Hoppin' Good Time!

 We had a lovely Easter! We have been so crazy busy with building the house and life, that it was REALLY nice to take a break. We did a lot of Easter activities the weeks before Easter, working with Spring time elements, and making decorations and pictures for the house, but on the Friday before we managed to get some time to dye eggs all 4 of us together which was very fun! Jimmy loves to cook and help me in the kitchen so here he is testing the eggs to see if they are boiled or not, just kidding, they weren't boiled at that point I was just banking on him not making too big of a mess before I got them boiled.

 The kids loved dying the eggs and coloring them with crayons. It was a hit until it came time to eat them, they both cried, we never did finish eating the eggs they colored  to much drama for this Mama

 On Saturday we hosted a brunch and egg hunt. I tried some new recipes and some tried and true recipes, we had a sweet brushetta, Eggs Whatever, Bacon Bread and Cinnamon Rolls. It was all really good, I will alter one of the recipes next time I make it but other then that a success.

 This is our littlest niece Kenzie. And below kiddos ready to go out and get some eggs.

 This was Addy's fourth or fifth egg hunt this year (that someone else put together for her, she has had many practice session on her own as well though) It took her all of 2 seconds to figure out if an egg was worthy of putting in her basket or not (ie whether it had candy in it or not) She would shake every egg and only put the candy ones in her basket.

 Dad had to help Jimmy, he collected one egg and was good to sit down and play with it, he could have cared less about filling his basket. They did a pretty good job finding all the eggs, although not long ago Addy did find a rouge one in the yard, to which she was thrilled with, and just positive the Easter Bunny would be coming again soon this was his message to her. When I was putting our Easter stuff away she even went so far as to tell me not to because Easter was coming again in two weeks. LOL

 After Brunch we were invited to Grandma's house for more Egg coloring. It was good fun.

 Sunday morning the kids woke up to a trail of eggs the Easter Bunny had left them that led them to their Easter baskets. The kids were tickled pink with the fun of it all.

 Easter Morning all ready for church, We worked at focusing on the true meaning of Easter and Enjoyed the Sabbath and a Lovely Easter Dinner with my Parents. I do love EASTER, It is my FAVORITE holiday!

Oh the Love

 I know Valentines day yikes! We are well passed it, but since I am still playing catch up, here are our Valentine Pictures. The kids and I had so much fun. We were lucky enough to be in charge of the preschool party, and since we were already all decorated and festive we had a family party too and invited my family over for some fun that evening. It was a GREAT day, Addy loved it so much that everyday after that she would ask Party today? No we don't have a party everyday, but goodness for how much fun it is maybe we should.

 The preschool party was first, we did all kinds of things, Heart fishing, a heart hunt, and an act of love we learned about loving others and thinking about others by giving valentines, and sending a box of goodies and pictures we made to a Senior Sister from our Ward. Then we had the treats, the kids loved it, and no one went with out some serious sugary love.

 I made little heart holders for them to exchange valentines in. One of the kids in our preschool his brother is in my primary class, he noted next year he is coming to the preschool party instead of the school one because it was much better, which made me laugh.

 Our little valentines! Addy LOVES hosting parties at our house, she gets so EXCITED for it all.

 The evening party was also a good time, we had heart shaped pizza and more of the same goodies from above, we played games, exchanged valentines and watched a Charlie Brown Valentine show, what holiday is complete without Charlie Brown?

 Jimmy loved the food, and it was at the perfect height for him, I kept finding him hiding with these cookies mashed to his face, he is getting the chocolate off he leaves the rest behind. What a cute little valentine he is...

