Thankful

We are thankful for so many things... too many to make a complete list here... which is a good thing.

One of the things I love about this time of year is that we 1) remember to be thankful and count our blessings - - big and small. 2) We can use the season of giving and thankfulness to teach our children how to be thankful and, in doing so, we teach them perspective, we teach them what matters and, hopefully, it sticks. 3) And, in teaching them and reminding them to count their blessings and be cognizant of the things for which they are thankful, we remind ourselves that we have plenty of reasons to be thankful and see that, despite the things that we let crowd our minds with worry and stress, our glasses are more than half-full. By making a list (whether in our minds, in our everyday conversations or writing it all down), it's easy to find perspective and find that with all our wants and worries, our cups do runneth over.

I am thankful for:
- This guy... my chosen family.

He is my very best friend. He works hard for our family... and worked on this holiday (and countless others) to keep the streets safer for your family and mine. He is funny, kind, compassionate, giving, wise, a wonderful daddy and husband... the list goes on. I cannot imagine this journey without him by my side. He is my other half - my better half - and I love him more every day.

- The family we have made.
Our little (and rapidly growing... so thankful) flock is everything.

- The other family we choose.
We are blessed to have the most amazing friends... people who we call family even though there is no true relation.

- The family we have had all our lives and their own chosen families.

- I am thankful for countless immaterial things and I'd be lying if I said I weren't thankful for some material things... like the roof over our heads, the big, gas-guzzling beast I drive that is big enough for our family (even as it grows) and all of Gracie's equipment. The Keurig that sits on my kitchen counter :-) and this list goes on, too.

- I am thankful for moments like these...

I cannot get enough of how much they love each other. On a daily basis, I am blown away by the ways in which they interact.

- And, for moments like these...

We have have had a lot of these, lately. They come in little, unexpected bursts. Miraculous displays of what Gracie is capable of and how determined she is. In this picture, she turned her walker every which way in order to get into the position she desired. But, this skill that was present for over a year up until the summer of horror, has been tucked away and hasn't really reared it's head again, but for this day in October.

Last Monday, in therapy, she threw overhand for the first time ever (at least that we've ever seen at home or therapy). And, not just overhand, but overhand with authority and power. She looked over and saw the beanbag toss game, signed "throw" and even though Erika, her OT, had another activity in mind first, she gave her what she asked for. Gracie proceeded, in her own time, to throw the first bean bag into the center "500 point" target... it didn't even touch the sides, just landed with a big thud against the backboard, smack in the center. The next one was the same but in the "300 point" spot and the third, in the "200 point" spot. All three thrown overhand, all amazing, all in the middle row with perfect aim.

I am so thankful that, despite all she faces medically, developmentally and physically, she continues to persevere.  I am thankful that she is full of fight, spunk, determination and smarts... amongst many other things.

- I am thankful for this little man.

His heart, his humor, his intelligence, his determination, his loving spirit, his compassion... the list is endless. Like his sister, he has taught me more than any formal education or paying job and, for that, I am so thankful.

I love (and am thankful) that he excitedly thanks us for his food. "Thanks for making dinner, daddy!" "Thanks for the pancakes, Mommy!"
He is grateful for the fun things he gets to do and runs to us, for a big hug and says with glee, "Thank you for taking me and Gracie to the park." I hope this never changes and that he helps teach his brother to be the same way. I am thankful he is so very excited about and loving toward his baby brother. My bump is hugged, kissed and talked to many times a day.

I love (and am thankful) that his list of things to be thankful for was too long to fit onto our thankful tree. After I took the picture of it, he wanted to add "God" and "Jesus" and "the beautiful pink and purple clouds we saw during our sunset walk."

I wrote everything that Preston said (with the exception of "perspective" which was only a loose translation and synopsis of many things he listed... like "Gracie's supplies" (we had just put a huge shipment away), "raising money for sick kids" (his school did a trike-a-thon for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital again this year)... you get the idea.

Preston's thankful for:
- friends and Family
- the Baby Brother in Mommy's tummy
- fun dates with Daddy
- Sophie (our dog we lost nine months ago), even though she is in Heaven
- our home, neighbors and my cozy bed
- our health and Baby George (his small, stuffed Curious George from Nana... he sleeps with him every night)
- that Gracie has many good days (she still
- a daddy who cooks yummy food
- school, daddy's work and my teachers
- perspective, no matter the source
(My words, of course, because some of the things for which he is thankful are the positive side to things like Gracie's precarious health and, thus, her need for endless supplies or the fact that children - he knows many - are sick.)

In addition to me writing on the leaves and the branches, he wrote his own list in the leaf I helped him trace:
- zoo
- park
- toys
- walks
- family

We will do this again next year and I look forward to seeing what he is thankful for then. (Thanks for the idea, Hannah!)

