

This is what happens when Dad and Piper go to Walmart unsupervised.

At the high school football game with her pals.

Spending the day with Avery

Fresh picked tomatoes!

Working on my new album

Lets go hassle my dad

Album cover for her soon to be released album

Sometimes dad's decoys become toys....toys named Mr. Quackers.

Pipers ranch hands.

ready for the Concordia Big Color, Big Fun Run

Olympic Training!

Just taking a nap with dad and his awesome beard.

Peek-a-boo....why is thsi upside down?

Working with my trainer.

Summersaults baby!

Handstand!  Yeah I can do a handstand

This duck calling stuff is easy.

I would like to thank Blue the cat for tearing open my screen and then getting wedged between the screen and sliding glass door.  Now you stay there and think about it for a bit.

Addy, Austin, Maizy and Piper!

Long overdue updates!!

Hello everyone!  I know it's been awhile since I last updated the blog, my apologies, between work and two little girls it's been a challenge to get this bad boy updated in a timely fashion.  I will certainly try harder!

A lot has been going on since the last update, Maizy had another cardio update and she checked out great!  When the doctor came in the first thing he did was feel the pulses in her feet, he said they were much stronger than the last time he saw her (before her angioplasty) and that he was very happy about that.  Maizy had another Echo that day, she didn't really appreciate it, but Dr. Kaine said everything looked good.  We will have another check up at the end of November, as they will keep a close eye on Maizy for the first year of her life.  But needless to say, Mom and Dad were thrilled to get the good news.  Maizy continues to grow stronger each day, and is one happy little baby girl.  She has a big bright smile, and she certainly has alot to smile about!

Piper is as hilarious, smart, and wild as ever.  She recently started gymnastics, so we are doing alot of summersaults, kinda sorta cartwheels, donkey kicks and a litany of other moves.  When she is done, she will jump up and say "Tada!!!!....now it's time for candy......candy time!"  Apparently at the end of gymnastics class they all get candy.  I was lucky enough to attend class today, and it was alot like herding cats.  Piper likes jump on the trampoline, walk on the beam, and  run around in circles, waving her arms around above her head.  She occasionally stops to dance for a moment when they are playing music.

A couple weeks ago our good friends from Ohio, Robbie and Donna Spencer came to town to visit, Rob and Donna's son Brian came as well and brought his girlfriend Laura.  It was great seeing them, and of course Piper had a great time hassling Brian.  Before they arrived I told Piper at dinner one night that Brian was going to bring his girlfriend, she looked me straight in the eye and said "No...he's going to bring a boy."  Needless to say we got alot of traction out of that when they were here.

Piper also recently got to ride Papa Dave's horse Buck, Piper is a big fan of Papa's horses so she was very proud of herself for having rode Buck.  She also helped Papa and Uncle Scott work calves.  She would yell "Bull or Heifer" when the calves came in, and then act like she was writing it down.  Tim Paige "Uncle Tim" also carried Piper into the corral so she could pet the calves.  She was quite the little cowgirl.

We also a couple weeks back participated in Concordia's version of the Color Run.  Traci is president of the board for Concordia's Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and they had decided to do the "Big Color, Big Fun Run" to raise money for the organization.  So Piper and I loaded up, and did the run!  Piper and I had a great time, after each color station she would tell me that she didn't want to get any color on her.  But when we came up to another color station she would change her mind and want to be covered in color.  By the time we finished we were covered with all sorts of different colors! 

Well thats about it for now, I will sure to update more often.  I also promised to post some recipes that I have neglected to do thus far.  So stay tuned!!