Another year older

I am by no means complaining, but honestly I don't think I have ever had this many flowers, we have had flowers at our house solid since my birthday which was almost 8 weeks ago? I do love, LOVE love flowers, and the thoughtfulness behind them, especially lately. So for my birthday I turned 33, (which was actually a relief because I seriously thought I was turning 34 so it was all good turning 33, I lost a whole year in there somewhere, it was nice to get it back, what a lovely gift) I had a GREAT day, with friends and family calling. Doug took the morning off and we spent it together, My mom and dad had Addy and Jimmy, then in the afternoon Doug sent me to a salon to get my hair done, I cut off just shy of 10 inches(my hair has a bit of curl and wave so it probably was 10 inches and so THICK)  I  was still able to donate it to a cause that has suddenly become very in my face. I am still learning to fix my hair I haven't had it this short in at least 15 years, the change has been nice though, and any way I can help those fighting cancer, well, that is another post.... After my time at the salon where I got all kinds of lovely treatment, thanks to my dear Husband, I caught back up with Doug and we headed to my parents house for a FABULOUS dinner, my dad is top notch grill master and the food was all Perfect! One of the best gifts was Addy mastering saying Happy Birthday. I should have recorded it. Her and Jimmy regularly bring me gifts now and sing to me, they are just so sweet. So here's to another year older, I am waiting for the wiser to kick in any day now.... LOL

Big Date Night!

 A while back we surprised Addy with a Date night with Mom and Dad and two guests of her choice for a special evening, She of course choose Grandma and Grandpa. We got her all dressed up, did her hair all fancy smancy like, at least fancy for us....

We took her to dinner, and then....

We took her to Disney on ice! She is still talking about it months later. Last week we happen to go to dinner at the same restaurant we had taken her to that particular evening, after dinner she kept asking about a show, it took me awhile to put it all together, but she had totally linked that restaurant with Disney and was sure we were going to a show alas we were not. Addy was so fun at the show, she soaked up every bit of it and LOVED every minute. I thought she was going to cry when it was over. She is all about the theater and music, and of course Disney, Minnie was there and that alone could have sold the deal.( she was a little upset that Jimmy got to stay home and play with the sitter she thought it to be quite the injustice until she realized what we were doing, funny girl, she does ask often for the sitter to come over though, what a funny girl)

Get to work!

These two, they are just FUNNY! They dusted the whole upstairs with me, and were upset when I wouldn't let them at the downstairs because their dusters were full and needed to be replaced. Nothing like some good music and two of my favorite people cleaning along side me to get the work done...

Love this one!

This picture is just so Doug! It never ceases to amaze me how much he loves kids and how they love him in return. They all just gravitate to him, Me too I guess...

Scripture Party!

 Doug and I have been working with Addy (mainly and Jimmy) and trying to improve our Family Scripture reading, it often looks like something out a circus short, ya know everyone here there and everywhere! So we decided to come up with some incentives which have been working GREAT, we still have a bit of Crazy going on, but well they are little, but the quality and quantity has greatly improved. We gave Addy a reading chart and have her color in a square every day she reads (the first go around, the second go around she had to sit while we read to color in a square and the next go around we are going to have her work on participating by repeating after us to color in a square) Anyways when the chart is full she gets to have a party! The above cake was for our first party, it was also my first attempt at making and using marshmallow fondant, the cake turned out better then I hoped for my first go, except the gnash needed a bit of work.  We themed it in tune with the primary theme of choosing the right, the kids picked a CTR shield, each one had a scripture with it that told us what we would be eating next, so it was one item at a time, they were all so glad when we finally got water to drink.  There were also a few shields that had us play different games, we had to blow boats(feathers) to the promised land, we had to knock things off of Samuel's City wall (Jellybeans with a bean bag) We had an obstacle course to get through the wilderness it didn't take 40 yrs thank goodness, and we made and shot arrows to a target not for food though I wish I had pictures of the activities but we were too busy having fun to catch them....

 Addy wanted to invite over these cousins to join the fun, so we invited them and, Grandma, Aunt lisa and kenzie too.

