Our Family camping trip:
We just spent 4 days week with my folks, and my brother's family at the Leavenworth KOA...so "camping" is used loosely here, since we stayed in a lodge with electricity, a bathroom, and cable television, and the kids spent much of the day, riding trikes and scooters, playing hide and seek, and playing in the heated pool. We had a blast! Best of all, it even felt relaxing at times...which is a huge challenge with 3 young girls who all have needs to be met pretty regularly. We have to admit we were a bit envious of my Brother's family who has 2 young kids, but those two kids pretty much fend for themselves, and only need a little reminder here and there, and of course the occasional reassuring hug! Addy LOVED playing with her cousins and is still asking to go Camping again with Kellyn and Andrew (her cousins). Maya has a new passion for black cement pathways...not sure why, but every time she starts walking on one, she loves it and hates to stop walking...at times I have to jog to keep up with her, because I can't simply yell to tell her to turn around and come back:-) Teya had her first dip in the pool and loved swimming with her sisters.
Maya:
Maya has a few weeks at home and then for the month of July has summer school Mon-Thursday mornings from 8-12noon. It has been fun having more time with her, but to truly engage with her can be challenging with my other two girls around seeking attention. Maya will be evaluated this next month by the HANDLE Institute, to help us seek out some therapeutic alternatives to help us work on her numerous sensory processing difficulties. One area that is new to us is a possible vision difficulty. While she has not been diagnosed with one, she fits the criteria for it, and has done well with some of the therapies to help with vision (it is called Cortical Vision Impairment). My mom and I are researching and trying to find toys that will help her attend and engage in activities more...AND it seems to make a BIG difference! I also have tried to feed Maya on her feeding pump at meal and snack times and she is able to eat MUCH faster than ever before AND is tasting a TON more at meal and snack times...so fun to see her explore food! Maya will have a lot of Dr. appointments soon as she is about to turn 5 years old...can you believe it? So lots of regular annual appointments to look forward to. Otherwise, Maya loves the summer because she LOVES sprinklers, being outside, swinging on swings, and sliding down slides, and best of all she is at her healthiest- no bad colds...she is a very happy girl these days!
Addy-
Is still 2, and in the throws of potty training. She just welcomed baby sister Teya into her big girl room, and is LOVING it...no more tears of loneliness at night...she is so happy to have company...and really she will now choose sleeping with Teya over having anyone else sleep with her...pretty cute! Addy is in love with her big girl cousins...Katya, Sonya, and Kellyn. It is so fun to have girl cousins in her life who play so well with her and are such wonderful role models:-)
Teya-
Is now a year old, but she wishes she was 2. Nothing makes her smile and laugh more than Addy and Maya...she loves her big sisters. She likes to sign like Maya, and try to sit on the potty when the big girls go on their potties. She loves to eat, sign and say something that sounds like "Shasta" (our dog) and loves to say "Uh-Oh" every time she PURPOSEFULLY drops her sippy cup onto the floor. She is such a joy, and such an easy-going kid...she continues to be our "lowest maintenance kid"...who knows what will happen when they become teenagers, but for now I am so grateful for her disposition!
Dean and I-
Are well. We love the summer and being outdoors. We have dreams of sitting on the reclining patio chairs drinking lemonade and chatting after the girls go to bed, but that has yet to happen...maybe tonight?!?!? We have been in the throws of remodel here at the house, and amazed at how different our house looks already. We remodeled our kitchen, and are going to paint the outside of our house, and re-do our backyard....it is very exciting!
6/22/09
Seattle friends
We had a super day with some friends in Seattle. Both Families have a child who is impacted by CHARGE Syndrome. This came just a few weeks after we hosted a WA state CHARGE gathering at our home, and these two families were unable to attend. Since they just live an hour away, we decided to get together. while Maya, Burke, and Cassidy are definitely individuals who are impacted differently by CHARGE, our families share a lot of commonalities. Each kid is one of 3 children, and each of them is the oldest child in the family, Burke is a big brother to his new twin baby brothers, and Cassidy has a younger sister and a little brother. And of course you know Maya is the oldest of 3 girls. We certainly had fun with our friends. My highlights were holding twin babies, and being pretty amazed at how well Chris and Nate (Burke's parents) manage their three boys...they are certainly one amazing team! My other highlight was watching Cassidy "pose" for the camera. Everytime I pulled my camera out she struck the most beautiful pose, with the most amazing smile. I always love visiting with parents who deal with the same challenges we face raising not just a child with special needs, but children so similar to Maya...we can talk feeding issues, breathing issues, communication concerns, growth challenges, surgeries, visits to Seattle Childrens, and best of all the huge stides our kiddos make despite their challenges. thanks for a great visit you all! Hope to see all the families again in the Fall!
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