Some Super Cute Pictures of Grace!

 We had a beautiful day and so we decided to go to the river to walk around..piddle diddle as my grandma would say.  We didn't stay too long because Grace was still a bit sick.  She was SO excited to get out though!!

 Doesn't she look super cute in her glasses!  I'm so happy that she left them on too!  When she was younger, she just kept taking them off.

 Watching the rushing river.  She was definitely scared to go too close for fear that the water might get her!

" Daddy helping her since she was close to the water."

 "Definitely want to touch the water Daddy!"

 "AH!  COLD!!!"

" I'll just watch, that was just too cold!  Look at how red my hands are!!"

 Andnow some showing off.  Brad and Ryan went to Brad's dad's house to work on two bookshelves, a hutch/computer desk, and an entertainment center.  And by work on, I mean buy the wood, draw a design, and build it themselves.  If they could have had time to cut the trees down themselves, they would of.  I mean, how do you think the cabin was made?!

 So this is one of the bookshelves.  6 feet tall, holds TONS of books, and we've got a second one on the way that I'm worried will be empty!

I'm loving it!  I'm loving that I can tell anyone and everyone that 4 pieces of our furniture in the house has been homemade.  Brad and Ryan have to go up and help finish the hutch part of the desk, and the drawer faces for everything.

Exciting stuff!

Amanda

Grace's IEP meeting

So I'm super excited to announce that we've got Grace's transfer to the Madison School District meeting coming up!!  It's on May 16th, and I'm just so happy that's finally here.  Now, this isn't the one where we discuss WHAT is on her IEP, but we are discussing what her diagnoses are, what tests she's taken/needs, where she is on development, and then scheduling her IEP meeting.  I'm really excited because this is just one step further to the "big school" for her!!  I'm also super excited because I don't want to be railroaded by people who know the school system better than me.  So I'm going to research IEP's, the states legislative laws/codes about school systems and special needs, and the school's specific special needs program and qualification system.  I'll also be updating her binder with the latest paperwork, making copies of the "7Q36 Gene Deletion" information packet (the only information ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD about her deletion), and getting another copy or getting my old copy back of Grace's medical files from her Oakland doctor, which is all her MRI, ultrasound, surgery information.  I made the mistake of giving it to her spina bifida clinic doctor WITHOUT telling them to make a copy of it for themselves and then giving it back, so I have to do that when we go in a month!!  Granted it will be too late for the meeting, so I'm hoping to call and have them shoot me a copy in the mail in time.  Grace gets to go, so I'm hoping they will all love her and she won't be scared.


Imagine...I will advocate for her in front of the entire school board...AH!!  Deep breaths, lots of preparing, and lots of educating myself, and I should be fine.  May 16th, and I need to find a good suit to wear...and a nice hair style.  Hm...I might have Kailyn help me out with the hair style. :)


Amanda

PS.  I'll keep you updated on how preparing goes, and then about the big day.  Technically, the real big day isn't until we put together the IEP, but still, this is big for me!

Sickness Update

We both went back to the doctor yesterday to get rechecked by a new doctor because neither she nor I were getting any better.  The doctor put Grace on a 10 day medication, different from the one she had, and put me on a type of penicillin for my sinus infection.  I can definitely tell this one is breaking up all the mucus in her lungs.  I just wish she knew how to spit it up!  The doctor also said her ears were clear, one of which is clearer than the other. 

So, she's still got the nasty cough, even a worse runny nose, but that's good at this point because it's getting out of her, and she's not quite as tired.  And HURRAY!  We had a night without her waking up!  Oh yeah!

So, we are both on the mend...thankfully.


