Institute

I'm so excited to say that I will be attending Institute classes starting in August and September. They are right down the street, so I've got no reason not to attend!! And my plan is to graduate, so I will be well on my way because I'm able to take three classes for my first semester, so that's an awesome start.

And onto other church news, I went to a couple classes for the Education Week in Rexburg, and I will definitely be going next year to the complete thing. I'm so thankful for my sister in law that let me go in her place while she watched Grace. It was enough to get my engine going about education week for sure!

Amanda

YES!!

Grace learned how to sign yes!! I'm so excited because that's such a hard one for her to do! It's hard only because yes and hi are the same things, except yes is with a fist!

Good girlie Grace!!

Amanda

The Mail

Oh, how we do love the mail. I love receiving cards and letters, and especially packages! The first day I got our keys, which was like 6 days after we moved in, I was happy to see a card from my grandparents!!! What a way to welcome us to a new state, huh? And silly Dado had a cute comment in there that just made me laugh! Then just yesterday, I received a HUGE package. Well, not just me, but all three of us girls!! We had just missed the Fed-ex guy. We were walking back from the pool, and I saw the truck pulling away, so I started running to our apartment door to see if there was a package there. Sadly, I didn't see one, but then I saw the little note saying they'd leave it in the office! So I got dressed and headed to the office. Now, I thought I'd just be receiving one thing from a friend, a can opener. There's been this joke that we are all settled, but don't even have a can opener! And when I told this friend, she actually sent me one! So anyways, I asked the ladies up front and they were like, "Well, it could be any one of these..." and with a wave of her hand, she showed me a stack of about 10 packages. But, mine was so easy to find!! A BRIGHT PINK label stuck to the front, about 4.5" x 6" big with "Amanda, Kailyn and Grace Hildreth" written in pink marker, and "Keri and Jona" as the senders. I was SO HAPPY!! I couldn't even wait to get home, I had to open it right there. There was a sweet letter inside, the first thing I saw, and then two pictures that Grace had made with them at the state fair. But sheesh, it was so much more than just a can opener. This is what else: a CD of pics/movies of Grace, a $25 gift card to Winco (I can't use my debit card because I've been having issues with the pin...I told her that and she sent me this!), ziploc bags, sandwich tupperwares, picture nails/hooks, a can opener, 2 "just add milk" mixes (banana bread and chocolate chip muffins), and bread tins! I was so...touched. I cried about it in the car when I called Brad and told him. He didn't even know what to say other than "you really have a good friend there." I'm such a sap too. It's just a package, but I see caring right there :) Not that everyone has to send me a package. But I was really just venting on a not so good day, and she totally picked up on it and "fixed it". So I definitely thank her for that!! I miss you too Keri, and I KNOW Grace misses Jonathan!

So now, I get to send something back :) I will be making a little book called "Grace goes Here and There" for Jonathan, and it will be with pictures of Grace at the park, the zoo, the apartment, the pool, and so many other places. That way he understands she's just moved houses, and that she's doing well! I can't wait to get started on it!!

I also love sending mail, and have already sent the postcards we got from the zoo, and some cards too. I especially love snail mail because I like handwriting to people. Computers and emails aren't as personal, but they are free, so I do understand why so many people just shoot an email out!

Amanda

Swimming

Ok, so I can say that one of the greatest reasons to live in an apartment complex is that you get a pool, a huge pool, that you don't have to clean but can swim in whenever you want!!! I LOVE IT!! And so does Grace. She's just a natural fish in water. We've been going there almost every day just because there's nothing else to do when we get to about 6 pm. And we can easily stay there till about 9 or later! Grace just hangs out in her floaty while either I or sissy push her around, and when it gets boring in the pool, we jump into the hot tub for a bit!! What a relaxing way to end our days, right?

Amanda

House Searching!

We went with our Realtor yesterday to look at some houses :) It was definitely an experience. We had 4 houses to go to, and truthfully, I was hoping we'd find "the perfect" one on this try. I'm always about instant gratification you know? Anyways, the first one was a dud. Bank owned, dead grass and trees, weeds galore, 4 levels (not complete flights), and lots of repairs needed. Oh well, that's ok, we can only go up from there right? The second house was...wow! It's kinda old, being built in 1969, so I REALLY felt like I was in a grandma's house...well, not my grandma's...anyways. It was just really small, cramped, granny style. Whatever. Other than that, it was wonderful...oh, and the stove? It was like something you'd see in "Leave it to Beaver." The house was pretty immaculate, full basement, beautiful rooms, and the lady that lived there did some AWESOME work with quilting :) Outside there was a giant lean-to for a horse or two, space for the horse, garden area, storage shed and play house for the kids, and this house was out in the boonies where you don't have your neighbors looking at you while you shower. So that was nice. The third house was alright. I can't remember much of it, which must say a lot. And the 4th one was another horse lot. Nice house, HUGE FOOD STORAGE space, 4 bedrooms, nice size barn with storage to the side, and it was pretty good. I think for this one, the only things we didn't like were that above the fireplace, it had a swing out door that had the TV behind it, and our tv is too big for that! Also the tiling the leads from the kitchen to laundry room goes all throughout and absolutely MASKS the fact that there's a step DOWN, thus causing Kailyn to almost face plant while holding Grace. And then there's a deck out back, but it's about 2 feet off the ground without a step down...so we'd have to fix that. But minor fixes. After talking with the hubby, we're going to look some more but keep these houses in the backs of our minds. We don't really want houses built in the 60's...more updated, more modern, more safe!

