Grace's Friends!

So we found some special friends in DI, and we had to let Grace have these wonderful friends!!!

 Aren't they so cute?!  She was having so much fun checking out her little friends, and she kept giggling at them over and over.

 She had to see that I was looking at her, and so of course I had to show her that I was paying full attention!

 And then she couldn't resist herself...

She had to give a LEAN HUG!!!!

SO CUTE!  Even when her shirt is super dirty from being sprayed by Daddy while sliding around on the trampoline in the heat.  Silly girlie!

Amanda

Dance Festival Parade

Yesterday we got to go to the parade and it was so exciting!  It wasn't too far away, seeing how it's 4 minutes away on Main Street!

 Isn't she so cute with her little hat on?  :)

 She absolutely loved watching the dancers.  They really kept her attention.  All of the groups that danced in the parade were beautiful together!!

 I thought this was awesome, and almost missed it.  I couldn't believe how great Grace was able to pay attention.  She sat there in her stroller the entire time, which was about an hour from the beginning singers (before the parade).

 I liked all their instruments!!

 AH!!!  There's the cutie!!

Hi Beautiful Girl.  You are mine and daddy's heart :)

 We all got to stand up when the flag came!  I was so proud to see that flag go by.

 Miss Rexburg 2012!  Grace loved her so much!

 It was a little too late but Grace wanted to wave to her anyways.

 China dance group.

 Look at the girl in the front, second from the left...SKINNY!!!

 France dancers.  They were awesome!

 But they must have been SO HOT!  It was 95 degrees.

 USA dance team.  I wonder why USA had to be cowboys!

 Indonesia.  They were pretty, but didn't do much dancing near us.

 Japan.  They did really good dances as well.

 Russia.  I LOVED watching these guys because one of them in particular did some CRAZY moves!  Toe touches, donkey kicks but his feet went to his head, and all sorts of flips.

 Russia again.  I really enjoyed watching them because of the one man that was doing the extraordinary dance moves.  And to wear all that, in that heat, takes real dedication!

 Grace was so excited throughout the whole thing!  She danced around for a while, and then in this picture she was walking the line of the parking space!  She did really well!

And here she is dancing her tooshy off :)  Sweet girl!

Love you bunches Grace!

Mommy

Play Day!

We had so much fun this morning!  After going on a morning walk and to play at the park while it's cool, we had some friends over for a play day!  3 women and 5 kids!  It's was so great to see Grace interacting with children outside of school and church, and it seemed like she had a fun time.  Of course it was a bit overwhelming for her, but I think as we continue to have play days, she will get used to the idea, used to the loud noises, used to children not always wanting to share or if they are yelling, and she will not be as scared.  Now she's taking a nap, and we will be going to therapy soon, then the library and to DI for some shorts.  I've finally decided to break my ban on shorts...it's just WAY TOO HOT for jeans.  So I'll just be sure to lather her up with sunscreen everyday.

Amanda

Oh Sunday

Little Miss Grace woke up in such a great mood!  I love it when she's happy, laughing and wanting to play!  After Daddy got her out of bed and jumped back into bed, she climbed up with us and we all laid there watching the fan go "wooonnnddd  wond."  It was so fun just relaxing with her :)  But of course it's not short lived.  So we had breakfast (banana chocolate chip bread) and then went on a walk to throw rocks.  We always go throw rocks at the canal because we get to stand on a bridge, and she loves watching the rocks plop in the water, splash and then make their silly noise.  But today was SO HOT Mommy and Daddy tossed in most of the rocks.  She wasn't happy about the heat either and was super fussy.  So now we're relaxing in the darkness of our house, and while I print out some scripture note taking papers, Grace and Daddy are downstairs watching Sesame Street!  It's already 75 degrees outside!

Church soon :)

I can't wait until 2013 because that means we get to go to church at 9 instead of 1:30!!  HURRAY!!

Amanda

Oh Education Week

I (Mommy) have been going to education week.  Thursday-Saturday I've been going to lots and lots of talks, excited about all the wonderful lessons I've been learning.  And Grace has been visiting with Daddy!  Too bad she hasn't been able to swim because she's been getting better from her ear infection.  But today is the last day for her doses, so from now on, she will get to swim!  And after every swim, alcohol to dry out her ears.

Now education week is over, and it's getting closer and closer to Daddy's hiking trip!!  4 days of hiking with his brother in Montana, and he's getting so excited!!  But, his back is horribly in pain and he's worried that he won't be able to make it. 

