Pattye Duffner's Blog

Baby Holden 7 Months Old

Now you see why we call him "happy".  Boy you are such a blessing and a bright light in our everyday.  Thank you God for baby Holden! 

That Crazy Lady!

Empty school room in Michigan. (Google/LIFE)

 

Friends and family I am calling on you to help me make positive change in schools across America.  I have put my money (and image) where my mouth is.  I have made a video and posted it online for the audition that will help schools.  Please go HERE and see what I am talking about.  Vote!  Leave me a comment too; I would love to hear from you.

 

Pass it along too!  The more votes the better! Facebook? Twitwer? Email?.

 

 

Happy 9th Birthday Quinn

Quinn wanted a football party... so you know when your kids are little and you rent a clown (or other party fav) at 9 I guess the thing to do is rent a coach!  Let me tell you Quinn's football coach took off work, ran the entire party, and even brought a gift!  What more could a 9 year old want?  After the party he even told me "this was the best party ever".  SCORE!  That is all I want to hear... Here are the details and the invite.

Made these on elements and printed 2 on 5x7 photo paper.  Cut down the center to get 2 invites out of 1 print.  Also made a flyer with "tailgate party info".  All additional info that would not fit on fun ticket! 

 
9 favs at 9! 

1. Riding bike 

2. Collecting football stuff 

3. Watching tv 

4. Playing video games 

5. Mom   

6. Dad

7.  Brothers and Sister

8.  Math

9.  Sleeping

Happy Birthday My Big Boy, Momma Loves You!
 

Baby Holden is 5 months old

His nick name is Happy!  Everytime you see him he will be smiling... He is the most adorable 5 month old on earth!

One Month

Ok I did this for Davis so I guess I will be doing it for Holden too.  He is 1 month already and here is his latest photo.

 
We are all adjusting well and loving life with our new addition. 

Welcome God's Blessings

Momma and baby are doing well... Thank you for all the blessings and kind wishes.
 

Home Stretch

We are almost about to meet our new addition.  Baby will be here in a blink of an eye.  We were blessed to have a wonderful photo shoot yesterday for work (Virtue Radio Network) and I had to post this photo now!  I am excited to share more photos soon!   All the kids are so excited to meet their new baby brother and we are ready… well truth is we did not have to do much because Davis is still a baby and we will be sharing all his stuff with our new baby.  We went to the Dr. today and they said head is down and I am low, and we should be ready in a couple of weeks.  That would be soooooo exciting.  I have never gone early, I have never gone into labor (always induced) and I have always-wanted do a Halloween birthday party!!! How fun would that be?    

First Day Of School

School has come at last…After count downs, getting ready, countless supplies, meeting teachers, getting class assignments, preparing backpacks and lunches ready and off they went.  I am always one of those moms ready and excited for school to start.  But again on the first 2 weeks of school those feelings I keep forgetting about come rushing on to me.  The feelings of them being in an environment I am not in control of.  I am afraid of every little thing… bathroom breaks, eating enough, getting enough liquids… I am a worrier!  It has been a VERY rough 2 weeks.  I am praying next week will go better.

Tears and tears, broken hearts for not knowing anyone Kindergarten has started for Braeden.  1^st grade was an adjustment (to say the least) for Ella and Quinn LOVES 3^rd grade!

Summer Fun

Here is a summer recap before the kids are off to school.  Balboa Fun Zone, Fishing at a local lake, backyard camping and lemonade stands were just a few things.  I am hopeful the kids will remember with fond and fun memories. 

 

Kids love all this old school local fun.  I love how the photos come out all bright and colorful!

We still do not use bait…Shhhhhhh do not tell them this is why we have never caught anything.

Our neighbors really came out for this one.  The kids had a blast!

Slowly each child, adult and animal came in one at a time except for Ella and Daddy… They wanted to rough it all night long!

 

 

 

Thank you guys for the best summer ever... proof of being truly blessed.