Amanda

Grace's Therapy

So, up here in our new state, we of course have to get her reevaluated for her services through the infant toddler program. So we went to the office and got to meet someone that we will work with on getting her evaluated and into the program. It was so funny to meet with her because she was very surprised that I had so much information on her when we got there!! I already had two medical records, one from her main pediatric hospital, and one from her eye hospital. There was only the packet we are waiting for from her surgery hospital. So when I handed over the packets of about 400 pages of records, along with a complete IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan), she was obviously impressed :) We have a meeting with them on August 1st for Grace to get evaluated. She's not going to get a different IFSP, but they will just update the information so we can have a global eval. and see where she's at in all aspects of her progress. She will also be followed by the school for the deaf and blind, which I'm absolutely thrilled about since she's got hearing and vision issues. And she also might be eligible to receive services in Salt Lake at St. Jude's, which would all be at no cost to us (including gas, food and living situations). So this is sounding like a wonderful opportunity for Grace! They've also got spina bifida services there, which will help Grace as well.

I will definitely be updating on how she does with the eval. Oh, and a side note. She can now walk about 20-30 steps without support!! It's absolutely amazing to watch. Last night she walked from my bedroom, down the hall, and into sissy's legs all by herself without falling, or even losing her balance! Any day now, she'll be walking!

Amanda

New words

I can't believe how well Grace is doing with her words! She just continues to amaze me with how much she is learning. At this point, I love walking into her room every morning and saying "Good Morning Grace" because...I finally get a response!! "Mornin" she says!! WOO WHOO!! And she now asks for "water", which I absolutely love to hear as well. It's amazing that when I least expect her to say something new, she amazes me, and when I think "oh, that will be too hard for her to get," she gets it! Like at the zoo yesterday. I showed her the bears and said, "Grace, this is a bear. Bear." And she said it!! Holy smokes!

Good girl Grace. I will definitely keep everyone updated on how she's doing vocally since it's so important for her to be speaking. She can now sign "milk please" in one sentence, rather than just pointing at my milk and signing please, or vice versa. YES!!

Amanda

The Zoo

We went on the 22nd...yesterday.

Ok, so this was absolutely fun. I was hoping to wait to go to the zoo since it would be Grace's first time, and I wanted Brad to be there, but after talking to him on the phone and getting his ok to go without him, we headed out :) What a fun experience. All of us had fun!!! I mean, right when we walked into the gates after paying, we were stopped by a peacock!! What a beautiful creature those are. Then off to see the baby camel fed, but we were too late. But we still got to see it, and still got to hear Grace say, "MOOOO". No Grace, it's not a cow silly! Then we got to go pet some goats, which she LOVED!! She wasn't scared at all. As we traveled around the zoo, checking out all the animals, I just loved seeing Grace engage and actually see the animals (notice them). I was worried that since they were so far away behind the gates, she wouldn't understand what we were looking at. I think, one of the cutest things I saw was when she saw the geese and their babies, and she signed bird as she said, "beep beep beep beep!" It was SO adorable!! But that totally came in second to the next thing that happened. We went inside a building where there were some monkeys behind windows. At this point, Grace was eating her pop-tart (snack). When we went up to one of the windows, there was a white/black monkey up at the top of the climbing structure, and after a few seconds, it climbed all the way down, grabbed one of the monkey treats on the floor, and jumped into the window, RIGHT IN FRONT OF GRACE!! They sat there, not even 3 inches apart from each other, with just a glass window separating them, and ate their snacks together! We were there for about 8 minutes, and the entire time, the monkey didn't move. Grace waved to it, made monkey noises at it, and tried to share her pop-tart with it (which ended up leaving HUGE smears on the glass). I LOVED it! Totally a picture moment, but of course, we doing know where the camera is.

So, all in all, a wonderful zoo trip. We bought some postcards to send to our friends back in California, and Kailyn got some information about working there starting in February, so that will be an awesome experience for her.

After this, we drove by the park that is accessible for special needs children, but we were all too tired and hungry to stop and play! Maybe some other time.

Amanda

We're Still Alive

Shew...it's been a tough couple days, but we are still alive :) We've been moving in, unpacking, driving EVERYWHERE and getting things done. I'll update more when I leave Grace at the apartment with her sister, because she only lasts so long crawling around a library. But we are doing well.

Amanda

A sweet Farewell

Gosh, goodbyes are hard. My friend Keri came over today with her son, and they helped us pick our crop of green beans. Since we can't use them, I gave her the crop, along with some bell peppers and squash/zucchini. After a little visit, they had to be on their way :) They made sure we knew where they'd set our "lunch" for our road trip tonight, which was filled to the brim with goodies. And as we gave hugs goodbye, I can't believe the love that Grace showed her. She pulled Keri's face close to hers, nose to nose, and with her little dirty hands on either side of Keri's face, they stared at each other for a few seconds while giggling. I can't help but tear up when I bring this back into my mind just minutes afterwards because that's exactly what Keri's little one Lily did when they were close to saying goodbye to one another for now. To see Grace, my Grace, the glasses yanker super speedy hands Grace, to lovingly hold Keri's head while nose to nose and giggling, I just melted! And even now, as I type this, Grace is over on the stairs, halfway up, giggling as she stares at me between the rails on the stairs, and when I glance over at her she giggles BIG! What love this beautiful spirit holds, for friends and family alike. I don't think I could have asked for a sweeter farewell. As they drove off with two bags full of green beans and sweet spirits, we just stood there waving. Grace gave the best waves ever; her arm WAY above her head, shaking to and fro as fast as she could, watching them drive off. We'll be back little Grace. Don't worry. You won't forget them, and they you.