Amanda

Little Miss Sick...again

We had the worse night last night that we've had in a long time!  She went down normal, which made me hopeful that we'd have a quiet night.  There are a lot of nights that she gets up for a hug, or a sip or two from her sippy cup, but this was NOTHING like that.  She was up at 10:30, didn't want milk, didn't want crackers (which is crazy because she ALWAYS wants crackers!  So for about an hour I went crazy trying to find what she wants, and then I gave up and walked into the shower with her.  Fully clothed, both she and I, because I didn't have enough time (mentally) to take off our clothes! That helped her be happy, and so I got relief!!  Shew!  After about 10 minutes in there, she came downstairs and watched a movie with us.  After this, Daddy put her to bed, but then she started crying once again.  Ug.  So I grabbed her out of bed, and we snuggled together in my bed :)  I acted like I was sleeping and she laid there with me for about an hour.  At this point, I was SO excited to have chosen her to come to bed with me because she was SO CUTE!!  Kisses over and over, soft strokes on my arm tons of times, and stroking my hair.  She was so soft, so precious, acting like she was a mommy to me.  I mean, seriously, she'd lay there with me for about 5 minutes, and then scoot her face right into my face, stroke my arm, and give me a super long kiss on my cheek.  Over and over she'd peck my cheek.  I felt SO LOVED!!!  After about an hour she climbed off the bed, so then it was time for bed :)  She did great the rest of the night and woke up happy!!

So, I'm REALLY hoping this won't happen again.  But any time throughout the day, she can give me all the lovin's she wants!!

Amanda

Little Miss Sick

Darnit she's sick yet again.  Since Saturday night she's had 104 degree fevers...we found out today it's an ear infection and bronchitis.  I am SO glad I took her in today!!  It's so amazing how happy she can remain with such yucky diagnoses...I hope she'll get better soon because Toddler Lab starts next week!!

Amanda

Furniture From the Best Handiman in the World

This is why the boys were away for a week.  Brad's father is an absolute genius with woodworking, and absolutely has a gift.  These pieces aren't done yet, but they are here so that Brad can sand and stain them.  Then they (the boys) go back to his dad's house again to finish the faces of the drawers and the top of the desk.  They are going to look GORGEOUS!

 This is the bottom of the desk.  All the drawers have an extended pull out, and the one on the top left has a chopped of side so that when we have the printer in the drawer, we can fold down the paper holder without having to take out the printer.  This has a big top that will go on top of it will more cupboards, and a roll up/down computer cover.

 This is the entertainment center.  As you will see below, the drawers have separators to hold CDs and DVDs.  The middle will have the Wii, the DVD player, and the double doors will have glass in them so we don't have to have them open in order to use the devices.

 See the separators?  Aren't they awesome!  You can even take out the two and put in just one for more DVDs.

 These are bookshelves.  Other than sanding and staining, they are done.  :)  Aren't they beautiful!  6 feet of awesome goodness!

And here are the handymen!!!  3 generations of strong, courageous, protective and hill climbin' men!

I will update with more pictures later :)  Thank you so much dad for all that you do for us.

Amanda

Getting the Garden Area Ready

  We have a huge spot in the backyard that for some reason was covered with wood chips from the last owners.  CRAZY!  So we've been clearing off all the wood chips, all the weed guard, and will roto-till it when we order one.  Shew it's been a hard job!  I cleared about 1/3 of it before the guys got home, and we kept going at it.  I'm hoping to get it done by this weekend so we can till it and plant!!!

 Here we are busy at work :)  Grace LOVES standing right by the wheel barrow, but of course she gets dirt in her eyes.  Every so often she picks one up from the ground and puts in in the barrow...sweet girl!!

 Brother is de-thatching.  For those of you that don't live in snow country, that is where you rake off ALL the dead grass so the new stuff can come in.  We ended up getting a de-thatching machine for $15 for one hour.  Ah, much better than working our backs off!

 Grace had to help keep all the wood chips in... she thought this would be the most perfect job!

 We are dumping them all along the house where the flowerbeds are lacking in the wood chip area.  You're supposed to have 4 inches and we've only got one inch.  So I'm glad we are emptying the section for a garden! 

 There Brad is taking up the weed block.  Oh yeah!!  Muscle man!  I'm hoping we can plant in-ground, but we've been told it's ALL clay and tons of rocks.  We'll see what happens when we till. 

 Grace had to check the tire to be sure it was strong enough to carry another load!

 Now she's telling Daddy where the wood chips are supposed to go because Daddy might forget if she doesn't!

 "UH!  UH!"  Grace LOVES to grunt when she's trying to help with something she thinks is heavy :)

 Working hard!  Grace is dictating, and making sure Daddy doesn't forget anything along the way.

