Collage Catch-Up

After missing weeks of Foto Fridays, here is a collection of collages highlighting just some of our fun since Thanksgiving week.
(The kids' Christmas Programs and Christmas will follow soon!)



Thanksgiving at Nana and Papa's house


While we were playing at the little park at Nana and Papa's, a super affectionate black cat (who reminded me so much of one of the cats we had when I was little) spent over an hour hanging out with us. Both kids were smitten with this kitty! Gracie recognized what it was and signed "cat" unprompted!


I cautiously gave Preston my camera to take a few shots of the kitty. I love this one - - the cat's off in the distance and Preston's shadow holding the camera is in clear view.


He also took these of himself when he turned the camera around! In all, he took over 60 pictures in a handful of minutes.


Snow Day!


We took the kids to play in the snow for a bit the day after Thanksgiving. Gracie enjoyed herself for all of ten minutes, but loved looking at the snow from the car! Preston, on the other hand, had a blast! He sledded, had a snowball fight with John and face-planted into the fluffy white stuff a half-dozen times!


Our trip to the San Diego Zoo



Gracie loved the camels, but the hippos were her favorite.

Decking the Halls
Each year we get an ornament for each of the kids - - a tradition my mom had for us growing up. This year, Gracie's was a school bus (to commemorate the huge milestone of riding the bus) and Preston's was a fire engine (to remember his obsession with all things related to firemen and, of course, the kids' Halloween costumes this year). The picture of the fire engine was taken by Preston with my camera.


A quick visit to Santa at our neighborhood shopping center.
This particular Santa and Mrs. Claus were wonderful with the kids... and it was free to take pictures! We had intended this to be a "practice run" for waiting in the long lines for more formal pictures, but I never was able to justify the wait time and dress-up fiasco this year! (And, as far as the kids were concerned, they saw Santa plenty! Though Preston was particularly frustrated with each encounter because he never did find any reindeer on the roof!)


Baking our first cookies of the season.
Preston turned out to be an excellent little helper in the kitchen... he likes to press cookies, help with turning on the mixer ("Big Red"), add ingredients to the mixer bowl and "wash" bowls and spoons in the sink.


Gracie, sans clothing, of course, was very excited about "her dozen" cookies. The two trays of cookies featured in the next couple of collages were not consumed! They were made for fun... the kids got to roll the dough in the colored sugar (and stick their fingers in, too!), they helped press the cookies (with my assistance using a mug and cookie presses!) and watched them bake through the oven window.


I set the timer on the camera to get pictures of what we were doing. Instead of continuing to pay attention to the cookies, Gracie saw the light on the camera blinking and turned to it. She looked right at it, smiled and signed "I love you!" Too funny. As soon as the light stopped blinking, she went back to the task at hand. Needless to say, I cracked up when I saw the pics later that afternoon!


In addition to her silly antics during the timed photos, Gracie decided that the place mats were better suited as hats!

Foto "Friday" vol. 33 - Busy & Fun Week

Monday


After I dropped Gracie off at school, John and I took Preston to Disneyland with our neighbor, Addison, and her mommy, Rachel. We have lived here a year and have not yet gone - - both because of John's previously insane schedule and because we were so hesitant to take Gracie and have her be too stressed for any of us to enjoy it. I had a tremendous amount of guilt about going without her, but am so glad we did. It was really hot, even in November, and we spent a considerable amount of time in line for tickets.
(We bit the bullet and bought passes, realizing that we can take several short trips as often as we want and then there isn't pressure if one (or both) of the kids isn't having a great time. We can go on however many rides we can fit in without the pressure of fitting everything in. Plus, once we get the lay of the land, we will be able to carefully plan Gracie's first trip with shade, lines, crowd control and ride order all accounted for.)


Addison and Rachel were so patient waiting for us; Addison is a pro at waiting in line as she's been to Disneyland a bazillion times! Now that we have passes, Preston and I can go with them more often. It will be so fun!


When we left Disneyland, we picked Gracie up from school and then she had OT and PT. Last Monday (the 9th), she got to demo the type of wheelchair we have in mind for her. (There's been some questions regarding her strength and whether or not she'd be able to propel a chair on her own, thus a new chair had been put on hold until she could prove she was ready for it.)
On her first try, she got in, propelled, turned, etc. It was remarkable how well she did and she taught a big lesson about never underestimating her! This week, I was armed with my camera to capture her in action. She did great again, but rather than turn herself with the wheels, she discovered she could "bounce" off the walls using her feet! At first we thought she was having trouble steering, but quickly realized that this new method of movement was completely intentional. Leave it to Miss Gracie to add her own special touches to mobility!




