June 2012 highlights (Swim lessons,Summer MDO,Children's Museum,MDA events,Val turns 30,Father's Day,Lake time,weather woes)

It is a very busy week to say the least with these two kiddos! But I can’t complain about having such a great job to be able to do these activities with the kids. Life is good.

 - Kaden started swim lessons twice a week. He was not a big fan of the water, especially when he got dunked, but as the sessions went on, he stopped crying. He still isn't much on following directions in class and often tries to crawl out of the pool! I'm not sure about doing another session with Kaden at this age. He is just all over the place and it seems more work than fun, but it does give me something to work with him in our pool!

 - Maya started aquatic therapy again (read here)

 - Kaden started a summer mother's day out program on the 18th. He seems all excited to go in the morning, running out to the car, and out of the car and to the school, rolling his backpack behind him. But when you put him down and turn around to walk out the door, he cries so much. It is SO sad! But he does this at church, too, and we know it only lasts about 10-15 minutes. He seems to have fun there because he still gets excited to walk in the school. Its a nice time for him to go outside alot, do crafts, and mingle with other kiddos his age. We were happy to see Carson in his class. Carson lives 2 houses down from us and it will be neat if the boys will remember each other long enough to play when they are at home!

 - Maya now does aquatic twice, OT at home twice, 1 PT and 1 hippotherapy. So if you are keeping up with the schedule it now goes like this: Monday - drop K at school by 9, come home get Maya and take her to swim. We get back from there around 1-1:30. Allyson picks K up from school so I can work my 4 hours a day. Then I leave with Kaden to go to his swimming lessons. Tuesday - I take Maya to horse therapy and then she has OT at home at 1:30. Wednesday is just like Monday. Thursday the kids leave with Gayla to go to Maya's PT in the Woodlands and then she has OT at 1:30 at home like Tuesdays. We have Fridays off, but keep just as busy doing fun things like going to the children's museum, the park/swimming, or Splashtown! It is just super busy in the mornings til about 1 or 2. That is when I finally get a good chance to work my few hours that I need to get in. At times though, I will take some time to swim with the kids and then swap my work hours to the wee hours of the night! I LOVE my job :-)

 - Kaden started walking down the stairs and holding on to the rails instead of sliding on his stomach, which he had done for several months now. Just another sign of our boy growing up. He has calmed down a bit more I've noticed in the past couple of months. He will sit in your lap longer and he gives out so many kisses and hugs. A bit forceful, but still a cuddly one.

 - Children’s Museum of Houston: After visiting the Woodland’s version about 10 times, we headed down to the museum district for the real deal. Kids both had a great time, but the summer is not the time to go! Not sure why we waited until school was out. Kaden pretty much threw all the food at the supermarket, Maya cooked up some pizza at the Niko Niko Diner, fun crafts, and Maya just loved the vet store.

 - MDA Camp and Firefighters Assoc: Maya and I drove a little past Brenham to a place called Camp for All where the MDA has their annual camp. Maya was excited to see all the kids and is looking forward to going to camp when she turns 6. A few days later, her and I went to an informal reception for the Firefighter's association convention. We hung out with the MDA folks and so many people came to talk to Maya and how pretty she looked on the firefighter's stickers.

 - Brave private screening (read here)

 - Mona's visit - my cousin Mona came in for a short visit to attend a medical conference. We were able to see her in the evenings. We took her to the Brave screening and the lake for tubing and relaxing boat rides. Always great catching up with the person who I spent several, several summers with as a child. Our mothers are sisters and we were like sisters growing up.

 - Val's Birthday bash - Charlie's younger sister, Valerie, turned 30 this month and had a fun celebration in Kemah. Me and the other sister in laws had a quick getaway from all the kiddos and husbands and helped Valerie celebrate right! Thank you to Charlie for giving up half of your Father's Day to let me have some time off! Although, the kids were with my parents for the weekend, so really, he had a weekend off just in time for father's-day-weekend fishing and shopping at Academy!

 - For Father's Day, we hit up all the households, but for some reason I only took out the camera at my dad's house. Weird. He loved the photo mug.

 - Going to the lake - We started our weekend trips to Lake Conroe. Bill and Gayla now have a 4 bedroom (make it 5) townhouse that can now accommodate the entire family! Fun times again and again!