My heart hurts for those friends that are so near and dear to me, and it will take time for it to heal, but this will be great. We will keep in touch, I will remember them often and with sweet memories, and they will get to receive mail from Grace as she grows...with pictures of her reaching milestones, pictures made by my sweet artist, and sometimes gifts that Grace has decorated :) Emails, letters, calls, packages, and maybe even skyping!!

We love you all, all those that have been part of our lives. I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends with me throughout Grace's almost 2 years of life, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. I will keep you all forever near and dear to my heart.

Amanda

It's Final

We were approved!!! The apartment place approved us, so we are definitely leaving tonight (the girls and I). We aren't hauling anything, so I'm relieved. We are definitely embarking on a new adventure for sure! I've getting the loose ends tied up, my map is marked with the supermarkets, rec centers and Grace's service places, so I'm getting so excited!! Countdown, 7 hours...no...6 hours. Maybe even less than that! Maybe we'll leave at 6 pm. I don't know yet, but I know I'm EXCITED!!! Sad to leave but excited for our adventure to come!

Amanda

Out to Dinner

13th of July, 2011

Today we went out to linner with my grandparents, her great grands, and I was so excited to be going to my favorite mexican food restauraunt. But the best thing about the day? She got her FIRST kids meal!!! EVER!!! I had always just shared my food with her, but today, she was a big girl, so she got her own cheese enchilada, beans and rice all for herself! The cheese was too hard for her to chew, and she ended up choking a lot on it, but the rice and beans were a hit!

This was our last "out to lunch" date with the great grands :) For a while anyways. We leave Monday (well, the girls of the house do) so that was our last time we'll see Dado and Papa for a bit. And what a nice way to do it too, celebrating with them her first time having her own kids meal!

Thanks Dado and Papa for sharing that wonderful milestone with us!

Amanda

The fair, the fair

This happened on the 15th of July, 2011
Grace was SO lucky yesteray because she got to spend the day with our close friends and went to the fair (while we worked on the house...yuck.) She had SO much fun! I was told by my friend that she brought so many smiles to people young and old, and that there were a few grumpy people that turned their frowns upside down because of Grace's sweet smile. She loved the petting zoo, and there was one goat in particular that wouldn't go to anyone but her, so that's an extra special friend for Grace :) There was also a super scensory activity for her that she just LOVED!! There was a sandbox FULL of popcorn kernels!! She loved putting her feet in it and sitting on the side, and we've always been worried because she eats everything she plays with (which the friend knew) so she was very careful. Well, Grace just tried ONE time to eat it and that's it!! The rest of the time she sat in it, scooped it, hid her fingers and toes in it, and played for an hour there, and no sneak nibbles from her!!! Good girl Grace!!

After a full day at the fair in her super cute white and yellow overalls (it was her FIRST TIME EVER wearing overalls!!), she went to her friends soccer practice! After this, there was pizza for dinner, and playing at the park until dark! I just can't believe it...while she was at dinner with them, she learned how to say the word "watch". WOW! She loves stealing people's watches, and at this moment, they were taking a quick walk while waiting for the pizza and she was toying with his watch, and he said, "it's a watch", and then she said it!!! Again Grace, good girl!!

I got Grace's medical record in the mail on this particular day, and what I read was kind of annoying. I found out she had minor flat head syndrome, which I'm not worried about, her ribs and sternum are mishapen, and she has cysts on both of her ovaries...that's the same thing I had but mine burst, and I spent the day throwing up and didn't go to the hospital till the evening because my parents thought the pain/vomiting was "just a bug." But anyways...OH! And I found out also that her hypotonia (low muscle tone) is highest in her chest/hip/waist area, which is why she's not walking yet. That would have been VERY nice to know so we wouldn't get so frustrated and work her so hard!!

All in all, a long busy day.

Amanda

The Little Pink Tutu

I was definitely surprised when I went to my friends house to pick up Grace and she had a super fluffy pink tutu on. HOW ADORABLE! I was standing there, jaw dropped, tears welling, because she just looked so beautiful...so graceful...so much more grown up! I loved watching her crawl around, especially when she would crawl like a bear and her butt would shake, which made the tutu shake so much more! The little pink tutu was a gift from these friends, these extra special, "like a second family" friends, a goodbye gift for little Grace. I just loved it so much. I can't wait to take a picture of her with her tutu.

I love you guys so much. Grace will not forget you. We will write often, call frequently, and every so often, a special gift from Grace will be found on your doorstep :)

Amanda

Our New Home to be...

