Shevitz Circus- We are never lacking for fancy around our house

Super boys and the Big Hungry Bear

2012-01-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

We finally got out of the house today and it rained all day so you get spared more snow pictures. We have many superhero shirts in our house. I love that the superhero thing is popular again. The boys look so cute in their shirts. We got Dave a superhero shirt too so all three boys match. Today they were all super. It was very cute.

Jakob is in love with oof oofs. He is really snuggle with them at bedtime. It's so cute to watch him squeeze them and then run around the house.

Max has a great memory. He learns really fast, generalizes things and incorporates them into his conversations. He is especially good at memorizing books. Hopefully this skill will come in handy in school. One of his favorite books right now is"The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. He has started reciting it to us and having fun trading off lines it's quite funny. I wanted to get a recording but he jumps around so much it's hard to get it all and when I get the camera out her runs away. I got this recording tonight. It's a little quiet but I wanted to post it anyway. Make sure you turn up your sound.

Yup It's still snowing.

2012-01-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

It was supposed to start raining today and warm up. Instead we got another bunch of snow. At least three plus inches I would say and that's a conservative estimate. It finally stopped this evening. Dave attempted to shovel the driveway but it's pure ice underneath. Today we hung out and played a lot. It's a good thing we are just home After eating for two days straight Jakob slept in until 10:30 this morning. He took a 4 hour nap yesterday and a three hour nap today. He has to be growing again. We got the boys outside once. I am loving all the opportunities to take some really cute pictures and My neighbor who is a photographer got some of Hannah sledding with her boys that turned out great too.

my poor driveway. It's there somewhere

Our back table. This was this morning. By the end of the day the ruler was pretty much buried.

Hannah got in some reading and some homework.

Max had fun doing make believe with Pengy. Here he is changing his diaper.

Now Pengy is doing his letters.

Jakob demands to go outside when he sees someone else go out. He is so cute in the snow.

filling a bucket with snow. After this he face planted and got mad

Max is so awesome about being bundled and is very slowly getting used to the snow. He still wants to be carried.

I made him sled once with me

he preferred to watch Jakob and I sled

cookies are so yummy after sledding

When Jakob got up from his three hour nap he brought down his oof oof and apparently needed to have a conversation with him

Hannah sledding with the neighbors

I don't think we will get out tomorrow but maybe by Saturday.....

Snow day number three

2012-01-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today we were stuck again and it snowed all day AGAIN. We got a few more inches. All told I think we got over a foot over the past few days. We hung out inside for most of the morning just goofing off. At least I got a lot of laundry done and all the beds thoroughly stripped and washed. After the boys went down for a nap Hannah and I made cookies then Beth called to see if we wanted to go up to the school and sled with them. Um Yeah! Hannah and I geared up and off we went. There is a big hill at her school and it was so fun. I even got in a few runs with Hannah. After dinner Dave went out to shovel the driveway again. When the boys heard him outside they decided they just had to go out too. They both were so patient while I geared them up. Even Max didn't complain about his boots or his gloves. Yes! Amazing progress. It was dark out but we played outside for about 30 minutes. Jakie finally is getting his snow legs. He wandered around in the road where it was compacted down. He fell a lot but could get himself back up. Max wanted us to hold him but did walk around for a little bit. I am just so proud of him for gearing up and going out to begin with. After we were done outside it was time for cookies, baths and beds. Tomorrow is another day off but we aren't supposed to get anymore snow. Maybe by Friday we can finally get out again.

sometimes we get a little goofy when stuck inside for too long

Max wouldn't look at the camera because I had to use the flash outside.

What to do on a snow day!

2012-01-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

Yup it's still snowing. We are on day three and tomorrow we are supposed to get a bunch more. No school, no work, no therapy just hanging around the house, playing outside, eating lots of food and spending time together. Today I just grabbed the camera and took some pictures as we went about our day.

All good snow days begin with a buffet breakfast. Oatmeal, eggs, bagel, and bacon. He ate almost all of it. Then he continued to eat all morning. , Banana, honeycomb, banana, hotdog, grapes,pretzels,

banana, yogurt, pasta, pears fruit snacks, yogurt. Seriously I think he thinks the snow means he may

never eat again. Max wasn't far behind. I don't know where the boys hide it except that they never stop

moving.

this was our house early in the AM just as it started snowing again

Lucky was happy in his cozy chair

Hannah having some Wii time

BALL PIT FUN!!!!

Dave tried really hard to work all day. We didn't make it easy but he got stuff done.

our house at 11:00 AM

More food please now mommy!

So nice to come in from the cold to hot noodles for lunch.

Max studied his Apple book(ABC book)

Sledding down the big hill

Love my girl.

Bad self portrait after shoveling the driveway. We cleared it every few hours to stay ahead of the snow so we can get our cars in and out.

Our family. I totally stole the idea for this picture from Colleen a few years ago.

Hannah in her snow cave

She LOVES the snow

eating yet another apple after having teriyaki chicken and carrots for dinner

Love my kiddies. two out of three fit in my lap

Jakie stacking blocks

Max stacking blocks

Love my boy

tickle fest

We had a great day which is good because tomorrow is coming so we will be stuck here again. Time to make more cookies.

Snow Day!

2012-01-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

We finally had our first snow fall of the year around here. It started as a few flakes off and on Saturday then in the afternoon it hit hard with a couple of inches. Hannah of course was beside herself and spent the rest of the afternoon outside sledding. Then Sunday morning it started snowing and didn't stop for hours. We ended up getting about 5.5 inches. After breakfast we wrestled the boys into their snow gear and took them outside. The biggest victory was even getting the gloves on Max but he actually did OK. I don't think he liked his boots and I am wondering if they are just a bit to small. Anyway, we went out and Max really just wanted us to hold him. Jakie got down but he was like a giant marshmallow and kept falling down in the snow. He got a little mad when he couldn't get back up. He preferred to either be held or hold hands and walk. Hannah was having a blast sledding, and making snow forts with her friends. All the kids loved to sled down our driveway. Sledding when it snows is the only perk to having our steep driveway. It was fun to put the boys on the sled and watch them fly down the driveway. After about an hour we brought the boys in and Hannah except for coming in for lunch stayed outside until it got dark hours later. She just loves the snow. We are expecting a bit of snow off and on for the next day or so then it should all go away.

help I can't get up.

not so sure about this stuff mom.

really Jakie did like to sled

in her snow fort

pure happiness

ok this white stuff is ok

Jakob Simon- 18 Months

2012-01-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

Our little Jakie Simon turned 18 months over the weekend. He is officially a full blown toddler with opinions of his own to match. He has developed quite a little personality full of fire but sweet as can be. He has a bit of a flare for the dramatic but always recovers very quickly. Here are his highlights.

1. Jakie Simon saw the doc last week. He now has some major stranger anxiety especially if you try to touch him or take him from me or if he thinks you are leaving him so he cried from the moment the doc walked in until she left. Dr. Kathy said Jakob looks great. while he didn't gain much height he is still about 33 inches he did gain 2 pounds and is now 22 pounds. Yay! He is doing great on his developmental milestones. he runs, he climbs, eats with a spoon and fork, he claps, waves, dances, smiles, shares enjoyment etc... The only place he is a bit behind is in his speech but that's for another highlight. Jakob got his last shot until kindergarten (except for the yearly flu shots).

2. Jakie Simon is in Speech therapy. Yup that's right. Nola who is an SLP and runs Max's clinic has watched Jakie very closely and she doesn't think he has enough words for 18 months. Since we are there, since we have unlimited full coverage, and since they had a slot she went ahead and booked him in. They are still in the eval process. There aren't any worries that he is autistic but that maybe he is just needing a little speech push. He has a handful of words like mommy, daddy, baba, nene(Hannah), banana, apple, ooof ooof (doggy), dia(quesdilla), wuv you, and a few more. He certainly likes to babble. I don't think it will take long and it gives us something to do for an hour while Max is in therapy and If it will cut down on Jakob getting frustrated when he can't get his point across.

3. Jakie has a very mischievous side. There is a reason he has the name Dennis the Mennis. He loves to run and hide behind the rocker when he is either poopy or naked. if you tell him no he laughs and runs away. he likes to make a mess by pulling all his diapers off the shelf. He throws food to the dogs when he is all done. He steals Max's food when Max leaves the table. He will not lay still to get changed or dressed and laughs when you flip him over and say stay still.

4. Jakie is a great eater most of the time. He loves all fruit especially apples, bananas and dried fruit. He likes meat, oatmeal, anything Max is eating. He especially loves yogurt, fruit snacks, z-bars, veggie sticks and has a new love for pretzels.

5. Jakie has his own mind and agenda. He hates being told which way to go. I have to force him to hold hands in the parking lot and he refuses to let me carry him most of the time. Forget the stroller unless we are moving and out on the road. Jakie has two legs and he needs to use them. When Jakie doesn't get his way his life becomes very tragic. Since we call him our dinosaur we have nicknamed him Trajakie! yes a horrible nickname but so fitting and funny.

6. Jakie has discovered a love for books and soft squishy stuffed animal. He loves his little stuffed doggies that he calls oof oofs. He will frequently hold one during story time. I constantly find him sitting in a chair with one of his board books and this week he even started bringing them to me demanding my to sit in my lap and read.

7. Jakie tends to be a bit more adventurous then his body is ready for. He is constantly falling off of things and banging into things. today he is sporting a lovely little gash in the outer corner of his eye due to a fall near an open drawer. unfortunately he seems to have my depth perception.

8. Jakie loves to play. His favorite toy is cars: race cars, trains, trucks. You name it and they are all over the house including the bath tub. He will sit and make them go along the tracks and babble. He loves to zoom them everywhere. He also loves balls of all kinds, dinosaurs (he roars with them), and bubbles.

We love our little super hero. He is such a joy to have in our family.

Happy 18 months little Jakie Simon!

Aquarium

2012-01-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Usually on Fridays we have OT and Speech but with Katie gone from the clinic they are still looking for an OT that day so we decided to take Fridays off for the month and see how it goes. Instead we have some flexibility in our schedule for some social outings. I had an early doctors appointment in Seattle so Dave stayed home to get Hannah off to school then brought the boys down down to meet me in Seattle. He went off to work and the boys and I went to the Aquarium. I have lived in Seattle 20 years and have never been. Since we have the prime card for Microsoft it was super cheap for me and the boys being under 4 were free. We had a blast. Right when you go in there is a huge wall of a fish tank. There was a diver in it and everything. It was very cool. Pictures were tough because it was so dark and my camera just doesn't do well like that but we got a few.

Around the corner was another tank but this one had waves going through it. the boys loved that because of the crashing water.

wave crasher

Then we headed into the tide pool room. the boys wanted see everything. It was tough because they both needed to be lifted up to touch the water. One worker was walking around with a creature in a bowl of water she bent down and let the boys touch. I don't know if they actually touched it but they both put their hands in the water. The main attraction was the jelly fish. They had different colored lights in the tank that lit up the fish. the boys stared at it forever.

tide pools

We also headed over the outside building. There we stood in the fish dome under the aquarium. The boys weren't terribly interested so we moved on. We got to see the Seal and the sea otters. They were having a blast swimming in their tanks. The Seal especially was interested in the kids.

listening to the Orca whale calls

Seal and Max

Exploring outside

awesome water fall feature.

We explored the little exhibits and tanks around before heading back to the jelly fish, the wave pool and the big tank on the way out. The boys loved too look out the window to the bay and at one point a police boat was hanging out there. We even went into the gift shop and got some fun sea creature magnets to play with. The boys were tired and hungry after about an hour and a half so we headed home. We will definitely go back as the boys get older and are interested in learning more. Max spent the rest of the day telling people he saw the big fish. It was very cool. Max did a great job listening to directions so we could keep up with Jakob who definitely had his own agenda about where he wanted to go when.

Jelly Fish

Wave crashing tank

So long but not farewell!

2012-01-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

When your child is in therapy everyday of the week for almost a year you get to know the therapists on the team really well. It's hard not to wonder sometimes if they know more about your daily life then your friends. It also makes it hard when one of them decides to leave. I get very attached and I don't like change. A few weeks ago Max's OT Katie asked me to come back early to his session. She broke the news that she was leaving the clinic to go work at a birth to three center. Yes I totally cried. The kicker is it is a center I looked at as a possible place for Max last year. It's not far from our house. I really really am so happy for Katie(who I hope is reading this). She is an amazing OT and so great with the kids. She has been working with Max for almost a year and is just as much attached to Jakob as she is Max. She has an incredibly happy spirit when working with the kids and has so much patience. She even copes with crazy Jakie wreaking havoc on the end of the session with all his climbing. She's the one who nicknamed him Dennis the Mennis. Katie has helped Max through so much and we are going to miss seeing her twice a week so very much. Friday was her last day and I tried to get some pictures. I have to be very sneaky. I also forgot my camera so these are from my phone. Katie and I exchanged private emails and she wants to stay a part of the our lives. YAY! Max loves her so much and does things for her he won't do for me at all yet. Like touch gooey things. :) So for now we say so long Katie and good luck at your new job. As soon as you are ready send us an email and you are invited to dinner.

Scooter board

Checking his music on his ILS. He loves his music even if the machine is as big as him.