Happy 7th Birthday Little Ella

Today Ella is turning 7… What an amazing little girl.  All of her hard work and dedication to a happy life shines in everyway.   You are a special gift from God, and I am so very thankful for you.  Here are 7 of your favorite things right now in your world…

1.    My pink Teddy Bear (and all my webkinz)

2.    Spaghetti

3.    Salmon

4.    Milk

5.    WII

6.    Singing

7.    Dancing

I love you....

A new addition...

Together Jerry and I are so excited to announce that we are expecting another baby in November.  We just found out that the new addition coming to live with us is a BOY!  We are all very excited; well Ella really wanted a girl.  Together as a family we are just so blessed to have another baby in our lives. 

11 Months Old

11 months old already?   It has gone by so fast and you would think I would know by know but it goes by too fast!   At 25 lbs, crawling like crazy, climbing on everything, smiling all day long and NOT sleeping thru the night, you are just right.  I love you baby Davis.

Graduation Day!

Braeden graduated from preschool today.  It was a very exciting and sad day.  I am so happy for him but sad he is going into kindergarten.  I am not ready for him to be gone everyday.  He keeps telling me he is not ready for kindergarten yet.  That breaks my heart too!  He is so very bright, he is ready.  Good job Braeden!  Congratulations.

Happy 8th Birthday Quinn!

I cannot believe it has been 8 years already.  I cannot believe 8 years ago God brought you into our lives after a ton of prayers, infertility and a birth.  Your daddy and I always say you were meant for us as we were meant for you.  In these past 8 years we have been blessed to share everything with you.  As of right now your 8 favorites are…

1.    playing video games

2.    hanging out with your brothers and sister

3.    not getting into trouble

4.    playing kickball at recess

5.    math

6.    cheeseburger plain

7.    holding Davis

8.    having great friends

Happy birthday Quinn, I love you.

10 Months Old

9 Months

8 Months Old

Girl Scout Olympics

Ella did a wonderful job at her first ever Girl Scout Olympics...  She ran, jumped, threw and made life long memories!  She won several ribbons and of course the patch for her daisy bib.  She is all about the patches!  It is very difficult for me to let her spread her wings and experience all of these types of things but she is doing perfectly.   I saw a sign the other day that said, "Worrying is you telling God he is not in control"... I have got to work on this I worry about my little ones more then anything.

 

 

 

7 Months old

Pinewood Derby

 

The pinewood derby was Friday night and it was fun.  The kids along with Jerry all designed their cars and cut the out.  Jerry was so into it that it was cute.  Quinn made an army hummer, Ella’s was a littlest pet shop racer and Braeden’s was a hot wheel.  First you have to weigh the cars, and then impound them.  After all to do the races were on.  Quinn’s car was amazing… winning the fastest car of the night!  Bringing home a trophy, pin and patch.  The siblings did race each other and Ella could not be beaten.  Her times were amazing… The emcee of the night kept calling her “Ella no one can beat her Duffner”.   I am not sure why her car was unstoppable, maybe the glitter or even the rhinestone window?  We will never know.  They did not give awards to the siblings but good thing I guess because a Girl Scout wiped all the boys scouts on Friday night.

 

6 Months

In the past 6 months you have changed everything... My world is a better place.

Another addition

 

Trying to get a photo of 4 kids and a dog is near impossible…  but super fun.  I could not stop laughing at us trying to get a new family photo.  The kids and the dog alike where not taking “commands” very well.  And I only had treats for the dog…  I am sure you can imagine what it was like.  I would like to introduce you to our newest family member Roxy.  The older kids have wanted a dog for some time now but we were in search for a perfect one… I do believe we have found her.  She may not be a “perfect” dog but she is a perfect fit.  We found her from a local Labrador rescue site.  She had been with a trainer foster mother for about 2 years working with the LA SPCA going daily to the Los Angles unified school district being a therapy dog.   She is 2 years old and is active, loving and playful… see what I mean she fits right in?