 Shew!  Grace has to take a break!  It's hard work telling everyone how to do their jobs.

 Well, now it's time to help Brother because he's just NOT gathering it the way she thinks it should be.

 Well, this is the next day but that's ok :)  Today, actually.  But that's ok, I'm just throwing them in for some fun!  Isn't she so stinkin' cute?  This is her with a fever, nasty cough, and runny nose.  Wouldn't tell, wouldya?

 This is the first time in about...9 months, that I've put a clip in her hair...a clip from a VERY special friend no less.  But...it was out within minutes of taking this picture.  I said, "I want to take a picture of your clip Grace."  Out it came!

And last but not least, the tree I painted while the boys were away!  Isn't it beautiful?!  I am going to put pictures of the six kids in each of the frames.

Fun stuff!

Amanda

A Sunny Day With a Sick Girl

Poor little miss Grace had a rough night last night.  She went down alright, but woke herself with a horrible cough around 12 am and had a 104 degree temperature.  We got her some medication, which she loved (bubble gum flavor) and got her some milk, which she shoved away!!  I had her watch a movie with me because she was wide awake, and then put her back down.  It was weird that she was so awake, especially when the medication was a nighttime medication!  Any who, she woke this morning with a slight fever, yucky nose, and nasty cough...of course on the most sunniest day we've had all of Spring!  We spent about 10 minutes outside for some fresh air, so we'll see how she lasts the rest of the day.

Darnit!

Amanda

Easter With Grandma and Grandpa

April 8th 2012

We were so happy to be able to have grandparents here for Easter!  We usually spent Easter alone since we were all the way in CA, but now we get to have family come over!!

 She got a special present from Grandma and Grandpa :)

 A little tweety bird!  It tweets every time she holds it in her hand.

And she got a silly straw, and a beautiful handmade picture of Jesus with the children!  Her grandfather is so talented, and I'm so happy he's given gifts that share that talent with us.

 She wanted to put her Easter basket on as a necklace!  How Cute!

 She says, there's nothing in it mom!

 So off we go to hunt for Easter eggs.  For some reason, the pictures were deleted off the camera darnit!  See her Easter bag?  I made it!!

Amanda

Coloring Eggs

April 7th, 2012

A little late in the posting, but better late than never I say :)  It was fun to dye eggs with Grace, but of course she was more interested in drinking the water/vinegar, or eating the eggs!  That's ok though, what a sweet girl!

 We dropped in the eggs, and then she of course had to see what they did in the cup!

 I had to be sure she didn't grab it because she was SO CLOSE to doing so!!!

 We just had to look at the blue coloring :)  Mommy loves blue so of course we had to make them and see what it looked like as they were died.

All in all, a fun evening with Miss Grace :)  It's so fun experiencing this with her for the real first time since last Easter she was too young to really understand :)

Amanda

Toddler Bed

Well, it's been about 4 days I'd say that Grace has been using the crib with the toddler side, and we're doing great!!  Yesterday at nap time she didn't get out once, but I'm assuming that's because she was an hour late getting to bed.  But hey?!  Either way, she didn't climb out!  Bedtimes are a breeze, and I love that she can get out and make a huge mess in her room while I'm still sleeping :)  This crazy girl gets up around 7:15 every morning!  NO THANK YOU!  8:30 for me :)  Sometimes I'm lazy but still.

So all in all, wonderful news.  I love going in there and seeing her playing, not needing to be taken out of the crib or constantly amused by me or Brad.

Ah, watching your little girl grow up is so rewarding, but so saddening as well because she's growing up!


Amanda

Where Have we Been?

Gosh I'm finding that the desire to post nightly has decreased a bit. Sorry for all those wishing there were daily posts like there used to be! Not much has really changed, which is probably why there haven't been more posts. Grace has now transitioned beautifully to the toddler bed, with minimal help during naps but flawless at bedtime in the evening. Her favorite songs right now are Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Oh...DEFINITELY can't forget Ring Around the Rosie!!! She always asks for that song...."ashes...ashes..." It's so cute! By next week we should have a schedule of PT and OT for her at the same place we go for Speech, so that will be good to get her back into that. We go to the Spina Bifida clinic in June, so we will be getting a few test results from that visit. And lastly is that she's as sweet as ever. Oh!