Sky High

2011-12-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

I need to post what we did on Max's actual birthday. Seeing as it was Christmas pretty much everything was closed. In a few years we can do the movie thing but the boys are still to young and so not interested in screen time anyway. A few days before I found out that a place Hannah and I love but the boys have never been to was going to be open. Sky High! It's trampoline heaven. the floors and walls are all trampolines, they have a foam pit and a younger kids trampoline zone. I order us an hour of jump time for after dinner and off we went. Max was so excited he kept saying Happy birthday! The kids all loved it right away. There were only a handful of people there so we got to take the littles on the big court. They loved it. running, jumping, falling. The staff is used to it being really crowded and they have really strict rules so depending on who was overseeing the court they let us break the rules or not. Things like I couldn't even hold Jakie's hands while he jumped while the other guy even let me sit down and help him. The best was at the foam pit there was only one other person there so the girl totally let us walk the boys out and toss them in the foam pit a couple of times. She really wasn't supposed to but since it was so quiet and it was Max's birthday she let us. I told her they really need a toddler ball pit. She said it could happen. We had a blast and Max had a huge smile the entire hour. Jakie was back and forth unsure about it but he had fun too. Hannah of course would live on a trampoline if we let her. This may have to become a new Max's birthday tradition. It was so much fun. The pictures are a bit dark. I was trying to get non blurry motion pics and couldn't use a flash.

Oh Also in the morning we opened Max's presents. He got lots of fun cards including one from Bubbe that made really loud monkey sounds. He also got a build a bear the day before with some birthday money and we gave him a tricycle. He is so close to being able to reach the pedals all the way around and pedal. it's one of his exercises at therapy. He loves it. By summer he should be chasing Hannah on her bike. Here we are a week later and Max is still announcing Happy Birthday to himself. I am so glad he had such a great day.

the little prince actually sleeps like this!

loving the tricycle and Hannah's help to pedal

loud monkey card

kid's piano concert!

Hanukkah 2011

2011-12-28T15:38:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful and busy Hanukkah this year. The kids were so into it all. Every night I would say let's light the light's and all three kids would come running. Max would say "Hanukkah!" and ask to be picked up. He even helped me light his Menorah. Hannah of course lights her own. Her Menorah is missing form the last night because she stayed over at a friends house who is in her hebrew school class. The kids also enjoyed spinning the Driedel all the time. They played with them when ever they sat at the table.

we couldn't use the flash to get a picture of Max

We all got many lovely gifts from each other and family. I didn't take a ton of pictures but managed to snap a few special moments. We would all like to thank everyone for their kind and thoughtful gifts. Here are some top picks for each of us.

Hannah- American girl doll(Can't believe I haven't gotten a picture of that yet), accessories for her doll and money from multiple family members to shop for her doll, DS and Kinect games, drawing books, squinkies, spirit sleeves, zoobles, Dave's old Zune filled with her music and she still has a bit of money left to shop with in the coming weeks.

Max and Jakob- I put them together because they share everything at this point. Cars galore, potato head family, superman caped shirts, car tracks, shake and go car tracks, hi-5 videos, build a bears, dinosaurs, little people zoo animals, train whistle's, bubble blower,

Dave- Star wars game, lots of clothes, work out clothes, bluetooth earphones, slippers, hat

Jen- Work out clothes, gloves for running, sweater, new Le Cruset dish, triple crock pot, cook book, scarf.

I know there was more but I am tired and can't think of things right now. Again we are so lucky and so thankful for all the gifts and money we received from everyone.

Our family is very blessed and we are so lucky to have all the things we need. We tried to spread around some of the blessing to those who are less fortunate then us this year. We took on Tzedakah on many fronts. Through our synagogue we donated items from a wish list for an adult and two little girls through Eastside domestic violence. We made treats and gifts for all of Max's therapists, and the support staff and donated toys to each of his clinics. Through Hannah's school we made a donation to the giving tree and after hearing about families at her school who had no gifts at all we took on one of the eight families who has four kids at her school and got gifts for each of the kids. It was a great experience for Hannah to learn about anonymous giving. Knowing she helped some one who could be sitting right next to her but she never needs to know who it was. It felt good to be a in a place where we could make a happy holiday for another family in our community and along with many other families in Hannah's school the office was packed with donations. The staff was just amazed at how the word spread and how willing everyone was to help out. We also did I think three different food drives at three different grocery stores over the last two months helping to stock local food banks in different parts of town. Lastly through the dojo we are in the process of getting the last donations together for an organization called Pediatric interim Care Center. It's our second year doing a donation drive for them. They care for drug addicted newborns and need basic care items for the babies. We didn't get a great response from the dojo this year but a few people made nice donations and after we add our family donation it will be delivered.

Superman plays the piano

2011-12-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

The perfect shot of my Jakie Simon!

I am Max, I am three

2011-12-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

Silly Face

That is the phrase we have been teaching Max the past couple of weeks. Max is three. Wow, what a year it has been for little Max. He has grown so much inside and out. More then we ever expected but also more then we hoped he would. Here are Max's highlights.

January- Max is evaluated and begins both speech and occupational therapy. He has two words. It is so hard he cries during speech therapy but does the work anyway. All I can do is give him a gentle push and sit back and watch. When he is done I have plenty of hugs and reassurance that it is all ok. Max has an ear infection.

February- Therapy continues. we are on the wait list for two clinics to get some sort of diagnosis for Max. This is at the urging of the Speech therapist so we know for sure the path his therapy should take. Max has an ear infection.

March- We get into the childhood development center at the UW to start Max's evaluations. We meet with the doctor 4 times and she gets to know everything about Max's life. Therapy contiues. Max still has another ear infection.

I love Daddy

April- Max gets the diagnosis that he has Autism from the doc. While we are thrown by it a bit we aren't completely surprised. Max already has more words, is very outgoing and now really enjoys therapy. Max gets glasses and ear tubes for his ear infections. We begin ABA therapy and continue OT and Speech.

May- Max gets croup and spends a night in the hospital. He has more words is adjusting very well to all his therapy.

June- We see the developmental pediatrician. He goes over Max's health history like the CIA trying to solve a case. He suggests a follow up for genetic blood work, finding a dentist, physical therapy, and a consult with one of his colleagues for Max's tone issues. Max is healthy for the first time in months. More new words are coming out. We see the eye doc and she decides we need to patch Max's stronger eye for 2 hours a day. After two days Max just accepts it and doesn't fight it.

I found the boys doing this at the top of the stairs one day. Max thought he was so funny!

July- Max finds his love of swimming and playing outside. He is now in PT, OT, Speech and ABA therapy. Max is healthy, happy and the new words are coming more and more everyday.

August- More words, more therapy, more swimming, Major blood draw at children's hospital. We see the eye doc and nothing is changed

September-We have totally stopped counting Max's word. He uses two and three word phrases he climbs, runs, and jumps. He starts dance class after a break for the summer and finally will touch all the props and participate in all the activities. Max saw the dentist who was awesome and Max did great getting his teeth checked and fluoride protected.

October- Max is excelling at all his therapies. Mastering tasks and programs and basically making everyone fall in love with him. He has some exzema flare ups and off we go to the allergist for a check up. We see the eye doc and up the patching to three hours a day.

November- We go back to the developmental pediatrician. His collegue takes one look at Max and pronounces him "normal". No major gentic adnormalities show up and Max wows the pediatrician with all his progress. Therapies everyday as normal. He has started to really master pronouns and we are working on how to ask questions.

December- We visit a potential preschool for Max next year. YAY! It is a normal private preschool full of typically developing kids and everyone thinks it will be a great fit for Max. Max has come so far with his speech now he can say anything he wants and his SLP will be doing some testing to see how measures up on the standard scale next week. We see Max's regular pediatrician and he not only doesn't yell at her but he smiles lets her check him out says her name and hi and bye. She was blown away at the differences in him in one year. Max sees the eye doc and we still patch for three hours a day but everything looks good and stable. Max even cooperates for more involved eye testing and can answer some questions on his own.

Max is one of the most amazing little boys I know. His spirit is so strong. He is sweet, happy, loving, friendly, funny, caring, and so much more. He loves with his whole body both good and bad. He is so very "three" right now. Stubborn, opinionated, I want to do it myself. He accepts all his therapy with a positive attitude. He may not always like the work but he just does it anyway. I am always amazed at what he can. He is a little bit of a prefectionist which has served him well in therapy. He has a funny little comedian side. He likes to joke around and be tickled and be silly. He has the best smile and belly laughs.

Max loves: Pengy, monkeys, books, cars, balls, baths, bubbles, hot dogs, quesidillas, juice, going outside, swimming, swinging, Jakob, Mommy, Daddy, Hannah, and all his therapists(Katie, Carly, Sherilyn, Stephanie, Monica, Mary, Dulce, Deanna, Alice, and Cyn), mini peppies, yogurt, and eggs.

Max dislike: getting changed, when Jakie steals his stuff, not getting to do it himself, anything gooey or sticky, falling in his head(which he can do a lot), pasta, the camera.

Max has grown so much this year physically. He gained 6 pounds and now weighs 28 pounds. He grew three inches and is now 37 inches tall. He is still below the 5% for everything but he stayed on his curve. He has a good appetite for a three year old, and eats a very wide variety of foods including lots of meat. Max will be re-evaluated this spring by the psychologist. We don't expect any difference to his diagnosis but just to keep an eye on his progress as his diagnosis may evolve over time. We are really excited to see what he will accomplish in this next year including potty training which we will try next weekend and going to preschool next fall. We will also work really hard on eye contact and getting messy. Colleen has a phrase she uses with her son who has some sensory issues and I like to use it with Max from time to time. Max can do hard things!! Recently he started helping smear his lotion on after bath and he will now touch therapy putty during OT. Both of these things are huge for his sensory issues.

Max has some fun phrases most of which he picked up from Carly his SLP
1. Carrots- do we eat it? Yes(said in a silly duh mom voice), Cat- do we eat it? No. (said in the same silly voice)
2. Playing a game with his ABA therapist he looked up at her and said "this is too much fun!" word for wood what Carly would say.
3. Putting on a shirt he always points out that he has elbows and exactly where they hide in his shirt.
4. Running up to Dave in his footy PJ's and asking where his foot is then saying yes we eat it so Dave will pretend to munch on it and tickle him.
5. A moose and a goose together have juice-but not the hippopotamus!
6. But yes the HIPPOPOTAMUS!

Max loves to sit and watch the world outside the front window.

Max we are all so proud of you, your determination, and your strong happy spirit. We love you so very much.

Happy Third Birthday Monkey Max!!!!!!!!!!!!

A party for Max

2011-12-21T21:36:00.000-08:00

Pengy cake!

Max turns 3 on the 25th. We thought really hard about whether or not to do a party for him. We decided to go for it. We know a small group of boys that are all around 6 months above or below his age. We see them on a regular basis. We are also looking at preschools for Max next year, Yay, and that means we need to work on social skills. We decided to have a very low key "play date party" We invited Sam, Easton, and Carson over on Saturday morning. We played for an hour or so just letting the boys all be in the same space and interact as they wanted to. We played one game, Halabaloo where we just had the kids find colors, and shapes rather then playing the real game. They lasted about three minutes but they all took turns a worked together. It was very cute. After that we sat down for some pizza, bread sticks and apple juice. Then it was time for Cake! The party was a penguin theme after Max's best friend Pengy. I found a cake I liked online and copied it. It took a long time to frost but it turned out awesome and sooo cute. Max loved it. The only time Max got upset was when we sang to him. I forgot to warn him. We all sang really fast then he was fine. Max doesn't like frosting so he ate a plain cupcake. everyone else dove in including Jakie who ended up so covered in frosting he needed a bath. after cake the boys played a little more. When it was time to head out we gave each boy a t-shirt I had made them and they chose a balloon to take too. We had told the kids no gifts but a couple brought Max something little. He got a couple new trains, a bus, and a foam train pegboard puzzle. The party was a great success. I am so glad Max had a great time. Now we have opened the door for future play dates with the boys. They are all so great. Thanks to Beth for taking amazing pictures of Max on the sly. He gets so mad when I have the camera

Pengy shirts for all the boys

I made a birthday banner for Max

Easton who we know from our gym.

Sam we see at dance class every Saturday

Carson is Beth's youngest across the street

Playing a song together

Pizza time

the big kids-Madison, Hannah, and Zach

Blowing out the candles

Jakie and the frosting

Dave was designated baby holder for Sams new sister. I think he was in tiny baby heaven.

Boys and their trains

2011-12-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

Back when Max was a baby I found a really nice train table at Costco. I knew Max was to young but for the price and the train set I couldn't pass it up. It has sat in Max's room for the past two years being used a little but mostly serving as a dancing platform for the boys. A couple of weeks ago I decided we needed to move it downstairs. We had gotten rid of a lot of the larger baby toys and by moving it downstairs we could set it up and leave it set up and not worry about Max getting out of bed to play with it. I never imagined Max and Jakob and even Hannah a little would fall so in love with it. Max plays with it off and on throughout the day using different cars and trains. He loves asking us to play with him and taking turns. It's the imaginative play we have been hoping to see from Max. It's a huge step in his therapy. Jakob is slowly learning to play with the trains on the tracks instead of taking them apart. Hannah enjoys rebuilding the tracks and setting up the town. It may take up a big chunk of our living room but we are so happy to see the kids having so much fun together.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderfully calm low key Thanksgiving. For the first time in three years I wasn't in the hospital, dealing with all day morning sickness, or nursing a newborn. We had a fun just hang out morning. The kids played and goofed off while Dave worked on making challah to go with our meal. I am so thankful for my family. For Hannah who is the best big sister. She loves her brothers so much. She plays with them and reads to them and tried to be so helpful teaching them things especially with Max's therapy. She very rarely gets frustrated that she is older and has more responsibility or that Max has different rules sometimes because he is autistic. When she is in her nurturer mode she is one of a kind and I am so thankful for all she does. For Max I am so thankful for a sweet, happy, strong little boy who works so hard and never complains. Who loves, hugs, and approaches life with great passion. He loves us all and gives the the best drive by snuggles ever. For Jakie Simon who is the happiest, funniest little comedian in our family. So social and outgoing he makes friends everywhere we go. He has a passion for life and when he throws himself face down on the floor to have a tantrum you can't help but laugh at him. For Dave I am thankful for my best friend who takes care of me and his kids, who can do it all and does so on a regular basis. I wouldn't make it through this life without him. I have so much in my life to be thankful for but this year it centers around the 4 other people I share my home and heart with. I love you Dave, Hannah, Max, and Jakob!