 And here Addy is working towards her next party which is actually already just about to happen, we are having a swimming scripture party! I am so glad she is learning to love to read the scriptures,  and the party's are fun too, she is always so cute with her church scriptures and often we finding her carrying around her home scriptures. One of her favorite songs is Scripture Power! I love the age of 3 so fun! (I should note this is a catch up post this happened a while ago thus we are ready for our next party)

Sweet Adelaide

 (Note this is a long one) Some of the reason I wasn't posting much was because I knew for me I needed and wanted to post some of the things that are going on in our lives but the post's themselves are hard for me to do, important, you know the near and dear to the heart, do you really share that with others? and I guess I'm just not sure I have the write words or the time to do it justice but for us I want the record of what we really do and what our lives really look like or a taste of it, at least. We all get our own trials, that I am sure, and when taking time to reflect, one can stand on a plane so to speak and see the purpose, the growth, the blessings and triumphs that come with those challenges not to say that makes them any easier for the one that challenge is given but a glimpse of the plan perhaps. This post is not to say our lives are harder or more challenging then others, or a poor us, by any means, we know what some of you go through and I am pretty sure I would not want your trials, that said. For those of you who don't know our little Adelaide has some pretty significant development issues. We have been working on them since she was about 20 months old. When we moved to MT our new Pediatrician became  very aggressive in helping us make sure she is getting the BEST care and that we are addressing every issue. So our sweet little gal has had MANY many tests, blood, urine, scans, including two of her brain which are done via MRI, in order to do that they have to completely sedate her as she clearly would not hold still for that, this last one they did her brain and spine and did some different tests to rule out a number of possible diagnosis that were lingering from her first scan. We have also met with a number of Dr's and specialist"s both here and via satellite having specialists in both Colorado and Washington consult on her results, we have met with a Genetics Dr, and our next appointment is with a Pediatric developmental specialist also out of Washington. The above picture is our little gal headed in to the hospital for her 2nd Mri we offer all the luxuries, the rules go out the window as she has to fast and it is very concerning to her to go in for these tests, rightfully so. We also let her wear her Minnie jammies, her house shoes, and of course her lolly. Once we check in we let her watch whatever she wants without earning it,(aka Minnie Mouse and Mary Poppins) and we are all around accommodating all of which combined gives us a cooperative child for something she really doesn't want. With any luck though she won't have to have another major set of tests done until she is five at which point she already has orders and a lot of them. The good news from this last test is that while there is extra spinal fluid on her brain, and an unchanging cycst, the fluid is even and not causing problems ie no pressure spots, which they were unclear of the first go around. So they officially diagnosed her with Childhood Apraxia,(there are some great sites online to learn more about it, and I have found a number of fabulous books here are two sites that have good info if you are curious Here and here of course there are more it's the web) which we have been working under such since day one. What a relief to rule out a pile of others though. The Genetics Dr. and some research we have found suggests it is heredity, but that it passes through Men, which actually Doug's family fits right into those perimeters given Addy is not the only of her cousins to deal with this on Doug's side, Just varying degrees the studies also suggest that the passer may not show any signs of the problem but once in the family all the men having children should be watchful as should their boys when they start having kids whether they showed signs or not, ie we will be on the watch out for James kids to show Apraxia even though he CLEARLY does not struggle with it. We are very hopeful that she will over come this and daily see her progress, We are so hoping she will be able to not only mainstream but excel, which at one point in time in our journey seemed like a really unrealistic goal, but is just keeps getting closer and closer, she has already come SO far, but everyday counts and matters in our battle,These are the years that Matter the most in fact, not to say there is no hope later but our BEST chance to help her overcome is NOW, it is all about routine, good modeling, and daily opportunities to figure out her body and it's relation in time and space, and Practice , Practice practice. She not only has a speech delay, but also an overall developmental delay due to the way her brain works and her messaging system, anything that requires motor planning and sequencing is affected, as well as a side dish of sensory which goes hand in hand with Apraxia. We literally have to move her body through motions to teach her things, So we have a few extra things in our routines, to help with that we have a picture schedule(the below pictures are some of them from the schedule), which everyone loves, and it helps us stay on track, since