Saturday, March 27, 2010

Busy Week on the Go

Hope you have had a good week.  Ours was quite nice. 

Last weekend I got to have a day/night away in Raleigh.  My first roommate in college is getting married so I went to her bridal shower and bachelorette party last Saturday.  It’s always fun to hang out with old friends. 

Instead of preaching at our church Sunday morning, Drew did a pulpit exchange with a friend in Asheboro on Sunday morning.  Since I was out of town and Drew was headed out of town, Drew’s brother Ed and his fiancĂ© Jamie came up to watch the kids.  They took them outside which is the best way to our kids’ hearts.  I know Will and Lindy had fun and Will has been saying ‘Ed’ all week.  Jamie must be a hard word because what he says sounds nothing like it!

Tuesday was a busy day for us.  Lindy had PT at 9am in the morning.  We all rode into town together and Drew and Will dropped Lindy and I off.  Lindy did well at PT.  Our therapist said she felt great.  She said if she continues to do so well and feel that loose that we can decrease her to once a month.  We are going to start working hard on steps.  Steps are tricky because of her vision.  Drew and Will came and picked us up and we headed to get pictures taken of the kids.  They were their 2.5 year old pictures and Easter pictures.  They turned out great.   After pictures we met up with Ed, Jamie, and Drew’s sister Anna for lunch.  After lunch the kids and I headed home and all the Southern kids went to visit their grandmother.  Then Anna brought Drew home and stayed to play with the kids and eat dinner. 

Wednesday morning we had speech therapy and we actually got Lindy evaluated for speech services.  I don’t have the official report or remember the official numbers but she was in the normal range for receptive language and showed a moderate to severe delay in expressive language.  Not a great shock but I think she is more moderate than severe.  She didn’t get credit for a couple things because I wasn’t sure about some of the questions.  Lindy does have words, quite a few, but she talks mostly when she is prompted.  Anyway we signed her up for services and hopefully she’ll blossom in her language like Will has.   After evaluating Lindy, Will had his regular speech session.  He did great.  He said almost everything she asked him to.  His speech has taken off.  It’s pretty crazy how much he talks now.  He says two word phrases all the time and is adding in some longer ones.  The other day he said “help sissy applesauce’ when he saw me helping Lindy.  I got him to then say, “Mama help sissy eat applesauce.’  He has got a ridiculously sweet little voice so it’s fun to hear him talking!  Lindy’s voice is so raspy because of her paralyzed vocal cord.  She sounds so funny!  She has recently started saying some two word phrases too.  She pretty consistently says “Hi mama’ or ‘Bye bye Dada’ and has started saying “glasses off’ as well. 

Wednesday afternoon we had hearing therapy with Chris.  Lindy got to play in the dirt and plant a  little flower.  We were introducing some new vocabulary words.  She loved making a mess! 

Thursday the kids got to go to the mall shopping with me.  They did pretty well but I think they get tired of sitting in the stroller so long.  I decided I didn’t want to sit in the house all day so we went to look for a new dress for me. 

Finally yesterday we loaded up and headed down to Charlotte.  We first stopped to visit some friends who have moved to a nursing home in Charlotte.  I think it wore them out to just watch Will and Lindy but I think they enjoyed seeing them.  Then we headed to GrandBob’s in the afternoon.  Last night I got to go to their church consignment sale.  I got in with Suzette and got first pick of all the clothes.  I got a ton of stuff for $43!  It definitely helps supplement their summer wardrobes.  I wish I got an entirely new wardrobe each season! 

Today we met Mimo and Aunt Anna for lunch and we got to play outside a bit.  Will fell and scraped up his knee again.  The first skinned knee was healing and he ripped the scabs off and tore it open again.  It might be a long summer of skinned up knees at the rate he’s going.  They both passed out as soon as we started driving home.

The only other news is that the runny noses are back.  Will’s has been running a tiny bit since his last cold but yesterday morning someone turned the faucet back on full blast.  Lindy has had some snot too.  They really seem fine and I really think they have allergies.  We’ve been outside a lot this week and there are all kinds of things blooming right now.  I’m going to have to look into some allergy medicine soon.  The snot is out of control!

We  had a fun and busy week and the kids enjoyed seeing their aunts, uncles, and grandparents so much!  Now I need to get the house cleaned this week for Easter and our visit from Nana and Papa next weekend!