Max had a bit off a rough day. his sense of balance must have been a bit off. He crashed in the morning and got a raspberry on his forehead then at nap time he crashed into the corner of the bed really hard getting a huge bruise and a gash. After an hour of sleep he woke up crying so Dave got him and sat down on the couch. Next thing we knew he was passed out again and slept in Dave's lap for over an hour. He was crabby for the rest of the day. I am sure the bruise on his head didn't help. below you see the aftermath of his falls.

It was just the 5 of us this year. I decided it was time to go all out and cook. The only thing we cheated on was getting a turkey. Since I am a vegetarian and the kids are so little we always have way to much. So this year I got just a turkey breast. It was just perfect. Only took a couple hours to cook right from frozen and Dave said it tasted great. YAY! I gathered a bunch of new recipes and got to cooking. I made a pumpkin pie the night before. The only thing store bought besdies the turkey breast was the apple pie. The menu consisted of the following:

Sweet potato marshmallow casserole

Rosemary and Garlic infused mashed potatoes

cranberies, with apricot preserves and oranges

green beans with garlic and almonds

vegetarian stuffing

turkey breast

Challah and gravy

yummy pie. I even made fresh whipped cream.

It was such a yummy meal and everyone ate awesome minus Max who was in a grumpy just hold me mood. Hannah ate almost everything and loved it all. Jakie thought the cranberries were blueberries and it was funny to watch his face and then he just kept eating them anyway. We had enough leftovers for a few days which was just perfect. Definitely plan a repeat of this meal next year.

Bottles, haircuts and walking....Oh my!

2011-11-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was quite a weekend for Mr. Jakie Simon. Lets take it one accomplishment at a time.

1. Bye-Bye babas. For awhile now we(Dave and I) have been so done with the bottle. So many pieces to wash, leaking, annoying. We tried moving to a sippy cup a month ago but Jakob just hunkered down and refused. He did seem fascinated with Max's cup and I would find him sneaking drinks from it. Not good since Max gets digestive medicine in his cup. I found cups that were almost identical but just different enough that we can tell them apart. I started after nap on Wednesday and after a bit of protest Jakie took the cup. Only hiccup was Thursday morning when Dave found a bottle in the fridge and gave it to Jakie. After that I hid all the bottles and only gave him the cup. By Friday he was back to drinking his normal amount of milk and calling his new cup baba looking at it with the same love and admiration he did the real thing. So...Ladies and Gentleman we are finally a baba free household and they are gone out of the house. YAY!!

2. Jakie has sporting a pretty good mullet for a few weeks now. It was great after bath when it would curl up but the rest of the day it was dry frazzled hair that was way to long to match the light wispy hair on top of his head. I couldn't stand it anymore so I put the longest attachments on our clippers and gave Jakob his first cut. He wasn't thrilled but he did pretty good, only crying a little. He looks like such a big boy and so cute with his new cut. From the back he and Max look identical.

before- the camera doesn't do the mullet justice

After- where did my baby go

enough with the paparazzi mama!

3. Jakie Simon who is 16.5 months old finally got off his hands and knees and started WALKING!!! it took Dave and I stripping him down to a diaper and sitting at opposite ends of the room. He spent a half hour Friday night just toddling back and forth between us. He was so happy and proud of himself. He shows great determination getting right back up when he falls down. Jakie is the middle of the road walker for our family. Hannah was 15 months and Max was 18 months. Jakie got to show off his walking skills at PT on Monday and the entire staff just cheered for him. Needless to say he is done with PT now. Sherilyn the PT says he is just an awesome, strong, typically developing little boy. YAY! Hopefully with the walking will come a push in verbal skills. He already has new words. They will retest his speech in January but for now I am hearing new words everyday including the cutest "wuv you" ever.

Our baby became a toddler this weekend. It's very bittersweet to watch him move this stage but we are so happy and proud of his accomplishments.

San Francisco Part 2

2011-11-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

After my run I headed back to shower and hung out with Craig some more. I really enjoying just sitting and talking with he and Scott. I got to spend a little more time visiting with Scott this visit. They headed out to run errands for a party they were having that night so I headed to Golden Gate Park for some sightseeing. I wanted to hit the Japanese Tea Garden and get a few gifts for the kids plus it’s a really pretty garden to walk through. I got a few knick knacks for the kids and walked both he Japanese garden and the botanical garden before heading back to get Dave.

Saturday night we had conflicting plans. First we headed out to a west coast instructors dinner with Sensei at a sushi place that happen to be a 10 minute walk from Craig’s house. IT was awesome. I had my usual avocado and cucumber rolls and then had a really yummy Mango roll. I took off early and left Dave with his friends to finish dinner. Saturday nights at camp there is always a party. Craig and Scott were also having a gathering at their house for Scott’s birthday and a bunch of my other friends were going to be there. Dave decided to forgo the Aikido party and join me so he could meet my friends who knew me 20 years ago. It was such a fun party. We all stickers on our backs of a famous person. You could ask each person 5 questions to figure out who you were. I was having such a hard time getting mine. I finally got to where I could see her face but couldn’t get her name. I had about 10 people all yelling clues at me. Finally I got it. I was Jodie Foster. Dave was Katy Segal. He got his pretty quick. We also did a blind wine tasting. You had to categorize three wines by price. Only one person picked the right most expensive. It seems most of us are cheap dates thinking that the 2 buck chuck from Trader Joes was the most expensive and best tasting. It was pretty funny. They also did a pizza tasting comparing two restaurants but I didn’t do that since I had already eaten. It was so much to catch up and visit with my old friends Catherine and John and their daughter and Wendy and Terry. Catherine, Wendy, and Terry are all fellow runners who have done lots of major runs including marathons. They were great to talk to about potentially doing a marathon next summer.

Sunday was really rainy so I wasn't able to run again. I dropped Dave at his last class and headed back to pack and say goodbye to my friends. I wish we could have stayed another day but it was so much to be there. Below are Craig and Matthew. I really didn't take may pictures during the trip. we were just to busy having fun.

After saying goodbye I headed back and got Dave. We decided he would skip the last session so we could get a head start and make it over the mountain passes before the weather got yucky. We said our goodbyes and headed off. It was a very uneventful trip weather wise. The passes were bare and dry. Just what you want to see in the dark. The bonus was we got into Medford in enough time to have Pizza at Kaleidoscopic again. It was still awesome. The next morning on the advice of our waitress we went to the old farmhouse for breakfast. It was awesome. we headed on our way up I-5 to get home. There was a lot of rain and traffic. I was so engrossed in my book (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). I finished it in three hours of straight reading. First book I have really sat down in read in over a year. We finally got home just before 6. The kids were so happy to see us. Max did a happy dance, Jakob and Hannah just grabbed on and wouldn't let go. We had a wonderful evening with the kids so happy to be home and out of the car. It was a wonderful trip. so nice to get away together. Now I can start planning my next trip to Co. Springs next May. YAY!!

San Francisco Part 1

2011-11-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

Dave and I just got back from a wonderful road trip away from all three kids for the weekend. Thanks to Dave’s mom taking wonderful care of Hannah, Max, and Jakob we were able to go away together for the first time in years. A few months ago Dave traded in his car for a used Toyota Prius and we decided that since his Aikido fall camp was in San Francisco this year we would drive down together and while he trained I could visit with some old friends I haven’t seen in a few years. On Thursday we dropped Max off at therapy and headed off down the road. Our first stop was in Portland. We decided to have lunch at a family favorite and thoroughly enjoyed a kid free meal at PF Chang’s. After that we continued on to our day one destination of Medford Oregon. We arrived right about dinner time. After checking in we headed to a place called Kaleidoscope Pizza that was recommended by the front desk. What an awesome restaurant and brew pub. We had the most incredible pizza for dinner. Seriously best pizza I have had in years and yes I ate the whole 10 inch on my own.

Next day we headed out again after a lame hotel breakfast. We hit the mountain passes which were beautiful but it immediately started snowing. We just parked our little Prius behind a big truck and followed it through the pass. There was a little bit of compact snow on the ground but nothing to scary. The snow was really pretty and the mountain passes of southern Oregon are amazing.

We finally crossed the border into CA where you have to stop for inspection. Basically we pull up and they ask if you have any produce with you. Nope! For lunch we were nearing the town of Redding CA. I looked up restaurants because we just aren’t interested in fast food. I found a tapas place that looked kind of interesting so we decided to try it. Wow it was amazing too. Dave had an incredible empanada and I had a really good Mediterranean plate. We had a yummy dessert and headed on our way. We finally got to San Francisco around 4:30. I don’t know why but we thought we were going over the golden gate but it turned out to be the Bay Bridge. While someday I would like to drive over the Golden gate the Bay Bridge doesn’t disappoint in its awesomeness too.

We headed to the Castro district where an old friend of mine lives with his husband and their two year old. Craig is an old friend from my New York dancing days and I last saw him two years ago when I visited right after they had their son. After saying hi and getting settled I dropped Dave off at camp and went to the grocery store. Driving in SF was fun. Lots of big hills every street is pretty much a 4 way stop or a light. It’s pretty easy to navigate with our GPS on our phones. I did all the city driving. I think it freaked Dave out that I drove a bit like a New York Taxi driver. Camp was down right near the Golden Gate in the Presidio area of town. It was a great part of town and I couldn't wait for daylight on Saturday so I could go for a run. After the evenings classes we headed off to dinner with the Aikido crowd for what else but sushi. They rented out a Sushi place for the evening and Dave had some good food and we visited with everyone. I didn't eat because they mostly had meat sushi and I wasn't in the mood to deal with finding veggie stuff. Sensei was in a good mood and he loves to harass Dave and I. Especially me. He keeps saying we need to have 3 more babies. I just tell him no and he laughs. This trip I started throwing our other friends who are newly married under the bus and telling Sensei it was their turn now. A lot of people in the organization I think are surprised that Sensei gives me so much attention and that I don’t stand for his teasing but he thinks it’s funny. I certainly dealt with much crazier people growing up in the dance world. After a late night we headed off to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and visited with Craig, Scott, and Matthew. I got my fill of 2 year old to keep me from missing the kids to much. Matthew is a sweetheart and he eventually warmed up and let me play with him. That morning I dropped Dave off at class and then headed straight to the marina to run. I ended up doing a 6 mile run along the Marina from a place called Crissy field to the Golden Gate and back. It was warm and sunny and tons of people were out running playing with their kids and dogs in the park. It was a really fun run and I got some amazing views of the golden Gate and the bay.

Life 101

2011-11-10T21:56:00.000-08:00

It's hard to be 8. It's hard to be 8 and small for your age. It's hard to be 8, small for your age and have physical challenges. Hannah is a great kid. She has a passion for life I just love to see. I can't stand it when she struggles. Not the kind of struggles from not paying attention, or not trying, but the kind of struggles that no matter what you do it just never seems to be enough. Hannah is learning that life is all about the journey to a goal not the immediate satisfaction of having it handed to you. That life isn't about being the fastest or the best at something but to keep doing it because it's something you love and when you try your hardest you get stronger, faster, and better then you were a month ago. That conquering your hardships is so worth the effort and more satisfying then having it come easy. I have watched my little girl go from leaving swim team in tears last month because she was the slowest and weakest one to pushing herself, gaining strength, speed and confidence and coming out of the pool with a smile on her face. I've watched her team come together as friends hearing words like "Hannah good swimming today", and cheering each other on and high fiving after a good practice. It's not a competitive team but they are having their first meet against each other next week. The coaches are teaching them amazing personal and team skills. They push them to work hard support each other and do their best and they have been amazingly supportive of Hannah. I am so happy for this experience for her and I can't wait to see her in a couple of months. Now if only I could be a better help in the navigation of third grade girl playground friendships. Sometimes being 8 is just hard and the only things that can make it better are a nice long talk and hugs from mom.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy Halloween this year. We did some crafts over the past few weeks, carved pumpkins, had a party at the dojo and went trick or treating. First up Pumpkins and crafts. I found a couple of crafts I wanted to do on both friends and other blogs I follow. I made the wreath based on another craft blog I read from time to time. It took a little time working over a couple of nights after the boys were in bed. The little ball monsters I stole directly from Colleen's blog. Thanks Colleen!! We had fun making them. Hannah looked at all the different options and decided to make an owl. She is really into Harry Potter right now so I am not surprised. Dave came up with his own design and made a mummy ball. I made three different monsters. One for me and one for each of the boys. They turned out really cute and were fun to make. dave says mine looks like a rabid bunny. We had three pumpkins but Hannah's rotted so she carved mine and dave carved his. Hannah did everything but cut the top off by herself. We loved her lopsided design right down to only having one eyebrow. She was very proud of herself.