we have so much crammed into the week, Addy being only 3, and me subscribing to the less is more theory  or the good, better BEST talk, I have tried to come to some compromises with getting her all the help and whatnot she needs and trying to keep it flowing so that she doesn't feel the stress of it, I can't tell you how bad  sometimes I want to say HURRY UP,  but I try really hard to not have to, so that it is just fun for her. Although she will be the first to tell you while she does do a lot of fun things in therapy, it is WORK for her and her little body. The pictures help a ton! Everyday includes a bonus package of body brushing, joint compressions, facial massages, foot massages, nuking (a mouth stimulating activity) gum chewing, activity sticks (we get so many exercises that we put them all in a cup and draw a few a day to rotate through them) and a bath all of which are for her developmental growth(seems like I am missing one), these of course are in addition to your normal brush your teeth, read your scriptures, read books, say your prayers, brush your hair, wash your hands and face protocols. We also daily spend a huge chunk of time on speech drills whether she knows it or not, I am always trying to slip it in whenever I can, and since she is usually at my side, helping me cook, clean, or play Speech is always happening in addition to our structured learning time which use to be daily but is now 3-5 times a week depending on the week. We use a ton of music, dancing and some great learning toys.And this spring added Mom based preschool (see previous post) She is in therapy with others 6 times a week some of the therapists we see twice in addition to right now music therapy and hippo therapy (which is horseback riding) Hippo therapy has the most obvious results we always see huge increases in her speech and overall development when she is enrolled, unfortunately the program is only offered for a few months of the year in the spring and fall, she does LOVE it and do so well with it though. I can't tell you how blessed we have been. To not only catch her Apraxia so early but to have worked with some of THE BEST therapists, we had two just AMAZING therapists in SD that helped me learn and grow so much they were in our home and regularly helped me to do more, offer more, and teach in different ways, they were always and still often help me troubleshoot problems and come up with solutions, I miss them both dearly but can't express enough the gratitude I have for them and the impact they have made on/in our lives. Not only for Addy but for helping me become a better Mom, a Mom who can help a child with Special needs (which we really don't refer to her as, often we don't even tell others about our crazy schedule and routines, and Doug and I had to really study and prayerfully consider whether or not to tell her primary teachers when she became a sunbeam, it was very hard we don't want her to be treated different, we don't want her to be singled out, left out or feel uncomfortable, she naturally gravitates away from the unknown, we particularly didn't want her to have a bad experience in primary of all places, and often we get comments along the lines of all children progress at their own pace, don't worry it will come, yeah it really isn't a small delay you just ignore, and we don't but to someone who doesn't have all the info it may seem like we are first time parents that don't have a clue, I remind myself that those comments are  a pat on the back I am doing a dang good job at helping my 3 year old fight a life altering, Diagnosis which is not always easy,and any child receiving and needing that many services a week qualifies as special needs so I am told,I doubt you'll ever hear it from my lips though and if your wondering we did tell the Primary president of the situation and ask that certain situations be avoided for the time being until Addy is more comfortable, and our Addy she LOVES PRIMARY) And here in MT we have  another two Amazing top Notch gals, and two that are good for the area, and provide some growth for our little gal, therapists are kind of like shoes we have found you have to just start trying them on to see what works for now, what fits, and what needs to be left for someone else to buy, there is a high end/ quality section and a bargain bay, Having scene our fair share I feel fair in saying so, not critical or too judgmental.... We see three disciplines,  speech (two different therapists one through the school and one private)  OT (Occupational Therapist, she address Addy's Motor Planning and Sensory/ Tactile needs) and a PT (Physical Therapist, She also address Motor Planning, developmental skills and core strengthening/ muscle development) Our Family Pediatrician and a Pediatric Neurologist out of Denver oversee her case currently. She is up to 4-6 word sentences and expresses herself very well, I honestly cannot believe the progress we have made in a year, it almost seems to good to be true, I have been compiling her weekly notes and progress over the last I guess 8 months for a better picture and for her file and I can't even begin to tell you how far she has come! She AMAZES me, she works so hard, she try's so hard, she is so patient and so kind given what she puts up with, and yet on the days I am weak and crying she is the first in line to offer comfort, SERIOUSLY where did she come from? Her little spirit is one of a fighter, not contentious but one of overcoming which we knew from the start, she just daily proves she will not give up, for which she is greatly blessed, and so are we.

