Fancy Nora and Fancy Angelina

Nora came over to play with Angelina one afternoon. They decided to get out the dress up clothes and adorned themselves like Fancy Nancy.

Fancy girls!

Our Little Cinderella

One recent Sunday, Angelina wanted Julene to do her hair up for church. We put a tiara in her hair to make her look like Cinderella.

We used lots of bobby pins and barrettes to put it all up. Angelina's hair is down to her waist now, so it took Julene some time.

This is the end result--beautiful!

Brad took pictures of Angelina and, of course, Ben just had to be in the picture, too.

Angelina was Cinderella and Ben was Prince Charming while Julene sang "So This Is Love" from "Cinderella."

Angelina hugged her little Prince Charming.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Whenever he hears a good beat, Benjamin loves to get his groove on. The kids were playing the soundtrack from "High School Musical 3" and Benjamin couldn't help but boogie when he heard the music. The only challenge is for me to grab my camera fast enough to capture him. Angelina is his elegant dancing partner at the start of the video.

Josh's Marshmallow Birthday Party

Joshua wanted a marshmallow party for his 12th birthday, so Julene put together a bunch of marshmallow activities for Josh and his friends. After building things out of marshmallows, they had a contest to see who could stuff the most marshmallows in his mouth. Instinctively, I knew going into it that the best photos would come from this contest.

Joseph gave it his best effort.

Josh's friend Devon has an innovative way of connecting the marshmallows into a large mass without actually having them in his mouth.

The undisputed largest mouth went to Josh's friend, T.J. Little wonder since he is nearly as large as me, and he is only 13.

The highlight of the party was making a playing with marshmallow guns. On the previous Saturday, I cut enough PVC to make about 15 guns. The kids assembled their guns, picked up bags of ammo and went outside for an old-fashioned shootout. The party might not have been very politically correct, but it was a lot of fun.

Ethan and Joshua looking for more marshmallows to shoot.

Joseph shooting Josh's friend at point blank.

Allyse joined the marshmallow mayhem.

Angelina was the only one who figured out that the real fun was in eating the ammo.

Another highlight was the S'mores cake that Julene made. I'm not quite sure what was in it but it was pretty good. Mixing chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers can only be good.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Accessorize

Even if she is just getting a banana before bedtime, Angelina is always stylish, accessorizing her pajamas with beads.

Anatomy of a Photo Shoot

For the most part, Angelina hates to get dressed up in new "Sunday" dresses. Although she typically really enjoys the results, she despises the change that wearing something new necessarily involves. On a recent Sunday when Julene dressed Angelina in the outfit, below, she had an absolute fit. Being the nice and compassionate father that I am, I told Angelina that I was going to get out the camera and start taking pictures.

At first, I wasn't certain that my brilliant scheme was going to work, but then the tears started to dry up.

The hint of a smile replaced the pout.

Then, mischief returned to her expression.

Donning the hat caused seemed to cause a reset of emotions.

However, it didn't take long for her to reboot.

Soon, Angelina's inner ham took over.

In the end, our little girl's happy disposition returned and we were free of drama for the rest of the morning, without having to resort to any disciplinary measures.

She's Got Style

"Fashions fade; style is eternal."

Yves Saint Laurent

What Could this Doll Fetch on Ebay?

I was wondering what I could get for this doll if I put it up for sale on ebay. She can do many things, like . . .

close her eyes,

laugh, and my personal favorite,

give you a smile that melts your heart.

Conspiracy

"Okay Benjamin. Now, if you really want to drive Mommy and Daddy crazy, start climbing the stairs. First, you have to get your arms up on the step. Second, you pull your legs up one at a time. Just keep repeating until you reach the top."

"Oops, Daddy caught us. Just act natural and smile at him. He'll never suspect a thing. After he leaves, we can get back to practice."

Angelina's covert training program for Benjamin started last Sunday. By Thursday, her hard work was paying dividends. Julene turned her back for a few minutes and then found Benjamin at the top of the landing. Needless to say, we'll be shopping for gates this weekend.

Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Joseph, Joshua and Angelina were sitting at the kitchen table, each quietly drawing. Angelina, who loved the pretty blue dress that she had worn to church, refused to change out of the dress into her play clothes, even though her brothers and sister had changed out of their Sunday best.

Later, in the early evening, the missionaries came to our home for dinner. Shortly after the missionaries arrived, Angelina decided to go upstairs to her bedroom. She refused to come downstairs for dinner, opting to play in her room. During dinner, we could hear her at various intervals singing at the top of her lungs.

Then, near the end of dinner, she finally decided to grace us and our guests with her presence. Because her meals typically end up on her clothes, I was glad to see that she had finally changed out of her pretty Sunday dress. Unfortunately, I didn't quite agree with the appropriateness of her fashion choice. Angelina came to Sunday dinner with the missionaries making her grand entrance wearing . . .

THIS!

Bowling at Jillian's for JDRF

Our local JDRF chapter organized a family fun day at Jillian's, a small bowling alley at Neonopolis in fabulous downtown Las Vegas.

Joshua rolled a mean game of bowling. His form, and his score, dramatically improved after he stopped trying to bowl with a 12 lb. ball.

We had a hard time finding a ball that weighed less than Allyse. Once we did (and once we added a ramp for the ball to roll down) she was as pleased as punch.

Angelina was just happy to hang out and watch the bowling balls return. I couldn't get her to part with her bowling ball shaped lollipop for this picture.

Likewise, I couldn't get Benjamin to part with his pacifier for this picture.