This next week or so is going to be pretty busy with his preparations, and I'm busy with getting things ready for Grace's birthday!  Elmo birthday is going to be so exciting!  

That's pretty much it for us.  Staying out of the hot weather as much as we can.

Amanda

New Friend!

I am so oober excited!  We keep going to DI to find some more Elmos for Grace so we will have extras just in case, and TA DA!!!

BIG ELMO!!!  He's one of three new friends...small Elmo and Bert!  Now they are all in their bath (the washing machine), and after drying, they get to play with Grace!!

It was so crazy in DI...screaming, crying, saying Elmo 50+ times in a row, but I couldn't give in because he was DIIIIRRRRRTTTTTYYYYY!

I'm so excited that our trips finally came out with something.

Shew, now we have replacements just in case little Easter Elmo disappears.

Amanda

Pioneer Day!

Well I'm so excited it's pioneer day because Levi Savage is a distant cousin of mine, and so it makes me happy to know I can celebrate his bravery.  We celebrated bright and early in the morning with horseback riding therapy for Grace, this being the last time.  She did great!!!  She trotted twice, and the second time she was cracking up SO MUCH!!  I absolutely love watching her ride, and can't wait until she's older and can take lessons.

So, today for pioneer day I have a bunch of fun things planned!  Here they are:

• We will be going on a "Trek" to a grassy area to have a picnic 
•  reading from my cousins journal (Levi Savage)
•  Grace has a Covered Wagon picture to color
•  watching the Pioneer Day Concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
•  Watching "Sharing a Pioneer Legacy on lds.org
• watching 17 Miracles
• and making "Hardtack," a pioneer flatbread.

 
Sounds exciting right?!
 I got the hardtack recipe from sugardoodle.com
 Pioneer Hardtack

Hardtack is an old-fashioned flatbread or sea biscuit that was popular with pioneers and sailors because it was lightweight, compact, tasty, and stored well. And it is just as delicious today and handy, too, for hiking, backpacking, or snacking. Here is a recipe for hardtack:

4 cups flour (white, whole wheat, graham, rye, barley, or any combination of flours you like)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups buttermilk, yogurt, cream, or sweet milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 400� and measure into large bowl.

2. Mix well and form dough into a ball, then divide dough and roll out a small portion (about the size of a tennis ball) at a time.

3. Roll dough on lightly floured surface as thin as you can. The thinner you roll it, the better the hardtack will taste.

4. Sprinkle rolled-out dough lightly with salt if you wish, cut to any shape desired, and place pieces close together on greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake until edges begin to brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven, turn hardtack over, and bake until it is crisp and dry and lightly browned.

6. As soon as the hardtack is baked, put on rack to cool. Store hardtack in airtight container, and it will stay fresh as long as it is kept dry.

This pioneer hardtack is delicious served plain or with jam, peanut butter, cheese, meat spreads, or whatever you like. Try seasoning the crackers by adding onion powder, cheese, barbecue sauce, bacon
bits, herbs, or spices to the dough.

 

Pictures to come for sure :)

 

 

Amanda 

Busy Monday

Well, first off, Grace has an ear infection.  Left ear, as we suspected because of her sticking her finger in her ear.  I wish she'd stop getting sick!!  But I must say, this was pretty much going to happen because she was swimming almost every day.  So...eh!  It happens :)  She was a stellar patient at the doctors office, she's 26 pounds and 34 inches tall, and she's oh so happy to take her medicine "num, num."  I know, not that good of a name for medicine, but for some reason it's just stuck.

Anyways, we got to run a fun errand for a friend that took us to some beautiful Tetons, and I'm SO glad we were able to go see them!!  We also found the ski resort, which I'm double excited about!  My mom might be coming the first week of January, and so now we know where to take her and she and I can go skiing for the first time together.

So fun!!

Amanda

Grace's IPad Fundraiser

So, I've been trying for a few months now to see if there were any organizations that might donate an I-Pad to Grace so we can work on a new communication style with her.  We've been using verbal and sign language, and she is very good at understanding what we say, but she is having great difficulty communicating verbally to us.  I've done some research on how we can help Grace, and the best thing we can do at this "next step" part of her growth is to get an IPad that has a communication application called: PROLOQUO2GO

Since I haven't received any news back from any of the organizations, I'm forging ahead on my own in hopes that my blog friends, family, and special needs families will support us in this adventure of buying an IPad for Grace.  There is a "donate" button right under my picture and information on the right hand side of the blog if you'd like to donate some amount.  Anything will help.