 - Last year brought big drought, this summer is daily rain. Can’t complain, except for the powerful storms that we see about 3 weeks in a row. Hail, high winds sent our patio furniture into the pool and even Maya’s wooden playhouse was rolled and swept into the yard. I still think it was a tornado!

 and if you are wondering, the table next to the house is a water/sand table that I 'tried' to make wheelchair accessible AND childsafe!

Disney's BRAVE and SMA fundraiser

There was a fundraiser for Baby Avery (see her story here: averycan.blogspot.com), benefiting several SMA organizations for a private screening to watch the newest Disney/Pixar film called "Brave". Maya is always excited to go to the movies and it was Kaden's first time to go to a movie theatre! He actually did better than we expected. He lasted 1 hour in the theatre before we had to take turns with him for the last half hour. There was a raffle at the event, and guess who won? We did! Maya was so excited to see all the special gifts she won: An offical Disney Brave princess gown, a Brave doll, Wig, plate, cup, bow and arrow toy, storybook, and a crown (which we gave to another SMA family that was also in attendance). It was a pretty neat basket and Maya thoroughly enjoyed everything the next morning but putting everything on and eating breakfast on her Brave plate! We are also very thankful to the couple (the aunt and uncle of Baby Avery) for putting this event on for SMA fundraising.

Maya and Courtney

 Maya loves her new Brave plate! 

 Full princess gear: the dress, bow & arrow, the wig, the silly brothers...

Maya back in aquatic therapy!

Maya started aquatic therapy twice a week. She loves being back in the water for therapy. It's a long drive just like horse therapy, but so well worth the trip and the positives that come out of doing these types of therapies. We love this new place, too and hope we can make it part of her schedule.

Karaoke night

Hailey and Maya braved karaoke at dinner Friday night. We were at a restaurant near the lake house. No "Call Me Maybe" song was on there yet, so we settled for Justin Bieber. Watch Kaden in the background. SO FUNNY! We finally stole his ice cream cone from him since the ice cream was getting flung everywhere. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWR-iC-vP2Q&sns=em

Roller skating party for Madi/Jackson

Madi and Jackson had a private party at the 'ole roller skating rink by our house. Maya loves going there and it was Kaden's first trip. I got to enjoy it too this time but don't make fun of all the adults dancing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_8qLM6NrP0

Disney 2012

Disney was so much fun last year we couldn't help taking Maya again this year. It is perfectly accessible and easy to get around for her so it makes it that much easier to go back!

We drove to Orlando again. Its just so much easier with all the equipment we have to take. Maya spent most of her time painting, playing on her iPad or watching movies. She does pretty well in the car considering it is such a long trip!

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Charlie read several reviews and said it was one of the best. Who couldn't get excited to see all those animals just roaming around everywhere! We were lucky enough to get upgraded to a Savannah room and we had an unbelievable view of Maya's favorite zoo animals. She had at least 3 zebras and 2 giraffes out our window within a few hundred feet to gaze at. She was so excited! They really hooked us up! We also saw wildebeest and several types of antelopes. Charlie saw a warthog out there too. Ostriches and so many types of birds. Pretty neat experience.

Our first night we ate at Sanna which was at our resort and an Indian restaurant. Then we headed to downtown Disney for Maya's official Belle dress. Maya scored an Aurora purse and hairbrush there too.

Our first morning we went to Akershus House where we had breakfast with the Disney princesses! Maya got dressed as Belle and the real Belle even held her for her picture! Maya met all the princesses. She was a bit overwhelmed. I mean to a 4 year this is THE PLACE to be. Like Hollywood for her meeting all these celebrities. She was shy when the princesses talked to her and tried to hug her. Maya was very excited about being able to meet everyone. A must-do experience for anyone thinking Disney. There was another Disney princess event called Cinderellas royal table but they shuffle you out pretty quickly.

Last year Maya was even scared of Dumbo, but this year she was a daredevil. Her favorite rides were Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom (rode it 4 times) and Star Tours at Hollywood Studios. She loved all the 3D shows this time, too, and even sang Part of your World at the top of her lungs during the Little Mermaid show.