Plan C: Natural History Museum

Plan A: To leave Sunday and spend 3-4 days with my brother and his family and celebrate a slightly early Thanksgiving (and to pick-up some hand-me-downs and "hand-me-backs" that they have for TieBreaker). But, when we realized that our available days did not coincide with their days off of work and school, it made no sense to travel that far and not spend very much time with them.

Plan B: A surprise two-day getaway to SeaWorld and LegoLand. The plan was to wake the kids up early Sunday with an already packed car and head out. John and I were so excited to see surprised faces and hear squeals of excitement from Preston. But, Mother Nature had 14 straight hours of wind and rain in store and, for once, the forecast was spot on. Thankfully the kids knew nothing and we were the only two disappointed. We will definitely be attempting this surprise again before TieBreaker is born. (We better get planning!)

So...

Plan C: A rainy day trip to the Natural History Museum - Los Angeles County.
We had a great time!

Preston was super excited and insisted on pushing Gracie for about the first 30 minutes. He oohed and ahhed at all the dinosaur exhibits and loved identifying the ones he could (which was a lot)!

We took in one of the museum's shows, Dinosaur Encounters.

It features juvenile-sized dinosaur puppets (a T-Rex and a Triceratops) that are fully articulated and have, what paleontologists presume to be, accurate sounds. Even though we knew the dinosaur was a puppet, you get caught up in how cool and real the movement is in the upper part of the body.

Preston loved this, though was definitely a bit nervous when the T-Rex
lunged at the audience and looked prepared to chomp on the volunteer's arm. He raised his hand to answer questions (even though everyone was shouting!) and was right every time! (He didn't understand why everyone else wasn't raising their hands and waiting to be called on! So sweet!)

Click here for some cool video footage... we highly recommend these shows!

We checked out the mammal exhibits, the birds and the rain forest.

Both kids thoroughly enjoyed the "lab" where everything was hands on.

Love this... Preston is signing to Gracie all the animals that are displayed.

This was, by far, Gracie's favorite exhibit.
She wheeled herself into the ideal position to get a good look at everything and really did not want to budge when it was time to move on.

Time to leave... but we'll be back... soon, I imagine, since Preston already asked if we could go again next weekend!

The Blue Feather

When I stepped onto the bus to say hello to Gracie yesterday afternoon, she had a huge smile on her face and a blue feather in her hand.  I remarked to her nurse, Kim, how happy she looked and she turned around and said, "It's that feather!  She hasn't let it go!" 

Turns out, they did a Thanksgiving craft in class and made turkeys with pine cones and feathers.  Apparently this particular blue feather caught Gracie's eye and never made it onto a pine cone turkey!

She held it all the way home on the bus.  She held it as the lift brought her down in her chair, all the while stripping off her shirt (her usual routine) and she never let go.  We went inside the house and she sat on the couch, shirtless, connected to her feeding, and holding her pretty blue feather.  Without letting go, she got down from the couch, got on the floor and took off her jeans.  As Kim and I argued with her during her very determined mission to remove her diaper with one hand, she held tight to the feather with the other. 

She followed Preston out the door, scooting (yes, in her diaper... yes, it's too chilly... no, there's no stopping her) down the walkway and into the garage... feather in hand.   I stood her up and got her to sit on her bike (I needed to comb-out the leaves she "grabbed" in her hair along the way!) and, finally, I grabbed my cell phone.  

Happy as a clam, sitting pretty on her bike with her bright blue feather.

With determination to do what she wanted and keep hold of the prized possession, she stood up gripping only one handle bar!

After going inside, getting changed and getting in the car, she still hadn't let go.

After the 25 minute drive to therapy... love this!

After getting her shirt back on and getting in her chair...

And in therapy she still wouldn't give it up!
(This is a contraband photo... pics are forbidden in the therapy unit!)
Erika, her OT, asked her to share, asked her to give it to her, she even tried to take it from her and Gracie held tight, clutching her blue feather to her chest. 
Finally, I signed that I would take it and give it back to her after therapy.  Gracie watched wide-eyed and stretched out her arm as I took the feather from her hand and set it on top of her wheelchair canopy.
Thankfully, she refocused and was able to get through the rest of OT and all of PT.

And this is what she looked like when she got back her feather!

As the sun faded away, Gracie carefully took off her shirt (see the top row... the blue feather never leaves her hand) and removed her shoes and socks, never losing focus on her beloved feather.

I hooked up her feeding and she was ready to roll!

Though blurry, her smile is obvious.
When we pulled into our driveway, I discovered that she had finally let it go
when the darkness prevented her from seeing it any longer.

Gracie held onto that feather from about 1pm until I took it from her during OT at 3:56. She held it at least another 20 minutes after therapy ended. She hasn't ever been fixated long enough on anything to hold it on a car ride... ever!
Today, at school, Kim is going to see if she can get her another feather, this time a different color, and we will see if it bears the same magical power!