Tuesday
This was a crazy day! Gracie's Triennial IEP was in the morning and lasted just short of her entire school day. As soon as school was out, I took her to Vital Stim . (Yep... she's back at therapy... more on that to follow soon!)

That night, I went out... for the first time in over a year... with fellow Mommy in CHARGE, Catherine, to celebrate her birthday. Upon seeing me in a dress and heels, Preston said, "Mama, what you wearing? Take off you shoes, Mama." His comments cracked me up... he has never seen me in a dress and heels... it is a very rare occasion! (My "lack of glam" also evidenced by my fading farmer tan!)



Wednesday
I took Gracie to school, then Vital Stim (normally on Fridays) and then OT & PT. At the end of PT, Gracie got very upset because she saw the wheelchair she'd used on Monday (and the previous Monday) and walked (with my assistance) toward it. She signed "up" and I had to tell her it was time to go. She got furious, started to cry and when I picked her up, she pointed to the chair over and over. I felt so bad and so happy all at the same time - - bad because she couldn't use it and it was time for us to leave; happy because she clearly loves the freedom that the chair gives her. I am so excited for this new chapter in her growth - - so much freedom and control heading your way, sweet girl. (Now we're all in big trouble! Ha!)

When Gracie and I got home, John was standing in the hallway in front of the bathroom door. He quietly informed me that Preston was on the potty about to go "number two" all by himself. And... he did it! Yay! He told John he had to go, took off his pants and diaper, put the potty seat on the toilet and climbed up all on his own! Woo Hoo!!! A huge step in the right direction!

Thursday
John took Gracie to school and Preston "helped" him. I stayed home preparing for the carpet cleaners to come (very badly needed, by the way!). Once they finished, I took Preston for a haircut. While we waited, he informed me he had to go potty. And... he did BOTH on the potty there. I was floored and so proud of him. After his cut, we picked Gracie up from school and returned home to play in front of the house (as I was trying to keep them off the carpets as long as possible!).

We blew up this cool tube that my mom got the kids last year. We thought Gracie would love it (and I think she will, eventually), but on this particular day, she wasn't having any part of it! She only wanted to sit in the stroller and play with the tennis racquet and ball.



Preston, on the other hand, loved the tube!

Friday
I took Gracie to school, then Preston, then came home, cleaned a bit, went to the store, made Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake, cleaned some more, got myself cleaned up, picked Gracie up, brought her home, fed her, changed her and then went to Preston's Preschool Thanksgiving Feast. It was so cute to see the kids together and get the chance to chat with some of the other parents. By the end of the evening, all three of us were tired!

Foto Friday vol. 32 - Two and a half... sigh!

As of November 9th, my little nugget, Bubba, is officially two and a half. I don't normally celebrate the "half birthday," but do, of course, recognize it as the marker for adding the all important 'half' to a child's age. For weeks I've been answering the question, "How old is he?" with "Almost two and a half," mostly, I suppose, to hang on to that "younger" toddler age. Two and a half rounds to three and I am just not ready for that at all! Time moves entirely too fast and specific memories of things done at certain ages and stages fade as new memories are made.

In light of this, here are a few specifics about you, Preston, as a now 2 1/2 year-old...

- You are 35.5 inches and 30 pounds. You are just about to bust out of your size 8 shoes and we can't find a hat that will stay on your head when you take off running!

- My heart soared when I said the following to you: "It's time to go get your socks and shoes on," and you excitedly said, "I'll go tell Neener!" I followed as you ran down the hall, went up to Gracie, knelt down and signed, "Shoes, socks, on, go!"
I stood there thinking, "He is such a good brother to her." And then, you tackled her. Ugh.

Other things you've recently said (or now consistently say as a "big boy") that have made me laugh out loud (despite my best effort to stifle it), made my heart soar or just surprise me because you so easily pick-up and apply language...

- "Mama, is it ready yet?" "No, Bubby, not yet." "Aw, ma-an..."

- "I'll be right back... stay there." (Hmmm... does someone say this to you, too?!)