She was still very much into the parade. We sat really close the last night and Alice in Wonderland spoke to her over the microphone and commented in her cute blue shirt and blew her a kiss! She loved that part. Wasn't into the fireworks as much this year. Instead she said she wanted to go ride some more rides! Her next favorite event was Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios. Her favorite part was the princesses. Surprise. We went to that show twice as well as the parades. The girl kept us out til midnight at least every night! Party animal.

Last year Maya wouldn't dare to go near any of the characters. To a point where she cried even seeing a picture of them. So we really wanted her to see or meet one of them this year. Her answer was still a firm no but she didn't mind seeing them from afar. Well we were able to overcome this fear partly this visit. On our last night we went to a show called Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Mickey and Minnie and others were there. At first she needed me to hold her to go dance because she was so scared. Minnie had come by to her on her way to the stage and Maya was already scared by that. After one song she said I could put her in her power chair. Then she joined the other little girls and danced with Minnie some more. Minnie danced an entire song with Maya then gave her a hug and kiss. Maya was SO happy!! She said she loved Minnie and wasnt scared of her anymore. She did say that Mickey still scared her though. After the show we had pictures with M&M and Minnie gave Maya another kiss with her nose. Mickey came over to hug and Maya turned the other way!! How rude! But I apologized to Mickey and explained how Maya wasn't quite ready for him yet. Success. One Disney character down.

We visited all the Disney parks. Didn't venture to anything else just yet. Maya drove her power chair almost the entire time!! Last year only the first day and it rained everyday anyway. This time she drove all day the first 3 days but we did the stroller half a day last day an it rained so it was a good decision! She got so many compliments from people saying that she was such a good driver! She had a few moments of danger but all in all very impressive for a 4 yr old who skipped most of her naps. She was sleep driving by the end of the night though so I had to drive for her many times.

One very important story to mention about Maya during this trip was her fascination over the Disney stickers. She was in sticker HEAVEN!! She got her first set at the hotel front desk and then got in the habit of driving up to them every morning and evening for more stickers!! The best ones were the princess ones. She still accepted all the Mickey ones too. I really think she scored about 75 stickers!! There are people that hand them out to you so that is pretty crazy. The funny (well not funny at the time) was that she would t put them down. Had to hold the stickers which caused quite the disruption while she was driving. Just picture a 4 yr old driving a 250 lb of machinery as she she looking at her stickers and all the sights. She almost ran into poles, walls, people!! So we had to think of something quickly. Charlie bought her a charm purse which was small and light enough for her to wear around her neck at all times. We finally convinced her to keep them in there. You may notice this pink bag in most of the pictures!! This story is long because the stickers probably cost us more time than waiting in the lines for rides!!! Rides were her top priority but the stickers were most definitely second in line! Luckily we were able to move on by the end of the trip when we bought her princess pens and paper. #3 on the hot list.

We so enjoyed the trip and we know Maya enjoyed the one on one time with us as well. We made a quick stop through Destin on the way back and we are definitely adding that to our future vacation spot!

So where was Kaden you may ask? He had an exciting week with all his grandparents. My dad, mom and Charlie's mom all took care of him an he had a blast. He got one on one attention from everyone and I hear that I have one spoiled little boy now.

Chillin with cuz Addi

Thanks Pawpaw

Date with Allyson

Nani time

Eatin all the time

Baseball new fav passtime

Driving Nana's car

Park everyday! 

Sweet, sweet boy

18 months today! 

Cuddle bug

Kaden’s 18 month update

Happy 18^thmonths to our little guy. Well, he’s not that little. Actually, he towers over some of his younger cousins and people are shocked to pick him up and feel how solid he is. I continue my speech about Kaden. He is a busy, busy little boy.Always on. And the tantrums have begun, but he is still a sweetheart and we get many, many kisses from him. And he is very patient and kind with Maya and all the trips we’ve had to go on and leave him behind (Utah and Disney). Don’tworry, K, its just that age. We love you just the same! And your grandparents needed some Kaden time anyway!

18 month stats: Weight 27.5 lbs (69%) and Height 33.75 inches (85%)

Just some items to note at 18 months:

Talking. Kaden seems Tobe on the quiet side so far when it comes to actually talking. He likes screaming and whining, but the talking isn’t high on the priority list just yet. We have Bye-bye with waving, bye bye Gigi, Mum Mum (for hungry); Aya(Maya). But he has been babbling more and more lately in the past couple of weeks, telling stories and just looking at you pointing and telling you something great about what he’s going to be. The best part is that most of the time we understand enough about the blabbler to know what he wants and that is so important!

