Eva likes OT!!

Eva has been doing REALLY well in OT the last couple of weeks.  She has gotten really comfortable with Jeanna which is always a good thing and she's pretty open to trying most activities....some take a little "bribing" or extra encouragement but she does it!  We are so lucky to have had Jeanna for all 3 kids now!  Dylan sees her weekly right now too.  And Kira had sessions with her for 4 years.  We had been meeting weekly but have already decided to switch to every other week!!  She's responding really well to her therapy and I'm really starting to see improvements.  It's been a long time now since she has refused to walk due to her vestibular disorder and the few times that she has, it's only for minutes, not hours.  When she does, we typically just have to do some joint compressions or get her to an area where she can hold onto something and jump!  It's such a relief to see her doing so well, so quickly!!!

Here are some pictures for her session on Friday!!

This swing forces hold on and work on her balance more than others....and Jeanna can have it go in a circular motion which is great too!!

The "wobbly" chair allows her to get used to more motion and a lot of different directions....she wasn't sure at 1st but with some encouragement, she did gret!

CHEESE!  Taking a little break!

This big pillow was a lot of fun!  Eva would climb up and over....once she started down, Jeanna would roll her off one side or the other.  Once Eva figured out the rolling off part, she could crawl about a quarter of the way up, and roll HERSELF off since apparently, that was easier!!  STINKER!!

I "made a movie" to convince her to continue with the activity on the swing!!  Hey!  Whatever works!!



Outdoor Fun!! (lots of pics!)

I think we were all relieved when the weather was nice on Friday!  Jason had day off work and Dylan was definitely needing some outdoor time!!

Jason is kayaking this weekend and Dylan was more than "willing" to "help" Jason get ready to go!  The kids were REALLY excited when he put his tent up!!

Dinner outside was REALLY fun because of th "HUGE" pieces of watermelon!!

Eva INHALED every kernal of corn off this!  She loved it!

She was sooooo excited that I found icecream sandwiches that she could have!

Time to clean up the VERY dirty boy!

Clean Eva after her bath playing with Daddy!!

It broke my heart.....

I had a parenting moment today that made me want to run over, scoop my girl up and run away.  KIDS CAN BE SO MEAN.

I walked to get Kira from school tonight and left Dylan and Eva with Jason.  I was excited to see the last little bit of her Field Day.  She woke up so excited about the day!!

When I got there, she was at the tug-o-war station and keep in mind that this was just a little after 3:00 and they had been outside since 1:00.  She was bouncing around and I heard the parent helper tell a certain number of kids to go to each end of the robe.  Kira "ran" down to one end and a little boy looked at her and said, "No!  You go down there.  You're no good at this."  (Mama Bear growled just a little....)  And Kira just turned around and went to the other end where another little boy said, "Go back down there.  We only want strong kids here." (Mama Bear felt ready to pounce now!)  And again, Kira started down to the other end.  The parent helper just led her over to the rope and told her to "hold on tight right there."

It.seriously.broke.my.heart.

It took all my strength to stay and watch because tears will filling my eyes.  I use the word "luckily" very loosely here......Kira was honestly oblivious to what had just happened.  She had so much excitement for what was happening, that she honestly wasn't phased by it.  For that, I will be thankful.  The thought of her feelings being hurt because of it, is more than I can handle right now.

As I watched her, I had flashbacks to every milestone that she has hit!

Rolling over at 10 months.

Sitting up alone 11 1/2 months.

Her famous "butt scoot" at 19 months.
Finally standing independently around 2 1/2.
Taking her 1st steps when she was 4.

I could go on and on but what I do know is that we didn't know what milestones Kira would hit and when...it was all an unknown.  With everyday that went by, we wondered, hoped and prayed.  And she did it.  She did it in her own time.  She did it when he body is ready.  She did it when she could.

I was so thankful and amazed to watch her play tug-o-war with a smile on her face.  She was excited.  She was loving every minute.