- "Good morning, Mama. Good morning, Neener. How you sleep?"

- "Neener, are you okay?" She cries or seems irritated... and you say, "Mama, Neener upset... hurry!" (I love that you describe emotions now... upset, happy, sad, tired, mad, silly, funny... you often announce how you and others around you are feeling.)

- The other day all four of us were playing in your room. You were looking for something and walked over to where you last saw it, got a perplexed look on your face and said, "Hmmm... that's funny! Where is it?" (It took Daddy and I everything we had not to bust out laughing at your little dialogue.) You proceeded to move things on your shelves and in your bed. Finally, about five minutes later you yelled from the family room, "There it is! I found it!" It was your little fire truck and it, along with the ambulance and police car, is often in your possession.

- "Oooh yummy, that my favorite!!" (Really... your favorite, Bubby? Is it possible for everything to be your favorite? It is when you're two and a half!)

- You loved the Halloween decorations (even the scary ones once you knew they were pretend). When we'd drive by the ("Thriller" like) graveyards around the neighborhood, you pointed to them and said, "Look, Mama! Halloween!" and then you'd let out a pretend, albeit very loud, horror film-worthy scream and laugh hysterically.

- "Sorry, Neener. That's okay." (Said as you do something you shouldn't have, accept your own apology on her behalf and then pat her back or kiss her nose. I almost forget that you're admitting naughtiness that needs addressing!)

- You saw that Addison was home across the street and you were bound and determined to go see her! Luckily, you cannot manage the lock on the gate... yet! "Mama, I go see Addison, now!"

I absolutely love it when...

- You laugh out loud. You have the best belly laugh when tickle-wrestling with Daddy. Actually, you both do!

- You tell us you love us. You do this often, unprompted, along with doling out hugs and kisses... such a sweet, affectionate boy.

- You tell us about your dreams. Each morning and following naps, we love asking what you dreamt about. It's often monkeys, elephants and other zoo friends. Lately, though, you wake up in the morning with the most amazing, imaginative stories about your dreams. Whether the great tales you share with us are from your dreams or just your imagination running wild (encouraged by our oohs and aahs and genuine wonderment), Daddy and I love hearing about your dreams.

At night, you love falling asleep with company... usually Mommy or Gracie. Nap time can be difficult at home, as you fight so hard against resting, but when you do give in, you don't mess around!

- You absolutely insist people acknowledge each other, especially your sister. When someone talks to you or to me, you make certain that they also say hello to Gracie. If they ask you how old you are, you answer and also tell them how old Gracie is. You are such a protector and advocate for her; you have already learned how to help her have a voice. I love that about you.

- You tattle on yourself the minute Daddy comes home or calls. No matter what you did during the day and no matter what time it happened, you make sure that Daddy knows. I love that Daddy always gently thanks you for being honest and then talks to you about why you did the naughty thing(s) and why they aren't okay. I hope you always are this forthright with your wrongdoings!





Other things you do...


- You easily ride your tricycle well over a mile a day... often in one shot... breaking only to balance on neighbors' brick borders, jump pavers like a leap frog and count bugs and/or flowers. You love finding puddles to ride through and then pedal in circles making all kinds of patterns. You want to ride all the way to the park, but I will not let you because I am certain I will have to carry you and your tricycle all the way home after you've played! Someday, my little man, we'll give it a shot when Daddy can pick us up if need be! (Just last week we took your tricycle to the beach and you rode along the Pacific as all the grown-ups on bikes passed you by with a smile. What a lucky little guy you are to have already cruised the beach paths on your bike!)


- You have found another use for your tricycle (aside from riding one-handed and with no hands)... you put one foot on the back platform and push with your other foot as you hold the handle bars. "Look, Mama! Bubby has scooter!" Then... much to my dismay (because I know what kind of daredevil tricks are surely in your future), you hold the handle bars and hop over the seat as you're rolling. Ay, ay, ay!

- You love all things related to sports and truly are a natural little athlete. Daddy just raised your basketball hoop and we had to get you a little heavier duty ball to increase the challenge! You frequently run out back to practice dribbling the ball and take a few shots. You still love hitting balls off your "T," but much prefer to take a swing at a slow pitch. David Beckham better look out because, like your Daddy and uncle, you are quite skilled with the soccer ball. You can drop kick, you can easily aim and kick with both feet and you can dribble a ball across an entire soccer field! Surely the whole neighborhood can hear you scream, "Goal!" while playing the backyard!