Sleeping habits. He knows when its time to hit the hay. There is no bargaining with this guy. If you say “nap” or “night night” or “milk” he heads straight to the stairs and says bye bye to you. One night we were clearly not getting the message and Kaden pointed Charlie to the cabinet for his sippy cup, then ran to the fridge for his milk, and then ran to the stairs. He was always a step ahead of him,guiding him that he desperately needed to sleep. And then when he gets to his crib, then is no doubt. Another bye bye and he rolls onto his stomach, favorite blanky near his face and often doesn’t move. Kaden will sleep from around8:30-9 to 7-8 am. And his naps will be from 2.5-3 hours. Pretty good sleeper in our book!

Foods to avoid: anything too acidic causes a bad, bad diaper rash. So no strawberries, real oranges, mangos, tomato sauce entrees, orange juice. He is also starting to get picky about some foods, especially at breakfast. We are about down to bananas and pancakes (frozen, he won’t each fresh). He has knocked out french toast,waffles, eggs, oatmeal, and cereal. We’ve tried fresh/frozen, etc. He alsodoesn’t seem to like grilled cheese or PBJ. He loves cheese, all types of veggies, french fries (like crazy), sticky white rice, any kind of bean, steak,turkey, chicken (not fish or shrimp!), quesadillas burritos, lasagna, and luckily a lot of things that mommy makes for lunch and dinner. So, we are down to eggs for Maya and pancakes for Kaden for breakfast. No variances allowed.

Favorite passtimes/toys:

-Kaden LOVES to be outside. If he isn’t going outside at least 4-5 times a day, we are in serious trouble. But we’ve found small ways to make it happen, including letting him play in the garage with his power truck or wagon (or any type of mop or broom).

-He doesn’t seem to like any one toy at this point-He likes throwing things in our trash can. So its like a surprise as to what you will find in there (or what may be gone missing). Good times.

-When he is in our bathroom, he will take everything out of my drawers (toothpaste, combs, makeup,etc) and put them in my sink. I get nice surprises here too.

-Every now and again,you may find him in our coat closet where I stashed Maya’s old kitchen. He likes to go in there and play with all the food – in the dark.

-Kaden loves to play on the bed and play horsey on his daddy’s back.

-He loves sitting in your lap to read a book, or watch TV, or eat a snack. Although he is a bit forceful getting into your lap (basically moves your hands away so he can sit!)it is a very sweet gesture.

-He climbs on everything. Finds ways to do it by pushing his chairs/toys/etc, stepping on them. He will move his Cars sofa against the big sofa and get on there. He will put his music table near the island and step on it so that he can reach all of the pens. He will move that same music table as a stool to get on the breakfast table.

-He can now climb into his high chair at home and the car seat.

-He is good at sliding down the stairs on his tummy, but has started to do it like a big boy on the first step and then realizes what a big mistake it could be and then slides down the rest of the way.

-He will not sit still for more than 20 minutes while eating out, so this favorite passtime of our family (and the Spring crew) is all but stressful for us now. In fact, I begged everyone to NOT go out to eat for Mother’s Day just because I knew how chaotic it would be – and it was!

-Still loves the toilet.Caught him in it not too long ago at a friend’s house. He likes to find you in the house when you are in there and just come in there with you. There’s that no privacy –ever – issue that other moms talk about.

- He is starting to take interest in baseball. We got out the tot baseball game and he knows exactly what to do. Very exciting for his daddy and Uncle Shawn! 

The Pringle(ism)

Kaden has it! Tongue in cheek thing. Not really sure how to describe this, but essentially anytime a Pringle is concentrating on something (actually it just happens all the time), the biting of your tongue or putting your tongue to the side and biting, whatever it is it is apparent Kaden is a Pringle. Charlie, Shawn, Valerie. I see all of them doing it. Val says Madi is the only one that doesn’t do the tongue thing. Their Papa Richard did it too.

Here I caught him in the act! 