Me (the incredibly short one), Nicole, Julie, Joanna (the bride to be) and Heather celebrating the upcoming nuptials.DSCN1269Will has played all week up in the chair with these balls.  DSC_1088  Inventing new ways to play with the pop-up tent.DSC_1090 Planting her first flower with Chris.DSC_1093 DSC_1095 Lindy was being silly on the car ride to Charlotte!DSC_1104Will stood at the door saying ‘outside’ until GrandBob took him out to play basketball!DSC_1112 The silly girl.DSC_1118 Lindy and GrandBob picked me a flower.DSC_1128 DSC_1133 DSC_1134 DSC_1144 Lunch with Mimo and Aunt Anna today.DSC_1151 DSC_1153DSC_1157 DSC_1159 DSC_1167 DSC_1173 DSC_1184

Don’t forget about our March for Babies walk!  We have less than a month and we are still aiming for our $3500 goal.  If you have been thinking about donating, go ahead!  It’s the perfect time!!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Winner Announced!

Random.org choose number 6, so the winner of my first blog giveaway is Lynn! Congratulations Lynn! The Heirloom set should be coming your way soon!

Friday, March 19, 2010

March Madness 2010

It’s that time of year again…where basketball is on in our house for four days straight. I haven’t watched much this year though. But our beloved Wake Forest Demon Deacons squeaked out an overtime win Thursday night. Go Deacs!

The kids have had a rather quiet week but I sure have been busy. Lindy had hearing therapy on Tuesday morning and the kids had a ball opening Easter eggs. We are working hard on the ‘o’ sound so we have been saying ‘open’ a lot lately. I finally brought up some eggs for Will to play with and he’s had a ball with them. He says ‘egg’ pretty clearly.

I have been busy doing March of Dimes Ambassador stuff. I delivered goody bags to one of the NICU’s in town and had to give a speech at an elementary school. The community director emailed me today with a couple more speeches. I’m getting a little tired of hearing myself talk :)

The weather has been beautiful this week. Wednesday we ran an errand and stopped by the park for a few minutes. I pretty much can only go to the park with Drew. I can’t be at the bottom of the slide and helping Lindy crawl up the equipment at the same time. The kids had a blast crawling up and going down the slide, over and over! We were able to get out today too – this time we actually had to put shorts on since it was so warm. The kids are loving their swing set this year. Both are figuring out how to climb up the ladder and they love the slide. They have been swinging a lot too. All the hard work Daddy did last year is being put to good use this year!

Lindy and Will did get haircuts today. We went to town and went to Target first and then they got their haircut. They both did great today. I had them sitting on my lap but neither minded Anita messing with them. I hate taking them to get haircuts and hate paying for it, but they look so cute afterwards. I’m more of a once or twice a year kind of girl and they are getting theirs cut every two months.

We had a couple bad diaper days this week. One morning I went to change Lindy and found her diaper had exploded. The actual diaper. All the absorbent stuff inside was everywhere. It was a mess to clean up. She had footed pj’s on so thankfully it was contained inside that. Later that evening at the park Will went poop and we waited to get home to change it. I guess the sliding on poo over and over will make it come out the sides of the diaper. Learned a lesson on that one. Then the next morning both kids were soaking wet. They even had to have their sheets changed. I think it was a freak thing because they haven’t soaked any diapers in forever.

I’ve lost track of how many bed changes Lindy has had this week. Monday night she went to sleep fine but woke up crying a little later. We could hear she was getting really worked up so I picked her up and rocked her. But she wouldn’t go back to sleep so I took her back to her bed and she threw up. Another night I put them down and she immediately started crying and eventually made herself throw up. Then the urine soaked bed. It’s been a tough week for Lindy’s bed! I even woke up sick in the middle of the night one night. Hopefully no more throw up for awhile. We never really figured out why Lindy is getting sick. Other nights she goes to bed completely normal. She keeps us on our toes.