I didn't really look into the apartment size when I was searching for places to live. I went totally based off prices, closeness to "normal life town", and availability. And now that we've got our names carved into this particular one, I'm realizing we're going to be breathing down each other's necks...for however long it takes to find a house. But let's the optomistically...we get to know one another so much better!! Quality family time!! The closeness will be wonderful!!! Here's the specs:

Master Bed: 13x10
Kai's Bed: 6'8"x10
Liv. Room: 12x15
Din. Room: 8x9
Kitchen: 8x8
Bath: ONLY ONE 5'8"x6

Total square footage in our new humble abode? 883 sq ft...that's 1000 less than we have now. YIKES! I guess we'll manage. It will just push us to get a house. The most recent plan has been to buy a lot and get a house built we want. We'll see if that plan sticks ;)

Amanda

The days Drag on

I seriously just want to be on our way to our new place. I'm done with the super slow pace of a teen that doesn't want to move, and starting one project before another has been finished is tiring! The packing is done, it's all ready to go into the truck. The main things we have to get done are: B getting HIS car fixed, B calling the painters I found and choosing which ones he likes, and then telling them when to come, B calling a contractor/repairman to work on repairs around the house, B doing minor repairs around the house, B getting a new title for his car because I packed the title and moved it already, and cleaning the carpets. So as you can see...my work here is done. I don't know how to lay new tiling, I don't know how to repair stucco or siding, and so I think the best idea is for the three girls (really??? Me and the teen alone...?? Will my hair last?) head to our new location with a trailer load (seeing as someone doesn't think we are going to need a truck again...hmm...we'll see), get set up there, get Grace's therapy going, get acclamated, get the apartment set up/decorated, go to the ward there, and let Brad finish up here. I think, if there weren't two other bodies in the house to deter Brad from what he needs to do, then things would get done faster :) Sorry honey, but no matter what, I won't be able to fix the water damage under the sink! I've got this card...it's here in my back pocket...it's...A WOMAN CARD!!!

I will never move again. Ever. Unless of course I've got someone packing my stuff, loading/driving it, unloading and unpacking. :) That would be SWEET!

Amanda

House Cleaning

Today was our day to clean the house :) And I've got such good friends that were willing to come over and help us!! We started early, with the first friend coming over about 9 and we had people coming in and out until just a few minutes ago (3:30 pm)!! They helped us get so much done! One friend worked in the kitchen, another did an awesome job on the windows, and still another packed the rest of our food storage. And our late arrival (but still appreciated immensely) helped out in the office, master bed/bath! Ahh...I can say the the house is so clean now! We also had another one of my friend's come over, and he helped us out with some odds/ends of things that need to be done in the house (repairs and such), and there's a property manager with us today now.

Shew, what a busy day. I've got a headache from the fumes, my feet are sore, but I'm happy. We got really far along in the house, and so I can relax the rest of the day. Grace and I will be going berry picking tonight with my friend and her son, so I'm excited about that! Blackberries are so yummy they make me drool!

Now, on to some fun stuff! Something new that Grace learned!!! Sorry for the friend who's child was involved with this, but I'm amazed so I have to share. Grace got her hair pulled by this friend, but I didn't know this in the heat of the situation. Grace cried, I went to her and picked her up, and kept asking her "what happened Grace?" I didn't think I'd get anything, but I just worked the process anyways. Well holy cow did she amaze me. She reaches up to her head, rubs it and then pulls her own hair, and then pointed at her friend! GOOD JOB GRACE!! She just told me her friend pulled her hair! I was floored! So, another good day.

Until tomorrow :)

Amanda

Grace is SO SMART!

So, among other things that Grace is learning...here's just a synopsis of what she's learned since we went on vacation:

Words: Turtle (she pointed at her brother's shirt and said it without being prompted!), water, Meagan (teen's friend), dog, no (grr...she says this to me all the time, and whenever she sees shoes, she heads over to them while chanting no and then plays with them. She so knows she's not supposed to play with shoes!! Apple, she kinda already knew this but is more articulate with the word. Na-na, which is her friend Jonathan. Bird, she says shoe now, she growls for bear, barks for dog too, says oose for moose, grandma/pa, up/down for the stairs. Oh, and she says vroom vroom for the 4 wheeler. MAMA!!! She says MAMA all the time now!!! I'm so happy!

Actions: Can go up AND down the stairs...the right way!!! Loves swinging in the tire swing...FOREVER! Walked 10 FEET ALONE in a gas station at 3 am in the morning! She wanted Daddy, so I put her on the floor, and he was about 3 ft in front of her andshe walked the whole way!!! Of course she lost her balance a lot, but she caught herself so many times! Gets up on her knees w/o an issue and can bounce like that, LOVES riding a 4 wheeler!!!

I love watching her change, grow, and expand her knowledge! It's definitely a beautiful thing! I'm hoping the therapy she receives at our new location is going to be just as good as what she was receiving here, if not better! Time will tell of course.

Amanda

Finally back home, and Packing...

We are finally home. I can say I'm glad we are home because I don't have to be in that darn truck anymore, but I'm not glad to be home because there's still packing to do! yuck!!!