Halloween day was fun. The boys put on their monkey costumes and we took Max to therapy. Both boys got great reactions from the entire staff. They even made the right monkey noises. While Max was off at therapy I took Jakie to the grocery store where all the clerks know him. He smiled, giggled, and flirted with everyone. He was a hit and sure does know how to turn it on. After therapy we went by Dave's office for lunch. The boys loved his building and crawled all over the place chasing each other while saying hi to Dave's co-workers.

love my Monkeys

After dinner we costumed up again and headed to Hannah's friend Meg's house. The girls wanted to trick or treat together. We wanted to try and see if Max would trick or treat. We started off and the big kids ran ahead. Max went up to the first house with Dave and actually said trick or treat and got candy in his bucket. After that he and Dave disappeared for a bit. Max wanted to go in his own direction and see all the lights. After finding them and redirecting Max we got him to go up to a few more houses. He liked to see the pumpkins all lit up then I could get him to knock on the door say trick or treat and even thank you. He wasn't afraid of all the kids or decorations. He only had meltdowns when we made him go in directions he didn't want to go. But we had to keep up with Hannah and all her friends. Apparently most of Hannah's class lives in this neighborhood so she had a blast. Jakie did well chilling in the stroller for most of the night. When the boys got to cold we brought them home and then I picked up Hannah. It was quite a haul. After a short candy free for all every one was off to bed. Hannah picked out some candy to take to her teacher today. He doesn't celebrate Halloween but told the kids his favorite candies. All the girls in our group talked about what they were taking him today. I think there are a number of girls with small crushes in the teacher.

the monkey boys

Hannah and her friend Meg

Blurry pic but I love it anyway

M&M's Max's candy of choice

Hannah and her haul

Harvest time

2011-10-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

We have so much fun going to u-pick farms in the summer I wanted to extend the fun into the fall. I knew there had to be places to go apple picking. I finally found a small local farm that also had a pumpkin patch. They were having a harvest festival on a weekend we were free and the bonus was it was supposed to be sunny and warm. After our Saturday morning obligations were done we piled in the car with lunch and took the hour drive up to Jones Creek Farms. It was an amazing day. Sunny and warm. The farm wasn't as crowded as i thought it might be. So we grabbed a cart and headed in. It took a bit of walking through the orchard to find the trees that still had apples on them. Max had a blast " I help you push mommy" pushing the cart. Jakie was in the backpack with Dave and they ran ahead with Hannah to scout out apples.

We had been advised to taste before we picked to make sure we liked what we got. No need to tell us twice. Once we finally found some apples we dove in. I handed one to Max and he went to town. The apples were so yummy, sweet and tart, and all different sizes. We only found one variety we didn't like. Jakie got a bit restless so I handed him a small apple to play with. Next thing we knew he had eaten half of it. He finished it off core and all and proceeded to eat two more. He was in heaven. Max, Hannah, Dave, and I munched away on numerous apples while filling our box with as many as we could. We had to have gotten somewhere between 40 and 50 pounds.

After our box was overflowing we headed over to the pumpkin patch. Max was happy in the orchard which was right by the patch so he took his time coming over and just kept eating. Hannah and I chose 3 different pumpkins for each of the kids. Then we got in line for a hayride. The kids loved it. We went around the whole farm. Max loves the tractor in the front. There were a bunch of dogs on the farm that ran alongside the tractor. They got really close to the wheels a few times but obviously knew where they were going.

After the hayride we headed up to the booths. Hannah found this great tire swing and hopped on. After a few pushes Max came running over. I figured he would cry if I tried to put him on it but he came up and said "my turn, I want swing." Amazed I plopped him on. He LOVED it. He loved being pushed and spun. I was so shocked.

After his turn was over we went and got some incredible hot apple cider and cookies. I paid for all our stuff and grabbed a couple loaves of yummy bread. Then it was time to head home. Hannah had a sleepover to get too and it was getting to be dinner time. We took the long way home rather then going the main freeway. It took a bit longer but it was so nice to see all the fall colors. So far I have made apple butter applesauce, and apple cider. We still have a pile of apples left. They are the nice little sweet ones that the kids can eat all by themselves. This is definitely a place we will go back to next year. Next time I plan to pick pears too. Somehow we missed those trees.

15 Months Old- Jakob Simon

2011-10-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Jakie Simon as he has become known around our house turned 15 months. He is such a ray of sunshine crawling through the house at lightening speed. With a smile that melts hearts everywhere he goes. My everyday sidekick he is so much fun to hang out with. Jakie Simon is growing so fast. He is all boy and trying so hard to keep up with Max and Hannah. Here are some 15 month stats.

1. Jakie Simon crawls so fast. Turn your back for a second and he is gone. He is out the door and headed for the stairs at Max's therapy before I can even put down the diaper bag. He is up the stairs like lightening if the baby gate gets left open but doens't understand how to back down them yet.

2. He is really really close to walking. He cruises the furniture, and uses his push toy like he is on the freeway. He is starting to test his balance and trying to stand up on his own. Once this kid gets going he is gonna start running.

3. Jakie Simon is our climber. I am constantly finding him standing on chairs, climbing on toys and even up on the kids table. He flies up the stairs, on top of all his toys, up slides, everywhere. He tries to dive out of car seats, strollers, grocery carts, and high chairs. He is busy, busy, busy and doesn't like to take no for an answer.

4. Jakie Simon gets mad. When he gets frustrated he turns bright red balls up his fists, and yells. We call him Jack Jack from the Incredilbes when he does it.

5. Jakie Simon survived his first ear infection. It wasn't pretty. When all he did was cry one day and run a fever I knew something was up. Even the doc couldn't believe how upset the happiest baby in the world was.

6. Jakie Simon finally broke 20 pounds. Weighing in at 20.1 pounds and 31.5 inches tall.

Love those blackberries

7. I think Jakie Simon watches the dogs too much. He is constantly putting balls or socks in his mouth and crawling around that way. He also loves cars and making them go around the ramps and pushing them around on the floor.

8. Jakie Simon has no fear. Diving into the ball pit head first and all the climbing he does he just goes for it with such a zest for life you can't help but laugh.

9. You should hear Max say "Jakie Simon sit down" it is so cute. He gets so mad when Jakob steals his toys. He yells "Jakie Simon NO" and gets really mad.

10. Jakie Simon can make Max laugh and vise versa with such delight we can't help but all laugh too. Most days there is a hug it out wrestling match following lunch time.

11. Jakie Simon's favorite foods are veggie sticks, cookies, bananas, tofu, honeycomb, cheese, and milk. He istrying really hard to like the sippy cup but most days will hold out for the bottle at nap and bed time.

12. Jakie Simon has a few words. He says mama, dada, banana and he signs more like a maniac.

Jakie Simon is trouble on all fours coming at you at 100 MPH but we love him so very much and are so glad he is part of our family.

10K

2011-10-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran my first 10K, 6.2 miles. I ran a couple of 5K's now and needed a new goal. Back in early August I went for a run one evening and on a whim I got mad that running more then 3 miles was so hard and decided to map out a 6 mile loop. It was amazing. I picked a 10K that was part of a series at Magnuson park down in Seattle. Friends who have run there said it is a nice flat course right on the water and great for first time runs like this. Every month the park does a series where you can run a 5, 10, or 15K. They also have kids runs and bike/run combos. I trained hard. Once a week I went out for my 6 mile run then did other varying runs both at the gym and outside. I felt good going into Saturday. Dave got a sub for Aikido and since the race didn't start until 10 the entire family came to cheer me on. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. Being at the park on the water was awesome. The kids loved the beach. Max and Hannah spent forever throwing rocks into the water and Jakie just wanted to crawl everywhere. There weren't a lot of people there. Some races are so crowded it can be a bit overwhelming. There seemed to be less then 200 people there and less then 30 had signed up for the 10K. At just before 10 we all lined up and off we went. The start was great. about a half mile in there was a good hill. I don't like hills and I don't do well on hills. The first round was ok. The course was a lot of dirt and gravel which I wasn't really ready for but managed ok. We ran by kids soccer games, the playground, through the park and along the water. When I came around for the first loop I saw my time for the 5K. It was 30 minutes. Woohoo! A personal record for me and way ahead of my goal. Just as I started the 2nd lap I saw Dave and the kids. They were cheering me on. I was tired but they gave me more steam. Then I rounded the corner and hit the hill for a second time. It almost killed me. I ended up walking about 20 paces at the top of the hill. My legs were jello and I had to talk myself into running again. I was tired and my legs were dying. I knew if I walked again I wouldn't make it. I was determined to finish and prove to myself I could do it and to show the kids, Hannah, especially, I could do it. Song by song, step by step I got there. When I got to the final half mile I knew I could do it. Along the waterfront was amazing. Then there was Hannah waiting to high 5 me as I came in. Even Max was excited. My official time was 1 hour 3 minutes and 59 seconds. I had smashed my personal goal and best times from all my training runs. I was hoping to beat an hour and 5 minutes but was sure I would be at an hour and ten since most of my training runs had been that. When I saw an hour and 3.59 I was in shock. I also wanted to throw up. I came in 23rd out of 29 runners for the 10K. I am so glad I did it. It felt so amazing to work so hard and have it be successful. I haven't worked so hard for something like that since my dancing days. Running is so many things to me. It's all mine, my work, my accomplishment, my time, my stress reliever, and me being in control of my body. To push myself to be stronger and faster and better is something I haven't been able to do in 12 years. I have so many people who inspire me, cheer, me on and encourage me from both near and far. I have a whole group of ex-dancer friends who are now amazing runners. They run 5k's, 10K's, half and full marathon's. I have a friend Kevin who recently told us all that he has Cystic fibrosis. I met Kevin when I was 15 in NYC. We went to school and danced together for over 4 years both in NYC and Seattle. No one ever knew he had CF. He is currently training to run the NYC marathon and raising money for CF. He is so amazing and inspirational. No matter how he feels or if he is on IV antibiotics he gets out there and runs. On my worst days I will probably never understand how it feels for him to breathe. Today he went out for a 16 mile run. I am in awe at his determination and I can't wait to cheer him on and watch him succeed in his goal. I run for my own satisfaction but I also run for those who can't, and to show my kids what it means to live a healthy active lifestyle. What is my next goal? I plan on keeping where I am for now and spending the winter working on my strength and speed. Next June is the Seattle rock and roll half marathon, 13.1 miles. I have a few friends from out of town who have said they would come run with me. I have 8 months to talk them into it and to train enough that I might actually be able to keep up with them. What do you say Wendy, Terry, Colleen are you guys in? Anyone else? If you need some inspiration read Kevin's blog on my sidebar. Also my friend Terry posted this u-tube video on FB today. It is the amazing story of a guy running the NYC marathon next month. Many of his reasons for running take the words right out of my mouth.

Pre-Race

throwing rocks in the lake waiting for the start.


3 miles down three to go

How Max kept busy while I ran


almost done. Just high fived Hannah

Random goings on

2011-09-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy lately but there have been a few moments I haven't wanted to let go by without recording them for myself.

1. A couple of weeks ago Dave and I attended our first wine tasting fundraiser. There is a guy who works at Microsoft who is also a photographer. He started a project called Stories of Autism. He photographs kids on the spectrum and then has their parents write a short blurb about their child. He has started to get photographers from around the country to join in on the project. The fundraiser was to help spread the word and expand the project even more. Dave and I got all dressed up and went out for dinner before hand. We celebrated that he had an awesome review, bonus, and raise. Then we enjoyed the wine tasting. Good wine, fun people, and I even won a prize in the raffle. The pictures this guy has in his gallery are amazing. You can check out galleries of his work here.

Like the new haircut! 11 inches gone!

My Sweetie!

2. About 6 weeks ago we took Hannah for her yearly eye exam to Max's vision specialist. They told us that Hannah was having some convergence issues meaning her eyes don't work together really well and that she was having trouble switching focus between near and far work. Both of the reasons are why she was given glasses by our other doc. The doc decided to try some home vision therapy. Hannah has three exercises to do every day to help strengthen her eyes. Doc says if she does them well when she is done she may not need her glasses anymore. At the first recheck Hannah was doing better already. She has to be reminded to do her therapy but Max loves to watch her and even grabs his own "stick" and pretends to do his exercises too.

Hannah doing her flipper.. It helps train her eyes to go from near to far focus while she reads letters off the stick.

3. One Sunday night about a week ago. I got home with Hannah from religious school. The boys had already eaten dinner and were running amok in the kitchen,. Dave and I were trying to have a conversation about something but Jakie kept fussing. finally the boys opened their drawer and started pulling out plates and bowls. It was loud but they started giggling. It meant Dave and I could talk so we let the boys have it at it. When they were done this is what the kitchen looked like.

Jakie sticking a wood fish in my shoe with a look of mischief.

Max kept moving out of range of the camera so Jakie would get all the blame.