One new thing we've learned? She is SO SCARED of the sprinklers!!!! AH! We will definitely have to work on that this summer!

Amanda

She's Growing Up!

So I bit the bullet and took of the side of Grace's crib so we could attach the toddler bed safety side. I figured if I didn't work on it in the crib, I'd have an easy out if she cried because I could just put her in the crib. But I actually did it. And she did great at bedtime. We did this last night :) She was wonderful, and then when I got up in the morning her room was an absolute disaster, but it was well worth it. So we tried it again today...it didn't go as well, but really...

19 minutes to get her asleep with only 6 escapes, and one of the escapes was inbetween the safety side and the crib!

So I'm pretty darn excited. That's one night time sleep and one naptime down! I'm hoping to be able to get to the point where I can leave her door open so when she gets up, she can come out rather than just being locked in her room.

What's the reasoning for the transition? Lots of people might say to just leave her in the crib because she's not escaping from it, she's not growing out of it, and she doesn't dislike it, so why change? It's because I want her to have some independence. But the real motive is because we want to take her purple toddler bed to the cabin and leave it there for when we go up there, and if she doesn't know how to sleep in a toddler bed, it will be a disaster! So we're getting her transitioned! the pack in play is just too small for her now!


I'm excited :)

Ok, time to go make my pesto pasta!

Thank you for the pesto Keri!

Amanda

Little Stink Pot

Well, we've got a runner! Ever time we go outside, Grace LOVES to play the "run away" game. She bolts as fast as she can right into the street! She knows she's not supposed to, so of course she's going to! It's hard not to make a game of it because it's so darn cute! She looks back and says "See ya Mama!" and takes off! And of course I come charging after her, heavy footed, growling quietly while saying, "I'm gonna get you!!!" IT'S SO FUN!!!! But super dangerous...grr...will...have...to...stop!


Amanda

Internet Searching

So I found this website...and it's pretty amazing. it's www.amtrykestore.org and it's got a helmet that will git Grace! Well...soon. She's 17" head circumference and this helmet is for 18 and up...but she's getting there!



Isn't it so cute?! $12.00!

I'm excited!

Amanda

Speech Therapy

Today we have speech therapy. I'm really excited. We've been going to Jeff for about 1 1/2 months, and he's done wonders in helping her expand her vocal communication! She's amazing! On Monday when we went, she'd seen an enormous monkey sitting on top of the fish tank and did the sign while making the noise. He asked her, "do you want to play with the monkey?" and she responded, "monkey?" Obviously a yes! Then he told me she practically was saying something, even if it was not understandable, the entire rest of the time. So, hoping for some more awesome news today :)

Amanda

Walking, walking...

We went on a walk today. It was so nice. Cloudy but warm enough to go out in short sleeves. We made it only to the next court because Grace was too interested in every rock pile we passed. She absolutely LOVES collecting rocks! It's so sweet to watch her. She likes to hand them to me while jumbling off a long sentence :) I swear she tells me all about why she likes the rocks, how many she's giving me and telling me to keep them. Which I do because she's talking so much I don't want to disappoint her. Our only one problem? She knows I don't want her going into the road, so now we've got a little miss that shoots out into the road the split second I turn my back. Darnit. We'll work on repetition for this, but in the meantime, we'll keep collecting rocks, throwing them when we're done with them, and learning how to stay on the sidewalk!

It's so fun going on walks with her. She absolutely loves everything around her. She points to the trees and tells me "tree," she watches every car pass by "beep beep," every group of children, or even one child, is thoroughly looked over, observed, and then we move on :) She says "Hi" to everyone she passes, and for the most part, they acknowledge and she gets so happy! SHe also played with the neighbor boy right before we went in :) He's 3 and super smart, and loves talking to her, and helping her ride his bike. Rather, he tells her "this is where you put your feet. You have to push them." She'll get there. At this point? She's sitting on the tricycle, can push back about 6 inches with her feet, and can, for the most part, hold her feet on the pedals while I push her around. She does love pushing her trike around, so that's super cute to watch!!