Today we got home at 5:30 am. Brad drove about 1/4th the way, and I drove the rest. Of course, I had the help of a 5 hour shot drink and an energy drink (size of big red bull). I will NEVER drink those two at the same time EVER again! I was SOOO hyper at 2 am and everyone was so annoyed! I couldn't stop laughing, or talking, or even moving in all actuality. But I did fine. About the time I was on the homestretch I had to chew on a straw and swing my legs back and forth while the truck was in cruise so I could stay alert, but all is well :) We checked phone messages once home, all 11 of them :) I feel so loved! Then off to bed at 6:30 am, then I was up again at 8:15 am for church. I was DEFINITELY not missing church. Loved seeing my friends, loved feeling the spirit, loved feeling normal, well at least for a few seconds. Then the glances came (WOW! You're here!!) and I got to explain why I was back, for how long, where we were moving, why we were moving, and all that :) I felt so loved!!! I asked for help in RS and about 5 sisters said they'd be willing to come help clean the house, so Tuesday is "cleaning day" for us. Monday is Salvation Army pickup, with whatever is left over going to DI. The piano is most likely sold to a sister in our ward, and the chickens are going to be up on Craiglist just as soon as I can get to a friends' house to use their internet! The one I'm on is so old it doesn't have the updates for yahoo email! WOW.

Today I was planning on having a relaxing day since I'd slept all of two hours, but I just couldn't help it. Brad and the teen had gotten a bunch done in the pantry, so I got some more done while Grace was sleeping, we broke for lunch, she went to a friends house so we could keep working, and now, he and I have the pantry completely packed...well, except for the cupboard by the garage (darnit!) The friend that has Grace also brought over some toys and arts/crafts for her since I went overboard the first packing session and packed up all her toys! She also brought some pots/pans/utensils...since those were packed too! OOPS!

Well, we will just continue to pack. Since the pantry is done, we will move to the cupboard, and then probably to the storage shed out back. We will be putting our fishtank, fencing from the dog run (chainlink), and...I think that's it...up on craigslist in hopes we can get rid of it all!!

Shew...I'm beat. Gonna go now!!

Amanda

At a home base with Faster Internet!

Well, I've been absolutely itching to write a long post about our fun, but with slow internet and tons to do, I didn't get a chance to up at the cabin! But now I'm at the in-laws house, so I've got time to post. (That's hoping Grace can be entertained enough by herself).

So we got there on the first of July at 5 am. Wow, that was crazy early. We had finished packing the storage at 11 pm, drove around aimlessly or a couple hours trying to find the drop off site for Uhaul, found it, fast forward to 3 am where Brad pulled off the side of the road and said, "I'm tired, I need to sleep." We had been headed to the cabin at the time...and right when he laid his had down, Grace started to stir in her carseat (which usually leads to crying/whining). So, as badly as I wanted to sleep to, we switched and I drove the rest of the way. Shew, we skipped over that could have been disaster! It seemed especially dark that morning, which was scary because an animal could have jumped out at any minute, but we were safe...this time! We got there at 5 am, Grace laid down till 10 am (so did I at about 7 am), and then enjoyed the family.

Sunday...We went zip lining. I didn't do it. Too cold, too fast, TOO HIGH!! But we watched, got eaten by mosquitos, watched some more, and finally headed home. Then a family member's dog ran off, so we were up in the mountains, bear/mountain lion/wolf territory at a little before dusk, looking for this darn dog! About an hour later, it just came waltzing up the walk like nothing happened. GRR. But I'm just glad we found her.Hm...I have forgotten some days...

Monday the family went to Dad Creek Lake, which is the lake right above the pond where we do Zip Lining. This is the day I took Grace to the hospital for her "what I thought" strep. It turned out being pneumonia. So, when I was going to Dillon to take Grace to the hospital (for her pneumonia that I thought was strep) we have to go a pretty long ways. There is a dirt road coming from the cabin onto the main dirt road, and usually there's a bridge. But when the propane delivery truck came to the cabin, he went across the bridge (even though he was SUPPOSED to go through the creek) and broke it. So we've had to drive through the creek, which comes up to the bottom of the truck, and so when I did (with bald tires) and then got on the main dirt road (that also has TONS of rock on it) I almost fishtailed right off the road! I was SO scared! I was going into a turn at 20 mph so I thought I'd be ok, but the brakes still wet and the bald tires...shew...I was so nervous from that point I drove 20 mph the rest of the way down the dirt road (you can usually drive it at 45-50 mph). I even stopped at someone else's ranch in hopes they could check my tires/brakes because it kept jerking to the side and everything, but they weren't home. It was just me and Grace in the truck, so I didn't mind going slow. Shew was I scared though. And at the hospital, she became everyone's favorite!! She'd flirt, giggle/laugh and just be so cue they were all really nice to her. And after about 5 hours we were discharged (they did two chest x-rays which she stood so well for, and got a sticker and lollipop afterwards!), they gave me a sandwich and pop because I told them I was tired and didn't know if I'd make it back to the cabin w/o eating fast food first. We also did fireworks some day, but I don't remember when.

Well, we are pretty much updated. I gotta go do laundry. We are now in town, going to buy 4 new tires, and if it goes my way, be headed home. But, I'm assuming it will go Brad's way, and we will be here for a few days more doing...I don't know what. I just really want to get done with the move. I've got lots of paperwork I've got to get in CA, so I just want to get there and get it done.