Here are some screenshots of the application that I got from the apple.com website:

 

 With this application she will be able to pick the boxes that she would like to use to let us know what she wants, and the application will speak for her rather than us having to assume what she wants, or asking her a bunch of questions until we get it right.

This application is $190.00

The IPad that we are hoping to get is $800.

Along with this application there will also be many others, some being:

• Learn To Talk First Words
• iSpeech Toddler Sign Language
• IEP checklist
• ABC Wildlife
• Sparkabilities
• Tap Tap Baby
• Do As Me

That's just a few of the applications that we hope to have on the IPad.  

I am hoping that with the help of all my blogger friends, my family, and other special needs parents, we can help raise money so Grace can get this very much needed IPad.  I'm hoping that by the time she gets into pre-kindergarten, she will be able to communicate enough that people will understand her wants and needs without me having to tell her what to say.  I'm hoping this will give Grace the freedom of expressing her own thoughts and wants without having to go with whatever I say. 

If you have the ability to help, please do.  I know this will help her tremendously.  I've seen what great things an Ipad did for her when her hearing specialist came over and had one.  Even in the 1/2 hour she was here, Grace was learning to follow with her finger on the screen, she understood that if she were to touch the bubble on the screen that it would pop, and that she could make an animal "talk" if she touched it.

I thank you for the time you've spent reading this post, and will be grateful for financial help, prayers, or emails of encouragement!

Amanda

Grace's Horseback Riding

Grace getting to trot with her horse Ol' Grey!!  She LOVES riding her horse, and especially loves trotting.  She does wonderfully, and even though her head looks like she's bobbing around crazily, it's just because the helmet is HUGE, and so it doesn't hold tight.

She is doing so well.  I can't wait until she gets horseback riding lessons.  We probably won't start them until she's older because she's not good with her balance yet.  I wouldn't want her falling to either side when she's riding, and I don't think side walkers are there during riding lessons.  So we'll wait; maybe until she's 5.

You did an absolutely amazing job Grace.  I love you so much, and love your strength that you have.

Amanda

Swimming Like a Big Girl!

Can you believe that my girly is swimming so well like a big girl?!  I haven't even taught her how to do what she will in the video, but she does it like a pro!!

Isn't that just awesome!  I can't wait to put her in swimming lessons.  I think she'll do great.  She can also kick her legs up and down instead of two at the same time.  She can stroke her arms while kicking (but of course she doesn't go anywhere because her tummy is on the ground) and she can blow bubbles.  What a great girl she is!  She swims almost every day...even when it's breezy out.  She doesn't care at all!

Great job sweet pea.

Amanda

Playing With Scuffles

Grace was being so sweet to Grace :)  It was adorable to watch her, but of course when I pull the camera out and she hears it beep, she runs away!

Amanda

Park Play

07/18/12

After sending a package to a friend in CA, we went to the park to play for a bit, but it was so darn hot...and we had friends coming for dinner withink the hour, we hurried home, Grace swam in the pool while I cooked, and then we had our couple friends come over!!

So FUN!!

Amanda

He's Been Found!!!!

I am so happy to announce that we have found our friend ELMO!!!

He was in the laundry basket!!!  Seriously?  I can't believe it.  He must have climbed in there because I know for sure that I didn't put him in there :)

Grace was so happy!!!  Kisses....

and hugs...and then back to her favorite show!

 By the look on her face...can you tell that she's interested?  Can you guess the show??

 SESAME STREET!!!

 All is well.  Our furry friend is found.  Mommy can stop frantically searching, Grace can stop cupping her hands around her mouth and yelling... "EEEEHHHHMMMMOOOO?  WWWWEEEEEHHHHH AWWWW  UUUUUUU?"  Shew...I hope he never gets lost again!

Amanda

WE HAVE A SITUATION!!!

Oh no...I'm so sad to share that Grace's best friend has gone missing.......

ELMO!!!!!

Where are you Elmo?  This is the last picture we took with Elmo...

But as you can see below, he's with her everywhere she goes.

 He loves to be near Grace, and is her lovey.

 Oh no...the last time he was missing was when he got a bath in the washing machine...the time before that he was behind the couch...the time before that he was left in the trailer on the bike...the time before that he was in the truck...the time before that he was left under the bed at the cabin...the time before that he was dropped on the foot rest of the four wheeler...etc.  Poor guy!