Good day :) We love the weather! And we love spending time outside!

Amanda

Where Have we Gone?

I'm sorry I've been so bad about updating! We've just been so darn busy with things around the house that I've got no time to blog...and when I do...we have no news!

A few new things Grace can do...

Walk down the driveway...and run to but I don't let her!
Walk off the sidewalk curb onto the street without falling.
Walk through dirt, gravel and uneven ground without falling.
Walk in wood chips without falling...but there's no chance you'll get her to walk through them without her plopping down and playing with them!
She can take her jacket off! She shakes, shakes, shakes her arms until it's off :)
Can lay down and put a diaper under her to tell me she wants to be changed.
Is talking UP A STORM!!! Lots of new words, lots of excitement to learn new words through mimic, and TONS of babbling long sentences that you can't understand :)


She's doing great. She's 2 years 7 months and 8 days old :) And she's my star and the light of my life!


Amanda

Not too much News

Well, it absolutely dumped a ton of snow today. I know, it's spring and it's snowing? CRAZY! We were going to go on a bike ride, but scratch that! So we did chores instead :) Grace absolutely loves helping with laundry, and picking up toys, so we did that today. I baked cookies for the in laws coming for the weekend, and Grace and I will be going shopping after her nap for EGGS! We are completely out! No WAY am I going to miss out on deviled eggs this weekend :)

So now for some news about Grace. She's doing absolutely wonderful. She now babbles long sentences that we can't understand, but hey, she babbles. I think she tires herself out with all the babbling she does. I've gotten really good at talking non-stop about what we're doing, and so she's picking up on it. For an example, we were folding laundry and she would hand it to me out of the basket. Well, every time she handed me something, she'd go, "ba da bee doo bad da." SUPER LONG! And when she gets mad is the cutest because she rambles off this huge long babble sentence, all the while here eyebrows are furrowed and her tone is sharp :) It's so cute! And it was insane...a couple days ago I kept asking her to go get a book from her room, and she just kept going..."huh. Huh." So I signed the whole thing..."go book bring mommy read." AND SHE DID IT!!! AH! I don't know if it was a fluke or what but she did it!

Well, we are all fine here. She starts PT and OT next week at this new place that is floor to ceiling wall to wall fun stuff! She gets SO mad when she has to leave speech after they've been playing in the ball pit!

Amanda

Time Flies

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. Not much has happened. Nice weather lets us go out more, and so we've been spending a lot of time outside. The sun feels good!


Amanda

Getting Ready for Easter

Well, we are finally decorated for Easter! Not much for such a big upstairs, but over the years I'll collect/make more, and it will be so cute as the years go on! It's so fun to decorate, so I do the best with what I have on hand :) And with what I get to buy at DI!

I love this little ceramic Bunny. It reminds me of the ones my grandma would paint and put up :)

Below is a Family Dinner Question jar. When we sit down for dinner we each pick a question, and that will keep conversation going throughout dinner :)
My snow globe I got from my grandma a long time ago!
Another one...I just noticed they were facing the wrong way!
A new decoration I got from DI! I LOVE IT!

My Easter decorations. That family frame still needs a picture in it :)
Isn't my window decoration so cute?! I got the idea from someone's blog, but of course I can't remember who.
Dado, isn't this cute? I love the spring on the bunnies.
Our fireplace and hearth.
I absolutely cleaned up the desk and decorated. Decorating is still in the process which is why the Jesus and presidency pictures look out of place.
Another ceramic bunny. I think when I get time in my later years I'll paint them like my grandma did.
Our piano section :) I'm pretty happy about this section except that we have nothing on the left side of the mirror and so it looks off balance!
Our hearth up close.
The end! Cute eh? I was hoping to put some Easter decor up in Grace's room but her room is decorated enough!! I will be painting on her wall though, this quote "I am a daughter of God." And then in the living room by the front door there will be a huge tree w/o leaves, an owl in a hole in the trunk, and all the pictures of the kids throughout the branches. Then Brad and I will be on one side by the trunk, and Erica will be on the other side. And the quote will be, "An Eternal Family of love and righteousness."

Bye! Sesame Street is over so I better sign off!


Amanda