 Above is Miss Cindy, We ADORE her, she is SO GOOD! We will so miss her when she retires.... Not sure what the new school therapist will bring but we are hopeful to learn from someone Else's strengths.

 Miss Aimee, OT aka Big Aimee (which she clearly is not big but that is what Addy calls her we are not exactly sure why but think it has something to do with her switching the words new and old which then switched to big) Addy ALWAYS wants to go and See Big Aimee

 Miss Amy the ST Addy's body language here speaks Volumes, We sometimes Struggle with wanting to go see her but part of that is because it is sometimes hard.

 

And Miss Allison, PT, Again back with the Adoration, Allison always has something new for us to work on and master, she always has fun creative things for us to do  that help us accomplish the same ole boring thing, and she is very good at troubleshooting, therapists are some of the BEST teachers,  we just love her, every week when we leave though Addy says that was hard, and it usually is... All in all we are so blessed to have these women Added into our lives every week, they do so much for us and our little gal, we are truly grateful. Above all we are grateful for Our Sweet Adelaide.

Sensory Pics

 It is pretty normal at our house to be involved in what technically are "sensory activities" although we have been doing them so long (not the same ones) that it is just a part of our everyday living, it seems like the norm, often I don't pull out the camera unless we happen to have a major break through, which does happen, I try to note the progression with something besides tears although yes I do usually cry. Sometimes I forget we have a little bit different spin to childhood then some homes,I get some gasps and strange looks sometimes when other Moms are around if they don't know our situtation, but things change when you have a child with sensory issues that affects their daily living, what is really interesting is trying to find a common standing ground for our child that needs more and our child that needs less! One has to be pushed and coaxed, the other needs reigns, they are the perfect opposites in many things, and yet they are still perfect for each other and such good friends, thank goodness. Some allowances to give you an idea, 1. We encourage jumping in the house, pretty much anywhere except off of ledges and counters obviously, but we jump up and down the stairs, on the furniture definitely the beds, the mini-tramp, you get the idea. It is so necessary for Addy to help her progress and build the muscles she needs that we really do it ALL the time, 2. We throw balls in the house, yep all over that might change when we move to the new house, or when Jimmy gets a better throw, but for now we throw 3. We make noise with anything and everything we can, our neighbors love that, payback for rock band hours. 4. We are not afraid of rice, oats, noodles, frozen peas, flour, pixie dust, cornmeal, bubbles, or the like hitting the floor, particularly if our little lady put her hand in it first! Parameters with a push, it is a very fine balance to find what works for both kids to be safe, have what they need and to progress. Always learning, always trying new things, always explaining to the kids they can't do this at others homes, which for the most part they are good about, with the exception of Grandma's house which they think is their extended living enviornment.  These are some of the pictures from this year, above fine motors at work noodles in the strainer, great for when I happen to be making a dinner the kids can't really help with, very entertaining! Below this is what happens when it is just TOO cold to go outside but the kids want to experience snow, it finds it's way in

 Yeah, so Bath time is one of our secret weapons for sensory time, bubbles, salts, toys, there are some glow sticks in this picture and no the kids are not so dirty the water turned black, it was a matter of the kids are faster then Dad and got a hold of all the color fizz tabs this is what happens when all the colors go in, YUCK I would not bathe in that water, but the kids including our Addy overcame it and had a great time, PROGRESS.   We use paints and gels to write not only on the tub but ones that we can write on the kids, which covers a ton of ground for us! One of our favorites is the fizzing dino egg! WOW definitely worth the 50 cents for the fun, excitement and learning it brings It even hatch's a baby Dino, which the kids then float with!

 Dirty hands and face, we are daily working on Helping Addy learn it is ok to be dirty sometimes, not all the time (JIMMY) but sometimes one can get down and dirty, we have progressed from putting small marker dashes on her hands to frosting and the like on her face (huge step), and look she is even smiling and doing it herself. She has made HUGE progress in this area but everyday we have to put her hands in something to push her and help her keep moving forward, today we did Moon dough, I didn't think she was going to take part she really tried hard to convince me to use the utensils to stir it, but eventually she came around for about 5 minutes, then she needed to refocus and calm her system, it really is a hard thing for her, she use to cry and start gagging even when she just watched someone else get dirty.