And now for some pictures……

Sharing a toy…a rare eventDSC_0958Cute Will pictures.DSC_0976 He was matching the animals up with the pictures in the book.DSC_0980 We’ve had some temper tantrums this week. They are getting good at them. Lindy likes to hold her breath and fall to the ground. Will immediately falls to the ground and has added in some nice rolling around moves to his tantrums.DSC_0964 DSC_1019 Lindy has had some crazy hair this week.DSC_0973 DSC_0985 Will learned to blow on his hot food this week. By the way, he was eating spaghetti squash and had no clue he was eating a vegetable!DSC_1022 By the end of St. Patrick’s Day Lindy had pulled off all her clovers so she had a no leaf clover.DSC_1026 I gave the kids pink lemonade and it didn’t go over well.DSC_1028 Good times at the fridge together.DSC_1033 Good times in mommy and daddy’s bed this morning.DSC_1035 New haircuts….DSC_1044 DSC_1049 Both kids got boo boo’s outside while playing today. And I did too. Three of the four of us were bleeding. The kids got skinned knees and I got something in my thumb. We still had fun outside. Will wore his first band-aid today.DSC_1080 DSC_1077 Future t-ball stars, even if Will refuses to hold the correct end of the bat.DSC_1070 DSC_1065 The kid’s hairdresser told me how to get rid of Will’s dry scalp. She said to put baby oil on him before a bath and then scrub his head in the tub. Here’s the slick Willy version of his hair!DSC_1085

Don’t forget to enter the blog giveaway. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Sunday, March 21st. I announce the winner on Monday morning.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from our lucky charms.

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Dont forget to check out my first blog giveaway. Click here to see the cute picture frames that All Children's Furniture is giving away. Only six people have entered so you have a great chance of winning!

Friday, March 12, 2010

First Giveaway! Free Super Cute Picture Frames!

Lindy and Will are 2.5 years old and still happily sleeping in their cribs. I suppose the day will come when one climbs out or I just finally feel the urge to take them out of their cribs. I don't feel the urge just yet though! We bought the cribs that turn into toddler beds and eventually full size beds. We hope they will use these beds for a long time to come!

Of course I occasionally like to check out bedding for these new, future beds they will one day have. I found a good website for kids bedding, All Children's Furniture, that has lots of cute bedding sets. Some of the ones I really like are:

I love pink/brown and blue/brown combinations and I love the fact that they are matching. All Children's Furniture also has some really pretty and modern duvet covers that I really like.

Allchildrensfurniture.com has graciously agreed to give away a free set of Trend Lab Two Picture Frame Sets like this one to one of my lucky blog readers:

They have 21 color combinations you can choose from, should you be the lucky winner of my first blog giveaway!

The contest will begin today and will last until Sunday, March 21st. I'll announce the winner on Monday, March 22nd.

To enter the contest you need to head over to All Children's Furniture (click on those words) and pick out your favorite set of Trend Lab Two Picture Frame Set. Leave me a comment telling me which pair you like. Make sure to leave an email address so I know how to get in touch with you, if you win! This blog giveaway is only open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

Want more entries?!

1 extra entry - Become a follower of my blog
1 extra entry - Blog about this giveaway on your blog
1 extra entry - Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter
1 extra entry - Put it in your status on Facebook
1 extra entry - Donate to our March for Babies team


Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry.
If you are already a follower or have already donated to our March for Babies team, leave a separate comment telling me.

Remember this giveaway ends March 21st. I'll pick a winner using random.org and I'll notify the winner by email.

Good luck!

Warm Weather Week

It feels like spring has arrived – but I’m not getting too hopeful.  I know it can go back to being cold at anytime.  We did enjoy our near 70F days by playing outside.  It did us all good to get some fresh air.

Lindy had PT on Tuesday morning.  She had a couple meltdown moments but overall she did pretty well and worked hard.  It feels so long between sessions now that we only go every other week.  Drew was headed out of town that morning and I was going to have to take Will with me – something I don’t enjoy doing.  I talked to Uncle Ed and soon-to-be Aunt Jamie and they agreed to watch him while I took Lindy.  They live very close to the hospital so I just dropped him off on the way.  I think he was a little confused.  I’ve never dropped just one of them off somewhere.  He was standing at the front door just watching me drive off which was a little sad.  But I knew he would be fine.  I hear he got to play on the piano and the steps which would constitute a great morning for Will! 

Wednesday morning Will had speech therapy.  He did not talk as much this week but overall we notice a lot more talking from him.  Our early intervention service coordinator was here so he might have been acting a little shy in front of her.  He was also very interested in playing with her toys and not talking.  We did talk about Lindy getting a speech evaluation and Lawson starting services with her too.  I figure we should take advantage of the fact that we have a speech therapist coming to our house every other week.  She used to work with cochlear implant and hearing aid children at her last job so I think it will be a good fit. 