Amanda

Fun stuff for sure :)

Today was fun :) I think the highlight for me was all the girl time I had with family while all the guys were out on a trek with the ATV's. We spent hours just gabbing, laughing, oohing and aahing over the babies, and eating!! Today I also mapped out all the stores, fun places and our apartment on a map, so I now know where everything is :) I'm super excited to get the rest of our stuff to the new place, start life in an apartment, and look for our new dream home. I'm SO happy because we found one with 4 acres and 5? bedrooms (maybe 7), which means a sewing room for me, play/homeschool room for Grace, and a guest room for family. I just can't WAIT to go see what the house looks like!!! We got a realtor that is out searching for houses in the parameters that we've set, so we'll see what she's found when we finally land in our new place for good!

I think the biggest event of the day for Brad were his two SUPER HUGE bonfires! I mean, seriously, they were both 7 times his height. Today, we did "super clean" of the cabin/outside, so the men were yanking out nasty sagebrush and burning it. Well, of course, my pyro husband wanted bonfires, so this evening, after the sun went down, he started his fires :) He's always SO happy to do that!! And I was lucky enough to get some time to go on a walk with two of the ladies of the house, so that was an awesome walk/talk. All in all, a great day!

Grace walked SO much today!! Of course it wasn't like, real...it was the "ok, go to so and so!!!" Drunk walking, every so often falling walking, but still!! She walked about 10 steps each time, so I'm super excited! And she's got more things she's learning (words) and today with her Aunt she learn how to "roll" her arms like the wheels on a bus!

It's now dark out, the hot tub (horse watering trough that is HUGE...10 adults can fit) is hot, and I'm ready to go soak with the girls and then play a couple games with the family before bed!

Amanda

Update but not Part two of move!

Sorry I've been so sadly sporadic!! We are still in Mountain land and having fun ALL THE TIME EVERY DAY, so I don't have much time to jump on here and update. But, updates:

Grace has two teeth coming in! I know I wrote about the first one coming in, but now there's the other one on the opposite side!! WOW!! Sadly, she's got pneumonia. We've thought it was just a cold for the past two weeks, and finally I took her to the ER today to get her checked out. 4 hours later, after two chest xrays, blood tests, and RSV swabs, we figured out it was pneumonia. So of course that's no fun, but I'm just glad we figured it out.

Other than that, we've just been having fun. Zip-lining, climbing up mountains in the back of a truck bed, getting dirt in my face while driving our ATV, and hiking through mountains that I'll bet are FILLED with dangerous animals just watching our every move.

All in all, this has been a pretty good trip so far. Other than taking Grace to the ER today, she's not been in her carseat, so I'm so happy! She's gotten a much needed break. Of course, we've gotten ours too.

Sorry I haven't been updating about canning, preserving, drying, or anything like that...we've been in the middle of a serious move/vacation, so you all will have to just be patient :)

Amanda

The first half

So, the first half, well, more than half, of our stuff has been moved. Wow, it was crazy insane and if I'm ever moving again, I'm getting people to move me! We were a day late leaving and other than four of my husbands' sons friends coming over (along with the son and daughter in law) it was only us packing the truck. Upon arriving at our new destination (two vehicles, so we were both exhausted because we couldn't nap while the other drove) we started putting everything in storage at 5 pm...and didn't get out of there until 11 pm. Then...we couldn't figure out where the U-Haul storage truck drop off location was, so we drove around for quite some time...2 hours later we were just going to sleep in the back of the truck, but luckily a cop drove by and helped us find the drop off location. So of course we were headed to our vacation after dropping the truck off! And now, here I am updating while on vacation!!!

What's next to come? Heading back to CA to load the rest of the stuff, and then back to our new location for good :)

Amanda

Water Therapy...the BEST EVER!

06/23
This day I can say was definitely the best. Why, you ask? Because of the awesome thing that Grace did on this wonderful day!! She stood up, nice and tall...by herself (while leaning on the bar)...and fell/jumped into the pool!!! WOW! I'm so sad to say that I don't have enough pictures of it all because we were talking to another mother there. But the memories will forever be in my mind, because I was so lucky enough to be able to see her stand there, so tall and proud, and when the therapist open her arms towards Grace, she went for it!!! She had the trust of the world on her heart, and fell into her therapists arms!

The above picture is how she usually walks now :) Holding onto the noodle makes it a real balance test for Grace. She's got to use her core to keep her upright, especially when the noodle moves left or right. She does SO great walking this way!!
And here's Grace walking with just holding hands. Actually, today was awesome for another reason too because she stood by herself for 8 seconds, and took 6 steps by herself in the water! Congratulations Grace!
Here's the part where she pushes off the wall and kicks. She doesn't like the whole kicking part, but we still use this a lot because it's good for her leg muscles, and hopefully her coordination.
And here's the beautiful part of her therapy today. I wish I would have had all my attention on her, but there was a mother that we were talking to. But what I got to see, and what I got to take pictures of, is just beautiful. Here she is turning from facing away from Elaina. You are so awesome Grace. I'm just so proud of you...To have the trust you do to turn yourself on that wet tile, and not get scared, or to cry or even whimper...you are so Brave!!
And here she is facing forward. From here, she leaned back on the bar, waited about 5 seconds, and then Elaina stepped back, opened her arms and said "come on Grace!" and Grace leaned forward and fell right into the arms of her therapist with a big splash to boot! YEAH!!!

This was an awesome therapy session. I was so glad to be able to see her just into the water because it showed her bravery :) I love you Grace.

Amanda

Park Play

06/24
We just absolutely love going to the park! And what better than to have our friends there to play with :) On this particular day, Grace had SO much fun playing with her friend Keri! She absolutely loves her friend, and I love watching the two of them play together.