California Snow

 

Spending the day with at my brothers and sister in laws house playing in the snow was a perfect way to kick off the New Year.  The kids enjoyed the snow so much that they stayed out there all day.  Baby Davis and I stayed in the house where it was nice and warm most of the day.  Quinn loved using his buggy board as a “snow board”… man that kid is good at everything he tries.  No fear.  Ella loved making snow angels and eating the white snow.  Braeden loved making snowballs and throwing them… and Jerry loved every part of it! 

Happy New Year

 

Every year I like to take a Christmas Thank You Card photo on Christmas…  The kids are usually in a great mood and looking great in their Christmas pjs.  Let me tell you about a little secret we have to get our kids to smile so well.  While I am taking the photo, Jerry is doing the silliest things behind my back.  The kids think it is soooooo funny and just crake up every time.  I love how the photos turn out so what ever he is doing behind me works every time.  Someday I am sure I will find out what it is but for now it is worth not knowing.

5 Months

In all the Christmas excitement baby Davis turned 5 months old. Just as sweet as ever.  Boy is he ever so easy to love!

Please Pray

Please pray for our community...   

Photos courtesy of CBS, the OC Register, the Associated Press, and KNX 1070's Karen Zarsadiaz

4 months old already?

Do I say that every month?  Boy he is a dream baby.  Thank you God for such a blessing.  We spent the day at the beach with Tracey Meyer who is an awesome photographer to take our Christmas photos.  She is great at getting their natural beauty.  Their true self… I love this photo of Davis with his drool and all.  So him at 4 months.  Thank you Tracey for such a perfect day…

Happy Election Day!

 

Throwing a party tonight to watch the election unfold would be fun for the kids and us… It will be a historical day.  Happy Election Day!

Too Funny To Pass Up... Hope It Makes You Smile :)

If you have not registered yet...

For the Autism walk you are going to 

miss out!!!  

Ella is singing the National Anthem 

this year 

to kick off the day and 

we would LOVE for everyone that 

loves her to be there.  

We are all so excited and would enjoy 

sharing this day with you... 

If you are not busy on 

Sunday, November 16th 

for a family day of fun at Angel Stadium 

please think about joining us...  

Here is the link to our team’s home page 

where you can easily register. 

Our team ”My Sister Ella”

 Thank you, one proud Momma

3 month update

  so blessed

2 Months....

Baby Davis is 2 months old and full of life…  Let me tell you the more kids you have the easer it is!  Don’t get me wrong 4 kiddos is hard but even 1 kiddo is hard.  Our nest is full of noise, kisses, tears (mine sometimes), joy and most of all love.  Weighing in at 15 pounds and 26 inches long this bruiser fits right in and is just adorable!!!

Officially a soccer mom

We are full force into soccer here in the Duffner house for the first time.  They are so adorable and fun to watch.  Quinn’s games are exciting and Ella’s games are cute! They approach the game very differently.  Quinn attacks, gets aggressive and plays his little heart out.  Ella watches, dances a bit and can’t wait for the end cheer!

I have to confess I am the mom on the sidelines cheering on my kids.  Every Saturday is now consumed with cleats, shin guards and jerseys but truth is there is no place I would rather be the on the fields watching them. 

.

Big Day

  The first day of school was very exciting here in the Duffner house.  3 very brave students ready for a new chapter in their little lives.  I am not so ready to have them gone for so many hours in a day….  Quinn loves his teacher and his friends are in his class what more could a second grader want?  Ella came home the first day saying “ I just love kindergarten mom” and Braeden loves EVERYTHING about pre-school.  His teachers, new friends and singing!  We did it, this is the first year that no one (except for me) had tears on the first day of school. 

Back To School Count Down...

My back to school check list continues with lunch box love notes.  Here are a couple of ideas to get you going… I have found some great ones at Target and Hallmark.  They are very different but fun none the less.  One you can write on the back and are more child like and the other has a re-positional back like a post it note!  Another idea is to take some of those flash cards that are missing the complete set and hand write a note to your little one.  Even some left over party napkins have filled in a pinch for me as well.  The kids get a little surprise and hopefully bring a smile to their face.