4. The day Dave got his bonus for work our dryer decided to stop working. Hey for once an appliance had good timing. :) The coffee maker decided to die the same day,. Now both are equally important in our house so having both go on the same day wasn't fun. After having the repair come and take a look at the dryer it was decided we just needed to get a new one. Off we went to Sears. we settle on a new 7.5 cubic foot capacity Samsung with all the bells and whistle. The guys finally came to deliver it last Thursday and they wouldn't install it because they didn't like that the handle on our gas valve was broken. We had the gas co. out and they said just turn it with a wrench and it's all good. So we switched out the dryers and waited for Sears to come back and take the old dryer away. I had this monster in my hallway for 4 days. Then Monday night I went in to get a load of darks out at 11PM. I swore I smelled gas but wasn't sure. Dave called PSE and they came back out. Turns out there had been a huge gas explosion in Seattle that day so everyone was freaking out. The smell was gone so I was pretty sure he was going to tell me I was crazy. Sure enough we had a very small leak from a connection not being tight enough. by midnight it was all fixed and the poor exhausted PSE guy was on to his next call. Now the boys love the window in the new dryer and it's very entertaining.

the old dryer taking up residence at the top of the stairs.

the new "TV"

5. Max is at that age where he only naps about 60% of the time. I don't mind it most days and on some days I purposely don't let him nap so I don't have to deal with the post nap melt down. a couple days ago he hadn't napped and then he spent an house in the car while we took Hannah to piano and ran an errand. By the time we got home he was passed out. I carried him in the house and he didn't budge. It was so sweet. I laid him on the coach and went to make dinner. Max hasn't transferred and stayed asleep since he was a baby. It was so cute. He slept curled up on the couch for almost an hour.

My sweet boy!

6. Jakie has developed a love for all electronics. especially the phone. he gets so mad when I take them away. More then a few times he h as managed to dial the phone. Usually he just calls Dave but once he called our voicemail and once his Uncle Matt. Last week Dave called my cell phone to tell me Jakob called him and then left the phone somewhere. I found it on the couch and Jakob was in the kitchen. the following picture is how Jakie thinks the phone works.

my crazy life

2011-09-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

Life with three kids can be busy but when one of those kids has special needs and is in therapy almost daily busy takes on a whole new meaning. When setting out the fall schedule I was trying to be so careful not to over schedule Hannah. She needs and enjoys her downtime and I don't like to spend the afternoon going in 10 different directions. I also wanted to make sure each of the boys had something fun with mom outside of dealing with Max's therapy. What I didn't factor in was time for the rest of life. Meaning time for appointments and a morning free for me. Life is crazy this fall but once we get settled into a schedule it's going to be a lot of fun. Now I just have to find time to get to doctor's appointments. Here is how life breaks out on a typical week. Keep in mind Jakob likes to sleep in until 8:30 or 9 and on most days I have to wake both boys from naps to get Hannah to her activities. Once a month I have to get both Hannah and Max to the eye doctor, and if someone gets sick the whole schedule is blown. Also all of Max's therapy's have attendance requirements and he can only miss a certain number of visits without getting penalized. They would like us to do makeups but I seriously don't know when we would do it. Those darn naps just keep getting in the way.

Monday:
Hannah gets on the bus at 8:15
Leave for therapy with Max at 9:15
Therapy 10-12
Home for lunch
Naps 2-4
Hannah gets home:3:30
leave for swim team 4:15 Max swims with me
home from swim team 5:45
dinner, homework, piano, vision therapy, baths, stories, and bedtime by 8:00 for the boys 8:30 for Hannah

Tuesday:
Hannah gets on the bus at 8:15
Max and Dave leave for Therapy 8:30
Jakob and I leave for his class 8:45
Class 9:30-10:30
Pick up Max 11:30
home and lunch
Naps 2-4
Hannah gets home:3:30
leave for piano 4:15
home from Piano 5:15
dinner, homework, piano, vision therapy, baths, stories, and bedtime by 8:00 for the boys 8:30 for Hannah

Wednesday
Hannah gets on the bus at 8:15
Leave for therapy with Max at 9:15
Therapy 10-12
Home for lunch
Naps 2-4
Hannah gets home:3:30
leave for swim team 4:15 Boys in Kids club, I get to run
home from swim team 5:45
dinner, homework, piano, vision therapy, baths, stories, and bedtime by 8:00 for the boys 8:30 for Hannah

Thursday
Hannah gets on the bus at 8:15
Max and Dave leave for Therapy 8:30
Jakob and I leave for the gym when possible at 8:15
Jakob's dance class 10-11
Pick up Max 11:30
home and lunch
Naps 2-4
Hannah gets home:3:30
free afternoon unless Hannah has therapy or a doctor's appointment
dinner, homework, piano, vision therapy, baths, stories, and bedtime by 8:00 for the boys 8:30 for Hannah

Friday
Hannah gets on the bus at 8:15
Drop Jakob at a friends at 9:45
Max class 10:30 - 11:30
Pick up Jakob 12:00
Home for lunch
Naps 2-4
Hannah gets home:3:30
leave for swim team 4:15 Jakob swims with me
home from swim team 5:45
dinner
Synagogue 7:30

Saturday:
Dave leave for the dojo at 8:30
Drop Hannah and Jakob at the dojo at 9:45
Max dance class 10:30-11:30

Sunday:
Hannah religious school 3:15-5:30

Typing this all out it doesn't look as crazy as it feels to me. What I love is that by 5:45 we are home for family dinner, homework and bedtime activities. Dave teaches on Wednesday and Thursday nights and Saturday AM. I usually have a board meeting once a month or somewhere to be at least one evening a week. I already plan on easing up the AM schedule come next spring. About then is when Hannah will be begging to do softball again so the nights will get crazy.

My Little Wahoo!

2011-09-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hannah is officially a Wahoo! What is a Wahoo you may ask? Well it is the name of her swim team. Well it's kind of a swim team. It's a non-competitive training team at our gym. The kids commit to 3 days a week and the coaches spend the year teaching them everything they need to know to swim competitively. So far Hannah is loving it. She worked really hard in swim lessons last year to qualify by swimming two lengths of the pool. The first day was last Monday. She hadn't been in the pool in a month so I knew she would be a little weak. She got dressed put her new bright pink swim cap on and hit the pool. By the end she was exhausted. I could see her trying so hard just to get down the lane. When we got home for dinner she almost couldn't eat. We forced some food in her and she felt a lot better. Now I have to make sure she gets plenty of extra calories after school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The really nice thing is that since it's at our gym I can check one or both boys into kids club and go run or take one of them swimming. It's a bit of a bummer the kids don't get to compete at all. That may change in the next year but they do some friendly races against each other and do a meet at the end of the year. Hannah is having a blast and in one week I already see a huge change in her skills. She even has a few friends on the team. It's so nice to see her having fun doing something she loves.

First Day of School, First Day of School, First Day of School!!!

2011-09-08T15:10:00.000-07:00


My third grader

There are a few quotable lines from Finding Nemo that our family uses. First day of school is one I always remember. Hannah was so excited for school to start. She knew who was in her class but hadn't gotten to meet her teacher until yesterday. Hannah was supposed to have a Mrs. Graves for third grade. But at the very last second she decided to stay at the school where she has been teaching when a class opened up so last Thursday on meet the teacher day Hannah's classroom was barren and empty with no teacher. The kids were all really good sports about it. we out all the kids supplies away and walked around the school. Hannah visited her first and second grade teachers for lots of hugs and how ya doings. There was a hope that one of the two of the second grade teachers from last year who had both been laid off after their one year contracts expired would get rehired. We watched and waited for the rumor mill to go all weekend. Finally Monday night I heard from Megan's mom that a new teacher had been hired. Mr. Barnhill...that's right a male teacher. Megan's mom knew him from another school and said he was well liked and a great teacher. YAY! When I told Hannah she got really excited. She had been hoping for a male teacher. We didn't get to see him ahead of time because he had one day to prep his classroom. Hannah was nervous and excited for the first day. A couple weeks ago Hannah and I went shopping for that first day of school shopping. She picked out a very cute outfit, shoes, earrings, the works. She has the cutest sense of style that is definitely all her own. Yesterday she got up we packed her brand new backpack, and lunch box. She had yummy homemade scones and we all walked her to the bus stop. Hannah is such a good little mentor to younger kids. She stood by the new Kindy boys Jacob and Landon until they all got on the bus.

So loving the socks!

This picture is a tradition we started in Kindy!

Jakob, Hannah, and Landon

When she got home in the afternoon she was so happy. She had a great day. To quote her she said: "Mr. Barnhill is really young like 28, he lets us sit on our desks, and he is really organized like you mommy!" She didn't stop talking about him all night. I found out he just got married, his wife is also a teacher, He has two brothers one of which is studying to be a doctor. His room is decorated really cool. For the first night he sent home a paper bag and a list of questions like favorite food, memory, free time activity, place to visit, future goals etc.. The kids have to find three dimensional objects that represent their answers. Hannah had a great time figuring out her answers and then objects to represent her answers. My favorite was that for the most memorable experience in her life she choose meeting her two brothers for the firs time. She represented that with two little boy little people figures. She is so sweet. What a great getting to know you activity. I think it's going to be a great year for Hannah. Hopefully soon I will actually get to meet her teacher.

Max loves going to the bus stop!

Awesome first day happy face!

Back to school celebrations

2011-09-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

It was a very festive weekend around our house. The last big weekend before school starts tomorrow. We started off Friday having some neighbors over for a yummy BBQ dinner. Their two boys are starting Kindy tomorrow. They are so excited. Saturday Hannah got to invite over her good friend Megan from school. Megan and Hannah are in the same class for the second year in a row and also did softball together last spring. They are really funny together. Megan came over and we all took a walk up to the school to play on the playground. Hannah, Max, Megan, and I played while Jakie and Dave walked up and got us coffee. The girls were so awesome with Max. Encouraging him and helping him on the playground. Both boys actually loved Megan and wouldn't stop flirting with her. When we got home we fired up the BBQ again and the girls had a back to school feast. Hot dogs, Mac and Cheese, Corn, tofu, Burgers, and more followed by cookies and ice cream. The girls even made a back to school banner and decorated crowns I made them to dub them the third grade princesses. After a late movie and bed they enjoyed cinnamon rolls and hours of play the next day.

Sunday night we went to another BBQ for the men's group at our synagogue. It was a lovely evening but we had to head home early with some sleepy children. Monday night we went easy and got pizza. After dinner we enjoyed Popsicles. Well Jakob took Dave's by force and Max kind of ate his before leaving it on the floor in exchange for fruit snacks. Hannah asked her friend Madison over for a movie. After the boys were in bed I headed out for a long run. By the time I got back the girls and had decided to have a sleepover and were already in bed.

Tonight we had a really yummy BBQ dinner and then I invited the Brown's over for a yummy dessert of S'mores on the grill. Jakie is quite funny on a marshmallow sugar high. Max won't touch the melted marshmallows so he had fruit snacks. All the kids went to bed early and I got to work and made chocolate chip and blueberry scones for a special breakfast tomorrow. They are yummy. It really is the best scone recipe ever. Tomorrow Hannah begins third grade. She is so excited...new backpack, new lunchbox, new teacher. More on all of that tomorrow!

Summer fun

2011-08-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been wonderful weather wise. A little warm at times for my tastes but beautiful. We have spent a lot of time outside and water and Popsicles always seem to be involved.

A couple of weekends ago I packed up the kids while Dave was teaching and we went of to Autism Day. A local farm hosts booth's and activities from local businesses for families with kids on the spectrum. Max's therapy school was going to be there and it sounded fun so off we went. We had a blast. There was lots of rice and bean pits to play in, face painting, snacks, balloons, bubbles, stickers, and info. Lots of therapy programs, medical programs, sensory toys, and more. We got to meet the new baby of the owner of Max's therapy school which was great. We even got to do a hay ride on the farm's tractor. It was a lot of fun and we met some really great people.

Max and His Balloon.

Jakie loved to play in the rice until he started trying to eat it.

Hannah thought these bikes were cool.

Last weekend I bought a water table from our neighbor's garage sale. I have been meaning to get one all summer so it was perfect. Max fell in love right away. He played it for a long time while we had a small dojo BBQ. As we went inside to clean up we looked over and Max had decided playing in the water table wasn't enough so he climbed into it fully clothed. It was quite funny. Later that afternoon we had a Huge BBQ for our Synagogue friends. Max, Jakob, and a few of the other kids again had a blast splashing in the water table.

Last Sunday Dave and I took off for Seattle and left the kids with our favorite sitter Julia. We went for the day to see Les Miz. It was awesome and I am so glad I finally got to see it. Anyway it was a warm day so Julia took the kids outside to play. They ended up filling a big red bucket with water and the boys just splashed away. That evening when we got home we took the kids back out and had another splash fest. All three kids had the best time with just a bucket of water. They were all drenched from head to toe. Then we had creamcicles. For Jakob this was a first. He absolutely loved it. Then when the creamcicle was gone Jakob was devestated. He screamed like we were hurting him. It was so funny all we could do was laugh. Max on the other hand needed constant hand wiping because he couldn't stand the creamcicle melting on his hands.

Sheer joy!

So mad the creamcicle is gone!

Monkey see/ monkey do

So this week has been warm and sunny too. The past two nights whikle Dave has been gone teaching I have taken the kids out back to play in the water and swing. Jakob loves to crawl around the back yard going face first down the slide, Max loves to play in the water and swing and Hannah climbes all over the playset and swings with Max. Then of course there are more creamcicles. Last night I put Jakie in his swing to eat his and he ended up taking it from me and just shoveling it on his own. Max just yelled really really loud becasue it kept melting. Then it was off to bath time. The boys are crazy together in the bath. Max hogs the sensory toys and asks me to do his brushing protocol all over his body and Jakie spends all hin time standing up trying to fall out of the tub. Max constantly tells Jakie to sit down. It's very cute.