We are definitely going to miss Keri and her family. We will definitely be keeping touch because they have been such a positive impact in our lives.


Amanda

Update on Grace!!

She got her nails painted!!! WOW!!! This is her first time ever, but it wasn't with me! Today she spent some time with a very close friend while I packed, and that special friend (Keri) got to paint her nails. It was extra special for Keri because she never got the chance to paint her daughter's nails before she passed away, so that was kinda "taken care of" by painting Grace's :) There will be an update with pictures...sometime!

Keri's been so great watching Grace for me while we pack everything. And she just loves Grace, so it's no hassle for her!! It's so cute...right when Grace sees her she lunges!! And when it's time to go, she reaches so far for Keri!!

Amanda

Ok, Change of Plans!!

I know I said I'd be off blogland, but I've changed my plans...what's new!

First of all, I won't put too many details up, but we're moving!! Idaho Falls, here we come. That's why we've been so super busy and I haven't been blogging. But because I'm going to make this into Grace's journal every two years (bind it), I better update!

Changes in the garden of course, and in one day we've packed the living room, family room, dining room, and kitchen..WOW! And can I just say that I LOVE packing!! Weird, I know!!

Grace is cutting a tooth!!!! WOW! It's her third to the back on her right side. I've been worried she didn't have this tooth on either side, as well as not on the bottom on either side, so I got such a blessing tonight by seeing a little white spot!

Hm...what else...I think those are pretty much the huge things for us. WAIT!!! I forgot!!! I pulled one of the potato plants out because it was starting to die, and sadly, there weren't any HUGE potatoes, but there was one about the size of...a gumball? And then there were about 4 more that were the size of peas!

Well, I'm not going to update all this tonight with their own posts because after a day of packing, my feet ache! So I'm going to kick my feet up, eat some beef jerky, and watch Supernanny!!

Amanda

Time Off

Starting Monday, I will be forgoing my normal routine of blogland. I will be taking a much needed break from the computer :) I'm actually kinda excited about it. But don't worry. I'll be sure to take TONS of pictures of all the fun things we're doing while on "computer vacation" so you all can see when I return to the "comfy chair" in front of the computer.

Amanda

Our Garden REALLY up to date

06/21

This garden is crazy. I love how big everything has gotten, and I just love going out there and taking pictures because it seriously changes daily.

The peas are slowly dying, and the green beans are becoming monsters...I swear, someday I'm going to wake up and they'll be climbing the house, and knocking at the back door!
Check it out! The feeler got all the way up and down the sprinkler. That will probably be cut off if it starts to interfere with the sprinkler doing it's half revolution for the garden.

Here's the tomatoes. They are lookin' pretty scraggly, but still growing tomatoes so I'm not gonna complain.

Wow. Lookin' good.

Do you see the little zucchini over in the bottom right of this picture? We've taken off about 4 veggies from all these plants so far.
Do you see the feeler shooting up and over to the left? These things have seriously started grabbing out at everything and anything they can get!

The beets...and the weeds. I know I know, I should get out there and weed, but I just can't seem to find the time, or the drive/desire.

Our pomegranate tree. We've lost quite a few blossoms from the chickens or the sprinklers, so I'm hoping we still get a lot of pomegranates growing.
Here's my potatoes. The grass I was walking on was SUPER soaked so I was too lazy to open the gate, walk through the mud right there and take a picture. This is the best ya get!

Amanda

Brad FLEW!

I am so excited that Brad finally used his birthday present I gave him! It was one pilot lesson, and I was so impatient for him to use it! He used it on the 17th, but I've just now gotten to the post...oh well!! I'm happy to say that he was actually able to fly the plane, which is exactly why I wanted him to have this for his birthday. He's always wanted to fly like a b

She's saying "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" as long as her breath will allow.

There goes that goofy eye...dangit. I just wanted to show her stickin' her tongue out at me!!
Here's Grace being SUPER cheesy waiting for Daddy! Next time, I definitely won't be taking her. The appointment was for 3, he didn't get into the plane till 4, and we didn't leave from there till 5. WAY too long for her to have to wait.
This is what all the controls looked like...the brakes and rutter were so weird (how they work/how you make them work) and I'm just SO glad I didn't go fly with them. I would have definitely freaked out!!

Bleh, dry grass everywhere...I want to see greenery in ALL that brown...

Look at him...kinda scared...kinda happy at the same time!! He said I would have freaked out from the turbulence.

Brad and the pilot. Brad said he was SUPER technical and all business up there, but he was pretty calm and friendly outside of the plane :)

Brad and his pilot checking out the front view through the plane :)

They look like tiny ants...

HA! He went over our house!! That's so awesome...of course, the camera took to long to actually take the picture, so he missed our house, but oh well. He got around the house anyways.
Wow, look at all those millions of houses...kinda crowded, eh? Bleh, I can't wait to get out of this crampy place....
There's the super tiny plane that he flew!! He looked SO cramped in there, but he didn't care because he had FUN!!

All in all, he loved it. He wants to get his pilot license someday, and I'm just glad I was able to get him out there in the clouds like he's always wanted to be. Happy Birthday Honey!

Amanda

Grace's HAT!