 

One Month Already????

Just to put a smile on your face...  Loving life here!!!

Dreams do come true

Thank you so much for the kind wishes about the baby.  Davis is just a dream baby.  He is sleeping, eating and being adorable… He is 2 weeks old now and I am trying to get the birth announcements out.  Here is an extra photo that we did not use but wanted to share.

Worth The Wait...

8 months 3 weeks 5 days and 7 hours later we have a new addition to the Duffner family!  Davis was born!  Weighing in at 9 lbs 10 oz and 22 inches long we have a loving adorable boy to share.  God’s blessings are truly abundant in our home. 

 

She Did It!!!

You did it with 1890 hours of preschool under your belt in your little life.  These hours include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical education, speech-er-cise, IEPs, singing, art work and play time you are ready for Kindergarten Little Ella.  You have worked your very hardest and we are so very proud of you.  On this day you have graduated from pre-school and are headed into summer.  For the last few days you keep saying you are not ready to grow old.  You have your future on your mind.  You are telling us you want to be a Doctor (with a treasure box in the waiting room). I am so very proud of you!  Congratulations Ella, Love Mom and Dad.

34 Weeks

Baby #4 is coming… ready or not!  I am now thinking I am almost ready for our new addition.  Having four kids is not the frighting part for me at all.  It is having 3 of them be boys!  We are still not totally sure of a name, bed is not up, and bag is not packed… My appointments are every week now and belly is growing.  If you have some great can’t go into delivery with out suggestions please pass them along to me.  As you know I am a list person so I can easily add your suggestions to my list (that I have not started).  Thanks in advanced for your help… I need it! 

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all!!!  This is one of my very favorite days of the year.  The kids are just themselves but I take the time to do nothing but hang out with them…  Just being.   This summer is going to be a bit challenging for me with 3 big kids and the need to keep them all busy along with a newborn.  I do have some plans in mind but would love to hear some more ideas of what you do during the summer to keep the little ones busy and having a fun summer for all!  In the past years I have done different summer themes for every week.  Got all the crafts, books, etc to support the theme and just play.  This year I was thinking about doing a more structured plan of every day activities…. Something like:  "Mondays Manners with Mom" I got a couple of books so that I am sure to teach them the things correctly…  Tuesdays Play dates with Friends… Wednesdays I was thinking would be good for service days…. Thursdays water days… I don’t know help me out here.  If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.  What is your summer plans to keep the kids excited and smiling?

A Day To Remember...

Ella has lost her first tooth!  I made such a big deal out of it I think I frightened the poor girl.  She does not know to be excited or not and keeps saying to me "Mom I can't believe I lost my first tooth".  Jerry and I have told her to be excited and it is fun to lose your teeth.  Maybe after the tooth fairy comes tonight and leaves her some cold hard cash she will understand why she should get excited.  She has it in a tooth fairy pillow along with a note that she had me write...

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I have a tooth fairy pillow.  It is on my bed in the back, not the side, next to my pillow.  Love Ella

I do not know where she gets it from... very clear on what she needs! 

April fools day...

  April fools day is a fun day in the Duffner house.  The kids get into it as much as I do!  Here is the list of Ella's favorite jokes....  I am sure her teachers will be sick of them by the end of the day.  I hope you find inspiration in them for your little ones!

Why didn’t the chicken cross the road?

Because it was chicken!

What kind of dog tells time?

A watch dog!

Why shouldn’t you tell jokes when you skate?

Because the ice might crack up!

How do bees get to school?

On a school buzz!

Which animal lives on your head?

A hare!

What kind of dog loves to take bathes?

A shampoodle!

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Because 7 8 9

What kind of bow can’t be tied?

A rainbow!

What are two things you cannot have for breakfast?

Lunch and dinner!

What do you call a bear with no shoes?

Bear foot!

Why was the broom late?

It over swept!

What kind music do rabbits listen too?

Hip hop!