- You like "working out" with Daddy. And, you're a good trainer, because you often remind him he needs to do it!

- You love to dance and sing. You love singing with your music in the car and dancing to Mommy's music at home. Your current top dance request is to Michael Franti's "Say Hey (I love you)" which is referred to as "The I love you song, Mama," in our house!


- This one is included at Daddy's insistence (it's a Daddy kind of thing, after all). After tooting or burping, you first proudly ask, "Did you hear that?" Once your wondrous sounds have been acknowledged, you then say, "Excuse me!" and giggle.
Ah... boys.

- I am amazed at your receptive sign vocabulary. One of my most favorite things to do is sign sentences to you and you'll translate. After Gracie's school Halloween parade, you sat in the kitchen with Daddy. I asked you, "Did you tell Daddy what you did today?" You didn't know where to start (it was, after all, nearly 8pm) so I signed behind Daddy, "You went to school with Gracie and walked in the parade." You said to Daddy, "Bubba go school with Neener and walk parade." Unbelievable.

Foto Friday vol. 31 - School Picture

Gracie - 1st Grade
...and her very first school picture!

This picture is many years (and the efforts of many) in the making!
This is the first year Gracie has been able to attend school full-time outside our home. She started out part-time last year (with me as her "aid"), but was in the hospital on picture day, was out sick on the make-up day and then we moved! So, when the picture day information was sent home last month, I was, to say the least, excited. I just wanted her to have a school picture... and though I wanted it to turn out cute, cute was not the point. The picture itself, regardless of her expression, pose, etc., was totally the point.

I was not there to witness (or supervise!) the "photo shoot," but knew that she was in good hands between her aid, her teacher and everyone else who was there. That afternoon, I was told that two shots were taken and had they tried their best to get a good one. Carol (an aid from the upper grade class - - the same one who kindly took Preston on the parade route last week) actually laid on the floor to prop Gracie up on the seat they use (why these companies don't provide supported seating is beyond me!), while her aid, teacher and several others tried to get her attention focused on smiling in the direction of the camera.

When we received both photo packages and were told we had to choose just one (or pay for both), John and I were elated to be choosing between two adorable, yet very different photos. However, making the decision proved to be more difficult than we anticipated! It took us days! In the end, this is the one we chose (we are still hoping the company will allow us to keep both since they're already printed). We love it because she looks so grown up and carefully posed, as though she had practiced in her mirror the exact amount of grin she wanted in her picture.

Foto Friday vol. 30 - Tanaka Farms

On Tuesday, after we dropped Miss Gracie at school, John and I took Preston to Tanaka Farms - - a working farm where pumpkins (and many other things) grow from the vine rather than stacked at the mall parking lot! (Those types are super fun for the kids, too, but we wanted to show Preston that not every other parking lot in So Cal "grows" pumpkins and bounce houses!) While we wanted to take Gracie to join us, the reality is, this type of outing is not something she'd enjoy all that much. Preston, on the otherhand, loved it!

We took a tractor-pulled wagon ride.




We went to the petting zoo and saw goats, sheep and llamas.

We were quite pensive on the wagon ride back through the farm...

We went through the corn maze, picked our own vegetables (and used the onions in our dinner that night!) and picked one more pumpkin (for Sophie)!

Foto Friday vol. 28 - Pumpkin Patch

After school Thursday, we went to the pumpkin "patch." I use this loosely because it was actually one of our mall parking lots. The real pumpkin patch was not an option as a family because it's a real working farm and, thus, not accessible for Miss Gracie. The other issue, minor in comparison, but hard to believe given that it was nearly 80 degrees, was that it was very muddy everywhere from two days of rain.

Miss Gracie had no problem recognizing the ponies!

Preston alternated a joyful, "Yee Haw, Badger"
with an unsure, "Bubby get up!" throughout the ride.
Despite being incredibly light sensitive (thus, covering her left eye) and, as it turns out, allergic to the hay, Miss Gracie loved her ride on Buttons and proved that she is ready for hippotherapy!

As John chased Preston, I took the pic of Gracie and me to prove that I was actually at this outing!

Foto Friday vol. 27 - Dairy Assembly

Gracie's school had a Dairy Assembly on Thursday with a real dairy cow and calf as the stars. After all the other classes left, Gracie's class got up close and personal! At first, Miss Gracie was tentative, but eventually she was petting Jerry, the calf, on her own.