Tonight we went outside with the boys in just their diapers. instead of giving Max a creamcicle I decided to give him a lolly pop to cut out on the screaming. He loved it. He did a little happy dance. We all sang, danced, played in the water, climbed and had a blast. I love fun summer nights.

Jakie actually looks chunky in these pics. Really he isn't unless you compare him to Max.

Skinny boy with his yellow lollypop

no baby was harmed in the taking of this picture. Notice the pillow at the bottom.

Camp Columbia

2011-08-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hannah has gotten to do many fun things this summer. Last week she added to that fun by spending four days at a day camp at our gym. Camp Columbia as it was called was tons of fun. Nine AM to Four PM for 4 days of swimming, sports, golf, water balloons, more swimming, whipped cream fights, crafts and more swimming. Part of the camp was getting to have a swim session everyday with the Wahoo's and their coach. The Wahoo's are the swim team Hannah is joining this fall. She loved the time with the coaches and even learned some new techniques and strokes. She came home everyday exhausted and happy. I don't think her hair can get any blonder this summer.

Drenched from a water balloon and whipped cream fight!!

Show me those beautiful teeth

2011-08-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Max had his very first dental visit this week. I was so worried about getting him to the dentist. I figured we would walk in and he would just cry. I put out the word I was looking for a pediatric dentist who could work with special needs kids. I got a few recommendations but one i got multiple ones for from people I really trusted and it's only 10 minutes away. I checked out the website and made an appointment. The Mill Creek Children's Dentist- Dr. Shenfield was awesome. I had done some prep work with Max ahead of time with his therapists. I have a friend who is our hygienist. She let me borrow some of her tools and Max's therapists worked on getting him familiar with them. I also printed out pictures of the Dentist and the Hygienist who would be working with Max. At bedtime when I brushed his teeth we sang songs and I asked to count his teeth with my finger. The day of Max walked into the office a bit crabby but under his own steam. The hygienist was very sweet with Max. We looked at all the fish they had on the walls on the way to the room. Once we got there she had Max sit in my lap by the window. She sat down a few feet away and we just chatted for about 10 minutes. We talked about Max's oral history, how we brush, what kind of things he likes and such. Then she told me how things were going to go. The goal was to take a quick look and get the fluoride treatment in. The dentist finally came in and said hi. He was very calm, reserved, and friendly. I sat in the hygienists chair with Max facing me. And then dentist sat facing me and we laid Max back across our laps. Max got a little upset but he opened his mouth and the dentist was wonderful. He let me sing the ABC's for Max and then he started singing the itsy bitsy spider to him. I just played with Max's hands while he took a look and then swabbed on the fluoride. By the time they were done the tears were gone and he even smiled. Dentist said Max's teeth look great. We need to work on getting all the way back to the back of his mouth but he doesn't see any problems. We go back in 6 months. I didn't get any pictures but I took a couple when we got home of Max looking through his goodie bag. He was very proud of himself and loves his new toothbrush.

Blueberries for Hannah, Max, and Jakob...and mom and dad too

2011-08-14T21:37:00.001-07:00

We are so incredibly lucky to live 5 minutes from a Blueberry farm. This is the second year we have gone picking. As of today we have gone twice this year. I first took the kids last week while Dave was out of town for an Aikido Seminar. We were joined by our neighbor's the Young's. The morning of I almost didn't go because it was misting but we did and it turned out to be perfect weather in the fields. The rain stopped but it was overcast so it was perfect temp, not hot at all. Jakob was in the jogging stroller and Max and Hannah grabbed buckets and we headed in.
Max sat right down by a bush and I plunked a few blueberries in his bucket to show him what to do. He sat for awhile and took all the berries I putting out of the bucket and onto the ground. Then he ate some out of my bucket. Then he figured out how to pick them. At first he picked the green ones but I kept telling him to pick the blue and purple ones and since he is all about colors he went right after that. he loved reaching up into the bushes and picking berries and eating them. He ate a ton and picked a few to take home.

Hannah ran off and picked berries with the neighbor boys Jay, Jackson, and Hadden. Yes another family of all boys and Hannah is the only girl in the crowd. She had a great time. Jakob just sat in the stroller eating handfuls of blueberries and chit catting with everyone.

I swear we needed to weigh all the kids before we left. We came home with 7.3 pounds of berries after about an hour of picking. I think the kids ate at least another two. We made blueberry cake and blueberry scones and had fresh berries everyday as well as freezing two big gallon bags of berries.

We wanted to go back again with Dave and so today the weather was just right again. We headed to the very back field and settled right in again. Jakob ate himself silly, Max ate and wandered and kept asking for snuggles, and Hannah picked a few but ate a lot. Between all of us we got about 8.4 pounds today. We froze two big bags again and left the rest out to eat fresh this week. I am trying to get a really good stash of frozen berries for using this winter. the kids love blueberries so we like to eat them year round. you can't beat $1.80 per pound. We will be reading Blueberries for Sal a lot in the near future. I love the plink, plink of berries in an empty bucket and it is a great way to keep track of the kids in the fields. :) Can't wait until next year when Jakie can join in on the fun too.

11 Years

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love this man!!

11 Years! How could it be. It seems like just yesterday. We were two young 20 somethings in love, with our lives together before us. Married in a beautiful garden, on a beautiful day. I couldn't ask for a better partner to go through life with. Nobody can frustrate me the way he does making me so mad until I laugh and cry. Nobody can make me laugh the way he can even when I don't want to laugh at his lame jokes.

There is no one I would rather have gone through this last year with.

The sleepless nights with a new baby who didn't sleep well for 6 months. He was right there helping Jakob learn to self soothe and go to sleep on his own.

Staying home for an extra hour in the mornings when I just needed another hour of sleep so I wouldn't be in tears exhausted all day.

Starting therapy with Max and the calls when I would leave the early days of speech therapy in tears because it was so hard for Max.

The amazingly strong person who held me up when we got Max's diagnosis and stood by me as we decided ASD wasn't going to define or limit who our baby is.

He tolerates my craziness of deciding all in one moment I need to rearrange the entire house, and at the same time I have to mow the lawn right now.

He encourages me to go out on my own when I need to. To recharge my batteries by myself or with my girlfriends.

He tolerates all the nights I don't want to cook and all the nights I try out wacky new recipes.

He shrugs and then helps me fold laundry and stuff diapers at 10:30 at night when all we want to do is go to bed.

He is so incredibly involved with his children and loves being a part of their lives. Snuggling and tickling, chasing, reading to all three of them and so much more. I love walking by and listening to him read Harry Potter to Hannah in all his crazy voices. Taking Max to therapy school every Tuesday and Thursday on his way to work.

He has been an amazing cheerleader in my quest to become a runner. Including the day I pushed to reach three miles for the first time and he texted me from work every 5 minutes to cheer me on, and showing up at the finish line of my first race, to calling me three nights ago because I had been gone for over and hour. I was running 6 miles for the first time and hadn't told him. It was getting dark and he was worried.

I love you my dear sunshine, with all my heart, now and forever....Your Nava

Camp Kalsman-2 weeks of fun

2011-08-09T20:05:00.001-07:00

Our Bet-Goorim Camper looking a little lord of the flies-ish!

Hannah had the most incredible time at Camp Kalsman this year. She was gone from Tuesday July 19th - Tuesday August 2nd. Two whole weeks. First off Hannah says thank you to everyone who sent her letters and packages. She loved getting so much mail. Drop off at camp went very smoothly this year. While in line for check-in we met another little girl who was going to be in Hannah's cabin. By the time we got through the lice check the girls were already friends. We got down to the girls cabin and started to unpack. Hannah was in a different cabin but in the same bed set-up as ast year. There were 8 girls, 5 counselors, and a counselor in training. Sounds like fun to me. We got Hannah unpacked and then we said our goodbyes. Hannah was already goofing off with her cabin mates and counselors. Two of the girls were returnees from her cabin last year. when you leave camp that is the last face to face or even voice contact you have with your camper. for the next two weeks I found out about Hannah's life through letters from her which mostly just asked for more stamps, pictures they post and from our Rabbi and his wife who were in-residence at the camp the second week. We sent Hannah a couple of packages and an email every night. I even sent her a couple of emails pretending to be the boys or the dogs. She thought that was funny. It was a long two weeks and we missed her so much. Finally I went to pick her up. As I walked through the camp to the basketball court where they all gather I was told by other friends on their way out that Hannah was beside herself waiting for me. When I got there and she saw me she tackled me and then burst into tears. It was so cute. She was so excited to see me, so sad to leave camp, exhausted... so many emotions and they all got the best of her. A bunch of older kids and counselors came over and just gushed at what a sweetie she was and how much they loved her. One of the male counselors came over and said "so you are responsible for this one" with a huge grin on his face. After many hugs and good byes we finally made our way to the car. Hannah didn't stop talking for hours. Here are some highlights of camp.

1. Mealtime chants and songs.

2. Sleeping in a cabin with 7 other girls. A slumber, dance party every night.

Oren Cabin girls

3. The climbing tower not once but twice

First day at camp a little cold and wet

4. Art-splatter paint, button making, clay, friendship bracelets, lanyards

Splatter painting fabric bags

5. T’fillah everyday(prayer service)

In the Ga Ga pit(a ball game played in a big pit)

6. Shabbat with the entire camp dressed in white.

7. Swimming- and passing the swim test

8. Canoeing

Goorim counselors. There was a mock wedding for two of the counselors to show the goorim boys and girls the rituals of a Jewish wedding.

9. hiking and cooking out

10. Baby naming ceremony for the camp directors baby girl.

11. Maccabiah- Color wars, Hannah was on the red team and they won.

Goorim boys counselor Sam.

12. Singing "You are my Sunshine" in the talent show all by herself

13. Being in the camp play Seussical the Musical.

14. Ga Ga, Archery and the tree house.

14. Friends, fun, and laughter 24/7 for two whole weeks.

Hannah and her BFF at camp Isabel.

Hannah came home and is immediately counting the months till next years camp. She says she can't wait until 5th grade when she can go for 3 weeks. I am not sure I am ready for that.

Bet Goorim Oren cabin girls

Goorim unit boys and girls

Camp Kalsman Kallah Bet Session entire camp

Jakob Stats

2011-08-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Jakie finally had his one year well child check yesterday with Doctor Kathy. It's so funny. The office staff just loves our kids and with all three along we were a force to be reckoned with. They make a big deal about all the kids and make them all feel special. Jakie had a great visit. He is 19.1 pounds, and 31 inches tall.(Hannah was 19 at a year and Max was 18) He was very happy for the doc as she checked him out. He clapped, waved, said mama and dada, smiled, laughed, crawled, pulled up, sat. All the things he is supposed to do for his age. Doc agreed that a few visits of PT that we are doing for his core and leg strength will get him over the hump from tummy to hands and knees crawling. We rounded off the visit with 2 of his shots. 4 more between now and two and he is all done till Kindy. Back to see the doc at 15 months. Way to go Jakie...Happy, healthy baby boy! the pictures for this post are a little photo shoot I did out in the yard tonight. I have been trying to get a good one year picture. I think I got a few that will fit the bill. I love all the bright colors and the dark green grass.

All three Kiddos

Brothers

2011-08-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Brothers-Max and Jakob. Born 18 months apart and already at 1 and 2.5 the best of friends. With Hannah away at camp the boys got even closer and really formed a bond. I know that there are going to be fights, disagreements, and bickering I have already seen a glimpse of that but for now they are incredibly sweet together. Max is such a great big brother. He looks out for Jakob, helps take care of him and shares his toys when I ask him too. Jakob is in total awe of Max. He loves every toy Max plays with. He is so frustrated that he can't keep up with him but he so badly wants to try. Tonight they were cracking each other up while Max jumped in and out of the ball pit in our room. Then he ran over and got in Jakob's face and then ran off to them both laughing. It was so funny.
The boys are slowly developing their own language. It's a lot of screeches and squeals right now of various volumes. They think it's pretty funny to see how loud they can get. Then they have some noises that sound like Dory from Finding Nemo speaking whale. It's quite entertaining. They love to screech really loudly in the car and at the dinner table.
We currently have one major issue. Jakob has a fascination with removing Max's glasses. Max gets really mad. Last month Jakob pulled off Max's glasses while they were on a walk and then Max broke them in half and threw half away. Dave got home and realized we only had half his glasses. Fortunately with the help of the neighbors the other half was found on the side of the road. Phew! Luckily we have a warranty so they got fixed a couple days later.

I so love watching the friendships and love that my kids have for each other. The boys are creating a bond I hope will last a lifetime.

The Chaos Comes to Town

2011-07-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Right after we got back from GA we were lucky to miss the post vacation funk by immediately filling our house with our best friends. The Conlins-(Colleen, Adam, Zach, Ben, Josh, Luke, and Tommy) were here for their annual summer visit to WA. Saturday Colleen and Tommy picked us up from the airport. It ended up being a quiet night with just them staying with us and the rest of the boys and Adam being spread amongst Adam's family for various reasons. Sunday afternoon after we all went our separate ways the whole family minus Luke who was at Nana camp arrived. That night we had Zach, Ben, Josh, Max and Hannah in Max's room, Jakob in his room, and Colleen, Adam, and Tommy in Hannah's room. Monday I headed off to Max's therapy and Colleen stayed home with the kiddos. It was a pretty quiet day. The kids loved being back together and quickly fell into their games and friendships with very minimal disagreements. Monday we lost Zach who went off to stay at an old friends house. The rst of the kids enjoyed a few days of just running back and forth across the street and playing together. In the group everyone has a buddy that is within a year of the same age. It is such a great group of kids.