What goes up when the rain goes down?

An umbrella!

How do turtles call each other?

On their shell phones!

What kind of dears fall from the skys?

A rain dear!

What do cows do for fun?

They go to the mooooooovies!

What is the astronaut’s favorite button on the computer?

The space bar!

Where does a fish sleep?

In a waterbed!

What do you call a famous fish?

A starfish!

How do you get a mouse to smile?

Say cheese!

How do turkeys eat lunch?

They gobble it up!

What kind pet plays music?

A trumpet!

What do you call a joke book for chickens?

A yoke book!

What has 4 legs can’t walk?

A table!

What do you call shoes for a mouse?

Squeakers!

Martha Stewart has some GREAT April fools day tricks!!!  I may have to try these on my kids this year!

20 Weeks...

  We are now officially 20 weeks along.  We are all very excited around here putting up baby boy clothes in the closet, buying some very adorable things that he will need (like size 1 baby shoes) and I have signed up for my next quilting class.  I am excited to get started on a new quilt for our new addition.  Buying the fabric is my favorite part J.  Will share my findings as well as the progress of the quilt as soon as it gets going!  Thanks for all your kind wishes and baby boy names.  I think we have a “keeper” name but if you hear of a great name please share… We were looking at the baby name book at the hospital with Quinn. 

Epson CX8400

  Have you ever wanted to scrapbook a priceless photo but worried about using the original for one reason or another?  I have the perfect solution for you the Epson CX8400 is a scrapbooking must!  I have taken old non-replaceable photos of my Mom as well as photos my my own childhood, scanned them in edited the color and printed them all with out a pc!!!  For someone that does not have a PC in there scrap space or even has to share their pc with there 3 kids (like I do) having this printer as not only your everyday printer you can pop in your card and print directly and quickly.  Here are a few samples of my photos that I have done. 

• View, edit and print photos, PC-free, with large, 2.5-inch, tilt LCD
• Print black and color text up to 32 pages per minute¹ with DX3™ print head technology
• Get smudge resistant documents and truly touchable photos with instant-drying DURABrite® Ultra Ink
• Print documents that last - prints resist fading up to six times longer than leading competitive prints
• Replace only the color that you need with individual ink cartridges
• Use the multipurpose card slots to print photos PC-free, or easily transfer files
• Get perfect prints automatically with Auto Photo Correction
• Archive documents and photos with high quality scanning
• Reduce and enlarge copies from 25 - 400%

With the help from this Epson printer I can only make my priceless photos even more priceless…. Thank you Epson!

Barefoot and Pregnant

 

15 weeks along now and growing everyday.  I have officially joined the big belly club!  We are in hopes to find out what we are expecting either tomorrow or next month.  With the boys we knew we were having boys, but with Ella I wanted to be surprised and Jerry did not so he found out and I did not.  I never asked him and he did not slip up one bit.  She was a total surprise!  I LOVED not knowing.  But with this one the kids are DYING to know and Jerry also.  I am warming up to the idea.  It will be easier when I know…  Since this is probably our last one.  It would be fun to be surprised again…  We will see how tomorrow’s appointment goes, maybe we will have to wait another month.

***Update***  Little baby Duffner is looking good at today’s appt.  Heart looks and sounds great!  But his or her legs were crossed and we could NOT see anything.  I have another appt. in 2 weeks so we will see then...

So Sorry...

For the past 11 weeks I have been extremely under the weather due to… guess what???  Jerry and I are expecting another Duffner baby in July.  We are truly blessed again and are truly excited.  The kids are so excited as well.  Ella keeps asking me daily “how much longer now Mom?” and Quinn is dying to know if it is a boy or a girl.  Braeden thinks he is in my tummy again…  so cute to see them as excited as we are.  So as you can imagine I have not been getting dressed everyday and feeling the effects of “morning sickness” all day!  I am hoping to get back on my feet again here quickly and get back in touch with this blog world again soon!  So sorry for the delay…  Merry Christmas to you all and God Bless…