I hope we find you soon Elmo!!!

Amanda

New Picture

Well, I'm having trouble once again with uploading pictures, so Grace's header, for now, has to be without a picture.  I tried to fix it but it didn't work.  Darnit.

Amanda

Horseback Riding Today :)

Today was another day of horseback riding, and I think it was the last.  She did great, yet again, and did so well that they did a new position on horseback.  The usual positions are:

1. Sitting forward
2. Sitting to the left
3. Sitting to the right
4. Sitting backwards
5. Laying down facing backwards on stomach
6. Crossing one leg over another, and vice versa
7. Sitting forward and reaching for rings to put onto a whip
8. Sitting backwards and reaching for rings to put onto a whip
9. Sitting forward and backwards and pulling apart pop toys
10. Sitting forward and throwing a ball into a bucket, and then catching it from the therapist
11. Oh!  Another fun one!!  She sang Patty Cake over and over with her therapist while riding without hands!!  "Patty cake patty cake (rolling the arms) bakers man, make me a cake as fast as you can, roll it (more rolling), pat it (patting her hands together), mark it with a G (drawing on her hand with her finger), and put it in the oven (push forward) for Grace and me (arms up in the air)!!!"

It was really cute because after singing the song with her therapist, she would do it in the truck a time or two :)  Sweet girl.

 

She had a bit of trouble with laying down today...she didn't really want to do it and fussed a bit, but her therapist said that was NOTHING compared to the other children and adults she sees.  She was also a bit scared of the new position, which makes sense.

What was the new position today?

Facing forwards, on hands and knees!!!  WOW!!!  That is such great improvement!!  This is a good position for her because it's all about strengthening her core, completely 100%.  I am just so proud of her.

After therapy she got to lead her horse back to the stable :)  It was so cute!  She had the guy that was leading right at the head, then there was her side walker to the left with the lead rope and then Grace holding the end.  It was so awesome, and she was so excited about it.  Of course this was the time that I didn't bring either camera because they were both dead.

My little cowgirl walking her horse back to the barn :)  She will most definitely be having riding lessons when she gets older.

After therapy we went to the store, and another fun thing happened :)  She has now "graduated" from size 3 diapers to size 4!!!  AH!!!  All these little changes, that other people might take for granted, are huge for us, especially when it comes to Grace growing.  Oh, by the way... she's now 25 lbs 13 ounces, and is 34.2 inches (2 feet 10 inches!).

Amanda

Long Time

Wow...I've done so poorly with updating the blog world on our little family.  We were in Utah Thursday and Friday, and came home by 11:30 pm Friday.  We were going to stay until Saturday and go to the zoo, but there ended up being a 50% chance of rain, sooooooo, we went home.  Good because for the next two days it had rained nonstop!  Her eyes are doing well, the turn in is normal and should correct itself, we go back in two months, and other than that we're good.  Brad will have to take her on his own because I will be in school, and can't miss any of these classes since they are for my teaching credentials.  Grace has a little cold because of sleeping under the air conditioning all night at Ronald McDonald...dang it!  

But we are well.  We are enjoying the rain and thunder/lightening :)

Amanda

Please try to put up with our come and go...between therapies, doctor appointments, and family trips to Montana, we are booked a lot of the time!!

More Swimming

We had a friend over yesterday who's daughter was also name Grace!  She was only 2, but oh boy was she a spitfire!  Kenna was over as well, and so we had another fun time with watching the girls swim!  Grace did absolutely wonderful with her swimming, and did leaps and bounds better than I thought she would at this age.  During this swim time, shes slid into the water on her bottom off the side of the pool, can stand up and drop, splashing all around, can sit and rock back with her arms catching her and NOT go head under...and the biggest thing?!

SHE CAN GO FACE UNDER WATER FOR UP TO 8 SECONDS WITHOUT BREATHING AND NOT DRINK UP ANY WATER!!!  It's like...all of a sudden she has figured out that you hold your mouth closed with your deep breath inside, and you don't breathe through your nose until your out of the water.  There were about 20 times that she would put her face underwater, chill there, and then come up as if nothing had changed!  And there was even one time that she put her head down under, pushed off with her arms, and as she was gliding forward, she was kicking with her feet and doing strokes with her arms.  I'm obviously going to have a swimmer on my hands.  It's so funny because I'd JUST showed her how to do the arm strokes one time, and already she gets it!