06/17/11
Grace absolutely LOVES hats. It's kinda crazy how much she loves hats. Every time she sees one, she lets me know over and over and over. Actually, I think it's pretty cute really. I love that she knows the word, where it goes, and just recently, she's learned how to PUT IT ON!! WOW!!

Here's her face right after putting it on and realizing mom would come over and snap TONS of pictures!!
Daddy was going to help her show off her talent...
TA DA!!! Doesn't she look so proud of herself!! You should have seen me!! Jumping up and down, holding her and jumping up and down, laughing and cheering. I know, it might not be a big deal to most people, but it's a HUGE deal to me!! And she was definitely happy about it too.

Amanda

Our Garden is CRAZY BIG!

06/17/11

This is definitely a much different garden then we're used to having, or at least that I'm used to having!! It just seems to have some MONSTER growth hormones in it! Check out the latest growth :)
Sadly, our peas didn't do as well this year as we'd hoped. They had one batch of peas and were starting to yellow, but that's ok. We're alright with peas since we don't like them that much anyways!
Look at the little pea pods! I just LOVE coming out every day and seeing the difference in the sizes!
Look at that TINY bell pepper! It's so weird that this year, the plants are all smaller (except the green beans) and they produce already, when last year, they got HUGE and then produced. I'm wondering if it's because of the weird weather we've been having.

There's our tomatoes. Again, a small plant with growth already happening! Crazy plants!
Can you see the tiny tomatoes? So stinkin' cute!
Our squash and zucchini section. Tons of yellow blossoms, and we've already picked the first crop of the season!
Look at that crooked neck squash!! YUM! I can just taste it after just coming off the barbeque with a bit of spice on it.
Broad view of the tomatoes. Look really drab but that's ok. It's not the size that matters.

Above are our beets! And again, some sort of squash plant that I don't remember!! Darn those weeds!
Our pomegranate branch/tree! It's blooming like CRAZY!!
Here's the section that I'm most proud of this year! My potatoes!! I don't know why but they started to flower...I hope that's whats supposed to happen.

Here's a close view of the beautiful flowers!

And look what decided to grow in with my potatoes?! A squash or zucchini!! I didn't plant it there, so we'll see what turns up!

A wonderful garden...I just love all the green

Amanda

Grace's Water Therapy again!

06/16/11
This week for water therapy, she wasn't able to go in the water since she'd just gotten her tubes in her ears. Daddy came with us this time, which is good because it wasn't a good day for mommy! Grace was whiny most of the time, and super clingy. I swear, her hands are as sticky as octopus tentacles!

Here's Gracie girl taken a walk on the treadmill!! She was NOT happy about getting suited up for this, but after getting on the treadmill she did pretty well. She's got a foot that REALLY turns out to the side when she walks, but we've been told **fingers crossed** that it will turn forward once she's actually walking all the time.
I love this picture :) It's like those pictures you take at the beach when Daddy/child are walking and you take the behind pictures of them! Except this one is of her water therapist and her!!
This is what we're supposed to be doing at home. Working on her walking with anything besides our hands. This is tough because she doesn't have as much support this way, so it's something that consists of a lot of ups and downs with a bit of whining in-between!
And here's Elaina trying to keep "sticky hands Grace" away from her legs! Grace was SO ready to leave that she was headed for the door, but it wasn't time yet!

All in all, she did great. Even with all the whining and everything, she still did a wonderful job. I'm always proud of her, regardless of how little or how much actual therapy she does!

Amanda

Grace's low Muscle Tone

06/13/11
So with Grace's 7Q36 gene deletion comes low muscle tone, and even though we knew this, it just never occurred to us that it would be that big of a deal. It's kinda like when doctors tell you "oh you could see this as a symptom" but then you NEVER see it, so you just forget they told you. Yeah, that's how we were with the whole "low muscle tone" thing. But then, like with everything else in life, you come to a point where something happens during the day, even if just a minute in your fleeting day, that you notice something you've never noticed before. Like the pictures below! This is her second time in her jumper, and why we didn't notice this the first time, I don't know! Check out her legs...



Do you see how scrawny they look? I mean, yeah, she's got some chub. But the lack of muscle, the lack of... "bulk" is what we're looking at. That's the "low muscle tone." There's nothing that we can do about it. There's nothing bad about it...well, kinda. You see, with low muscle tone, she's not as capable to bear weight, obviously, which is why she's not walking yet! That's just my assumption of course. And of course, if anyone knows me, they know I do EXTENSIVE research online after finding out something! So, after my research, I realized that low muscle tone, also known as "Hypotonia" can cause speech delays, which she has, and they also have delays in self feeding, which she has. Also, she's NEVER liked it when we do stretches that have to do with her quads! We've worked on straightening her legs out straight for a long time, but she always fusses, strains, and will kink her legs back to angles before I blink!

What do I do with this information? Not much. I'm not going to freak out about it (for once). I think, like Brad tells me, "know the information, realize it and accept it, and then let it go." So that's what I'm going to do. I will be more determined to do strength exercises with her, to work on stretching, and to work on feeding skills, but other than that, she'll get the task when she's ready. She'll learn how to walk when her body thinks she's ready, and maybe she can't feed herself now because I keep hand-feeding her!!! (I know I'll definitely have to read this on a bad day!)

I kinda like her frog legs :) I think they are super cute!! And I love them just the way they are!

Amanda