My Silly Little Girls

Angelina was preparing some mac & cheese in the microwave and had to see what was happening. Lately, Angelina has to get up on the counter for everything. In the morning, she climbs up on the vanity in my bathroom and talks to me while I shave and get ready for work. If she is in the kitchen, she has to climb up to see what is cooking or to help with preparing meals. I guess it is hard being only three feet tall.

Speaking of three feet tall, Allyse came downstairs wearing a costume that is far too small for her. About a month ago, Allyse realized that she is thin enough to fit into some items that Angelina wears. The only problem is that the length doesn't quite work out. No problem for the Mickey Mouse costume, as she shortened the legs to create this sight.

Angelina stepped in to create a sense of scale for Allyse in the Mickey costume.

On Razor's Edge

When I got home from work tonight, my three-year-old, Angelina, met me and informed me that she was sick. Since Joseph is the one who has been sick for the past few days, and since I had not heard anything about Angelina coming down with something, I suspected that she was really okay. I asked Angelina how she knew that she was sick and she said, "My throat is in my neck."

After repeatedly asking Angelina what she meant, I gave up trying to figure it out. I don't know--maybe it's gang code. In any event, she seemed shocked, and actually laughed, when I told her that my throat is in my neck as well.

After the illness that has beset our family for the last few weeks, it was easy to understand why Angelina thought she was sick. In the first week of July, Allyse and Benjamin came down with a prolonged fever. For Allyse, it lasted about five days, and it caused her to have nausea the majority of the time. Benjamin was pretty darn ornery (for him) for about a week. During the next week, it hit Joshua, but to a much lesser extent than Allyse.

We hoped that we had escaped with Joseph, but finally, the fever hit Joseph last Thursday. He experience a brief reprieve on Friday (long enough to go to school and compete in the Art Quest), but then it returned with a vengeance on Friday afternoon, and it hit me on Saturday.

The brakes on my car were in bad shape, so I completely changed out all four rotors and all of the pads on Saturday. However, by the time I was finishing, I was starting to feel pretty bad, and I came down with a fever and body aches. I also had a splitting headache that did not leave until Monday morning.

No matter how sick I felt, it didn't compare to Joseph. Due to Joseph's diabetes, the last 48 hours have been an absolute roller coaster ride. Once again, ketoacidosis is the issue. Julene and I have been doing everything we can to keep from having to return Joseph to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at UMC. It is one thing when Joseph's insulin pump is not properly delivering insulin (for whatever malfunction). It is a totally different animal when he experiences nausea due to viral infection.

Here's the problem. With nausea, Joseph cannot keep food and drink down. Without food and drink Joseph's blood sugar will not be high enough to give him insulin. Without insulin, Joseph's ketones rise, and he becomes at risk for ketoacidosis. In addition, if his blood sugar gets too high, he gets ketones. When he has ketones, then he gets even more nauseated. However, once he gets ketones, if we give him too much insulin to reduce the ketones, then we risk sending him into hypoglycemia. In a mild case, hypoglycemia also increases nausea, which then makes it nearly impossible to get food into Joseph to make his blood sugar rise again. In more severe case, hypoglycemia causes coma and death.

It feels as if we are performing a balancing act on a razor's edge. If we teeter even a small distance, then it rapidly sends everything completely out of whack, with potentially disastrous consequences. Then we spend the next several hours trying to regain some sort of equilibrium before he flies off in another direction. Last night I was up until 1:30 a.m. testing Joseph's blood and testing his ketones, giving him insulin, giving him carbohydrates, and praying that it would all come together. Then, Julene was up in the wee hours of the morning and I was back up at 5:15 a.m. for more of the same.

There were numerous times yesterday and today when we were minutes from taking him to the PICU. Julene called Joseph's doctor, explained the situation, and tried to get some more direction. They seemed surprised that we have been able to hold it together this long. However, today Joseph was so tired of being nauseated that he was asking to go to the hospital.

I still am fighting the fever, and the headaches and body aches are intermittent. Mostly, I am exhausted, and I know that Julene is tired too, having to take the brunt of it Monday, in addition to caring for the baby and the rest of the children. We are just praying that Joseph's fever will break on Tuesday, and that he will feel a settling of his digestive system at that time so that things can return to their normal state of chaos.

Don't Lose Yourself

On Monday morning, following the holiday weekend, I was getting ready to go to work. Angelina, who had apparently gotten used to having me around the home for the previous three days, looked concerned by my putting on the shirt and tie. She came over to me and said, "Daddy, you going to work?" After I replied in the affirmative, she became very serious and said, "Daddy, don't lose yourself."

Good advice, not only for that day, but for life.

Cutie Pie

Angelina looked so cute in her pajamas, sitting by the wall, that I just had to snap this shot. She makes it hard to take a bad photo.

Angelina's Barbie Princess Party

The Ballard house was arrayed in pink in anticipation of
the femininity that was about to descend upon it.

What Barbie birthday would be complete without a Barbie cake?

The den was turned into a Barbie playroom with dozens of dolls and tons of accessories.
Julene set up various stations where Angelina's guests could make some crafts.
At this station, Allyse helped the little girls decorate their crowns and scepters.

Joseph helped the girls string together beautiful
necklaces made of precious Froot Loops
(or was he just sampling the goods).

The temptation of having the Barbie cake within reach grew too great.

Going, going, gone.

Before I could even start cutting the cake, Angelina had destroyed
part of it by picking at the "pinky" frosting.

Happy Birthday to You!