Great job Grace!!  of course today it's muggy and teasing rain so we can't swim, but that's ok :)  I'll bet if I gave her the chance she'd rather go out there and freeze than to not be able to swim!

Amanda

Swim Swim!

07/09/12

Oh it was a beautifully warm day so of course Grace wanted to go swimming!  I've got myself a water bug for sure, and I'm so excited about it!!

 This is our new pool we bought this day!  It was a great thing to have gotten because our friends were coming over in just a few minutes after we'd gotten it, so Grace got to have a friend to swim with while the rest of the family and friends watched!  She definitely LOVED the attention!

 She wasn't scared at all to get in, and Daddy was so nice because he hooked the hose up to the hot water heater and got half the pool full of hot water so she wouldn't freeze :)

 SO HAPPY!

This is where Daddy and his friend Garron ended up most of the night while Grace and her friend Kenna were swimming!  We had our family friend set come over :)  The couple has 4 kids, but only three came since their oldest was out of state, and we had pizza, swam, watched RV, had ice cream, chatted until 11:30 om, and then finally decided (none of us wanting to really be done) to get on to bed.  It was SO FUN!!!

Grace did great while she was swimming with Kenna too!  She would push herself up on just her arms with her tummy down, so she's floating, and then she'd kick her legs as if she thought she'd go somewhere.  And she'd race around the pool on her arms like that, chasing Kenna around and around!  And whenever we took her out? She'd climb right over the side!  One time she went in head first, totally underwater, and came up laughing!  Silly girl!

Amanda

Home at Last

Well we are finally home.  I had an awesome time at the cabin and was sad to go, but of course you just have to get back to the grind at some point.  I'm not excited at all about it either.  Sometimes it's just nice to not worry about anything except which mountain you are going to have a picnic on!  We had a great time and are really hoping we can have as good a time here!!!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa (mom and dad) Hildreth for the fun time!!

Amanda

4 Wheeling

Shew we went on a LONG trip today on the 4 wheelers.  Well, Grace, Grandma, Grandpa and I went in the pickup to a meeting point, we all had a picnic of hot dogs, pop and baked beans :)  Then I rode our 4 wheeler, and Grace went with Uncle Brian!!  It was a long way home, but she had such a great time with him!  When Uncle Brian, Aunt Lisa and Daddy went their own way up to the meeting point, they saw a bear, Uncle Brian walked towards it, and I would have freaked!  But on our way home all we saw were some elk and a deer.  Truthfully, I'm GLAD that's all we saw!

Now she's in bed, 10 pm (2 hrs late but that's ok), and I'm here updating and going to pinterest next!

Amanda

Montana!

We are in Montana right now.  We have been since Friday :)  And we will probably be here until at least the 5th, if not longer...

BTW!  I can't believe I hit 800 posts!!


Amanda

Wonderful Wednesday

It's been such beautiful weather today!!!   We went to Toddler Class, where Grace did great!!!  Then it was so beautiful outside that we went to the park for an hour!  It was nice and warm with the sun but had a cool breeze that made you just feel so good!  She swung for probably most of the time, but actually asked to get out of the swing and raced over to the slides.  That was neat since she usually just sits in the swing the whole time.  Then we came home, had lunch, she took a nap while I got some homework done, then we got to go to Taco Bell with a friend!  Now Elmo is all gone (Sesame Street), and we gotta find something fun to do to fill the rest of the day.  I'll bet a bike ride is in the works for sure!!

Amanda

Some More Cuteness

06/24/12

So we got a super cute outfit from Dado and Papa, and I love seeing her in it because it's just that cute!

 I told you she was cute!!!

And to add to it?  Braids!!!  She was going to be wearing a hat today, so she got to wear her hair in braids so the hat would actually stay on her head.

Super cuteness.  Thank you Dado and Papa for the cute outfit!

Amanda

Just Cuteness

06/23/12

We've just got some cuteness to show of Grace :)  She was hanging out with her Minnie today that she got from Grandma and Grandpa Hildreth on her first birthday!

 Hi Sweetie!!!  You are so cute with you little Minnie!!  It was such a hot day so I had to put her in the dress.  We don't usually wear dresses because of her dry skin and all the playing on the ground :)

 Coming to show me Minnie :) 

 Awwwwww...KISSES!!!!

 Cheese!!!

 And of course she had to start running away from the camera.  What a silly girl.

Last but not least, the sweetness again :)  Daddy took a great picture, didn't he?  That was such a beautiful smile, with her straght eyes!

Amanda