Where The Boys Are

Taken in February 2009, this is one of my favorite pictures of my two men.  At least once a week, this is my view of them (Preston much taller, of course) as they head out to do whatever it is my boys do!

Whether it's the park, errands, Disneyland, GoKart World, some secret boy adventure (that's not secret for too long, LOL!), or just hanging out, they always manage to have loads of fun. As they headed out to have lunch with one of John's co-workers on Monday, Preston took on a very big-boy posture (his gait was determined and confident) and he said good-bye to me in his deepest voice possible. It struck me how big he is... even though he is only four and a half... today.

Yep... today my little man is officially four and a half... headed toward five at the speed of light.  And it's really hard for me to believe that it won't be all that long before "TieBreaker" will be holding John's other hand as they all head out the door together.

There's not much photographic evidence of their outings... they're too busy to stop for many photo-ops, especially lately... but here is what they've been up to in the last several months.

I love that they got to do this together, though, I must admit, I am pretty jealous that his first professional sporting event did not include me!  There will be many more professional "firsts" that I will be a part of... baseball, basketball and soccer!

They regularly visit the Honda Cycle Shop... Preston has his rides all picked out!  Every time we drive by he asks if we can visit his motorcycle.  Now that Daddy has one of his own in the garage, riding that down the street with him is even more exciting!

Daddy needed his work boots shined and Preston got a little sprucing up on his cowboy boots!
I LOVE this!  They are so cute! :-)

After school beach dates with Daddy... even if for under an hour... are a favorite.  It doesn't hurt that they often include yummy treats like ice cream or a visit to the juice bar!

Boys and their gadgets!
This one is funny and terrifying all at the same time!
They are both completely unaware that I took their picture!
Clearly, it's a new generation.  Preston knows how to navigate through our phones, play the game apps we've set up for him (very handy in waiting for doctors!), read stories, watch his favorite YouTube videos, etc. 

Parades, Parties, Pumpkins... Oh My!

There was a lot of celebrating the last four days of October... a lot!

• Gracie's school had a Harvest Parade on Friday morning.
• Preston's school had a Halloween Party on Friday night.
• Our friends had a Pre-Halloween Party on Saturday night.
• We made Jack-O-Lanterns before we had our younger neighbors (and families, of course) over for Pizza and Pics before we Trick-or-Treated on Monday.

Gracie's School Parade

Gracie ~ as her real-life Super Hero, her Papa ~ complete with tank & Army gear!!  :-)
(Minus her boots and camo-face!)

Gracie spent a good part of Friday morning getting her picture taken by teachers, students and parents as the classes paraded through each room and then in front of the crowd of eagerly waiting families. 
She, and her decked out chair, were a hit... though she was definitely tired by the end!
Pushing Gracie is her wonderful aide, Robin. Next to Robin is nurse, Charo, whose last day was Friday.

Some of Gracie's friends and classmates

Preston's School Party

Preston and Mommy (with TieBreaker, of course!) on our way to Preston's school party.
Preston as Super Hero Avenger, Captain America.
Mommy as a witch... yes, it's a costume, not my uniform!  LOL!

Preston with his friend, Lola
Sweet...

... Sassy and Scary!!!

Jack-O-Lanterns

She, who used to have a goal to "tolerate five novel sensory tasks,"
goes to town scooping out pumpkin guts and feeling the slime!
 Preston, on the other hand, only touched for a second in an effort to prove he is as cool as his sister!

Please note the following:
- He is still ambidextrous... no true preference has emerged
- He got to draw his own shapes and do some "big boy" carving
- He is definitely his father's son!

Checking out her work

Armed and ready to carve!

Daddy's creation on the left, Preston's on the right.

Gracie's "Mr. Pumpkin Head" with our mini-pumpkins

"Bump-O-Lantern"
Yes... that's my "bump," at 23 1/2 weeks, painted as a jack-o-lantern by John with an assist from Preston!
Yes... I'm still sure there is only one baby in there!

Halloween Night!

Adam (Batman), Preston (Captain America), Addison (Strawberry Shortcake) and Daniel (Spider-Man)
All these kiddos on one street!  So fun!

The boys striking their best "Super Hero" pose!
Addie looking fabulous and adjusting her wig!

Daniel's little sister, Bella, in the only picture I could snap before she ran by! 

The kiddos with our awesome neighbor (and good sport), Diane.
She looks so cute!  :-)

Gracie loved having our friends over on Halloween. 
She was not, however, thrilled when it was time to leave!
These pics were the extent of her time in her costume. 
She started disrobing before we ever left the driveway.
As per usual, Daddy and I divided and conquered...
He stayed with Gracie while I took Preston out (or, rather, while I chased Preston)!

The whole crew... all friends living on the same street ages five and under!