Madison, Hannah, Zach, Josh, and Ben

Tuesday was girls night for Colleen, Beth, and I. We headed out leaving the boys and children. We had a fabulous dinner at PF Chang's and then went to see a movie. It was a great night filled with girl talk and laughter and quite a bit of sugar after a visit to the Sweet Factory.

Scary phone picture from the movies.

Wednesday Ben and Hannah joined me in taking Max to therapy and we enjoyed some bagels and a trip to the book store. Hannah really really adores Ben and so far their friendship stands the distance and only seeing each other twice a year.

Ben and Hannah

Wednesday afternoon we said bye to Ben, Zach, and Josh who went off to Nana camp and said hello to Luke. It was so much fun to see the 4 little boys together and Hannah was great about the 3 big boys leaving and helping out with the little boys. Luke and Max are very similar. They both have the sensory issues and feel really big so there were some pretty big dramatic meltdowns from that set. Luke has overcome so much and grown so much in the past year. It has been amazing to watch. Jakob and Tommy are a bit a like to in that they are both happy and smiley and friendly. They really enjoyed each other too. The three littlest boys Max, Tommy, and Jakob all started their own little language of squeaks and squeals. My boys continue this language and more now. It get really loud in the house sometimes.

Luke

Luke and Max playing play doh. Max even touched it and picked it up.

Thursday Colleen had a few of her old ward friends over for a quick play date. I missed most of it picking up Max from therapy but got to see the girls for a few minutes. We all live in the same area, are friends on Facebook and read each others blogs but i don't see them very often. We definitely need to change that. Anyway Thursday night Colleen and Adam being the die hard Harry Potter fans that they are went to the 12:10AM opening show. I almost had to go with Colleen because Tommy wasn't sleeping. It would have been fun but I haven't seen all the other movies yet. Adam was able to go and I was able to go to sleep.

Jakob and Tommy in the bath. All smiles for the camera.

Max and Luke in the bath. They both wanted the camera gone.Adam, Jakob, and Tommy reading storiesFriday Colleen and the 5 kiddos went and met her sister in law Alea, her kids, and other sister in law Ashley for strawberry picking. Hannah was very independent and picked on her own. Max liked to wander the aisles and then come over and take berries from me to eat. Jakob was happy as long as I kept feeding him berries to. That is definitely the best part about strawberry picking. They were mostly tiny little berries so easy to pop in your mouth in one bite. After berry picking Colleen and I headed to Snohomish and had lunch and picked up yummy cupcakes. That night we said good bye to the chaos for a few days as they went off down south to stay with Family.

All the kiddos- Luke(4), Tommy(18 monmths), Parker(4 months), Hannah(8 years), Max(2.5), Jakob(1 year), and Cami(2.25 years)

Monday we had to have one last play date. we met at a wonderful park in Redmond with Beth and her kids. The kids had a blast. Max even climbed all over the play structure and went down the slide on his own. Their was a huge sand pit that the older kids had a blast digging in. When it was nap time it was time to say our final goodbyes for the summer. I admit this was the hardest good bye for me. I had tears in my eyes half way home. It was so awesome to have Colleen here. Chatting until late at night, driving together, understanding what I go through with Max because she has different but similar issues with her kids. I miss the Conlin Chaos and hope that maybe next summer will be the summer they finally come home for good rather then just for a month.

Adeline, Luke, Josh, Hannah, Jakob, Max, Zach B, Heather, Madison, Zac C., Carson, Ben, and Tommy.

Much better picture of us girls

Camp Kalsman

2011-07-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is a little garden in camp. Hannah says it's one of her favorite places.

You may remember that last summer Hannah spent a week at sleep away camp right after we had Jakob. She had so much fun. This year she s gone for two weeks. She is having a blast from the few letters we are getting and the pictures we see online. Right after we got back from our trip to GA the camp had it's 5th Anniversary celebration. We left the boys at home and Hannah and I went off to enjoy a fun afternoon at camp. Hannah had one place she wanted to go. The Climbing Tower. After saying some hello's to friends we made our way over and she got right in line. When she was called up she was so excited. They took a long time getting her geared up. double checking it all because she was so small. The they sent her up. She went up about 20 feet then the guy had her let go and he brought her down. At first I was disappointed I thought they weren't letting her try to go all the way up because she was so little. I was wrong the guys just wanted her to know that she was safe and the ropes would hold her if she fell and that she could trust him to support her. So then up she went again all the way up 50 feet. She was so amazing, strong, and brave. She was determined to get to the top. She had just a little bit of trouble getting up onto the platform so the guy helped her by pulling the ropes. the rest She did most of by herself. She stood up tall so proud of herself. Then she floated down with a huge smile n her face. She couldn't wait to get to camp and try it again. After the climbing tower we went and checked out a few other things. Then we hit the lake and went for a canoe ride. It was a beautiful day and Hannah was a great rowing partner. After that we headed back to the dinning hall and she got her face painted. We left and she couldn't wait for her turn to go to camp 10 days later. Once she gets home and I get a hold of her camera and get all her stories I will do a post on her 2 week camp experience. I am so proud of my little camper girl.

Pics from the party

2011-07-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

I ordered a bunch of pictures from the bunch that the photographer took. She got some really good pictures. We have a family picture. I ordered a big one to replace the picture of the four of us from last year. It's not a perfect picture but very representative of our family at this moment. enjoy.

Lynda and her grandniece and Anna and Hannah

Hannah with Lynda and one of her sisters

My pretty girl

Stewart giving his speech

Stewart and Lynda

Great pic even with goofy Hannah
Mandy, Heather with Dave and I

Lynda, Matt, Heather, Stewart

Dave and family friend Steve

Lynda's Niece Laura(I think) and I

The Immediate familyGoofy picture

The extended family

The grandkids. Sara holding Jakob, Zach and Mandy in the back row. Luke holding Max, Noah, Hannah, and Anna holding Sophia.

Heather, Matt, Sophia, and Noah

Lynda's side-Adam, Mandy, Lisa, Sara, Tracy

Luke, Zach, and Anna

Our family. Max wouldn't look, Jakob was very happy, and Hannah is drifting too. The perfect family picture.

Georgia Part 4 the final installment.

2011-07-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Yes I could have combined a few posts but then they would have been very long with a lot of pictures. I also just ordered pictures from the party and brunch so I will have to post those when I get them. Wednesday was Lynda's actual birthday. She had some friends coming to stay with them for a few days so we were on our own for a bit. They were a lovely couple that Lynda has known forever. They loved the kids and were ready to take Hannah with them I think. The guys went off to have lunch with Stewart. The girls and kids hung out at home. I took our kids swimming while Jakob napped. Jakob slept a lot while we were in GA. I think the heat made him sleepy. After naps we decided with Matt and Heather to take all the kids to Monkey Joe's. It's a bouncy house place we have a lot of them here in WA and the kids love it. The nice thing about Monkey Joe's was that it had an under 3 area that was perfect for Max and Jakob. Hannah ran off to play and we barely saw her. The boys had a blast; climbing, bouncing, playing. Dave sent them down the little slide to me which they thought was great fun. Then Max and I took off to the big kid area. He was all over the big slides and climbers. With me running along behind to guide him he proceeded to climb up on everything he could including a huge slide that went all the way up to the ceiling. He was fearless and had a blast. After Monkey Joe's we went home and had a late dinner and then bed.

Uncle Matt with Max and Sophia. Max thought he was funny when he made them bounce

Sophia

the boys

the big slide

Hannah

Matt

Jakob on the little slide

Max on the little slide

Thursday Matt and Heather were supposed to leave. They asked Dave to drive them to the airport since we had rented a car. The kids and I visited with Lynda and her house guests and then went to swim. To make a long story short it took 3 tries and 2 days to get Matt and Heather off on their way home. That afternoon Dave and I spent about 3+ hours in the pool with Max and Hannah. Max was getting even braver in the water. Jumping in, blowing bubbles, and trying to swim underwater. He and Hannah ate so many Popsicles in the last two days we were there. Hannah loved hanging in the pool with Grandma and her friends. That night after the kids went to bed Dave and I snuck out to go to dinner by ourselves. We went back to a place we went to two years ago called Takosushi. It's trendy place with a blend of southwestern cuisine and sushi. Of course I got a veggie enchilada plate and sushi(avocado roll), Dave was a bit more traditional and just got Sushi. It was a lot of fun. We had lost power at the house for a couple of hours and when we got home it was back on but Jakob was up, hot, and very mad. Lynda and Heather were trying to keep him calm. After a snuggle with mama and a bottle he went right to sleep.

The kids liked to count to three and jump in together. Max got so excited he kept going early

post swim snuggles are the best

Friday was more of the same. Lots of swimming and relaxing at the house. That night to celebrate our last night there Stewart and Lynda hired the sitter again and took Dave and I out to dinner. We all went to PF Chang's and then did a little shopping. We had a blast. Awesome food and lots of laughs. It was a great end to a great week. Saturday morning we got up and Dave took Max and Hannah for one final swim. Then we packed up the car and off we went for Atlanta to fly home. This time I sat with Jakob on my own and Dave, Hannah, and Max sat a few rows up. After about 2 hours Jakob finally fell asleep and slept until we landed. That was after I sang to him for over an hour to get him to sleep. Max slept for a short time then was a bit manic. Everyone was tired and so happy to be home where started our next adventure right away...A week with the Conlin Family. :)

worn out from vacationMax coming down the big slide all by himself

Max Jumping- Listen you can hear him ask Dave to "blow bubbles"

Hannah and Max

Georgia Part 3

2011-07-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday July 5th we said goodbye to our step sister Tracy and her girls Sara and Mandy. It felt like we didn't get enough visiting time but they all needed to get home for work the next day. After a quiet morning we went off and met Dave's dad for lunch. He works at the Medical College of Ga as Interim chair of the Psychiatry Department. We walked over and the kids got a rare treat of McDonald's for lunch at the Children's Hospital.

Jakob, Stewart, and Sophia

Hannah, Lynda, and Sophia

After lunch we took the kids home and then Lynda, Heather, and I left for some girl time. Lynda treated us to massages and it was wonderful to just lay and relax for awhile. When we got home Dave and I made dinner and we celebrated Jakob's first birthday a couple of days early. We made yummy chicken and tofu and veggie kabobs with rice and corn. I worked really hard on Jakob's cake. I wanted to make him a special cake. A dinosaur cake. I found one online that I loved. I made a practice cake and everything. The cake turned out awesome. We sang to little Jakob and Dave's brother Matt played his Clarinet. Jakob done into his cake and had a wonderful time. The only one of my children to truly enjoy the experience. It was a great day.

Dinosaur CakeBirthday Boy!

Bedtime!

Georgia Part 2

2011-07-11T07:40:00.001-07:00

Monday was July 4th. We started off the day with a huge brunch. All 19 of us plus Lynda's other family and friends came over. We had wonderful food and everyone got to meet the little boys. Several family members wanted to take them home. The photographer came to the house to do some big group shots. We all were instructed to wear khaki and white. The 19 of us went first. On the front porch in 90 degree heat. Ugh! It was hot. She took a ton of pictures. Then the rest of the family came and joined us for an even bigger picture then we did some family shots on the side. I am hoping she got a good one of our family of 5. The boys were hot and tired so we will see.

Dave, Sophia, Lynda, and Matt

Hannah and Luke having DS time
Dave and Zach- they kept dressing alike
Max and Sophia-they are 3 weeks apart in ageLuke

Max and Noah- We called then Noah and Mini Noah because in their glasses they looked alike

After brunch and clean up all of us staying at the house got in the pool. Jakob was napping so Max got both Dave and I. Max loves the pool. He jumped in and out of the water for 3 hours. We started letting him go under and he loves it. He sat on a floatie and rolled a ball then jumped some more. He was fearless. Hannah was attached to her cousin Anna and her bother Luke played games with them too. They had so much fun together. Our older nephew Zach who is 16 was intrigued by the Insanity workouts that Dave and I do. He tried our quick little 20 minute workout in the backyard. I think he thought it would be easy. I think it almost killed him. He loved it but I am not sure his parents did. We had a great time with them and it was sad that they had to pack up and head back to Alabama that afternoon. We promised to send letters so the girls can keep in touch.

Noah

Zach trying to work out in 90+ heat

Uncle Matt throwing Hannah across the pool
Heather, Sophia, and Anna
Uncle Adam giving Jakob a bottle
Me-Proof I was there.

After swimming all afternoon we hung out in the house with the 14 of us that were left. Had dinner and I started making Jakob's first birthday cake. There was talk of going to a fireworks show but it kept raining and thundering off and on so that plan was nixed. Hannah and Noah settled into the bonus room to go to bed and Hannah got a bit weepy. Usually we are at our friends cabin for the fourth where there is lots and lots of fireworks. But weren't seeing any so she felt like it wasn't a holiday. We turned on the TV for her and watched the fireworks there. not perfect but a doable solution. the adults stayed up late talking and visiting. We hadn't seen our nieces Mandy and Sara in a number of years. Both are now in their 20's graduated from college and both are teachers. It was great to catch up on their lives and remember how little they were when I first met them 12 years ago. I some how neglected to get any pictures of them and their mom. I am really hoping someone did or that the photographer got some. They are both really great girls.