Big girl at the dentist

Maya’s second time to her new dentist went so well. I am SO proud of Maya and it just shows (again) how brave she is. Last time the dentist didn’t bother with xrays or really anything other than a brushing, but this time she did it all. Started out with 6 xrays, Maya let them use those instruments to remove build-up and let them brush her teeth and put the fluoride on. She said the best part was the water and the suction J And of course all the prizes weren’t so bad either. She scored 2 stickers, bubbles and a bouncy ball. You rock Maya!! So great today at the dentist! 

Minor OCD?

Its no surprise that Maya takes to her daddy’s side of the family in looks. Blue eyes, blond hair…but daddy’s OCD is a little surprise. I should have seen it coming a million miles away but always thought “oh, she’s just being a girly girl”. Its crystal clear now. 

Here’s a few things that Maya says or does:

-I put a plate down for her with her lunch or dinner, a small bowl for dipping her ranch, her water cup. She didn’t like the way it was arranged and says “no mommy you can’t put that there!” and then proceeds to move her plate to a different position (as if it were crooked), moved her water and moved her dipping cup. To a more suitable arrangement.

-She is NOT happy if there is a piece of paper, coloring page, what have you (paper style) that is bent. She can’t put up with it “oh no mommy, you bent it…what am I going to do now?”

-On her powerchair, we often have to move the joystick panel to the side in order to get up under a table (like at a restaurant). When we put it back in place and it is not at a perfect 180 degrees, she totally freaks out.

-She cuts all her stickers from a sticker page so that they are a bunch of stickers and puts them in a bowl (like you get at the dr office as a “prize”) and then INSISTS on putting them back in the bowl as such: biggest on the bottom with the top being the smallest stickers, and all stickers have to be faced up. She is currently obsessed with the sticker bowl. Has to go everywhere with us – bed, car, toilet. Everywhere.

-The middle one. Just like when daddy has to have the middle cinnamon roll because it is the gooiest, Maya also insists on having the middle of everything!

-Saving the best for last. At Whataburger for lunch and she was eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I break everything into pieces. She picks up this one piece a couple of times and then puts it down saying that she isn’t going to eat that one. Its apparent why to me and Charlie – it is by far the cheesiest. Totally saving the best for last. So, being the meanie that I am, told her that I was going to have a bite and tried to pick up that one piece. “NO MOMMY” who can’t have THAT one!”. Then, when she finally did decide to eat it, she lost control and it almost fell on the floor. Whoa. What a catastrophe that would have been. But in the end no different from her dad. Saving the best for last doesn’t always have the best outcome guys. 

Please tell me its just the age and she will grow out of it!!

Blackberry picking and Maya’s crash

My cousin invited us to go blackberry picking at a farm near our houses. We had never done something like that so it was a fun little adventure. Although Maya asked me afterwards why we went there and said that it wasn’t fun and she would rather have played with Lani somewhere! Wow. You think you are doing something great for the kids and that is what I get!

Ended with a sad reminder about how important Maya’s safety belts are on her powerchair. We had removed her should strap earlier to let her pick some blackberries and then forgot to put it back on. She started back to the car ahead of me by about 15-20 feet and I was holding Kaden. All of a sudden I saw her hunched over. She had crashed! There was a ditch in the land and her chair crashed down! It sent her forward and had it not been for her lap belt, she would have been thrown from her chair. I screamed and threw down my purse and poor Kaden didn’t know why I had to put him down right in the grass! She was okay though. Just very scared. No injuries. 

Sibling love (not rivalry…yet)

Some pictures of the two together over the last 6-9 months. Also a great time for me to compare the two. I guess I can’t blame this on gender, but I cannot say enough about how different  boys and girls are. Maya can’t stand being outside with bugs around her. Kaden looks at them and tries chasing them. Maya can’t stand being dirty and asks us to wipe her hands even with the smallest of crumbs. Kaden gets food in his hair, often its all over his body, dirt around mouth, etc etc. Maya is a cuddlebug and wants you to sleep with her or hug her all the time. Kaden won’t even think about sleeping if anyone is in the room with him. Maya is very delicate with her toys and remembers what toys all the little pieces go to. Kaden, well, he takes all those little pieces and disperses them around the house, trash, my sink, and then Maya cries about where all the pieces went. They do have so much fun together though and I can tell they miss each other when apart.