 Toast painting, this was a breakthrough for us, it took me a long time to get her interested in painting, she did not like the elements I was offering,I tried just about everything and finally between tub paints  and this, milky fun that was later toasted, she is all about the painting now, doesn't matter with what medium!

 

Sometimes I put together activities for Addy that I have to do it when she is not around because I am gagging doing it, I try to push myself to work through the yucky stuff so I can set a good example, but sometimes if it is really hard I do default to Doug, He is SO GOOD at the Messy stuff, he actually Likes OT, I have good days and bad days with it, just like Addy.  Guess we know where that issue comes from....

90 degrees in April!

 Last week it was 90 degrees one day on our way home from therapy, we had stopped and played at the park and were really uncomfortable, some of the slides were too hot to go down, and within five minutes both the kids looked liked lobsters (I wasn't worried they were burned as we usually always have sunscreen on, but I do get a lot of dirty looks and I know they must be warm when their faces get like that) the joys of fair skin. But I noted as we were in the car passing the signs that it was in fact REALLY warm especially for April. I have been working on packing stuff up, and I really didn't want to pull out the pool, not knowing if we would get to use it again before moving, but I couldn't help myself when I saw 90, Yes Addy we are going to have a pool day, we actually snuck in two of them!  We LOVE the water! Jimmy's little picture here says it all, One more time Mama! And Yes I hope we get to have a pool day again soon. I get a little heart broken when I have to DAILY say it is currently to cold to swim, but it was so worth it for our two days of fun in the sun!!!!!

Brought to you by the Letter N

 This post is a past one with a current, two birds with one stone. Back in December I started searching out some Mom's and kids (mainly from our ward or that live close by) to put together a little preschool group for our Addy to participate in. We were invited to join one in Rapid, alas we moved, but after much thought and prayer I felt like this was a missing piece and that she would greatly benefit. I am a VERY shy person so asking Mom's to commit to something like this seemed/ well was not easy for me as a person, but my role as parent kicked in and it has just been SO GOOD for us, not only has Addy really benefited from the group but so have I. I really admire the women we rotate through with and the kids are just becoming such good friends. We all pitched in to get the daily stuff that we do each time (welcome, calendar, seasons,  traveling basket with carpets and needed goods,etc) put together Doug and I made the rocket with the kids pictures, they get to open their window each week showing they are ready to be present and learn. and below is the picture of our Group on their first day of preschool, we just rotate from house to house, with a host and a co-host. The lesson is defined but left up to the teachers creativity to present it however they would like which just makes it that much better when you are working with the caliber of  Ladies we are.

 Today was my last day to teach before we break for summer, (we still have 4 more weeks of class but I don't fall in rotation again kind of sad) Our subject was the letter N, I made four mystery boxes and we discovered the letter N. We had SO much fun, one of the boxes was filled with noodles that the kids had to dig numbers out of to complete a puzzle and  find noise makers, box #2 had things that related to night time and we made a night sky with stars and a moon and everyone made a wish, which was so cute to see what they would come up with for their wishes on a star(Addy of course wished to See Minnie the Mouse), #3 taught us about being Nice and we made May Day Baskets for others, (HAPPY MAY DAY, BTW) and #4 my personal favorite held Neverland in it, we dressed up as pirates, fairies, and a lost boy (Jimmy) and had a balloon sword fight, and played follow the leader, we also had some pixie dust, although I could not figure out how to make the kids fly, we had a great time

 This one really shows how tall our little gal is, Addy and the little boy in the red hood are the youngest of the group (they have the same birthday?)  so the group is made up of 3 and 4 year olds, it amazes me the difference just a few months makes in development, We learn so many great things from our little friends, and while it is still a journey, we have a long way to go, I am still really thankful for the lesson's learned, the ground covered and how much it helps my little gal be a part of life rather then hanging back watching from the side lines.

 

I couldn't leave out this adorable little lost boy, he loves preschool too when he gets to go or be a part, After everyone left the kids broke out the costumes and were having their own little sword fight, Jimmy decided he needed to add fairy wings to his costume. What a hoot! We all Love Preschool! (So glad Addy has two more full years of it before school, I hope to enjoy every minute of it)