Wednesday afternoon we had hearing therapy but we didn’t actually do any therapy.  North Carolina has a couple great programs for kids with disabilities.  Our vision and hearing therapies are all free to us.  Chris works with the North Carolina Early Intervention for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing but there is another program called Beginnings.  Beginnings is a parent advocate group here in NC.  Terri from Beginnings came out when we first got Lindy home and explained all about hearing loss and what forms of communication we could choose for Lindy.  She fades out after that until you start talking about transitioning kids into preschool and the school system.  We talked to her for almost two hours on Wednesday.  We learned a lot of stuff about her preschool choices and all the IEP meetings.  We looked at an IEP so we could be a little bit comfortable with it.  Terri knows the laws inside and out and will be coming to all of our IEP meetings with us.  She will be there in case we need her to help fight for Lindy and what she needs and deserves.  Of course we hope we have no problems but it is great to know she is there and available to us.  It’s hard to believe we are even talking about all this IEP stuff – how can they be old enough to go to preschool?

Today we had vision therapy with Lesley.  She works for Governor Morehead which is another free state program for kids with vision loss.  We worked on colors which is great.  Lindy kind of struggles with matching up same color objects.  She has started saying the color names but she needs to learn which ones are which!

Speaking of talking, we feel like the kids are talking a lot more.  Will knows all his colors and can say ‘blue’, ‘geen’, and ‘ellow’.  I haven’t really heard him say ‘red’ yet.  Lindy will also say the words if you ask her to.  It is so cute to hear them talk.  We’ve been working hard on getting both kids to say ‘o'.'  Neither one of them really purses their lips when they say it.  We’ve talked all week about ‘open’, ‘moo’, ‘boo’, etc….  Wednesday night Will was playing with a Winnie the Pooh phone and I told him to put it away.  He turned it off and Winnie says' ‘Goodbye’.  Will repeated him and said ‘Goodbye’.  It was cute.  We see both of them talking more, but Lindy has to be prompted more to say things.

Don’t forget to support us in our March of Dimes walk.  We have 14.9% of our goal!  Thanks to the Grecos, Birbicks, and Joanna for recent donations.  We had a fundraiser dinner at church last weekend and raised money for our team.  We had the 1st Annual Palmyra UMC Chili Championship with 9 people entering chili into the contest.  Congrats to Nancy who was picked by three judges as having the best chili!  We appreciate the people who did come support us.  I think everyone there had a great time tasting all the different chili!

DSC_0865 Lindy pretty willingly poses for me these days.  Poor Buddy just hasn’t embraced the camera yet.DSC_0866 But Daddy can always make them smile!DSC_0871 Our chili entries last weekend.DSC_0888 The highly esteemed judges.DSC_0880 Not eating chili at the chili contest!  Cody, the other boy in the picture was a preemie as well.  He weighed 1lb 13oz at birth.  He’s now 10 or 11 years old!DSC_0884 DSC_0886 Nancy, the winner, receiving her gift certificate to a local restaurant.DSC_0894Playing outside in the warm weather!DSC_0895  Yeah, Daddy is home from the grocery store!DSC_0899 DSC_0901 DSC_0903DSC_0908Swinging – sorry it’s blurry.DSC_0914DSC_0927DSC_0919    Sliding – Blurry too.  Can’t catch them in motion without it being blurry!DSC_0932DSC_0923  Waving at the cars driving by.DSC_0942  I love when Lindy sleeps like this.  Reminds me of a frog!DSC_0946 Will was so excited to have the letter ‘A’ on his shirt.  He talked about ‘A’ all day long.  He kept finding the ‘A’ magnet and holding it up to his shirt.  He was still talking about ‘A’ this morning!  He loves the alphabet these days.DSC_0948 Chillaxin on the couch watching a little of the ACC basketball tournament.DSC_0951 Lindy doesn’t watch tv, she just follows us around.DSC_0952 I can’t get enough of my babies giving kisses to each other.DSC_0953 This one is blurry and off centered as well, I wasn’t fast enough to get it focused.  But it’s so cute I’m posting it anyway.  I told Will to give Lindy a hug and he laid his head on her shoulder.   Then she put her hand on his back.  TOO CUTE!DSC_0954

Have a great weekend!