Jakob's favorite thing to do while we were in GA.

Video of Max jumping at the beginning of the week. I have one from the end of the week I will post in a later post

Georgia-Part 1

2011-07-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

We just had a wonderful week long vacation to Augusta to see Dave's dad and step mom. The main reason for the trip was to celebrate Lynda's 70 birthday so we decided to stay the whole week and relax. Our flight left very early Saturday July 2nd. We were up and out by 5:45AM to the airport. For the flight we took both of the boys car seats. I sat with Hannah and Jakob and Dave was with Max. Both boys did fairly well for the 4.5 hour flight. Jakob napped right at take off and right when we landed and got manic in the middle and Max to a short nap in the middle of the flight but overall it wasn't too bad. We landed in Atlanta and found our rental car, a really cool Ford Escape. Then off we went on the two hour drive to Augusta. All three kids fell asleep. Dave and I joked we wanted to throw things into Hannah's open mouth she was so out of it.

We got to the house after 7. Already there were Lynda's son Adam, and his family(Wife-Lisa, and kids Zach-16, Luke-13, and Anna-10) and her daughter Tracy and her daughter Mandy-22. We visited and Hannah made fast friends with her cousin Anna. Then we took everyone for a quick swim in the backyard pool. It was in the 90's in Georgia and in Seattle we have barely hit 70 all year. The kids LOVED the pool. After a quick swim the kids went off to bed. Jakob was sleeping in the huge closet in our bedroom. Hannah was on the floor in our room and Max got to sleep in another empty room for the night till more guests arrived. It was nice to separate everyone so they could all sleep. And sleep they did. The boys slept like 14 hours.

Jakob and Grandpa Stewart

The next day was the day of the party. It was busy with people coming and going and prep work. We swam a bit with the kids, hung out and then Hannah, Dave, and I got ready for the party. The boys stayed home with a couple of very sweet sitters. The girls looked at me funny when I said the boys were sleeping in a closet and bathroom respectively but once we showed them the ropes they understood that these were big dark rooms the kids could sleep in without waking each other up. Joining us on Sunday were also Tracy's other daughter Sara-25 and Dave's brother Matt, his wife Heather and two kids Noah-7 and Sophia 2 1/2. We were now at 19 people in the house. We all got dressed up on our cocktail attire and off we went to the party. It was so much fun. Hannah was honored to be the one of the youngest and the person that traveled the furthest to be there. She behaved amazingly and many adults fell in love with her. It was great to meet so many of Lynda's extended family. Her three sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. We had an incredible dinner and great conversation. It was a wonderful night celebrating Lynda. I don't have pictures of the party because they hired a photographer so everyone could just enjoy. I should get to see the pictures soon.

Hannah and Anna

Next up..The 4th of July!!

Jakob Simon-ONE YEAR OLD

2011-07-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

How did this little thing get to be one year old already.

My little baby boy is now a year old. It has been quite a year. It went by so fast, too fast for our last little baby boy. Jakob is such a light in our lives. The kindest and sweetest little soul that just melts the hearts of everyone he meets. He is the perfect anchor for our family. Easy going, vocal, happy, stubborn, silly, loving and so much more. Here is Jakob's highlights for one year.

1. Jakob is an awesome sleeper. He sleeps anywhere from 12-15 hours a night and 2-3 hours for his nap. He sometimes still takes a morning nap but that's usually a quick snooze in the car while we are out. We are so blessed to have such a good sleeper. He sometimes chit chats with himslef before he goes to sleep and then again when he wakes up.

2. Jakob is getting very busy very fast. He still crawls like a penguin swimming across the floor but he now also pulls up on everything, climbs the stairs, and every once in a while gets on his hands and knees. He very much wants to walk and be upright so he can chase Max and Hannah. Jakob will not sit still to get his diaper changed or get dressed. We all him the flip and run. When I tell him no he just laughs at me. It's going to be interesting as he learns to walk.

3. Jakob loves to climb in and out of everything. He really loves to crash in the ball pit with Max.
4. Jakob loves to be outside with the kids. In his swing, in the grass, crawling on the sidewalk. He thinks outside is the best.
5. Jakob is another Shevitz fish. He LOVES the water. He just squeals and kicks his little legs. In the bath he tries to swim and loves to splash all the water everywhere.

6. We call Jakob our garbage disposal. He eats, and eats, and eats. He loves pretty much everything. Whatever Max doesn't eat we give to Jakob and he downs it. His current favorite food is blueberries.

7. Jakob is very vocal. He loves to babble mamamama, dadadada, bababababa. He has also learned how to sound like he is gargling really loud and make bubbles with his spit. He and Max love to talk to each other and see who can yell the loudest. He really loves bathrooms and elevators because of the echo.
8. Jakob loves my hair. He is very gentle grabbing my ponytail and running his fingers through it. Unfortunately for Dave he has very short hair so instead Jakob grabs his shirt and pinches him leaving bruises.
9. Jakob is a lover full of smiles, hugs, and flirts for everyone in his life. he can't decide who he loves more mommy or daddy so he often dives back and forth between us.

We love you our little Jakob Simon. Happy First Birthday!!

Two and a Half

2011-06-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Max turned 2 1/2 over the weekend. This is a great time to update his progress in Therapy. Max has exploded in the past 6 months and really in the past month. Max loves his therapies and therapists. Whenever Dave or I drop him off he turns and says Bye-bye and off he goes. He occasionally gets a little weepy but once he is through the door he perks right up. He works really hard, is very compliant and always comes out with a smile showing how proud he is of his success that day. I am pretty sure every single one of his therapists has a crush on him. Most of them have told me so.

OT and PT: Katie and Sharilynn
Max has OT and PT once a week each. They work on his gross and fine motor skills. Motor planning, strength, and sensory issues. He loves to climb, swing, stack, throw and more. He still has some major hang ups about icky sticky things like whipped cream, and playdoh but he is working on it. Max would spend all day on the play equipment if we let him. He loves to slide and swing forever. Max can now take off and almost put on his own shoes. He can get in the car, open doors with handles and shut all the heavy doors. He runs, jumps, crawls, climbs, and he loves when I push him on Hannah's scooter.

Music and visualizer on daddies phone

Speech: Carly
Max has made the largest gains in his speech. He has a list of words so extensive now I can't even remember them all to write them down. He even has some 2 and 3 words phrases like shut door, sit down, hello mommy(baby, Sissy, or daddy), go up, get down, all done, more sing please, down please, more please. He says please for everything I think I have the most polite 2 year old ever. :) It's incredible to finally be able to ask him to use his words and have him be able to say yes and no to questions. Max can count to ten and we practice doing so very loudly. Max is discovering volume with his voice so he plays around with talking very softly to yelling as loud as he can when he and Jakob play together. At speech they use a device called a pod book that has pictures and words that he points to to say sentences and say what he is going to do. things like I want to do an activity with Mosaic toys and then the type of toy and what he will do like pull apart and put in. he has to touch about 6 pictures to get to an activity and then say each time what he going to do. He is a whiz with the pod book and can fly through it really fast. We may eventually get one for home depending on how his speech goes in the next 2 months. it's a lot of effort to make one and if he ends up not needing it we don't want to waste the time making it. His therapist is thinking he may be getting to good to need it at home. Max loves to chit chat and talk and laugh and I am pretty sure I have heard him singing to himself a few times. My favorite moment in the past week was one night I was putting him to bed and he asks up to tuck, tuck tuck him in. So we do I gave him a kiss said night night and I love you. He looked at me and said I love you back. It wasn't perfect but he got all the words out with them sounding right and with the sweetest smile on his face. He melted my heart and I almost cried. Today Max kept climbing in my lap and saying "hello mommy" If I didn't look right away he grabbed my face to look at his. I said "hi Max!" back and he would laugh and run away. I love the games he plays.

Hello!!

ABA Therapy:
Max is really loving his ABA therapy. Dave drops him off on his way to work and I pick him up. It's really just like preschool. He works one on one with his TA for the day and then has breaks and social time, story and snack time with the other kids. He is making some friends. He is the youngest one in his class the other kids seem to be a few years older. He loves to play with the toys and hangs out with a few of the kids. everyday we get a progress report on how he did, what he did and how well he did it. it's really nice. We keep them as a way to see his progress. Every time he masters a program he starts something new. Like recently he mastered doing a jigsaw puzzle with 2 pieces missing so now he is trying to do them with 3 pieces missing.Other examples is getting him to identify parts of a car, community helpers and body parts. Some programs match up like cards or cards that are the same animal but slightly different. It' fascinating to watch the progress. they chart it and it's all very mathematical. The program manager is great she talked to all of Max's therapists so she could incorporate some of what he does with them into his ABA therapy.

Night-night with daddy

Vision:
Max has ongoing once a month visits with his eye doc. The script in his glasses is finally right with the bi-focals but he has a bit of vision loss in the left eye from the cross. So now for 2 hours a day we have a pirate for a son. He has to wear an eye patch over the right(stronger) eye. He really doesn't like it but we found if we just put it on first thing out of bed he tolerates it and the 2 hours are done right off the bat. I cringe every time he goes running through the house with it on. He already has klutz issues now to have his peripheral vision messed with is not good. He will probably have to wear the patch for many months. hopefully he will get better at walking around with it on.

Ready to slide

Other funny things:
Max loves his bed and he loves to say night-night with an emphasis on the t at the end. He loves to be tucked in saying "tuck, tuck, tuck." but he doesn't love to stay in bed. He loves to get up with his monkeys and lay down behind the door. sometimes he kicks the door sometimes he pushes things under the door but more often then not he falls asleep behind the door. After clocking him in the head a few times I have ,earned to open the door very slowly. Dave is the master at moving him from behind the door and into bed without waking him. He also naps only about 50% of the time. Some days he pounds on the door and when I go into tell him to sleep he says off to the noisemaker and leaves the room.

Max loves cars and balls. My house is covered in them at the end of the day. We are constantly digging cars out from under the furniture. He zooms them and chases them everywhere.

Max loves the ball pit that lives in our room. He runs and throws his body into it laughing. he also loves to stand on the couch, out his hands in the air and fall backwards into the corner. I keep telling him no but he just laughs and keeps doing it.

Max loves music and the visualizer that goes with it. It's come in very handy during appointments when we need him to stay calm and focus. He also loves when we sing. It's the best way to get him to change his clothes or diaper.

Max is such a great brother and helper. He pushes Jakob on his swing, gives him toys, makes him laugh, turns on his noisemaker at bedtime and shuts the door. He also loves to hug Hannah, let the dogs in from the backyard and shut the microwave when I am done using it.

Hanging at the pool

Happy Birthday Dave!!

2011-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today was Dave's Birthday. It was a beautiful day and we had quite the celebration. Yesterday I hired a sitter for the boys and Hannah and I took Dave to see Cars 2. we realized that Hannah first movie was the original Cars Movie the summer she was three. We had a great time. After Cars we stopped and got some Teriyaki for dinner and then dropped Hannah at home. Then Dave and I went off to see Super 8. Dave had been wanting to see it. It was great fun.
Today we got up and after breakfast we sent Dave off to the gym for a massage. We met him at the gym to have a swim in the outdoor pool. The kids had a blast. The Shevitz children all LOVE the water. After swimming we came home and the boys napped and Hannah and I went out for a quick run.
We played outside a bit and had a yummy BBQ for dinner. Then we sang happy birthday, had yummy cake and gave Dave the last of his gifts. He got some new clothes, a kindle gift card, and some money to spend however he wants. It was a great Day celebrating our superdad!

Look out 3rd Grade here I come.

2011-06-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

September 2010 First day of School!

June 2011 Last day of school

The school year has finally come to an end. What a great year it has been for Miss Hannah. Second grade in Mrs. Bradt's class was an awesome experience. Hannah is such a great student. She LOVES school. Hannah is an incredible learner, classmate, and friend at school. She is at or above grade level in every subject. She takes what she learns in school and applies it to the projects she does at home. She is always asking me for juicy words, a phrase her teacher uses when she is writing things. Hannah made some great friends this year and learned a lot about social trials and tribulations that go along with being part of a group. She learned the art of talking it out and compromise. She got her feelings hurt, she got her body hurt, but she also laughed a lot and was celebrated as a great friend and student. I think Hannah may take the award for the most visits to the nurses office this year. Mrs Bradt and all of the second grade teachers were just awesome. In first and second grade they group the kids by skill level for math and reading so the kids have their home teacher and then travel to 2 other classes for reading and math. This is reassessed every 6 weeks or so and everyone shifts around based on where they test in. I have loved it because it means not only does Hannah get to experience many different teaching styles but also other students so her social circle is expanding. We are always a little sad when the school year ends. Hannah always becomes so close with her teachers. We have a very full summer ahead of us. Tonight we start off with a sleepover celebration. Then it's off to GA to see Grandma and Grandpa and all the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins on that side. Hannah goes to camp for two weeks, has a few day camps around here and we plan on making the most of our summer with many outings planned around Max's therapy. With a little bit of "homework" fun thrown in we hope to jump head first into third grade ready to blow their socks off.

Writing and art

Hannah and Mrs. Bradt!

music concert

School dance crush

Fun classmates at the dance

Leprechaun trap project.