(With Gracie is her trusted aid, Betty Lou, and behind the camera is her teacher, Debbie. Thanks, Debbie, for the pictures!!!)


Jasmine the Cow smiling at Gracie!

Meeting Jerry the Calf

More with Jerry...

Foto Friday vol. 26

Gracie's schedule is busy insanely hectic. Four days a week she has therapy of some type after school (OT, PT, Vital Stim) and then usually about once every two or three weeks, we are also squeezing in a doctor's appointment. The appointments themselves, plus the travel time, often have us arriving home near 6pm. While it is a complete drag that John works every single weekend, it is nice that on many of our therapy afternoons, he's now able to be with Preston and spare our little man being dragged to endless appointments with his sister.

Here's a peek at what it often looks like for the girls...



And the boys...

Preston loves hanging with his Daddy! The other day he came home to tell me they'd been watching planes take off and land at the airport. It was obvious he thought that Daddy had some special access to this magical place that I couldn't possibly know anything about. It was so cute!

They can also be found at the sports store (where Preston rides a two-wheeler with training wheels), the motorcycle store (where he gets to sit on motorcycles and make all those engine noises that boys seem to just know how to make), the field at the park (to play soccer) and the tennis courts (yep... he's already got a racquet of his own). They are plenty busy themselves!

The pics at VitalStim were taken a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, this therapy has been put on hold due to insurance issues. We are in the midst of trying to iron it all out... er... appeal the denials that are forthcoming for the first four sessions in the hopes that we can restart soon. We have a PPO (in addition to her state insurances), so we don't have to obtain a prior authorization. Initially we were told that her sessions would be unlimited based on medical necessity (which there's plenty of documentation from ENT, Pulmonology and GI indicating the necessity), but it turns out that Electric Stim of any kind is considered "investigational" or "experimental" and will not be covered. (Interject whatever expletive you choose... I've thought it - - and maybe have even muttered it under my breath - - while dealing with this!)

Gracie loves this therapy. She'd get so excited when I'd tell her where we were going (we call it "taste & swallow work") and she's more compliant than most kids her therapists have worked with. She's had audible swallows several times throughout the sessions and is incredibly motivated. This makes us all hopeful... and makes the current situation all the more frustrating. We've waited so long for this opportunit - - it's her last hope - - and I will fight tooth and nail get it covered somehow.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure...
This was taken the weekend that Gracie started pushing herself up into a "W" sit. She corrects her legs - - then gets down. The next step is to get her to sit for a bit... she just prefers being horizontal unless given a little support. The good news is she is consistently getting herself into a sit at home now!

Creative Control

In case you were wondering...
There is such a thing as too much creative control!


I am still cleaning the cornstarch out of her chair base!
I am still finding little bits that were tracked into the house, even after vacuuming!
The lawn is still white from where I hosed down the table and Preston!
But they sure had fun!



Gracie didn't have school Friday, Preston had been couped up in the house for ten straight days with a nasty bronchial and sinus ick (one that earned him his first ER visit on the 18th) and we no longer have a nurse on Friday afternoons (that was our only day). Needless to say, I had my work cut out to keep my little campers happy.

Our day started with breakfast, breathing treatments and while Gracie and I played "beauty parlor," Preston got to watch Max and Ruby while eating the chocolate chip cookie he uses to "chase" his antibiotic!



After all this, we headed outside for the out-of-control cornstarch and water session. Next, were baths... obviously!

Then it was time for a bit of PT and school work. (She refused to get dressed again - - no surprise there!) Preston was confined to the other side of the table because he constantly tries to take over for her. I guess a perk of her not hearing is that she doesn't know he's screaming the letter names at her!





Incidentally, she was incredibly obsessive about leaving the house each day over the weekend. By Sunday morning, she was so confused (no matter how I tried to explain) and her clock was so out of whack that at 5am, she was at our front door signing "school" and "get dressed" and kicking at the door with her heels. As much as I try, I am not nearly as much fun as real school... and I am glad she feels that way!

This morning she was up at 2am... it wasn't pretty. Around 7:00, I told her that she had school today. She flapped and wiggled her arms and legs in excitement and signed "school" and "yes."
Thank goodness for Monday morning!