When I got home and told Jason what happened, he reminded me that it will probably only get worse. And I know he's right.

I know that my heart will break again and again for her when "things" happen.  I can only pray that she always remembers what miracle she is.  And that her heart is protected.  That she knows that Jason and I will always, always, always be her safe place to fall.  A.L.W.A.Y.S.



(and for what it's worth....I really want to let those two boys have it..........) :-)

It's just not fair.......

Are you ready for it?

She closes her eyes as tight as she can.....

And opens her mouth as wide as she can.....

And this is what you see and I'll let you imagine what you hear!!

What was all the drama about??

Mean Mommy told her......

Wait for it....

NO!

Life is rough when you're 2 years old!! :-)

"I am puppy!"

Despite what it looks like in the picture, Eva gets REALLY excited to dress up these days and I love to wear this pink poodle costume.  Next in line for dress up is her NEWBORN size pink tutu!!

When she's dressed up like a puppy she runs around the house saying, "I a puppy! I lick you (followed by her version on licking sounds)!"

This is ONLY puppy that I will have in my house!!



We love warm weather!

Last week when the weather was soooooo beautiful it's safe to say that we spent more time outside than we did inside!  Dylan ate breakfast on the deck a couple of times and didn't come in until Eva went down for her nap.  It was so nice to have that change of pace.....all new activities to do = happy kids and mom!!

On Wednesday it was humid and warm early so the got the little pool of out for Dylan and Eva....the were both in heaven.  Eva spent over an hour filling cups, dumping cups, filling buckets using her cups, etc.

And then they ended up standing in the pool, with spray bottles, SOAKED!  Eva had mud running down her legs before it was all said and done!!



He's still a fish......

We had taken a break from swimming lessons with Dylan but we started again a couple of weeks ago!  He (literally) jumped  right back in where he left off!

Mother's Day....

And not one picture to share! OOPS!

The day started out a little hairy......Dylan and Eva woke up in terrible moods and Jason wasn't feeling well.  Things settled down once I got some food in the kiddos.  Everyone seemed happier then!

After I got a shower in, with no kids in the bathroom, I might add AND I got to blow dry my hair.....it really is the little things, I kicked the kids outside.  It was far to beautiful to think about spending the day inside.

We plants some seeds that the Easter Bunny had brought and please, please let something grow or I'm going to have some very disappointed kids.  We played in the backyard for awhile and then Jason took the kids to the park.

I spent that time cleaning and sorting, and then did some stuff on the computer enjoying the nice weather on the deck.  It felt good to have that time to myself.  I ran to Culver's while the kids were still at the park and had their lunch waiting for them when they got home.

After lunch the girls napped and I read a book......not a book about Nonverbal Learning Disabilities or Sensory Processing or anything like that....a book that I WANTED to read for FUN! :-)  Dylan proceeded to fall asleep on the deck for a bit but was convinced that he didn't.

Dylan had swimming lessons yesterday so we headed off to that.  We had taken a break from Christmas until now but he really hasn't forgotten anything at all.  He picked right up right where he left off!

We got home and played outside for awhile longer before I broke the news to the kids that it was bathtime and time to come in.....they were flithy!!

We managed to wear them all out and they went to bed without a peep!

So after all of that, why in the heck was I WIDE awake until 2:30 AM????

It was a good day though!  Kids are still tired today!!

The Nature Center

The week before Easter Dylan's preschool class was going to the Nature Center and that field trip has been deemed at Daddy field trip by Mommy! :-)  I suppose the day will come when I will have to go again but for now, it's a Daddy Day!  Dylan was so excited to have Jason come.  It never happened that Jason was Parent Helper this year so I think that made it even more exciting to have Daddy along!!!

On the big yellow school bus!

I just love this picture!

Easter

Better late than never!  Here are a few pics from Easter!!!

Excited to see what the Easter Bunny brought....

Ready for an easter egg hunt!